Prince Harry is in Norway today in his capacity as Captain General of the Royal Marines, spending time with service members and observing training exercises, in particular Exercise Clockwork. Participants learn how to continue with operations in extreme weather conditions and difficult terrain.
At #ExerciseClockwork, 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle in North Norway The Duke of Sussex, Captain General @RoyalMarines receives a briefing on the operation in Bardufoss, which marks its 50th anniversary this year. 🇬🇧🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/9xXes0lXYE
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) February 14, 2019
As we’ve seen in the past on these kinds of official visits, Harry likes to get right in there, is comfortable in the military environment, having served two tours himself, and interacts with service members as one of their own. There are a few shots of him in a snow shelter, sitting among photographs from his wedding day that have been attached to the ice walls, with candles lit behind him. It’s cute, the way they prepared for his visit. And reminds me of a couple of years ago, around the same time, when he took Meghan Markle to Norway to see the Northern Lights.
This is a Valentine’s Day gift of sorts, non? Harry in uniform. He’s always looked good in uniform, especially when he’s wearing a beret. As for spending their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple apart and whether or not that’s an issue – I mean it’s not an issue for me because Valentine’s Day is whatever in my relationship but there may be something strategic at play here too. As we’ve heard, especially over the last week, with Meghan’s friends stepping up to defend her, she’s in the game, making moves behind the scenes. In order to do that successfully, push back against her critics, she has to be unimpeachable in one key area: work and work priority. We’ve seen Royal Meghan continue to maintain her royal schedule through her pregnancy. She and Harry will be going on tour to Morocco next week. They say she’s expected to work right up to as close to her delivery date as possible. And while most parents will tell you it’s impossible to predict how you’ll feel after the baby arrives, I wouldn’t be surprised if Meghan was right back out there a few weeks after the birth of their child. By then, they’ll also have a new royal baby to show off.
So this Valentine’s Day and not being together thing? It may be part of a plan: work is more important than one day of prescribed romance, we know our priorities… is the Sussex message.