I remember covering Robert Lacey’s interviews when he promoted Battle of Brothers, both the original publication, then the “re-release” with new Keen-narrative chapters. Lacey was and is sly, and he left enough breadcrumbs to assure readers that he actually knows what’s going on here. He even indicated that he had to remove sections of the book which were “too critical” of Prince William. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about Lacey’s 2021 interviews, when he repeatedly made the point that ultimately, the royal family not only needs to embrace the Sussexes, but to be SEEN embracing the Sussexes. From Lacey’s 2021 Daily Beast interview:
“It is absolutely crucial for the monarchy for the Sussexes all to be there [on the balcony]. If after 70 years, the mixed-race members of the family are not on that balcony it will be a sorry comment on what has become of the monarchy… William cannot preside over a monarchy that excludes the only mixed race members of the family on grounds of sibling dispute…”
[From The Daily Beast via a previous Celebitchy story]
I bring this up because royal commentator and former BBC journalist Peter Hunt is making the same point, now that we know the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will return to the UK for the Jubbly. Hunt points out how stupid it is that Harry and Meghan are being banned from the balcony. Personally, I still believe that Harry was the one who refused and the Palace is just saving face by saying that certain people are banned. But whatever, here are the basics from Hunt’s piece in the Spectator:
Once again, a moment that should be a unifying and celebratory for the Windsors has attracted division and discord. It has been reported today that Harry and Meghan will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. All of this controversy for a fleeting appearance on what someone described on social media as ‘an outdoor patio on the second floor of an old building’.
The exclusion of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is in a different league [than Prince Andrew’s exclusion]. They didn’t maintain friendships with a convicted sex offender and a child sex trafficker. The couple, according to the media, have been banned, banished and snubbed. The fact they will be absent has been celebrated widely.
According to this mainstream narrative, they abandoned the institution, dished dirt on Oprah and deserve their ‘punishment’. Their defenders, in the UK, are vanishingly rare. I’m not one of Harry’s friends and his advisors don’t have me on speed dial, not least because I don’t think they have my number.
When I was an active observer of the royals for two decades, Harry was mostly polite, always wary. In interviews, he’s apologised to me for once wearing a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party; insisted he didn’t view the future Queen Camilla as an ‘evil stepmother’; and said he was receptive to being challenged about the limitations of his mental health campaign. In private, he was taken with my suggestion he should talk about phone hacking. It never came to pass.
Harry is still enmeshed in an unseemly, painful and very public dispute with his family. I’ve written here before about how the family’s response to Megxit was one where mean spiritedness over magnanimity won the day.
They’ve displayed a hint of heartlessness towards their own flesh and blood with the balcony non-appearance. Harry’s still a senior royal; a prince with a strong moral compass, not a given in his line of work; and a former soldier who has served his country.
The Queen will have signed off on the decision. Charles and William will have shaped it. They’ve let personal animus and hurt get in the way. Harry and Meghan could’ve appeared on the balcony. It wouldn’t have collapsed. Their removal from the line up means they will become a distraction during the Jubilee weekend. Their inclusion would have been a Platinum Jubilee peace offering; a move onto higher ground; a denial of victimhood. The royals have missed a trick. Not for the first time.
Yes, I agree… IF we take it at face value that this was the Queen’s call, that she decided who would get to be on the balcony. As I’ve now said dozens of times, I think there was some discussion between the Sussexes and the Queen/Charles about how they would organize this. I can actually see Harry saying “we’re not doing the balcony” before Charles and the Queen even made up their minds, like he took it out of their hands completely. But I also agree that the whole balcony-exclusion debacle presupposes the idea that the royals understand how bad and how racist it looks for the Sussexes to be “excluded.” Do the Windsors understand? Doubtful.
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The royal family and the institution it represents of british government/media/aristocracy cares more about protecting their purity than what the masses think. they know that their supporters care the same about that purity. there is no going back unless they clean up their racist “leaks” of Meghan and insulting Harry’s intelligence in the media and the disrespect of their veterans. and they cannot because their supporters love this kind of hate. they feed on it.
the tone deaf tours were for those brexit folks who want to make Britain great again. those people want to see the colonialists cosplay.
we have the same problem here in the united states with the worship of the confederacy. it’s not a surprise why they are linked to neonazis
Yup.
