Time for Charles to pour oil on troubled waters of Windsor
EMOTIONS are running high and there is a danger that the royals are turning back into the soap opera they became in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now, then, is the moment Prince Charles should step up to take control of the warring Windsors.
As sovereign, it was the Queen’s prerogative to strip Prince Harry of his last remaining royal perks.
But now comes the time for mending and, as father to Harry andwilliam, as well as his role as future King, it behoves the Prince ofwales to take control and pour oil on troubled waters.
Charles is grandfather to Archie and the unborn Sussex baby, as well as to William and Kate’s three children.
For the sake of harmony of that next generation, it’s his urgent task to heal his broken family.
For purely practical reasons, Harry and Meghan must be made to feel they are still part of the royal circle.
To allow them to wander off into indignant exile would be a dangerous thing, however high feelings are running at the moment.
Both Harry and William have had their difficult times with their father, but it’s only he – aided perhaps by the soothing influence of Camilla – who can calm the anger.
As for the Queen, she has, sadly, seen it all before.
Elizabeth was just 10 years old when her uncle David abdicated, and she was catapulted from being a minor royal into our future sovereign.when King Edward VIII fled the country, demoted now to Duke of Windsor, he genuinely believed that once the dust had settled he could take up his old life, half in and half out of the monarchy.
He felt it was his right.
His American wife, Wallis Simpson, encouraged him to cling to the regiments he headed and to the patronages he held. But at Buckingham Palace wiser counsels prevailed.
Allowing the Duke to come and go freely would be a distraction, they said.
While the rest of the family were doing the solid work of shaking hands and opening factories, he would choose only the more glamorous jobs.
The feeling too was that there is always a freak show element attached to a deposed royal which was likely to detract from the dignity and allure of the House ofwindsor.
And so when the duke left Britain, in 1936, it was to be forever. It was safer that way for all concerned.
History has repeated itself, 85 years later.
And the Queen has made the right decision – the only decision – to allow Prince William, when his time comes, the freedom to reign in an orderly fashion, without distractions.
THE Government has gone to war with London Mayor Sadiq Khan over plans that could see historic statues torn down.
Housing minister Christopher Pincher has written to him to express concern that he is using £250,000 of taxpayers’ money on a statues commission at a time when he claims Mr Khan is putting up council tax bills.
Some of the names on the 15-strong commission have been accused of being Left-wing activists.
One of those on the taskforce istoyin Agbetu. He has previously supported a campaign to remove a monument to Sir Robert Geffrye, a slave trader, from the Museum of the Home in Hackney.
This was despite a council survey finding the majority of people wanted it to stay.
Demanding that the statues commission is disbanded, Mr Pincher said: “Putting some of London’s most important pieces of history into the hands of activists is a regrettable decision. On top of the enormous costs, some very troubling statements by your panellists, such as praising the ‘guerrilla-style’ removal of statues, have been made public.
“These will not command public confidence or support.
“As London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has said, this
commission will neither heal divisions nor promote inclusivity.” The letter is part of a wider front on the Government’s “war on woke” opening up this week.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is set to have a showdown with heritage bodies including the Nationaltrust and Historic England on Tuesday. This comes after various properties were linked to slavery and colonialism.
A source close to Mr Dowden said he will tell the bodies, part-funded by the taxpayer, they have a duty to “acclaim” British heritage not just “maintain and explain”.
Meanwhile, Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense group of MPS, is due to meet Michael Gove.
Sir John will present the group’s demand that the Cabinet Office insists the Union Flag must flown on all government and taxpayer-funded agency buildings.
In Scotland, it is only flown at official occasions. But Nicola Sturgeon has ordered the EU flag be flown all year round, alongside the Scottish Saltire.
Sir John said: “We need the Union flag to fly right across our great island to encourage patriotism and act as a reminder of what unites us.”