Dear Harry and Meghan, think of the children

Sure, we think the Meghan and Harry debacle is bad, but fast forward 20 years from now.

With the older guard gone (RIP The Queen, Prince Philip, Charles, Camilla, Andrew, Edward, Sophie and all other minor royals). Anne at 90 is still kicking around, working past the age when she should be out to pasture. Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise and James, married with children of their own, happy to be free of the burdens George, Charlotte and Louis now face because of the 'Sandringham Summit 2020.' From this point forward, referred to simply as 'The Summit'.

Historians put January 13, 2020 as the moment everything changed for these children.

It is 2040, their parents, King William V and Queen Catherine are popular, but there are only so many patronages they can support. Without Harry and Meghan, the long touted slimmed down monarchy by Charles III is indeed slim now. Enter Prince George (27), Princess Charlotte (25) and Prince Louis (22).Young people who, under most circumstances, should be looking forward to lives of relative freedom, going to school, extended gap years, maybe an unfortunate trip to Las Vegas. All of this postponed, because of The Summit. Of course, they were too young to realize it at the time. No one thinks of the children in these instances, do they? Gan-Gan (Queen Elizabeth II) could relate. December 11, 1936, changed her destiny. Did anyone think of her? What she wanted? Did it matter?

In 2040, Harry and Meghan are not the power couple they once were. Long cut off from the Duchy of Cornwall funds, Brand Sussex meanders along. The Summit effectively made them pariahs to all but their fans.  Settling down in Canada, the couple divide their time between London (Ontario) and Paris (Ontario). Archie and his sisters, Betty and Veronica are off, making woke speeches of their own, without having to worry about the consequences, or burdens of their first cousins across the pond.

If anyone understands those burdens, it is Uncle Harry. He went to great lengths to rid himself of it, before boarding a plane and heading for Canada. 20 years on, does he look to Princess Charlotte, now second in line (The Spare) with sympathy? His decision made her, and her brothers, working royals well before they should have become ones.

Maybe they look upon 'He whose name must not be spoken in royal circles,' with envy. Or a cautionary tale for what happens when one person gets what they wish for, and those who are left behind do not.

© Marilyn Braun 2020

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