Behold, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Christmas card. It’s more likely that this is the official card for Archewell, meaning this is the card being sent out to the Sussexes’ professional acquaintances and not family friends. It’s a photo taken at this year’s Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, at the closing ceremony. Meghan wore that gorgeous Cult Gaia cutout dress and Harry wore all-black. The photos were great, and it’s not surprising that they would choose something from Invictus for their card. There are a lot of weird comments about “where are their children?” and again, this is their professional Archewell card. Plus, they are under zero obligation to trot out their children.

The card was released just hours after the verdict was announced in Harry’s lawsuit against the Mirror. Harry won a significant legal victory, one which has a lot of media figures sh-tting their pants. One of those media figures is Piers Morgan, who stormed out of his house, threw a shrieky press conference and accused Harry of trying to “bring down the monarchy.” A weird accusation, given that Harry sued the Mirror, not Buckingham Palace. It’s almost as if Piers is saying that the British media is part of the royal family (which it is). In any case, Harry’s friend Bryony Gordon wrote a sympathetic piece in the Telegraph about Harry and all of the sh-t he’s put up with over the course of his life. Here’s part of her piece:

Imagine what it would be like for this son, nephew or grandchild to realise that what little privacy he had was somehow being penetrated by the country’s media, leaving him suspicious and cynical of everyone around him, even his closest friends. Imagine him learning that strangers had been listening to his most personal correspondence. Imagine him experiencing all of this and then, when he has the guts to rise up and speak out about it, imagine seeing him vilified and mocked and treated like a pariah.

You can’t, can you? It’s like something out of a science fiction novel, or an episode of Black Mirror. Even contemplating it is enough to make your skin crawl, your hands clammy. It is just so unthinkable. I remember mentioning this to Prince Harry, one of the first times I met him, back in 2017. “I can’t imagine what you went through,” I said. “You can’t even begin to imagine,” he replied, perfectly calmly.

But now we have an idea. Most of us would be left at the very least with lasting trust issues; a fair few of us might have sustained some serious psychological damage. And yet critics of the Sussexes – usually from the very section of the media Prince Harry has just won damages from – often accuse the couple of wallowing in victimhood. It is like turning around to someone who has had their home repeatedly targeted by burglars and criticising them for being hysterical.

The truth behind Prince Harry’s actions is far less exciting than some people would want us to believe. It comes not from wanting to bring down the monarchy, but from wanting to help protect future generations from what he went through. The notion voiced by Piers Morgan this afternoon that Harry is sitting in Montecito plotting is as ridiculous as it is fanciful – the reality is he’s hanging out with his wife and two young kids, looking forward to spending Christmas with them.

One would hope that this ruling might actually deliver some peace this festive season, or at the very least elicit some sort of apology. That it has instead caused more petty mud-slinging tells you all you need to know about why the Duke of Sussex felt he had to go down this route in the first place.

[From The Telegraph]

She’s right but, at this point, I hope Harry simply doesn’t care if he “brings down the monarchy.” If the monarchy is going to willingly tie itself to the likes of Piers Morgan and the cartel of mercenary vendetta-journalists, then maybe the monarchy should be brought down. No, Harry isn’t plotting, but hopefully he feels nothing but ambivalence at this point. If the monarchy ends because of its immoral and unethical dealings with the press, so be it. To paraphrase Ivan Drago, if it dies, it dies.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Archewell.