Harry and Meghan Want A "Royal Summit" and An Apology

Roya Nikkhah is reporting in the Times that Harry and Meghan “want a royal summit and an apology” ahead of the coronation next year, to which, as the Telegraph has reported, they will be invited.

Roya reports:

It can be revealed today that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex want to “sit down with the royal family” for a meeting to address their “issues” after their damning six-hour Netflix series, which involved relentless criticism of the monarchy.

The couple feel the royal family has shown double standards by instigating a reconciliation meeting between Ngozi Fulani, the charity boss, and Lady Susan Hussey, a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth. The latter made “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” comments about Fulani’s heritage last month, and Hussey offered her “sincere apologies” at last week’s meetings.

A source close to the Sussexes said: “Nothing like that was ever done when Harry and Meghan raised various concerns — no meeting, formal apology or taking responsibility or accountability. That is hard to swallow — 100 per cent yes they’d like to have a meeting.”

I suspect they want more than just an apology and closure.

Toward the end of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series, the couple described their final few engagements in the U.K. in March 2020, just before they relinquished their royal roles and flew across the Atlantic to start their new life in North America. Both reminisced about how much they enjoyed those final events and how they could have kept doing that type of work for the rest of their lives. There were a few takeaways from the series (I wrote about the first three episodes here, and I will be writing a post on episodes 4-6), but, to me, one significant takeaway was how much Harry and Meghan want back in.

I have blogged from the start that Harry and Meghan did not want to leave the royal fold—they just wanted to be royals on their own terms. I reiterated this point on Instagram this week:

It appeared that they actually painted themselves into a corner from which their pride would not permit them to extricate themselves—so they left. But Meghan and Harry have failed to make a success of life outside the royal fold. Success here is defined as recreating their royal life outside the institution—maintaining the star power, prestige, and busy calendars of senior royals.

Recently, I have started to think that Meghan and Harry have serious financial worries and need to get back into the royal fold, or at least hit a reset button with the royal family. As my husband and I watched the Netflix series, we turned to each other more than once to exclaim, what do these people do?? They live a life of rarified luxury—a multimillion dollar home in one of the most expensive states in the Union, luxury cars, nannies and staff, a robust private security team, and presumably sky high legal bills from their many lawsuits. These two are just hitting 40 and have two children to raise. Whatever they made from Netflix and Spotify simply won’t last forever given the lifestyle they enjoy.

Although the future looked bright when the couple inked those first two deals, the general consensus seems to be that Netflix and Spotify overpaid. I don’t think massive, lucrative contracts will be coming at the Sussexes in spades in the future. This might be one of the driving forces of their frustration when they complain in the series about the money the papers are making off of them. Others are monetizing the Sussexes’ story, but to what extent they can continue to financially benefit from their own celebrity status is not as clear.

In any event, I think they need money. Harry doesn’t know how to make money on his own—he mentions in the series that, in his family, getting money from his father is just the way the system works. Did he take that enormous wealth for granted? It felt that way watching him casually explain it, yes. The Sussexes walked away from a steady influx of bundles of cash to try to recreate that wealth stream on their own. And it turns out it is harder than it looked.

At this point, I think the Sussexes complaining has made them toxic, and Meghan, at least, knows it. Even if they don’t come back as working royals, they may feel that some form of public reconciliation with the royal family could clear the air and permit them a fresh start to try and build their star status again.

Whether the royals dialogue with Harry and Meghan remains to be seen. I think Charles would be open to it, although I suspect William would not be very amenable. Would it accomplish anything for either party? Honestly, it seems unlikely. It doesn’t help that the Times also reported:

The Sunday Times understands that Harry’s autobiography, Spare, which will be published on January 10, includes claims about the monarchy that are more incendiary than those made in the Netflix series.

Would the two ever come back to the royal fold? I think both Charles and William would welcome Harry home at any time, and honestly, I think he’d be happy to go home and back to the life to which he was born. But Meghan poses a serious issue. It is hard to imagine how the royals could ever trust her again, and frankly, given what we’ve seen from the Netflix series, I am not certain she is capable of fitting into the family. She displayed a breathtaking “perspective” on reality in the Netflix series, and that doesn’t lend itself well to working in a group, where, to be successful, people need to adhere to one “truth”—one reality.

Time will tell, but it is clear that the Sussex saga is far from over.