Happy to be back: Smiling Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are pictured heading to Manchester summit on UK return – where private security firms will form ‘ring of steel’ as Duchess delivers gender equality speech
- The Sussexes are heading to Manchester as they spend the week in UK and Germany for their pet charities
- William and his wife Kate will not be visiting with Harry and Meghan while they are in the UK this week
- The couples are both said to be currently staying in Windsor cottages located 380 feet apart
- The Duke of Cambridge reportedly feels he ‘cannot trust Harry not to repeat their discussions’
- Harry and Meghan also reportedly declined Prince Charles’ invitation to stay at his house at Balmoral estates
- Follow MailOnline’s liveblog here as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle grinned at each other today as they were seen for the first time on their return to the UK and began their European tour in Manchester with the Duchess of Sussex making her first speech to a British crowd since Megxit – on gender equality.
The couple looked ecstatic to be back in Blighty and were driven by two bodyguards and followed by another Range Rover as they were swept out of the grounds of Windsor Castle, where they are staying in their grace-and-favour home, Frogmore Cottage.
The Sussexes are off to the North-West today after spending the night less than half a mile from William, Kate and their three children in Windsor – but the families are not expected to meet in a decision that underlines the deep rift between the two brothers.
It is the Sussexes’ first public appearance in the UK since returning for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June as Harry’s legal battle with the Home Office rumbles on after they were denied 24/7 taxpayer-funded armed police bodyguards when they visit Britain.
They are going to Manchester on Monday for the opening of the One Young World summit, an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries and where Meghan, 41, is due to give a speech on gender equality at its opening ceremony.
The couple’s decision to use at least two private security firms and dog teams to form a ring of steel around Bridgewater Hall comes just days after Meghan told The Cut magazine it takes ‘a lot of effort’ to forgive and hinted that she can ‘say anything’ in what has been translated as a veiled threat to the Royal Family.
The area outside the 2,300-seat venue will be cleared of the public an hour and a half before the couple arrive after 6pm, it has been reported.
Meghan, a counsellor for the One Young World, will give the keynote address at the opening ceremony this evening. The pair will also meet a group of summit delegates doing ‘outstanding work on gender equality’, the organisation said.
It is understood the couple and event organisers have arranged security after Harry was told he was no longer entitled to taxpayer-funded official armed police bodyguards.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed its officers were not involved, adding that security for the event had been ‘privately sourced’.
Harry is suing the Home Office, claiming that the removal of his taxpayer-funded armed police protection bodyguards since they quit as frontline royals is ‘unfair’, ‘illegal’ and puts his family at risk.
Next stop is Germany for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 One Year To Go event which is taking place on Tuesday, before they return to the UK for the WellChild Awards in London where Harry will deliver a speech on Thursday.
Prince Harry smiles as he looks at Meghan Markle as they leave Frogmore Cottage for Manchester
And the Duchess of Sussex smiled back as they headed to the north-west for her speech on gender equality
The couple were driven out of Frogmore by two bodyguards – believed to be from the private sector – and wearing ear pieces
The couple left in a convoy of Range Rovers ahead of the first leg of their European tour, which will take them to Manchester, Dusseldorf and then back to London
Monday, 5 September: One Young World 2022 Manchester Summit
The Sussexes are travelling to Manchester on Monday where Meghan, 41, is due to give a speech on gender equality. The summit brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.
The area around Bridgewater Hall, which is hosting the summit, will be cleared for 90 minutes ahead of the couple’s arrival, The Times reports.
However, Harry and Meghan have asked private security firms to provide a ‘ring of steel’ in Manchester for their appearance at the forum.
The event runs from 6pm to 8pm.
Tuesday, 6 September: Invictus Games Düsseldorf 2023
After Monday’s trip to Manchester, the Sussexes will travel to Dusseldorf on Tuesday to mark a year before Harry’s next Invictus Games.
Harry previously announced the sixth games would be held in September 2023. He and Meghan attended the 2022 Invictus Games last April in the Netherlands.
Wednesday, 9 September
The Sussexes have no official plans on Wednesday. They have not said whether they intend to visit with the Queen who is at Balmoral in Scotland.
Thursday, 8 September: WellChild Awards
The couple will return to Britain for the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, where Harry will deliver a speech.
The WellChild Awards looks to ‘celebrate the inspirational qualities of the UK’s seriously ill children and young people, along with those who go that extra mile to make a difference to their lives.’
