Being a Royal Family fan isn’t easy when some of its senior members are such a let-down. Prince Andrew is in disgrace and has been removed from royal duties, while Prince Harry abandoned his.
And Buckingham Palace is now caught between its zero-tolerance to racism by the Queen’s old friend Lady Susan Hussey, and condemnation for cruelly dismissing her.
Now we hear that Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series is going to be even worse for the royals than they already feared.
No wonder the Prince of Wales has returned from America for crisis talks with the King.
Prince Harry does not just threaten to tarnish the family he was once happy to be part of.
He will also bang another nail in the monarchy’s coffin. While we are still a long way from the lid coming down on it, this is a time for stout hearts and cool heads.
Because you do not have to be a royalist to be a monarchist. The family might be dysfunctional, but that does not mean the Crown itself is no longer fit for purpose.
We are fortunate to have a head of state who is not a politician because that brings stability to our constitutional set-up.
The armed forces, police, judiciary and intelligence services owe their allegiance to the Crown, not the Government. It is an important distinction between the UK’s democracy and presidential democracies in other countries.
It was why so many Americans worried when Donald Trump was President and Commander in Chief of two million military personnel.
Although the King is largely powerless, the system he heads clips the wings of any potential megalomaniacs in Westminster.
But a monarchy is only as good as its monarch.
The King must now skilfully and diplomatically navigate whatever his youngest son has to throw at him.
It will be Charles’ first big test of kingship. And we urge him not to flunk it.
Train all cops
Nour Norris has every right to be bitter and angry. Had police not let her family down, her sister and niece might be alive today.
But they were stabbed to death by the niece’s estranged husband despite 14 emergency calls to West Midlands police reporting his erratic and threatening behaviour.
Assistant Chief Constable Andy Hill now accepts more should have been done, and his officers will get extra domestic abuse training.
Which is why we are backing Nour in her campaign to extend this training to every police force in the land.
National pride
After reaching the World Cup semi-finals four years ago and the final of last year’s European Championship, expectations are high for the Three Lions as they get their claws out against Senegal tomorrow.
Do us proud, lads, and you will have the nation in your laps and purring.
