Bryony Gordon: Prince Harry was brave to attend the Chubbly & his marriage is fine

Prince Harry does have a handful of allies in the British media, Bryony Gordon among them. Gordon is one of the few journalists to be invited to Montecito to interview Harry, which she did as part of Harry’s Spare promotion back in January. She has repeatedly pointed out the healthy choices Harry has made to protect his wife, children and his sanity. Gordon wrote a really smart piece about Harry’s appearance at Westminster Abbey for his father’s coronation, and why Harry is so extraordinarily brave. It’s true. Some highlights:

Harry’s arrival at the Abbey: It takes strength to walk through Westminster Abbey balancing a five-pound crown made of solid gold on your head – but it takes a particularly special kind of fortitude to make that journey in just a simple black morning suit, knowing that most of the 2,000-strong congregation are watching your every move and waiting to see you stumble. All eyes were on the Duke of Sussex as he arrived for his father’s Coronation, but if the 38-year-old was feeling the pressure, he was damned if he was going to show it.

The seating arrangement: There was another impediment to staring at the Duke, given that he had been placed three rows back, next to Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Princess Eugenie, and Princess Alexandra, a cousin of Elizabeth II who hasn’t had a royal engagement in more than a decade. “He isn’t a working member of the royal family,” came the refrain, again and again, from officials at Buckingham Palace, as they explained this punitive seating plan. A working royal he may not be, but Prince Harry will always be the King’s youngest son, his ‘darling boy’. It seemed petty, then, to welcome the Duke as if he were a distant relative, especially when you consider his crime: standing up for his wife when he felt nobody else would.

The Sussexes’ marriage: Much has been made of the Duchess of Sussex’s decision to stay at home in Montecito, with one tabloid recently running a front-page splash shaming her for doing so. The narrative of the lone Duke has not been helped by images of him walking solo down the nave of the abbey, flanked by his cousins and their husbands. But the truth is that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s marriage is as strong as ever, with Harry determined to do everything in his power to protect the mother of his children from the dreadful pain she felt back in 2019, when she said that endless negative press attention left her feeling suicidal.

Meghan’s low profile: Sadly, the media narrative has changed little since then, with recent headlines suggesting that the Duchess’s current quietness is because she is busy behind the scenes trying to launch her own brand. The truth is a little less exciting than that: the only thing that Meghan is trying to do right now is protect her mental health, by keeping a low profile. Is it any surprise, then, that the Duchess chose not to throw herself into the lion’s den of the Coronation? That, on the day of her son’s fourth birthday, she felt a better use of her time would be to stay in the safe haven of her California home, where she could concentrate fully on Archie and Lilibet, and the lovely life they have created away from prying eyes? And yet despite her physical absence, Prince Harry went into Westminster Abbey with the full support of his wife behind him.

Charles the dogsh-t father: As ever, Beatrice and Eugenie were there to support their beloved cousin. There had been talk of Prince Harry perhaps making the family lunch, an invitation extended by the King as an apparent “olive branch”. But that peace offering was surely only ever about optics, with the team at Buckingham Palace knowing full well the Duke’s priority was getting back to the US to see his son so he could wish him a happy birthday in person.

[From The Telegraph]

As I watched BBC News just after the Abbey service, the British commentators tried and failed to make it sound like only Americans cared about Harry’s attendance at the coronation, like there hadn’t been months of front-page speculation, tantrums and lies in the British media. While I also think that Charles got “his day” and all eyes were on him (for better or for worse), it’s also true that every media outlet was obsessively focused on Harry’s comings and goings. And yes, I find Harry’s appearance “brave” and courageous too – that man was walking into the lion’s den. He watched his wicked stepmother stagger around in the crown his mother was supposed to wear. He dealt with it all and he left.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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42 Responses to “Bryony Gordon: Prince Harry was brave to attend the Chubbly & his marriage is fine”

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  1. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    Thank you Brony for being a voice of sanity in a world gripped by hysteria.

  2. Becks1 says:

    Wait, Princess Alexandra hasn’t had a royal engagement in more than a decade?? Then why was she included in the official portrait of working royals?

    Anyway to the point of the article – yes, it was very brave of Harry, and he did not falter once. The RRs screeching about his humiliation are just made that he WASN’T humiliated. He walked in looking confident and perfectly at ease and like many of us have said, he seemed to be the only one with a genuine smile on his face for the day. he was not shunned by his family as they wanted him to be – his aunt greeted him warmly, his cousins greeted him warmly, etc

    There’s a reason the story has switched to “how dare he only stay for the ceremony” bc the RRs are so mad that they didn’t get anything else to write about from his appearance.

    • Eurydice says:

      If I knew there was an escape car waiting for me at the end of a long, dark tunnel, I wouldn’t just be smiling, I’d be downright giddy.