I actually think it’s more about Andrew than the Sussexes. It’s the easiest way to exclude him. I do think excluding the Sussexes was frosting on the cake. Although I can’t imagine they wanted to do the balcony. I thought they would go to the Jubilee undercover but I wonder if they will attend events. I find it funny that the media is calling it a ban when talking about Harry and Meghan but ignore the fact Andrew and his family as well as Ann’s family won’t be there either.
@Louise177 – I agree with you. Andrew could not be on that balcony and by QEII limiting the attendees to Senior Working Royals she had a “cover” to not be seen as ostracizing Andrew. Also, IMAO, I do not think the Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn will be on the balcony either. Cambridge kids “yes,” Wessex kids “no”.
I agree. Disliking Andrew might be the one thing that unites both Charles and Harry. Charles/William don’t want him sneaking his way back to public visibility, like he did at Phillip’s memorial, and Harry vowed to protect the Queen and make sure she has the right people around her (aka not Andrew, plus some courtiers). But William thinks trashing and excluding the Sussexes and trying to equate them to Andrew in ‘badness’ is the best way to kill two birds with one stone (get back at his brother and distract from Andrew). I think Charles can’t say no to William, or maybe he agrees with this strategy. So, pettiness reigns supreme at the Palace, in good royal tradition.
Limiting the balcony to working royals only (and their minor children) solves the Andrew issue and the Sussex issue for the BRF, and it also means that people like Beatrice and Eugenie and Peter and Zara aren’t there. it would have been basically impossible to exclude H&M but allow Andrew, or allow B&E or Peter Zara etc.
I am of the opinion that passing on the balcony was the Sussexes decision; my guess is that there were talks about it and Harry was like “nah, its not that big a deal to me, we’re not going to negotiate this, we’re just not going to do the balcony thing” and Charles breathed a sigh of relief because it made the Andrew situation easy to solve.
This is exactly how I believe it went down.
Because it was JUST TWO WEEKS AGO at the Invictus Games that H told Hoda Kotb that he “WASNT SURE YET” if he would visit his grandma during her big Jubbly because altho he wanted to, there were “things to work out” including the question of his security which, as we all know, he wants his security to be INDEPENDENT of the Royal Family’s security.
And then, less than 10 days after the Invictus Games ended, here we are…..the Sussexes announcing that they will visit his grandma to celebrate her Jubbly with her AND HIS ENTIRE FAMILY WILL BE WITH HIM.
The obvious, logical conclusion is that H has gotten the security issue, as well as the “other things” settled to his satisfaction.
It boggles my mind that so-called supporters of H&M, having read their final post on their now defunct-but-still-available-to-read sussexroyalDOTcom site, about how they had hoped that the RF would get rid of the notion of the RoyalRota and expand their media pool by inviting more serious media houses and journalists to over the activities of the royals, and the RF said no, they wouldnt do that, would still expect that H would allow himself and his family to be part of the display-for-public-consumption that the lives of the royals are.
I expect the britshidtmedia and leaky, nasty, Bullyiam-agenda driven courtiers to paint the image they want us to hv of H&M being “banned” and “snubbed.” Afterall, they still hvnt recovered from the global shame & embarrassment of being dissed by H&M for leaving.
They. Want. Their. Revenge! LOL
But it is so exasperating that some so-called supporters of H&M fail to realize that H considers life in the RF as a cross between the Truman Show and being in a zoo – he said this with his own mouth; and he took his family out of it and told Dr Jane Goodall that his kids will not grow up like that.
He said he’s been on display from the day he was born and he hated it, especially after his mom was killed while being chased by paps.
So listen up, H&M watchers: the Sussex family will not take part in any public-facing Jubbly event.
They will visit with his grandma/his kids’ great-grandma and all those other family members who want to visit with him IN THE PRIVACY OF THEIR (GRAND) ABODE. I:e the place where no member of the public or britshidtmedia is allowed.
