Netflix The Crown has proven to be a hit since it first aired, but season four looks set to be the most talked about part of the series yet. The series has finally reached the Diana era which is set to be spread over 2 seasons.
Almost 25 years after her death a mere weeks before the series airs, Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, seems to have taken it upon himself to launch an investigation against the BBC and Martin Bashir who landed the now infamous Diana interview that gave us some of the most haunting quotes that still give us chills to this day.
“There were three of us in that marriage.”
“The men in grey suits.”
“I do things differently.”
If you were around at the time, you may not remember the whole interview, but you remember these lines. One has to wonder if Earl Spencer is purely acting on his own and why now, why after so long, would he want to take up the matter?
A distraction from the impending avalanche of articles criticizing the Royals due to the new season of The Crown perhaps? Just a theory. Regardless of how that interview was obtained, the fact of the matter is that the truth about the Royals came to light, and whether it was Martin Bashir or another journalist, the truth would have come out.
One thing that will always stand out in regards to Diana’s relationship with the Royal Family, is how they handled her death. The hesitation to give her a state funeral, and the coldness of The Queen drew great criticism from the British public and almost caused a major crisis for the Royals.
Diana was their biggest draw, but they saw the attention she garnered as a problem instead of an asset. They envied her popularity, and instead of working with her, they worked against her, and the public could see it. It only amplified the backlash when she died.
All these years later, it would appear little has changed and history is repeating itself.
In Meghan, the Royals had a chance to re-brand and remain relevant, and they wasted it. This is just one of the many reasons the monarchy is hanging on a shoe-string and may not survive as we know them past the next generation of younger Royals. Let’s examine some of the other issues that will lead to their inevitable demise.
A failure to address important social issues
Love it or hate it, no-one – especially those in positions of power – is allowed to be a-political anymore. We want to know what your values are and what you stand for. The old monarchy rule of ‘never complain and never explain’ is not fit for the current times, and we know full well they’re happy to launch a complaint as and when it serves them. For example when a certain someone was accused of having baby botox.
They have been mute silent regarding some of the most prominent issues being talked about right now. When you are some of the most wealthy and powerful people on the planet, this is not going to sit well. They are more interested in catering to a dwindling group of staunch pro-monarchists and not angering the right-wing British press they are in bed with than they are speaking up about important issues that the majority of the populous care about.
The truth though, is that addressing these issues would also mean being self-critical. It would mean fully recognising the negative impacts of colonialism and The Empire (something Prince Harry tried to graciously do and was scolded for). It means addressing the wealth inequalities between the taxpayers that fund their lifestyle and the luxuries they enjoy with that money, it means bringing into question whether or not they are relevant in today’s modern age.
The Royals have vast amounts of wealth, one wonders why they just don’t pack it all in, drop all the titles, and photo ops, and disappear into the country to enjoy their fortunes. The end of the institution is inevitable, it would be a smarter move to end it in a way that can they control, instead of the bloodbath of scandal and press mayhem that will likely ensue once the Queen has passed.
The treatment of the only person of colour in the family
The Royal Family failed to call-out the unfair, biased, sexist, and racist treatment of Meghan, they said nothing while she was hounded during her pregnancy. They also sat silently as her child was compared to a primate, and her husband was called a race-traitor by a neo-Nazi currently serving a jail sentence!
The Commonwealth countries have been watching, and it has not gone unnoticed. Barbados announced it will remove The Queen as the head of state within a year, and this is the second time the island nation has attempted this. Jamaica has renewed talks to remove The Queen as Head of State many times, and the conversation will not go away. It is likely that they will be next.
Other countries want to remove The Queen as head of state
Australia came very close to removing The Queen in a 1999 referendum that saw her hanging on by a few percentage points. New Zealand has also talked about removing The Queen, and there have been some talks of removing the Queen in Canada, but experts suggest no formal move would be taken while the Queen is still alive due to constitutional red tape.
It’s important to point this out because the media often paint a picture that labels countries that are majority black/people of colour as ungrateful and anti-British. The truth is that even countries that are majority white do not want The Queen. They simply want their sovereignty. If the United Kingdom could have an entire referendum because they wanted to leave the EU to control their borders, why can’t other countries remove The Queen as the head of state?
