Harry and Meghan ’s long-awaited £100million Netflix docu-series shows just how much the couple missed the chance to reform the monarchy.
The pair had a great opportunity to truly modernise the Royal Family as Meghan really is the incarnation of what a forward-thinking monarchy should look like.
The tragedy is that they decided to leave when they could have done so much.
I don’t think the Royal Family was so dim that they didn’t realise having an independent, forthright woman of mixed heritage was a good look for a modern monarchy.
We have learned how much Meghan has been a mentor to her husband, particularly when it comes to unconscious bias.
She has helped Harry – and many of us – step onto a learning curve about what language means and how we should use it more carefully.
She has opened his eyes to racial prejudice and he is more keenly aware of that and very proud of his children’s mixed heritage.
That is exactly what a modern monarchy should look like – which is why it is such a pity they are not part of it any more.
It puts a sharp focus on what a loss they have been to the Royal Family.
It is a tragedy that it couldn’t work and wasn’t made to work – and the Palace must hold some responsibility for that.
Meghan could have been a new model for them but it wasn’t to be, and that is a regret.
Harry also must hold some responsibility for that, too. Meghan was woefully unprepared to enter the Royal Family. Why didn’t he sit down with her and tell her what it would be like?
Given Harry has nearly 40 years of experience with the family, why would he not do more to prepare her?
He should have taken Prince William’s advice in the lead-up to their engagement to take his time with Meghan – but he didn’t listen to his older brother.
William gave Kate 10 years to peer inside the goldfish bowl of the Royal Family to learn what life would be like inside.
So when she did enter the family, she slotted right in – and now she is a hugely admired role model and future queen.
But any suggestion from William to take things slowly was rejected by Harry.
He was head over heels in love with Meghan and wanted to get on with it. It is clear now from the Duchess’ astonishing level of unpreparedness, revealed in this series, that William, now Prince of Wales, was entirely correct.
We hear from Meghan how painfully naive she was about the Royal Family and what life would be like inside the institution.
The former actress admitted she had no idea what a walkabout was and said she thought it was a “joke” that she would have to curtsy to our late Queen, before re-enacting an over-exaggerated version for the documentary’s cameras.
She was similarly struck by the need for formality within the Royal Family in private, as well as in public. And amazed by the fact there was a hierarchy within the family.
It is clear Meghan did not understand she was not just marrying into a family but also, as the late Prince Philip is attributed for calling it, The Firm. Within that hierarchy, Meghan struggled to understand that she would not be the chief executive or managing director.
Instead, she had to conform and abide by the structure already in place.
In her defence, the Duchess tried her best to fit in. She opted for outfits in “muted” tones so she didn’t stand out.
She said in the Netflix series released on Thursday that she didn’t “want to embarrass the family”.
But ironically, she has ended up being the person who has utterly embarrassed the family – and drawn her husband into doing the same thing.
The couple now live in a £12million mansion in Montecito, California, with two gorgeous children – Archie, three, and Lilibet, 18 months.
They enjoy a fantastic, privileged lifestyle while the rest of us worry whether we can turn our radiators on. They put themselves forward publicly as advocates of healing when all they are doing is hurting people.
There is nothing healing about this. And, judging by the trailers, it will only get worse.
We are yet to hear what the “dirty game” mentioned in the trailer is, or why Meghan can be seen crying. Things are only going to get more personal and more controversial.
