Prince Charles followed by Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, as they leave annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. Photo / AP
Prince Charles followed by Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, as they leave annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. Photo / AP
COMMENT:
History is written by the victors, or so the saying goes. In the year 2020 when it comes to the royal family, perhaps the more accurate expression is that history is at least temporarily written by those with a juicy publishing deal and some great palace contacts.
This weekend, the Times and the Sunday Times newspapers in the UK have been running a selection of extracts from Finding Freedom, the much-anticipated biography of Harry and Meghan Duke and Duchess of Sussex ahead of its publication on August 11.
When Finding Freedom was first announced in May, it promised to go "beyond the headlines … dispelling the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond".
Here, finally, would be a faithful account of the handful of years between the couple meeting to them making the historic decision to abscond from working royal life! Or so the marketing material claimed anyway.
At the time of writing, two out of three days' worth of extracts have been published, offering up a vivid, if less-than-surprising tale of hurt egos, anger, frustration and a royal establishment pompously and foolishly clinging to tradition at all costs.
However there is one particular anecdote that shines a light on the very roots of Harry's disillusionment with the wider royal family; a simple moment that drove the beginnings of a significant wedge between Harry and his brother Prince William, thus sowing the seeds for Megxit.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive at the annual Endeavour Fund Awards in London. Photo / AP
We set our scene at Kensington Palace – let's imagine the two Wales men are ensconced on a chintzy sofa in a room full of hunting scenes, priceless porcelain and the lingering whiff of Princess Margaret's beloved gaspers soaked into the wallpaper. It might have been 2016 or 2017, the exact date is not mentioned, but Harry is head-over-heels for Meghan Markle, actress, entrepreneur and activist. William had at this stage, per the book's authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, only met Markle on a "handful" of occasions.
William, Scobie and Durand write, "wanted to make sure the American actress had the right intentions".
"After all, these are two brothers that have spent their whole lives with people trying to take advantage of them," the source said. "They've both developed a radar to detect that type of person, but as William didn't know a whole lot about Meghan, he wanted to make sure Harry wasn't blindsided by lust."
"Don't feel you need to rush this," William told Harry, according to sources. "Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl."
In those last two words, "this girl", Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world.
During his 10-year career in the military, outside the royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgments about people based on their accent, education, ethnicity, class or profession.
William may have felt he was acting out of concern, but Harry was offended that his older brother still treated him as if he were immature.
Prince Charles followed by Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, with Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, as they leave annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. Photo / AP
"Harry was pissed off," another source said. "Pissed off that his brother would ask such a thing. Some felt it was an over-reaction. But then, this sums them up as people — William, the calm and rational one, and Harry, who can't help but take things far too personally."
Another friend had a different interpretation, telling Scobie and Durand, "Harry could see through William's words. He was being a snob."
Maybe it was a careless choice of words on a worried William's behalf or maybe the future King was simply being a condescending, aristocratic prat. And maybe Harry was rightfully angered by his brother's haughty dismissiveness or maybe this was just an example of the younger Wales brother's hypersensitivity.
No matter what your position might be about where blame lies; no matter where you land in terms of this semiotic post mortem, what is not up for debate are the historic consequences of that conversation.
Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge apply hand sanitiser during a visit to Queen Elizabeth Hospital as part of the NHS birthday celebrations, in King's Lynn, England. Photo / AP
With two simple words – "this girl" – William set in motion the modern Shakespearean tragedy that is Megxit. Because what is unequivocal is the fact that the Sussexes' exit is a real tragedy, not only for the two brothers, who have lost the love and camaraderie of a lifetime, but for the monarchy as an institution and brand.
The whole lamentable situation reads like one of the Bard's lesser known works: Two houses, divided by anger and hurt feelings, brothers acting rashly and impetuously until the whole sorry situation escalates until we reach the tragic denouement of the final act.
That final act is playing out right now, with Harry and Meghan ensconced in Tyler Perry's $30 million Hollywood mansion, facing off against the city's marauding paparazzi photographing their son Archie and notching up their fourth lawsuit this week, all the while stuck in a sorry sort of professional limbo. Meanwhile William and Kate are sequestered away in rural Norfolk valiantly churning out Zoom chats to buck up a beleaguered Britain, looking more stodgy by the minute. ("We'll Zoom again"?)
The question of where the fault lies in terms of Harry and Meghan's hasty exit stage left is one that is going to keep biographers and royal historians plugging away for years – nay decades – to come. In the meantime, even if Harry and Meghan find the much vaunted freedom they have been yearning for, this is a situation profoundly marked by loss. Who needs the pathos of Othello or King Lear when you can have the modern-day royal family, right?
• Daniela Elser is a royal expert and writer with more than 15 years experience working with a number of Australia's leading media titles.
