A short time ago, there was speculation that Prince Harry would be appointed Governor-General. Susan Delacourt writes:
Just a little over a year ago, about 60 per cent of Canadians polled said the Queen’s runaway grandson would be a good fit for the viceregal post — which, as coincidence would have it, is now vacant.
This was right after Harry and Meghan had found temporary refuge in Canada, before the pandemic, before they decamped to California and most importantly, before the bridge-burning interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired on Sunday night.
But times -- and opinions -- have changed:
The Winfrey interview is the worst thing that’s happened to the royalty on TV since season 4 of “The Crown,” which also seems to have awakened a strong anti-monarchist streak in this country, according to recent polling by Abacus Data.
Abacus CEO David Coletto binge-watched the latest series of “The Crown” late last year and got to wondering how it was making Canadians feel about the monarchy. Not good was the answer — 52 per cent of the people who had finished watching the series leaned toward abolition of the monarchy.
If some of these Canadians saw Sunday night’s interview with Harry and Meghan, chances are that those views are even stronger today. As Harry pointed out, the troubles that Meghan endured as a new part of the Royal Family felt like history repeating itself — the history of Princess Diana, depicted in season four of “The Crown.”
With the Royals, there's always the issue of security:
But there was a lot of discussion about security, which was a very live issue in Canada in the weeks after the two made a temporary home in British Columbia. While everything pre-pandemic feels like ancient history now, we might remember that debate was raging in this country over who would be paying for security for Harry and Meghan and their young son, Archie.
Security is a big deal to the family, as the interview revealed. Meghan recounted to Winfrey how crushed she was to discover that the Firm was not going to be paying for security for her son — the same son whose skin colour had been a matter of royal concern. As she said she was told while still pregnant: “He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Having a royal family costs money. And it appears that lots of people don't want to foot the bill. Even the Royal Family doesn't want to foot the bill.
Something's out of joint. And now it's certain that Harry won't be the next GG.
Image:
