John Chuckman
COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE INDEPENDENT
“Harry and Meghan believe they are being 'driven out' by Buckingham Palace, says friend
“Buckingham Palace denies couple were told they had no part in 'slimmed-down monarchy"
Well, talk about a tempest in a teapot.
It does seem the only forces at work here are the egos of Harry and Meghan.
A slimmed-down Royal Family is appropriate.
And it just follows that the focus should be on those near the top of the succession. After all that is what royalty is about, succession to ruling.
Fewer Royals clomping around and smiling for photos might serve to reduce the empty celebrity status that has so clung to the institution since the time of Diana.
I said "egos," but I think "ego" might be closer to the truth.
Meghan, by all accounts, has a large one. She has caused a lot of friction within the family during her comparatively brief time.
Now, she's off to Canada alone to sulk while Harry has been publicizing what the Queen had asked him to keep quiet.
Poor Harry, not a particularly able or sensible man to start with, is left half torn from both extended family and wife.
Regrettably, the matter of Meghan’s mixed racial heritage keeps being injected into press coverage, but I don’t see that plays any part here.
The idea of trimming back the Royals has been around for decades.
Now that they’re busy having so many kids, maybe it is time to do it.
Most European states who retain monarchies treat them in an entirely different way, less exalted, more like family, and not riding around in heavy gold-gilt coaches.
Family tensions caused by Meghan’s rather high-strung personality have undoubtedly played a part in getting the changes started.
Even with all the Royal Family’s ability to control much of the news about itself, enough has gotten out to give people a pretty vivid picture. Meghan has frequently made life seriously difficult for the future King and Queen, William and Kate. Kate has been reported being reduced to tears.
Why not just trim it all back, once good sturdy, dependable Elizabeth is gone, and join the 21st century?
__________________
Response to a comment on the many stories about Meghan in the Daily Mail:
Not to defend the Daily Mail, a pretty sleazy operation, but Meghan yearned for fame and attention, and she’s got it.
She perhaps only wanted the good part of the attention, but you can’t pick and choose.
If she believes she’s abused, she’s very naive.
Which wouldn’t surprise me at all. Her entire raging ambition to become a Royal does say something of the same thing.
It’s one heck of a meaningless job being a Duchess, and she had to marry Harry to get it. That’s quite a price, as we know from years of exposure to his unbalanced behavior, tantrums, and banal conversation.
Meghan also rates lots of attention because she is so strikingly beautiful. Beauty like that always attracts lots of press.
