Doffing my cap

And now it’s time for me to doff my cap to the royal family. This might seem odd given that I have always been a republican and by and large I still am. But this Prince Harry keeps making me think, “Maybe there’s something useful about the monarchy, after all?” There are some very different reasons for this.

I have warmed to Harry in ways that I have never warmed to a royal. Yes, I know he lives a bizarre, cartoon storybook life but somehow he seems to be, well, normal. His work with the Invictus games, his work with mental health treatment (he seems to ‘get’ this more than almost anyone else I have ever come across) and now his trip to southern Africa.

I’ve actually followed the BBC news items of his trip and I have found myself laughing and, at times, almost crying about the things he has been doing. When he visited the very place in Angola where his mother was photographed all those years ago, campaigning for the banning of landmines, a campaign that has succeeded spectacularly, I was just wanted to shake his hand.

I suspect I have warmed to him even more since Britain’s tabloid newspaper have gone after him and his wife Meghan Markle with a vengeance. And we know, don’t we, exactly why they have gone after her. Let’s be honest. She is, in the eyes of some, the wrong colour.

They dislike Harry and Meghan for other reasons, too, not least his understanding of climate change and he will know he will get hammered, as we was a few weeks ago by far right European Member of Parliament Nigel Farage, for not just saying so, but also expressing concern at climate change deniers.

The BBC also said this: ‘The duchess told teenage girls in a deprived part of the country she was visiting South Africa not only as a member of the Royal Family, but also “as a woman of colour and as your sister”.’ I should imagine some people will be frothing at the mouth when they pick-up their Daily Mail and read that. Some will doubtless be whispering under their breath that she might as well stay there. Be in no doubt about the reasons for the press backlash against her. Newspapers only print what they believe their readers want to read.

In common with the vast majority of people in our land, Harry and Meghan are unlikely, I would think, to read this blog but that won’t stop me saying what I really think. And what I really think is that he is a first class human being who is making the very best of what is essentially a non job. He served his country with distinction and now he tries to make a difference in the lives of people in Civvy Street, as well as the weighty issues like climate change and landmines. Meghan is more than just a foil for Harry. She’s an equal partner.

I have written before that I fear the insidious and ugly campaign against Harry and Meghan might one day lead to them taking more of a back seat in public life, or even leaving it altogether. As far as I am concerned, if Harry and Meghan are making racists, bigots and climate change deniers angry, they are definitely getting something right. Perhaps the royal family is worth keeping after all. We wouldn’t want President Johnson instead, would we?