And, perhaps, they will visit friends, colleagues, their Spencer family and their charitable interests. Now this is where, in the commute, ordinary folks MIGHT get a glimpse of H&M………but not their babies. Altho I wouldnt be surprised if H&M authorize the release of ONE (1) copyrighted, limited-release image of their kids with their great-grandma.
^^ I definitely agree with @Kaiser and others who say that Harry & Meghan aren’t interested in BP balcony appearances, and that was surely one of Harry’s conditions for attending the Jubbly.
However, although I agree with most of your commentary @Charm, I’m not certain the Sussexes will not be seen publicly at all over the entire weekend, which is what you seem to be implying. They have already made a public announcement that they are “excited” to attend the Jubbly with their children. They will probably appear at the church service and/or at the concert. If not, we will surely get a glimpse of them at some point.
With the news that the Cambridges will be visiting Wales over that weekend, it apparently means the Sussexes and the Cambridges will not be seen in public together. This is likely preferable to all involved, especially with the false bullying claims out of KP not yet resolved.
My thoughts too. As much as people wail about the Sussexes disrespecting the queen and destroying the monarchy, Andrew is an actual PR problem. Having him front and center is doing FAR more to damage the reputation of the monarchy than smiling Meghan in the back row.
And speaking of Meghan, I hope it was her that was like, “nope” when the balcony topic came up. Between twitter gleefully planning to bring megaphone to boo her and television people recommending she’s thrown over the edge, I hope she spends the morning in a huge hotel room sipping coffee and reading a book in her robe.
I’m not sure “Andrew is an actual PR problem.” At least not as much as this American would like to believe.
What’s more telling to this American about the general U.K. populace feelings are these lines, “The fact they [Sussexes] will be absent has been celebrated widely…they deserve their ‘punishment [banishment, public ridicule]. Their defenders, in the UK, are vanishingly rare.”
Agreed, kirk.
This American finds it far worse that the hardest working members of the family, the only ones who actually WORK, are treated worse than pedophiles, by an entire country, and no one in said country wants to be honest about the fact that racism is at the heart of it.
They actually believe it is better to continue victimizing Meghan than it would be to have an honest conversation.
Harry and Meghan have done nothing wrong, and they are vilified.
@CHRISTINE Racists rarely self- identify as racists.
I wonder how long it will take the more moderate voices like Hunt and Omid Scobie to start getting more explicit and direct, and louder. They know what’s going on but it’s mostly still breadcrumbs of information and innuendo, outside of the occasional rogue reporter on Twitter.
Frankly, the photos of the Sussexes being relegated to the back of the Balcony (with Khate and her huge satellite dish hats blocking everyone else) — especially the pics from the RAF Centennial — always made me uncomfortable and a little angry. I believe Harry nixed the Balcony photo op too, and I’m glad. The only ones who look bad (REALLY bad) here are the Working Windsors.
“Khate and her huge satellite dish hats blocking everyone else” lol, so true, @c-shell. And they were especially blocking Meghan. Remember when Kate wouldn’t move over and even William had to nudge her? Whew, she takes that balcony seriously. And yeah, it’s uncomfortable to see.
@ C-Shell, I look forward to your posts because they are hilarious and right on point! LOL, Satellite dish hats!
📡 📡📡
😎
@ C-Shell!!!! Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!!!
I doubt they care about being in that damn balcony. Why give the BM their money shot and endless discussion of body language nonsense? Maybe they will keep this visit private too and not engage in any Jubbly bs, who knows , we have to wait and see.
I will be tickled if it turns out TQ is not only not on the balcony but is actually enjoying some private time w/Harry, Meghan and the kids while the rest of them are patting themselves on the back for keeping H&M off the balcony
I love this idea especially hearing today she probably won’t be visible. I love the idea of Harry being with her behind the scenes but realize it likely will be Andrew instead.
