Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk a fine line following demise of Queen

• ABERDEEN, Scotland: On Friday morning, the day after his grandmother Queen Elizabeth passed away, Prince Harry put his arm around the shoulder of an airport employee
• He had shown her support by walking with him across the tarmac.

It was a friendly and casual moment typical of Harry, whose affable demeanour had long made him one of the most well-liked royals. However, his choice to stand down from royal duties had left a rift in the family that has yet to be fully patched.

As the Queen’s closest family members rushed to be with her in her final hours, Harry was the last person to arrive at Balmoral Castle on Thursday. He was also the first person to leave on Friday, signifying that he is no longer a member of the family’s close-knit group.

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The public saw a peek of Harry’s grandmother and him in happier times when they appeared together in a humorous video in 2016 in response to Barack and Michelle Obama’s mic-drop insult ahead of the Invictus Games, a competition for handicapped veterans that Harry has promoted.

But the fact that Harry was in Britain at the time Elizabeth passed away was purely coincidental, as there had been no mention of him visiting his family in the States, where he and his American wife Meghan currently reside.

Family dynamics will undoubtedly change now that the matriarch is gone, and as the pomp and circumstance of Elizabeth’s burial unfold, onlookers will be keeping a watchful eye out for any indications of reconciliation.

One of the familial dramas that has made the House of Windsor an everlasting source of curiosity for people all over the world is how the royals deal with Harry, Meghan, and their offspring. This will be a major theme of the post-Elizabeth era.

The new King Charles signalled a desire for a thaw in relations during his first speech as sovereign on Friday.

“I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” he said.

Harry’s father Charles is currently the king, so his children Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, immediately get the titles of prince or princess of the realm in accordance with royal custom. After the queen’s childhood nickname, Lilibet was given that name.

Harry’s connections with Charles and his older brother, Prince William, who is now the heir to the throne, are not likely to be reconciled by that novelty alone.

The brothers were close for many years following the passing of their mother Diana in a vehicle accident in 1997, when William was 15 and Harry was 12, but since Harry and Meghan started drifting apart in January 2020, their relationship has deteriorated.

Recollections “MAY” differ

The pair first stated that they intended to split their time equally between Britain and the United States while carving out “a progressive new role” within the monarchy.

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However, Elizabeth, Charles, and William disapproved of their scheme and said that there was no room for part-timers in the Firm, as the royal family is frequently referred as.

Instead, the pair made a permanent transfer to California, gave up their royal patronage, and departed the exclusive group of people addressed as “Your Royal Highness” after a 12-month review period.

They gave a shocking interview to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, during which Meghan revealed that her discontentment with her time as a working royal had brought her to the verge of suicide.

She added that there had been “conversations” regarding the baby’s skin colour in the family back when she was expecting Archie. Her father is white, and Meghan’s mother is black.

The interview, which was broadcast on CBS amid a frenzy of international attention, resulted in tonnes of paper but only a curt response from Buckingham Palace, which remarked icily that “some recollections may vary” despite the “concerning” nature of the issues raised.

Since then, Harry and Meghan have worked on podcasts and television shows while suing British tabloids, some of which have maintained a steady stream of negative headlines about Meghan.

The news that Harry was writing a “intimate and passionate” book about his life and that it will be released in late 2022 sent shivers down the spines of the British royal family in July 2021.

Harry’s book might either serve as a catalyst for healing or serve as another cause for friction between the two sides, depending on its content and—more importantly—how his father and brother respond. (Reuters)