Because Harry’s emotional fragility plays such a part in everyone’s calculations, Meghan is beyond the control of everyone but herself. This is not as enviable a position to be in as it might appear to be. In fact, there is much to be said for the fact that Meghan’s strength of character has isolated not only Harry but also herself. Had she had someone who could have stood up to her, who could have helped her adjust to a new way of life in a truly meaningful way instead of enabling her when he should have been informing and at times diverting her, she might well have gained greater appreciation of a way of life she was dismissive of. Everyone needs guidance at times, strong people included. They also need resistance when it is necessary. When they are making mistakes, they need someone to tell them. In situations such as Harry and Meghan’s, it is fruitless to apportion blame, for Harry is highly emotional without the outstanding intellectual capabilities a woman as strong and intelligent as Meghan would require, to divert her from the path of certitude upon which she consistently treads. And without a naysayer, she has made mistakes which she could easily have avoided. These have affected her popularity, and brought condemnation down upon her.
Two incidents in particular which turned the British public against her stand out. The first was when Meghan flew to New York for a baby shower which was reported as having cost $300,000. One must remember that the press often exaggerate how much things cost, but even so, there is no doubt that the event was lavish. It was organised by her friends Genevieve Hillis, with whom she has been friendly since their days together at Northwestern University when they were sorority sisters in Kappa Kappa Gamma, Jessica Mulroney and Serena Williams. Gayle King said, ‘I think her friends just wanted to celebrate her. Those were the three women who put it all together. It was a very, very small, private affair and just a very special time for her.’ Held at the Mark Hotel, in its most luxurious suite, it was attended by her fifteen closest friends including Amal Clooney, on whose jet she was given a lift coming and going. For the forty eight hours that she was in New York, Meghan provided photo op after photo op for her admirers, to the annoyance of her detractors. She was a news editor’s dream, her hand perpetually hovering over her bump like a helicopter above a landing pad, a faint smile playing on her lips as if she had some secret only she knew about, but wasn’t it wonderful? This patent enjoyment of life appealed to her admirers but riled her detractors, who kept on saying they wished she’d look a little less smug, while the former group exulted in her open joyousness at her good fortune. While the battle raged, Meghan treated all onlookers to a fashion parade. Whatever her critics say, they cannot deny that she is a beautifully dressed, stylish woman who knows how to wear clothes and shows them, and herself, to advantage.
It was interesting to see how radically different the American newspaper and television coverage was from the British. In the US, there was universal celebration for Meghan’s good fortune in not only having hooked a prince and become a duchess, but also in luxuriating so effortlessly and stylishly in a paradise only a hallowed few will ever be able to occupy. In Britain, there was universal condemnation for what was perceived as crass and vulgar wallowing in a tasteless display of conspicuous consumption. The British don’t mind their grandees living in palaces and castles, don’t even mind them wearing millions of pounds worth of inherited jewels and sitting upon tens of millions of pounds of chattels, but they do object to royalty cadging lifts on celebrities’ private planes, staying in hotels where suites cost tens and tens of thousands of dollars a night, wearing tens and tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of clothes which will only ever be worn once. To them, palaces, castles, furniture, art work, and jewels are heritage, and therefore acceptable. But putting a match to that amount of money for one night’s stay, for one outfit’s outing, for one party which will be over in a few hours, is offensive to them. These are fundamental cultural differences which it would have behoved Meghan to understand and Harry to explain.
I was told that Meghan was extremely upset by the criticism levelled against her. She simply could not understand why the British weren’t thrilled with her the way the Americans were.
So what is she’d got a lift on Amal Clooney’s aeroplane? What was all the fuss about? Amal was using it whether she was on it or not. And in any event, who flies commercial if they have the chance to go private? She found the British attitude stupid and unreasonable.
This clash of cultures could have been avoided with greater discretion, but the fact is, Harry did not help negotiate Meghan’s way around the shoals. He was simply not canny enough to spot the sinkhole into which she was stepping. He also shared a damaging trait with his great-great-great-uncle David, the Duke of Windsor, who was so also enraptured by his wife that he too could never prevent her from hurling herself headlong into unnecessary pits. Like David, who thought that Wallis was a paragon of perfection, Harry thought that Meghan had much to teach his compatriots. He honestly believed that the monarchy was run by stuffed shirts and several members of his family were jealous of him and Meghan to such an extent that they all wanted to keep them down when everyone could learn so much from her. In his estimation, the monarchy could have become so much more relevant under her guidance. It could have been a