The Wondsors don’t get it. Harry and Meghan said they’re not going to be props and tokens so the monarchy can pretend it treats BIPOC people equally. Because they do not. They said we’re here for granny and maybe to try to make amends with dad as a family, not to uphold this racist institution my brother is hellbent on suckling until it’s bone dry. See? They won’t be tokenized or weaponized against anti-monarchists, because once gran passes, they’ll likely be openly anti-monarchist too. Shoulda just treated Meg like a human being and ya wouldn’t be losing all you’ve ever known in 3…2…
@That’s Not Okay: “… once gran passes, they’ll likely be openly anti-monarchist too.”
^^ I doubt that Harry is anti-monarchist. He’s a blood royal prince. Instead, I believe Harry is interested in reasonable and effective monarchial reform, while at the same time, he respects many of the symbolic traditions of monarchy. IMO, he would have liked to contribute to bringing the monarchy into current times in a meaningful and successful way. But it is just as well that he’s been rejected as the spare who married an ‘unacceptable’ WOC. He seems to care about acknowledging and righting the wrongs of his country’s and his ancestors’ colonialist past. Trying to balance those goals while remaining ‘trapped’ inside the gilded cage, and directly attached to the firm, may have been too difficult to accomplish.
As the York princesses let it be known last summer, “Harry has the right to express himself publicly. He was never listened to when he was a senior royal.” While the Cambridges chose to piggyback on Harry’s ideas and initiatives, in general, he was taken for granted by the firm. He was also viewed and depicted by the media as the spare, rebellious cut-up and playboy prince, instead of as the caring idea man and substantive leader he slowly grew to become, even before he met Meghan.
@That’s Not Okay: “They won’t be tokenized or weaponized against anti-monarchists…”
^^ The Sussexes aren’t interested in being used by the royal firm, or by the toxic British media, or by anyone. But I don’t think they harbor sympathies for anti-monarchist views. Frankly, Harry would have made a fine, intelligent modern king himself. But that was not to be, and that’s not his path.
Since the institution and the media decided to mistreat Meghan, and to gaslight both of them constantly, it was impossible for the Sussexes to safely exist and to thrive within the royal firm. So it’s just as well that the ‘half-in/ half-out’ proposal was rejected, because M&H can do so much more outside of the firm, free from the restrictions and limitations of royal life. This is especially true because the Windsor royals and indeed, the British government, are so resistant to change.
It still astonishes me that this is how they really decided to show the world how they treated the first mixed race woman and babies of the Royal family. Very sad,if in 2022 they couldnt change ,i truely hope it ends with Charles. One because he has waited so long but he will probably have a very short reign (i dont think he has the stamina of his dad) and two just so that we see it snatched from William in real time .
Personally I’m glad the BRF is showing us exactly how they feel about their biracial family members – very much a racist family.
“He’s a prince with a strong moral compass, not a given in his line of work”
!!!!!! Love this shadeee. The returns must be getting less and less for journalists to continue to embiggen the Keens (and the Windsor’s in general). Hope we see more like him.
Yeah, this article was delicious. Love how he double downed on the mean spiritedness and heartlessness of the windsors. In juxtaposition to the former soldier and prince with a moral compass. Like come on. Who is history going to remember well here?
He’s shady and I like Hunt because he’s usually shady, lol, but he’s also not a Sussex ride or die, you know? He’s just actually objective and is able to look at all the craziness of the press coverage re: the Sussexes in a more objective, distant manner. I feel like at this point he’s on the outside looking in and he’s just basically seeing how nuts all of this is, and how bad it is for the Firm.
Yes @ Becks1! Too bad the Lamridges don’t hire him as their Diversity Czar/PR Guru!!!
“Their removal from the line up means they will become a distraction during the Jubilee weekend. Their inclusion would have been a Platinum Jubilee peace offering; a move onto higher ground; a denial of victimhood. The royals have missed a trick. Not for the first time.” – TRUTH.
And if it was H&M’s decision from the get go not to appear on the balcony – brilliant chess move.
If the Queen and Charles really wanted H&M to be on the balcony, I think H&M would have done it, but the wrinkle would have been Andrew. Maybe Charles refused to have him on the balcony, maybe Harry refused to be seen with him – I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like there would be any other way to keep Andrew out of it except to limit the appearances to working royals – at least as long as Elizabeth is alive.
