Americans have finally turned on Harry & Meghan… Charles had to turf them out of Frogmore for sake of William and Kate
BEFORE the novelty wore off, it seemed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be regarded here in America with the similar interest and fascination reserved for members of the Royal Family in Britain.
But as their behaviour plays out before our eyes, that fascination has been turning to something else.
Like our British cousins, many Americans cheered last week’s news that the Sussexes were having to vacate Frogmore Cottage, the residence set aside for them when they chose to visit the UK.
Americans too find the repeated attacks on Harry’s family extremely distasteful.
Many of our public figures, from Howard Stern to Megyn Kelly, even CNN’s Don Lemon, have said as much.
We have marvelled at the King’s patience with the pair, and wondered how long the Royal Family could endure the assaults without responding in some manner.
To add insult to injury, on Saturday we were treated to Harry’s viewer-financed real time therapy session, sharing the most intimate details about his family life and drug use with controversial trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté.
He diagnosed the Prince with certain conditions right before our eyes.
After Harry blamed everyone else for his problems, he nonetheless assured the world he does not view himself as a victim.
The King deserves far better. Charles has been a loving and devoted father to both of his sons.
In the face of the despicable behaviour of the Sussexes, Charles has shown patience, tolerance and forbearance far beyond what is reasonable.
But finally, his line has been crossed, and he has reacted in an ingenious way.
Red line
The demand to vacate is certainly appropriately punishing. It drives home the point that Harry violated his father’s red line of attacking the Queen Consort, not to mention the Waleses and the King himself.
But it serves another purpose as well. Frogmore is situated a few hundred yards from the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Windsor residence.
Removing the cottage from Harry and Meghan prevents unwanted or impromptu exposure to their neighbours, and deprives them of any new private details that can be shared in future memoirs for financial gain.
Reports are that the King is offering the Sussexes a suite in Buckingham Palace for when they wish to visit.
Such a protected location would address the security concerns raised by the couple.
However, housing in Buckingham Palace – where no senior Royal Family member currently resides – also prevents acquisition of new material to be used against the Firm in future media.
While the Sussexes’ popularity has steadily deflated in the UK since they left for Montecito, this trend is rapidly catching up in the US.
In the aftermath of the couple’s Netflix series, and the subsequent publication of Harry’s autobiography Spare, the Prince has “dropped 45 points in United States public opinion while Meghan Markle has dropped 36 points in just more than a month”, according to a poll reported by Newsweek.
One wonders what effect the broadcast therapy session with Dr. Maté will have on those figures.
But one thing is certain; while the Sussexes’ approach has caused a plunge in their popularity, the dignified “never complain, never explain” approach of the Royal Family is only raising them up on both sides of the Atlantic.
Popularity plummeting
In America, according to the same poll, since the scathing attacks in Harry’s memoir both Camilla’s and Prince William‘s popularity have risen, and Kate remains America’s most popular royal overall.
Whether Harry sees himself as a victim or not, blaming everyone but themselves for their trials and tribulations, combined with the devastating optic of whinging about everything while enjoying the Montecito lifestyle – and of course publicly savaging Harry’s highly respected family – is a formula for failure on the popular front.
I myself will be coming over from America to join my British friends in celebrating the King in what will be an historic occasion of a lifetime.
It remains to be seen if the Sussexes will accept their invitation to attend the King’s Coronation.
Should they decline, I wonder… is it transferrable?
Lee Cohen, a senior fellow of the Bow Group and the Bruges Group, was adviser on Great Britain to the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and founded the Congressional United Kingdom Caucus.