In royal residences across the country, family feelings must be tenuous after that first Christmas away from the Queen.
Sadnesses must be counted alongside blessings, the gilded solidity of a temporary reign measured against the ambiguity of the future.
Nonetheless, the Windsors can congratulate themselves on another successful holiday season that passed without major events or excitement and . . . uh oh
Just when it seemed safe to cast royal gaze on the immaculate horizon of a new year, the Duke of Sussex is out promoting his new autobiography, Spare.
Just when it seemed safe to lift the royal gaze, the Duke of Sussex is out promoting his new autobiography, Spare
And the prospect of the stubborn, embittered Prince Harry heating up his spleen tureen again must send shivers through the House of Windsor.
Only a few snippets of the two forthcoming television interviews have been released: a touch of chat with Anderson Cooper for CBS in America and a sentence or two with Tom Bradby for ITV in the UK. However, a lot can be gleaned from these teasers. Mood, strategy and intent, along with depth of deception and a touch of pique? It’s all in.
And what’s immediately clear is that when the book is released next week and the interviews air in full, the royals shouldn’t expect any laughs. Or a pat on the back, a thank you, a belated condolence gift, or an apology.
Because even in his good sweater and his elegant shirt, Harry radiates pure menace.
His voice is calm, but his eyes are cold and glassy. At times, he even sounds like someone who’s joined a cult – or maybe gone onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
Regarding the interviews and his memoirs: “Harry exudes pure menace,” says Jan Moir
“There comes a point when silence is treason,” he told Cooper in a dramatic moment. What was he talking about? Lack of reaction from Vulcans on planet Tharg?
No, he was talking about what he saw as the royal family’s failings to him and Meghan before – well, what? Negative publicity in newspapers, magazines and on the internet seems to be the answer. “They have shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile,” he told Bradby, citing a lack of willingness on the part of his family to be friends with him again.
It was hard not to bark with laughter at that. The Duke of Sussex (and the Duchess, let’s be fair) has spent much of the last three years publicly and repeatedly criticizing his family, accusing them of cruelty, neglect, racism, lying, jealousy and worse.
And some things that have been said can never be left unsaid, and so it seems no wonder the King and Prince of Wales are in no mood to reach out with open arms to their chief tormentor, even though he cannot understand why.
Because Harry is like a surly arsonist who personally doused the barns with gasoline and lit the match that burned down the family farm while telling the world their crops were rotten anyway. And then he is surprised and hurt when his singed and betrayed relatives take offense at his highly explosive behavior. What does he expect?
Every action has a consequence and every position of power has its own unique responsibility. And for someone who advocates the benefits of therapy, Prince Harry’s lack of insight into his own behavior is astounding.
Prince Harry’s interview with Anderson Cooper on Sunday, January 8 on CBS will be Prince Harry’s first US television interview discussing his forthcoming memoir, Spare
He says he wants his father and brother back, as if their lack of enthusiasm and affection for Project Reconciliation had nothing to do with him. This sudden need for roots versus the control and thrill of being uprooted is psychologically interesting, but he can’t have it all.
Look at the evidence. The first hint of trouble came in October 2019 when Tom Bradby interviewed the Sussexes on their South African tour. Meghan lamented being overlooked and existing rather than thriving, while Harry said he and his brother are on different paths.
We didn’t know it at the time, but these were the first stitches to unravel the royal tapestry.
Since then there has been no end to the complaints, a litany of mistakes and omissions that were never, never their fault.
It’s exhausting, I know, but a brief summary of the complaints and allegations includes Meghan being unprotected by the “institution” and her friends being silenced. Kate makes her cry. Meghan has suicidal thoughts but is prevented from seeking professional help because it would not do her royal good looks. An unnamed member of the royal family has a thought about how dark Archie’s skin might be. Harry accused his father of “literally” cutting him off financially. Endless arguments about personal protection and who paid for it.
In May 2021, Harry told the Armchair Experts podcast he had “genetic pain” due to his upbringing. That same month, he complained about his family’s “total neglect” in a mental health documentary for Apple. Last summer, Meghan whined to The Cut magazine about not being able to cash out her royal status.
“In these trying times, it’s hard to predict how much more appetite the public will have for the extravagantly and repeatedly expressed woes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” said Jan Moir
“By our very existence we have disrupted the dynamics of the hierarchy. So we say, “Okay, well, let’s get out of here. Gladly,” she said. Last month, the pair accepted an award for fighting “systemic racism” in the royal family in their biggest betrayal yet. How can they become friends again now?
Those bridges have burned down, along with the family farm and the last drop of trust.
Something has gone terribly wrong to drive Harry and Meghan into exile and on this endless odyssey of offenses – real or imagined. And everyone is sad that it happened and that they felt they had no choice but to leave. But they exposed themselves and saw themselves as victims bound together by the oppression and neglect of an institution that tried to harm them.
In these trying times, it’s hard to tell how much more appetite the public will have for the extravagantly and repeatedly voiced woes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Because not only are they the kind of first-world problems that can seem childish to people who really suffer, they’re the sour side dish that only comes with true elitism and ultra-privilege. These TV teasers show that even now, Harry sees himself as a victim and sees his father and brother as the architects of his downfall.
For a man who has everything, he seems to have nothing but a hostile desire for revenge.
It all boils down to that; someone stole the jelly in Harry’s donut and someone will have to pay for it.