Insofar as anyone could tell, Meghan’s political sentiments were also resolutely American. America is a young country while Britain and all the other European monarchies are ancient. In the last two centuries, European society has undergone extensive changes as all the states have democratized and some have become republics. The present-day monarchies are often more stable and meritocratic than their republican counterparts, with the result that contemporary constitutional monarchies regard themselves as not merely a form of government, but as the best form of government. In their opinion, their system of government protects the welfare of all in society, not only as a bulwark against power grabs by ambitious politicians, but also by representing all the citizens of their country irrespective of their political persuasions. Republican government only ever represents those citizens who voted for the party in power. There was concern in palace circles that Meghan was not experienced enough to appreciate the subtleties of the world she would be joining, and that Harry would not assist her in seeing the light.
In the year between the Sunday Express exposing Harry’s relationship with Meghan and their engagement, the powers that be had been able to get what they believed to be an accurate measure of her. Although she had endeared herself to the Prince of Wales by smoothing out some of the ruffles in his relationship with Harry, and the Queen liked her because she likes anyone who is bright, vivacious and has a sense of fun such as Meghan conveyed, the feeling amongst dispassionate observers was that she might turn out to be more troublesome than they hoped. This was because she was so strong-minded, had such pronounced political bias, was so strident where silence would be desirable, and was so upfront about having to have her own way, that an air of confrontationalism followed her wherever she went. At the palace, where an atmosphere of agreeability has always been valued above any one person getting his or her own way, this made people pause for thought and question whether Hurricane Meg wouldn’t be blowing down all sorts of edifices which everyone wanted to remain upstanding.
What also perturbed observers was the control Meghan exerted over Harry. Admittedly, he was happy. Indeed, both he and Meghan seemed to be flying high as they sparked each other off to ever greater heights. Their relationship also seemed to be fairly layered, with Harry strutting around playing the Alpha male protecting the hyper-feminine flower against potentially adverse elements, while she stroked his back and clucked after him like a Mother Hen with her chick. So what if she did most of the talking, and even when he wanted to make a point, she would either talk over him or finish what he was saying? She was extremely feminine while he was extremely masculine, on some level playing out the Yin and Yang almost stereotypically. But some people who were concerned about Meghan being the stronger, more intelligent and capable partner, noted that hers was the femininity of a strong and assertive matriarch, not of the obliging and docile Little Woman. They questioned, possibly unfairly, whether she wasn’t too dominant for everyone’s good, her own and Harry’s included. ‘The surprising thing was that the only person who couldn’t see it was Harry,’ someone who has now left the palace told me, quite missing the point that if Harry was happy to follow in Meghan’s wake, the dynamic suited him.
Putting the relative strengths of the couple aside, ‘She and Harry were tripping,’ someone close to him told me. ‘He is a very emotional guy, and she knows just what buttons to press to get him going.’ While admirers felt that she was very much in tune with Harry emotionally, and managed him well, detractors felt that ‘she’d slam the physical button, wrapping herself around him like bindweed, stroking his back as if she were his nanny and he a vulnerable six year old in need of reassurance. I for one felt that she was manipulating him emotionally. Undermining him by playing on his vulnerabilities. Doing so under the guise of caring for him when in fact she was really gaining power over him. The way he used to look at her when she was on the other side of the room was painful to see. He was like a puppy looking adoringly at its master. His eyes would swivel in his head as his gaze followed her around the room. But she’s clever. She would be constantly reinforcing her control over him by agreeing with him, indicating how clever he was, how wonderful. Laying on the adulation with a trowel. It was pure treacle and I wonder if he would’ve seen through it if the sex hadn’t been so good. You could tell it was fantastic. He couldn’t keep his hands off her. She also touched him a lot, though I felt that she used touch as another device to control him. I got the distinct impression that she’d reward him with pats when he was good: shades of nanny. She’d also snap at him if he stepped out of line. She did it at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in full view of everyone, and I’ve seen her do it on many other occasions. But if he moved too much out of her orbit, or was in danger of eluding her, she’d re-establish contact physically. This would have the effect of sucking him in again. There really was no escape from her. Not that he seemed
