As I’ve pointed out many times in the past year, it genuinely felt like Prince William had some kind of breakdown last September, right after Prince Harry had tea at Clarence House with King Charles. Like, it was clear that Kensington Palace was briefing rage and drama about the meeting, but it was also clear that even royalists were like “wow, William has not handled this well at all.” Royal commentators were openly discussing how William was basically at a breaking point over… Harry and Charles spending an hour together. So I waited to see if the big “Highgrove Summit” with the entire Sussex family seeing Charles and Camilla would result in the same kind of gloom-and-doom stories. While there was some of that, Kensington Palace was much more muted about the July 10th meeting. That is, until the Duchess of Sussex posted the Instagram Carousel Which Brought Down A Nation. That seemed to cause more of a KP kerfuffle than the Highgrove meeting, right? Well, now Emily Andrews is using words like “betrayed and humiliated” to describe… William and Kate. Gulp.
Betrayed and possibly even humiliated. That, I understand, was the reaction of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales following King Charles’s olive branch meeting with the Sussexes. Of course, why wouldn’t they be? They have been humiliated on more than one occasion by both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and seeing them swan back to the UK must, I’m sure, sting. And let’s not talk about betrayal – the pair who have repeatedly bemoaned the Royal Family and made awful accusations.
Sure, the family reunion at Highgrove House (Harry’s childhood home) may only have lasted for a short time. A couple of hours I was told – perhaps just long enough for Archie, seven, and Lili, five, to play in the garden tree house that Charles had built for William as a boy.
It was confirmed by Buckingham Palace within hours of the visit (although they didn’t give any more details or release a photo) and it appeared to announce a policy of appeasement to the Sussexes. Despite what they may say or do, despite the vitriol levelled against the British judiciary, British government or even the monarchy itself, they will not be cast out.
It must feel like a humiliation for William and Kate, who are believed to want nothing to do with the Sussexes, and are thought to have urged the King to do the same. They have been hurt and betrayed by Harry’s departure from the monarchy, and his subsequent outbursts – across Oprah, Netflix and memoir Spare – must still be painful. I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting, however private, with the King. His father has gone ahead, while William is the one carrying an ever-growing share of the actual work and popularity of the monarchy.
Charles’ first duty is not to the spare. It is to the heir and his wife. That is the deal Queen Elizabeth II understood and honoured for 70 years: the institution comes first, sentiment a distant second. Because this meeting looks like a triumph for Harry and Meghan. Giving all the appearance of working towards this for the past 18 months, their intentions have seemed clear: re-establish themselves in Britain and back inside the family, which could only boost their brand.
Only time will tell whether this marks the start of more regular visits to the UK. And if it does, then it will be the undoing of Megxit. As surely this would be the half-in/half-out that the late Queen explicitly forbade. And what can William and Kate do? Not much, if we’re honest, until William is King.
He rarely speaks of Harry in royal circles nowadays, I’m told, but this capitulation by his father is sure to sting. After all, just three weeks before the visit, the Palace was calling Harry’s refusal to bring his children to the UK until he got the security he wanted ‘emotional blackmail’. Following the Highgrove reunion, the tone completely changed. Charles ‘will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because, despite all the trouble, blood is blood’ said a close source.
…It’s also clear that Kate and William will not forgive him for Spare. It is little wonder, then, that my Palace sources tell me our future King and his wife held crisis talks about the latest movements. They are united on all fronts, but their relationship with Harry and Meghan seems to be broken forever.
I chuckled at several of these lines. “I understand that William believes the couple should not have been rewarded with a family meeting…” Only WASPs speak this way, my god. A father-and-son meeting is not a “reward.” Neither is a grandfather meeting two grandchildren for the first time in four years. “His father has gone ahead, while William is the one carrying an ever-growing share of the actual work and popularity of the monarchy…” William’s share of the “actual work” has not grown one bit, and emotional-support polls are not indicative of actual, tangible support for William or the monarchy.
But this is my favorite: “my Palace sources tell me our future King and his wife held crisis talks about the latest movements…” William and Kate held crisis talks… with themselves? It sounds like William and Kate are in crisis, in general, and they happened to speak to each other. Which must be a rare enough thing that palace sources had to tell Emily Andrews about it. This also confirms that the Windsors are creepy stalkers who keep tabs on the Sussexes’ “movements,” not to mention keeping tabs on the Sussexes’ work, style, travel, interviews and Instagram.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