As well as not seeing William and Kate, the couple also declined an ‘open invitation’ to stay with Prince Charles at his Scottish holiday house on the Balmoral estate. The Prince of Wales told the couple they were ‘always welcome’ at his home ahead of their trip to the UK, palace sources confirmed.
Today it emerged that Prince William has ‘no plans’ to see his younger brother Prince Harry until after the California-based royal releases his bombshell memoir this winter, even though the pair are currently staying around 380ft apart, as the crow flies, from each other in Windsor.
William, 40, and his wife, Kate Middleton, are said to be avoiding contact with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex until they know what the couple plans to disclose in their Netflix documentary and Harry’s forthcoming book.
‘They have lost their chance of being trusted as the chance is they will record any conversation and use it against them,’ Royal biographer Angela Levin told The Sun.
Levin alleged William does not have faith that Harry, 37, will not repeat their conversations. The author said William’s hesitance to interact with the Sussexes is their ‘own fault for vastly exaggerating and being rude.’
Harry and Meghan, 41, are believed to have arrived at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor on Saturday ahead of their European tour. The property is located just 380 feet away from the Cambridges’ new four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage, where William and Kate spent the weekend with their children.
The insiders told The Mirror that Charles had thought the Sussexes staying with Prince Charles would be a ‘good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax.’
‘But the invitation was declined, as it has been before,’ the source said, adding that Charles hasn’t ‘wavered’ on his attempts to have a relationship with his son ‘despite the attacks which seem to be coming with increased vigour.’
News of the declined invitation surfaced after Charles, 73, was pictured heading to church in Balmoral alone Sunday morning. Insiders allege he continues to find Harry and Meghan’s jibes at the Royal Family ‘painful’ and is ‘completely bewildered’ by their behaviour.
Harry and Meghan are in the UK this week for two charity events. The couple are travelling to Manchester on Monday where Meghan is due to give a speech on gender equality.
Harry and Meghan, pictured in New York last month, are starting their European Tour today
An ongoing dispute over police security in the UK means the Sussexes will use their own private bodyguards at Young World Manchester (pictured)
A specialist dog unit at the venue where Harry and Meghan will visit later today
A Dutch-registered ‘Stage Truck’ is parked at Bridgewater Hall where Meghan will give a speech on gender equality
Prince William (right) has ‘no plans’ to see his brother Prince Harry (left) until after the California-based royal releases his bombshell memoir this winter, despite the fact that the pair are currently staying half a mile apart from each other. The brothers are pictured together in July 2021
Harry and Meghan are staying at Frogmore Cottage located just 380 feet away from the Cambridges’ new four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle declined an ‘open invitation’ to stay with Prince Charles at his Scottish holiday house on the Balmoral estates. Charles, Meghan and Harry are pictured together in June 2018
The Windsor cottages (380ft apart) belonging to the Cambridges and the Sussexes
Prince William and Kate Middleton reportedly ‘travelled light’ to their new estate and did not require a pricey refurbishment or new furniture and fittings.
Adelaide Cottage was built for Queen Adelaide in 1831 and is nestled just a 10-minute walk from Windsor Castle in the private Home Park.
They moved to the four-bed cottage to be closer to their children’s new school in Ascot – with a school run of just nine-miles – when term starts this week.
William and Kate are seeking a life in the country away from the ‘goldfish bowl’ of their official residence Kensington Palace in London in a bid to put their children first and give them more freedom.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly want to be normal ‘school gate parents’ and their children’s school uniforms have already been purchased.
Also moving with the family-of-five was beloved pet cocker spaniel Orla.
The family will have not be joined by their live-in nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo will live away from the family for the first time, as will other staff including the housekeeper and the chef.
Prince William and Kate Middleton and their family reportedly ‘travelled light’ to their new home Adelaide Cottage (pictured above in 2013) and did not require a pricey refurbishment
Their move was in stark contrast to Prince Harry and Meghan’s move to Frogmore Cottage (pictured) in April 2018, when they spent £2.4million on a refurbishment .
William and Kate’s move was in stark contrast to Prince Harry and Meghan’s move to Frogmore Cottage in April 2018, when they spent £2.4million on a refurbishment.
They carried out extensive works on their new home, a wedding present from the Queen, which included turning small houses into a ten-bed home and completely refitting the gas and water mains.
