AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
It’s a story we see thousands of times, young people leave Ireland in search of greener grass elsewhere, only to return when they have families of their own. They want their children to grow up here with the benefit of an Irish education. So what’s so remarkable about Harry and Meghan, who quit the Royal family six years ago for California, returning to England this week so that Archie (7) and Lilibet (5) can go to school there?
Harry’s story does have a ring of the Prodigal Son about it. In the Gospel parable the son accepts money from his father, travels, wastes the gift, enduring famine, before being welcomed home by a forgiving father. In Harry and Meghan’s case, they squandered family goodwill first with the Oprah Winfrey interview, complaining their departure from the royal family and Britain was due to a lack of support and institutional racism. Then by kissing and selling, Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ netted an advance of €17 million, published in 16 different languages, it became the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK.
That Harry and William had begged Charles not to marry ‘calculating’ Camilla was just one of its revelations.
The couple’s departure from royal duties in 2022, known as ‘Megxit’, must have seemed like history repeating itself. Wallis Simpson, another American divorcee like Meghan, triggered the abdication of Edward VIII when he insisted on marrying her and they then lived in exile in France. George VI shouldered the burdensome role of monarch, which undermined his health, earning Wallis the undying enmity of the Queen Mother.
How must William, King-in-waiting, feel about his brother abandoning his duties in the royal ‘firm’ or Catherine (Kate), Princess of Wales, who has never complained about the challenges involved as an outsider joining the royal family, feel about Meghan?
Getting their children into a private co-ed day school, where places only recently became available, may be one of the reasons for the Sussexes’ sudden return, combined with Harry’s wish to be close to some at least of his family, especially his father who is living with cancer. But there are other subtexts where you could hardly blame royals and royalists for wondering uneasily ‘whatever next?’
The golden goose of US deals for the Sussexes has gone off lay. The deal with Netflix and their production company Archewell, originally reported to be worth $100m, was watered down to a ‘first look’ contract. Netflix ended its deal with Meghan’s As Ever lifestyle brand, when her series With Love Meghan didn’t go down too well.
The couple, who are no longer on the royal payroll, need to find fresh ways to earn. Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever (flower sprinkles and jam) continues to sell in the US, maybe she could extend the range or try her luck with it in the UK?
Celebrities do well out of endorsing brands or launching their own labels. Look at George Clooney’s ambassadorship for Nespresso or his Casamigos Tequila or Kim Kardashian’s ShoeDazzle, both of which subsequently sold for millions. Might we see Harry’s beer or Meghan’s lingerie brand? Or a return to her acting career where she starred in Suits, perhaps in the third gangster series ‘The Gentlemen.’?
Then there are the demands of Harry’s charitable work like the Invictus Games for those wounded in military service, WellChild supporting seriously ill children in staying at home and Scotty’s Little Soldiers for kids who lost parents in battle.
The prospect of another ‘tell-all’ book by Harry about an unhappy return should be enough to send shivers down collective royal spines. The possibilities for further drama are endless. Who gave the pair the cold shoulder, who offered them one to cry on? Then, the deals and most of all the possibility of an ongoing feud with William and Kate. The ongoing question of whether Harry and his family should have protection still isn’t resolved.
From a psychological point of view the move back could be a case of mid-life redirection. The individual takes stock and realigns what they are doing with their values and the things that matter to them at their stage of life. It could just be there’s no place like home. Who knows?
Perhaps it will be a case of happy returns, as it is for the 30,000-plus who return to Ireland yearly.
