The latest intriguing rumour from royal reporters in the U.K. suggests Prince Harry and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, may be set to make Toronto their home.
While that sounds fanciful, in an odd way it makes perfect sense.
After their spectacular wedding last year, it’s been nine miles of rough road for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The adoring crowds have turned sullen, put off by do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do preaching from the couple on issues such as climate change.
While urging restraint on those of us who take the bus, the Sussexes have indulged in some over-the-top conspicuous consumption, with lavish parties and private jets. In a controversial move, Harry is suing several U.K. tabloids over the publication of Meghan’s private letters to her now estranged father. Coming at the final days of a very successful South African tour, Harry’s emotional statement about the suit was jarring.
Instead of suing newspapers for writing about the royal rift, it would make better sense for Harry and Meghan to make peace with her family.
You sense that Meghan — like many Americans — struggles to understand the intricate nature of the monarchy and its relationship to the people. It’s not about fairy-tale palaces and glittering tiaras. The ancient notion of kingship goes back to medieval times — and earlier — and is a two-way street. We promise undying allegiance to the Crown. They, in turn, pledge their everlasting service to the nation. There’s no better example than the Queen. When she was crowned, she pledged her life would be one of service, and she’s stayed true to that vow. You want to live in the fancy house? You must serve — and be seen to serve — your country.
Anytime an American gets caught up in a royal romance, it ends in tears. Think Edward VIII and his Baltimore-born wife, Wallis Simpson. That affair — as well as their cosiness with Adolf Hitler and assorted Nazis — is still fresh in the memories of older Brits. It almost brought down the monarchy.
Now another young American is tied up in royal knots, and you get the idea that Meghan’s chafing at the protocol that tells her who she must curtsy to and when. Now that Harry’s way down the succession pecking order, she’ll be doing that for the rest of her life. Here they’d be the “It” couple, and wouldn’t have to bow or scrape to anyone.
Meghan lived here while she was part of the TV series Suits. She has friends in Toronto. They’re a thoroughly modern couple who’d add glitter to the woke mover-and-shaker set.
You can almost see little Archie in a Leafs sweater. Even a prince can live a lifetime of home-team disappointment. If he insists on dreaming of winning, we’ll get him a Raptors shirt.
Both Harry and Meghan are independently wealthy, so they could afford their own home here — even at Toronto’s real estate prices.
Harry is a Canadian prince, so no immigration worries. There are suggestions he could be governor general — replacing the present vice regal rep, who many believe has been in a witness protection program for the past couple of years. Julie Payette has been a disappointment.
I’m not sure that’s the best role for Harry. It would just put him back within the same royal restraints he’s bucking against. Let him run free with his passion. His Invictus Games has been an inspiration for military types wounded physically and emotionally in service to their country. He could continue that from Canada.
Meghan’s ruffled feathers in the U.K. with some of her ventures. She guest edited September’s Vogue magazine, featuring 15 women as “forces for change.” Few were household names. When you have to explain why they’re inspirational, you’ve missed the point. She failed to include the Queen — a woman who’s inspired more people and been a greater force for change than any other woman in this century.
Harry and Meghan would find the privacy they crave here. After an initial flurry of photo-ops, media would forget about them and they could live quiet, environmentally sensitive lives.
Ditch the jets. Take the subway. Cheer the Leafs.
Well, two out of three.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
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