Interesting article, thank you. Interesting especially in light of someone posting upthread that Harry was in the less strenuous classes (level 2 versus 3?). What a lot of pressure
Interesting article. But the idea of “dominance by birthright” isn’t well supported by most of the commentary about Eton, which is not really about birthright at all, it’s more demonstrating the importance of intellectual elitism and it’s associated institutions in British society (“I also came to know more than I ever wished about the King’s Scholars, the 14 or so people who score the highest on their entrance exams each year. They live in a separate residence house and are given distinctive gowns to wear over their uniforms…Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s superiority as a King’s Scholar is etched into my husband’s memory and seemingly that of other OEs his age, regardless of their party affiliation”).
I imagine if the author had married someone who had grown up amongst Oxbridge dons then she could write much the same thing. And British people will tend to harp on about Harry being a bit thick.
But Eton is MUCH more about birthright than Oxford or Cambridge. After all, they are public institutions, even if they don’t function entirely the way people in other countries think about public institutions, anybody can apply and if they have the brains, they will probably get in - into the university that is, though they wouldn’t move in the same circles the OEs will.
It was even tuition free in our time! Eton doesn’t work like that, the intellectual elitism is very much an accessory. After all, they took in both William and Harry. Neither Oxford nor Cambridge would have. Harry didn’t even get the required 3 A levels, let alone the required marks, a B in fine arts (and there were rumours his art teacher was way more involved with his works than she should have been) and a D in his only academic subject, geography, which is a bit of a joke considering the access to preparation he would have had. No, the elitism she would have encountered would have been very different.
Getting back to the topic, I’d define success for them as remaining more or less happily married, without Andrew or Fergie type scandals. Real financial independence would be the icing on the cake. Really, with how rich Charles is, independently of the Queen and the taxpayer support, how big is the risk for Harry after all? Barring a Maoist revolution in the UK, the landing will always be cushioned.
Divorce? Hope not! This move will cost the family close to $50M if $36M new house rumor is true. Divorce after that? All I can say is I am glad they are not my kids.
So no risk for Harry and he is off the hook from royal duties? He is free and well fed? No wonder so many royals are so messed up.
@Tigerle Excellent points about Eton. Has anyone seen the Up documentary series? The seven year old upper class boys were able to accurately predict what prep school they’d attend when they were 14. “I’m down for XXX” they’d say.
If you haven’t seen the series, give it a try. Seven Up! is available on Youtube.
If Harry really is a ‘bit thick’, I hope Meghan is bright or they have some good and honest advisors or they are in a position to be swindled. I’d like to see them succeed at making the world a better place
I returned to the Telegraph site today to see if I could retrieve yesterday’s initial article on the settlement which was unlocked. No longer on the home page, but a new premium article with a headline that says Charles will support them for a year and then review. I can only view one premium article a week, so I can’t access until later this week to view that one. Hopefully, that content will be available on other sites soon.
Seven Up is really terrific. I started watching it at school as it was close to my age cohort. I haven’t see the last one though.
@Tigerle Don’t be so sure William couldn’t have gotten into Oxbridge
The Duke of Cambridge received 12 GCSEs and three A-levels in Geography (A), History of Art (A) and Biology ©.
His uncle Edward got to go to Cambridge with a D and 2 Cs.
Royalty has its privileges.
Just saw this…It makes it clear that once Harry wanted to step back, The Firm forced him to step back and give up more than he wanted to give up.
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2020011983420/prince-harry-breaks-silence-ivy-chelsea-garden/
I really do hope H & M manage to find happiness.
I just read that Harry is almost the age that his mother passed away, 36. I think that for anyone who has had a parent pass away early, that birthday is hard.
I wish peace and happiness to Harry and Meghan. And I hope that they are able to live a more quiet life. The skeptic in me doesn’t think that is what she wants. I think she thought being a Royal was going to be like an A list movie star with all of its freebies and perks. But isn’t because at the heart of it, the Royals are public servants.
