Daniela Elser: No sign of Prince Harry’s companions as Meghan’s friends reunite

OPINION:

On May 19, 2018, as the spring sun dazzled Windsor, tens of thousands of people filled the streets ahead of the royal wedding.

The usual aristocratic types began to arrive: guys in morning suits who seemed to have been born with a polo mallet in hand, and what appeared to be the entire young female population of Chelsea and South Kensington who had sold off the entire stock of Philip Treacy from four. -figure hats.

Then came George and Amal Clooney, Elton John, the polo hottie and colony fan Nacho Figueras, James Blunt, James Corden, Tom Hardy, Serena Williams, and Carey Mulligan, to name just a few.

Before the service even began, history had been made: never before had a member of the Fast and Furious franchise (Idris Elba) been so close to the Queen; never before has a former Miss World winner (Priyanka Chopra) sat within a yoo-hoo-ing distance of Britain’s next two kings or never before has the House of Windsor found herself in front of the entire cast of a wire moderately successful TV series.

When Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, married that day in May, they made history by mixing their world, the upper classes, and hers, Hollywood.

As night fell, however, the picture shifted markedly with the 200 selected guests making the guest list representing the cream of the cream from Tinseltown with old Etonian companions like Tom Inskip notably absent.

Almost three years later, and when the Duke finds himself and his wife at the center of a global maelstrom, another question has arisen to join the growing list of unknowns: where are Harry’s companions?

It’s been 10 days since the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired, during which the Sussexes accused the royal family and the royal house of racism and cruel disregard for their seriously deteriorating mental health.

Its two-hour primetime special quickly unleashed a global wave of anger directed at Buckingham Palace, transforming the words “the royal family” into a byword for colonialism and white privilege.

Since then, the storm has only grown with the queen issuing a surprisingly concise, but no less sharp statement, and Prince William telling the media that the royal family “was not a racist family.”

As the days have passed, various forces have mobilized on opposite sides, fighting in the media with a growing group of celebrities, many of whom were there that day in Windsor, shouting out in support of the Sussexes.

In the days leading up to the interview airing, her former Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams offered a powerful defense of Meghan, describing her as “enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, generous, cheerful and supportive” and said, “She always She has been a powerful woman with a deep sense of morality and a fierce work ethic and has never been afraid to speak up, be heard and stand up for herself and her loved ones. “

On the day the interview aired, Serena Williams took to Instagram and posted: “Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life, and leads by example, with empathy and compassion. She teaches me every day what it means to be truly. noble. His words illustrate the pain and cruelty he has experienced. “

Within hours of the release of the palace’s statement, actress Janina Gavanker appeared on a British television show (with the Duchess’s approval) to reveal that there were “a lot of emails and text messages” to support her shocking claims. the royalty.

Then came TV host Gayle King (who also attended Meghan’s controversial A-list baby shower in New York in 2019) and said on the air that the 39-year-old “has a lot of receipts … she’s been following up. of things “with regard to backing up his impressive royal allegations.

Overnight, King made headlines again after telling American television audiences that Harry had already spoken to Princes Charles and William, but that the conversations were not “productive” and claimed that the palace continued to leak stories. “derogatory” about Meghan.

Clearly, in the wake of her outpouring of Oprah, the Sussex Hollywood circle has heard her rallying cry, with a growing list of celebrities willing to fight on behalf of the royal couple in the media.

However, something surprising has also become apparent: All the loudest voices, so far, are people from Meghan’s aisle. While the Los Angeles side of your social circle has come out in a demonstrative mass, from London? Crickets.

While both Harry and his brother, Prince William, have always surrounded themselves with a group of trustworthy old friends, many of whom date back to their days at Ludgrove Preparatory School or their later years at Eton, there is something surprising about the silence emanating from the UK.

Perhaps this is because Harry’s friends have a background in royal companionship, knowing that an integral part of keeping the role is staying vehemently in the media and simply taking a hatch-and-bolt approach.

But this is not another tabloid scandal; Harry hasn’t just been caught dressing up as Saddam Hussein or photographed stumbling out of a Prague beer garden covered in spilled beer and in desperate need of a kebab.

By throwing incendiary grenades at Buckingham Palace, a move that appears to be at disagreement with his claim that he has “too much respect” for his grandmother to have “caught her off guard”, he has knowingly unleashed the biggest crisis to hit the palace since the death of his mother and the stakes could not be higher.

This is the PR fight of Harry and Meghan’s life and while they are clearly winning in the US, at home in Blighty, the reaction to their outpouring has been mixed.

In the UK, Harry and Meghan’s popularity has reached new lows, according to a new poll conducted in the wake of their Oprah report, which also found that more people had a negative rather than a positive view of the Duke for the first time.

Furthermore, a Newsweek poll conducted last week found that “only 21 percent of Britons believe all of the couple’s claims” and 71 percent “doubt at least part of their account.” Translation: Most of the UK don’t believe at least part of your interview.

Surely now would be the time for one or two well-placed Eton friends (with permission, mind) to offer a comprehensive interview or date here and there to help Brits understand what the once-beloved British son is going through in this moment.

Empathy for the duo would be a valuable asset in this setting.

And yet it is clear that Harry either doesn’t want to call his best British friends or doesn’t see the need.

Beyond that, it’s hard not to wonder if Harry might be a bit lonely right now. When Meghan moved to London in 2017, she found herself disengaged from her social circle and emotional support base and suffered an increasingly isolated existence. So is the mirror image of that happening now?

As you celebrate your first full year living on American soil, with Harry’s entourage of old friends in Britain, is he now suffering like his wife did?

Obviously, the events of the past year would have made it extremely difficult to forge new friendships given the Covid restrictions that have blocked much of California.

Last January, when the Megxit bomb was dropped, when Meghan returned to the home lent by the couple in Canada and their son Archie, and when the dust of her momentous decision settled, Harry was seen enjoying a relaxed dinner at a West London pub with seven of his mates.

“They had a good few hours laughing and joking around,” a viewer told The Sun at the time. “It seems like he’s a normal kid enjoying a few beers and a meal with his friends.”

Maybe it’s a lot further from Fulham to Montecito than anyone thought back then …

• Daniela Elser is a real expert and writer with over 15 years of experience working with several of Australia’s leading media titles.