Prince Harry is so influenced by his role as a “spare” – that is, being the replacement for heir to the throne William – that he even gave his autobiography this title. Being the reserve is Harry’s burden in life. And yet on Tuesday one could have assumed that it was the heir to the throne who was in London – and not his younger brother.
Escorted by a police car, Harry was driven to Clarence House in a blacked-out Range Rover. The British press followed the renegade prince’s arrival live. Royal fans posted online. However, the excitement didn’t last long. Anyone who imagined seeing father and son in a warm embrace or even appearing together would probably have been disappointed. At 2:45 p.m. local time, Harry arrived at the property of his “Pas” (as he calls Charles), and after 45 minutes the meeting was over again.
Meanwhile, there was no reunion with Prince William at all; Harry spent the night in a London hotel while his brother stayed at home in Windsor. Why Harry even made the long journey to his home country remains a mystery. However, the reporting surrounding his visit shows that it doesn’t really matter what he does. Because: The way he does it, he does it wrong.
If Prince Harry had stayed in his adopted home of Montecito even though his father was facing a life-threatening diagnosis in London, the British tabloid press (with which Harry is already at loggerheads) would have complained that the 39-year-old did not care about his family. He would probably have had to read accusations in the Daily Mail and Co. again that he preferred his luxury life in California to everyday palace life in London. Or worse: His wife Meghan is certainly stopping him from traveling home. Meghan has been held responsible for her husband’s behavior for years. The two’s exit from royal life was referred to as “Megxit”. True to the motto: This is the result of the woman’s crap.
Harry dispelled such accusations with his spontaneous trip home. Meghan neither held him back nor showed any disinterest in his family members. On the contrary, Harry took two long-haul flights for a 45-minute visit – almost a small token of love. But the British tabloid press wouldn’t be what it is if it didn’t find reasons for sometimes malicious comments in Harry’s current behavior.
For example, it is pointedly noted that Harry stayed in a hotel and there was no reconciliation with William. Royal author Robert Jobson even went one step further in the Daily Mail. Harry caused “unrest,” said Jobson, because he flew in “uninvited and at such short notice.” He even stopped Charles and Camilla, even though they had wanted to leave for a long time. “Because of Harry’s intervention, their Majesties had to remain in Clarence House, their main London residence, while they awaited the appearance of their lost younger son,” Jobson said. Immediately after Harry’s visit, the royals boarded a helicopter that flew them to Sandringham.
The realization that Harry can’t do anything right could be both a burden and a relief for him. He won’t get rid of the hatred towards himself so quickly. But: Once your reputation is ruined, you live very unabashedly. Especially if you’re just the “spare” anyway.
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With this pathetic kitsch, Harry and Meghan are wasting their sympathy
