The telegraph
Harry said that he is finally living his ‘real’ life … so why does he look so unhappy?
With the world still recovering from Harry and Meghan’s big interview, one thing to note is how surprising it was for the British audience, given how much we knew in advance. Forget Meghan – rehearsed, polished, always the actress – as tearfully articulated as we imagine in Her little mermaid meets Chicken Run Hameau de la Reine. No, the real shock was Harry: stained with rage, nervous with rage, his fury palpable. In place of the cheeky and cheeky old man, the Prince looked like a horribly wounded animal: seething, tormented, his features twitching as he made accusation after accusation on the family he once loved. “We are in a lot of pain,” he declared, and that was evident. Here was a bitter, broken man, struggling to hurt others, as he himself had been hurt. Whatever the significance of this spectacle for viewers of the millennium generation and Generation Z who identify with the cause of Sussex, it seemed nothing short of a tragedy to us, 40 positive points that we come to love Harry. Because we love him, in that affectionate way with which we consider the young royalty that we witness growing up. The image of 12-year-old Harry walking behind his mother’s coffin was etched into the collective consciousness. This meant that – when he found love – we could not have been more ecstatic; your joy, ours. Harry was the lovable rascal of the nation, full of joy despite the horrors of his childhood, full of charisma, always ready with a joke and a hug. His teenage rebellion was tolerated, his military career respected. If it weren’t the brightest cookie in the box, he was certainly the kindest, the most affable. The children adored him, the old ones adored him, we all adored him. Now, he insists that we impose a reinterpretation in which Prince Hal was once a facade: the superficial spectacle of a caged man. The Hazzer we love was a smiling automaton, our Prince Charming simply doing things, smiling at people just “part of the job”. Meanwhile, having abandoned his home, his country, his career, friends and family, he is finally living his “real” life. So, why does he look so unhappy? While Meghan was strategically vague in his accusations, Harry was drawing attention, everyone woke up to a double speech about kindness during the attack. The main targets were his once loved father and brother.