Ahh, but you don't have two raccoons rampant on each side of an upside down garbage bin, do you?
Prince Harry to marry girlfriend Meghan Markle next year
- Thread starter B00Mer
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Ahh, but you don't have two raccoons rampant on each side of an upside down garbage bin, do you?
YE OLDE FOOLE: Scammer pulls off royal ruse
Brad Hunter
More from Brad Hunter
Published:
June 1, 2018
Updated:
June 1, 2018 7:21 PM EDT
PIP! PIP! He goes Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills or Mr. Monarchy but despite the plummy Brit accent he is really old Tommy Muscatello from New York.FACEBOOK
Plummy British accent. Check.
Affectations of a proper toff. Check.
Meet royal consultant Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills.
Mace-Archer-Mills was all over international TV screens commenting on the May 19 royal wedding.
“The most important aspect is keeping integrity…and making sure that the traditions and heritage that we have as British people remain at the forefront,” he told Norwegian TV.
PIP! PIP! He goes by Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills or Mr. Monarchy but despite the plummy Brit accent he is really old Tommy Muscatello from New York.
But there’s a problem. His real name is Thomas ‘Tommy’ Muscatello, an Italian-American, New Yorker, according to the Wall Street Journal. Calling himself “Mr. Monarchy” and tossing around lines like, “we British,” one could be forgiven for thinking he’s the real McCoy.
But now, Mr. Monarchy is pissed that his swell gig has been exposed by the Journal and by god if it were pistols at dawn, he’d do it.
“Many of the facts in the article are inaccurate and the Wall Street Journal itself was given many opportunities to ensure that the article was published with the most accurate information available,” Tommy Muscatello said in a written statement.
It was signed: Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills Esq. OStS, BA, BS Chairman British Monarchist Society & Foundation.
Meanwhile, call her Kinky Kate.
A gaffe by Netflix is making the monarchy look like a raunch-o-ramma.
One viewer who posted on social media site Reddit noticed a show about the royals but it was aligned with another show about prostitution.
In the promo photo, it looks as though Kate Middleton was wearing racy black underwear, stockings and a garter belt.
In the faux pas, a show called The Royals sat on top of Escorts, a series about high-class hookers.
Wholesome Wills and Kate in a mash-up with a near-naked woman clutching a Champagne bottle.
Unfortunately, Prince William looks disembodied.
bhunter@postmedia.com
YE OLDE FOOLE: Scammer pulls off royal ruse | Toronto Sun
Brad Hunter
More from Brad Hunter
Published:
June 1, 2018
Updated:
June 1, 2018 7:21 PM EDT
PIP! PIP! He goes Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills or Mr. Monarchy but despite the plummy Brit accent he is really old Tommy Muscatello from New York.FACEBOOK
Plummy British accent. Check.
Affectations of a proper toff. Check.
Meet royal consultant Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills.
Mace-Archer-Mills was all over international TV screens commenting on the May 19 royal wedding.
“The most important aspect is keeping integrity…and making sure that the traditions and heritage that we have as British people remain at the forefront,” he told Norwegian TV.
PIP! PIP! He goes by Thomas J. Mace-Archer-Mills or Mr. Monarchy but despite the plummy Brit accent he is really old Tommy Muscatello from New York.
But there’s a problem. His real name is Thomas ‘Tommy’ Muscatello, an Italian-American, New Yorker, according to the Wall Street Journal. Calling himself “Mr. Monarchy” and tossing around lines like, “we British,” one could be forgiven for thinking he’s the real McCoy.
But now, Mr. Monarchy is pissed that his swell gig has been exposed by the Journal and by god if it were pistols at dawn, he’d do it.
“Many of the facts in the article are inaccurate and the Wall Street Journal itself was given many opportunities to ensure that the article was published with the most accurate information available,” Tommy Muscatello said in a written statement.
It was signed: Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills Esq. OStS, BA, BS Chairman British Monarchist Society & Foundation.
Meanwhile, call her Kinky Kate.
A gaffe by Netflix is making the monarchy look like a raunch-o-ramma.
One viewer who posted on social media site Reddit noticed a show about the royals but it was aligned with another show about prostitution.
In the promo photo, it looks as though Kate Middleton was wearing racy black underwear, stockings and a garter belt.
In the faux pas, a show called The Royals sat on top of Escorts, a series about high-class hookers.
Wholesome Wills and Kate in a mash-up with a near-naked woman clutching a Champagne bottle.
