Endowed with plenty of money by his mother, the late Princess Diana, he's stood up to the stodgy racism of at least some members of his family and told them to shove it. He married the woman he loved and he really does love her genuinely.
When's the last time you saw some guy with a life of privilege and a bushelful of money coming every year just for getting out of bed, abandon that life and move to the other side of the world to not only start all over again but also to literally distance himself from that income source? And all very selflessly, for his wife?
He didn't have to do so. He didn't have to do anything besides whatever conventions being in the British royal family dictated. But he and his wife would have to endure insults and pain and putdowns. They'd have to be reminded, again and again, about their "place."
Harry would deal with that in a new and shocking but bold way: He would determine his own place, thank you very much. He did a genuinely American thing: He struck out on his own, family in tow. Coming back to Los Angeles, where his wife first gained her fame, he made sure his wife was fulfilled and might have another chance to work in film or television (she remains attractive).
It leads me to ask: Does the guy have a job? Will he seek one? I'm guessing yes. What are his skills?
Then again, How much do they matter? An employer could do worse. His personal integrity can't be questioned. He is a hallmark of stability and security. Just ask Meghan.
This wouldn't matter, indeed she wouldn't matter, if she weren't American, and has an accompanying fascination because of the TV star life she gave up, at least temporarily. That makes their kids half-American. Like Churchill.
Harry might have given up inherited prestige, but it was prestige that would be dolled out on someone else's schedule, and someone else's measurement. Regardless of his devotion, there's no way he and his family would ever come first.
Beyond that, the racism and condescension they have already endured would follow and eat away at them. You don't carry that around with you without cost. Why feel bad if you don't need to?
We all make compromises with life because nothing goes exactly as envisioned for anyone. The question is how much and to what degree. Harry obviously concluded: Uh-uh. Not going to put up with this.
The Crown blew a big opportunity. An heir or connection to the throne that has a darker skin tone might just make that monarchy easier to connect with--and easier to justify through the ages, as the country's clientele changes at roughly the same rate. Did anybody bother to consider that, or even to suggest it? Has that entered anyone's conversation in Buckingham Palace?
Apparently not. Harry's not saying the monarchy doesn't matter. He's just saying it doesn't matter that much. Not enough to swallow him and his family up. The Revolution's starting to look better by the minute. He's certainly fighting his own revolution.
I sense a deep well of independence within Harry. It's something that his mother developed, too. Her husband withdrew and stayed at arm's length from her, partly because he thought of himself as compelled to marry her and fit her into a slot that she never fully accepted.
In the end, Harry saw his family being fitted into another kind of slot, but a slot nonetheless. Money makes it easier, of course, but at some point, a person must take a stand and declare an identity.
It's an impressive and admirable stance he's taken: He'd be a prince without the title. I wish him and his family well. He's a man's man, filled with respect and love and boldness and pride and all that good stuff, as American as John Wayne. And strength, for sure. It takes that to stand up to your family and avoid the trappings of birth order and habit and history. He's not the only one who knows that.
This may all fall apart, of course. They may not get the success they seek. And they're probably not done with racism. But they have each other and their two kids now. It will do.
Be well. Be careful. Wear a mask. Seven days since Shot Two. With some luck, I'll see you down the road.
Mister Mark
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