King Charles May Have Figured Out Pretending Prince Harry and Meghan ‘Don’t Exist’ Is the Best Way to Handle Them, Royal Commentator Says
After Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down as working royals in 2020, things between the them and the rest of royal family haven’t been good with reports that the Sussexes haven’t even spoken to many of the duke’s relatives for some time. The duke and duchess, however, have publicly made their feelings about the Firm known in televised interviews, podcasts, a Netflix docuseries, and Harry’s tell-all book Spare.
Now with King Charles III’s coronation on the horizon and the Sussexes still undecided about whether or not they will attend the event, a royal commentator believes the monarch could end up excluding them from family by pretending they “do not exist.”
Expert says King Charles could act like Harry and Meghan ‘don’t exist’
The host of theTo Di For Daily podcast Kinsey Schofield spoke to Express about how King Charles may look to how things were done in the past in order to protect the monarchy’s future, even if it means excluding Harry and Meghan from the family going forward.
Schofield said: “What I’m seeing right now is Charles looking at the way Wallis [Simpson] and Edward [VIII] were handled and saying, ‘you know what? That might be the right way to go.’ We’re going to distance ourselves, we’re not going to give them a platform through us. Anything they do from here on out, they can do on their own terms.”
The royal commentator also opined that Charles could treat Harry and Meghan as if they “do not exist” in order to avoid further backlash.
“It does feel like they’re going to kind of pretend they do not exist, almost. Pretend that the problem is not there because that’s what [the Firm] did with Wallis and Edward,” she explained.
The monarchy did that with another royal couple before them
In 1936, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle became King Edward VIII after the death of his father, King George V. However, Edward VIII chose to marry Simpson over the crown and announced his choice to abdicate the throne that same year. Following that decision, Edward VIII was pretty much exiled as the royals did not maintain a close relationship with the pair who began living in France as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Schofield said what happened with Edward VIIi and Simpson is “something Charles watched and it hurt him because I think there was a time when he was curious about that and why the family behaved in that way. But ultimately it protected the family.”
Many comparisons have been drawn over the years between Meghan and Harry and Edward VIII and Simpson as both couples gave televised interviews to discuss their side of the story and leaving the Firm. Moreover, Harry released a memoir, which is something his great-great-uncle did as well. Edward’s book was titled A King’s Story The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor.
Agreement to stop Sussexes from talking more may have been reached
Other royal watchers, however, believe Charles won’t have to make that decision after all as it’s been reported that Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie and Lilibet, will be referred to as “prince” and “princess.” Allowing the Sussexes’ kids to use the titles instead of challenging it by issuing a Letters Patent may finally keep the duke and duchess from airing out any more of the family’s dirty laundry.
Victoria Arbiter previously commented that Charles would be “keen to quell any future barbs from Meghan and Harry” and that it’s “imperative he use the early days of his reign to tie up loose ends by addressing the issues that may prove detrimental to the Crown.”
And royal author Katie Nicholl told Palace Confidential that Charles would allow the titles to be used with strings attached in a bid to keep the Sussexes in line saying: “If that did happen, it is going to come with a caveat. [King Charles] is going to insist that Harry and Meghan are respectful of the institution if they are taking the titles of the institution. That is very important to him.”
