Prince Harry‘s decision to publish his memoir during Queen Elizabeth II‘s Platinum Jubilee celebration has created a predicament for the royal family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s invite put the royal family in a lose-lose situation
In a press release, Prince Harry confirmed that he will publish his first bombshell book in late 2022. Meghan Markle‘s husband also sparked concerns and jitters in the palace walls by revealing his literary memoir would be an intimate and honest account of his entire life.
Prince Harry, who has been dropping truth bombs left and right since stepping down from his royal duties, promised to “share, for the very first time, the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses ..from childhood to the present day.”
Weeks before the highly anticipated memoir hits stores and virtual retailers, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their young children — Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor — will make their first trip as a family to London.
The Sussex clan is expected to attend the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee, a massive celebration of her 70 years on the throne.
American journalist Christopher Andersen, currently promoting his new book, Brothers and Wives, sat down for an interview and revealed that Prince Harry’s memoir creates a burden for the royals.
According to the royal author, while the heirs to the throne will be furious and on edge because of the content of the tell-all book, it will be hard not to have Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the jubilee and be part of the anticipated “royal family balcony portrait.”
The royals know it will be their first opportunity to finally meet the Sussexes’ baby daughter, Lilibet Diana, born in June in California.
The book puts senior royals such as Prince Charles and Prince William in a real predicament — do they invite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to attend the jubilee?
Do they let Prince Harry, his wife, and their young children stand on Buckingham Palace balcony with the rest of the royals for the iconic picture taken during the Trooping the Color?
Andersen shared more details about the complicated situation: “The Queen, with Philip gone, and the pandemic raging on and her reign coming to a close, inevitably, she needed all hands on deck and everyone in their places on that balcony, and instead, you’ve got chaos. And so I can see more chaos on the horizon and more hurt feelings. Meghan will come, and she will bring Archie and Lili.”
While some members are doing a delicate dance around Meghan Markle and her spouse, others are blunt and have asked that the invite be withdrawn.
Some royals are calling for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to be disinvited
There are people whispering in the Queen’s ears that she needs to cancel the invitation for her peace of mind or the sake of her public image.
According to royal sources who spoke to the Daily Mail‘s royal correspondent, Rebecca English, Prince Harry’s decision to unveil his book to the world during Elizabeth II moment in the spotlight is seen as “deeply disrespectful” and “clearly deliberate.”
One person with knowledge of the situation explained: “Her Majesty has been at great pains to try to keep her relationship with her grandson and his family separate from the decisions she needs to make professionally, so to speak. And the invitation for them to join her next year was a genuine one. Although things have been very difficult, there was a small but enduring hope that enough time would have elapsed for things to heal. But the feeling internally [now] is that this book will be the last straw. It’s emerged that Harry has been secretly working on it for some time, and he has made clear that he and his ghostwriter (journalist and novelist J. R. Moehringer) will leave no stone unturned. The suggestion he could even be seen with his family again in the future is looking increasingly implausible. A lot of people suspect this is the end of the road.”
The source added: “To bring out the book in the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee is being seen as deeply disrespectful. There will be a whole year of celebrations…yet it will now be characterized by a drip-feed of revelations, serializations, and, eventually, publication. It doesn’t matter what reassurances he tries to give his family about what will be in it. The Oprah interview proved how hollow those words can be.”
The divide between the two sides is widening.
