After months of escalating groveling about the woes of royalty, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have finally put their money where their mouths are. In an announcement, originally scooped by the Sun, the Sussexes announced that they’re stepping down as “senior royals” and presumably relinquishing their pay and royal responsibilities as they become financially independent.
Well, finally.
The rumors of the Sussexes’ departure had been discussed stateside for months now; their decision to forgo the royals’ usual Christmastime excursion to Sandringham precipitated the bombshell announcement.
Active royals are public servants, not celebrities, but once Meghan and Harry became an item, it’s clear that neither were keen on the work or the necessary publicity that came with it. While it’s absolutely true that Meghan earned a uniquely gross and racist strain of the abuse that newcomers to the House of Windsor always earn, Harry and Meghan reaped the benefits of royal life, from unwarranted private jets to five-star vacations, while complaining about all of it.
During a royal tour of Africa, Meghan and Harry had the opportunity to film a documentary on the Commonwealth and the continent’s storied history. Instead, they spent the bulk of it complaining about hard their lives were.
“Not many people have asked if I’m ok … it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Meghan reveals to ITV’s @tombradby the intense media spotlight has left her struggling to cope while becoming a mum #HarryAndMeghan https://t.co/Uy21iE6ozJ pic.twitter.com/kZqhZV66OL
— ITV News (@itvnews) October 18, 2019
During the trip (which, again, was a part of their official work duties), Harry snapped at a reporter for doing her job.
The dissonance between the benefits used by the Sussexes and the responsibilities they eschewed became visibly untenable, such as their elaborate and taxpayer-funded wedding that culminated in a royal birth that broke royal protocol.
Furthermore, the feud between Harry and Prince William, the second in line to the throne, shook the very future of the monarchy to the core when it needed stability the most. Though the 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II seems healthy by all accounts, her husband’s health is ailing, her immediate successor Prince Charles’s popularity is a bottomless pit, and her favorite son Prince Andrew is descending into legal peril. With the newly woke Harry starting spats and Kensington Palace curiously beginning to leak explosive rumors of Prince William cheating on the massively popular Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, the future of the monarchy seemed less stable than it had in decades.
So, the Sussexes had to go. It’s what’s best for Britain, what’s best for America, and what’s best for Meghan, Harry, and baby Archie.
Britain benefits from William’s ability to consolidate public favor free from petty drama and a celebutante in-law who’s besties with the same bloggers who broke the Cambridge cheating scandal.
America benefits with a ceremonious victory in our quest to disassemble the monarchy and the added strategic leverage of hosting two princes while our FBI is trying to gain access to another.
And the Sussexes finally get what they’ve always wanted: to be rich and famous celebrities, free of any real responsibilities.
