Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, might have left the working royal life behind in 2020, but they are still being judged as if they never did.
With the upcoming release of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare on January 10 and the premiere of their Netflix documentary around the same time, they have more eyes on them than ever.
Every move they make is scrutinized. Observers want to know if they are sending digs to King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort, and Prince William.
There is also the notion that the new Monarch wants to make sure that they are not hurting the British institution. Moreover, according to various reports, he stands ready to punish them when they go out of line.
People close to the King are paying attention to the content of the book and the statements they will make in the docuseries. If they step out too far, he might remove their titles.
King Charles could also decide not to give the tiles of prince and princess to his grandchildren — Archie and Lilibet Diana. So every wrong move that they make reinforces his case against them.
Royal observers say that the Sovereign‘s breaking point is pretty close. This is a big deal because the couple knows that the titles are valuable in terms of branding.
Nonetheless, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also have to make sure that they keep building their new profile as Hollywood celebrities.
This week, the couple gave critics more material by urging people to vote in the US midterm elections. While voting is not a left or right issue, encouraging citizens to go to the polls has become a rallying cry for the Democratic Party.
Since royals are not supposed to engage in political matters, some say that this kind of behavior is a breach of protocols.
Moreover, because of ongoing trade negotiations between the UK and America, the royals do not want to be seen siding with one side over the other. This could be problematic for British interests in the long run.
Royal expert Richard Palmer told the Royal Roundup: “I think it’s a slightly dangerous game but not as dangerous as it was when Donald Trump was still President. And that was the real problem that the UK was trying to negotiate a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, which seems as far off as ever now.”
He continued: “There was huge consternation at Buckingham Palace because although Meghan has never said which way to vote, she was taking part in a campaign to get people to register to vote and against voter suppression. And rightly or wrongly, that was seen as essentially being a Democrat-leaning campaign.”
Palmer also stated: “And I think that you have to remember that when they quit, they volunteered. They weren’t, as far as I understand it, asked to make this pledge. They volunteered that they would uphold the values of the then-Queen. And embarrassing the UK in a foreign country isn’t upholding the Queen‘s values.”
The renegade royals are rarely in alignment with what is being pushed by the monarchy. It will be interesting to see if King Charles will use their political activities against them.
