In the midst of the Middle East power keg that could be the next World War and the bush fires burning Australia, a different kind of battle royale emerged from Britain.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, more officially and formally known was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, posted on their freshly designed website and their social media accounts that they were stepping down as “senior royals” and would work towards “financial independence” while still supporting Her Majesty the Queen.
Royal reporters and Harry’s own family, the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William all found out at the same time, as Harry had not warned his own family that he was making the bombshell announcement. The “Sandringham Summit” was convened as the Queen didn’t want a moment wasted and very graciously and touchingly issued two statements that emphasized how much Harry and Meghan were still “loved members of my family.”
But the dear and doting grandmother also knows how to play hardball. Though Harry and Meghan were not stripped of their HRH titles, they have been requested to refrain from styling themselves such as they are no longer working royals. Instead of the half-in, half-out newfangled progressive roles that Harry and Meghan envisioned, the Queen wanted it clear that Harry and Meghan can no longer officially represent her. Harry expressed sadness that it had to come to this, but rather vaguely and petulantly claimed, that he had no other choice. As Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge hosted his first-ever solo Buckingham Palace reception for a business summit of Commonwealth African nations, Harry flew to Canada and Meghan released a photo of her walking the dogs, as little Archie slept soundly, bundled up in his baby carrier.
A line has been drawn on the sand. #MegXit has become like a Buzzfeed quiz, and where you stand on the issue tells more about you than who the royals actually are.
Are you traditional (how could they do this to the queen?) or modern (personal happiness is more important than public duty!)? Are you more of a Brit (all for Queen and country!) or an American (you shouldn’t just survive, you should thrive, down with the stiff upper lip)? Or most telling of all, are you old school or Gen Z (yup, millennials are so 2019!)?
Younger consumers of the pop culture just don’t see the big deal, and feel that Harry and Meghan just want to escape the judgment. The more mature royal observers see Meghan as a pushy and ambitious interloper who had no interest in royal obligations but wanted the fame and fortune that come with a royal title.
“I think Meghan won Twitter,” my niece said over Sunday dinner. “Yup most tweets are for her,” my nephew agreed. On the media side, Meghan also has American daily morning show hosts on her side, as most expressed support and enthusiasm for her gumption and the next chapter of the Sussex saga. British papers are much less enthusiastic, with the tabloid Daily Mail posting story after story by Piers Morgan, perhaps the most vitriolic anti Meghan critic, while the more liberal Guardian does have a more sober and balanced point of view. Naturally, British republicans see this issue as another prime example why the United Kingdom should cease to be a kingdom and be a pure republic and off with their royal heads.
Meanwhile, most Filipino royal fans feel, in varying degrees, betrayed and bewildered. How could Harry choose North America over the United Kingdom and his beloved military? Did Meghan really steal England’s most beloved prince, the second most popular royal after the queen? Some watchers theorize that Meghan could just be suffering from a prolonged postpartum depression and amateur psychologists say that Harry must still have some undiagnosed PTSD from his mother’s death and that leaving royal life is actually his way of protecting his wife from the same fate as his mother, although Meghan has never really been in any danger as paparazzi shots no longer fetch the king’s ransom they once did in this day and age of social media.
But being family oriented at our core, we are more focused on the broken relationships. The top reaction was: how could Harry do this to his grandmother? Didn’t Meghan feel guilty about breaking the brotherly bond between Harry and William? Or was Harry really that unhappy that he had to just give it all up for love? How will Archie become close to his UK cousins, George, Charlotte and Louis?
Humorist Gary Janetti, who runs a parody account with images of Prince George dissing Meghan posted this succinct caption: “I won?” Though the truth is, no one really wins when there is a family squabble, whether royals or just normal people. If there is any silver lining, the reality that Harry was immediately moving away moved William to patch things up and it was reported that all is much more peaceful between the brothers. Charles and Camilla have gone on an official trip to Israel, and Kate and William were praised for a successful reception for African business investors. The Queen returns from Sandringham in February, and for now, there is a detente and the British haven’t overthrown their Royal Family. “God Save the Queen” goes the UK’s national anthem, and remains so for now. But for how long, who knows?
