The King and Prince should embrace the Duke of Sussex’s peace offering before it is too late – that is what family, royal or not, is about
Eleanor Mills
There is nothing sadder or more depressing than a family feud; particularly one where a parent, ill with cancer, is estranged from one of their two children. Life is short and precious; the graveyards are full of “irreplaceable” CEOs, editors, politicians… and kings. The only people we are truly irreplaceable to are our families. That is why King Charles and Prince William should not just accept Harry’s olive branch – he offered this weekend to share his official diary with his father and brother so his activities don’t unintentionally eclipse theirs on the front pages – but do so quickly.
The dreaded “palace sources” indicate that this gesture by Harry will go some way to mollifying his father (Charles was apparently miffed that Harry’s trip to see landmines in Africa this month inadvertently knocked Queen Camilla’s birthday portrait off the front pages of the papers, which is why they are going to sync calendars from now on). But all this talk of dovetailing schedules and the King’s people talking to Harry’s people is ridiculous. Whether we are princes or paupers, family is family: sometimes, our nearest and dearest drive us nuts; sometimes, we may not love their choice of partner; sometimes, they behave in ways which hurt or humiliate.
But them’s the breaks! Blood is thicker than water. Our kin are our kin. The point of family is we look past faults and embrace the love that binds; that we bite our tongues when we want to yell, and give them a big hug anyway… because they are our brother, or dad, or sister, which matters much more in the long run than feeling piqued. Those of us who live in complicated families learn to lower our expectations and move on, with love. Harry lost his mum as a child, his dad has cancer and hasn’t seen his grandchildren for years; his sister-in-law has also been gravely ill. His brother needs him. The cousins should know each other.
This is a time for the Royal family to pull together; to let bygones be bygones. Come on, Charles, show some true statesmanship, befitting your role as the head of the Church of England, and forgive Harry and Meghan before it is too late. That is the yardstick by which you will be judged. We may not all be kings, but we all know what family is about. Harry is trying to meet you on the territory that you most care about (your royal image) – it’s up to you as King, but most importantly as his father, to bury the hatchet. Come on, Charles, be the grown-up, the paterfamilias, and get off your high horse… There’s no time like the present.
Posted by HogwartsZoologist
2 comments
The pressure is on I see. But I notice this is about Harry’s diary and not Meghan’s. Because she would be absolutely nuts to give them any transparency into what she’s doing at any given time.
Charles – fine, that’s his kid, unconditional love and whatnot. But why should William ever speak to his brother again? Even if you think Harry had a good reason to do what he did, it doesn’t make the things he said about William and his family less hurtful. It seems like having him in his life would be a bigger headache than the two just going their separate ways.
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