A flawed press system
Those of us that are not royalists were shocked to discover exactly how it is that the Royal Family work with the press aka The Royal Rota. There are a select group of journalists from the major titles that are given access to Royal duties and events. Up until now, this allowed all the major titles equal access to Royal events and ensured mostly positive coverage of the Royals and sometimes, certain publications are given exclusives. The problem with this system is that it does not allow for the quick moving pace of today’s online news and social media world. It also means that the Royals are bound to these publications and cannot maneuver with the spontaneity and element of surprise that is required to effectively navigate the current climate.
For forward thinking media personalities like Meghan and Harry, this must have been highly restrictive, and given the level of vitriol that Meghan, in particular, was subjected to, it is no wonder Meghan and Harry would want nothing to do with the Royal Rota. One of the first major appearances Meghan made upon settling in LA was with a new and established media outlet called The 19th. With older publications losing readers and trust, this tactic simply makes sense.
When Meghan and Harry announced that they were no longer working with the Royal Rota, the accusations of press suppression came hard and fast, but the reality is that the current system of the Royal Rota is no longer fit for purpose. It also means that for the remaining Royals, they are going to be in a constant state of catch-up to Harry and Meghan. They do not have the freedom to move and adapt in the way that The Sussexes have. Harry and Meghan can high-jack the news whenever they want, and control their own narrative, and there’s nothing the British press and Royal Family can do about it.
Divorce
If you believe the rumors, at certain future king spends, is lazy afternoons picking roses in the gardens of the Norfolk Hills.
It was years before we received solid confirmation about Charles and Camilla’s affair, but those that knew knew. It would appear history is set to repeat itself, however, how the story finally comes out is another matter.
Will the roses start singing, or will a certain queen-consort decide the crown is no longer worth it and leave?
Prince Andrew
The Monarchy has made it pretty clear that protecting Prince Andrew is far more important than allowing justice its due course, however, as the FBI continues and we begin to get more answers, one wonders how long they can keep up this charade. People want answers and people want justice. In what was a rare sighting, earlier this year, we witnessed protests outside of Buckingham Palace. While the individuals who orchestrated that protest were found to be mostly made up of right-wing conspiracy theorists, any push back against the Monarchy at all is significant because it is rarely seen so publicly, and may encourage other members of the general public to make noise also.
Prince Andrew can hide behind The Queen for now, but one has to wonder, what happens when she passes, which brings us to the next point….
The Queens passing
Many people have wondered why The Queen, in her old age, has not already passed the crown to either Prince Charles or Prince William. It was recently announced that in 2022, the Queen would mark 70 years on the throne with a special bank holiday weekend celebration. Many have taken this as a sign that she has no plans to hand over the crown any time soon. We have two theories for this…
1) The Establishment recognises that out of all the members of the Royal Family, it is mostly The Queen that people respect, or at least present a face of respect even if they’re not pro-monarchists.
2) There is a fear that once The Queen dies, the power of the Crown and its global hold dies with her, so they have to keep her there for as long as possible.
A game of thrones
Power reveals the character of a man, and its becoming more and more obvious that between the two heirs who are next in line, they may be willing to do anything to get on the throne.
Common sense would dictate that William takes the crown after the Queen passes, but it would appear that Prince Charles is adamant to wear the crown also. Imagine spending your entire life waiting for someone to die so you can wear a big purple hat with sparkly things on it! William was happy to throw his brother under the bus, and there have been signs of the PR wheels at Kensington Palace churning out stories about Prince Charles also.
The next generation
Each generation brings with it new ideas about how the world should operate. Some children follow after their parents – others rebel. There is no saying who the Cambridge children will grow up to be. Given the dysfunctional behaviour in the family, and how spares to the heir are treated, who is to say they won’t kick back against the institution they were raised in as Harry did? Only time will tell. Royal children seem to make bigger headlines than their parents. The poor little things will be wheeled out continuously for the rest of their lives, something Harry never wanted for Archie. They will either embrace their position or reject it.
All the other scandals
There is a closet full of other scandals currently plaguing the monarchy. Some are only coming to the surface, others are boiling beneath. One example would be the relationship between Jimmy Saville and the Royal Family which has never fully been addressed. It’s interesting to note that Netflix is working on another series about Jimmy Saville, but it’s left to be seen whether or not they will address his relationship to the Royals.
All in all, with Harry and Meghan gone, the Royal Family has lost all relevance and integrity. We are forever grateful to Harry for getting himself and his family out of the toxic clutches of The Firm!
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