Catherine Mayer wrote a highly critical biography of King Charles, which was published last fall in royal-commentators’ rush to get books out before Prince Harry’s Spare was published. Mayer’s book was genuinely critical of Charles, Prince William, Kate, the courtiers and the entire institution, and Mayer has repeatedly made some good points about how the institution has badly judged and poorly treated the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Mayer recently spoke out positively about the Sussexes’ Netflix series, and now she’s got some sh-t to say about Harry’s memoir. From the Guardian’s Observer:
Spare could mark the beginning of the end of the monarchy: “It is possibly something that will mark the beginning of the end of the monarchy, and that is what we should discuss. It is important, given the lack of trust in the state at the moment and an upsurge in rightwing politics. Members of the royal family have become our proxies for anger about racism, misogyny and wealth. This is, after all, an institution that stands for inequality, so there are huge things at stake.”
Mayer says the monarchy is trying to “dodge” the real issues Harry speaks out about: Accusations of bullying, racism and misogyny, as well as the class distinctions shored up by the monarchy, will eventually combine to undermine the basis of the consent by which the royal family rule, if they are not addressed, she predicts. “There is a general misapprehension that this is a light story about a British tourist attraction. The polarisation on both sides of the row is styled as a defence of the monarchy, but it’s not that,” said Mayer. “This is not just a celebrity knockabout story. What we are talking about is the status of a significant institution of state, with significant powers and significant taxpayer funding, so whether you are pro- or anti-monarchy, it deserves to be considered seriously.”
The tabloids’ confrontational tone: The author first condemned the confrontational tone of much media coverage of the dispute in a tweet on Saturday morning, writing “It’s as if UK journalism, stung by #PrinceHarry’s criticisms, went down the pub, chugged 17 pints of lager top, and came out swinging, staggering and shouting ‘you think *that* was bad!? Just you watch!’ #Spare”
King Charles sh-t the bed: The prospects for reconciliation were remote even before the book, Mayer said, “but there is a strong incentive for King Charles to initiate some kind of truce – this is bringing back the fallout from his first marriage and questions about Queen Camilla are resurfacing already.”
The media’s performative outrage: Mayer notes that the alleged racism, bullying and image manipulation inside the institution are not being examined. Left alone, they have the power to dissolve faith in the idea of a hereditary head of state. “The extreme reaction, and probably confected outrage, when Meghan mimicked a curtsey in the Netflix documentary is a case in point,” said Mayer. “In fact within the palace staff there is competition to see who can go lowest without falling over. So she was not being so disrespectful. She had a point.”
The monarchy’s failure of the Meghan Project: Partly to blame, Mayer holds, are the “layers of secrecy and obfuscation” that surround the royal family and encourage misunderstandings. “It is intended as a defence, but it will defeat the organisation if they concentrate on the personalities. The whole family is meant to be an idealised reflection of the British people themselves and Harry’s marriage to Meghan made the job much easier,” she said. “The failure of that project is absolutely catastrophic for the royal family.”
Mayer is one of the few “royal commentators” with this kind of perspective. Which alone is notable, and it speaks volumes about exactly what Harry has said about the Windsor-media collusion. If the bulk of “royal media” is just to act as stenographers to royal power, then that proves Harry’s point. The tabloids and the British conservative media are not acting on their own, they’re being directed and co-opted by a racist, far-right, colonialist monarchy and the monarchy and media are working in concert to perform their outrage at all things Sussex. Basically, where’s the initiative to actually talk about the issues the Sussexes have raised for years?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.
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- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. The events over a long holiday weekend in the U.K. are meant to celebrate the monarch’s 70 years of service.,Image: 696621832, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Matt Dunham / Avalon
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- The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge process into St Paul’s with the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall for the start of the service of thanksgiving for the Queen.,Image: 696640946, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: RICHARD POHLE / Avalon
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- His Royal Highness Prince William – the Duke Of Cambridge and Her Royal Highness Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge depart a service of thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England, UK on Friday 3 June, 2022 as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration.,Image: 696655676, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 03: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall depart the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 696661979, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Kitwood / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive for the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 696678053, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: ARTHUR EDWARDS / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive for the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 696678335, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: ARTHUR EDWARDS / Avalon
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive for the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral on June 03, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.,Image: 696678455, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: ARTHUR EDWARDS / Avalon
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- Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony at Buckingham Palace with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, after the Platinum Pageant on June 05, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 697224208, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Anthony Harvey / Avalon
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- Buckingham Palace, London, UK. 5 June 2022. Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte of Cambridge at the end of a spectacular Platinum Jubilee Pageant on The Mall,Image: 697322082, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: MALCOLM PARK / Avalon
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I still remain of the belief that it will be a long time before the monarchy is actually toppled. The Brits associate support for the monarchy with being British. It’s very much part of their identity. It’s going to be hard to disentangle that. Do i believe that sussexit and the sussexes speaking out have delivered a blow to the institution? Sure. But then again, it’s a powerful institution.
