Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing what has been described as ugly and deranged online abuse before they have even returned to the UK, with some social media users calling for violence against the Duchess of Sussex.
Writing in an opinion piece, Lesley-Ann Jones said that if the online mob is to be believed, the nation will not be satisfied until the returning Duchess of Sussex is dragged in chains from the Beauchamp Tower to Tower Green to meet an executioner's axe. She noted that some have called for protest marches and gang aggression, warning of a societal sickness that is getting dangerously out of hand.
Return to the UK
King Charles III's second-born son, Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex, is set to relocate imminently from California to his homeland with his wife and two children to educate his offspring and resume a close relationship with his father and stepmother. Neither the monarch nor the Queen has commented publicly, nor have the Waleses.
Despite this, complete strangers are assuming intimate knowledge of their thoughts and emotions, adopting a livid stance on their behalf and making matters worse before the plane has even taken off, Jones wrote.
Calls for action
Harry and Meghan are no longer working royals, and there is no indication that they will seek to revert. Should that happen, it will be in agreement with the King and orchestrated to the acceptance of all concerned, the piece noted.
There are now demands for the couple to relinquish commercial activity or forfeit their titles, along with those of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Call for reconciliation
Jones argued that the answer is forgiveness and reconciliation. She acknowledged that Harry has previously blamed Charles for marrying a girl he didn't love while maintaining the mistress who is now his consort, thus causing Diana's death and implanting trauma in his sons.
Alternatively, the piece suggested acknowledging grave errors all round, with the royals showing mercy, Harry and Meghan humbly apologising, and those wronged graciously accepting, allowing everyone to move on. The monarchy, for which public support fell to its lowest ebb last year in the wake of the Andrew-Jeffrey Epstein scandal, could be tightened and fortified and would survive, Jones concluded.
