Royals must learn: it’s good to talk...

AND SO the Royal hoo-ha goes on, with Meghan Markle’s father Thomas making a belated entry into the proceeding. What took him so long? It seems he might be prepared to testify against his own daughter in a court case over a letter leaked to a newspaper. Of course he will. What next? Commentators are now brooding over how to modernise the monarchy in the wake of this recent fracas. May I make a suggestion? How about learning how to use a telephone?

While there is no doubt the Sussexes’ decision to ignore the Queen’s wish to delay any sudden announcements about the future was disrespectful both to the institution of monarchy and HM herself, a rather more complicated picture is beginning to emerge as to what has been going on. It seems trouble has been on the cards for an awfully long time and Harry’s repeated attempts to talk to both his father and his grandmother were put off by courtiers.

Every time he requested a chat, he was told to go off and prepare a proposal about the future. To put it bluntly, while Harry is brave and good-hearted, he is not the sharpest knife in the tool kit.Why on earth didn’t someone notice he might need a bit of help?

If the monarchy is to survive and prosper, as so many of us in this country devoutly hope, can’t they at least learn to talk? Much blame is being put on Meghan, comparing her to Yoko Ono and the break-up of The Beatles (that’s what you get when you try to form a Royal Fab Four) but she obviously didn’t have a clue what she was getting into.

All the rest of the Windsors might have had a sense something was wrong but adopted the approach so beloved of many of us. Hide under the duvet and hope it will go away. Well, it hasn’t and now it’s blown up in their collective face. Not that Harry and Meghan are clear of blame and those advising them really should have known better, above all the Obamas and Oprah Winfrey, who have spent decades in a sometimes unforgiving spotlight, hobnobbing with the richest and most powerful people in the world and who really should know the score by now.

If anyone should have counselled caution, it should have been those three, whereas instead it seems they might have been giving Harry and Meghan tips about how to succeed in the world as “influencers”, just like them.

BUT there is a huge difference between the Os and the Sussexes. Oprah and the Obamas carved out a place for themselves in the world on the back of their own efforts and have thus earned the right to profit from it. Harry was born into privilege, Meghan married into it and they thus have not.Any money they make from who they know rather than what they know (no one would object if Harry, say, wanted to become an accountant) must be suspect.

But it’s not too late. William and Harry must still have some kind of bond. They banded together to deny rumours about bullying earlier this week. The Queen and Prince Charles must be desperately worried about a future in which Meghan might well thrive but Harry could be surrounded by sharks. Which brings us back to the telephone. For goodness sakes, Charles, William and Harry, pick it up and use it.

They can yet come back from the brink but they must learn this one simple message. It’s good to talk.