Take one rather naïve Prince, add one worldly wise, strong willed, divorced American minor television celebrity. Mix well with plenty of unrealistic expectations and the usual media attention.
What do you get ?
Well, it seems the answer to the question is manifold :
a) a disenchanted couple
b) an angry Royal Family
c) an uncertain future
d) an unholy mess
While Prince William found the perfect bride in the former Kate Middleton and, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the couple have done nothing to arouse even the slightest criticism or to cause even the most minor ripple in the lives of the Royal Family, Prince Harry seems to have followed a different path.
In choosing to marry a minor show business personality, Prince Harry may have married for love, but was it wise ? That his bride was American raised the odds against success even further. While the Duchess of Cambridge had a clear understanding of the culture of the United Kingdom and the position of its monarchy, even before her marriage, it appears that Megan Markle did not. Worse, she seems to have had a wholly unrealistic expectation about what marrying into the Royal Family would actually entail - she would not be marrying a man, but an extended family, even a dynasty. Whether Prince Harry, or any other of the Royals, even considered this as a potential issue, we will probably never know.
Unsurprisingly, once expectation was confronted by reality, things began to go wrong and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now trying to organise a 'half in, half out' relationship with the Royal Family. Just as other 'unsuitable' Royal marriages - the Duke of Windsor and Mrs Simpson, Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones, Ann and Mark Phillips, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, to mention but a few - ultimately failed, the truth is that silk purses aren't made out of sows' ears. I have no doubt that the non-Royal spouses were perfectly nice people, but they weren't Royal and didn't fit, for whatever reason. While the Duke and Duchess of Windsor remained together until the ends of their lives, they were ostracized by the Royal Family; the marriages of Margaret and Ann simply failed; although Prince Andrew has apparently stayed on the best of terms with his former wife, Sarah Ferguson has been rejected by the Family.
The lesson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex surely must be that it's all or nothing - they either are members of the Royal Family or they're not; they can't pick and choose. Rumour has it that both Margaret and Ann wanted to marry men who were considered unsuitable and that both eventually married 'suitable' husbands under pressure; if that's so, it's hardly surprising that the marriages failed. The Duke of Windsor chose to marry for love and against the wishes of the family and establishment; he suffered the consequences. Prince Andrew may also have married for love but accepted that the marriage had to end if he was to stay as an active Royal, and so the marriage ended. He understood that his family, the foremost family in the country if not in the world, made the rules and had to come first.
We have to believe that Prince Harry also married for love, but his wife has much more in common with Wallis Simpson and Sarah Ferguson than she does with the former Kate Middleton. If history is any guide, either Prince Harry will find himself excluded from the Royal Family or the marriage will end quite quickly. Quite simply, he can't have his cake and eat it.
STOP PRESS !
Having been a prime mover in the creation of this situation, the Duchess, aka Meghan Markle, has decided to run off to Canada, reportedly to be with her son. So firstly, she and her husband came back to England a few days ago but left their very young child in Canada, and secondly, the Duchess can't face up to dealing with the fall out from the mess she's had a major hand in creating.
Despite the fact that the Queen and other senior members of the family are reportedly seeking ways of accommodating the demands of Prince Harry and his wife, this really doesn't look good.
STOP PRESS !
Having been a prime mover in the creation of this situation, the Duchess, aka Meghan Markle, has decided to run off to Canada, reportedly to be with her son. So firstly, she and her husband came back to England a few days ago but left their very young child in Canada, and secondly, the Duchess can't face up to dealing with the fall out from the mess she's had a major hand in creating.
Despite the fact that the Queen and other senior members of the family are reportedly seeking ways of accommodating the demands of Prince Harry and his wife, this really doesn't look good.
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