Expert Warns Meghan and Harry's 'Revenge' Australia Tour Risks Escalating Royal 'Tensions'
According to royal expert Richard Palmer, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip, and the ensuing media attention, would annoy the senior royals.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently announced plans to visit Australia for a series of business and philanthropic engagements in mid-April. With their so-called 'quasi royal tour' fast approaching, many have wondered how this perceived imitation of their former life would be received by the royal family. Well, according to royal expert Richard Palmer, the 'revenge' trip is likely to irritate King Charles and the other senior royals amid existing tensions that show little sign of easing.
Speaking to The Mirror, Palmer dubbed the Sussexes' Australia tour as the 'most anticipated' royal event of the year. He said, "They [Harry and Markle] want to prove their critics wrong, so they will be hoping it is a huge success. If it is, it will be Meghan's revenge." He also pointed out how the centenary of the late Queen Elizabeth's birth, Prince Louis's eighth birthday, and Prince William and Kate Middleton's 15th wedding anniversary all fall within the same period, suggesting a deliberate attempt. With that in mind, the expert suspected that the Sussexes' visit was meant as a 'payback' to overshadow William and Middleton's special family moments.
Explaining how the visit could complicate things and hamper any chances of reconciliation, Palmer continued, "There still seems to be an awful lot of tension with other members of the family and the royal household." He added, "I think it will also annoy the King and other members of the family if, as seems likely, Meghan and Harry garner a lot of media attention while they're out in Australia, and then that overshadows whatever's going on back here." Noting how one of their biggest hurdles during their time in the firm was to seek approval from the King and Queen, he argued, "But from Meghan and Harry's point of view, they don't have to worry about it any longer."
While the Sussexes flying solo and free from royal restrictions is a win-win for them, the Australia tour certainly has another agenda: to promote their business ventures. The expert stressed, "There are many staunch monarchists who really don't like them [Harry and Markle] and see them as having betrayed the monarchy, but there are lots of people who have sympathy with them, who think they're glamorous and will buy into the idea of these [As Ever's] products." However, Palmer suggested that Charles and William were never keen on the idea of Harry and Markle pursuing commercial ventures, and there is a slim chance they would change their stance in the future.
Similarly, former royal butler Grant Harrold also told Royal Insider that Charles would be worried about the Sussexes' visit as he is reportedly trying to maintain a good relationship with Australia. He stressed, "They [royals] won't want Harry and Meghan going there and causing any more upset or spurring on more protests or discussions about the monarchy off the back of it." According to him, if anything leads to backlash, it could reopen the whole debate around the monarchy again.
