The Royal Squabble

I've tried not to think too much about the royal squabble but it's pretty hard not to have an opinion with all the attention Harry & Meghan's docuseries garnered, and now Harry's book that is due to hit the shelves this week.  

Reading the reviews of his most recent interview, my opinion is that he should ditch the royal family.  He is never going to get the satisfaction he is looking for.  There will be no public apologies or even private apologies if half of what he says is true.  The royal family will circle its wagons, to borrow an American colloquialism, as it did with the high profile divorces of Charles and Andrew and death of Diana.  If the Crown could survive that, it will certainly survive Harry's accusations.  He needs to move on, build a new life for himself and not worry about Pa or his brother William or any one else in that dysfunctional clan.

I never really could understand what people see in this royal family or any other royal family for that matter.  A quaint anachronism at best, a pernicious reminder of our past feudal nature at worst.  I do give Queen Victoria credit for mending the relationship between England and Scotland with her love for all things Scottish.  However, most European countries have done away with their royal families.  Only 12 countries still cling to them, but none moreso than the UK.  

It's Commonwealth stretches around the globe, taking in 56 countries.  The King is officially the head of state in 15 countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.  For the most part it has been a benign institution, but its influence can be felt far and wide.  

There was some hope with the marriage of Harry and Meghan that the British monarchy would finally catch up with the times, but not according to Harry.  He says his wife was treated as an outsider from the start, particularly by William and Kate, who saw her as nothing more than one of little brother's passing fancies.  It seemed that only the Queen welcomed Meghan into the fold.  Everyone else waited for Harry to lose interest in her or vice-versa.

I remember when the Queen hosted Barack and Michelle Obama.  She was glowing.  All that fuss about Michelle touching he Queen was pure rubbish.  The Queen loved it.  You could see it in her expression.  I think the Queen honestly saw the marriage of Harry and Meghan as a way for the royalty to finally overcome many of the prejudices built into the institution.  She displayed the same warmth and affection toward Meghan.  Unfortunately, the rest of the family didn't extend this hospitality.

Not surprisingly, Barack Obama has gotten along much better with Harry than he has with William in the short years since.  Ever since William began being groomed as the prince in waiting he had taken on a stuffy air, much like his father.  For them it was all about the institution.  

According to Harry, the offices of Charles and William immediately began leaking stories to the press that became blown out of all proportion.  One assumes that the two princes at the time were aware of this.  Harry says he battled with his Pa and brother to give Meghan and him more support but none was forthcoming and the media had a field day with them.

Still, it was a grand wedding replete with many souvenirs including Funko Pop dolls, which I couldn't resist buying at the time, along with one of the Queen and her favorite Corgi.  You thought that it would somehow work out in the end.

For Harry, this was history repeating itself.  While the press had a generally favorable impression of Diana, the "people's princess," they nonetheless hounded her, got her to say things she really didn't want to say and in the end pursued her through Paris until her car crashed in the tunnel of Pont de l'Alma, resulting in hers and Dodi Fayed's deaths.  I thought this would be the end of the royal family but they managed to survive the fallout by keeping a tight upper lip, and the fact the public had so much sympathy for young William and Harry.

For years, the public wanted Charles to cede the throne to William when the time came.  Of course, we all knew that would never be the case.  Charles had been a prince in waiting for more than 60 years.  He wasn't about to pass up his turn when the Queen finally checked out last year.  

Interestingly enough, the press has been very kind to Charles in the wake of his mother's death.  Even on-line design journals like Dezeen go on and on about his passion for traditional architecture, visible in the town of Poundbury.  Dezeen notes that Charles was instrumental in depriving London of a Mies van der Rohe skyscraper, which he viewed as a "giant glass stump."  His attitude didn't prevail, as there are plenty of glass stumps around London today, but it seems many Londoners share his sentiments.

Despite protests in Commonwealth countries, Charles is getting his visage on currency and stamps around the world.  It's not a very flattering profile but him nonetheless. Aussies want the far more popular Steve Irwin on their currency.  I suppose we will soon see him on Lithuanian commemorative coins as well, as they are forged in New Zealand.  Why not here, I don't know?

It all seems so silly and tragic at the same time, which is why I have tended to avoid the subject.  For Brits, Harry's accusations are tantamount to treason although they blame nasty girl Meghan for turning the poor boy's head away from the Crown.  It's like Yoko Ono breaking up the Fab Four.  Conversely, most Americans have taken Harry and Meghan's side in this royal squabble.  It won't do Harry any good as the royal family only answers to itself.  One can only hope that this media infatuation will soon diminish and we can get back to more important stories, like the latest insurrection attempt in Brazil.

I'm sure Harry will do just fine in the end.  He will carve out a life for Meghan and himself in California, along with their adorable children.  They seem to have a strong support network in celebrity figures like Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey.  This will become their new family.  

I well imagine the royal family will bear the brunt of this latest scandal as well, a bit more tarnished perhaps, but still Britain's greatest tourist draw.  This is really the only way they can justify the lavish amount of money allotted to them each year.  They will still be a draw regardless of how things turn out with Harry, as William and Kate have three adorable tikes of their own, pointing the way beyond the crusty old King Charles.

It's just too bad it had to end this way.  Surely, there was room for Harry and Meghan in the royal family.  This was a great way to not only bridge the historical feud between the UK and US but reach out to a larger multiracial Commonwealth.  Alas, it was not to be.