    • SURE says:

      PA’s last royal engagement according to the CC was her attendance at K’s carol service and two days prior she visited a hospice. It’s not correct that her last royal engagement was ovet 10 years ago.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      According to the Court Circular Princess Alexandra was doing royal engagements up to the end of last year. I don’t think she’s done any this year so far but she was still going until fairly recently.

      • Becks1 says:

        Okay that makes more sense to me. I thought, in 10 years, lordy, that seems off.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Bryony Gordon got the Royal ladies mixed up. Katharine Kent, aka The Duchess of Kent, wife of Edward Kent, aka The Duke of Kent, is the Royal that retired 10 years ago from the firm.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Wanted to add for your trivia enjoyment: Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy was also the one that supposedly had a ten year on-and-off again “British ding-dong” with Prince Philip.

    • Jen says:

      Princess Alexandra is quite old and frail. I can’t fault them for including her as a working royal even though she’s virtually retired. She’s barely standing in the coronation group portrait with Edward and Sophie on either side of her, literally holding her upright.

  3. What a refreshing article. Telling the truth is what real journalists write. I hope we can have more of these articles in the future but I won’t hold my breath.

  4. Amy Bee says:

    No one can fault Harry for what he did on Saturday. He stuck to his word, showed up and returned to his family after as he said he would. He’s very brave and strong indeed.

  5. girl_ninja says:

    Good King Harry. I hadn’t seen this piece @Kaiser so thank you for sharing it.

    “The truth is a little less exciting than that: the only thing that Meghan is trying to do right now is protect her mental health, by keeping a low profile.”

    Amen. And I am so proud of her for making her mental health most important. Those salty derangers don’t think about the fact that Meghan is real human. To them she’s just the sub-human black chick (who they also happen to be jealous of) who stole their prince. She is also a wife, mother, daughter and businesswoman. She has a lot on her plate and has to deal with an entire island of hateful losers.

    I am so proud of Harry and how he handled the nonsense of the day and has Moved. On. Unlike those salty fools.

    • LB says:

      Yes, Meghan is awesome for choosing to protect to her mental health. What the BRF did and continue to do to her is so awful and cannot minimized. Harry was a boss in that church, and he was even more of a boss for hopping on a plane immediately to see Prince Archie on his birthday. When H&M were engaged, the viper courtiers already called her the “degree” wife meaning they would be divorced in 3 or 4 years at most. H&M celebrate 5 years of marriage later this month. They are still going strong with their lovely family, careers and life.

  6. Nubia says:

    I despise all this not working royal idiocy. At the end of the day that is the KINGS SON! He can or should sit up front, he can be on the balcony, he can be in a procession. I wish these aides would stop saying that, they sound stupid.

    • Lizzie says:

      Kings’ son in addition to 5th in line of succession. Yes, he should have been up front. However, the seating was handled by the gold standard courtiers who haven’t gotten things right in years. Dr. Jill Biden in the back row? They need professionals working for them.

      • Tacky says:

        The lack of professional staff has really been on display for the last few years. The courtiers have hurt the BRF far more than Spare ever could.

  7. Snuffles says:

    “The truth is a little less exciting than that: the only thing that Meghan is trying to do right now is protect her mental health, by keeping a low profile.”

    While this is true, it’s also true she’s got her own projects she’s working on. But they have absolutely nothing to do with the royal family or how it would make them feel or look. She didn’t sign with WME to twiddle her thumbs.

    • ThatsNotOkay says:

      Right? WME is not some PR firm. They’re about making money from what you DO and BRING IN! So…nah.

  8. Isabella says:

    A little off topic, but Beatrice’s pink dress and shoes are really cute. The non-working royals looked the best. For me, the most bizarre thing was the balcony with the real royals pushed over to the side and the page boys, mostly Cam’s non-royal brood of grandkids, were front and center.

    Charles could’ve had both sons, their wives, and all five of his grandchildren there and that would’ve rocked the world.

    • Jenna says:

      I thought Bea looked the best I’ve seen her look!

      And you are right about the balcony. The problem is, the “heirs” have been raised to believe that they are always right and that everyone else is wrong. They will never apologize and never get anything right.

      I would hope they are raising George differently, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Poor kid.

  9. Whyforthelove says:

    Harry and Meghan are indeed brave. Aside from walking into the Lions Den, Harry and Meghan have used their experiences to normalize the discussions of mental health, abuse and trauma. Along with Simone Bikes and now numerous celebrity voices they have opened a dialogue about the importance of protecting your mental health. I love them so much for this. Before the last 5-10 years how many people would have openly talked about being driven to the point of self harm? Harry allowed all of the abusive voices to attack him so he could model standing up for your wife and family against abusive institutions and families. And he discussed trauma and therapy. After watching them bravely do these things I guess it was no surprise he was able to stroll into and out of that pitiful ceremony. This couple is bad ass

  10. Mary Pester says:

    Harry has more strength of character in his little finger than the rest of the Royal family put together. None of them think of protecting their families first. It’s all about protecting the FALSE image of a royal family. If there was (I know there’s not) honesty in the British media, they would call out the sheer pettiness and corruption of the “Royal brand”. This one writer deserves our admiration and thanks for showing the truth about harry and meghan. Every other week the British media say they have or are going to separate, surely they must at some time or another get sick of printing the same guff. And as for where Harry was seated. I blame his father the so called king! The staff would have needed his OK for the seating arrangements, so why did he not say NO, Harry is my son and as such he must be seated at the front. Ah sorry, I forgot Camzilla!! That says everything

  11. Zazzoo says:

    IDK how anyone could doubt the strength of their marriage, but it must be stressful to never be able to have a normal couple squabble without worry it’ll be leaked and used to whip up speculation. Still, they really do seem happy and in love.

