Quote Originally Posted by Cowbridge Blue View Post
Well done to all who have contributed to this topic so far - sensible observations on a topic that's bound to create some heat in the coming weeks and months. A majority of the British public is supportive of a constitutional monarchy that we have in UK, it fits in with the nation's history and helps give us a global prominence, particularly through the Commonwealth, we wouldn't otherwise enjoy.

A lot of people's opinion of the characters involved will have been shaped by what they've seen and heard in 'The Crown' which is not always a good guide. This current spat is typical of how the family - and more particularly their advisers - handle personal relationships and as ever is therefore badly flawed. And this is a trait they can't always control, small things get amplified out of proportion; take for instance the revelation that's probably going to dominate the conversation that during Meghan's pregnancy 'concern' was expressed about 'how dark' the baby's skin would be. Apparently the comment was conveyed to Harry who shared it with Meghan and now she's revealed it to the world in the Oprah interview.

Who knows where and by whom the observation was originally made and how innocuous or mischievous was it intended to be? We'll probably never find out but, in the public and international domain it is incredibly damaging not least to UK's trade ambitions with the US where race is more divisive and damaging than UK. The topic dominated the breakfast shows this morning.

Final thought is the British royal family continues to struggle with inter-personal relationships which, when revealed, are extremely damaging. I've never thought this before now but the Queen (you know, the one we think of as stable an sensible) is, through the natural process of ageing, ill-equipped to take the lead and put this to bed. The interview is damaging, like both Charles's and Diana's in their marriage break up, and is likely to run for years to come given Harry and Meghan's youth.

MacAdder in the previous post said it is all 'rather sad' - as a Brit living abroad I agree and sadly see no upside anywhere.
An excellent summary 👍

Prince Harry not Meghan has got an awful lot to answer for. He made the decision to effectively split from the royal family seeking a much quieter lifestyle, but ever since he's courted publicity instead of maintaining a lower profile. He can't have it both ways and washing his dirty laundry in public is undignified.