Harry’s Jubilee no show is his best decision

Word on the field is that Prince Harry has pledged to play polo for the Los Padres team in California, at a tournament which directly clashes with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

I hope he honours his sporting commitment; it would be the best decision he’s made this year.

The long weekend in early June has a single focus: Her Majesty. It is the reign of Elizabeth II that we will be commemorating, her steadfastness, sense of duty and dedication to her subjects of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Commonwealth that we will be celebrating.

The balcony of Buckingham Palace is no place for a royal refusenik who knowingly creates drama wherever he goes; his claim that he and Meghan dropped in to see his grandmother recently to ensure she was “protected” is a case in point.

It was a heavily loaded – yet meaningless – remark that generated headlines as it was clearly intended to do.

The Sussexes are under pressure to maintain a high profile especially when much-vaunted projects have started to fall through – most recently Meghan’s animated Netflix series, Pearl, was shelved due to cutbacks.

As the shine is taken off their brand they might cynically seek to bask in the reflected glory of the British monarchy. That must not be allowed to happen.