Royal Ascot Reveals Family Bonds Harry Has Lost
Watching the royals from just feet away at Royal Ascot this week, they almost appear like any other family. Until now, I had only ever seen royals in the flesh on their own. In 2016, I was on parade as the then Duchess of Cornwall represented Queen Elizabeth II on a Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Commissioning Parade. In 2022, I wrote one of my corporals up for an MBE and was lucky enough to be invited along to Windsor Castle as it was presented by Prince William. On each occasion, the royals were in formal mode and as the true professionals that most of them are, it gave very little insight into them as people or their relationship with one another.
Genuine Warmth Behind Formal Facade
Watching them interact with one another at the Royal Ascot this week, however, showed them in a different light and for the first time got me reflecting on the enormity of what Prince Harry has given up. The interactions appeared to show a genuine warmth. Of course, whenever the royals are in public, they remain working so the insight into their lives is slim. There are still formalities. Zara Tindall curtsies when greeting her uncle who despite the close family relation remains the monarch. They travel in cars, in a specific order with no scope to give a friend or a member of the wider family a lift back into central London. But in their interactions with each other, there seems genuine warmth.
Glances at Family Unity
At a glance, Zara and Mike Tindall are just like any other well off couple enjoying a day with their friends, chatting effortlessly and making the most of a day at the races. Prince Edward and Sophie could be seen laughing naturally with the Princess Royal as they caught up in the wings of the main event. Even observing the King and Prince William there is the impression that behind the facade of monarch and heir, there is a father and son who share jokes as the youngster observes and learns from his old man.
Heartbreaking Reality for Harry
This is what Harry has lost and regardless of your views on him and, for the record, his military service and determination to deploy to Afghanistan means I will always think well of him, that is sad. It is not for me to judge or pretend to have some insight into a family that I am not a part of. But family is important regardless of whether you go by the name Wales or Williams. Only Harry knows if he has made the right decision but looking from the outside, the wedge between him and his relatives feels nothing but sad.
