A royal expert says Harry and Meghan's "six hours of whining" while the UK is in the grip of a cost of living crisis shows how out of touch with reality they have become.
According to the Daily Mirror, Jennie Bond, 72, criticised the new Netflix series as “utterly self-indulgent and terribly timed”, at a time when some people are living without heating or eating.
Speaking to the Sunday People, the ex BBC royal correspondent, said: “They live in a Californian mansion with two gorgeous children and a fantastic lifestyle while the rest of us are worrying about whether we can turn a radiator on. Why can’t they just go away and enjoy themselves?
“It is utterly self-indulgent and terribly timed when people are choosing between heating or eating in the middle of winter. And they are releasing six hours of whining. They put themselves forward publicly as advocates of healing when all they are doing is hurting people. There is nothing healing about this. And judging by the trailers, it will only get worse.”
Jennie hit out after watching just three episodes of the new show, with the last three offering available from Thursday onwards.
She said Harry should have listened to his big borther, who advised him not to rush things with the former actress.
“All that I can see is that Prince William was right all along when he said Meghan was woefully unprepared to enter the royal family,” she said.
“William gave Catherine ten years to peer inside the goldfish bowl of the royal family to acclimatise and know what life would be like inside. So when she did enter the family, she slotted right in.
Now she is a hugely admired role model and future queen. But any suggestion from William to take things slowly was rejected by Harry.
“He was head over heels in love and wanted to get on with it. It is clear now from Meghan’s astonishing level of unpreparedness revealed in this series that William was entirely correct.”
William is already upset at the Netflix show having featured old footage of Princess Diana's infamous BBC Panorama interview.
Jennie continued: “Meghan joined an organisation which she didn’t like, chose to fly away and stay away, and yet she still wants to shake it up and reform it,” she said.
“Meghan said she didn’t want to embarrass the royal family. In staggering irony, she is the one who has utterly embarrassed the family and drawn Harry into doing the same.”
Jennie sees similarities between the Meghan and Diana.
“Harry saw Diana as a protector and a mentor, and I think he sees those same qualities with Meghan,” Jennie said.
“Having suffered dreadful loss and a troubled adolescence, it is lovely that he has finally found a woman he loves, with echoes of his much-beloved mother. We see Meghan take on that role of mentor in helping Harry to learn about unconscious bias.
"She has opened his eyes to racial prejudice and that is a reflection of what a modern-thinking monarchy should look like. The pair had a great opportunity to modernise the family and Meghan really is the incarnation of what a forward-thinking monarchy should look like.
The tragedy is they decided to leave when they could have done so much.
“I don’t think the royal family was so dim it didn’t realise having an independent, forthright woman of mixed heritage was a good look for a modern monarchy. That is exactly what a modern monarchy should look like, which is why it is such a pity they are not part of it any more. It puts a sharp focus on what a loss they have been.”
But Jennie believes it was not only the palace to blame.
“Meghan had no idea there was a measure of formality in public and private or even the hierarchy within the family,” she said. “I think that was down to Harry. Why did he not sit down with her and tell her what it would be like?
“It is clear she did not understand she was not just marrying into a family but also a firm. And within that hierarchy, Meghan clearly struggled to understand she would not be the chief executive or managing director. Instead, she had to conform and collaborate, and abide by the structure in place.”
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