Prince Harry is going it alone, at least for the moment. The Duke of Sussex is currently on a whistle-stop tour of the world, after traveling from New York to London to Southern Africa in less than a month — three different continents in three weeks, in fact. What’s really notable about Harry’s adventures, however, is that wife Meghan Markle hasn’t been by his side.
Traditionally, the Sussexes have been inseparable, making virtually all public engagements and international visits as a single unit. That’s why much has been made of the duke and duchess establishing their own mini Royal family — dubbed “Brand Sussex.” But with Meghan enjoying her own star-studded social life in Los Angeles and Harry going around the globe, it seems a shift is taking place. Could Harry be trying to reinvent himself? Or maybe un-reinvent himself?
Prince Harry detaching himself from Meghan dubbed a “deliberate” ploy to show us “who he really is”
According to Royal commentator Charlotte Griffiths, this is all a “deliberate” ploy from the duke to remind us all who he used to be, before his public image got mired in all the Royal family fallout drama — often dubbed “Megxit” by the British press.
Talking to GB News, Griffiths opined that King Charles’ youngest is currently “going through a stage where he is ‘revisiting the old Harry.’” She noted that it was “amazing” that Meghan did not travel with him to Lesotho in Southern African earlier this month as it would’ve been a classic example of one of the couple’s Not Royal Tours. The fact that the duchess was a no-show, Griffiths alleges, must surely be taken as a sign that this was a calculated move on Harry’s part.
‘“He hasn’t actually been to Lesotho for years. And there he is, back again,” Griffiths stated. “It would have been the classic thing for Meghan to be meeting with the children. It’s amazing she wasn’t there. But I think it’s very deliberate. I think Harry is trying to remind us all that he started this incredible children’s charity in Africa for children who were born with AIDS.”
This isn’t necessarily Harry throwing his wife under the bus, though, as Griffiths notes that his series of solo trips could well be something they discussed and decided upon together. However, it’s clear that Harry — who may well be thinking about the future of his public image and legacy right now, seeing as he just turned 40 in September — wants to make a big statement to the world about himself. Namely, that he’s still the same do-gooder he was before everything went pear-shaped in his family life.
“He wants to remind us that was who he was before Megxit, before the drama,” Griffiths added. “I think leaving Meghan out of it is possibly something they have decided together, because they don’t want the kind of hysteria that happens when they’re together. Harry really wants to remind people, ‘this was me before, I was a good guy and I was really good with children.’”
Upon hitting middle age, it’s all too common for someone to want to turn the clock back and become their younger self again. In Harry’s case, it seems that equates to redefining his international image somewhat and getting back to his charity work. As mid-life crises go, it’s a lot more productive than dying your hair and getting a sports car.