For the Royal Family, it seems each new day is a new opportunity for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to move another inch away from their relatives. No matter what they do, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s every decision seems to anger either Prince William or King Charles, or more usually both.
In the latest development in the saga of the most famous family fallout in the world, Harry and Meghan are coming under fire for… going on vacation? Later this month, the couple are due to visit Colombia, the latest international tour the two have undergone on behalf of their charity the Archewell Foundation and the Invictus Games.
Much like their trip to Nigeria this past spring, the tour has nothing to do with the Royal Family, so you’d think it surely couldn’t cause any upset back in England. But, as it turns out, that’s the whole problem in a nutshell.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused of showing “utter contempt” for the king with their renegade Not-Royal tour
According to a former Royal courtier who has elected to go unnamed, Harry and Meghan’s ongoing tours are a major “slap in the face” to King Charles. The issue is that the Sussexes’ international trips are extremely Royal-like in their function and perception, but they actually haven’t been formally sanctioned by the king nor are they affiliated with the Royals in any way, shape, or form.
As per what this unknown courtier told The Daily Beast, “I’m afraid it shows the utter contempt they have for the king and for very long-established ways of doing things.” The source continued, “This tour may well have the noblest intentions, but it is clearly not being carried out on behalf of Britain, and yet they still basically portray themselves as British royals.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Harry and Meghan’s trips are ruffling feathers, but the fact that they are following up their Nigeria visit with a tour of Colombia so soon is really sending a message to the Royals. And that message is allegedly that they are trying to burn down all their bridges back to the Royal bosom. “It shows you exactly why the royals want these two kept as far away as possible,” the insider claimed.
The courtier argued that these wholly unofficial tours are “disruptive” for the actual Royal tours that need to be planned out and undertaken, but also that the duke and duchess doing whatever they want without any kind of acknowledgement to the Royal household and not “running their plans past the palace is the stuff of true nightmares for the king’s aides.”
Slapping an ill 75-year-old sovereign around the face (even metaphorically) and then making his greatest fear come true? As novel ways of severing all family ties go, that’s right up there with the best of them.