Obviously, we’re still talking about The Instagram Carousel That Brought a Nation To Its Knees. Last Thursday, the Duchess of Sussex posted photos from her family’s summer holiday. Nothing has been the same since, at least in royal media. Royalists are furious that Meghan’s photos are so happy and joyful. Royalists are furious that the Sussexes own a second home in Portugal. Royalists are furious that Prince Harry is clearly very close to the Spencer family, and that the Sussexes stayed at Althorp for several days without paparazzi getting any photos. And obviously, royalists are furious that Meghan posted a photo of her husband and children walking together and carrying flowers at Althorp. That’s all the photo shows – there’s no photo of the private island where Princess Diana is buried. There’s no photo of Diana’s gravestone. There’s no explicit message about Diana – just a photo of Diana’s son and ginger grandbabies carrying flowers and walking on the Spencer family’s ancestral estate. Well, the Daily Mail’s Maureen Callahan is furious on behalf of King Charles and Prince William! From “Meghan’s vulgar act at Diana’s sacred resting place vindicates Prince William’s suspicions. King Charles must now come to grips with it all.”
Just when you think Meghan can’t go any lower, she outdoes herself. If there’s one place above all that Harry and the British royal family would consider sacred, you’d think it would be Princess Diana’s burial site, located on an island at her ancestral home of Althorp. But what did Meghan choose to post on Thursday? A photo of Harry and their son, Archie, carrying huge floral bouquets as daughter Lili trailed behind, the sun dappling just so — art-directed, it seems — that appears to have been taken on the grounds outside the house on Althorp Estate, albeit not on the island itself.
The implication is hardly subtle: Was Harry taking the children to visit Diana’s grave? Meghan hasn’t denied it. Neither has Harry. People magazine, the American outlet said to be preferred by Meghan and one that has historically been kind to her, reports that the Sussexes stayed at Althorp during their visit to the UK two weeks ago, as guests of Diana’s brother Charles Spencer.
So much for not being able to safely return to the UK without royal protection. So much for not being able to set foot in Harry’s homeland without swarms of paparazzi putting Harry’s wife’s life in danger, as he has so often claimed.
Why would Meghan do this? Perhaps Meghan’s decision to post this picture of Harry and the children at Althorp, seemingly on their way to Diana’s grave, is an act of defiance. After all, it was widely reported that the immovable conditions of Harry, Meghan and the children meeting with King Charles were no leaks and no photos. If one considers that admonition literally, then Meghan has abided. If one also considers the spirit of this requirement, as I do here, then Meghan has breached it.
Consider that Prince William has visited Diana’s grave, surely with Catherine, Princess of Wales and their children. Have we ever, ever, seen a photo of them at Althorp? Of course not. William and Catherine are decent, serious people who understand that some things are sacred. Diana was buried on that island, at her family’s private residence, precisely to keep her gravesite from becoming a circus, a tourist attraction, a commodity.
For Meghan to share this, in my opinion, is beyond callous. It’s vulgar. It’s as obscene as that video she took in Paris, seemingly filmed from the back of a chauffeured car near the tunnel where Diana died — Meghan’s feet up on the backseat, crossing them as if in bored repose. She posted that to Instagram too, and William was said to be fuming. What must his reaction be now? Diana was his mother too, but the way Harry carries on, you would think he was the only brother to suffer her loss.
What must King Charles be thinking? He allowed his traitorous son — one whose claims of royal family squabbling have been injected back into the news cycle by none other than Oprah Winfrey — back into his life with, reportedly, one request: Do not break my trust. This act, which has sparked revulsion online and among good people everywhere, seems to be further proof that William is right: Harry and Meghan cannot be trusted.
It’s true that King Charles “ordered” (or shall we say, requested) that Harry and Meghan not post any photos of their meeting at Highgrove. Meghan adhered to that request. Incidentally, I think that’s why these people are so mad, because Meghan didn’t also post some nice photo from Highgrove which they could scream about. Instead, it very much looks like Meghan went out of her way to snub the Windsors, or as Meghan says, “my husband’s family.” And why would Charles care about photos from Althorp? He does care, but not in the way Callahan believes. Charles is mad about the Althorp photos because they show that the Spencers are more welcoming than the Windsors. As for the Althorp photos… again, it’s a pic from the larger Althorp estate, where tourists are welcome. It’s not offensive or vulgar or some kind of etiquette breach. Speaking of vulgar, remember when Prince William’s office posted cards to “Granny Diana,” allegedly made by his children? That was something.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram and As Ever’s Instagram.
