There was something about the black dress the Duchess of Sussex wore in Jamaica last night that felt slightly familiar.
Sleeveless and with a full skirt, it was the same silhouette the newly pregnant Duchess wore when she attended the Australian Geographic Awards in Sydney in October 2018, although the Oscar de la Renta dress that time was decorated with birds – a perfectly thought-out nod to nature the opportunity.
I was there that evening as Prince Harry and his new bride presented awards to young conservationists and marveled at the couple’s star power. It was clear why the Queen had appointed her grandson president of her Commonwealth Trust, an organization tasked with helping young people in the 53 Commonwealth countries create positive change. It was also perfectly clear why the monarch had appointed Meghan vice-president of the Trust within weeks of that long trip to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
Quite simply, the couple was electric. His unique combination of sincerity and humor and her megawatt polish and warmth felt fresh and modern and appropriate in these countries where class is not a benchmark, but community, camaraderie and pride are everything.
Harry and Meghan naturally understood how things work in these parts. There is something of the terrier, the underdog, in both and anyone who watched them that day in Sydney would have found the appointments at the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust insightful and inspired.
Harry and Meghan were perfectly suited for a role in the Commonwealth and the Queen knew it (Photo: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the world premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Jamaica on Tuesday)
The newly pregnant Duchess wore an Oscar de la Renta dress decorated with birds to the Australian Geographic Awards in Sydney in October 2018
That’s why it’s not only disappointing but extremely depressing to see them trying to recreate that role in Jamaica, where they interacted with US Prime Minister Andrew Holness at the premiere of the new Bob Marley film One Love .
Whatever you think of them, Harry and Meghan were a natural fit for a role in the Commonwealth and the Queen knew it. Youthful, awake and attuned, they had the skills and the instincts to be true agents for both continuity and change in these countries. And yet they fled before they even gave it a chance.
They were too impatient, too reactive and too preoccupied with their own suffering to recognize that, because they were the first to take on the new Commonwealth roles, they were ideally placed to take them on as their own to give shape.
Fed up with being at the bottom of the chain of the Windsor hierarchy, they could have positioned themselves as a self-appointed royal line of dispersal, crisscrossing the world as caring and attentive ambassadors for Her Majesty’s realm. With deliberation and innovation, they could have lived anywhere and established themselves as a branch of Royal Inc in one of their favorite countries – perhaps New Zealand, where they discussed the possibility with then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
One of the late queen’s best qualities was her deft problem solving. She had seen it all and had puffed up at times, but for the most part she brought the brilliance of a top CEO and the heart of a mother and grandmother to her decision-making. She knew what was best for Harry and Meghan.
Youthful, awake and attuned, the couple had the skills and instincts to be true agents for both continuity and change in the Commonwealth
The couple had had enough of being at the bottom of the chain in the Windsor hierarchy and could have positioned themselves as a self-appointed royal line of diffusion
The Sussexes were warmly welcomed to Jamaica by top officials, including Marlene Malahoo Forte (pictured), the minister of legal and constitutional affairs.
If they hadn’t been so hasty, Harry and Meghan could have had it all: the respect of millions of people and the sense of value that comes from purposeful work.
Kate and William would always focus on Britain, where they would eventually become heads of state, while Meghan and Harry were free to roam the realms.
I bet they felt the same way when they were warmly welcomed to Jamaica by top government officials, including Marlene Malahoo Forte, the Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs. It’s all in good fun as Meghan and Harry, a pair of freelance scammers from California with just a little more cachet than the average influencer. It’s something else entirely: representing the sovereign, carefully navigating a nation’s desire to break away from the monarchy and charting a new relationship that benefits everyone.
That’s where you need charisma, understanding and excellent communication skills. Harry certainly had that in spades and I suspect he would have been thinking last night about what could have happened. Spending a week at an aviation awards show and a movie premiere in some vague capacity is hardly a meaningful career.
Even now, the ferocity of the disgust for the Sussexes in Britain is not matched here. Perhaps because we in the Commonwealth countries still see ourselves as tenacious upstarts and free-spirited contenders, we see in Harry a certain kinship. Republican leanings or not, we would have welcomed the ‘Spare’ and his wife with open arms and the Queen knew it. Kate and William would always focus on Britain, where they would eventually become heads of state. Meghan and Harry were free to roam the realms.
Curiously, the Sussex Royal website is still online with the slogan ‘Strengthening the Commonwealth’. Images of the Sussexes in Australia, the Pacific and Southern Africa sit alongside a list of current members of the Commonwealth and a note that the late Queen, when she was 21 years old during a speech in Cape Town, pledged to devote her life to its service. coalition of nations. Today, Commonwealth citizens put a third of the world’s population at risk, 60 percent of whom are under the age of 30.
If they hadn’t been so hasty, Harry and Meghan could have had it all: the respect of millions and the sense of value that comes from purposeful work. This week in Jamaica their short-sightedness has been exposed – mostly, I suspect, to themselves.