I agree..unfortunately it will be around for a few more decades. There’s too many powerful people invested in keeping the monarchy just as it is. They will be protected at all costs and that fully includes sacrificing Harry and Meghan to protect it!
Nothing will change..in a few weeks they’ll be back to photo ops and business as usual!
But Harry and Meghan will be fine and successful..but so will the monarchy (ugh). Whether or not there’s is a relationship between the two depends on the levels of briefing/leaking moving forward which means absolutely nothing will change lol
I just hope Harry is ready to fully let go when it gets to that point. Maybe he has and is just being diplomatic but I guess we’ll see come coronation time
If the monarchy goes down it will be because the British citizens want it to go down. But you are right: too many people are invested in keeping the monarchy alive. And a lot of them happen to be part of the government. Because the royals distract from their failures.
I would absolutely love it if someone did a proper investigation into crown, government and press relations.
@Chloe ITA – The ‘dead cat’ useful-ness of the Monarchy is underspoken about.
The Tories also do not like too many checks and balances so the current system suiting them very well.
I think the Hse of Lords will be abolished well before the Monarchy is wound down or abolished.
I also think Chuckles will abandon his plans for a slimmed down Monarchy and attempt to beef it up as currently the attacks from across the pond are making the drab-4 look very weak.
The Cambridge kids are too young and have been over-exposed of late so I suspect that Beatrice and Edo will become semi-working Royals to fill the void. Edo has the perfect combination of being easy on the eye, relatively unknown with a clean slate but scandalous enough to continually throw under a bus. He also has a mixed race step son which comes in handy for denying that ‘they’re very much not a racist family”. Most importantly he is an Aristo so will happily take up the mantle of taking the hits as and when as long as Charles ensures he is given contacts that allow Edo and Bea to become stratospherically rich.
I see Bea and Edo being promoted, especially as Chuckles must feel put out by Sophie\s decade long PR campaign of usurping Camilla as the favoured DIL.
I agree it will take time but I do think attitudes are shifting. I was born here and hold a British passport and two things come to mind for me:
1. The last few years and the BRFs reaction to Harry marrying Meghan has absolutely made the scales fall from my eyes plus as society we are starting to look at our (colonialist) history in a different light (addressing looted artefacts, pulling down statues of slave traders, etc.) and
2. Liz dying. She was queen for most of our lives and that was built into the fabric of the country (on the money, stamps, initials on post boxes, businesses with royal warrants or whatever they’re called, etc.). But now she’s gone and we have a divorced philanderer and his ex mistress who both have a very visible history of appealing behaviour? Yeah a lot of the mystique that went with Liz is GONE. She didn’t necessarily seem human, they very much do.
I agree the monarchy won’t topple in the near future but in a few decades. William and Kate are bland and lazy. If George doesn’t endear himself to the public (or doesn’t want the job), then it’s over.
I think the UK will be gone within the next 30 years and only England will retain the monarchy for a bit. Wales and Scotland have strong independence movements that are only growing. Northern Ireland will be united with Ireland in the near future. Great Britain as an identity mostly exists for English people. Support for the monarchy is highest in England, lowest in Scotland.
For the love of God, please do not fall for propaganda. If Scotland gains independence, they would have russia on their backs 5 minutes later.
Scotland is the weakest link in europe. They wouldn’t be in nato or eu, they are not strong enough to defend themselves, so no, it has to wait.
Diplomacy is not about loving someone but choosing lesser evil.
Same goes for Wales. And no N. Ireland cannot just go and become a part of Ireland. That would take years, maybe more. First they would have to separate from the uk. And then to pray not to end up like ukraine.
