Last week, Vanity Fair did a lovely wrap-up piece about Prince Harry’s NYC trip: “Prince Harry’s Transition From Working Royal to Global Advocate Is Now Complete.” I agree – while Harry’s meetings and appearances weren’t huge stories, his trip showed that he’s booked and busy and he has a lot on his plate. VF had details about the meetings and events associated with Sentebale, African Parks, The HALo Trust, Travalyst, The Diana Award and more. VF also editorialized a bit which I enjoyed:
Harry’s CGI speech: When Harry took the stage at the Clinton Global Initiative on Tuesday morning, it was clear just how far he had come as a speaker and a public figure. He paced the stage, TED Talk–style, and used his personal cell phone as a visual aid. He began by discussing the Space Race, using it as an extended metaphor for the unforeseen effects that technology can have on our politics. Compared to the uplifting yet somewhat hesitant speeches he used to give five years ago, the prince was brimming with purpose when talking about Big Tech.
All business: In under 72 hours, he packed in at least seven events with a handful of his charities, some of which have counted him as a patron for more than a decade. He gave prepared remarks at most of the events, which meant he was switching gears from subjects ranging from youth empowerment to minefields and conflict to the climate impacts of travel to the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis in Southern Africa at the drop of the hat.
Harry’s role is different: Where William and Charles have walked the line of representing British government interests while establishing themselves as global leaders in fighting climate change, Harry’s role outside of the palace means he’s coming as a representative of himself—and his ideas. His comments this week reveal a direct point of view now, formed both by his years in the royal family, the research he’s done, and the experiences he’s had outside of it.
Project-driven: Harry and Meghan have always been more project-driven than his Windsor family relatives, a quality which was previously met with skepticism and some disdain from the palace staff. “You can say what you want about Meghan, but she works incredibly hard,” an insider told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl in 2020, months after their royal exit. “The problem is she and Harry have a tendency to hatch big projects over dinner and expect them to be actioned within days.” It’s now been four years since they started their Archewell Foundation, and in his whirlwind trip, Harry’s charity appearances made the implicit argument that he has a lot to show for his years outside of the palace.
That last part – “Harry’s charity appearances made the implicit argument that he has a lot to show for his years outside of the palace” – is exactly why there was so much energy towards “Meghan is a bully” last week. The aim was distraction, the aim was to minimize Harry’s work. Speaking of, the NY Post ran this: “Prince Harry debuted his reinvention in NYC, but it was ‘hijacked’ by ‘Duchess Difficult’ Meghan.” To hear the Post tell it, you’d think that United Nations diplomats are simply glued to Us Weekly for breaking royal news. This piece also told me that Harry’s brother is incandescent with jealousy over Harry’s busy trip.
The Post claims Meghan hijacked Harry’s newscycle: We were with the renegade royal as he toured the Big Apple; talking about his hopes for the future and making fun of his troubled past. He also revealed how important it is for him to follow in his mother, Princess Diana’s footsteps, which always pulls at the heartstrings. All in all, he proved yet again that he can be immensely likable and charming, when he wants to be. But even though she was back at the couple’s California mansion, Harry’s wife made her presence known. The Sussex camp enrolled a cast list of staffers past and present to hit back after claims were again made that Megan, the Duchess of Sussex is, in fact, “Duchess Difficult”. One political insider in NY for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) told us, “This totally hijacked any coverage Harry got…it was quite an own goal.”
Harry the wannabe statesman? Sources told Page Six that, despite everything, this is the direction Harry wants to take; he wants to be seen as a statesman and philanthropist. However, the political insider told Page Six he has some way to go before he can claim the kind of impact made by Hollywood stars such as Matt Damon and Jennifer Garner, with her kids charity ‘Once Upon a Farm’. Sophia Bush also spoke at the Clinton event. She’s a well known humanitarian and launched her charity, ‘Pencils of Promise’, a 2008-founded nonprofit that has built more than 550 schools, largely in Ghana, Guatemala and Laos. The insider said, “Harry has got a long way to go to be remotely on the same level as Matt Damon. He’s not yet viewed as a statesman – or as a celebrity who has really made a huge philanthropic impact. He’s not like Jennifer Garner [or] Sophia Bush – those are real social impact activists.”
Stay out of the tabloids, Harry! “You’ll have to watch this space to see how far Harry can go,” said another political source who has worked with President Barack Obama, “If he can get his personal issues out of the tabloids, he might well achieve some big things.”
I’m sorry, but why is “He’s not like Jennifer Garner [or] Sophia Bush – those are real social impact activists” so funny to me? I mean zero disrespect to Sophia or J-Garn, they’re doing their own work and it’s all completely admirable. But to use their names to disparage Harry, the founder of the Invictus Games? You’re telling me Sophia Bush is a more globally recognized activist and advocate than Prince Harry? The sources/insiders claiming this are not serious people. Anyway, in case you missed it, the people who have spent years smearing Meghan and now really mad that she’s fought back at long last.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.