Unfortunately, Prince William looks disembodied.
bhunter@postmedia.com
YE OLDE FOOLE: Scammer pulls off royal ruse | Toronto Sun
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's honeymoon to be under heavy guard after threat by Taliban: Report
American Media Inc.
More from American Media Inc.
Published:
June 7, 2018
Updated:
June 7, 2018 10:44 AM EDT
(Radar Online)RadarOnline articles
Terrified the Taliban will crash Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s honeymoon, British officials ordered a squad of submachine gun-toting officers to protect the high-profile lovebirds!
The extraordinary security arrangements come amidst fears the bloodthirsty extremists will use the couple’s wedding joy as an excuse to exact vengeance on Harry for annihilating their troops.
The redheaded royal, known by fellow servicemen as “Captain Wales,” did a four-month stint beginning in September 2012 in Afghanistan’s dangerous Helmand province.
During his time “in-country,” Harry famously piloted a $60 million Apache attack helicopter, and admitted he “blew Taliban extremists to pieces.”
“If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game, I suppose,” Harry said. “Take a life to save a life … the squadron’s been out here. Everyone’s fired a certain amount.”
But now Harry, 33, and his bride, 36, are paying a price for his battlefield heroics.
Elite special ops officers, armed with military-grade weapons, kept a wary eye on their first honeymoon stop — a secret $1.8 million retreat nestled in the countryside of England’s hilly Cotswold District.
“All the neighbors were excited when we heard rumors they were coming,” a source said.
“Although we see more police around now, they are a wonderful addition to the community,” continued the source. “They’ve been on romantic dates to the local pub and hidden themselves away at a quiet corner table.”
“That said, their security team is usually on a table nearby, which probably kills the romance a bit.”
Their rural getaway was spent in a three-bedroom renovated farmhouse tricked out with state-of-the-art motion sensors and surveillance cameras.
Palace sources told Radar that the couple has since moved on to a secluded spot in Banff, Canada.
Radar is withholding the name of their hotel for security reasons, but it’s located within a postcard-pretty national park chosen to conjure up happy memories of Harry and Meghan’s romantic 2017 safari in Botswana, Africa.
Armed security also followed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Canada, sources revealed.
“The hotel has become a fortress!” complained an on-site insider. “There is a strict no-photo policy and all the surrounding rooms have been booked. It’s super intense!”
Another source gushed over Harry and Meghan’s choice for their Canadian retreat.
“It’s exactly what they wanted — somewhere beautiful, remote and tranquil,” said the source.
Making the trip even more meaningful is Meghan’s connection to Canada, where she filmed the TV series ,Suits.
“Canada is like a second home to Meghan,” noted the insider. “She wants Harry to fall in love with it the way she did.”
The extended honeymoon is expected to take the newlyweds back to Africa for another safari — and just in time for the dry season, when animal viewing is best!
The location is being played close to the vest, although sources speculated that Namibia is the choice.
Still, “you can be sure they won’t be alone,” said Radar’s source. “The trip will be private, although extremely well-guarded!”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s honeymoon to be under heavy guard after threat by Taliban: Report | Toronto Sun
American Media Inc.
More from American Media Inc.
Published:
June 7, 2018
Updated:
June 7, 2018 10:44 AM EDT
(Radar Online)RadarOnline articles
Terrified the Taliban will crash Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s honeymoon, British officials ordered a squad of submachine gun-toting officers to protect the high-profile lovebirds!
The extraordinary security arrangements come amidst fears the bloodthirsty extremists will use the couple’s wedding joy as an excuse to exact vengeance on Harry for annihilating their troops.
The redheaded royal, known by fellow servicemen as “Captain Wales,” did a four-month stint beginning in September 2012 in Afghanistan’s dangerous Helmand province.
During his time “in-country,” Harry famously piloted a $60 million Apache attack helicopter, and admitted he “blew Taliban extremists to pieces.”
“If there’s people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we’ll take them out of the game, I suppose,” Harry said. “Take a life to save a life … the squadron’s been out here. Everyone’s fired a certain amount.”
But now Harry, 33, and his bride, 36, are paying a price for his battlefield heroics.
Elite special ops officers, armed with military-grade weapons, kept a wary eye on their first honeymoon stop — a secret $1.8 million retreat nestled in the countryside of England’s hilly Cotswold District.
“All the neighbors were excited when we heard rumors they were coming,” a source said.
“Although we see more police around now, they are a wonderful addition to the community,” continued the source. “They’ve been on romantic dates to the local pub and hidden themselves away at a quiet corner table.”
