When Harry Met Meghan (Part 6)

What’s on my mind? Life is complicated. So are relationships. Who you know is sometimes more important than what you know. 

Case in point: Duck! Rabbit! - the best-selling, award-winning, 2009 children’s book illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld and written by the late Amy Krouse Rosenthal (@chroniclekidsbooks and its creators).  

Last May, media mogul Oprah Winfrey gave Archie Mountbatten-Windsor - son of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Harry, the Duke of Sussex - a copy of the book for his first birthday.

You already know much about M&H, who so famously traded the cloistered halls of the royal household for the “privacy” of Los Angeles. Inside the book was a sticker reading Archie’s Book Club. It’s been reported that the sticker’s design is very similar to the Oprah’s Book Club sticker.

Markle read Archie portions of the book as Harry filmed the event - which ended up on YouTube and elsewhere - ostensibly to benefit Save the Children (UK) and #SaveWithStories, though anyone can watch it free, with no obligation to donate. 

Although a grumpy, finger-wagging Nicole views this as further commercialization of the threesome’s lives, Markle’s down-to-earth reading (no makeup; greying hair on display) to the lovable Archie charmed me. Harry’s whoops of “Hurray! Bravo!” and Archie’s “Bye, bye, duh-wah!” directly into the camera warmed my cold, cold heart - as did Markle’s whispered translation of “Duck, rabbit,” also spoken to the camera). 

Where did I watch the video? On Oprah Daily’s automatic redirection to Instagram. This gave me pause, as did a December 15, 2020 story in The Daily Mail. Last December, Markle invested in Clevr Blends, a woman-led, California-based coffee company that makes powdered oat ‘super lattes.’

Markle described her “love” for the lattes, praising the company’s “holistic approach to wellness.” Markle then sent Oprah a Christmas gift basket of the product. Oprah, in turn, posted a video on Instagram, calling the lattes “my new drink of choice for the morning and night. Wish I had @clevrblends sooner cause I would’ve added it to my Favorite Things list.”

As the Daily Mail reported, “PR experts say Ms. Winfrey’s backing is worth millions in free publicity,” which means Markle’s investment in the product would likely have risen sharply. Two months later, Oprah interviewed the Duke and Duchess for which they were “not paid.”

I may be out-of-step with today’s fast-paced society, but I find this bit of transactional friendship unseemly - a potential conflict of interest. I would not have done this - period, full stop. 

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Is the American public wearying of the Meghan ’n’ Harry Show? Headed Meghan and Harry Suck Up to Those Who Can Give More Exposure, an Aug 29, 2020 story in celebratingthesoaps.com begins: “It’s clear that many view Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as grasping wannabes in American society …” The story doesn’t get any better.

Many others, however, are the couple’s flag-waving supporters and fans, from Twitter’s … 

Meghan Markle Daily (self-described as Your #1 source for all things Meghan Markle) to ...

Musical genius Sir Elton John: “I highly respect and applaud both Harry and Meghan’s commitment to charity and I’m calling on the press to cease these relentless and untrue assassinations on their character.” to …

Tennis legend Serena Williams: “(Markle’s) words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced. I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us.” to … 

And Markle’s spelling-challenged Suits costar, Patrick J. Adams, who on March 5, 2021, tweeted: “It’s OBSCENE that the Royal Family, who’s newest member is currently GROWING INSIDE OF HER, is promoting and amplifying accusations of “bullying” against a woman who herself was basically forced to flea the UK in order protect her family and her own mental health.”

For any member of the royal family, having overly generous friends can sometimes pose ethical dilemmas in what can become a transactional relation: I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

Google reports that: “George Clooney and his wife Amal were two of the 600 guests who attended Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex ... But according to a royal expert, Clooney admitted he did not know the Sussexes when he attended their wedding in May 2018.”

Example #1: Aug. 12, 2020, Hello Magazine reported: “(S)hortly after their royal wedding, the Sussexes joined Amal and George at their Italian villa on Lake Como …” The magazine’s source? None other than royal reporter Omid Scobie, co-author of the Markle/Harry book Finding Freedom. According to Hello, George Clooney “personally made sure to get the couple to Italy safely via his private jet.” 

Example #2: In August, 2019, when Sir Elton John invited the Duke and Duchess to his home in the south of France, he, too, dispatched a private jet for their visit. 

Example #3: In February, 2019, Amal Clooney and Serena Williams reportedly co-hosted Markle’s afternoon baby shower in the $75,000-a-night, 10,000 sq. ft. penthouse suite of The Mark Hotel in Manhattan’s upper east side. 

Among the guests: TV host Gayle King, bestie to media mogul Winfrey. After Markle and Harry had clarified one point about the interview with Oprah, they (or their representative) sought out King to clarify another. The media may not have granted this privilege to any old Joe and Josephine.

Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, was “unfortunately unable to attend her (daughter’s) first baby shower due to work commitments …” Ms. Ragland is a yoga instructor in Los Angeles. 

Why do costly gifts and gifts-in-kind matter? The royal couple didn’t announce their intention to “step back” from the royal family until January, 2020, formalizing the split a year later. They accepted these costly gestures and gifts while senior royals. Should members of the royal family accept gifts that may compromise them in future?

The “gift policy” intended to guide the royal family states: “The fundamental principle governing the acceptance of gifts by Members of The Royal Family is that no gifts, including hospitality or services, should be accepted which would, or might appear to, place the Member of The Royal Family under any obligation to the donor.” You be the judge. 

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Markle has called the couple’s departure from the royal family “liberating.” In some quarters, it comes as no surprise that Meghan Markle is all about Meghan Markle.

In 2020, an acerbic Donald Trump said of Markle: “I’m not a fan … I wish a lot of luck to Harry. He's going to need it.”

Will the couple’s marriage survive? Or will it gradually slide into the muck of its own making? I wouldn’t want to speculate. Over time, much will depend on whether the Duchess continues to strut the world stage in starring roles, relegating the pleasant, ginger-haired Duke to cameos and walk-on parts.

It’s been said that Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, gave his favorite grandson sage advice: “One steps out with actresses; one doesn’t marry them.” But when Harry and Markle “stepped out,” their departure ignited a firestorm. 

A series of “Lifetime” movies is franchising and  commercializing the couple’s every move even further, detailing their split from the royal family and enhancing the couple’s “brand.” Lifetime is jointly owned by the Walt Disney Company and Hearst Communications.

Already shown have been 2018’s Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, and 2019’s Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal. Coming this Fall: Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace. A network press release says the story “will include details about Meghan’s growing isolation, the couple’s disappointment that those in power were not defending them against the press’ attacks, and Harry’s fear that history would repeat itself and he would not be able to protect his wife and son from the same forces that caused his mother’s untimely death.” 

The statement also promises to “reveal the private family feuds between Will and Harry, Kate and Meghan, and Harry with Will and Charles, that lead to the ultimate break from the royal ties.”

I don’t know how much Markle and le petit prince stand to make from this, but I can guess how much they stand to lose.

For Markle - polished actress, lover of spotlights - the soap opera has never ended. For Harry, it’s just begun.

© Nicole Parton, 2021