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Two weekends ago, Robert Hardman’s new royal book began to be excerpted in the Mail and Telegraph. The biggest headline was “Queen Elizabeth was furious that Prince Harry and Meghan named their daughter Lilibet.” Royal reporters spent all of last week screaming about Meghan and Harry’s appalling rudeness for using QEII’s family nickname for their daughter. Columnist after columnist swore up and down that QEII was incandescent with rage over a baby’s name, and the Mirror reported exclusively that palace aides were “celebrating” because the truth finally came out about how much QEII despised her great-granddaughter’s name. Then, weirdly, Hardman began steadily walking back the story. Hardman claimed that QEII was merely upset that Harry’s lawyers threatened the BBC, when the BBC lied and reported that QEII had not been consulted or asked about the name ahead of time. Hardman said no, of course QEII was not mad about a baby’s name. Well, Operation Walk It Back is still upon us, with Hardman giving a new interview to Newsweek. Some highlights:
Whether Charles should repair relations with the Sussexes: “Yes, in some way I do [think that he should]. I don’t know how and when. Certainly, on this side of the Atlantic, the door is always open, and there’s so much other stuff going on. For Harry, it’s a different order of magnitude, because, does he want to reengage with his family? Charles would love to have him back in the fold, not being royal again—I think that ship has sailed, and I’m sure Harry would not want to do that.”
The Sussexes’ half-in solution: “Someone said to me today, ‘could this be the moment with the royal work shortage, for Harry to step in?’ But it doesn’t work like that. What would probably help move towards that situation is if he gradually started having a sort of normalizing… suddenly it’s not such a big deal if Harry and Meghan are coming over to the U.K. privately with their children and having a playdate with their cousins. A lot of families go through these things, and they don’t have to have it all scrutinised endlessly by the likes of you and me. I don’t pretend to be close to the Sussexes at all but, from what I glean, it’s a ‘never say never’ situation.”
On QEII’s anger about the name Lilibet: “I’ve seen a lot of reports that the queen was furious about the name. It wasn’t the naming that was the issue; it was the way that the naming was presented. The sort of war of words. It was the fact it was presented that she was in favor of this and then the BBC reported that actually she wasn’t asked. And then the Sussexes said, ‘That’s not true; here’s a lawyers’ letter,’ and the palace were asked to endorse this and very pointedly did not. That was what was the source of great fury.”
The controversy that Hardman created is unfair on a toddler: “I get that. She’s a completely blameless, adorable child. Queen Elizabeth loved Harry and loved Lilibet, and I’m quite sure didn’t envisage this ding-dong [quarrel] going on after her death. Once the lawyers’ letters start flying around, this has been a story in the public domain for some time.”
First of all, when are the royalists going to learn that “Charles would love to have him back in the fold” is the very reason why Harry will never return? Harry and Meghan have been married for almost six years, they have two children and they have a strong marriage. The king or the institution constantly sending the message that they only want Harry back, or that they want the marriage to end, that’s not doing them any favors. It’s giving “leave your Black wife in America and come running back to us, your abusers.”
As for the Lilibet stuff… Hardman explicitly had the Lilibet stuff locked and loaded for the first round of book excerpts and it all went as planned, with royalists dutifully rolling out their stories about how the Sussexes are despicable people for honoring Harry’s grandmother by naming their daughter Lilibet. Then something shifted with the coverage – mid-rollout, Hardman and others were like “wait, this makes QEII sound awful and it’s also not believable in the least.” Weird that Hardman’s walkback hasn’t gotten anywhere near the kind of wall-to-wall coverage as the first version of the story.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and . Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
-PICTURED: Prince William, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry
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Featuring: Prince William, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry
Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 25 Apr 2018
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USA Rights Only – London, UK -20180710-Royal Family Attends Events to Celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Air Force
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Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 10 Jul 2018
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USA Rights Only – Suva, Fiji -20181023- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for the state dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva, on day one of the royal couple’s visit to Fiji.

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Where: Suva, Fiji, Fiji
When: 23 Oct 2018
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USA Rights Only – London, UK -20190311- Royals leaving the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, taking place as part of the 2019 Commonwealth Day.

-PICTURED: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
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Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 11 Mar 2019
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USA Rights Only – London, UK -20190517- Wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

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Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 18 May 2019
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Service of Thanksgiving for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
Featuring: Prince Harry
Where: London, England, United Kingdom
When: 03 Jun 2022
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06 September 2022, North Rhine-Westphalia, Duesseldorf: Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive in front of City Hall. The prince and his wife are coming to Düsseldorf to promote the “Invictus Games” 2023, which Prince Harry helped to launch. These are Paralympic competitions for soldiers who have been injured in war. Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Where: Duesseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
When: 06 Sep 2022
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Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday
Featuring: Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex
Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom
When: 14 Sep 2022
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Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday
Featuring: Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex
Where: London, Britain, United Kingdom
When: 14 Sep 2022
Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
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