Post by Dex on Oct 21, 2019 11:40:50 GMT -5
but respect has to be earned:.. summing up the documentry of the African tour
JAN MOIR says ITV's grovelling documentary about Harry Meghan could damage their cause..... this s hardly a harsh revue... some how like others they don't wish to be questioned or have it pointed out when they really mess up
By now, we all know the Harry and Meghan drill. Their royal mission in life is to 'shine a light' on hardship, to raise awareness and funds for good causes, while still being 'authentic' in themselves.
And truly, they are to be commended for this.
If they so wished, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could slink behind the vegan silk curtains at Frogmore Cottage, they could hunker down on their Soho House velvet sofas and tell the world to go to hell, while raising baby Archie in the most private and pampered environment that only a century of British royal prerogative can provide.
Related: I won't be bullied into playing game that killed mum, says Harry
However, they clearly have a sense of duty that precludes the luxury of such seclusion. Yet they want the best of both these worlds, which is where the trouble starts.
. An African Journey offered an insight into the emotional journey the 'vulnerable and bruised' royal couple have been catapulted into.
They hoped to focus on important humanitarian issues in a country still riven with gender and racial inequality, where dirt-poor black people remain trapped in townships and life expectancy rates are among the lowest in the world.
As the cameras started rolling, it was clear this could have been one of the most inspiring and amazing royal tours of all time, especially at the beginning when Meghan met young women in Nyanga township, the so-called 'murder capital' of the country.
'I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister,' she informed the small crowd that had gathered.
The Duchess of Sussex said she has found the focus on her after her marriage and giving birth a struggle, adding: 'Not many people have asked if I'm ok'
Her words might seem glib to first-world ears, but there is no telling how stirring they might seem to young women who could see and hear, through the Meghan prism, of a more hopeful future for themselves.
Later the duchess told documentary presenter Tom Bradby that she had added those words herself, with Harry's approval.
Bradby was given special access to the Sussexes for this hour-long documentary, and he reminded us more than once of the depth of his 20-year friendship with Prince Harry.
interviewed by Tom Bradby (pictured left) for the ITV documentary
The two men had often talked privately, we were informed, about grief and mental health issues. Yet did we really need to hear that Tom had a few issues of his own, and had to take time off work to deal with them last year?
Bradby clearly thought this gave him a special insight into the byzantine workings of the prince's mind, who – never mind the poverty and social blight he was witnessing – was soon voicing concerns about the media spotlight on himself and his wife.
As the couple vented, Bradby crept around like a 17th century court flunkey, tugging his flaxen forelock and holding an orange pomander to his nose at any perceived criticisms of H&M.
'This is a couple that feel themselves on a moral mission to challenge what they feel is wrong,' he whispered at one point.
, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visited the Nyanga Township during their royal tour of South Africa
The shocking thing was Harry and Meghan weren't talking about luckless Africans they met who have struggled so long and so hard to overcome their ill-fated lot in life. They were talking about themselves.
On the banks of a nameless river deep in the veldt, Harry talked emotionally to the ITV cameras of his difficulties.
With the velvety embrace of the African night unfolding behind him, there he stood, this motherless son, his eyes he heard a camera click, he said, it made him think of Diana. He was still struggling, his pain was endless.
One sympathises with Harry, still seeking to apportion blame for the death of his mother 22 years later.
This is unbearably sad in itself and we have all witnessed and understood his pain. Yet there are many stages of grief, and he seems unable or unwilling to move on from the first soul-crushing phases.
If that is really how he feels about the situation, if this royal life for him is so unendurable and intolerable, then perhaps he really should desist from his duties.
Perhaps he and Meghan should opt for a quiet private life, give up the proselytising, retreat to the country. Everyone would entirely understand. Especially with a wife who complains, as Meghan did to Bradby, that no one ever asks how she is doing and that their life together is 'existing and not living'
Mouse, would it be possible for you to give us a link to this article?
Thanks in advance.
Alpha 