  12. Heather says:

    Bravo for Harry, the bravest one there! He looked amazing, acted happy and seemed at ease. I am sure it wasn’t easy. Love him!

    Interesting sidenote- on Instagram I follow Keith McNally, the restauranteur (Balthazar, lots of others). He did a great post on Harry yesterday (though didn’t appreciate the Meghan dig) and the response was very favorable in the comments!

    The person who impressed me most during this whole shebang was PRINCE HARRY. Hated by most Englishmen and loathed by the press, Harry walked along the aisle of Westminster so naturally and unaffectedly that it gave him the kind of dignity the other Royals strain to achieve. At least he Earned his medals through going to war in Afghanistan, and wasn’t dressed up like the rest of the Royals in a pantomime costume. Whatever one thinks of Meghan Markle, Harry has been treated disgracefully by the Royals and the British establishment, and vindictively by the English press, especially the Daily Telegraph and Piers Morgan. Three Cheers For Harry.

  13. Not a Subject says:

    Their marriage is as strong as ever…. and that’s what irks the hell outta them. They all (they being: the family and the press and the royalists and her heinous family) tried their hardest to rip them apart, but the harder they pulled the closer Harry and Meghan became.

  14. serena says:

    I was watching the tv news about the coronation in my country and one of the guest (some sort of royalist) was spouting so much BS (the same old lies) agains Meghan and Harry I was about to throw my remote on the tv.

  15. Vanessa says:

    Harry and Meghan are thriving and successful the royal family and British media try to break them up multiple times over the years . Nothing has worked the only people who believed the separation narratives are the Karen’s who are so consumed with their hatefulness and their bitter lives they need to believe their own lies because they thought of Harry loving his black wife and kids has made them crazy .

  16. TheOriginalMia says:

    Thanks for sharing the article, Kaiser. Bryony really gets it.

  17. QuiteContrary says:

    It WAS petty to treat Harry like a distant relative, but cruelty is the royal brand. And LOL at any of these people being “working” royals.

    What they do isn’t work. It’s extremely overcompensated fluff.

  18. Rackel says:

    Harry was brave. I didn’t watch Chuck 3 coronation but I saw like 3 clips. During one of the clips Mike Tindall seemed to be watching Harry. looked like he was checking to see if he was doing what he was suppose to do! That’s where being brave comes in. Having people watching you trying to make moments. Ready to pounce.

    Off topic but Zara should asked uncle Chuck to give her or Mike a title. She has been trying for atleast 10 years to become popular.

  19. j.ferber says:

    Does anyone doubt that Harry is brave for walking into a lions’ den? Like the Biblical Daniel, he did. Now who has the mettle of a king? Harry, surely.

  20. Eggbert says:

    Harry is 5th in line to the throne! These royal idiots will cry all day about how important they are because of bloodlines and birth orders until it comes to someone they don’t like. They’re undermining the entire (dumb) point of the monarchy: the ranks and rules are always the same and it’s just the people who occupy the ranks that change. By propping up the 51st (or whatever) in line to the throne to deem her more important than Harry just shows that the monarchy is a front and the top person can change the rules whenever they want…which is a dictatorship. They’re completely unaware that they are the ones doing the most damage to the monarchy. I guess all the inbreeding and racism has killed one too many brain cells.

  21. j.ferber says:

    Eggbert, you’re right. When they don’t like the person, the rules change. Thus, there are no true rules and it IS a dictatorship.

  22. phlyfiremama says:

    Honestly the Only pictures I want to see are of Archie’s birthday. 🥰

  23. AC says:

    Just like Trump, The British media has become a laughing stock in the world . They literally got amnesia how obsessed they were whether HM was going to attend the coronation. It was like they were checking every minute of the day if they RSVP’d.. lol..

  24. blunt talker says:

    Harry was truly brave and steely at this cornation-Imagine the royal’s cruelty to allow the media to attack and threaten Meghan and the children and sometimes Harry-to allow the UK media to do this on a daily basis if anything happens the royal family will be blamed to the cows come home-When I saw Harry walking in I thought how could they be so cruel to cause hate towards Harry and his family-this showed the royal family in a bad light-no security for Harry’s family to punish and disrespect him.