In the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to Highgrove on Friday, King Charles’ office began leaking like a sieve. The briefings were two-pronged: on one side, there were threats to Team Sussex to NOT speak about whatever happened at the Highgrove meeting; then, on the other side, Buckingham Palace have strategic briefings to the Times and Mail about the visit. Not details of what was said, but more general thoughts on where things stand from Charles’ perspective. Once again, the thing that bothers the Windsors the most about the Sussexes is that Harry and Meghan refuse to let the left-behinds solely control the narrative. Charles is more upset at the idea that Harry might blow up the palace spin than anything else (like not seeing his grandkids for four-plus years). Some highlights from the Times:
The Sussexes’ UK visit: Those close to Harry said the family’s return was “not how he wanted it”. If extra security had been in place, he wanted his children involved in some public events. Harry will return to the UK in September to support his charity WellChild, and, with one family reunion under his belt, another in the autumn is not being ruled out by either side.
Harry is happy: “Every journey of a thousand miles begins with one footstep,” noted a royal source. On Saturday morning friends of Harry’s said he was “buoyed, very happy and really energised”.
Charles will never shut the door completely: But as a friend of the King’s said of the meeting: “He will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because despite all the trouble, blood is blood.”
Harry’s statement after he lost the Mail/ANL case: Sources close to the King feared that if Harry had stayed at the Palace, he would have his “Evita moment” on royal turf. Harry’s blistering statement issued after the court judgment described it as “a complete and obvious whitewash”. “There were jaws on the floor with a statement attacking not just a High Court judge but the entire judicial system that acts in the King’s name. There is profound upset constitutionally about that attack,” a source said.
War-gaming a Sussex meeting: When it comes to the Sussexes and the Palace, where there is “existential mistrust” about Harry and Meghan’s motives, planning a family meeting is never simple. For much of last week courtiers were war-gaming any potential fallout from a meeting, including if Harry was to come out and claim that Charles sympathised with his case against the media. “Would it create peace in our time or discord and constitutional controversy?” a royal aide said. “We are always trying to think about what is best not just for a grandfather but for a sovereign and a head of state.”
Team Sussex DGAF: Those close to Charles said all of this weighed on his mind before seeing the Sussexes on Friday, but a friend of the prince’s scoffed at the idea that Harry’s excoriating statement would have any lasting impact on the bond between father and son. “Is any of that actually going to make a difference to their personal relationship? I don’t think so,” they said. “Harry is very principled in what he stands for and he’s just going about his life in the way he said he would.”
Camilla’s presence: But Camilla, 78, is a canny operator and fiercely loyal to Charles. Whatever her views of her stepson, she wanted to support her husband for an emotionally loaded meeting, and to witness what was — and what was not — said. “Oh, to have been a fly on the hydrangeas,” a friend said.
Prince William’s reaction to the Highgrove Summit: What will the Prince of Wales make of his father’s olive branch to the Sussexes? He won’t like it, that’s for sure. While William now rarely speaks of Harry in royal circles, his feelings of betrayal by his brother’s departure from the monarchy and subsequent outbursts still sting. The Sussexes will make a pilgrimage to Althorp, the Spencer family seat in Northamptonshire, in the coming days to visit the resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales, where they will see Harry and William’s uncle, Earl Spencer, and some of the wider Spencer family. The Waleses won’t be joining that family reunion either. Harry has, wisely, all but given up hope of a reconciliation with his brother.
One Year to Go for the Birmingham Invictus Games: Harry is always happiest with his “military family”, and his dedication to the Invictus cause is admirable. When the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham next July, he will be applauded. But a year is a lifetime in the Sussex soap opera, and his charity work is not enough to lift him back on to the podium as one of the most popular members of the royal family, as he once was. Green shoots of a rapprochement with the Crown and his father, however, will help. In the coming days, the Sussexes will spend time catching up with friends in the UK and Harry is said to have pledged not to think about the court judgment and whether to appeal against it until he returns to California later this month.
The British coverage in the past two weeks has been very focused on Prince Harry, his father, his brother and the institution itself. But I can’t help wondering what Meghan’s reaction to the past two weeks has been. She’s so good at supporting Harry and letting him lead the way when it comes to dealing with his horrible family, but I genuinely wonder if she’s tempted to put her foot down at this point. Like, okay, the kids met Charles but only after he treated us like crap for years and showed absolutely zero interest in actually spending time with us. Enough is enough.
As for the rest of it… the way they interweave their royal talking points with the Sussexes’ work irritates me to no end – “his charity work is not enough to lift him back on to the podium as one of the most popular members of the royal family…” Yeah but who cares? That’s not his goal. His goal is to thrive and do charity work and raise his children. Only the left-behinds care about their emotional-support popularity polls.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
