Royals at War Page 6

  What’s more, the Queen hates excessive jewelry and dislikes people standing on ceremony. There was no entourage of servants at her beck and call, and her day-to-day life is based in a somewhat humble part of Buckingham Palace.

  As the rogue footman discovered, she insisted on calling all her employees staff, not servants—and took pains to put people she met at ease. Such was the down-to-earth ordinariness of Elizabeth: the newspaper’s great idea for uncovering a sensational scandal about a spoilt, imperious, icy woman had backfired dreadfully, and instead there was an outpouring of anger from the public at the Queen’s privacy being compromised.

  So it would not have been a surprise to learn that the Queen was monitoring Meghan’s reckless spending with a shrewd eye. “The fact that Meghan spent more than half a million pounds on clothes for public events during 2018, with £111,000 just on her trip to Africa alone, as well as further costs for her private life—the jewels, the renovation of Frogmore, the allowance for [her mother] Doria, her private trips (with bodyguards) back to the US and Canada—the lavish extravagance was the gossip of the Palace staff and insiders, especially as it was known that in the same time frame of 2018, Kate, the future Queen Consort, had spent only £85,000,” said one family insider.

  One of those extra costs Meghan had incurred came about after she snubbed the Queen yet again in rejecting her offer of the usual, all-male doctor team of Alan Farthing and Guy Thorpe-Beeston, specialists in high-risk births—and amongst the most highly-regarded birthing doctors in the world. Despite the fact that Kate had gratefully accepted their help and support, Meghan informed the Palace that she would be choosing (and paying for) her own delivery team, led by a female doctor.

  A Royal source revealed: “Meghan said she doesn’t want the men in suits. She was adamant that she wanted her own people. It did leave a few of us a little baffled.”

  “It is slightly surprising,” said another insider. “The Queen’s doctors are the best of the best and when it comes down to it, their role would actually be very limited in the birth itself, assuming all goes to plan.”

  Another firm decision was Meghan’s choice of venue for the birth. It was rumored that she would have a home birth, with a doula on hand to ease her child into the world with a natural birth, and not posing with a blow-dry and a full face of makeup on the steps of the Lindo Wing in front of the world’s media, as Kate and Diana before her did. Harry and Meghan informed the media that they would not be sharing details of the birth with an expectant world—until they were ready.

  As it happened, the birth ended up taking place not at home, but at the private Portland hospital in central London. No media or cheering crowds were welcomed, breaking another British tradition. Kensington Palace’s communications team was ready with another firm statement to that effect.

  “The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family,” the statement read. There was a collective rolling of eyes over at Anmer Hall when a friend of Meghan’s told the media that the Duchess “felt bad” for Kate having to look impeccable and face the world’s media mere hours after giving birth.

  In her defense, as Meghan’s pregnancy progressed, the embarrassing noises from Thomas Markle continued. Her father continued to protest he had repeatedly tried to contact Meghan, had tried to reach out and communicate but was consistently rebuffed with silence.

  “Markle says the estrangement from his daughter is affecting his health, causing ‘massive stress,’” reported the Daily Mail. Thomas was quoted as saying: “I want nothing more than to sort this mess out. I would ask her and Harry to contact me. All it would take is one phone call and most of this craziness would stop.”

  But it was nowhere near stopping.

  GOD BLESS THE CHILD

  At 5:26 a.m. on the morning of May 6, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born, in the opulent surroundings of a private hospital in central London. The latest Royal weighed seven pounds, three ounces. Until the very last minute the night before, Meghan had planned on a natural home birth. But when Archie finally decided to make his appearance a week after his due date, the couple’s security detail drove her to the clinic, under such confidentiality that even senior Royals weren’t told.

  Only Harry and Meghan’s Mom, Doria, were present as Meghan went into labor and for the birth, however.

  Within hours of the dawn birth, the couple was back at Frogmore, where Harry, thirty-four, gave an impromptu press conference to break the news to the world. Dazed and delighted, the Prince addressed a gaggle of mics and cameras, saying, “How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension. But we’re both absolutely thrilled. This little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m absolutely over the moon.”

  Later that day, Meghan’s father Thomas weighed in from Rosarito, Mexico, where he lives, with his congratulations, having heard of the birth on the news. He told The Sun: “I am proud that my new grandson is born into the British Royal Family and I am sure that he will grow up to serve the Crown and the people of Britain with grace, dignity, and honor. God bless the child and I wish him health and happiness, and my congratulations to my lovely daughter Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, and God save the Queen.”

  The birth prompted a new wave of speculation about the family’s future plans. A source revealed that Meghan wanted a place in Los Angeles, a city whose lifestyle and climate she loved. “Hollywood is in her DNA and I think it is where she has always wanted to keep a solid footing,” the source said. “Spending time there would also allow her some freedom and independence from both the Palace and the Press—and more control over her life and the people around her. She also has friends in LA with babies and will want to have that interaction and bring up her child in a less restrictive environment—similar to how she grew up.”

