So Do We Bow to Harry and Curtsy to Meghan? The Palace’s “Clarification” Deepens the Confusion
I have been covering the British royal family for almost 30 years, and I can’t remember a period as badly managed as this one (with the exception of the death of Princess Diana, which occurred six weeks after I started at the Evening Standard).
Eleven days after Harry and Meghan’s private jet touched down at Birmingham airport, and a full two weeks after they let it be known they were coming back, the palace has finally said something. One cheer (maybe two) for the king for that, because it is better than saying absolutely nothing. But the statement itself, a letter written by the Lord Chamberlain on the king’s orders, is an incredibly confusing and confused document. It poses at least as many questions as it answers, and the biggest one remains untouched: what are Harry and Meghan actually doing here?
The letter was sent by Lord Benyon, the most senior official in the royal household, to senior stakeholders including the lord-lieutenants (the monarch’s personal representatives in every region of the United Kingdom), the top of the armed forces, and the top of the government. Why? Because, in the letter’s own words, the palace had “received a number of requests for guidance.”