Honestly, I can’t fathom how The Firm can compare Harry to Andrew in any equation. Andrew and his ex wife have been nothing but an embarrassment, without a moral and ethical compass. They are not trash, but sewage. Trash would be a compliment.
I agree @Eurydice. I think if the Queen had said “it is important to me that my whole family be there, and that includes you,” Harry and Meghan would have said okay. I think that instead there was some back and forth on the whole situation, including Andrew’s role, and the Queen was like “meh I may not even do it, I’m not feeling the balcony thing yet again, I’m 96” and Harry was like…..ummmm so we’re going to pass.
Who knows, maybe the Queen did say “nope” to them being out there, and she had to lose Andrew as collateral. But its clear that removing them from the balcony has become a distraction bc now the whole discussion is about why they aren’t going to be out there and who will be there etc.
I have this visual of Andrew storming the balcony, wearing all his military regalia and waving a sword shouting Nixon’s “I AM NOT A CROOK!!” speech.
@ Jaded, OMG!!!! As he raises both hands ✌️
You are too frickin funny!!!! I needed that laugh!!! Thank you so much ☺️☺️
@Eurydice: “I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like there would be any other way to keep Andrew out of it except to limit the appearances to working royals…”
Actually, in 2012, there wasn’t any problem and not much long, drawn out tabloid coverage either when Charles got his way and limited the Jubbly balcony appearance to just him, Camilla, William, Kate, and Harry, alongside the Queen. Philip didn’t appear because he was in the hospital recovering from a UTI.
Much of this speculation and brouhaha is moot if the Sussexes didn’t want to appear on the balcony anyway. Plus, Andrew wasn’t allowed to appear with his even younger daughters in 2012, when he was still a senior working royal. Today, there’s even more good reasons to bar him from making a balcony appearance, especially after his disastrous decision to walk into Philip’s memorial service holding the Queen’s arm.
The current spin in the media is that Andrew forced his way in with the Queen, when one of the ministers was supposed to lead her in. This version of the story has changed from, ‘the Queen wanted Andrew by her side.’ So, the change in stories is obviously to protect the Queen’s image.
@ Seraphina, excellent comments on both posts!!! Hunt is actually one of the few, other reporter Scobie to my mind, to be truthful and blunt with the facts. It would served as a statement to the country that they are part of the BRF. They are not the lepers that the press makes them out to be. (Well, that TOBB, and Mumbles McMutton, are.) Now, if it was the decision of Harry and Meghan NOT to be present, I fully understand their position.
As for the comparison between Harry and Andrew, I agree that they are not even in the same solar system.
I applaud Hunts brutal truth with regards to how the BRF have fumbled the relations with Harry and Meghan, again. They will never learn as long as they continue to give into the demands of a toddler/TOBB. He is their monster now.
In terms of fashion…I’ve always loved that pink dress/hat for Meghan’s first Trooping with the fabric on the shoulders delicately draped around her and the lush curls, and the more modern, smart blush ensemble for the garden party with Charles and Camilla. They were two big highlights in her royal dressing IMO. She looked absolutely exquisite and both outfits fit her like a glove. *Chef’s kiss*
Harry knows they want to use his family which is why it was a big NO from him. IMO, Harry is really trying to separate the family from the business. A balcony appearance is business. Besides let the Keens damage their children with all of this Royal foolishness.
The world has no idea what Lily looks like or Archie recently. To keep their faces out of the national newspapers so they can’t be instantly recognised is a very smart move. So yes, I completely believe that Harry didn’t want them on the balcony
Nobody gives a flying fig about the balcony, lol.
Except Kate!
So true! Lol.
@Merricat I suspect Andrew cares a great deal about the balcony. It’s annoyed me seeing him pushing his way to front and centre the last couple years.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Pedrew isn’t able to beg and cry to his Mummy about how unjust it is to him to NOT be on the balcony with her. As he sees himself as HER valiant life long servant. He is probably at BP right now crying all over her dogs, as they scuttle from the noise of an infant.
