The nice thing about Substack is you can draft posts and let them sit for a while. I started writing something after Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quite a while ago, but never published it. Following Harry’s book and the Netflix documentary the couple put together, the entire world started to weigh in, so time to dust off the old draft and give it a fresh spin. But even then I hesitated. What can I add to this debate ? Well, I guess letting the content sit in ‘draft’ forever was a waste, so here we go.
The whole affair is captivating as it has so many aspects, from the role of the monarch, to the role of the press, to racism, to Piers Morgan’s mental state, to selling your soul for dollars, to whatever, you name it. There is something in the saga for everyone. The overarching theme however is so glaringly obvious that I am surprised that few commentators have really tried to close in on it and are all being sidetracked by the juicier aspects of the story.
You will see it very clearly in the Netflix documentary. Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, overshadows the entire drama, she is there the whole time. Her divorce from Prince Charles and her tragic death traumatized the young Harry and it did so in a far more profound way than it did his brother. It even stands to argue that with Diana’s death the young prince lost the one parent that was capable of actually loving him while also creating some sort of bridge to a life outside the royal cocoon. This and the walk behind his mother’s casket for the whole world to see did some real psychological damage to the young prince. No one gets over this easily, if ever. After managing the issue with drinks and drugs, Harry found a partner who could help guide him through the painful maze that he is likely to wander until the day he dies. With an older brother who on the face has been able to adapt and accept, Harry is the one who got damaged. The media show, throwing around juicy details of his life, contradictory moves towards and away from his family; all are evidence of a crushed soul. Whatever you think of his ‘privilege’ and the circus it has all turned into now, you got to feel sorry for the man.
So on closer inspection, this is not about Meghan Markle at all, she was merely the accelerant of a dramatic break up and an ensuing media storm that was bound to happen anyway, at some point. It is unfortunate that a such a deeply personal drama with now severed family ties has forced them to turn the story into a product that sells. And judging from the numbers it sells big, but when you have to foot the bill of your own royally sized security detail, money goes pretty fast. There was a need to package and market it in a big way.
In any given family the second child is always the more rebellious one and in particular if you are the younger brother of a future king you will need to find your room to maneuver. For those who have watched ‘The Crown’ will have realized, Prince Harry is today’s Prince Margaret. They will also know that if you are in that position and life goes on, there will be less and less to do for you and you may have to map out a very solid plan to protect you from the sort of downward spiral that eventually killed the heavily drinking and smoking Margaret. Meghan, who is not only smart but socially quite astute spotted not only Harry’s hurting, but also the likely painful journey ahead for both of them. It was a sooner rather than later type of scenario, so she pulled the ‘let’s get out while we can’ card.
Watching the documentary’s six episodes in full you actually start to get some appreciation for the couple’s journey and the love they found together. It is therefore all the more disheartening to see how they have, with Harry leading the charge now, gone full force with serving up all sorts of unpleasant and unnecessary details ranging from fist fights to frozen penises. It’s like, why? If there is ever a road back to reconciliation with the family then there are surely better ways to do it. Patti Davis argues very convincingly why silence is so valuable in this regard. Meghan’s advice clearly has its limitations as it is the royal family that is now winning the popular opinion contest simply by being mum.
Harry and Meghan are left with real challenges once this media storm dies down, however. The first question is: what is next for them? How can they stay valuable for the market they have just created for themselves? If you are to stay relevant on Netflix or any other media outlet, you need to keep producing original content and have something interesting to say. Meghan may actually have what it takes, but Harry’s future may be better served by receding from the public arena, reconciling his psychological traumas and reuniting with his family. The ‘strategy’ behind the documentary and book launch have made all of that so much harder. And that brings us to the other key question and that is if the couple is really strong enough to stay together and weather this and probably subsequent storms. Let’s hope they do. Harry has suffered enough trauma in his short life, the last thing he needs is another break-up.
Trauma as a Product
Thanks for this thoughtful piece Pieter. The series and the couple have been very contraversial... I think it would be very interesting to look at the background and experience of people on 'either side' of the divide.
I am trying to understand the motivation for the divisiveness in so much of our lives right now.
Best wishes as you share your thoughts and wisdom.
Sincerely,
Michael Broughton
Wow, Thank you Pieter for shining new light into these dark places and explaining this quagmire with such clarity. The amount of shock from my own person upbringing resonates with the frustration that Harry must be going through at this time and the added burden of being tied into the worlds digestive system.
May we certainly hope, that this world will see the individual darkness that we all carry and head it in a more peaceful and positive direction.
Thanks for the Clarity.
Norman Pellow.