Unfortunately I must agree with you.
It’s not only about the monarchy but all the aristo circus sourrinding it: it cannot be dismantled easily, too many interests in keeping the class system alive.
Being British and a monarchist are so tenuously related and inseparably consubstantial, as you rightly put it, that the fall of the rotten institution might not come from the people or parliament, but be brought about by its lousy representatives themselves.
It will only take another Prince Andrew, an irate philandering king, a pathologically introvert heir, and a disgruntled colored Commonwealth to terminate the monarchy as it is currently structured:
– That the first born must inherent the throne without merit or any assessment of his skills, simply because he was randomly born first, is so arbitrary it cannot stand the test if 21st century rationality.
– The fact that the king’s entourage (former mistresses and lovers, ex wives) may mysteriously die or be sexually assaulted and the monarch be garanteed impunity is another issue and a pill hard to swallow for the man in the street who is hounded for parking tickets.
– The profligate overspending of public funds for unnecessary helicopter flights and multiple mansions, as well as turning a blind eye to a Coronation cost, is adversarial to the personal sacrifices and restrictions the man in the street endures on a daily basis.
This is a dilemma for the English people to solve. They’re free to squander their money on those ugly-looking 🤡 and morally despicable 🐷. The only thing I give a fuck about is the Royals’ abuse of Meghan as an insufferable perpetration of the racist tropes I want to see disappear, for the sake of my children.
As long as you can get people to froth at the mouth about Harry and Meghan, they will not focus as much on their heating being unaffordable in the winter and Brexit having been a shit idea.
In other words, it benefits the Conservative Government to have people think of Meghan as the enemy, as it’s a great distraction from the real problems in the UK.
Which will be to the further detriment of the UK. And embarrassment. I really do hope that the jubilee will be the only time archie and lili stepped foot in that country
You are so right. The Palace and the media as we know it will stand or fall together. They both feed of each other for existence, and as for the Tory party, they need the Royal family more than ever now to keep the spotlight of the destruction they are causing. Oh how I would love one, just one investigative reporter to go in deep on all the misdeeds and lies from the Royal family, from dodgy money, to sex pests, relook at the Panama papers and off shore accounts. Find out WHO – (but we already know this) is planting all the negative stories about harry and meghan. There was a reporter called Alex Tiffin who printed the story about Williams affair, he, along with all the other reporters were ordered to drop it and not print any more or there would be legal proceedings, I loved the fact that Alex lives in Scotland where they have different laws to the rest of the UK and he said bring it on, and he pointed out there were signed statements from witnesses to the affair, but of course, the British rags were to afraid to follow through
But sooner or later the Tory party will lose the next election. TBD how much effort the next government will invest in protecting the monarchy. The voters are only going to get angrier between now and 2025.
I wish I could see the glass half full but I don’t see it in this case. Spare is not bring the English monarchy to an end but I do hope that reasonable people will see them how they really are: Racist and lazy.
Harry is saying what actually happened and not sugar coating. Someone should reprint or reissue Charles authorized biography to show charles own mindset.charles actually himself criticized the queen. William is super protected.
William is protected cos he trusts no one. He has his traumas but i bet he cannot trust any therapist. That happens when your family is so messed up, and your dad uses you, your mom dies, and you have no one to take care of you, apart from family who sees you as the heir, not human.
I don’t see England losing its monarchy in my lifetime… the commonwealth is another story. It’s still amazing/ shocking to me how lightly the British Royal family have gotten off in the discussion of the horrors of colonialism. Harry is exposing the royal family for essentially being powerful Kardashians (descended from war criminals) in less revealing outfits, and the implication is WHY are these ridiculous people heads of state? My Aussie family was gleefully discussing how gorgeous the Aboriginal flag would be in place of the Union Jack.
As long as the fundamental problems go unexamined (landed aristocracy, primogeniture, the legacy of colonialist exploitation and death), the easy acceptance of bullying and emotional withholdiong as foundational characteristics of traditional “Great Britain” will remain.
*withholding
I’m so jealous of Australia, it sounds like it will be super easy to extricate yourselves from Britain. Here in Canada it’s another story. All of our First Nations treaties are between the peoples and the Crown. I don’t know if we can just slide that over to the Republic of Canada, but it sounds like it will be super complicated.