They also had a complete redecoration of the Grade II listed property including installing trendy new bathrooms, bedrooms and a kitchen which reportedly had a ‘floating floor’.
The two cottages are located half a mile apart from one another.
The couple has asked private security firms to provide a ‘ring of steel’ in Manchester for their appearance at the One Young World young leaders’ forum, amid a row over who pays for their protection on UK soil.
‘One would have thought if such concerns existed, the best place to be would be next to the family, but there you go,’ the palace insider said of their alleged safety worries.
Two different dog teams were seen at the venue on Sunday including one from private firm Global Support Services, which provides protection dogs, specialist detection dogs, close protection and other security services.
The couple’s trip comes amid Harry’s ongoing legal battle with the Government over his security when in the UK. He launched legal action after he was told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protection after stepping back from the Royal Family in 2020.
He said he did not feel safe under current security arrangements bringing his family here and has offered to pay for British police to act as bodyguards himself. Last month, he won a bid to bring a High Court claim against the Home Office.
Meghan and Harry are understood to have arrived in the UK on Saturday and stayed at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor despite insiders alleging they were invited to stay with Charles.
Neither representatives for Prince Charles or the Sussexes immediately responded to Mail Online’s request for comment.
The Prince of Wales, who was pictured arriving alone at church in Balmoral on Sunday morning, is said to have been wounded by the words and actions of his son and daughter-in-law and is likely fearing further attacks this week.
A friend of the prince said Charles was ‘completely bewildered about why his son, whom he loves deeply, feels this is the way to go about managing family relationships’.
Insiders say the 73-year-old ‘loves and misses’ Harry, Meghan and his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, and feels particularly hurt after spending time with them during the Platinum Jubilee in June.
Charles is thought to have seen their time together as a ‘minor act of reparation’ after the Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 which saw Harry say he felt ‘really let down’ by his father.
Meantime, the Queen is said to be keeping calm and carrying on, but a source told The Sunday Times she did not want to be ‘on tenterhooks’ all the time waiting for the ‘next nuclear bomb’ from the Sussexes.
Another Palace source told the newspaper: ‘Ultimately, they are bashing the institution that has put them in the position they’re in – the longevity of that strategy is not sustainable.’
Harry and Meghan have taken part in several interviews since their departure from royal life, including their controversial sit-down with Oprah during which they accused the Royal Family of racism and said the institution failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
Tensions were raised further last week after an interview which saw Meghan suggest the Sussexes had been forced to move across the Atlantic because ‘by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy’.
Speaking to US magazine The Cut, she also claimed her husband had ‘lost’ his father, with sources close to the couple saying this wasn’t a reference to Prince Charles, but her estrangement with her own father.
Royal insiders have branded the interview, which also saw Meghan compare herself to Nelson Mandela, as ‘delusional’ and have expressed concerns about the impact of their comments on the Queen.
One said that the Queen, who is now 96 and has pulled out of a string of public events in recent months amid ongoing fears for her health, does not ‘want to be on tenterhooks’ and constantly waiting for the ‘next nuclear bomb’.
Charles had invited the entire family to stay at his holiday home on the Queen’s Balmoral estate. He thought the Sussexes staying with him would be a ‘good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax’
News of the declined invitation surfaced after Charles was pictured heading to church in Balmoral alone Sunday morning. Insiders allege he continues to find Harry and Meghan’s jibes at the Royal Family ‘painful’ and is ‘completely bewildered’ by their behaviour
William, 40, and his wife, Kate Middleton, (left) are said to be avoiding contact with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (right) until they know what the couple plans to disclose in their Netflix documentary and Harry’s forthcoming book
Prince Charles is said to be hurt by the continued ‘painful’ jibes from Harry and Meghan. Pictured: The Prince of Wales (centre) attending the Braemar Highland Gathering yesterday with his wife Camilla (right) and sister, the Princess Royal (left)
Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019
In a recent interview with The Cut, Meghan said her husband had ‘lost’ his father during their controversial move to the US. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Annual Salute to Freedom Gala in New York in November last year
Insiders have claimed the Queen does not ‘want to be on tenterhooks’ and constantly waiting for the ‘next nuclear bomb’ from the outspoken Sussexes. Pictured: Her Majesty departs from Aberdeen as she goes to Balmoral Castle for her summer holiday on July 21 this year
The Duchess of Sussex gave a bombshell interview to The Cut – part of New York magazine – in which it was claimed that she and Harry ‘were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy’. Pictured: The front page of The Cut
William and Kate’s new home has link to royal scandal and gilded dolphin ceiling
The Cambridges’ new home Adelaide Cottage is a pretty Grade II listed four-bedroom home nestled in Windsor’s Home Park.
