HARRY DRAWS IRE WITH COMMENTS ABOUT QUEEN
LONDON » Queen Elizabeth’s 96th birthday has arrived today with a dollop of drama from her self-exiled grandson, Prince Harry, who said this week that he wanted to make sure the aging queen was “protected.”
Harry, who paid his grandmother a rare and surprise visit for tea at Windsor Castle last Thursday with his wife, Meghan, said in an interview with NBC’S “Today” show, “I’m just making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her.”
His cryptic comment, to an American TV network, raised the hackles of royal commentators and the London tabloids. Elizabeth, they pointed out, was wellprotected by her son and heir and Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and by his eldest son, Prince William. The clear implication was that her prodigal grandson, now living in Southern California, need not apply for the job.
The queen, who suffered a bout of the coronavirus in February, has been notably frail since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, a year ago. She has canceled multiple public engagements and no longer ventures out to events, such as Easter services held at St. George’s chapel at Windsor, where she lives full time.
Now largely homebound, she carries out most of her duties via video calls. Greeting visitors at Windsor Castle recently, she told them she had trouble walking. Her diminished condition has raised questions about how much she will take part in four days of ceremonies during the Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years on the throne.
While Buckingham Palace is loath to acknowledge it, the British monarchy has assumed the characteristics of a regency, with Charles fulfilling many of his mother’s public duties as her proxy. That gave Harry’s comment particular piquancy since it suggested she was vulnerable to manipulation.
Harry’s reference to protecting her raised a red flag with royal watchers.
Many have soured on him and Meghan since the rupture with the royal family; they viewed Harry’s latest comment as just another potshot.
“I think you’ll find that Prince Charles and Her Majesty’s children and William are DOING just that and supporting the Queen, with actions — and not just words,” Robert Jobson, the royal editor of the London Evening Standard, said on Twitter.