I fully expect Andrew to appear on that balcony. He will not be denied his rightful place. They will literally need security in the room to keep him off that balcony. There will probably as be sightings of Fergie as well.
It’s only the Windsors (and deranged racists) that view the Sussex exclusion from the balcony as a punishment, cuz it’s all they have. And it’ll serve them right when all people will ask them about is Harry and Meghan on or off the balcony.
Exactly. In order to please the few, they have now invited questions from the many. The queen is getting lost in the sauce.
That is what the rabid dogs, and TOBB and company, have created in Britain. This is down to the propaganda that they have besieged in Britain over the last 3+ years.
We see it here everyday with Faux News.
The windsors are fools. They cant even feel the mile long toilet paper stuck on their own a$$ that’s how bad they’re disconnected from the world. The jubblee is the perfect event to get all the family up there and celebrate the queen as a family supporting granny and her life’s accomplishment. Willnot and charles are so petty. Not the mark of great future kings.
The Jubbly is supposed to celebrate the Queen’s reign, so restricting to working royals on the balcony makes sense. However, they are excluding one of the hardest working royals, so that doesn’t look good. I imagine right after this, they will start planning her 100th birthday. That would be personal, and that is when she should have her FAMILY on the balcony. Now that will be difficult.
Working royals really means tax payer funded so I can see a case for all these leeches being on the balcony, including A, who still enjoys tax payer funded security. The public has the right to see the highest paid welfare recipients in the kingdom as money spent on these wastrels means money not spent on the public. Hopefully the populace will wake up one day.
If Bill ever becomes king, his reign would be like this I think. Always excluding POC. Acting petty & childish. Temper tantrums. Terrorizing the commonwealth. Racism & gaslighting. Clenched fists & moose knuckles. Hopefully the UK will be spared of this nonsense.
The Windsors created the environment that ultimately made it so unpalatable for Harry and Meghan to be officially part of the Firm that they had to distance themselves physically and part of that necessary distancing includes appearances on the balcony. In order to get out on the balcony, the family has to gather together at Buckingham. I imagine those loose and informal gatherings behind the scenes were rife with snubs to Meghan and unbearable for her. These people were spreading lies about Meghan to the tabloids, saying she should go live in Africa, mocking everything she did and then she is supposed to mingle with them and be alll chill, like hey how ya’ doin? No. Way.
There is a video clip circulating of one of their balcony appearances when Harry tells Meghan to turn around. Meghan looks like she is holding back tears and Harry has his Commonwealth Service seething with anger/I am going to punch someone face. The haters use that to point out how bad Meghan behaves when in public, how she doesn’t understand how royalty is not all about her, etc. But I see two people, both H&M, who are both upset/angry/sad. It makes me wonder what went down behind the scenes with the family before they went out that neither H or M were able to keep their game face on. Harry is not doing that again.
Harper, I remember there being a doctored video which deliberately excluded certain things to make a weird H/M looking moment. Here is the story :
https://www.celebitchy.com/624977/did_prince_harry_tell_duchess_meghan_to_turn_around_at_trooping_the_colour/
@Harper: “I see two people, both H&M, who are both upset/angry/sad. It makes me wonder what went down behind the scenes with the family before they went out that neither H or M were able to keep their game face on.”
I believe that there was a lot going on with the Cambridges and KP at the time. Will was trying to takeover Shout and probably giving M&H a hard time about the Sussex projects that were still under the Royal Foundation umbrella. During this period, M&H were trying to extricate themselves from the RF in order to have control over their own initiatives. Meghan had just given birth weeks earlier, and she was possibly experiencing post-partum depression, not to mention she had suffered from suicidal ideation earlier that same year (which we only know about since the Oprah interview). With all of this going on, of course there were tensions.
I clearly remember that Kate and Camilla accompanied the Sussexes in the carriage ride over to BP for 2019 Trooping. Both Kate and Cammy had these smirks on their faces. It’s possible that Meghan did not feel up to attending Trooping that year, but M&H were told they had to be there. Harry was seemingly dutiful about such matters while in the firm. I believe the M&H’s sense of being isolated, and the battles behind-the-scenes were what was affecting them during Trooping, in June 2019.