It was once home to Princess Margaret’s lover Peter Townsend, who lived in the grace and favour property in the 1940s with his first wife Rosemary to be on hand for the king in his role as equerry.
Princess Elizabeth, now the Queen, her mother Queen Elizabeth and her sister Margaret, as a teenager before the romance began, would regularly take tea in the gardens of the cottage with the Townsends and their two young sons. Margaret’s love affair rocked the Establishment, but she put duty before desire when she called off plans to marry divorced Townsend in 1955.
Relocating to Adelaide Cottage means William, Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are just 10 minutes’ walk south east from ‘Gan Gan’ the Queen at Windsor Castle. Even closer is Frogmore Cottage, which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex use when visiting the UK, although the brothers’ long-running fallout makes it unlikely they will be socialising together any time soon.
The property was rebuilt more than 190 years ago as a cottage orne, or decorated cottage, for Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV, to be used as a summer retreat. It was built in 1831 on the site of the old Head Keeper’s Lodge on the North Slopes of Home Park.
According to Historic England, the public body which cares for England’s historic buildings and places, Adelaide Cottage is a ‘picturesque’ two-storey stucco-faced dwelling with casement windows, and elaborate pierced bargeboards edging the roof.
The principal bedroom has a coved ceiling decorated with gilded dolphins and rope ornament reused from the 19th century royal yacht Royal George, and a good marble Graeco-Egyptian fireplace.
The south entrance is flanked by paired diagonally set chimneys with stepped bases, and the house has a porte-cochere, a canopied entrance to provide shelter. There is a verandah with bargeboard eaves on the east side.
Its four-bedrooms mean that for the first time since she joined the family, William and Kate’s full-time nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo will live elsewhere, as will other staff including the housekeeper and the chef, giving the Cambridges more privacy.
The location offers the family easy access to the private 655-acre Home Park and the historic royal estate’s network of drives, gardens, farms, nearby trout stream, Frogmore House and Royal Mausoleum, and Queen Victoria’s Walk flanked by cedars. Other benefits include neighbouring Windsor Great Park, which spans more than 5,000 acres, with its Long Walk leading up to Windsor Castle, deer park and woodland trails in the Valley Gardens.
The property, previously known as Adelaide Lodge, was constructed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville using materials from John Nash’s Royal Lodge built for the indulgent Prince Regent. Its entrance bears the initials AR (Adelaide Regina) and the date of 1831. It sits next to another property called Adelaide Lodge, which is empty and inhabitable due to problems with it not being underpinned.
Queen Victoria often visited the cottage for breakfast or tea, according to the Royal Collection Trust. Her beloved King Charles spaniel Dash, whom she would dress in a scarlet jacket and blue trousers, was buried there after his death in 1840.
He was honoured with an effusive inscription on his grave reading: ‘Here lies Dash, The favourite spaniel of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, In his 10th year, His attachment was without selfishness, His playfulness without malice, His fidelity without deceit, Reader, If you would be beloved and die regretted, Profit by the example of Dash.’
Analysts allege Harry’s upcoming memoir, which is expected to be out in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, is also expected to slam the monarchy.
The contents of the tell-all memoir still remain a mystery, including to the Royal family who will get to read the book at the same time as the public.
Sources close to the Prince of Wales reportedly told The Telegraph last month that he had hoped his team would have been sent a copy of the book ahead of its publication. However, they claim neither he nor the Duke of Cambridge – or their attorneys – have received specifics about the book.
Harry spent time researching the life and death of his mother, Princess Diana, while writing the time. Some fear he may express an angry narrative towards his stepmother Camilla.
Little is also known about Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary, which the pair are currently filming. Though Meghan has hinted that the film could focus on their ‘love story’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s production company, Archewell Productions, signed a reported $100million deal with the streaming giant in 2020 but there has yet to be a release.
A documentary series about the Invictus Games has been confirmed. Meghan’s planned animated children’s series was scrapped as part of wider Netflix cutbacks.
