Can it all go well in the fragrant valley of Montecito? I wonder. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have appeared together in public for the first time in months, no doubt hoping to silence mounting speculation about the state of their marriage, their future together and their mutual careers as saviors of the world – or whatever it is they are doing out there in their fantasyland of compassion and creative activations.
The couple was filmed sitting together on a loveseat in the sun-drenched garden of their California home as they congratulated the winners of a grant for young entrepreneurs developing “responsible technology.” If this display of solidarity was meant to quell rumours, it had the opposite effect on me.
Was it wrong to sense an underlying tension and lack of interaction between the Duke and Duchess? It was certainly noticeable that the couple did not look at each other at all. Well, Harry stared at Meghan, but she kept her eyes down and never looked at him, not once. At no point did their eyes meet and no loving glances were exchanged.
Some might think this is a loaded comment about what’s just a short promotional clip, but this is Harry and Meghan we’re talking about. Since day one, every public appearance has been marked by a tacky display of open affection. They hold hands, pet, touch, grab and comfort each other like two wealthy meerkats enjoying a grooming session.
They love to show the world their pleasure in each other, even if that pleasure is not always fully reciprocated in a very pleasant way.
JAN MOIR: The couple was filmed sitting together on a loveseat in the sun-drenched garden of their California home as they congratulated the winners of a tech fair
JAN MOIR: Harry and Meghan built their brand on love; about the heroic, beloved couple who fled the oppression of wealth, privilege and monarchy to build a brave new world
JAN MOIR: Overnight they were seen as compassionate crusaders in deluded fools, mockingly exposed as a couple over-invested in their own interests and whirling in a tornado of unwarranted paranoia
And whether they’re on Oprah or on a palace balcony, their eye contact is invariably intense and fixed, like radar gun sights. Indeed, Meghan often makes a point of staring at Harry with the kind of molten adoration you’d expect from a Renaissance nun who’s just seen a vision of God in a stained glass window.
But not this time, honey. In their tonal summer neutrals and steady grins, there was a faint undertone of awkwardness and distance that we haven’t seen before.
I want to be honest. I am rather grateful for any new vibrancy in their public relationship. There have been too many times in the past where Harry and Meghan’s adolescent pawing and lunar spoon-like behavior have made even an old romantic like me feel the urge to wash up in the nearest sick bag. Even if one can understand how these relentless, open displays of tenderness had purpose and were powerful in establishing Sussex identity on a world stage.
After all, Harry and Meghan built their brand on love; about the heroic couple in love who fled the oppression of wealth, privilege and monarchy to build a brave new world, built on the same wealth, privilege and monarchy they had crossed an ocean to escape from. And if the course of their true love doesn’t run smoothly, where are they?
Tomorrow is Meghan’s 42nd birthday, and I wonder what she’ll be thinking about when she blows out her candles in California. Perhaps she will exult in her triumphant departure from a cruel and depraved British institution that forced her to wear beige, denied her first choice of tiara and was not keen on cuddles, the utter b****rds.
JAN MOIR: Today is Meghan’s 42nd birthday, and I wonder what she thinks about when she blows out her candles in California
JAN MOIR: Since day one, every public appearance has been marked by a tacky display of open affection
Perhaps she’s reminiscing about that memorable night in New York in May when the infamous “near catastrophic chase” resulted in an utterly catastrophic negative shift in public perception of the Sussexes.
Overnight they were seen as compassionate crusaders in misguided fools, derisively exposed as a couple over-invested in their own interests and whirling about in a tornado of unwarranted paranoia. It was a groundbreaking moment that resulted in more bad publicity, including canceled broadcast projects and being called “grifters” by a Spotify executive.
Strong marriages can survive worse, but it becomes clear that the Sussexes are under pressure, who have squandered much of their initial commercial goodwill in Hollywood and somehow managed to diminish their own prestige.
The popular story of their relationship has always portrayed Harry as the poor husband, forced to obey his ambitious wife’s demands – but being married to a privacy-obsessed monomaniac like him certainly isn’t much fun either. On that fateful night in New York, stuck in the back of a cab in her pretty gold dress, Meghan’s duchess life didn’t look nice at all.
Of course, all this speculation may be wrong and unfair. Perhaps too much is made of a short film that is supposed to be a celebration of good works. But after seven years of acting like two handy old hams overacting in a royal rom-com set in a petting zoo, Harry and Meghan can’t blame stunned viewers for fearing the worst when the carousel of fondling suddenly stops.