I’m certain if re-signing has to occur a whole can of worms will be opened. A lot of the Indian Act is dated, up to and including its name. I’m happy to say our First Nations people have become super well educated in the last few generations and they know their rights and needs, so it will be interesting.
I would hope they abolish the monarchy with Charles. But I kinda doubt that will happen. What I wonder is could England defund the monarchy? They could keep them there in their positions. But quit using taxpayer money to keep them up. Make them use their own money to survive on. Just like all the commoners.
The problem is the Royal Family doesn’t think they’ve done anything wrong and blame Meghan for the fallout. I agree that this is the beginning of the end.
I noticed also a disturbing trend that the late Diana is slammed and posthumously gaslit. In addition to Meghan and harry. I noticed this in the dm. I think Charles is really the root of the problems and he could bring down the monarchy.
The issue with saying anything is the “beginning of the end” is that you don’t really know until the end, you know? And I think the monarchy’s demise is going to be a very long process.
Now, do I think Spare is bad for the royal family? Yes. Do I think the British press is scrambling and hyperfocusing on things like “Harry called William bald!” to avoid focusing on how bad Spare makes the royals look overall? Yes. Do I think the royal family really really messed up when it came to H&M? Yes.
We’ll just have to see how this plays out at this point, especially for those of us non-British people.
Yes. Just as Harry explained the paparazzi as a link in a “bike chain,” and if you took that link out maybe there would have been a different outcome for Diana… in the same way, H&M’s speaking truth to power on tv & in books is a link in a bike chain that will ultimately contribute to the downfall of the BRF, but it won’t be the single thing to bring it down. This will be a long, long process that very well may not even happen in our lifetime (given that the media & tory aristocracy have a vested financial interest in propping up their royal puppets).
So: once can’t discount the power of H&M in the ultimate outcome, but also to attribute the fall of the BRF solely to them is to overstate their case.
It’s more like a steady drip causing erosion. H&M’s actions are contributing but so are Andrew’s scandals, C&C’s scandals, Diana’s story, commonwealth nations speaking out about colonization, the popular monarch dying and being replaced with the less popular, the RF and cohorts showing themselves for what they are… All their actions and the fact that more are being exposed will contribute. Maybe fitting? Other countries remove monarchy with spirit and revolution but the BM just fizzles out? KC needs to get started on his decreasing “working” royals and taking down the cost of the monarchy. That is likely what will be most useful in helping them keep ruling. But, hopefully, doing that will also inspire more to publish the reality.
Go back and read about the efforts of the BRF and government to suppress publication of “the Windsor files” in the aftermath of WWII for an easy lesson on how protection of the monarchy is put ahead of absolutely everything. Andrew Morton’s book “17 Carnations” is flawed in many ways, but it is impossible to read this section without hearing the echoes in the present day.
Unpopular yes. Bring down, no. They survive because of apathy.
100% agree. Revolutions are messy and someone needs to be willing to lead it and wear it. The UK *already had* a revolution and reestablished the monarchy. It’s not going anywhere.
I disagree – I think the UK is heading for a Revolution and it will happen in our lifetime.
Just too much messiness. The isolation and desolation of Brexit. The taking apart of the NHS and welfare system. A Tory political class who are literally sticking fingers up to the poor. Brits would not survive the economic climate that Americans have grown up with as most are too coddled and poor. Just a sad fact. In real terms Brits have gotten poorer over the last decade, but the economic demands of life have grown. That is essentially the very definition of the boiling Frog. Once that reaches critical mass and the lower middle classes and working classes no longer have the avenues to pretend to be middle class and there are not enough immigrants to blame it will pop off and sh!t will hit the fan.
I don’t think there will be a big “aha!” moment when everyone agrees to ditch the monarchy. I think it will just shrink into oblivion. Downsizing it is a risky strategy. When the only ones left are not charismatic or interesting, it quickly loses its appeal. And there is no telling what the next generation will do when the time comes. Harry and Meghan have shown the way forward, as well as the way out. Young George already looks unhappy with his lot and using kids to generate interest is a very bad look. Eventually, the British will get tired of supporting this and allow it to fade away.
I agree with this. Some historians will blame Harry, but the truth is way more nuanced then that IMO.