It had previously been rumoured that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were planning a fly-on-the-wall documentary series, in the style of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Meghan has also revealed she was writing a daily journal before she and Harry stepped down as working royals. Some fears she too may publish a book with ‘more bombshell revelations’.
The California-based royal said in her interview with The Cut that she was packing up ‘personal matters’ from Frogmore Cottage in June when she came across the diary.
Meghan told the interviewer: ‘You go back and you open drawers and you’re like, Oh my gosh. This is what I was writing in my journal there?’
Her remark sparked fears that the discovery of the diary will ‘trigger warning signals’ for the Royal Family.
After Monday’s trip to Manchester, the Sussexes will travel to Dusseldorf on Tuesday to mark a year before Harry’s next Invictus Games.
They will return to Britain for the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, where Harry will deliver a speech.
As well as a huge security operation, media access has also been severely curtailed to the events in the UK, with only hand-picked journalists able to cover them.
The Queen is in Balmoral in Scotland, where she is due to meet the new prime minister on Tuesday.
The Sussexes have no official plans on Wednesday, meaning they have time to see the Queen, but royal sources say this is unlikely to happen as she has a busy week.
A friend of Charles told the Sunday Times that the Prince of Wales continues to be hurt by the public proclamations not only about the royal family, but about himself personally.
The friend says: ‘For two years, there has been a steady stream of really challenging things said about a man who cannot [publicly] defend himself by a couple he obviously loves and misses.
‘That is incredibly difficult on a personal level. He is completely bewildered by why his son, whom he loves deeply, feels this is the way to go about managing family relationships.’
Sources close to Prince William say he is less concerned by the jibes than his father, with one saying: ‘he’s not really spending much time thinking about it’.
A new rift was opened between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family following Meghan’s interview with The Cut last week.
Coinciding with the launch of her new Spotify podcast, the Duchess of Sussex claimed she had been compared to South African hero Nelson Mandela and claimed Harry had ‘lost’ his father Charles during Megxit.
In her wide-ranging interview with The Cut, running to more than 6,000 words, Meghan said that ‘just by existing’ she and Harry were ‘upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy’ before they stepped down as senior working royals.
She also she said it takes ‘a lot of effort’ to forgive and hinted that she can ‘say anything’ after not signing any confidentiality agreements with the royals.
Sources in royal circles have since hit back at the couple, branding their tirades against life as working royals ‘delusional’ and ‘tragic’ – and sensationally suggesting that they ‘rail against the system as much as they still do’ even after Megxit to sustain public and therefore commercial interest in their ‘brand’.
The couple’s actions also seemingly contradict the public statement they released in January 2020, after reaching a deal with the Queen to leave the royal life, in which they pledged that ‘everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty’.
At the so-called ‘Sandringham Summit’, Harry gave up his military appointments and their public funding was halted, allowing them go to the United States where they have signed multi-million pound deals with the likes of Spotify and Netflix.
Regardless, the Queen has repeatedly said the Sussexes remain ‘much-loved’ by the royal family. But one source told the Sunday Times: ‘It is hard to see how what they’re doing would equate to the values of the Queen, who has never encouraged people to discuss deeply personal family relationships in public.’
A potentially awkward reunion between Prince William and his wife Kate, and Harry and Meghan, is thought to be unlikely to happen while the couple are in the country despite the fact they will staying only hundreds of metres away. Pictured: Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, leaves Windsor Estate after she relocated with her family to Adelaide Cottage
The festering Transatlantic ‘cold war’ between the Windsors and the Sussexes turned hot after furious Palace insiders accused ‘delusional’ Harry and Meghan (pictured in 2017) of attacking the institution of the monarchy ‘because it is good for business’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pictured with Archie and Lilibet in a Christmas card released on December 23, 2021
Meghan Markle has hinted that the documentary she and Prince Harry and currently filming for Netflix could focus on their love story. Pictured on their wedding day with Prince Harry on May 19 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the premiere of The Lion King at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on July 14, 2019
The couple’s visit to the UK follows Meghan’s bombshell interview during which she claimed a South African cast member of the Lion King film told her ‘they rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison’ when she married Harry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the star-studded premiere of the Disney remake in July 2019, rubbing shoulders with A-listers including Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
‘I just had Archie. It was such a cruel chapter. I was scared to go out,’ she said in an interview, alleging a cast member from South Africa had pulled her aside.
