s there anything more unseemly than rich people complaining about money?
By any normal standards, Harry and Meghan are super wealthy. They have an estimated joint worth of nearly £10 million, and live in a luxury pad in California overlooking the Pacific. They mix with millionaires and billionaires.
Yet Harry saw fit to moan, in that blockbuster interview with Oprah, that
his father had “literally” cut him off.
Where do you start with a whine like that? How should we respond to someone worth millions, most of it inherited, saying he should have even more?
Let’s keep in mind that Harry isn’t 19 anymore. He’s 36. His wife’s 39. These are not snotty youngsters. They’re mature adults. Frankly, I’d be ashamed to be living off my parents at that age, however much security I needed to pay for. There comes a time – and it shouldn’t take until 36 – when you need to buy your own dinner.
In any case, we now discover that Prince Charles did not actually cut Harry off at all – at least not financially. Newly released Clarence House records show that
Charles gave the Sussexes and Cambridges a whopping £4.5 million during the last financial year.
Just think about that. It’s a huge lottery win. I’m pretty sure that if someone gave me a few million, my first reaction would not be to complain about it. But for Harry and Meghan, different rules obviously apply.
Do they realise just how spoiled it sounds? Do they ever consider that the average person in the UK earns less than 1% of that gift? And do they appreciate just how ungrateful it looks to accept a handout of that scale, and then publicly denigrate the man who gave it, saying he’d cut them off?
No wonder Prince Charles has hit back. In fact, for the second time in just over a week, Harry’s family has contradicted his claims. First we had the matter of Lilibet, and whether Harry had or hadn’t asked the Queen’s permission to use the name. And now this business about cash gifts running to millions.
Given how rare it is for the Palace to weigh in on anything at all, particularly when it’s about family, this all looks terrible for Harry and Meghan. Once again, their attempts at PR have backfired, this time with an even louder bang.
How different it could all have been. Before all these Oprah and California shenanigans, I have two abiding memories of Harry. The first is of that forlorn, grieving 12-year-old walking behind his mother’s coffin. The second is of the adoration in his eyes as he saw Meghan, on Prince Charles’ arm, walking down the aisle towards him. A wedding and a funeral. Both times, I admit to dabbing my eyes, and I’m sure millions of Britons did the same.
We wanted the best for Harry. That’s why no fewer than 30 million of us watched that wedding, wishing him and Meghan a long, happy marriage. Many of us welcomed the new and diverse Royal image, so much so that, even when they left for America, they went with good wishes and sympathy.
But Harry’s attitude since he arrived in LA has eaten up that credit and warmth. He has belittled his own family at a time of grief, made questionable claims, and accused one member of his family of racism – a particularly low blow. And at a time of so much global suffering, he has portrayed himself and Meghan as uniquely victimised.
Harry could have remained silent and dignified. In doing so he would have gained our respect. Instead, he has appeared self-obsessed, disloyal and spoiled. He needs to get a grip.
Robert Taylor in today's Daily Telegraph.
It's all kicking off at the statue unveiling now...... Smeggy has supplanted Diana and William has set a shark loose as revenge 
