Former UNF professor Elizabeth Furdell speaks on the royal family
January 27, 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving the royal family has been the topic of conversation after announcing on Instagram that they were stepping back from their royal duties.
While some suspect Harry and Meghan are guilty of wanting to live lavish without completing their royal duties, others say the scrutiny the couple has received from the press about their relationship and breaking of traditions is what drove them to leave the UK and settle in Canada.
Retired professor of history, Elizabeth Furdell, says there are multiple reasons for the couple to have left the crown.
“It seems that Harry and Meghan, for their own reasons, wanted to step back for at least half of the year from their royal duties that they were expected to perform. A lot of the things that Harry and Meghan were doing involved the ribbon-cutting, the opening ceremonies for a variety of charities and I believe they felt that they would like to choose what it is they spend their time on. They have their own foundation and charity that they wanted to pursue rather than these smaller, less interesting chores that they were tasked with. I think also because of her treatment by the tabloid press it must seem like a break was necessary to get away from that constant surveillance and certainly for the benefit of their child to have a more normal, private upbringing. So it looks as though they’re interested in spending half of the year in Canada. It sounds like they’ve settled on Vancouver, British Columbia as a good site,” said Furdell.
Some say Harry was preventing what happened to his mother from happening to his wife.
“I think what’s particularly unique about the Princess Diana situation was the role that the tabloid press played in hounding her after her divorce from Prince Charles. She was a more glamorous figure than one usually associates with kings and queens. She was quite stylish and young. She had provided the heir and a spare that was needed but when her marriage with Prince Charles broke up, she continued to be an object of absolute fascination by the British people and particularly the tabloid press. I know that her sons blame in part the tabloid press for her death” said Furdell.
“I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mom,” said Harry in the documentary called “Harry and Meghan: An African Journey.”
“There seems to be an element of racism in the way in which Meghan Markle has been treated. Moreover, she has been divorced. She had a first early marriage, a starter marriage if you will and that reminds a lot of English men about an episode in the not too distant past. In the 1930’s, their king Edward VIII gave up his throne so he could marry a divorced American, and so in lots of English men Letters to the Editors they say it reminds them of that episode when an American woman broke up the royal lineage. Had it not been for that 1930 episode, Elizabeth would not be queen right now,” said Furdell.
According to Buzzfeed news, the palace issued a statement about the couple residing in Canada, which explained they chose Canada due to the importance of the commonwealth in their lives and their familiarity with it. Though it’s not yet determined how the couple will make a living, they plan to become financially independent from the royal crown.
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