One big thing is that it’s citizenry are no longer abject peasants and ignorant rubes, as a whole. So many people are much more accomplished than are members of the BRF. People can see it up close for what it is, what it is not, and what it does and does not offer.
I agree that slimming down is a risky strategy. I understand why Charles, etc., would want to move in that direction but the institutional side of the house failed in coming up with a new model. William and Kate are both work shy. They can’t and won’t do the work to keep the BRF tied to other key institutions and charities. Sure, professional help was brought in to help Kate (Early Years) and William (Earthshot) but those supposed signature pieces are a little too late in the making and real thin on the ground. Megan, for example, introduced a new way for the BRF to breath new life into their relationships with their charities and by extension it’s citizenry. But, we all know how that ended. Heck, they were even slow adaptors to social media.
Too much time has been spent moving slowly in the name of tradition (or whatever) that the institutional side of the BRF has either calcified or gotten stuck in quicksand. The monarchy will still be standing. That’s not the question. The question is ‘in what condition will it still be standing?’. It’s a very old institution. It won’t be toppling soon. Like the USA will never ditch the US Constitution, parts of the U.K. and the Commonwealth will never ditch the monarchy but the institutional side of house really needs to change its business practices.
The notion that if something is old it will remain there forever is ahistorical. The Egyptian Empire lasted 3000 years. The French monarchy was nearly 1000. A mere 100 years ago, people were still saying that the sun would never set on the British Empire. The only thing you can count on with history is change.
Based on Prince Harry’s Spare and interviews. it seems that the people have been played by both the press and the royals.
Take the eg of the story that Meghan made Kate cried. The reporter Camilla Tominey ran with the story without bothering to check with Harry or Meghan.
So I think the royals and the British press are doing a fine job in bringing themselves down.
Only a Revolution can bring down the monarchy, and the people are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. The Monarchy has deals with the media, the politicians and aristocracy. They are well protected. Laws are swiftly drafted to prevent dissent or protests following the Queen’s death. Laws are being drafted so workers can’t strike.
Their reputation is damaged for sure, but the monarchy is firmly entrenched in society and society loves it.
>”The extreme reaction, and probably confected outrage, when Meghan mimicked a curtsey”
THIS was so weird to me. I actually saw one guy tweet that if the Brits had no other reason to “loathe” Meghan this would have been enough?? And I’m like:
1. She was clearly making fun of herself, not the queen.
2. Making a point that Americans simply don’t bow to anyone. It’s not being disrespectful. It’s just not a thing in our culture.
What purpose does a monarchy have in modern society? Particularly a dysfunctional antiquated nasty organization that promotes hate. A royal soap opera to entertain the masses.
This is a tough one. As a republican I want the monarchy to end. It is costly and unaccountable. That it is embedded in our legal system is a difficult one, but surmountable IMO. However, this country is four nations. A presidential model wouldn’t fit us. It would have to be an important politician, probably English. Wales and Scotland would not want this at all, and vice versa. This could lead to a fracturing of the UK. Northern Ireland could not be ‘abandoned’ by the English for so many reasons. We are stuck, I feel.
What will have to happen instead is such a scale back of the BRF that they become like some modern European royals. There would also have to be a huge scale back in public funding. I think a reduced role would delight Kate, who wants her position in name only (with a few big events and big dresses thrown in). What we’ve learnt over the past few years and with the death of the queen and looking forward past Charles to William is: they are a bloated institution and, while the queen embodied the idea of a constitutional monarch, I can’t see Kate or William having the intelligence or commitment to work their position within the constitution. Can you imagine Kate spending 3 hours per day reading state papers, which the queen did?! The idea of BRF’s soft power is weakened already; they would drag it right down into the earth. Everyone thinks of this useless couple as the future. I can see them being so bad that the monarchy could well be reviewed at that point.
Kate would never have to be the one reading state papers. That would fall to Will.
Had thought of that, but something I found even scarier as a prospect!! I feel W’s anger would lead to his being so partisan. He would read them and be expected to, perhaps a few minutes a day, and she would step back as a door mat. A shame, really, as out of the lazy two, I think she at least would keep calm and not get involved.
Exactly, she would never have to do anything like that. George will probably start reading them as a teen, if they’re still around. I hope the other kids can read the writing on the wall and they make sure that they have an actual profession. Being ” the spare” did Margaret and Andrew no favors.
