It’s just hilarious to watch people on Isla de Saltines twist themselves in knots to blame every single problem on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. So it is with this hilariously bitter column by Tom Bower in the Sunday Times: “Without Prince Philip the royal house of cards is falling.” You might think, hey at least someone is acknowledging that the House of Windsor is crumbling before our eyes, right? While there is that acknowledgement, make no mistake, Bower saves his strongest ire for Prince Harry. As in, how dare Prince Harry leave, and Harry is the reason why everything is falling apart. Bower basically equates Harry’s exit to, you know, Prince Andrew’s rape of victims of human trafficking. Some highlights:
The crumbling House of Windsor: Monarchists have good reason to despair. In the Queen’s relative absence from public engagements since October, nasty battles have erupted among senior members of her family, not least between the Windsors in London and the exiles in Montecito, California. Instead of unqualified sacrifice and public service, the daily headlines about the Queen’s family highlight sleaze, sex and scandal.
The Queen’s private secretary isn’t doing enough: Realists fear that the Queen’s senior advisers are helplessly buffeted by the remorselessness of the Windsors’ scandals and by their failure to control members of the Firm. Sir Edward Young, the Queen’s private secretary, appears haplessly caught in the crossfire. If Buckingham Palace’s mismanagement continues, there is a serious risk that the public’s respect for the embodiment of British stability will be undermined.
Charles’s mess: The Duke of Edinburgh repeatedly warned his son that demanding millions from controversial billionaires in exchange for access was dangerous. Three years ago Charles stopped inviting the worst of that breed to his homes but the legacy of Fawcett’s activities remains. Now he faces the prospect of a police inquiry.
Harry destabilized the monarchy? That unmanaged saga is just one of many scandals giving the impression of the Palace’s drift towards crisis, now more apparent after Prince Philip’s death in April. Loyalists who predicted that the Firm would be rocked by instability have begun to fear the worst. Although the Queen and her husband failed to control Charles and Andrew, at least their grandsons obeyed Philip’s advice. But as the duke’s life ebbed away, Harry destabilised his family by asserting his independence, fleeing to California and thereafter unleashing a truly awful menu of denunciations of his father, brother and even his grandparents.
Harry is spoiled: Harry’s damning allegations during the Oprah Winfrey interview in March distastefully reinforced the Duchess of Sussex’s many unpalatable assertions, not least that the royal family had denied her unborn son Archie a title and protection because of the colour of his skin. Harry further upset his family by describing his mental torture on Apple TV. To many people’s scorn, the 37-year-old prince, utterly spoilt by obsequiousness, has exploited his unwillingness to be reconciled with his mother’s death. Worse, he comes across as intensely envious of William’s happiness and popularity.
LOL, Harry is mad that William is copying him?? Last week Harry cannot have failed to notice William’s podcast about mental health, his own favoured theme. At the same time another poisonous missile arrived from Montecito. In an unexpected statement Harry claimed that, unlike Charles, he had spotted the danger of a relationship with Mahfouz and had broken off relations in 2015. By implication he accused Charles of recklessness. That denunciation was not only a warning shot to his father about the arrangements for his future coronation but also a victory roll after Meghan defeated The Mail on Sunday in the Court of Appeal. The duchess’s successful assertion of her right to privacy over a letter to her father surprised many lawyers.
Again, it’s Edward Young’s fault? The public is entitled to question the probity of the royal family for their associations with unsavoury characters like Maxwell, Epstein and Mahfouz. Although those relationships are historical, questions are rightly asked about Young’s competence. At every turn, the Queen’s adviser has been caught on the back foot. His latest stumble was last month, when he failed to guide the BBC away from broadcasting The Princes and the Press, a flawed report purporting to describe a briefing war between William and Harry. As the Palace seems incapable of controlling them, their mutually vitriolic retaliation will ratchet up next year.
How dare Harry & Meghan have the law on their side: Young will then be faced with a bigger challenge: Harry’s memoirs. If Harry is uncharacteristically considerate, publication will follow, not precede, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. But few doubt that in return for an estimated $20 million advance the selfishly indiscreet Harry will be expected to divulge juicy private conversations and discomfiting revelations about Charles and William. The sadness is that Harry and Meghan prosper financially by playing their royal cards. So far, Britain’s judges and the BBC have aided their operation, regardless of their disloyalty. The Queen’s misfortune is that many young people sympathise with the Sussexes and disapprove of Charles, Camilla and Andrew. The new year threatens to be the Queen’s second annus horribilis. The 95-year-old monarch, selfless and discreet, deserves better.
“To many people’s scorn, the 37-year-old prince, utterly spoilt by obsequiousness, has exploited his unwillingness to be reconciled with his mother’s death…” People scorn Prince Harry because he exploits his grief over his mother’s death? Well, that’s certainly an interesting take. As is: Harry is sick with jealousy at William, who is copying Harry. Bower also seems to be saying that sure, Harry and Meghan have some legitimate issues but how dare they speak about them? And I’m not sure what the Queen’s private secretary is supposed to do about the Montecito royals at this point. There’s nothing to do but take the L and focus on the perverts, criminals and feeble keeners which are left.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN.
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