One thing I believe about Prince Harry is that he has always been obsessed with the “half-in solution” which he and Meghan proposed in 2020. The half-in solution would have given the Windsors broad control over the Sussexes’ schedules, but would have allowed the Sussexes to simply move to another country and make money. The half-in solution would have also allowed the Sussexes to maintain a royal residence (Frogmore Cottage) in the UK and retain some level of police protection, as well the retention of all of Harry and Meghan’s patronages. It was the “we can have it all while still giving the Windsors some semblance of control over us” solution. After the half-in solution was rejected outright, Harry spent years trying to create a version of it from scratch. In the past year, he’s seemingly been coordinating his messages and his schedule with his father, and he’s currently fighting for police protection now that he’s moved his family back to Britain. Well, Fox News’ commentators are now saying that the palace doesn’t simply want control over Harry, they want control over Meghan’s movements and schedule as well.
Meghan Markle is returning to Britain with more independence than she had as a working royal, an arrangement experts say could test Buckingham Palace’s boundaries. Markle, 45, and Prince Harry, 41, recently relocated to the United Kingdom with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, for an extended stay though they will remain private, non-working members of the royal family.
While the couple is expected to establish a private residence outside London and keep their home in Montecito, California, royal observers told Fox News Digital that Markle’s ability to pursue her own media, business and public-facing projects from Britain could create new tension with the institution she once represented.
“The nightmare for the Palace is that they can’t be controlled,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. “Diary clashes will probably mean royal engagements are overshadowed by what the Sussexes choose to do and what they are, or are not, asked to by the Palace.”
Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” said that Buckingham Palace will have “very little control” over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s public and commercial activities because they no longer represent Harry’s father King Charles as working royals.
“They are private citizens and no longer working on behalf of the King, so Buckingham Palace isn’t approving Meghan’s interviews, appearances, Instagram posts or commercial projects,” Schofield said. “But Harry is still the King’s son and Meghan is still the Duchess of Sussex, so there is an inevitable association with the monarchy. That’s the complicated part. They can operate independently while still benefiting from an enormous amount of public interest that exists because of Harry’s DNA.”
However, Schofield pointed out that Buckingham Palace retains one important source of influence.
“The palace can’t control what they do, but it can control access to the institution. It can decide how much proximity they have to working royals, royal residences, and official events,” she said. “That is where the palace still has considerable leverage.”
“Meghan may be returning without palace restrictions, but she is also returning without palace protection,” she added. “You don’t get one without losing the other.”
Schofield told Fox News Digital that a competing announcement would not necessarily violate a formal Palace rule, but she noted there are longstanding expectations around the timing of public engagements.
“If Meghan were repeatedly scheduling appearances or announcements to coincide with major royal engagements, people would notice,” she said. “She might not be breaking a written rule, but there are conventions and courtesies around these things. If you consistently attempt to overshadow the working Royal Family, eventually the pattern becomes the story.”
Yeah, obvious story is obvious, I get that. The palace has wanted control over Harry and Meghan this whole time. Nearly seven years of the palace throwing everything at the Sussexes in an attempt to control them and silence them and claim ownership of their lives. And now the Sussexes have moved back to the UK and it’s still not “enough.” The Windsors still want MORE. The problem is that I can totally see Harry giving up even more control over his schedule – as I said, he’s clearly been coordinating with Buckingham Palace for the past year, and I expect that to continue. Charles dangled the carrot in front of him and Harry jumped. But what worries me is that Meghan will be forced to give up her power as well – the power to post on social media, the power to disrupt the Windsors by merely going outside, the power to speak whenever and however she wants. There is no “half-in solution.” There never was. Either the Windsors eat you alive and own every part of you or you’re out completely.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram and As Ever’s Instagram.
