Published: 18:37 EDT, 3 September 2022 | Updated: 18:39 EDT, 3 September 2022
SARAH VINE: Come on, Harry, kiss and make up... if only for your own sake
By Sarah Vine For The Mail On Sunday
Fair to say the Sussexes have not had the best week. What they presumably thought would be another heart-wrenching exposé of the endless suffering endured at the hands of the evil imperialist oppressor The Firm somewhat backfired.
Most damaging of all was the Duchess’s assertion, during that now-infamous 6,400-word interview, that when she attended the London premiere of The Lion King in 2019 (the same premiere at which, you may remember, Prince Harry was overheard touting his wife’s acting talents to a Disney executive), a member of the South African cast told her that when she married into the Royal Family, they rejoiced in the streets as they did when Nelson Mandela was freed from prison.
This came as something of a surprise to the actor in question, Dr John Kani, who turns out wasn’t even at the premiere.
She had, it transpired, spoken to the show’s South African composer (so hard to tell these theatrical types apart isn’t it, Meghan?), who chatted to her for less than a minute but had no recollection of mentioning Mandela, suggesting she has mis-remembered.
Thus in one fell swoop Meghan exposed herself as someone completely lacking in self-awareness.
The trouble the Duke and Duchess have is that there are only so many useful idiots (Omid Scobie, Oprah Winfrey, James Corden) prepared to swallow their nonsense.
In the end the truth will out and, I suspect, the tragedy for Meghan will be that her truth is not that of an innocent crushed by a vicious Royal cabal, but of an arch-manipulator who thinks everyone’s as gullible as poor, love-struck Harry.
Harry’s ‘truth’, meanwhile (whether he likes it or not), is that not only has he severed ties with his family over what may be little more than a series of imagined slights, he’s also replaced a pivotal role as a key Royal for one as little more than a performing monkey to an organ grinder whose tune, increasingly, is wearing thin.
In other words, he’s exchanged a walk-on part in history for a leading role in a cage.
Question is, what to do about it? The couple’s visit to the UK this week was, in classic Sussex style, seemingly timed to coincide (aka overshadow) the appointment of a new Prime Minister by the Queen.
No doubt they thought they’d be doing us all a favour by gracing us with their presence, surmising that poor old beleaguered Blighty would be thrilled by the prospect of a little Sussex stardust.
But after last week’s performance, they couldn’t be more mistaken. No doubt there will be a few hardcore fans lined up to greet them, but the British public are not stupid. Nor, as it happens, are the Americans, who are also beginning to tire of their antics.
With everything else that’s going on – soaring energy bills, political uncertainty, war in Ukraine – the last thing anyone cares about is a woman in shoes that cost a month’s salary whining about how hard her life is.
Harry and Meghan are at a crossroads. They have a simple choice: either continue on their current trajectory, issuing thinly veiled threats and engaging in an increasingly undignified vendetta against his family.
Or, they can use this opportunity to show they are not just a pair of money-grabbing ingrates, and find a way of extending the hand of friendship.
If not for the sake of those they have harmed with their half-truths and spiteful innuendo, then for the people they really care about: themselves.
Because let’s be honest, their association with the Royal Family is pretty much the only currency they have; it’s the only reason, really, anyone in America gives them the time of day.
And if the Queen were to do what many are urging – and strip them of their titles – they would be left with nothing to flog but their raw talent. Good luck with that.