I find it hard to believe she wasn’t aware of the heavy public service schedule the Royals are involved in.
I remembered something Diana’s brother Spencer said in his eulogy at her memorial service:
I don’t think Harry or Meghan need one either.
Spencer made other interesting comments:
Meghan may be able to relate.
Also:
It’s annoying that Meghan is being openly blamed for this entire thing. If Harry felt he was “singing openly” in his role, no woman could convince him to walk away from it.
I think Diana hoped that her sons would be immune from much of the vitriol directed at her.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a10350548/princess-diana-brother-eulogy/
I don’t think Earl Spencer spent much time at all with Diana’s children after her death. They certainly arent close to him or any of her family, despite the flowery speech.
@Nrdsb4, I think Meghan isn’t stupid. But I also don’t think that she had a great idea of what being a Royal entailed.
The rumor mill is that the fallout between Harry and William was that William thought that Harry was being hasty in marrying Meghan. I don’t think Harry and Meghan knew each other all that well. They hadn’t dated all that long and were in 2 different countries with 2 very busy jobs. I think William wanted Harry to wait, but Harry wanted to get married.
What I mean about not understanding Royal life, for instance if you go back and look at Meghan’s clothes from when she was first married, she was wearing very expensive designer clothes that I am sure she was getting from the designer for free. That’s what celebrities do, they basically borrow clothes, their stylist gets them. But the Royal family doesn’t do this, they buy all of their clothes. Apparently Prince Charles ended up buying a lot of clothes and then if you look, after Archie Meghan is wearing J Crew and Everlane. Not designer.
Harry and Meghan hitched rides on private planes, which celebrities do. But it is not what Royals are expected to do. They fly private when on official business but commercial on private. I think Meghan was surprised by these subtle but important etiquette gaffes. And tired of them.
In private life, she can accept access to expensive clothing and hitch rides with celebrity friends and all of the perks that every A lister in Hollywood does.
Princess Diana’s eulogy sounds like what her brother wished things were, not how they actually were. I am sure she did not want all the negative press but she also courted the press to her advantage. From all accounts, Princess Diana was very troubled and suffered with mental illness.
Interesting speech Harry gave. My opinion is he has already disrespected the queen, which they said they wouldn’t do, by saying he didn’t want to give up his Royal roles, especially the military ones, but he wasn’t given a choice. Well yes, Harry you did have a choice, and chose to walk away. No problem walking away, but own the decision.
It’s too bad that Harry seems to have cut off all of his family and old advisors. And put in the PR firm that was the choice of his wife’s. It’s unfortunate and if they want to make independent money, throwing your family under the bus isn’t the way to do it.
I think H & M had this fantasy of spending all their time doing charity work that THEY wanted to do an not doing any of the boring duties of cutting ribbons and greeting people at garden parties. They may also want to appear together all the time and I don’t think that’s part of the Queen’s assignment sheet.
I hope they are successful and make a lot of money from their adventures and give it all away to their charities. IMO, their security detail should be paid by the Queen or the public funds (however it is paid now). After 9/11, the secret service determined that children of former US presidents needed extended security beyond the 10 years provided. H & M may need more security now but less as the years go on.
I applaud them. They are young and deserve to have the opportunity to strike out on their own as they see fit. This couldn’t have been an easy decision for them. If they are not taking public funds, their decisions are none of our business.
I know they can’t use their HRH title, but why can’t he use his Prince title? Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex?
I’m just guessing, but I think they won’t be sought after the same way, now that they don’t have an HRH before their names.
They didn’t want just a quiet life. But I find now that they’ll get that more than they bargained.
Anyone famous has to rise above the tabloids and press. Why did Megan and Harry expect to be treated any differently? It’s a downside that comes with fame and fortune. Famous people like Oprah say they never look at the news media about them.
If they wanted a quiet life why the drama? Surely they could have worked with the queen to carve out a life they wanted. Harry is 6th in line to the throne which gives him a very different role from William. But they want to have their cake and eat it too.
They clearly have an agenda which reminds to be seen.