The royal family has been through a lot over the past few years, and a series of scandals and feuds haven’t exactly helped. However, speaking exclusively to Nicki Swift, Brittany Provance, editor-in-chief of Royal News Network, shared that the Sussexes in particular have catapulted the drama to a whole new level.
Okay, so a brief aside, drama isn’t new to the royal family. Once upon a time, it wasn’t uncommon for siblings to have one another jailed or worse. That said, in a modern context when coups aren’t really all that common and the odds of being sent to the Tower of London for anything other than a royal engagement are slim, the last decade and a half has been pretty intense — and not just for the British royal family. As Provance told us, “It’s been within the last ten to fifteen years that we’ve seen several monarchies come to the brink over the poor and often self-serving decisions of certain members of the family. The spares usually being the source of most of the strife.” Oop.
As for Prince Harry and Meghan Sussex’s impact on the firm, Provance began by pointing out that the couple had been given their titles with the expectation of community upliftment and serving the United Kingdom, so she found their decision to use that for commercial gain disappointing. “Their constant use of royal titles to generate interest for their various projects does undermine the foundations of the monarchy in several ways,” she told us. Provance also criticized the couple’s connection to the media, lamenting, “They have also been more than willing to share family secrets for money.” As for times the couple has seemingly used their platform to uplift communities beyond the U.K. and their new home in California, Provance was unmoved, referring to them as “Strange cosplay royal tours.”
Our expert believes drastic measures are in order
Given the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new deal with Netflix, it’s likely we’ll be learning even more details about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry — one of Brittany Provance’s biggest frustrations with the couple. However, the Royal News Network editor-in-chief explained that there was still one way for the royal family to distance itself from all the commercial endeavors. That’d be removing their profiles from the firm’s website.
Of course, the Sussexes weren’t the only ones Provance believed deserved the chop. Au contraire, she emphasized that removing Prince Andrew — the disgraced royal who has certainly brought the family into disrepute more than any flower sprinkle-filled episodes of “With Love, Meghan” ever could — was also imperative. Provance added that taking things even further and entirely removing both Andrew (again, by far the most necessary) and the Sussexes from the line of succession would be a way for the family to distance themselves. Granted, Provance noted that it was unlikely that it would happen under King Charles’ reign, “Though William seems rather keen.”
Ultimately, Provance believes the royal family will only fully distance themselves from the drama with clearly laid-out expectations and consequences for royals, “Just like in any job,” adding, “There should be clear rules in place regarding a royal’s behavior towards staff and guidelines about being a working royal and what would happen if someone steps down or becomes mired in scandal.” As an aside, even with all the drama brought on by the Sussexes, here’s hoping that if there ever are major consequences, Epstein-connected Andrew faces them first. Leveraging titles may undermine the crown’s purpose, but allowing a figure accused of human trafficking to stick around longer than the Sussexes is one PR disaster the firm just can’t risk.
