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It is a story that is becoming very familiar when it comes to the royal family and the Sussex – the story of two statements. Since Harry and Meghan launched their bombshell announcement on January 8, 2020 that they were taking on a new progressive role within the monarchy, and the world watched as Buckingham Palace struggled to spread a very different message, it was revealed how much this family is not always on the same page. And yesterday, when yet another announcement was made about the role and the future of the Sussex, we saw once again so much so personal exposed on (and between) the official communication lines of the palace.
Buckingham Palace’s last statement was in many ways not surprising. It was to be expected – in fact, even explained on the first page of the Daily Mail-that Harry and Meghan would not be able to maintain their formal royal sponsorships if they were no longer working as royalty. The door that had been left open when they moved away from real life in late March was slowly closing as they moved forward with their new business plans. It was difficult to see how Harry could have kept his honorary military appointments without a formal role in the royal family, although it was also obvious that he very much wanted to do so. The Sussex had long hoped to be half in and half out, but, as the Queen wrote to them, this is simply “not possible”.
But what makes Buckingham Palace’s statement on the subject so remarkable is that it includes details such as the fact that the Queen wrote for them. Instead of sticking to the bare minimum of facts (which the Palace often does on many subjects), it spreads, by accident or design, in addition to the formality of information about sponsorships for something much more revealing. And the separate Sussex message, sent almost exactly at the same time, seems innately an “answer” that exposes the latent tensions.
The phrase in the Buckingham Palace message that describes “the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service” may be seen by some as superfluous – even punctual – explaining the ideology of what it means to be a real worker. The decision to insert a final sentence about the family being “sad” and Harry and Meghan remaining “very loved” is a poignant reminder of how profound this professional decision is.
It is not clear whether Harry and Meghan knew what text would be used in the Buckingham Palace statement before they agreed on their own comment from a spokesman. But, in any case, it is difficult not to detect a note of challenge in his decision to sign with the words: “We can all live a life of service. The service is universal. ”A definition of service is supposed to be for the benefit of the public, not an attempt by Harry to teach his grandmother how to suck eggs.
What Harry and Meghan explain in their statement, when saying that they offered their “ongoing support” to organizations, is that they wanted to keep the positions that were returned. You don’t have to be an expert to find out that this will be difficult for Harry. He chose his freedom, but returning his honorary military appointments was a heavy price to pay.
We can find out more about how he feels about it after the Sussex sat down with Oprah in a 90-minute interview to air on March 7. They are not the first royalty to give long television interviews, but the Queen notoriously does not. Instead, she notoriously follows the motto “never complain, never explain” and does not develop your personal thoughts or views. It will, of course, continue along that line, but with statements from the Palace like this we are not completely in the dark.
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