At this point, I really feel a deep discomfort with the way Prince William and his associates try to bully his father, bully the British media and dictate the coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Like… William is not very bright, and he surrounds himself with yes-men and Tory political operatives (often one and the same), which means that anyone with half a brain can see the angry egg behind the curtain. Well, hot on the heels of the news about the Sussex family’s visit to the UK, the Mail published a big exclusive: “’It feels like emotional blackmail’: As Harry and Meghan announce return to Britain with Archie and Lilibet, insiders reveal fears about decision to bring children and ‘manipulation’ of Royals.” William was so clearly raging out all of last week.
The Mail is trying and failing to hide their sources, and make it sound like King Charles and his courtiers are very upset with the way the Sussexes have handled all of this. That false-attribution has become very typical of Kensington Palace’s clownish communications team. William loves nothing more than forging someone else’s signature, and it’s become his communication team’s modus operandi. The big “tell” of this Mail piece came at the very end, after several pages of rants about Harry and Meghan, when “sources” trying to figure out the secret reason why Harry and Meghan would even come to the UK. A source says, about the Sussexes: “Forcing their hand on security is another step to get back in the fold because they are broke.” No, William. Your brother is not broke. Meghan is not broke. They’re not defeated or broken. You’re just unhinged. Some lowlights from the Mail’s exclusive:
They’re blaming the Sussexes for all of the stories about the family’s visit: As apparently briefed by the Sussex’s publicity team – comprised of former journalist Liam Maguire in the UK and the LA-based Sunshine Sachs PR agency – to an Australian news website, Harry has indicated he hopes to re-introduce his children to their grandfather, which would be a monumental development in family relations.
Insiders are aghast that the Sussexes would dare to meet with King Charles: In royal circles the visit has been interpreted differently. Insiders are aghast at the prospect. Although framed in heart-warming terms of a son wanting to make up with his beloved ‘Pa’ – and there’s certainly much to make up for, after those attacks in his memoir, Spare, as well as in endless interviews – Harry bringing his children to the UK has been interpreted as a ‘manipulative’ gambit and an act of ‘emotional blackmail’ against the King. Strong words – but they are also echoed in California where two sources close to the Sussexes were equally stunned by this week’s announcement, calling it ‘a new low’. This, they say, is nothing short of a gauntlet thrown down by Harry and Meghan.
It’s a trap!! A source said: ‘I don’t think this will be a reunion. It’s more of a trap. It’s a challenge. They are saying: “Try and ignore us when we are here with the kids.” ‘If they don’t meet up [with Harry and Meghan], then they can say: “We came to you and we were ignored.”’
The security issue: The source reflected on this, saying: ‘It’s clear to me that Harry and Meghan are doing this to force their hand, so they have to give him security or else they are endangering the children. This is a huge new low as a tactic – and it is going to backfire.’
William doesn’t know what’s in the king’s schedule!! Yet there’s one gaping hole in the ‘reconciliation’ narrative as billed by the Prince’s side: nobody is aware of a meeting with the King in the diary, not for Harry, nor his wife or children. The King does not, despite reports to the contrary, share details of his diary with the Sussexes so they have no idea of his commitments in July. They simply don’t know how busy he is, or where he will be. ‘He might suddenly find he’s very busy then,’ said a source.
Royal weariness: A source in royal circles said the Palace reaction to news of the visit was a weary one: ‘Will they ever learn?’ They added: ‘They do not want to get involved with saying anything when it comes to the couple as they have a red line. If they start briefing it goes in a bad direction. They won’t do it and they won’t be seen to do it because they don’t want a war of words. But the feeling in royal circles is that this is manipulative. It seems like no coincidence this comes when they are expecting a decision from the Home Office on security. They are genuinely bewildered that anyone would think that this is the way to proceed if you want to repair relations. This feels like emotional blackmail.’
Overshadowing the king’s work!! A source said: ‘The feeling is that the question of Harry and a meeting overshadows all the King’s work. In terms of the meeting, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The narrative becomes about the personal family dynamics and that is what they don’t want. He made a rod for his own back meeting him the last time; the King felt bounced into it.’
Archie & Lili are being used to boost their parents!! Little wonder, perhaps, that some are viewing the addition of Archie and Lili to the travelling party as the ultimate ‘bounce’. The source close to the Sussexes was particularly scathing about their intentions in this domain: ‘Recently we are seeing more and more content of the kids as Harry and Meghan become less and less relevant.’
The children might attend the Invictus events! Extraordinarily, there are now indications that the uber-protective Harry is planning to bring the children to ‘public-facing events’ when they visit the UK – such as the launch on July 10 of the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games, which takes place in Birmingham in 2027. Having fiercely protected their identities from birth, it’s claimed by some in the Sussex camp that Harry is planning to launch Archie and Lili into his world of ‘service’ when they are here – rather like William’s three were seen at Trooping the Colour last week. That’s a prospect which makes his enemies shudder. Such a move would surely provoke global attention and possibly mark a high-water mark of influence. One source says: ‘Nobody understands how this can happen given Harry’s feelings about having been used as a child in the service of the monarchy. But it looks like July could be the big reveal of [Archie and Lili’s] faces.’
A two-week visit? The family are making no flying visit, either. The Sussexes are thought to be arriving in the UK on July 6 and will stay for about two weeks, also taking in events for other charities with which Harry has links, such as Scotty’s Little Soldiers and WellChild. The publicity around Archie and Lili’s presence would be both stratospheric and sustained.
And finally, the Sussexes are broke! After the downgrading of their Netflix deal and a fall in visitors to Meghan’s website, another source described the development of the UK visit in more blunt terms: ‘Forcing their hand on security is another step to get back in the fold because they are broke.’ So what do they hope the visit will achieve? An attempt at family unity? A strategic operation over security arrangements? A high-stakes attempt to undo the shackles of Megxit?
This reads like William is rocking in the corner and doing a stream-of-consciousness rant about all of his fears. William is the one who would freak out entirely if Archie and Lili are seen, and it’s now clear that William is incandescent with fear that he’ll be overshadowed by his ginger niece and nephew. As for all of the stuff about “emotional manipulation” and the Sussexes’ setting a “trap”… it’s not emotional manipulation to say “hey, Pa, I’m going to be in town in July, should I bring your grandchildren over so you can see them for the first time in four years?” That’s literally all Harry has done. And it’s not a trap per se, it’s more like an acknowledgement that Harry has all of these people over a barrel. If they screw up his family’s security, he’ll call them out AGAIN. If the whole family comes for a visit and Charles refuses to meet with them, Charles is the one who looks horrible. But no, again, the Sussexes are not broke or desperate to go back to being working royals. My god.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
