Forget Kylie and Jason’s return, tune in to Jubilee
I CAN’T say that the pomp and ceremony of the Queen’s Jubilee has ever caught my attention, but this year is the exception with the news from Montecito that Prince Harry and Meghan will attend, along with their sprogs.
Royalists are worried that the celebrity couple will hog the limelight, but the flipside of stealing the Queen’s thunder is that a new mass audience will tune into see what unfolds when a tedious family event is hijacked by a petulant relative with an axe to grind.
Harry and Meghan may be barred from the balcony along with Prince Andrew, because of the decision to only let working royals join Queen Elizabeth in waving down on the masses.
But they will be there in spirit as we scan the slim line of over-dressed family members for their presence and the monarch’s face for a hint of regret for absent loved ones.
The ‘family’ events with Harry and Meghan will be scrutinised for signs of the dynamic between the warring Houses of Sussex and Cambridge. Will William keep his distance from Meghan? Will Camilla chat to Harry? Meghan can keep the proverbial show on the road by incandescently smiling throughout, but Harry often looks glum.
Harry has a book out later this year, so relatives will be anxious not to put a foot wrong, lest they unwittingly give material for the tome or lend themselves as hostages for vilification on the promotional chat show circuit. There’s also the Netflix camera crew to worry about. It’s all to play for.
The Neighbours finale, even with Kylie and Jason, has nothing on it.