“That said, their security team is usually on a table nearby, which probably kills the romance a bit.”
Their rural getaway was spent in a three-bedroom renovated farmhouse tricked out with state-of-the-art motion sensors and surveillance cameras.
Palace sources told Radar that the couple has since moved on to a secluded spot in Banff, Canada.
Radar is withholding the name of their hotel for security reasons, but it’s located within a postcard-pretty national park chosen to conjure up happy memories of Harry and Meghan’s romantic 2017 safari in Botswana, Africa.
Armed security also followed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Canada, sources revealed.
“The hotel has become a fortress!” complained an on-site insider. “There is a strict no-photo policy and all the surrounding rooms have been booked. It’s super intense!”
Another source gushed over Harry and Meghan’s choice for their Canadian retreat.
“It’s exactly what they wanted — somewhere beautiful, remote and tranquil,” said the source.
Making the trip even more meaningful is Meghan’s connection to Canada, where she filmed the TV series ,Suits.
“Canada is like a second home to Meghan,” noted the insider. “She wants Harry to fall in love with it the way she did.”
The extended honeymoon is expected to take the newlyweds back to Africa for another safari — and just in time for the dry season, when animal viewing is best!
The location is being played close to the vest, although sources speculated that Namibia is the choice.
Still, “you can be sure they won’t be alone,” said Radar’s source. “The trip will be private, although extremely well-guarded!”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s honeymoon to be under heavy guard after threat by Taliban: Report | Toronto Sun
Meghan Markle's half-sister set to release dirt-spilling tell-all
Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha is finally prepping to release a tell-all book that is expected to dish some dirt on the wife of Prince Harry.
Harry and Meghan make final split with Royal Family
Author of the article:
Reuters
Guy Faulconbridge and William James
Publishing date:
Feb 19, 2021 • 3 hours ago • 2 minute read
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, pose for a picture in London, June 26, 2018. Photo by POOL /REUTERS
Article content
LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have made a final split with the Royal Family, telling Queen Elizabeth that they will not be returning as working members of monarchy, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
Harry and Meghan sent shockwaves through the monarchy in January 2020 by suddenly announcing they were splitting from the family and embarking on a new future across the Atlantic – one of the most extraordinary royal exits in decades.
That split has now been formalized after discussions with the 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth: Harry and Meghan will lose their treasured royal patronages which revert to the queen and will be distributed among other family members.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family,” the Palace said.
“While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
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The split amounts to an abdication from the Royal Family whose senior members such as the queen have long prioritized duty and service above personal wishes.
The pair, who said they would remained committed to their service to Britain, will break their silence on the royal split – cast by British newspapers as “Megxit” – in an interview with Oprah Winfrey next month.
When they announced their intention to carve out a “progressive new role” away from stifling media intrusion in 2020, they said they wanted to become financially independent but also honour their duties to the queen and their official patronages of charities and organizations close to their hearts.
Those patronages have now gone. Queen Elizabeth, whose 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, is currently in hospital in London, took a firm line.
“The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the Palace said.
The pair will lose their associations with The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving as well as with The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football League, and The Royal National Theatre.
Through a spokesman, Harry and Meghan said that they remained committed to service.
“We can all live a life of service. Service is universal, the spokesman said.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role.”
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, moved with their son Archie to Southern California to live a more independent life and escape the British media. They announced on Sunday that they were expecting their second child.
Harry is the second son of Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his first wife Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:
Reuters
Guy Faulconbridge and William James
Publishing date:
Feb 19, 2021 • 3 hours ago • 2 minute read
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, pose for a picture in London, June 26, 2018. Photo by POOL /REUTERS
Article content
LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have made a final split with the Royal Family, telling Queen Elizabeth that they will not be returning as working members of monarchy, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.
Harry and Meghan sent shockwaves through the monarchy in January 2020 by suddenly announcing they were splitting from the family and embarking on a new future across the Atlantic – one of the most extraordinary royal exits in decades.
That split has now been formalized after discussions with the 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth: Harry and Meghan will lose their treasured royal patronages which revert to the queen and will be distributed among other family members.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family,” the Palace said.
“While all are saddened by their decision, the Duke and Duchess remain much loved members of the family.”
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The split amounts to an abdication from the Royal Family whose senior members such as the queen have long prioritized duty and service above personal wishes.