‘He looked at me, and he’s just like light. He said ‘I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison’.’
The Duchess of Sussex did not name the cast member. However, an actor who says he’s the only South African in Lion King live action film claims he actually never met Meghan.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Dr John Kani has said that he was the only South African star of the Disney movie, has never met Meghan and was not at the UK premiere so was not the source of the royal’s anecdote
Dr John Kani told Mail Online earlier this week he believes the Duchess of Sussex made ‘a faux pas’ after she used her interview to imply her 2018 royal wedding sparked celebrations in South Africa reminiscent of the release of his friend Madiba, the legendary anti-apartheid leader.
He said Mr Mandela’s walk to freedom after 27 years was a ‘landmark moment’ while her marriage to Prince Harry was ‘no big deal’ in South Africa, adding that the two events ‘cannot be spoken in the same breath’ and ‘you can’t really say where you were when Meghan married Harry’.
But Dr Kani, a veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company who voiced the mandrill shaman Rafiki, told MailOnline that he was the only South African in the Disney movie, has never met Meghan and was not at the UK premiere.
He said the only other South African who was involved was Lebo M, a composer who together with Hans Zimmer was responsible for the music for The Lion King. But Lebo M was not in the cast.
The article also heard from Harry who suggested some members of the Royal Family ‘aren’t able to work and live together’, while Meghan revealed that her husband told her that he had ‘lost’ his father Prince Charles.
Meghan told The Cut magazine: ‘Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.’
However allies of the couple later clarified that the duchess had actually been referring to the breakdown of her relationship with her own father.
Meghan’s unofficial spokesman Omid Scobie wrote on social media: ‘I understand that Prince Harry is actually referring to Meghan’s loss of her own father, and Meghan is saying she doesn’t want Harry to lose his.’
A source close to Prince Charles said last week he would be saddened if Harry felt their relationship was lost, adding: ‘The Prince of Wales loves both his sons.’
Asked about the confusion regarding Meghan’s comment, The Cut declined to comment.
A source added: ‘This line is a direct quote from Meghan’s interview with Allison, and as a general rule, we don’t comment or speculate on sources’ intent outside of the text of the story.’ Meghan said she and Harry felt they had to leave Britain because of negative media coverage, including of their £2.4million refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Can she really be so insulated against the plight of ordinary people that she doesn’t think she’s coming across as phenomenally out of touch and self-obsessed? DR MAX PEMBERTON reveals what he believes if the real reason Meghan plays the victim
By Dr Max Pemberton for The Daily Mail
Poor Meghan. That’s what we’re supposed to say, isn’t it? Back in the UK this week, one wonders which sympathy card she’ll play next. After all, every interview she gives centres on the ‘woe is me’ mantra.
Clutch your ethically-sourced pearls and reach for the tissues while she sits in her multi-million pound house, surrounded by staff and security. How does she get through the day?
In all seriousness, I do wonder if she can really believe she’s so hard done by and that the average person on the street would have any sympathy?
Can she really be so insulated against the plight of ordinary people that she doesn’t think she’s coming across as phenomenally out of touch and self-obsessed?
Meghan and Harry pictured during their bombshell interview with Oprah. Dr Max Pemberton questions: ‘In all seriousness, I do wonder if she can really believe she’s so hard done by and that the average person on the street would have any sympathy?’
I’m sure she’s had struggles in her life, just as everyone has. I don’t doubt that marrying into the Royal Family was a big culture shock, especially if you thought it mostly entailed swanning around a palace and putting on pretty frocks for film premieres when the reality is more cutting ribbons at a new sewage processing plant in Stevenage.
But most people would keep this to themselves. It’s not a trauma by most people’s standards. The awful truth is that Harry really has had a trauma; losing your mother at such a tender age is dreadful.
So why is Meghan ‘constantly looking back at how awful it was to briefly be a royal’, as one source who knows the Sussexes was quoted as saying this weekend?
It helps no one to be a prisoner to their past. That’s not to say we have to just sweep what’s happened to us under the carpet. Far from it. But there does come a point where if you don’t learn to move on, it starts to define you.
‘But with Meghan, I think there’s something profound going on here, something I’ve seen with some of my patients,’ Dr Max explains
At some stage, you have to let the past go, or at least build on it to stop it festering and consuming you.
