Very, very disappointing. They were my favorite royals, but I started to sour on them with the Africa documentary. The personal revelations they chose to include were unfortunate. Then to take the long break over Christmas, with Harry not even flying back when his 95 year old father was hospitalized. It just smacked of entitlement. Their lives are not that hard compared to most of The Queen's subjects. A beautiful home, all the money you could want, prestige, a worldwide platform, not to mention a beautiful son and each other. Even their work is nothing compared to the slog most of us have to go through to keep a roof over our heads. The tabloid press is poison, but others have had to run that gamut. It is best ignored. Instead, they tried to be secretive about even unimportant things, and that just got the reporters riled up even more. So many of their decisions have been poor; they have terrible PR instincts.
I sound like a hater, but I've been a big fan and have defended them time and time again. But now, with this move, I can't feel the same about them. From the disrespectful way they sprang this on the RF, to the horrid PR jargon of their announcement, to their apparent desire to have their cake and eat it, too, I feel so let down. If I were British, I think I'd feel angry.
Harry strikes me as a follower, and I get a sense that this is led by Meghan. The announcement is 100% her. She has always talked about her initiatives and interests in global terms, not UK terms. It stands to reason Britain and the BRF have little meaning for her. But they do have meaning for Harry. And that phrase about financial independence is scary. Do they plan to commercialize their titles? If so, their brand is going to be tarnished sooner than they would like. Being royal is what makes them.
(I love how Meghan plans to "collaborate" with the Queen? Big of her!)
I can't help thinking that Harry is going to have big regrets about allowing himself to be estranged from his family. I can't imagine it having happened without Meghan. On the other hand, Harry does seem pretty impulsive, so maybe he was the prime mover after all. Either way, I think he will regret it.
They are in for a shock if they think they can control their press now, or that it will be better. It's going to be worse, the scrutiny will be greater, probably the criticism too. Everyone who ever accused Meghan of merching is going to have a beady eye on their every move with Sussex Royal. And they've put themselves in an uncomfortable position in the UK.
Poor little Archie! All of this is swirling around over his innocent head. To think how cheered I was to see that cute photo of him and Harry, thinking they would soon be back, and all would be back to normal. And meanwhile this was being cooked up in the background. Well, perhaps I'm being overly cynical and it is all in his best interests in the end. I hope so.