The pair, who said they would remained committed to their service to Britain, will break their silence on the royal split – cast by British newspapers as “Megxit” – in an interview with Oprah Winfrey next month.
When they announced their intention to carve out a “progressive new role” away from stifling media intrusion in 2020, they said they wanted to become financially independent but also honour their duties to the queen and their official patronages of charities and organizations close to their hearts.
Those patronages have now gone. Queen Elizabeth, whose 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, is currently in hospital in London, took a firm line.
“The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” the Palace said.
The pair will lose their associations with The Royal Marines, RAF Honington, Royal Navy Small Ships and Diving as well as with The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, The Rugby Football Union, The Rugby Football League, and The Royal National Theatre.
Through a spokesman, Harry and Meghan said that they remained committed to service.
“We can all live a life of service. Service is universal, the spokesman said.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain committed to their duty and service to the U.K. and around the world, and have offered their continued support to the organizations they have represented regardless of official role.”
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, moved with their son Archie to Southern California to live a more independent life and escape the British media. They announced on Sunday that they were expecting their second child.
Harry is the second son of Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his first wife Diana, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi.
Harry and Meghan make final split with Royal Family
LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have made a final split with the Royal Family, telling Queen Elizabeth that they will not be returning as working…
Sounds like she could be a real bitch!Meghan Markle's half-sister set to release dirt-spilling tell-all
Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha is finally prepping to release a tell-all book that is expected to dish some dirt on the wife of Prince Harry.
Royals in TV head-to-head with Prince Harry and Meghan
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Feb 22, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 1 minute read
The Queen, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, watch the RAF flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as members of the Royal Family attend events to mark the centenary of the RAF on July 10, 2018 in London. PHOTO BY CHRIS JACKSON /Getty Images
Article content
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV program to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah Winfrey’s interview of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is aired.
For almost 50 years, the royal family have attended an annual Commonwealth Day service at London’s Westminster Abbey in March, but it has been canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, the 94-year-old monarch, who heads the association of 54 nations, will deliver a televised message as part of a program entitled “A Celebration for Commonwealth Day,” which will be broadcast on the BBC on March 7, the Abbey said.
There will also be contributions from heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and from the next in line, Prince William, with his wife Kate.
That means it will air hours before Harry and Meghan’s much anticipated tell-all, their first in-depth interview since they moved to the United States, will be broadcast on CBS.
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Winfrey’s scoop comes at a time when the couple have been making international headlines with the announcement that they are expecting a second child and news that they are quitting their royal roles for good.
“We are so pleased that this rich and vibrant BBC program with the Royal Family and the Abbey at its heart will celebrate our global connections at a time when we are all so physically isolated,” said David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster.
Harry and Meghan attended the Commonwealth Day service in person last year. It was their final official royal engagement before they moved to Los Angeles and stepped away from official duties, a decision that sent shockwaves through the monarchy.
Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning and that their treasured royal patronages would revert to the queen and be distributed among other family members.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Feb 22, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 1 minute read
The Queen, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, watch the RAF flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as members of the Royal Family attend events to mark the centenary of the RAF on July 10, 2018 in London. PHOTO BY CHRIS JACKSON /Getty Images
Article content
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV program to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah Winfrey’s interview of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is aired.
For almost 50 years, the royal family have attended an annual Commonwealth Day service at London’s Westminster Abbey in March, but it has been canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, the 94-year-old monarch, who heads the association of 54 nations, will deliver a televised message as part of a program entitled “A Celebration for Commonwealth Day,” which will be broadcast on the BBC on March 7, the Abbey said.
There will also be contributions from heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and from the next in line, Prince William, with his wife Kate.
That means it will air hours before Harry and Meghan’s much anticipated tell-all, their first in-depth interview since they moved to the United States, will be broadcast on CBS.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Winfrey’s scoop comes at a time when the couple have been making international headlines with the announcement that they are expecting a second child and news that they are quitting their royal roles for good.
“We are so pleased that this rich and vibrant BBC program with the Royal Family and the Abbey at its heart will celebrate our global connections at a time when we are all so physically isolated,” said David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster.
Harry and Meghan attended the Commonwealth Day service in person last year. It was their final official royal engagement before they moved to Los Angeles and stepped away from official duties, a decision that sent shockwaves through the monarchy.
Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning and that their treasured royal patronages would revert to the queen and be distributed among other family members.
