Harry and Meghan, a very sad and unnecessary farewell

The decision by Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to become semi-detached members of the Royal Family is, first of all, very sad, secondly a very selfish move that will cause more angst for the Queen in her 94th year,and thirdly, a loss for all of us. They looked a lovely couple. Harry and Meghan and William and Kate seemed on the surface to be a perfect foursome, the new royals, the ones who would guarantee a fresh and hopeful future for the monarchy. Now I realise that is a romantic view of the royal family, perhaps a fantasy view, but I think in these days of relentless bad news and political incompetence, a rosy view of the royal family is actually comforting. But it is not to be, and of course none of us know what really goes on behind the Buckingham Palace doors and the front doors of the other royal houses. William and Harry had fallen out over what I believe are very personal reasons, but more than anything, Harry and Meghan no longer wanted to be part of the royal protocol regime which defines the way they are supposed to act, behave, live and breathe. Meghan was warned by her friends, and probably by Harry, that it was not going to be easy to become a member of the British royal family. But she loved Harry, you could see that, and probably felt that provided they stayed in love together, everything else would work out. It clearly hasn't. The arrival of baby Archie made them both yearn for a different way of life. This is understandable, but the only way they can do that is to break away and live apart from the rest of the family. And live abroad! It is truly sad that it has come to this. It really wasn't that long ago that Harry and Meghan were seen as a Hollywood couple. The nation adored them. During their Africa tour last year they received nothing but favourable publicity, until Harry suddenly made his statement announcing that he was going to sue the Mail on Sunday for malicious reporting. From that moment Harry and Meghan went down an inevitable non-royal path, breaking away not only from the royal family but also from Britain itself, and certainly from the British press. One has to feel sympathy for them, but perhaps especially for Meghan who was an outsider and perhaps was always going to be an outsider. Harry stuck loyally to her side, wanting to show that she would come first, and the royal family, including the Queen, second. They will end up not even being semi-detached. Harry and Meghan have as good as given up their membership of the most privileged and unique family in Britain. It's certainly selfish on their part but they deserve a happy life and if breaking away is the only solution for them, then so be it. Farewell Harry and Meghan.