Not even one full week after the one-two punch of the Princess of Wales’s mysterious “abdominal surgery” and King Charles’s announced prostate procedure, and wouldn’t you know, all of the focus is on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. None of these people can simply come and say with their whole chest “wow, we were wrong, we actually should have treated Harry and Meghan better and we wish they would come back.” That would be too direct, too humble, too psychologically healthy. Instead, they twist themselves in knots to create a tangled web of rage, envy and regret, with lots of attempts to shame Harry and Meghan for not hanging around for just this kind of emergency. From the Telegraph’s latest: “The hole left by the Sussexes has just been mercilessly exposed.” Some highlights:
The Sussexes are happy! The gulf between the two families has never seemed wider. On one side of the Atlantic, a Royal family which could have done with a bit of luck after a rough few years, but has instead seen three of its key members put out of action. On the other, the freedom-seeking Sussexes seemingly living their best lives. The comparison is stark and, to royal-watchers, irresistible. How different it could all have been.
The Sussexes are never coming back: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have gone with no wish to come back. They have expressed no regret about their decision to pursue financial freedom in California. The idea of playing an eternal supporting role in the Royal family was one of their frustrations.
No support: Now, with the King preparing for an imminent operation and Prince William at his wife’s bedside as she heals from surgery to her abdomen, the lack of practical Royal support around them is palpable. The King’s siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, are already working with packed diaries. The generation above, the late Queen’s cousins, can no longer be expected to pick up the slack. The York sisters are not working royals; the Tindalls have no desire to be. The departure of the Sussexes has left a hole which has now been mercilessly exposed.
Ingrid Seward has some thoughts: For Ingrid Seward, whose new book about the late Queen and King Charles, My Mother and I, is out next month, this week has highlighted the “vulnerability of those in the top job”. “This is not a constitutional crisis, far from it,” said Seward, who is editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. “But it does leave the underbelly of the Royal family somewhat exposed. Before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relinquished their royal duties, they could have stepped up providing the youth and glamour the Prince and Princess of Wales have lent to royal engagements. In a world obsessed with youth and beauty, the Royal family have relied on William and Catherine to lend a bit of royal stardust to events. Without the Sussexes — regardless of their unpopularity — it exposes the vulnerability of those in the top job.”
Phil Dampier thinks the Sussexes could have eased the pressure off Will & Kate: “The late Queen was very much hoping Harry and Meghan would be her biggest ambassador in the Commonwealth, that they would be able to take up a lot of the overseas visits,” he said. “They would have gone down a storm everywhere from Canada to New Zealand and the Caribbean countries. They would have done a fantastic job and it would have taken a lot of pressure off William and Kate, who wouldn’t have to do all the heavy lifting, and Charles and Camilla who are still having to take these long haul flights at the ages of 75 and 76. Harry and Meghan could have taken up a lot of that slack, and now that’s gone.”
I cannot believe Dampier said this with a straight face: The past week, he said, has “highlighted how thin on the ground” the Royal family now are. “I don’t understand why the Sussexes would have felt they were second best [to the Waleses],” he added. “There was plenty of opportunity for all of the ‘Fab Four’ to have starring roles, they didn’t need to be competing.”
I’m just going to be a broken record about this, so here goes: if Harry was, as it now seems, the linchpin of the whole operation and vital to the success of the royal family, then he should have been treated as such this whole time. In fact, Harry even went out of his way to repeatedly offer the institution a perfectly workable “half in” solution, in which he and Meghan could have temporarily returned to the UK in exactly this kind of situation. Instead, he was mocked, abused, trashed, denigrated and smeared for simply wanting the attacks on his wife to end, and for prioritizing his own mental health. They could not believe that he would DARE suggest that a half-in solution would benefit the Windsors in the long-term. “There was plenty of opportunity for all of the ‘Fab Four’ to have starring roles, they didn’t need to be competing.” Literally as soon as the Sussexes showed the family how successful they could be on tour, representing the crown overseas, that was when William, Kate and the courtiers all unleashed hell on the Sussexes. Nothing was ever the same once the Sussexes returned from their wildly successful South Pacific Tour.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend an Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry BACKGRID USA 25 APRIL 2018 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, BRAZIL, CANADA ** London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend an Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. Pictured: Prince Harry, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 25 APRIL 2018 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Prince Harry and pregnant Meghan Markle step out in Sydney for Day One of the royal tour of Australia. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 16 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MTRX / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES ** Fiji, Fiji – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out to greet the people in Fiji on day eight of the Royal tour of Australia. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 23 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Wellington, NEW ZEALAND – The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex attend a traditional welcome ceremony on the lawns of Government House in Wellington, New Zealand. Their Royal Highnesses enjoyed a hongi with the Governor-General’s Kuia and Kaumātua (Māori elders), before the pōwhiri, which included a haka performed by members of the New Zealand Armed Forces. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 27 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES ** Sydney, AUSTRALIA – The Royal tour of Australia comes to an end for HRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pictured boarding their flight to New Zealand from Sydney. Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 28 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Auckland, NEW ZEALAND – The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex attend a dedication of a 20-hectare site to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. After unveiling the plaque they participated in a welly wanging contest with some local school children. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 29 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Rotorua, NEW ZEALAND – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visit Te Papaiouru Marae in Rotorua, New Zealand, on the last day of their official tour. Pictured: Duke of Sussex, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 30 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Rotorua, NEW ZEALAND – The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex visit the Redwoods Treewalk in Rotorua, New Zealand. The Duke and Duchess spoke to members of the local mountain biking community on the final engagement of their autumn tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. 31 October 2018. Please byline: Vantagenews.com Pictured: Duke of Sussex, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 30 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW1jbYJ3e9Oeo56fopa9qavToZyYq6WowKbExKyWpZ2Wqayiq8eoo56Xp522pLS%2BoZisl5qqwLWrwZ6cp5edmr%2BktcueqqykqZSyubzOrJydZw%3D%3D