For the past decade, royalists have tried in vain to create “wedge issues” to tear apart Prince Harry and Meghan. These people truly built an entire hate industry against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex so they wouldn’t have to accept Harry and Meghan’s marriage and happiness. In recent years, one of the wedge issues they’ve been trying to force is “Harry is stuck in the past, which is bad for Meghan’s brand, and they’re constantly at odds about the royal family.” First off, Meghan cut those people off years ago. On the rare occasions she references them at all, she calls them “my husband’s family.” She’s done with them. She’s been done with them. But she doesn’t interfere with what Harry’s doing, and she’s not going to stand in his way as he tries to have a relationship with his only living parent, nor does she care one way or the other about Harry’s relationships with his cousins. Well, royal commentator Duncan Larcombe has some odd thoughts about Harry, Meghan and… Peter Phillips.
Prince Harry may have been trying to build bridges with his father ahead of next year’s Invictus Games, but reports that he’s not been invited to his cousin Peter Phillips’ wedding suggest the royal rift is far from healed. What’s more, it’s claimed wife Meghan is increasingly keen to distance herself from the drama as she tries to build her lifestyle brand, with a royal source telling the Mirror she wants to steer clear of Harry’s “chaos”.
Peter will tie the knot with NHS nurse Harriet Sperling in the Cotswolds on 6 June, with senior royals including King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales attending. But Palace sources say the Duke of Sussex, 41, has been left out in the cold again, as his decision to step back from royal duties continues to have repercussions.
Royal author Duncan Larcombe says that even if Harry had received an invitation, he would most likely have declined due to his ongoing rift with his brother, Prince William, who is due to attend alongside Peter’s mother, Princess Anne, and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.“The sticking point is William’s attendance,” says Duncan. “Harry’s not going to agree to go to an event where he’s going to be forced to come face to face with his brother, who is absolutely still livid with him.” And while groom Peter may not have any “beef” with his cousin personally, Duncan believes that even if he had extended an invitation to Harry and Meghan, “it would have been in the full knowledge that he wouldn’t turn up”.
But while it’s understandable the happy couple, who first went public with their relationship in May 2024, might not want Harry to put a negative spin on their big day, it’s perhaps more surprising that Harry’s own wife is now reportedly tiring of the controversy surrounding her husband and his family. Even more striking is Harry’s apparent embracing of a celebrity-style lifestyle, which Duncan says is wholly at odds with his previous claims about loathing life in the spotlight as a youngster.
“Meghan’s keeping very busy building her brand, while Harry’s busy coping with his worst nightmare – living life as a pseudo-celebrity royal, which brings with it all the things he hated growing up,” says Duncan. “He’s stuck in the world of red carpets and camera flashes, which as a child never sat easy with him. Whereas with Meghan, the red carpets and cameras are part of her brand building, so she needs to protect herself from Harry’s chaos in order to achieve what she wants. The fallout with Harry’s family has, without doubt, caused drama throughout their marriage.”
“Whenever Harry does any speech at an event, like he did in Australia, it turns into a sort of soap opera, with everyone talking about his family feuds and his relationship with his father and brother,” explains Duncan. “But of course, he keeps bringing his family into virtually everything he does, because that’s literally the only thing about Harry that’s important. He’s only relevant because he’s a member of the royal family, but his relationships with them are so strained that any time he mentions them, it creates speculation and more talk of fallouts and feuds.”
With Meghan focused on establishing her lifestyle brand, As Ever, it’s believed the drama surrounding Harry and his family clashes with the feel-good, aspirational image she wants her products to project.
“Meghan is very determined, very ambitious, very focused and very driven in her pursuit of building her brand and businesses,” says Duncan. “So I’m not surprised that she is maybe trying to carve her own path.”
I’ve said many times before that I believe Meghan is more business-oriented and more commercially inclined than Harry. And that’s fine – they’ve gotten to the point where they aren’t joined at the hip for every project, and they’re both following their own interests. As I said, I think Meghan just lets Harry deal with all of the family stuff and she’s not worried about it affecting her business. That’s not a wedge issue, is what I’m saying.
In Harry’s recent trip to Ukraine, we got his perspective on his royal status, which is basically that he’ll always be part of the royal family and he’ll always work. Which is what upsets them most of all! “He’s only relevant because he’s a member of the royal family…” Sure. That’s why Harry’s name is being constantly dragged into every single story about the left-behinds, right? It’s not that the left-behinds need a connection to Harry & Meghan for their own relevance, right?? It’s not like Peter Phillips is getting married and the biggest storyline is all about whether Harry and Meghan will send jam??
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