Royals in TV head-to-head with Prince Harry and Meghan
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV program to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah…
Royals in TV head-to-head with Prince Harry and Meghan
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Feb 22, 2021 • 2 hours ago • 1 minute read
The Queen, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, watch the RAF flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as members of the Royal Family attend events to mark the centenary of the RAF on July 10, 2018 in London. PHOTO BY CHRIS JACKSON /Getty Images
Article content
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV program to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah Winfrey’s interview of her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is aired.
For almost 50 years, the royal family have attended an annual Commonwealth Day service at London’s Westminster Abbey in March, but it has been canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Instead, the 94-year-old monarch, who heads the association of 54 nations, will deliver a televised message as part of a program entitled “A Celebration for Commonwealth Day,” which will be broadcast on the BBC on March 7, the Abbey said.
There will also be contributions from heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and from the next in line, Prince William, with his wife Kate.
That means it will air hours before Harry and Meghan’s much anticipated tell-all, their first in-depth interview since they moved to the United States, will be broadcast on CBS.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Winfrey’s scoop comes at a time when the couple have been making international headlines with the announcement that they are expecting a second child and news that they are quitting their royal roles for good.
“We are so pleased that this rich and vibrant BBC program with the Royal Family and the Abbey at its heart will celebrate our global connections at a time when we are all so physically isolated,” said David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster.
Harry and Meghan attended the Commonwealth Day service in person last year. It was their final official royal engagement before they moved to Los Angeles and stepped away from official duties, a decision that sent shockwaves through the monarchy.
Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning and that their treasured royal patronages would revert to the queen and be distributed among other family members.
Royals in TV head-to-head with Prince Harry and Meghan
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth and other senior British royals will appear in a TV program to discuss the importance of the Commonwealth on the same day that Oprah…
That's the same Harry and Meghan who say they've left the Royal Family to escape the limelight.
Why the prince and princess of woke had to leave the royal family
Harry and Meghan’s narcissism doesn’t sit well with the ideal of public service.
BRENDAN O'NEILL
EDITOR
22nd February 2021Spiked
So Harry and Meghan are out. The Prince and Princess of Woke are formally splitting from the monarchy. The Soft Megxit of 2020 – when the painfully PC pair flounced off to North America with the intention of becoming ‘financially independent’ – has become a Hard Megxit. The queen has decreed that Harry and Meghan’s antics are incompatible with ‘the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service’ and therefore they have to hand back all their royal patronages. This is about as close to saying ‘bugger off’ as the famously restrained queen will ever get.
What’s this all about? What does Megxit tell us about the world, if anything? Listening to the Meghan-loving chattering classes you’d be forgiven for thinking the poor dear and her loving husband were driven out of this godforsaken country by racism. Naturally, these people wilfully overlook that the vast majority of Britons took Meghan to their hearts when she got hitched to Harry, and only tired of her when she started wagging her manicured fingers at us about everything from feminism to climate change. Your everyday Brit doesn’t take kindly to being talked down to by right-on aristocrats who then get on a private jet to wing it to Elton John’s swanky pad in the South of France or to some barefoot, bullshit eco-gathering of the super-rich.
Others blame it all on the press. Our horrible, rapacious press, criticising Meghan day in, day out. They even cheer when Harry and Meghan launch legal cases against the media for saying rude or revealing things about them. It is testament to the middle classes’ turn against press freedom – which, let’s not forget, was won for us by people who dissed royalty, by the likes of the 18th-century prince-mocker John Wilkes – that they will cheerfully support two arrogant royals’ crusade against the papers. ‘Whatever you think of Harry and Meghan, their media critics are far worse’, says Marina Hyde at the Guardian. It’s not surprising that an aristocrat like Hyde would defend two aristocratic bores from the rabble that is the redtop press, but it’s pretty shocking the Guardian won’t stand up for press freedom against the Sussexes’ constant barbs and suing.
All these narratives tell us more about the narrators than they do about the reality of Megxit. They confirm the snobbery of the woke set, who are more than happy to take the side of a privileged pair of virtue-signallers over what they view as the irredeemably prejudiced British masses. And they confirm the ongoing, increasingly irrational hostility of the posh against the ‘low-rent’ press, which is now blamed for every ill in society. Meghan’s sadness? Our dumbed-down culture? Sexism? Far-right activism? Blame it on the tabloids. It’s the Sun wot did it.
