“Since 1851, Balmoral, the Scottish residence of the Royal Family, has been a place of peace and serenity,” recalls Daniela Elser, a columnist for the Australian news site News.com.au. Most of the time, at least. Because on the morning of September 9, Prince Harry woke up in “the same estate where it was twenty-five years ago, almost to the day. Aged 12 at the time, he got out of bed when he learned the shocking news of the death in Paris of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Arrived on the evening of September 8 at Balmoral, and left the next morning, the grandson of Elizabeth II, beyond the new personal mourning that strikes him, finds himself in a delicate situation with his wife, the American actress Meghan Markle.
The couple, with stormy relations with the rest of the Windsors, was just in recent days in the United Kingdom. But “for the Sussexes, this time was to mark the start of their careers as content creators and heavyweights, according to them, of Hollywood”, writes the journalist, a claimed fan of the British royal family. Indeed, the Duchess has just launched her brand new podcast – already a success – when the Duke is soon due to release his highly anticipated memoir.
A compromised marketing plan
The publishing house of the memoirs in question is faced with a dilemma, continues News.com.au. The American giant Penguin Random House seemed to want to surf on a winter publication (and make a splash before the holiday season), but will this schedule be shaken up, for fear of the bad effect?
“On the one hand, a colossal sum has been invested [20 millions de dollars] in this book, and the public will show a feverish interest in the royal family in the period which opens. On the other hand, however, Americans today are witnessing an unexpected level of mourning,” see the site. And could therefore taste less than expected attacks against the monarchy.
The same dilemma will arise, in similar terms, to the Netflix streaming platform, which has been working for a year on a docuseries on the Sussexes.
On the wrong side of history?
The Duke and Duchess need to find their source of popularity, regardless of Harry’s ties to the Windsors, the Australian journalist continues. “Even though they launched their charity Archewell at the end of 2020 (the opportunity to give the world a letter that began absurdly and pretentiously with ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am the mother of my son’), on that side they did not accomplish anything tangible.”
Daniela Elser, who does not particularly hold Harry and Meghan in her heart, continues:
“In the United States, if they exist on the media scene, it is as celebrities, not as public figures or influencers, as they so insistently claim to embody.”
In conclusion, the columnist presents the couple as being on the wrong side of history, at least for the moment. “Harry and Meghan have spent the past two years defining themselves in contrast to a family and an institution that today commands compassion around the world.”