Though Prince William and Meghan Markle have visibly been polite with each other on the rare occasions they were spotted in each other’s company, it is not news that there is no love between them. But while Prince Harry has revealed many examples of the future king not keeping his temper and dislike in check when it came to the Duchess, maybe he was right about Meghan — at least, she did her best to prove he was.
Of the numerous instances shared by Harry of the negative behavior Meghan faced within the walls of the palace, particularly at the hands of his elder brother, one is a recollection of the moment when William warned his brother against rushing into the relationship and suggested him to not propose to Meghan until he knew the Suits star better and allowed her a better understanding of being a royal would demand from her.
While the advice, on its own, sounds logical, William’s actions that followed Harry’s refusal to pay heed to his words point that it was dislike for Meghan boasting his attempt to dissuade his brother. Anyway, coming from a place of brotherly love or not, the Prince of Wales was apparently “absolutely correct” about his brother’s wife not taking the meaning and requirements of a royal into account before jumping headfirst into it.
The assessment comes from former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond and photographer Arthur Edwards in a chat with The Sun, where the latter described Meghan times as a royal as “phenomenal” and “unbelievably brilliant.”
“I don’t think she needed any briefing. She was a very wise lady and knew exactly what was required of her, and she did it. But then, she decided she didn’t want to do it anymore, and that was it.”
Jennie agreed, highlighting that Meghan is an “independent, forthright woman” and could have been “exactly what a modern monarchy needs.” But, as pointed out by William in his warning to his brother, Meghan never got the time or space to truly understand the life she was about to embrace.
“Not the strength of the love, but whether Meghan truly understood what she was getting into. William was so wise to give Catherine ten years to look in that “goldfish bowl” and think ‘can I hack it’.
If Meghan had been given more time, she might have thought well no I can’t give up my independence.”
No matter what judgments William harbored against Harry, his warning to his brother, if heeded and taken into account, could have stopped the ongoing royal feud from ever happening in the first place. As pointed out by Jennie, if given the time, Meghan would have either learned what sacrifices she would have to make beyond leaving her Hollywood career and deleting her social media handles or she would have backed out. In either case, it is very much possible that the family would not have been divided at a time when Charles and the monarch needed the support of his sons.
Maybe, in a parallel universe, Harry listened to his brother, maybe he didn’t even need words of caution to understand Meghan would need time and practice to adjust to the royal lifestyle before joining it officially. While Harry is, as per the royal rules, the “spare” since William would become the next king, when you look at the way his decision to rush into marrying Meghan may have unfolded a damaging domino effect, one can see why the Prince of Wales would prevail as the first choice for the crown even if hierarchy wasn’t at play.
That’s a lot of would-have-beens and could-have-beens or as Jennie said, “a sad combination of misjudgments.” Well, the genie is out of the bottle and there is no putting it back in. It doesn’t matter whether the Sussexs are ready to forgive William because chances are the future King William V has already dumped them from his plans that have been in motion since the second King Charles III announced his cancer diagnosis.
Published: Oct 12, 2024 12:55 pm