The troops of color have marked the birthday of the British sovereign for over 260 years. And as one of the millions of people who joined him on Thursday – the first time I saw him – it became immediately clear that this was a superlative tradition, a show of military discipline, pomp; a jamboree of centuries-old knowledge about showing respect and power. Nothing says “all that is fantastic and impressive about the British monarchy and therefore Britain” like that. (Well, almost. A few horses, happily the number two circling the arms camp, seemed to have other ideas).
However, Harry and Meghan’s secret presence sat badly; in fact it has done so with all the platinum jubilee. What are they doing here? After all, coming to Britain for the platinum jubilee violated its basic principles, those that have promised Oprah and other places for profit: that the company is a conservative prison and disfigured by racism, that it’s a petty, nasty family that Meghan ignored in her psychological moment of need. Then there’s the ecological angle of it all: with Harry among the staunchest greens, a spiderweb of ordinary people about the evils of flying, it’s surely a black mark that he and Meghan arrived by plane. At least they could have sailed; it’s not like they have demanding office jobs at home.
And yet they were there, and with the blessing of the queen no less. On Friday’s Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s, Harry and Meghan, who were dressed in white (honestly, love, why bother?), Walked down the hall, grabbing the spotlight again. In fact, she is believed to have been charitably given to them by a tireless, diplomatic and family queen.
It’s okay for them to want their brazen second son (in my book) named Lilibet to know his great-grandmother and namesake. It is also understandable that some of the establishment are still genuinely linked to Harry; He couldn’t go wrong with the cheerful looks of some of those Church dignitaries at St. Paul’s when he stopped and chatted to them. But the actions of couples with respect when it suits them are transparent. Maybe they feel that their histrionics have aged and they risk falling into the spotlight: after rejecting the company for being oppressive, it now seems as if the prospect of being out there is genuinely out in exchange for the palm trees and the dollar signs. California is not so attractive after all.