A fitting end that left us wishing wistfully for more
Sussexes’ moving farewell tour sees them back to their best and will make us miss them all the more
After one year, nine months and 20 days of married life in the Royal family, the Sussexes are officially off. And what a way to go. Like all the best curtain calls, the Sussexes’ “victory lap” in Britain left fans wanting more and everyone else wondering – what might have been?
From their dramatic, coordinated wardrobes to headline-grabbing speeches, the Duke and Duchess’s final days in Britain have had all the hallmarks of a royal tour-de-force. It was, in a sense.
Their last moments as senior members of the Royal family, it was their chance to show the world what it would be missing, and set the stage for their next act: swapping duties, public scrutiny and “Sussex Royal” for the pursuit, as they put it, of financial independence.
Aides – soon to be redundant – poured countless hours into designing their final fling. A pledge to keep supporting the troops and tubthumping speech about women’s empowerment were matched by some of the most beautiful pictures of them ever taken; the result, not of fluke, but of military-level planning.
It has gone some way to healing old wounds. Mystery media briefings, a jaw-dropping statement, and tensions behind palace walls left the nation aghast at what had been landed on the 93-year-old Queen’s plate. Exasperated old hands felt they had done their best to try to help them; the Sussexes – furious and hurt by the tabloid press – felt support was somewhat lacking.
But the last few days have seen them back to their best. Prince Harry was on bouncing form with Bon Jovi at Abbey Road. At Silverstone, he channelled the Duke of Edinburgh, for a knowing few words: “There’s nothing better than officially opening a building that is very much open.” They were invited to church with the Queen.
But it was on Saturday night, at the Royal Albert Hall, that those who have watched Harry since he was a small boy might have found themselves with a lump in their throats. The father-ofone, standing tall in mess dress for his swansong as Captain General Royal Marines, could not quite contain his emotion at the standing ovation from comrades he is leaving behind.
Meghan, wearing British designers and a permanent smile, put on a show in a different league. At a school in Dagenham, no one could have missed the message in her final speech. “No matter how small you might feel... no matter what colour you are, no matter what gender you are, you have a voice and you certainly have the right to speak up for what is right.”
For ultra-loyal fans, desperate for what they dubbed “Sussex Freedom Day”, the jaunt back to Blighty was an unapologetic riposte to a Royal family and British public they feel had not appreciated them quite enough.
But for calmer heads – those quietly thrilled to see Harry find love, and hopeful for a diverse new generation buying into a new monarchy – there will be enduring sadness. In a family business, you can’t always be the stars. But with their farewell tour comes the question that will now never be answered: what they could have achieved had they stayed.
‘The ‘victory lap’ in Britain left fans wanting more and everyone else wondering – what might have been?’