Meghan seemed very vulnerable in the carriage even though she was gamely talking and smiling with two-faced Kate. Meg was also very brave. Still, looking back closely, I think we can detect that her heart was not in it. Harry also looked very stern and unhappy during the carriage ride to BP. In some pictures, he is seen looking closely at Meghan with what appears to be deep concern. Now we know, he was not only concerned, he was also sad and upset. Remember when Harry later said that he would often come home to find his wife crying. This was the case during Meg’s pregnancy, and after Archie’s birth. Yet, Meghan was able to hold everything in publicly for the most part. Only at the theater appearance in February 2019 and at the Trooping appearance in June 2019, does Meghan show visibly sad emotions.
Yeah, I think Harry told the Queen that the balcony was not option for him and Meghan but the Palace could have been bit more conciliatory in their announcement. They have left it up to the press to surmise that Harry and Meghan have been banned when that’s probably not the case.
If the Windsors ever understood how anything ever looks to the rest of the world, they won’t have allowed William and Kate to be mr and mrs incandescent and they would have done something, anything to stop their media from racially and viciously attacking Meghan and Harry, especially Meghan, but as usual, they are so far removed from reality and the real world that they continue to carry on as they have always done. Not seeing the world changing and trying to change with it. Hence the two colonialists flop tours and the Caribbean wanting their removal. By the time they remove their heads from the sand, it will be far too late to save their dying institution
Charles made it a policy years ago that only senior working royals would stand on the balcony for every occasion because the family was getting so large. I think it was around the time that the Family made it clear that family members like Eugenie and Beatrice would not be official working royals. It was a way to save money, since they are always being criticised about how much it costs to keep the monarchy going.
That happened during the last Jubilee, in 2012 (just the senior royals on the balcony) but typically for the troopings everyone is still out there.
I’m surprised this is in The Spectator. Not that I read it but I remember a tweet or an article excerpt that had a car in the tunnel joke involving MM, har de har har. A-holes!
It would have been smart, but if they had done that, it would have been saying the half out deal was maybe back on? Maybe they want to keep that under wraps for now. I still think when Charles becomes King he is going to try to get Harry and family to come back.
^^ Most likely, it will be enough for Charles if his son Harry can ever forgive him for his betrayals. There’s no way the Sussexes are going to return to Britain for either part-time or full-time royal duties. That ship has sailed.
OTOH, Harry is not averse to working things out with his father, at the very least, so as to more smoothly maintain closeness (visits, etc.) with family members he can trust, such as Eugenie. Charles will not be King for a long time. And I doubt that Harry will ever be able to fully forgive Will & Kate for their terrible transgressions.
IDK, I feel like this whole balcony discussion is a distraction from the real issue, which is that the queen herself probably won’t make it onto the balcony. And if she doesn’t, excluding the Sussexes actually makes sense – they can spend that time with her off-balcony (maybe in another photo op somewhere, released later, or just private family time), while the balcony is reserved for the (certainly doomed) heir apparent and next in line.
I agree with many of the posted above that Harry and Meghan said they didn’t want to be on the balcony. There are many issues why they don’t want to be up there, but one that has not been mentioned is that Harry is no longer allowed to wear military uniforms. He would be the only senior member of the royal family wearing a suit. This is going to be a problem for the royal family going forward. How do you have the only member of the family who did two tours during wartime being the only senior royal not in uniform? Andrew was in the Falklands, but he still has a title that will allow him to wear a uniform. Imagine, all the royals, even Andrew in uniform and Harry in a suit?!? It makes the royals look even more out of touch and outdated as they prance about in medals not earned but given to them.
That’s a good point, Kyliegirl! Harry wore his uniform regularly at the balcony events and making him the exception without uniform at the Jubilee would be another humiliation for him. Good that he turned the offer down.
Harry knows his royal family doesn’t respect his military achievements. At the recent Invictus Games neither the Government nor the royal family supported the British IG team officially, unlike other world leaders.
The Queen owes Harry an honorary title for the global success of the Invictus Games. It’s long overdue.