After a year, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have announced another visit to Düsseldorf. Since then, things haven’t developed particularly well for her, as a royal family expert analyses.
Last year, Prince Harry, in his own words, spent some “unforgettable moments” in the North Rhine-Westphalia state capital of Düsseldorf. In retrospect, he probably remembers the visit primarily because his “Granny” Elizabeth II died less than 48 hours later.
Twelve months later, he is now returning to the Rhine to attend the Invictus Games for war-disabled soldiers starting on Saturday. Meghan follows a little later. Looking back, it probably wasn’t a good year for the two of them.
Popularity ratings plummeted
“I think that Harry and Meghan have lost an awful lot of their magic over the past year,” said ZDF royalty expert Julia Melchior of the German Press Agency in an interview at the Hotel Excelsior in Cologne. Harry’s memoirs “Reserve”, in which he made his most private things public, gave him worldwide publicity and millions in income, but also caused his already no longer good popularity ratings on his home island to collapse. Meghan’s reputation has also been pulverized. “In Great Britain very few people have a good word for them,” Julia Melchior observed. “And many people are no longer interested in them. The Harry and Meghan saga has been told.”
The expert on European nobility no longer believes in a happy ending after Harry’s public falling out with his father Charles and brother William. In this context, British TV journalist Tom Bradby accused Harry of not only burning the bridges behind him, but actually torching them with a flamethrower.
Invictus Games as Harry’s best project
“It’s time to stop seeing Harry as the black sheep or the prodigal son of the royal family, but simply as a celebrity,” suggests Melchior. In this role he can still have a positive impact, because the Sussexes undoubtedly continue to have a Hollywood-like celebrity factor. The Invictus Games in particular are recognized as Harry’s best project. Melchior believes that the athletes represented there deserve special admiration because, despite all the limitations, they constantly go beyond their limits. Harry gives them the attention they need and is respected by the veterans because of his own military career and frontline experience.
However, he also got himself into trouble here by revealing in his memoirs that he had killed 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. He justified this “kill count” by saying that he wanted to help other soldiers cope with their war experiences and prevent suicides among veterans. However, he was sometimes heavily criticized by the military. Melchior finds the remark “absolutely unnecessary and stupid.”
She also thinks it was a mistake that Harry didn’t stay in the military longer: “That was exactly his thing. Clear structures, camaraderie, but also the physicality that comes with being a soldier. All of that suited him, he is yes, not an intellectual.”
For Harry there are only supporting roles
It’s the old dilemma, once described by Elke Heidenreich in the role of the butcher’s wife Else Stratmann from Wanne-Eickel with the words: “He hasn’t learned anything like a king.” If Harry had a proper education, he could build a new life for himself now. But he was always just a soldier and reserve king. Melchior has the impression that other royal families deal better with their substitutes than the Windsors. Prince Joachim, the second son of Danish Queen Margrethe, made himself useful as a military attaché. “He was in Paris and is now going to Washington. In theory, that would have been possible for Harry too.” However, you also have to come to terms with the fact that you can only ever win the Oscar for the best supporting role in the royal family epic.
Harry will celebrate his 39th birthday in Düsseldorf. It is unclear what the second half of his life has in store for him. “I think he will have a hard time being happy under the current circumstances in California because he can’t just focus on himself,” says Julia Melchior. “It wouldn’t be difficult for Charles, he puts in a Wagner CD, writes letters or spends hours engrossed in a book. But Harry is someone who wants to compete with others. I’m afraid that will be a big challenge for him in the next few years cause problems.”
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