Mayer’s forthright analysis of the royal family’s conduct is refreshing but I think she’s being too optimistic about the monarchy’s fate.
While things are changing, especially in Britain’s vibrant cities, there are still a lot of people who are fine with the notion of being subjects. They accept the tabloids’ version of events and aren’t likely to demand that the royals examine their behavior toward Meghan and Harry.
Some of these people are my husband’s cousins. We’ve had to agree not to discuss the royals to keep the family peace. The “not for the likes of us” mentality still holds.
I saw this quote and I think it sums it up beautifully;
The sun has set on Britain and it’s really close to dark: Barbados is just the first of the remaining ‘outlying territories’ to formally evict The Crown. Jamaica and Scotland and others are working towards their own Brexit.
The Crown will continue to be a thing in England for as long the country calls itself that. But within 20 years, Whomever will be King of London and Newcastle and Manchester and no place else.
– Jack Glasscock
“Beginning of the end” isn’t “end of the end.” I think the beginning of the end started a long time ago. And I think it will end, and much faster than people think.
It’s weird how there are always tons of comments about how no one cares and everyone’s apathetic etc. If no one cares, why so many comments? Yeah, I don’t buy it, I’ve seen anti-monarchy sentiment absolutely explode since the queen’s funeral. Some of it because of the funeral, and its expenses. And now Charles wants a brand new gold coach. I can’t predict exactly how or when it’s gonna end, but I’m now expecting it to be within my lifetime — and maybe with a bang, not a whimper.
Overnight, the makeup of this family could change. How many of our own families have been left in shock because of a freak accident or unexpected medical event, taking out the oldest of the siblings? Should William suddenly die, Harry would be next in line until George is 18. That would change everything, starting with the Sussex family. Would they pull their children out of school to live in a country strange to them? when George is 18 will Harry leave again? What would Kate’s role be? She will never be queen, but now mother of a future young king. Who gets the Duchy money? What if George refuses? All these potential issues can only be addressed if there is acceptance of accountability.
“It’s as if UK journalism, stung by #PrinceHarry’s criticisms, went down the pub, chugged 17 pints of lager top, and came out swinging, staggering and shouting ‘you think *that* was bad!? Just you watch!’ #Spare”
That puts it all in a nutshell. While I do believe Harry speaking truth to power will generate a new wave of anti-monarchism, it will be a long road to republicanism. The power of the BRF will be nibbled away bit by bit, commonwealth countries will leave, another Scottish referendum will be held, etc., but as long as the tabloids hold sway over the public in their tit-for-tat relationship with the BRF, they will circle the wagons against the Sussexes. Until someone does a deep dive into the shady arms deals, bags of cash for access, off-shore accounts and government collusion, the BRF will be around for a long time.
Does anyone have any actual numbers on how they help tourism? I mean it’s not like they’re greeting people at the airport or they ‘re in places where tourists can happen upon them like a happy accident. The palace could still be open as a museum without an actual royal family, just like Versailles of the Austrian palaces.
They do not help tourism. https://www.republic.org.uk/jeremy/tourism
Really, you don’t even need to pull up the numbers. Just think: France.
I sure do hope so. The English people are suffering and their overlords have taken the bread out of their mouths and the warmth from their homes in winter. Confound these parasites.
I had a great deal of respect for the Queen and the institution of Monarchy. I felt they were a brake on political excess and a kind of anchor. The problem is the BM and endless gossip leaking from the palaces via staff who have no loyalty because they are so underpaid and often not well treated by today’s standards. Together with the toxic dependency surrounding the RF because of internecine squabbles. Who’d have thought Camilla, Carole and Gary would destroy the monarchy but they have.
Hopefully Spare 2 will be the end of the monarchy. That should be the tome where Harry explains all the ways Anne doesn’t give a fuck, reveals photos of folks wearing blackface in the parties of Baldy’s youth, gives details on the sources of Daddy’s bags of cash, goes into details about uncle Andy and his teddy bears, mentions the corruption behind the royal foundation, exposes uncle Andy’s friends who visited BP, and of course,gives his observations on Philip’s revolving door of women.
sigh. a girl can only wish.
If anyone in England really thinks Harry is the death of the monarchy, they haven’t been paying attention, for a very long time.