Alternative view on famous couple

Meghan and Harry Author: Lady Colin Campbell Publisher: Dynasty Press RRP: $34.99 Reviewer: Mary Ann Elliott

THIS book offers an alternative view on the famous couple to Dylan Howard’s book, Royals at War. (see review on this page).

Lady Colin Campbell brings a more balanced, in-depth analysis, having known the family for many years,

She offers personal insights and first-hand information rather than supposition, assumptions and hearsay. In doing so she casts the spotlight on the most unexpected royal story since the Abdication.

Revealing the dilemmas and issues behind the facade, we get a real sense of Meghan and Harry’s personalities.

Lady Colin, well-known for her frequent commentaries on the British royal family, is wellplaced to write this account of arguably the most famous pair in the world, and until recently, the most popular.

Living in the United States for many years and travelling frequently to relatives there, but marrying into English aristocracy, Lady Colin is a London The Times and New York

Times correspondent and has written several books on the royal family including The Real

Diana.

Who would have thought that what began as the romance of the decade followed by a fairytale wedding, would rapidly spiral into the couple’s fall from grace?

A beautiful, dynamic Hollywood starlet of mixed race captured Prince Harry’s heart, and captured the world’s imagination. Many thought and hoped that Meghan would bring a breath of fresh air into a stuffy, outdated family.

Lady Colin poses many questions. Is Meghan insincere and opportunistic? Her detractors certainly believe so. Is she a plotter and schemer, or a creative, resourceful and feisty woman who truly wants the best for her husband?

From the author’s comments, it does appear that Harry has given up his world for the one Meghan envisions for them.

From the restraints and trappings of royalty to the freedom of global celebrity entrepreneurism, Lady Colin suggests this very freedom may yet extract a price.

It seems clear from reading her account that Meghan is the driving force, in command and in control, and overridingly ambitious in her quest for fame, power and fortune.

I have often heard the saying, “Be careful what you wish for”.

Thus I fear that the ordinary life they crave may yet rebound, since both seek fame and fortune, but on their terms. It seems Harry has made not only compromises but extreme sacrifices.

I am left wondering whether Meghan’s demands will prove too much, or will their love and devotion be the glue that keeps them together?

REPORTER and editor Dylan Howard has been described by TV daytime talk show host Dr Phil as a “rare combination of cutting-edge journalist, true crime commentator and relentless investigator”. Dubbed “King of Hollywood scoops”, Dylan Howard casts his glaring spotlight on British royalty.

The royal fairytale is very much tarnished in his “reveal-all” book.

Not since the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 has there been such a rift between its members. When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced they were stepping back from royal duties and leaving the Firm, as it is known, their decision caused shockwaves worldwide. Uncannily, like Edward and Wallis Simpson, the catalyst for the present scandal is also an ambitious, controversial American woman. Apparently not consulted before Harry and Meghan made their momentous decision to abandon public duty, the Queen, now 94, was said to be furious.

This deja vu of the abdication crisis, now dubbed Megxit, stunned a family already beset with the Diana tragedy, the Camilla narrative and three divorces among the Queen’s four children. Adding to the conflict, Kate and sister-in-law Meghan fell out, prompting simmering tensions between brothers William and Harry, who had been very close and supportive of each other. Team Meghan emerged, as did her detractors. From a worldwide celebration of their marriage two years ago, there is now a debacle.

The author believes that warning bells may already have sounded as this divorced and bi-racial woman married the hugely popular, charismatic Harry.

From Dylan Howard’s account, one gets the uneasy sense that Meghan plotted to ensnare Harry, even exploiting an often needy and confused young man.

Harry emerges as someone at her beck and call. Rebelling against official engagements and the incessant demands of royalty, their desire for a “normal” life appears fuelled by Meghan’s ambitions to resume her acting career. She emerges as a woman who wants to have her cake and eat it, “behaving in ways Harry simply wouldn’t dare”, according to this book. Germaine Greer predicted the couple would leave the Firm and that the outcome would be disastrous for them.

Now hoping to live the dream in Hollywood and carry on their own humanitarian work, who knows what the future holds for them? Will escape from the gilded cage be worth it?