The American comedian Jimmy Durante, who spent the most productive period of his career in California, sang: “Haven't you ever felt like you wanted to leave… and at the same time felt like you wanted to stay?” A year after the premiere of The documentary “Harry & Meghan” on Netflix, in which the Sussexes presented their version of the break with the British royal family in six chapters that led them to exile in California, has once again caused a stir in the British tabloids. There are two reasons. First, Henry of England's struggle against the British Home Office, which had deprived him, his wife and his two children of the official escort that the rest of the royal family enjoyed. And secondly, the couple's main journalist Omid Scobie's new book, Endgame. Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival, the Dutch edition of which had to be abruptly withdrawn from bookstores because it expressly addressed – due to an “error” on the part of the publisher, for which the author declined any responsibility – to the two members of the Windsors , who, as Markle denounced in her now famous interview with American presenter Oprah Winfrey, had expressed curiosity about what skin color Archie, the Sussexes' firstborn, would have.
At first, no British media wanted to publish the names that half of Holland already knew and that American newspapers like the New York Times could easily reveal. It was journalist and presenter Piers Morgan, whose particular vendetta with the couple led to his expulsion from ITV more than a year ago, who broke the taboo on his show on GB News. It was, as he noted, King Charles III. and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
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If a certain truce had been established between the Sussexes and the rest of the family over the past year, with citizens and the media already seeming to have had enough of the fight and both parties having resigned themselves to a civilized distancing, there has been a resurgence of the Allegations of racism have reignited tension and attention in the tabloid and mainstream press in Britain. “Given the decline in their power, it is not surprising that the Sussexes would have entertained the idea of spending Christmas with the rest of the family at Sandringham.” [una de las residencias del rey] “It would have been well received,” one of his star columnists, Allison Pearson, wryly wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “Now they can be forgotten. By releasing these two royal names, Omid Scobie has ruined the prospect of a reunion. It's war (…) The book is called Final Game. The monarchy's fight for survival. We already know who the monarchy is fighting against. And there can only be one winner,” Pearson said.
“Feeling at home” in the UK
From afar in California – he did not travel to London this time – Prince Heinrich began his umpteenth legal battle. This time against the Interior Ministry. She accuses this government body of putting her children's safety at risk by depriving the Sussexes of the constant companionship that the rest of the Windsors enjoy, from the moment they had no official role as members until early 2020 the royal family held more. by decree of Isabel II.
“The UK is my home. The United Kingdom is central to my children's family heritage and I want them to feel as at home as they do now living in the United States. And that is not possible if I cannot protect them on British soil,” Enrique assured in a written statement submitted to the court by his lawyer Shaheed Fatima, a practicing Muslim who never takes off her hijab (the veil with the covering). was read to the head), specializing in public and international private law. “I cannot put my wife in danger like that, and given my life experiences, I am also hesitant to risk my own safety,” Enrique said.
From left to right: Kings Camilla and Charles III. and the Dukes of Wales, William and Catherine, at an official reception at Buckingham Palace on December 5, 2023.CHRIS JACKSON (AFP)
That feeling of wanting to leave… and not wanting to leave. Partly encouraged and broadcast by the Sussexes themselves or their allies, such as the journalist Scobie, but also encouraged by the tabloid, which can never resist the temptation to incite the fight in a game of action-reaction-action between the opposing parties. The conservative press, outraged by accusations of racism against the monarch – refusing to accept that the publication was a coincidence – celebrated the apparent decision of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, and his fiancée Olivia Henson not to invite their wedding. next June at Chester Cathedral, to Enrique and Meghan. Kings Charles and Camilla and the Princes of Wales William and Catherine will almost certainly be in attendance. “The exclusion of Enrique and Meghan is a very hard blow for the couple because Grosvenor is someone very close to Enrique, who became godfather to the Sussexes' son Archie. “He is the only friend that both Enrique and his brother William have chosen as godparents for their children,” wrote The Times's royal affairs editor Roya Nikkhah.
The Duke of Westminster's decision, the media explained, was the only appropriate one in the current situation so as not to further muddy the Windsors' internal conflicts. However, it didn't take long for the Sussexes to leak through their allies that the decision not to go to the meeting of the largest landowner in the UK was their own decision. According to Page Six's website, Enrique received the invitation “a few months ago” and personally called his friend Hugh to explain that his presence at the event would be very rare. In short, I didn't go because I didn't want to. Being and non-being, in an eternal return.