The Mail really went buckwild over the weekend, creating a special storyline for their devoted monarchist readers. The storyline: Prince Harry is suddenly desperate to return to the UK and reconcile with his family AND become a working royal again. Nevermind that Harry has been asked point-blank several times if he would ever want to “come back” to royal life in any way and he’s always said no. Nevermind that he’s made it clear for years that his goal is simply to have a relationship with his father and see his family every now and then and that’s it. Basically, all of this projection from the Mail is a confession: they all desperately need the Sussexes and they need access to the Sussexes and they can’t believe that the heir to the throne is such a lazy dud. Speaking of, the Mail also published this bizarre column from A.N. Wilson: “Why it’s in EVERYONE’s interests for William to be the bigger man – and bring Harry back into the royal fold.” Some highlights:

Harry’s unpublicized visit to the UK: Isn’t it time for the royal feud to end? When Prince Harry arrived at a Norfolk parish church last week, for the memorial service for his uncle by marriage, Robert Fellowes, many of those present probably prayed that there would be a reconciliation between him and Prince William. In fact, William left the Snettisham church without exchanging so much as a syllable with his estranged younger brother. He appears adamant that Harry is the black sheep of the family, for whom there can be no forgiveness. This is both deeply sad and worrying.

William’s coronation: There are rumours that William has said he will not even invite his brother to his Coronation, when that day dawns. This would be calamitous for countless reasons. Indeed, there are very wide ramifications. Many have spent years vilifying Meghan for refusing to speak to her poor, clumsy old dad, who made a donkey of himself before her wedding by posing for paparazzi pictures. William’s refusal to speak to his brother risks appearing just as petty. If William allows the feud to fester it will dominate every public occasion in which he takes part. At family funerals. At ceremonies of national importance. Instead of public attention being focused on the ceremony, people will understandably be thinking of ‘The Feud’ – second-guessing body language between the pair, poring over what few – if any – words and glances are exchanged. Do we really want this? Is it not the Prince of Wales’s duty to come to forgive? Or at least behave as if he has forgiven.

The poisoned air: There is something deeply unseemly about any family having a row in public. When it is the Royal Family, it poisons the air and undermines the very institution of the monarchy. The indications are that King Charles, especially in the light of his cancer, has been receiving spiritual advice from friends such as Richard Chartres, the former Bishop of London, urging him to build bridges with his younger son. Obviously, Charles would like to meet and befriend his American grandchildren. He should not have to feel anxious that he might leave this world before making peace with his ‘darling boy’ Harry.

Prince Harry’s memoir hurt William & Kate: It is no wonder that William remains aggrieved and angry. But as our future king, he needs to appear magnanimous, not mean-spirited. He should recall the example of the late Queen, his grandmother, who put duty before personal feelings.

Meghan’s suicidal ideation is trivial: There are even indications that Harry is prepared to drop his case against the Home Office about his ‘inadequate’ security arrangements. And he and Meghan are both hinting, via ‘friends’ and ‘sources’, that they are prepared to give up giving embarrassing interviews with TV and newspapers. The squabbles concerning Meghan and the Royal Household already increasingly look trivial – whether she did or did not throw tantrums, whether they were reducing her to a nervous wreck. She, and they, have surely moved on.

The Sussexes need the Windsors? Perhaps Harry and Meghan have realised, belatedly, which side their bread is buttered on. After their efforts to build a media empire fizzled out, boiling down to little more than a few pots of Meghan’s ‘home-made’ jam, have they now grasped that, without the House of Windsor, they have little social and political currency?

[From The Daily Mail]

This situation sounds more dire with each passing day. Dire for Prince William, that is. When Mail columnists are once again bleating about how William needs to forgive and forget, you know they’re trying to tell him that the status quo cannot go on indefinitely. They keep pointing out that William looks petty, cruel, violent, stupid, short-sighted and mean. And he keeps trying to tell them: actually, that’s my brand. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad and pathetic. What disturbs me the most is the obsessive interest in and fabrication of the Sussexes’ “moves.” The Sussexes are minding their business and doing their own thing while the British media chronicles and sensationalizes their every breath. It reflects the Windsors’ obsession with the Sussexes too – Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace are still constantly briefing about and against Harry and Meghan. It’s absolutely unhinged.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.