The Invictus Games were the focus of the royal tour itinerary this weekend. On Monday, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Fraser Island. As previously announced, they travelled there together and Royal Meghan then went to rest, rejoining Harry later in the day.
As I wrote last week, Meghan’s pretty much wearing the same clothes over and over again. There’s not much variation to the shapes, the colours. It’s a uniform. Because, perhaps, the clothes don’t have to be the story. The baby is the story. And …well…
I told you. I told you on Friday that where Princess Kate was never a belly-cupper, not through three pregnancies, Royal Meghan would totally be a belly-cupper. OF COURSE she’s a belly-cupper. At one point today I was actually afraid that we’d see a royal double belly-cup when Harry and Meghan were walking along the dock and stopped to gaze out onto the water:
A warm beach welcome for Harry AND Meghan (who just joined the Duke after his engagements) from the people of Fraser Island☀️ pic.twitter.com/dkVTo2Q1BY
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) October 22, 2018
With the sun high in the sky and a warm breeze soothing their skin, it was the perfect karaoke video moment. You know. You’ve seen the visual many times before. As she lovingly caresses the life growing inside of her, he comes up from behind and puts his hand on hers, marking the spot where they created one whole from two parts.
Sorry. I just passed out from all the emotion. And relief. Because somehow Harry resisted the urge to turn the moment into a Hallmark card. Maybe he’s saving it for the conclusion of their trip, like fireworks that go off at the end of a party to celebrate the undeniable success of the tour. And it has been an undeniable success. Which is the subject of Tom Sykes’s latest piece for The Daily Beast - what does the success of the Sussexes mean for the rest of the royals? Specifically the Cambridges, William and Kate, because, as Tom archly observes, “shading a York doesn’t really matter”. That was in reference to the timing of Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy announcement and Princess Eugenie’s wedding. But then Tom goes on to say while “shading a York doesn’t really matter”, eclipsing Will Cambridge might actually matter.
Prince William, in private, reportedly has a temper. Prince William, in private, is also supposedly more like his father than we think in that he doesn’t like being overshadowed. Diana overshadowed Charles. Which is why some royal insiders believe that Kate has intentionally always made sure to NOT be too sparkly so as to not overshadow her husband.
A few months ago, there were reports that William was unhappy when Kensington Palace scheduled an event for him and Harry and Meghan on the same day, resulting in shared coverage and maybe slightly more coverage for the then-engaged couple. The crowds that Harry and Meghan are drawing on this tour so far are said to be as big, if not bigger, than the crowds for the Cambridges – with Big G – a few years ago. And that’s great news for the monarchy in general. But… as Tom Sykes concludes:
What remains to be seen is how serenely William and Kate will cope with Harry and Meghan’s soaring profile, if, as seems entirely likely, the all-star Sussexes continue to claim a larger slice of global and domestic attention than the decidedly drab Cambridges.
Maybe what we’ll see is much more engagement from the Cambridges. Maybe what we’ll see is both the Cambridges taking their game to the next level. Maybe in 2019, they won’t be so “drab” after all? Royal Boy Sh-t. It’s the best sh-t!