  Other reports at the time hinted a move to South Africa was in the cards. The public, already baffled and hurt at Meghan’s reticence to share the news of the birth as soon as it happened, was growing irritated. Especially since this came on top of the news that taxpayers had forked out millions for Frogmore’s renovations, right down to the organic vegan paint in the nursery.

  A couple of days after the birth, Meghan unveiled Archie to the world in a tightly controlled press appearance. According to a source, Kate (and her friends) watched with a mixture of envy at Meghan’s perfect choreography of the event and annoyance at her implication that Kate’s media appearance had been forced upon her, hours after giving birth. Rather than the customary appearance on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital, Meghan appeared in a fashionable trench-style dress by Grace Wales Bonner, the London high society designer of the moment, at Buckingham Palace, shadowed by her adoring spouse and holding her little bundle of joy up for the world’s media.

  The decision to skip the traditional baby photo call outside of the hospital made Meghan and Harry appear “more regal” than William and Kate, speculated the world’s foremost Royal biographer, Andrew Morton.

  “It played out very well,” he said. “They controlled the narrative, they controlled the photo call. We’ve had far more pictures than we would have had if it had just been outside of the hospital because we’ve had that lovely picture of the Queen and Doria Ragland.” He added, “That ground-breaking photo really is a celebration of this new multiethnic Royal Family. This is about a new age of social media engagement.”

  But behind the smiles, another category-five storm was brewing. Insiders at the Palace had expressed concern that the pair had not undertaken the usual post-birth photo call and instead waited to micromanage the photographs following the birth. After it was announced that the baby would take the name Archie—not a traditional Royal name—all eyes turned to the little fellow’s first major engagement, his christening. This is usually a time when Royals gather, celebrate the new arrival, and joyfully share him with the public, who as taxpayers and loyalists expect to see their new nat
ional treasure being inducted into the Firm and the Church of England, a Protestant Anglican church.

  Pointedly, the Queen and Prince Philip stayed away. They had been generous and understanding at their best. But they simply now felt publicly embarrassed by Meghan’s controlling behavior, said a well-placed Palace insider. That meant only twenty-five people (plus the holy man) were allowed into the couple’s presence for the christening. But Doria, Charles and Camilla, Kate and William, and the brothers’ former nanny under their late mother, Diana, Tiggy Legge-Bourke, were all present and correct, while the padre did his stuff at the font.

  During the course of royal history, some pretty fast work has been pulled at the font in terms of naming. But the baby received his moniker with equilibrium, barely breaking a doze for the anointing. Meghan and Harry had turned down the Queen’s offer to name Archie HRH or bestow upon him the title the Earl of Dumbarton.

  By now, decisions like this were everyday occurrences, and the family was wondering just how much a part little Archie would be playing in their all-important evolution as the era of King Charles III hovered faintly, but very evidently, on the far horizons.

  By the expressions of one couple in particular, this was a question that was clearly in need of urgent clarification. William and Kate had played it by the Royal book. Each of their three kids had been born and exhibited in the manner accustomed, and a proper family christening was part of that deal. Now, the couple was adamant that they would be asserting their authority in the near future when it came to having their say on Archie’s destiny. As if signaling to the world that she was very much going to be present in her nephew’s life, Kate was spotted after the ceremony wearing the same earrings Diana had worn to Harry’s christening, in 1984. Admittedly, while Kate’s jewelry collection was dwarfed by Meghan’s, she certainly would have had plenty of others to choose from. Fans on social media noted the subtle gesture. One typical example read:

  In all honesty, I think Kate was a tad bit disrespectful and spiteful. She didn’t have to come there sporting Princess Diana’s earrings. I believe she did that intentionally to upstage Meghan’s special moment.

  Meanwhile, William, always reliably jovial and jolly at such family occasions, here looked shockingly grave and stern. Body language experts pored over the pictures from the christening, noting his aloof stance, his folded arms, and tense facial expression.

  His unhappiness at the situation was public, and clearly he was no longer worried about hiding it.

  This had been exacerbated by his and Kate’s reportedly feeling offended that Harry and Meghan had not invited them to see Archie until a week after his birth.

  Meghan had already confused the British media by withholding updates on her birth (according to some, this was to ensure news broke with maximum impact on US morning news networks). Now she had managed to further alienate her husband’s brother and wife in the bargain. According to reports at the time, “royal higher-ups” had advised Meghan and Harry to be more “forthcoming” about access to Archie with pictures. But the couple “pushed back,” said a source.

  William and Kate dutifully publish photographs of their children occasionally, but it’s a precedent that Meghan and Harry would not be following.

  Filmmaker Nick Bullen, who has over twenty years’ experience with the family, had spoken that spring to confirm the chasm that had opened up between William and Harry. It was “really, really sad” that Harry and William had had a “rift,” he explained. “You don’t want to hear this, but again, it goes back to them being real people. We forget that they are people. We’ve all fallen out with our brothers and sisters over the years, and hopefully, it’ll be fine,” he said.

