END OF AN ERA
The royal family reunite in the UK for an emotional week
As Prince Harry kicked off his final round of official outings before he and wife Meghan Markle officially step down as working royals on March 31, brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton stepped out for an on-duty date night – all smiles despite the impending end of an era.
The parents of three glammed up to take in a charity performance of Dear Evan Hansen on February 25, as Harry – embracing his new role as a regular guy
– flew commercial from Canada to London, then travelled by train to attend his final scheduled royal appearances.
Welcoming everyone at a summit for his environmental tourism initiative Travalyst in Edinburgh, Scotland, on February 26, the 35-year-old took steps to cement his new ‘commoner’ status. “He’s made it clear that we are all just to call him Harry,” host Ayesha Hazarika told the audience. “So, ladies and gentlemen, please give a big, warm, Scottish welcome to Harry.”
Speaking the next day, Hazarika said, “I got the impression he’s very focused on what he wants to do. He was pretty defiant as well. I didn’t sense that he thinks, ‘This has all been a nightmare, I’m going to hide away.’”
If Kate and Wills were affected by Harry’s royal exit, they didn’t show it. The Duchess of Cambridge swapped out her princess heels for casual trainers during her visit to London’s Olympic Park on the same day as Harry’s event, making an appearance for SportsAid, of which she is patron.
The 38-year-old tried her hand at taekwondo, packing a powerful punch into some pads after coaching from Olympic athlete Lutalo Muhammad. “Her right hand was mean,” he said afterwards. “Trust me, that was a hard punch. It was better than expected. She passed with flying colours. I’m glad I didn’t let her punch me!”
While his wife was showing off her athletic ability, Prince William, 37, visited Tarmac’s National Skills and Safety Park to learn how the company was improving opportunities available to young people. He then headed to a centre that has been helping homeless and vulnerable people since 2001.
While it all seemed to be business as usual for the once tight-knit threesome, there’s no escaping the fact that, in just a few weeks, things will change forever, with Harry’s Travalyst appearance marking the first of several ‘last’ events over the coming fortnight. On February 28 he teamed up with Jon Bon Jovi to re-record the rocker’s song ‘Unbroken’ at Abbey Road Studios in London with members of the Invictus Games Choir. “We’ve been gargling next door, so we’re ready to go,” Harry quipped to an engineer, while Bon Jovi himself hinted at the prince’s recent troubles. “In light of everything that’s going on right now, I’m happy he could take the time to be here for the choir,” the singer said. “That’s all I can comment on. I don’t know what it’s like to walk in his shoes.”
And, according to one of Harry’s family friends, it’s been rough. “It’s an emotional time for him,” the source told Vanity Fair.
“In many ways it’s bittersweet. He’s always wanted to have a regular life and to get away from the spotlight, and that’s what he’s doing, but it basically means walking away from his family. Harry’s a loving, loyal guy so that will be very hard for him.”
With his wife Meghan, 38, joining him at the Endeavour Fund Awards this week, followed by the Mountbatten Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall two days later, the pair will share their final royal appearances as a duo. However, they have decided to leave their 10-month-old son Archie in Canada – a move that has distressed Harry’s grandma,
the Queen.
A source tells the Sunday Times that their decision has left her “very sad”, given she’s seen so little of him since his birth.
But Harry has at least one famous fan in his corner as he embarks on his post-royal existence: David Beckham. “We love him, and he’s an amazing person – and that’s the most important thing – but I’m proud to see him growing up as an individual and being that person that every father wants to be,” the former footballer told Entertainment Tonight. “I think he’s enjoying being a young father for the first time … Every father wants to be loving to their children, and that’s what I see with him.”
What the future will look like for Meghan is also taking shape, with reports that she has picked the Met Gala in New York on May 4 for the glamorous debut of her royalfree life. According to The Sun, she has accepted an invitation by British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful and is planning to leave Prince Harry at home. “Edward’s team are excited that the two will go together,” a source told the paper. “Meghan is keen to step out occasionally without Harry so that she can establish herself once more in Hollywood.”
The news comes after another source told The Mail on Sunday that her agent, Nick Collins, is busy trying to secure her an actionmovie offer. “He’s said she wants her return to acting to be part of an ensemble cast in something like a superhero film,” says the source. ‘“He’s saying she is available and open to the best offers. She knows she can’t carry a film as an actress. People won’t be able to get past the fact she’s Meghan Markle. But she’s determined to act again, and she thinks a big ensemble film is the way to go … something that pays big, but which doesn’t put her front and centre.”
A source told Vanity Fair that the Queen, 93, “generally doesn’t want to talk” about what lies ahead. “She’s been keen to get this resolved as she sees it as damaging to the monarchy, and on a personal level, I think this has been hurtful for her,” says the source. “She’s got to the point where she doesn’t want to think about it anymore, she just wants it over and done with.”
Meghan will be very nervous about returning to the UK, according to veteran royal expert Katie Nicholl. “She’s come back to face the music. It’s bittersweet as she gave up her home, her nationality and her career, and fully threw herself into royal life, so there will be a sadness about the way it all panned out, but she won’t let it show.”
“She’s come back to face the music”
– KATIE NICHOLL