Prince Harry deserves his happy ending, he is a rock-solid role model who has just fallen in love
Is there anything that we Britons like more than a royal wedding? Especially when one is announced at the beginning of a cold, wet, miserable week when the Brexit negotiations appear to have stalled, England’s cricketers seem to be losing the Ashes, and the weather forecasters are predicting an Arctic winter. For many weeks now, the nation has clung like a limpet to the prospect of an engagement between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with bookies suspending betting and royal experts analysing every cough, spit and splutter to come from the general direction of Kensington Palace.
Now it has been confirmed, we will no doubt have months of commentary on the significance of him choosing to marry a mixed-race American divorcee, as if Prince Harry has spent
Could it be that Harry has just fallen in love? That he met this chick, who is kind of gorgeous and kind of cool and thought ‘I like her so I’d better put a ring on it’
the past few years of his life carefully selecting his bride-to-be entirely on the basis of how much she will put up the backs of ardent royalists.
I have another theory. Could it be that Harry has just, you know, fallen in love? That he met this chick, who is kind of gorgeous and kind of cool and with whom he kind of shares mutual interests – exercise, charity work – and thought, “I like her so I’d better put a ring on it”?
I first met Prince Harry last year, just after his relationship with Meghan had been confirmed, and there was no hint of the chaotic playboy prince that I had read so much about. He was engaged, articulate and charming, and boy oh boy did he know his onions when it came to talking about mental health, especially in relation to the Armed Forces.
When I interviewed him in April, about his own mental health, he was confident and eloquent. Though the subject matter was serious, he presented it with a lightness of touch that suggested he had dealt with his demons. He explained that, during his years of “chaos”, public engagements had left him feeling only panic.
Though he admitted to feeling “a little tight in the chest” talking to me about his experiences, that wasn’t evident. It was clear to me that here was a man who was in a good place, who was firing on all cylinders both professionally and personally.
When the interview came out, there were those who thought it was a bit too much; those who felt that the role of a royal was to keep a stiff upper lip. Perhaps that was the case at a time when the biggest killer of young men in this country was the Nazis, but now it is suicide and I felt that Prince Harry was absolutely doing his public duty. At the time of the interview, we spoke a bit about his plans for the future, which involved more time in the country, and getting some dogs.
However, editorially, we made the decision to leave it out because we didn’t want any details about his relationship to detract from the truly important message that he was trying to get through: that it is OK to talk about your mental health. That might seem strange – national newspaper cuts tantalising details about royal relationship shocker! – but what he was trying to do seemed so important and so momentous, that anything else felt trivial by comparison.
It was clear that, above all, Prince Harry really wanted to help people, in much the same way that his mother had before him. Those Vegas nights suddenly seemed to have taken place in another lifetime.
We have met several times over the course of the past year, and on each occasion I am struck by how happy he seems, how comfortable in his own skin he appears. This year’s Invictus Games were a triumph and, just two weeks ago, he made a moving speech at the Mind Media Awards, which celebrates the best in mental health coverage. I don’t pretend that we are
‘What a wonderful advert the soon-to-be sixth in line to the throne is for being open about his mental health’
good friends and do not expect to be buying a hat for the nuptials, but I am continuously struck by how grounded Prince Harry is, given absolutely everything he has been through.
One senior figure in the mental health world, who declared themselves a lifelong republican, said they had never been as impressed with a public figure as they were with Prince Harry, his brother and his sister-in-law. Between them they have made a huge difference over the past two years, and so it was with genuine warmth and happiness that I reacted to the news of the engagement.
Prince Harry truly deserves his happy ending. Or should that be his happy beginning?
Mostly though, what a wonderful advert the soon-to-be sixth in line to the throne is for being open about his mental health.
The message this sends out to a generation of young people is: be kind to yourself, do good things, and everything else will follow.
In a world full of turmoil and people who are only out for themselves, the Prince is that rare thing – a rock-solid role model. I wish him and his bride-to-be only the very best.