  Bullen added: “I think the Prince of Wales and the Queen are working incredibly hard to try and make sure everybody reunites.”

  Around the same time, TrueRoyalty.tv host Tim Vincent commented on a “well-placed” guest on his show, who had admitted: “It’s the two princes that don’t get on. The actual wives actually are still finding their feet or have found their feet, and they’re very happy in the situation they find themselves, but it’s the brothers themselves who have been closer than anybody up until now.”

  That month, Meghan made her first postbirth appearance in public without Archie, at the gala of The Lion King in Central London. As crowds cheered, she trotted up and down the red carpet, soaking up the adulation. In a video shared by a Twitter account named Royal Suitor, a conversation between Meghan and US singer Pharrell was overheard. “So happy for your union,” the singer gushed. “Love is amazing. It’s wonderful. Don’t ever take that for granted but what it means in today’s climate. We cheer you guys on.”

  “Thank you,” replied Meghan, before adding pointedly, “They don’t make it easy.” It was unclear whether she was referring to the Royals, the media, or the crowds of cheering fans wishing her well.

  ZOOMING AROUND THE WORLD

  After all the excitement over the new arrival, it was time for the couple to take a well-earned holiday abroad. In August, Harry and Meghan, with baby Archie, decided to jet off to Ibiza before looking in on the south of France. That choice caused many critics to label the royals as hypocrites, for preaching about environmentalism and conservation, while choosing a method of travel that is proven to be terrible for the environment.

  The venerable Royal commentator Ingrid Seward was one of many who bitterly rebuked the couple for their “hypocrisy … zooming around the world in private jets, pausing only to deliver a barefoot lecture at Google’s eco camp in Sicily, where Harry piously moralized about climate-harming behavior.”

  In an “embarrassing” press conference in the Netherlands, Harry defended his actions for taking private jets as a security measure to protect his family, which Ingrid Seward dismissed angrily: “To claim he used them to protect his family was simply ludicrous.”

  When he rushed to defend his family’s choice of transport, Harry put his foot in it by saying that 99 percent of the time he flew commercial flights. That proved something of an exaggeration when records—reviewed by these authors—proved he had spent about half his recent flying time, since marrying Meghan, in private or chartered jets. That didn’t include extravagances such as Meghan’s private jet, a gift from a Canadian friend, to New York for her luxury baby shower party at five-star The Mark Hotel in Manhattan, an occasion that cost a significant sum, not least because of all the security that was obliged to accompany her.

  To commemorate Archie’s imminent arrival, Meghan’s friend Serena Williams had booked and paid for the elite hotel’s insanely luxurious penthouse suite. It was spread over two floors that incorporated five bedrooms, four fireplaces, six bathrooms, and two powder rooms, plenty of room for the guests, including friend Jessica Mulroney, actress and close pal Abigail Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Amal Clooney, Misha Nonoo, and Markus Anderson, among others.

  The matter would have most likely been ignored—after all, we are all used to pictures of Royals tripping daintily in and out of private jets and baby showers are a fact of life now, accepted by all but the most puce-faced, retired colonel living in the sticks. But the effect was somewhat ruined by the couple’s efforts to inform anyone who would listen of the risks that flying posed to the environment. What’s more, Harry also had the very laudable sentiment that his father had spent decades preaching, that we need to curb climate change: “With nearly 7.7 billion people inhabiting this Earth, every choice, every footprint, every action makes a difference.”

  In the eyes of many around the world, the Sussexes’ busy travel schedules seemed to say that the rules didn’t apply when it came to the couple themselves. As they toured the south of France, it emerged that one of their jets, at least, had been sent by Elton John, who had invited them to stay at his house. The pop pianist defended them on Twitter when it all subsequently kicked off.

  “To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropri
ate contribution to Carbon Footprint™. I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character that are spuriously crafted on an almost daily basis,” said Elton, who, after Lady Diana’s death, released “Candle in the Wind 1997,” a ballad about a life extinguished early that would go on to become the most successful single since the introduction of the charts.

  But just as the media furor over the private jets began to subside (not before William and family had pointedly used a commercial budget Easyjet flight to travel to Ireland), another controversial episode came sliding down the track.

  The debacle convinced Meghan that it was time to supercharge the Sussexes’ public relations operation, one insider close to her told me. To her thinking, Buckingham Palace’s advisers and communications teams—as charming, reliable, and experienced as they were—simply could not deliver the wall-to-wall positive coverage Meghan craved, especially in US media, which had been a rather low priority for the Palace team. To this end, she auditioned a number of firms, before settling on Hollywood and Manhattan heavyweights Sunshine Sachs. Despite their cheery name, Sunshine Sachs are PR badasses. They had previously represented clients such as Harvey Weinstein in his bid to counter the accusations of sexual assault that had been piling up, as well as Michael Jackson, when he was attempting to clear his name following his child abuse trial. Now, the firm had the task of rebooting Meghan’s public image, to her specifications.