But with Meghan, I think there’s something profound going on here, something I’ve seen with some of my patients.
A few years ago I worked for a charity and in order to fund this I worked a few days a week in a private clinic. Many of my patients were eye-wateringly wealthy, with some even flying in on their private jets just for the appointment.
They had a life of unparalleled privilege. Yet as I talked to them, there were some who seemed to feel maligned and injured, slighted and upset. They were extraordinarily sensitive and at pains to paint themselves as the victim at nearly every opportunity they had.
It was quite bizarre and in sharp contrast to the poor, disenfranchised patients I saw at the charity, who seemed to just accept their lot, do the best they could and get on with things.
It took a while for me to realise that it was precisely their privilege and the pressure that this brought that made those wealthy patients so quick to play the victim card.
They had great privilege but, unless they also achieved great things, they would always been seen as a failure. Perversely, their privilege was like a millstone round their neck.
The problem was that no one had any sympathy for this. I would have people in their 20s and 30s who were children of the rich and famous trying to convince me they were one of life’s victims, rather than having been handed a golden ticket — through no real merit or talent of their own — that few could have imagined.
They had a toxic, noxious combination of self-entitlement and over-inflated self-esteem that resulted in a bitterness and bewilderment that not everything always went their way.
Rather than sucking this up as life, they used this as evidence that they were the real victims. And the key thing I realised was that the sense of victimhood was a perfect way of absolving themselves of life’s problems.
It meant they always had a ready-made excuse for why things were going wrong, or hadn’t worked out how they wanted. It was always someone else’s fault; there was always someone else to blame.
Of course, regardless of how rich, privileged and well-connected you are, life can feel an uphill battle at times.
But getting some perspective on things and realising this is part of life’s tapestry is a key skill. I find it truly astonishing that someone as apparently bright and intelligent as Meghan seems to struggle to grasp this and, therefore, comes across as increasingly tone-deaf.
The Duchess of Sussex wants us to think that she’s the victim of all sorts of injustice that she’s gallantly battling against, when I’m afraid it just comes across as a self-indulgent, out‑of-touch whinge.
Sorry Kate, I’m not buying it
There’s been a trend recently of celebrities starting up wellness companies. It began with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. Kate Moss is the latest with Cosmoss
There’s been a trend recently of celebrities starting up wellness companies. It began with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. Kate Moss is the latest with Cosmoss.
While I’m all for people making healthy changes and appreciate that celebrities can influence people, it worries me that many are promoting unproven or questionable products.
The reality is these people are incredibly wealthy and live rarefied lives, and it’s this, rather than some magical remedy, that enables them to look so fabulous. They are selling a fantasy. With cooks, cleaners, drivers and assistants, they are insulated from the realities facing most people.
They don’t have to juggle family life and work like most people. Remember that when you hear them going on about miracle wellness products.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has launched a plan to root out waste, wokery and dead wood in the NHS to cut costs and free doctors from red tape amid a backlog crisis. This is long overdue. Bureaucracy is crippling doctors’ work and preventing us from seeing more patients. It’s exhausting and frustrating.
The gas — nitrous oxide — is the second most commonly used recreational drug in the UK, after cannabis
- Doctors warned last week about Britain’s ‘terrifying’ laughing gas epidemic after a rise in patients with ‘life-changing’ nerve damage and paralysis from using the drug. The gas — nitrous oxide — is the second most commonly used recreational drug in the UK, after cannabis. Where I live in central London the streets are strewn with the small shiny metal canisters the gas comes in. It’s incredibly popular with teens and gives a brief high when inhaled. But it can also cause breathing difficulties, a dangerously-increased heart rate and even death. We need to educate people about the risks. Part of the problem is that because it’s termed ‘laughing gas’, it’s assumed to be harmless. In fact, it’s a potent chemical and its use can have tragic consequences. It seems part of a generally quite confused and illogical view of the world held by Gen Z, who don’t drink alcohol because of health risks but blithely inhale laughing gas. Madness.
DR MAX PRESCRIBES…
SOBER SEPTEMBER
Many of us have over-indulged during the first proper summer after the pandemic, so it’s time for a reset after all those parties
Traditionally it’s Sober October, but this year the buzz is Sober September. Many of us have over-indulged during the first proper summer after the pandemic, so it’s time for a reset after all those parties. And no, it’s not too late to give it a go!
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