Charles has sorted Andrew – now he must sort Harry and Meghan | UK | News

You can’t imagine King Charles kicking a rusty tin can, but Harry and Meghan’s decision to keep their royal titles is one he’s been kicking around for a very long time. Even after the grueling Megxit of 2020 and our embrace of the sun-beaten palm trees of Montecito, California, stripping the newlyweds of their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seemed inconsiderate to many.

But just as the world was shaken by the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022, Britain’s royal landscape has changed dramatically in the three years since. The Windsors could turn into a dazzling and crazy soap opera that we can all follow.

How can such privilege, structure and tradition so often explode with scandal, crude rebellion, reckless flirtations with sycophants, dodgy businessmen, would-be spies and mega-rich pedophiles?

Andrew and Fergie could alone fill the Cluedo board with the nightmarish villains they’ve welcomed into Buckingham Palace and their circle of friends over the years.

If James Bond villain Goldfinger were real, Andrew would probably be his friend; He is rich, shows off his wealth, is a bit unstable and loves golf.

Auric Goldfinger never had a tropical island getaway, but if he did, that would tick another one of Andrew’s boxes.

Over the decades, our Royal Family has gone through one fairytale wedding, estrangement/divorce, minor scandal, shocking TV interview, and then another fairytale wedding again.

If you love the Royal Family like I do, ‘heads in hand’ moments don’t seem too far away. This is a circle of strife.

But not even Agatha Christie or Jilly Cooper could have penned some of the drama we’ve seen unfold in Windsor in recent years.

And as King Charles carefully arbitrated the fragile dynamic between his sons, two facts became clear.

First of all, Prince William is the rock on which our future monarchy must be built.

Secondly, I see many similarities between Prince William and the Duchess of Kent on the one hand, and Andrew and Harry on the other.

Let me explain.

Behold the incredible life of selfless service in which the late Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley, Duchess of Kent, fulfilled both her royal duties and, more importantly, her quiet role as the simple music teacher ‘Kath’.

He was the first royal to convert to the Catholic faith since 1685, so he knew his own mind, and realizing his twin passions were music and children, he quietly withdrew from royal life and became a music teacher at a primary school in Hull.

He even stopped using the title His Highness. In the staff room she was just “Kath” and to the children “Miss Kent”. He probably ate a packed lunch.

This approachable sense of public duty is what William and Kate strive for with the modern royal family.

On the other hand, there are Andrew and Harry. They both think Buckingham Palace owes them either a lifestyle, tickets to every VIP A-list party, or an eternal apology.

William’s hand can already be seen in the excommunication of the present Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

How long will it take for King Charles to accept that the same must be done for Harry and Meghan before William can transform the institution into one he can head up?

Harry and Meghan have always teased that they’ll be heading off into the Santa Barbara sunset all the time. I hope everything happens soon.