Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s actions have long contradicted their claimed desire for privacy, but their latest move marks a new low. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared a glimpse into their heavily-trailed UK trip last week, including photos of children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, at Althorp, the ancestral home of Princess Diana.
Privacy Claims vs. Publicity
While the social media reel was perhaps inevitable given the couple’s well-documented efforts to stay in the spotlight, it epitomised the hypocrisy of their incessant petitions for privacy. Harry claimed he wanted to bring his children to Britain to show them where he grew up, before essentially using them as a bargaining chip in his attempts to involve King Charles in his fight for taxpayer-funded security.
His claims to be losing sleep over threats posed to his wife and children on UK soil should have been reason enough to keep the visit entirely under wraps. Instead, just weeks after the family returned to America, Meghan shared a carousel of summer-themed photos of Archie and Lilibet, including one that appears to have been taken at Althorp and another of the duchess alongside Harry’s uncle, Earl Spencer.
Details of the UK Trip
The family were rumoured to be planning to visit Princess Diana’s grave, which sits on an island in a lake on the estate, during their trip from July 7 to July 11. Speculation also mounted about the possibility of Harry and Meghan sharing a photo of their reunion with King Charles at Highgrove, but it seemed unlikely that details of the visit to Diana’s grave would be disclosed, given how private a family matter it is.
Instead, following predictable briefings about the Highgrove meeting – both good and bad – Meghan seemingly had no qualms about sharing photos of her children at Althorp, including one of Lilibet walking through the estate’s gardens while her brother and father carry bouquets of flowers in the distance.
Using Diana for PR
Harry and Meghan love to weave a victim narrative – that they are being attacked by the press and by the Palace and that their safety is at significant risk. But publicising a family trip to Harry’s mother’s grave shows there is nothing they won’t use for a PR boost, even as it inevitably raises their profile, putting them at greater risk.
It is not the first time the couple have publicly invoked Diana to generate sympathy. Harry detailed a joint visit to his mother’s grave with Meghan in his memoir Spare, in which she “knelt, eyes shut and palms against the stone”.
Incompatible with Royal Life
Ironically, by broadcasting details of their UK visit, which was reported as an effort to ingratiate themselves with the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan have proved just why they will never be able to meaningfully return to the fold. It appears Harry has become so used to a life of fighting for relevance that he has forgotten how incompatible it is with all that the Firm stands for.
