According to royal biographer Hugo Vickers, it is time for Prince Harry to propose to withdraw from the line of succession.
On Valentine’s Day, February 14, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan announced that they were expecting their second child. The news was followed by a thunderous announcement from Buckingham Palace confirming “that by withdrawing from the duties of the Royal Family, (Meghan and Harry) will no longer be able to carry out their responsibilities and the duties that come with a life of public service”.
A view suggested by the Royal Family’s specialist biographer in the Daily Mail on Sunday 21 February. “It is time for Prince Harry to accept the logic of the position he and Meghan have so deliberately created for themselves”. He adds: “By moving to the United States and earning his own money, Harry has chosen a life incompatible with that of an active member of the royal family”.
The writer does not mince his words about Prince Harry’s future in the royal family. “With this distance, Harry is no longer able to fully support his royal titles, although a lucrative agreement with Netflix suggests that he is nonetheless willing to take advantage of it.
And he certainly doesn’t do much for his nation compared to the many ‘Royals’ – and younger – who work hard in their jobs without complaint.” One reason, he says, why Harry must now deviate from the order of succession. “That is why I now believe that Harry must go one step further and do the only honourable thing in the present circumstances: to propose to deviate from the line of succession”.
Only sixth on the succession list
As the sixth on the succession list, Harry is unlikely to become King of England. “But there is still a chance, and it is not reasonable that Harry and the palace councillors should at least consider that possibility. (…) Harry and Meghan have turned their backs on the royal family. Their public statements showed a lack of respect for the Queen”. He concludes: “By forcing their own way, they have also strayed into the political arena. These are hardly the distinguishing characteristics for senior Royals”. It has the merit of being clear!
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