While much of it was the kind of thing that happens in families every day—consequences of opinions and actions—some were so deeply personal that it was impossible not to feel some sympathy for the couple.
Charging
It was painful to hear about Meghan’s suicidal thoughts, about her miscarriage, and to see a clearly devastated Harry talk about the unraveling of his relationship with his brother.
The six-part series drew a record number of viewers for Netflix, which is believed to have paid $100 million for a package of the couple’s shows. I like it the crown dramatized account of the last 80 years of real life, has tapped into a rich and seemingly endless interest in the institution.
The drama and intrigue span centuries and the latest chapter, streamed online by hundreds of millions of people, may be presented differently, but it is no less compelling than Shakespeare’s many plays on the family politics of the royal court.
It was during the reign of King George III, who ruled until 1820, that his sons were known for “their rather scandalous lives” and, in response, the royal family began publishing their public engagements in the judicial circular. Later, gossip surrounding King George IV’s attempt to divorce his wife, Caroline, appeared in newspapers, the first of the tabloids, which have become an integral part of British life.
The reaction to the Netflix series in Britain has been fierce. Overwhelming has been a negative, but that’s a reflection of most of Fleet Street’s treatment of the couple over many years. While some royal watchers have been sympathetic, they were ultimately frustrated that many of Harry and Meghan’s claims since stepping down as active members of “The Firm” in early 2020 have not been supported with evidence.
Prince William and Prince Harry follow the state hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.Credit:access point
“What bothered me a little bit are the accusations that were made in the Oprah interview: very serious about race, very serious about mental health, they had to be taken seriously,” said Robert Jobson, the actual publisher of The evening standardsaid this week.
“Six hours of television, none of it has been addressed and yet the smear of racism and the royal family remains. They should have cleared it up and fixed it. It’s not fair to do that and it’s also not fair to brandish your brother as a thug, a ‘scary’ thug without giving [William] right to reply.”
Harry’s claims about his trip to Australia are also potentially another deviation from the truth. It was not mentioned on the show that various reports highlighted that Meghan hated the trip and did not appreciate the relentlessness and potentially dullness of the job.
Charging
While Harry compared his wife to their late mother, framing his older brother as on the “institution” side, it seemed as if Meghan didn’t understand that Diana had to work tirelessly for over a decade to become a great-figure. loved and revered and humanitarian.
Earlier this year, at the launch of his book the palace papersroyal expert Tina Brown, claimed Meghan “didn’t understand her role” ahead of her tour of Australia.
“She didn’t like it at all. He found all the representational work of suppressing her own views of hers and representing the monarchy, for her. [it] it was just anathema,” Brown said.
“She didn’t understand why things were arranged that way. Instead of being excited when thousands of people showed up at the Opera House, she was like, ‘What’s the point? I don’t understand this,’ Brown said a Palacio aide had told him at the time.
“It’s not how she saw her role, the world, she didn’t get the point of it and for her, yes, it was a huge success, but it wasn’t something she wanted to do.”
Brown said that comparisons between the two were misplaced because Diana was an insider change agent who only left “The Firm” due to the breakdown of her marriage to Charles.
“Diana was always a change agent within,” he said. “She didn’t leave the Royal Family because she said ‘I’m leaving’, she got divorced. Her husband was not in love with her, that was agony for her”.
Harry told the series he wholeheartedly believed his family missed the mark by fully embracing Meghan and what that could have meant for the monarchy globally as it seeks to confront its ties to the British Empire and the colonization.
“Anyone within that system, be it my family, staff, public relations…they’ve already missed a huge opportunity with my wife and how far she would go globally,” he says in the series.
The Duchess of Sussex met crowds who had gathered to mourn Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle in September.Credit:Getty
On this point, few have disagreed. The show documented his groundbreaking work with the Grenfell community kitchen after 72 people died after a fire broke out in a 24-storey London apartment block.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond made the same observation after the first installment of the series.
“Meghan really is the embodiment of what a forward-thinking monarchy should look like. The tragedy is that they decided to leave when they could have done so much, ”he wrote in his daily mirror column.
“The Palace must bear some responsibility for that. Harry must have some responsibility for that too. Meghan was unfortunately not ready to enter the Royal Family.
Front row from left: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Princess Catherine and Sofia, Countess of Wessex during the ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service in London .Credit:Getty
“Why didn’t you sit down with her and tell her what it would be like?” she said.
Despite Harry’s clear attacks on his brother and, to a lesser extent, his father, the Sussexes are expected to be invited to the coronation in May next year.
BBC royal correspondent Sean Coughlan said the series was unlikely to seriously harm the royals in a way they might have feared.
“There was no real internal gossip, no one was named a racist, the allegations were not catastrophic. These were stones thrown at the palace windows, not a brick driven through,” he said.
“Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace are responding to the series, which is an indicator that the series contained nothing so horrible that they had to challenge it.”
The King’s only public statement about his son came on the solemn occasion of his mother’s death in September, when he offered an obvious olive branch to his youngest son in a televised speech.
“I also want to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives abroad,” she said.
On Thursday, the King and Prince of Wales gave a show of unity at a Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey. They are not expected to offer any kind of public comment or respond to complaints.
Spare by Prince Harry
But perhaps we can read between the lines of William’s address to the congregation Thursday as he spoke of how Jesus “inspired people to commit to the best interests of others” with the mission to “serve, not be served.”
“At Christmas, it always amazes me how the spirit of togetherness is also at the heart of the Christmas story,” she said, citing her late grandmother’s 2012 Christmas speech.
But, like a Shakespearean play, this is only Act I. The second comes in January with the release of Harry’s autobiography, Replacement. And there’s no word yet on when or how the final act will unfold.