The truth, as always, is more complex. What the great Harry and Meghan flounce really demonstrates is the incompatibility of the modern culture of narcissism with the old-world ideals of duty, loyalty and service. Meghan felt trapped in the royal family not because Princess Michael once wore a colonial-era brooch or because it is so hard to spend your days chilling in palaces, but because royal life runs so counter to the shallower, selfie-era, virtue-advertising outlook that Meghan has come to embody over the past couple of years. Megxit is fundamentally a battle between the narcissism of the 21st century and the more stoic, giving culture of the past.
This is where the Windsors’ and the Sussexes’ spat over ‘service’ is interesting. The queen firmly insisted that Harry and Meghan’s ‘independent’ globe-trotting did not sit comfortably with a ‘life of public service’. In the passive-aggressive manner of a certain type of Californian, Meghan and Harry fired back that everyone can do some ‘service’. ‘We can all have a life of service. Service is universal’, they said.
They don’t know what service means. Here’s the difference: the Meghans of this world primarily serve themselves, always seeking new opportunities for self-expression, virtuous preening, ‘emotional growth’. The queen, in contrast, serves the crown. She has negated the self. She suppresses her self-expression, her political views and her emotions, to the end of submitting to something bigger than herself: the crown, the monarchy, the constitution. Now, we can discuss whether the crown is good or bad – I’m a republican, so I’m not a fan. But it is clear that Meghan and Elizabeth II have unbridgeably different understandings of ‘service’. Meghan’s idea of service always involves her expressing herself and revealing herself and reminding us how virtuous she is; the queen’s idea of service is to hide the self, to fold it into a larger, apparently more important project. The queen is about service, Meghan is about self-service.
This is clear from how Harry and Meghan talk about the monarchy as if it were some kind of hot-desking workspace where you might pick up a few new skills before ‘moving on’. Last year they said they wanted to ‘make a transition’ and ‘carve out a progressive new role within this institution’, as if they were media consultants and the monarchy a mere brand. They said they wanted to ‘continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen’, as if the queen were a fashion house and they were Jameela Jamil-style celebs providing it with a dash of BS ‘social change’. Again and again, they show that they have a very weak grip on the ideas of duty and loyalty, of giving things up for a greater good.
The cult of narcissism is widespread today. We are encouraged to obsess over our bodies and our image, to work out exactly where we fit on the infinite list of made-up genders, to obsess over our mental wellbeing, to hide in a ‘safe space’ in order to protect our sacrosanct self-esteem from any form of insult or inquiry. And of course this all generates a very flimsy sense of self – not the robust selfhood of 19th-century liberalism, but the fragile, easily injured selfhood of the social-media era, in which we require constant validation and protection from rowdy speech or else we will feel ‘erased’.
So in inviting us to turn away from big, sacrifice-demanding national or social projects, and encouraging us instead to obsess over the self, the culture of narcissism represents the worst of both worlds. It diminishes the old idea that it can be good to devote oneself to something external, to something important, while also nurturing a warped form of individualism that is built on notions of fragility, fear of freedom, and psychic enslavement to the validation of officialdom and of others.
This is the culture Meghan and Harry now symbolise. Their idea of public service is a fleeting one, involving little more than occasionally giving talks at a women’s shelter or doing a Spotify chat with ‘social changers’. And their sense of self is both an obsessive and a fragile one – witness their focus on wellbeing and mental health and, in Meghan’s words, ‘sharing our pain’.
The queen could not be more different. Her public service has been full-on, lifelong, unflinching; and her selfhood is of the confident, stoic variety. These are the moral and social clashes swirling around Megxit. I might be a republican, but in this spat I’m very much Team Queen.
Why the prince and princess of woke had to leave the royal family
Harry and Meghan’s narcissism doesn’t sit well with the ideal of public service.
www.spiked-online.com
Have you given any thought to the idea that perhaps she's opinionated (like you) and likes to "wear the pants"?
Have you given any thought to the idea that perhaps she's opinionated (like you) and likes to "wear the pants"?
Well we know who wears the pants in that harridan's household.
The marriage won't last long. I predict poor Harry will soon get to the point where he can't hack her any longer and he files for divorce.
Harry should never have married an American. They're insufferably woke. He should have married Cressida Bonas - and probably wishes he had.
I've not really given it much thought. High IQ is probably a contributory factor. PC woke SJW liberals tend to be as thick as pigshit.
It's probably no coincidence that the Prince and Princess of woke got shitty school qualifications.
Rather famously, Harry left Eton with two A-Levels. Pretty impressive, you might think, until you discover that they are a grade B in art and grade D in geography.
Meghan left Northwestern University in Illinois with a double major - in theatre and international studies.