National Post (National Edition)
Harry and Meghan no longer working Royals, but `loved members of the family.'
The Royal platform didn't pay enough
THE DUKE AND DUCHESS REMAIN MUCH LOVED MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY. — QUEEN ELIZABETH
Confirmation that Harry and Meghan will not be returning as working members of the Royal Family will have come as a shock to no one who has followed events since they dropped their “Megxit” bombshell on Jan. 8 last year.
The couple announced they wanted to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution” to become “financially independent” while continuing to support the Queen.
They were to balance their time between the U.K. and North America in an effort to honour their commitment to “the Queen, the Commonwealth and our patronages.”
Yet within seconds of the post appearing on Instagram, anyone with even the most elementary understanding of the way the monarchy has functioned for the past 1,000 years knew the couple was never going to be able to have their cake and eat it.
This was pointed out clearly to the Sussexes at the Sandringham summit, where the Queen — supported by the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge — told Harry in no uncertain terms (Meghan had already left the U.K.) that they were either in or out, but they couldn't be in between.
Leaving the door ajar for a return to Royal duties should their grand plan fail, the Queen agreed to a 12-month review period as a safety net.
As the Buckingham Palace statement put it: “In stepping away from the work of the Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.”
Part of the problem is that the Sussexes do not seem to understand what public service is. As a California-born actress, Meghan can arguably be forgiven for this, but it somewhat beggars belief that Harry, a prince who grew up in The Firm, agreed to respond to the Queen's statement yesterday with the line: “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”
Not only is it deeply disrespectful to engage in this sort of last-word freakery with the Queen, but I also do not think the 94-year-old monarch, who has devoted her whole life to duty, needs to be lectured on service by anyone.
Of course all royal engagements are self-promotional to a certain extent but there is a big difference between acts that serve others and self-serving acts.
In recent months, as the world has tried to come to grips with the pandemic, there has been a growing sense that while the royals have attempted to point the spotlight on the work of others, the Sussexes have increasingly tried to shine it on themselves.
The royals have tried to hold a national conversation — exemplified by the Queen's “We'll Meet Again” speech — while in their $15-million Santa Barbara mansion, the Sussexes appear to have largely been in conversation with themselves.
They have insisted on having both unprecedented privacy and maximum publicity. And while they have endlessly carped about the media, the Windsors have continued to keep calm, and carry on.
So, while it is undoubtedly highly commendable that the couple want to continue with their charity work, philanthropy is not, and never has been, the same as public service.
It should also be remembered that Archewell, their fundraising arm, is a non-profit organization, not a charity like the Cambridges' Royal Foundation or the Prince of Wales's Prince's Trust. It's an important distinction, as charities are subject to far more stringent rules on how money is spent.
The other elephant that has remained in the room since the couple left for the U.S. is the central role that money has played in their decisions.
They are perfectly entitled to seek financial independence, and it has already proved a highly successful strategy with megabucks deals in the bag with the likes of Netflix, Spotify and now, presumably, Oprah.
But why has the couple spent the past 12 months desperately trying to disguise the fact that they have swapped duty for dollars?
Last year, they made a big point about keeping up Commonwealth ties by spending some time in Canada. Yet anyone with any knowledge of how the Duchess continued to keep on her retinue of U.S. advisers, even after she married Harry, knew that when the couple said “North America” what they actually meant was Los Angeles, the city of dreams. Vancouver Island was only ever a convenient staging post.
Yes, there might have been too much press intrusion, and the scrutiny must have sometimes been too much to bear, but they had the perfect platform for their aims and ambitions. The truth is, it didn't pay well enough.
If there is any silver lining to the dark cloud hanging over the monarchy since Megxit, it is that the Royals can now focus solely on their familial relationship with Harry and Meghan rather than their business dealings.
There is genuine sadness on both sides and among the public that it came to this. There was talk of the “Fab Four” — the Cambridges and Sussexes — heralding a new era for the House of Windsor. But it was not to be.
They may no longer be working Royals, but as the Queen put it with uncharacteristically emotional candour: “The Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
As Harry and Meghan prepare to welcome a new baby into the fold, let us all hope that family proves to be the tie that binds.
WE CAN ALL LIVE A LIFE OF SERVICE. SERVICE IS UNIVERSAL.