Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex react after their visit to Canada House in thanks for the warm Canadian hospitality and support they received during their recent stay in Canada, on January 7, 2020 in London, England. Picture: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / POOL / AFP
If one is an avid follower of that long-running soap opera that is the British Royal Family, you may have noticed some eerie parallels in the latest twist in the saga with one which rocked the establishment more than 80 years ago.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, shocked many people with their announcement they would be stepping back from royal duties to begin a new, independent, life between the UK and North America. Markle was born in the US.
Another American woman, Wallis Simpson, came between a king and the royal family, making Edward VIII choose love or duty. He chose the former and gave up the crown by abdicating at the end of 1936.
There are those saying Markle has come between Harry and his family.
There may be some truth in that, but the reality is that both she and Harry were unable to cope with the enormous pressure of being royal in the digital, paparazzi-driven modern world.
Markle, clearly, has no desire to end up like Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, widely believed to have been hounded to her death by the media in 1997.
It’s all fascinating.
All the while the world burns – through climate change and war – and people starve …
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