The Royal Family’s ‘Continued Punishment’ of Prince Harry Is Only Hurting Them, Author Says
Putting Prince Harry in the proverbial dog house “doesn’t do the royal family any good,” according to Omid Scobie. While promoting his latest book, Endgame, the royal correspondent explained how the royal family’s treated the Duke of Sussex demonstrates a lack of “maturity” and inability to “rise above the noise.” Plus, what they need to do to break away from the “same criticisms.”
The royal family continues to ‘kick’ Harry
Speaking to Marie Claire about Endgame, Scobie discussed the idea Harry and Meghan Markle lost their use of Frogmore Cottage as retaliation for Spare. He called it “one of many” blows to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that also highlighted “hypocrisy” in the royal family.
Saying living in royal properties should be a “perk” only for full-time working royals, Scobie shared “there are a whole slew of royals that aren’t doing the job but still have access to those perks. But I think that there was a hypocrisy there. Because it was only activated for Harry.”
Prince Andrew, also a non-working royal, remains in the Royal Lodge after being asked to leave earlier in 2023. “So, it’s impossible not to look at that situation and think that there was a pettier aspect to it, that this was just another kick to Harry — one of many,” Scobie said.
The royal family ‘couldn’t get it together’ with Prince Harry when Queen Elizabeth died
Harry being left “in the dark” as Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, 2022, proved to be yet another telling moment, according to Scobie.
“It shows how much, or little, of a priority Harry is to the family at this point,” he said. “The fact that he wasn’t on that plane flying over with the rest of his family members — despite his desire to be so — shows just how cold the feeling is towards [sic] him.”
“Again, just for simply speaking out, and speaking about things that weren’t lies. They were just things that the family didn’t want to address, either in private or publicly.”
“This kind of continued punishment of Harry doesn’t do the royal family any good,” he went on. “It doesn’t show warmth, it doesn’t show heart. It doesn’t show maturity in just being able to rise above the noise and focus on the things that matter.”
“And in that moment, what mattered was family,” he explained. “And even in the sad circumstances of the queen’s soon-to-be passing, they still couldn’t get it together.” At the time, “it wasn’t all about Harry. It was just a grandson that wanted to be there and be a part of it and not feel left out.”
‘Accountability’ is key for the royal family to avoid the ‘same challenges’
“I think the most important thing for the royal family to really help them move forward is accountability. Accountability on every level,” Scobie said elsewhere in the interview.
“Whether that’s the way in which the royals spend their money. You can’t in one breath take away Frogmore Cottage from Harry and Meghan because you’re supposedly downsizing the amount of royals living in reduced-rate property. But then have Prince Andrew still living in a 30-room mansion.”
“You can’t talk about slimming down the monarchy and still use 50-plus private helicopter rides in a year to go from one house to the other, in [King] Charles’ case. You can’t talk about the history of the royal family and slavery in abstract terms like we’ve seen Charles do, most recently in Kenya. One must address it face on.
“I think for as long as the royal family continues to bury their heads under the sand and sweep things under the carpet,” Scobie concluded, “they’re going to find themselves facing the same criticisms and [the] same challenges over and over again.”
