Harry and Meghan Should Have Been ‘Allowed’ to Keep Doing Royal Duties After Exit, Says Royal Expert
Prince Harry and Meghan had requested for a half-in-half-out approach that was rejected, but have seemingly managed to succeed in a similar formula.
It is no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had requested to continue with their duties after stepping away from the monarchy. However, the half-in-half-out approach had been denied by the late Queen Elizabeth. Six years after the royal fallout, the Sussexes are now undertaking public engagements and tours eerily similar to the royals, despite not being part of the Firm. Although he is still embroiled in the state-funded security matter, Harry managed to make a private family trip to the UK last month.
Royal expert Jennie Bond claimed that Harry and Markle had “achieved” exactly what they had asked for before leaving the monarchy and that they should have been “allowed” to do so from the start. “If we do start seeing him at more charity events over here, as well as conducting his now quite regular visits to Ukraine, perhaps you could argue that he has achieved what he asked for in the first place. Not quite half in and half out – but a way of doing traditional royal engagements even though he’s not part of ‘the firm’. It’s something I think he and Meghan should have been allowed to do in the first place,” Bond wrote for The i-Paper.
The royal expert believed that by not granting the Sussexes’ request, the royals had lost two people who could have been assets to the Palace, while also fracturing familial ties. “But the late Queen Elizabeth II was implacable. As a result, the monarchy lost two people who could have helped forge important links between the Crown and Britain’s diverse communities. And William lost his brother,” she further added.
In July this year, Harry traveled to the UK for the 2027 Invictus Games countdown event. Markle and their two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, had also joined him and had managed to stay out of the public eye. The family is said to have visited Princess Diana’s grave at Althorp. Bond wrote, “Despite his ongoing campaign to be given the security he believes he merits, the Prince has found a way to bring his family to the UK and show his children something of their heritage. Next year, he will undoubtedly want to bring them to one of his most cherished causes, the Invictus Games.”
2027 will also mark Diana’s 30th death anniversary. Bond believed it would be a sweet tribute to the People’s Princess if her two estranged sons could reconcile. But the ball would be in William’s court. “What a tribute it would be to Diana if her sons could finally be reconciled on the anniversary of her untimely death. But if Harry’s fire has been quelled, the anger smoldering inside William – who is known to be a stubborn character – could be much harder to extinguish,” she wrote, “If any truce is to be called, it will be William who does the calling.”
Last month, the Sussexes and King Charles also seemingly extended an olive branch to each other after years of strife. The monarch also got to meet his grandchildren for the first time in four years.
