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In the latest humiliation for beleaguered royals Harry and Meghan, the couple have been told to stay away from the May Coronation of Harry’s father, King Charles III. It’s a strong indicator of public anger at the Sussexes, given that a coronation is the most important milestone in a sovereign’s reign.
It’s a clear reflection of the anguish they’ve caused Harry’s family and the nation, the latest example being the recently released Netflix series where the Sussexes air fresh grievances against Harry’s family and birthright.
Another flawed royal, exiled from his family’s good graces, was Harry’s great-great-uncle, the Duke of Windsor, who attended neither his brother George VI’s coronation in 1937 nor his niece, Queen Elizabeth in 1953. The parallels don’t end there. .
Prince Harry and his great-granduncle the Duke of Windsor (Getty Images)
The British can be forgiven for being less enthusiastic about members of their royal family marrying Americans, because, let’s face it, our women hardly have a brilliant track record in this regard. Of course, there are wonderful American women who could rise to the occasion and make us proud to serve as royal brides. But sadly, there have only been two British-American royal unions, and both have proven more damaging than positive for the British monarchy.
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As we know, America refused to have a monarch in 1776. For all our demonization of the “tyrannical” George III, we gave up some precious things. We have given up on having a head of state who, because he sits above politics, can at best perform a supremely desirable function: to unite the nation and remind it of what it stands for.
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 at the age of 96.
(Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images)
We have also renounced the benevolent influence of a leader who, freed from the need to raise funds or trumpet his own achievements, could inspire the best among the people he serves, as late Queen Elizabeth definitely demonstrated.
Somehow, though, we seem to have never lost our fascination with royalty. Perhaps it is a function of the forbidden fruit – the irresistibility of what we cannot have. Plus, castles and age-old gems are alluring and out of reach, even in a wealthy country where you can buy almost anything.
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The wedding of the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson, June 3, 1937.
(Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
Eighty-seven years ago, Britain was in a perilous constitutional crisis for the monarchy when King Edward VIII proposed to divorced American Wallis Simpson. Public opinion throughout Britain and its possessions was alarmed at the prospect of the king’s union with a woman who had two living husbands. Instead of abandoning Mrs Simpson, the reckless Edward abandoned his country, paving the way for a much better monarch, Queen Elizabeth’s father, George VI.
Naturally, Britain never forgave Edward VIII (his flirtations with Hitler made them all the more hardened), nor the woman many perceived to have corrupted him. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (as they would be known) were forced to relocate outside of Britain. Edward pretended to want to work in the service of the Crown, but received little official work other than a symbolic governorship of the Bahamas, and the couple became nothing more than international jet-setters ; capricious and a bit sad.
Adolf Hitler meets Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII.
(AP)
Of course, Prince Harry was unlikely to become king. Nevertheless, as we have seen, stories surrounding the antics and cruel betrayals of the ‘Reserved’ and his wife dominate news cycles, not just in the UK, but here and around the world.
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Like the Windsors before them, the Sussexes have fallen out of favor in Britain for their unseemly behavior. But while the Duke of Windsor has let his people down by being irresponsible, he and his wife have not sought significant notice. Nor did they exist, as the Sussexes seem, bent on destroying the monarchy.
King George VI and his daughter Elizabeth in the gardens of Windsor Castle, England, July 8, 1946.
(Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Harry and his great-great-uncle, the Duke of Windsor, caused feuds with their royal brothers. In the case of the Duke of Windsor, his much more devoted brother George VI was forced to accept the crown. While painfully shy, George was bolstered by the presence of his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret, and a loving wife (later the Queen Mother) whose charm and understanding of the expectations of royal life were assets. considerable for the unexpected king.
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As for Ms Simpson, unlike Meghan Markle, she had no ambition to be in the spotlight and waged no retaliatory campaign. against the royal family, though she had an even greater claim to bitterness. After all, unlike Wallis, Markle was granted royal highness status and was warmly welcomed into the family with a sparkling wedding and a newly refurbished, taxpayer-funded royal residence. And Markle still couldn’t bring herself to meet the demands of being a valued family member.
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a scene from their Netflix documentary.
(Courtesy The Duke and Duchess of Sussex./Netflix)
If the Sussexes were even slightly reasonable, they might benefit from the example of the tasteless, sad life to which the Windsors were reduced. But while the Windsors ended their lives as a somewhat tragic old couple, the Sussexes, with their narcissism, deafness of expression and defiance of the monarchy beloved in Britain and respected around the world, risk a legacy of even greater hostility.
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