On Remembrance Sunday, Prince Harry unsurprisingly stepped outside, just not in London and not at the Cenotaph. Harry visited the Remembrance event in Brackley, which is somewhat close to his mother’s ancestral home, Althorp. While no one was surprised that Harry marked Remembrance in some way, I was surprised by the general lack of deranged commentary around Harry’s Brackley appearance. The British press put him on their covers and talked about his low-key appearance, but there weren’t eleventy billion columns crying about how Harry stole the Windsors’ thunder. That was the subtext though, which is notable – like, oh, yeah, everyone pays attention to what Harry and Meghan do and say, and the Windsors can’t even buy that kind of interest. Well, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden is one of the few tabloid editors bold enough to publicly cry about Harry’s Remembrance visit.

On the latest episode of Palace Confidential, Diary Editor Richard Eden and Royal Editor Rebecca English debate the rights and wrongs of Prince Harry’s absence from the national Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. Harry, who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and is one of only two living royals to have seen combat, instead marked the day among locals in the Northamptonshire market town of Brackley, wearing his military medals and a poppy.

A professional photographer also appears to have been present, with pictures of the Prince standing among the crowd published by media outlets within hours of the service. Eden told host Luke Blackall he couldn’t say whether the photographer’s presence was coincidental, but that the day summed up exactly what he has long feared: the rise of an ‘alternative royal family’.

The Diary Editor said: ‘This illustrates all the fears I’ve expressed repeatedly on this programme about this alternative royal family. People have said to me: ‘Why shouldn’t Harry be attending the Cenotaph?’ He’s one of only two members of the Royal Family to have seen active service. The other is Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, who’s even less desired to be there. People are saying: ‘Why should he have to go to his local one? He should be invited to the main one.’

‘I think it’s awkward. When they were living in California, it was fine. You could say, well, they’re overseas. But now they’re here and they’re courting headlines. They’re trying to do events and I think it actively undermines the Royal Family, and I think that’s a big problem. The fact that these photographs have appeared and Harry turned up seems to be a provocation, and it’s a genuine problem for the Royal Family.’

At the Cenotaph on Sunday, the King laid the first wreath and was joined by Prince William, while Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales watched from the balcony. A record nine former prime ministers were also in attendance.

The Duchess of Sussex did not join her husband at the Brackley service.

Royal Editor Rebecca English said she had long predicted that Harry would not be at the Cenotaph, despite his return to Britain in August.

‘I told you at the time that it wouldn’t happen,’ English said. ‘He was photographed, so it wasn’t kept quiet, and he did go around and shake hands with people afterwards. But by the standards he’s used to, it was fairly low key.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Is it just me or does this commentary feel really sad-sack and half-assed? Eden is practically platforming the Sussexes’ position, which is that a veteran like Harry should have attended the Cenotaph wreath-laying ceremony. He’s also inadvertently highlighting the poor management of the Windsors, specifically King Charles and Buckingham Palace. It would be so easy for the palace to NOT make Harry’s involvement in Remembrance any kind of issue. It would be so easy to diplomatically recognize Harry’s military service and welcome his presence on Remembrance Sunday. Instead, a Mail editor is whining about how Harry “undermines the royal family” just by existing and respectfully recognizing military sacrifices.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.