Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren’t having a great start to the year, to say the least. While they can at least be thankful that they still have a home, unlike so many in their community amid the LA fires, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven’t been able to so much as sneeze without drawing backlash.
First, their efforts to provide relief aid for the victims of the wildfires got them dubbed “disaster tourists” and then a scathing exposé in Vanity Fair did a deep-dive into their migration to America five years on and didn’t exactly paint a glowing portrait. Just to top off their January from hell, their old enemy, Donald Trump, was just sworn in as president. How can things get any worse?
How about if Harry’s estranged brother and father team up with said president to make them even more miserable?
The Royal Family is already planning a trip to the U.S. to strengthen friendship with Trump
Now that Trump’s second term has officially begun (may God have mercy on our souls), the Royal Family is reportedly already planning a new Royal tour for the senior members of the Firm — this time to the U.S., to make the most of having their good pal, Donny, in the Oval Office.
As per The Times, Buckingham Palace has drawn up plans for senior Royals — which likely means King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton — to travel to the U.S. for a state visit. As these things take time, and the Royals can’t just rock up at the front door of the White House with their luggage, the earliest this Royal tour would take place is 2026.
“Donald Trump has a clear affinity for the royal family,” a source, said to be a senior member of the U.K. government, told The Times. “He had a great relationship with the late Queen, recently met Prince William and has spoken highly of King Charles. A royal tour to the US would help reinforce the ‘special relationship.'”
This source continued by stressing that buddying up to Trump isn’t a sign that the Royals are rolling over on their bellies for the controversial world leader, but that this is a way for King Charles and company to ensure they remain relevant amid the ever-shifting landscape of international relations. The fact that it might leave Harry and Meghan nervously tugging on their shirt collars is likely just an added bonus.
“Playing up to his pro-monarchist tendencies is one of a number of important ways we can exert our soft power,” the source argued. “You saw that during his first administration and can expect to see it again,”
All that is well and good, but the Royals should perhaps be aware that getting in bed with Trump (metaphorically, that is) won’t help endear them to their own public. Recent polls found that 6 out of 10 Britons have negative opinions of the new POTUS, so newspapers plastered with Charles and William brandishing big smiles with the Trumps likely won’t go down well back home.
It seems that, much like the many other rich and powerful VIPs that attended Trump’s inauguration, the royal family has decided to throw their lot in with the former Little Rascals star now that he’s back in power. Any uncomfortable echoes of the time Edward VIII toured Nazi Germany in 1937, against the advice of his government, are purely coincidental.
Published: Jan 21, 2025 10:28 am