Memo to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. You put in for your time off, but oops, you forgot to get permission first from your supervisor. The two royals caused quite the public stir when they announced they had decided to “step back” from their senior roles as representatives of the royal family. Their statement met with a collective, huh?
As their public announcement detailed, Meghan and Harry plan both to become financially independent and to divide their time between the U.K. and North America. That likely means lots of time in Canada where they enjoyed the holidays away from the royal family festivities, and in the U.S. where Meghan’s mom lives. Their announcement, however, caught Buckingham Palace by surprise. No doubt the reason for the very brief and pointed formal statement from the Queen, part of which read, “These are complicated issues that will take time to work through.” Or in other words, absence request denied!
We Meghan and Harry watchers should have seen this coming. We’ve witnessed the couple’s increasing desire for privacy. Remember how nearly a week passed after Archie’s birth before they presented the newborn to an eager public audience? Then there was Harry’s rant against the British tabloid’s sexist and racist coverage of biracial American Meghan, plus their lawsuits against two of the largest U.K. publishers for alleged phone hacking. And most recently, Meghan’s vulnerable comments to a British broadcaster about the challenges of navigating the harsh and ever-present spotlight.
It was playwright William Shakespeare who wrote, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown," for his Henry IV play about the strained relationship between the king and his son, wait for it, Prince Harry.
So heavy is the crown for the modern prince and his bride they want nothing more than to take up intermittent fasting from the rich buffet of royal obligations. But, their attempt to draw boundaries around their personal life has drawn biting commentary from critics across the pond and here in the U.S. The New York Post’s front page imagined Harry and Meghan as commoners, picturing Meghan in hair rollers with an accompanying cheeky headline, “Megexit.” Clearly, a lot of folks point to Meghan as the driving force behind this unprecedented move. But I see some of the criticism as a thinly veiled continuation of the nasty rhetoric directed at her. That is in addition to the criticism calling the young royals hypocrites for wanting to reduce their royal duties while staying on the royal dole. After all, British taxpayers did foot the $3 million to renovate their Frogmore Cottage at Windsor. Dominic Green of Spectator U.S. wrote, ”Harry was only meant to be good at one thing — being royal and he’s failed.” Ooo, ouch.
I know this is a high class problem but fans like me, sympathetic to the harassment Meghan has endured, are enthusiastic about her return home, even if part time. And, the Duke and Duchess' announcement could not have been more well timed. Let's see, rumors of war? Or musings about potential sightings of a royal couple with a cute baby? I'll take number two please.
