Mail: Duchess Meghan not allowed to whip up jam during Sussexes’ UK visit!

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s team sent a detailed briefing on their July trip to the UK mid-afternoon on Friday. “Friday afternoon” is an odd moment to confirm the biggest royal story of the summer, which is that Prince Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lili will be visiting Britain in just a few weeks. My theory? The Sussexes had a heads-up that the Mail’s Alison Boshoff was about to publish an unreserved exclusive about the UK visit, and they were like “enough of this nonsense, let’s tread her whole story.” Just a few hours later, the Mail published this Boshoff exclusive, full of quotes from “sources close to Harry.” However, these sources are clearly Windsor or Windsor-adjacent. So here are some highlights from the story that the Sussexes wanted to overshadow:

Why would the sussex even WANT to visit Britain?!? For all the chatter, what no one seemed to be able to figure out last week was what Harry and Meghan would be doing here beyond launching the lead-up to next year’s Invictus Games: where they might stay, who they might see and whether they would bring a photographer or camera crew. In short, what are the Sussexes’ wider strategic goals? What do they want to achieve? Those questions can now largely be answered. And they reveal the seeds of a post-Megxit future which, if realized, could be of historic personal and institutional importance to the royal family. Because, as a source close to Harry revealed to me, this visit is nothing less than step one in Operation Reconciliation, a carefully thought-out plan to heal the wounds between Harry and his family.

What Harry wants: The prince is apparently determined to ensure that he and his wife get through their visit here gently. He is frankly desperate not to fan the embers of the bonfire of bad feelings that has been raging between him and the royals. He’s even hoping, I’m told, to get Meghan and Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to meet brother William plus Kate and their children. First and foremost, however, Harry is aiming for a complete reset of his relationship with his father – with friends saying it is likely a stay is planned for the Sussexes at Sandringham. The visit will be strictly private. No cameras, no subsequent Instagram posts, no revelations in interviews afterwards.

What sources close to Harry tell Alison Boshoff: A source close to Harry told me: ‘Charles has let him know that he is really looking forward to seeing his grandchildren. Harry is looking forward to the visit and to building bridges. That’s what everyone wants. It was decided months ago that he would come with the children and also with Meghan.’ A friend of Harry said: ‘Talks started in January. Harry said he wanted to come over with Meghan and the children to Invictus and suggested the palace could support them. The point of view was that he should ensure that the entire family part of the visit remained private. He agreed in a heartbeat. The way he has conducted himself since then has led to confidence in this new version of Harry. He has changed a lot (since Megxit). He has grown up’.

The 2020 rejection of the Sussexes’ half-in proposal: A source close to Harry said: ‘He and Meghan were hurt by how the family reacted. They felt that the reaction when they came to them with a proposal for a new way of working was, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

The new plan!! Now, according to friends of Harry’s, a new idea has taken hold which would see him and Meghan free to whip up jams and give speeches for cash when in America, but treated like beloved members of the royal family when in Britain. The price for that is an assurance that there will be no commercial activity over here. At least that’s the new ‘deal’ as Harry sees it, and he’s eager to stick to the terms when he arrives on July 6th. A source close to the prince said: ‘Harry is determined to play this one with a straight bat, by which I mean there will be no commercial activity around this visit – that goes for him and Meghan.’ The source adds that Harry believes the royal family’s attitude to commercial activity has ‘changed significantly – not across the board, but there is a recognition in senior court circles that UK and US activities are different. There is some acceptance that in the UK he can function as a semi-working royal as long as there is nothing commercial going on here. In the US he is a gun for hire and can take the money. In Britain he will not.’

The disagreement between the United States and Great Britain: Apparently, Harry does not think it completely undoes the terms of Megxit, but he is optimistic that it could allow him and his family to move beyond the outcome of the Sandringham summit, which has only sown toxicity. His supporters argue that there is precedent for the difference between Britain and the US and that the royals have always been allowed to earn money in the US. This more nuanced position seems to have been made possible via gentle diplomacy by some of the king’s advisers. Harry’s supporters point out that former diplomat Theo Rycroft, deputy to the king’s private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, is more amenable to making peace than Alderton and other advisers. Harry’s friend reveals: ‘There is a much closer bond between their teams. This is a well-planned visit which is a result of the improved working relationship.’

NO NETFLIX!! Lilibet, who was born in California, is believed to have only met the king once, on the Sussexes’ trip to Britain around the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. On that occasion, Harry and Meghan released a photo of their daughter enjoying her first birthday at Frogmore Cottage. It caused outrage. The source said: “It was so far from where the royal family wanted to be, to see family moments seemingly commercialized and thought they might appear on Netflix.”…Some news that will have some of Charles’ court buzzing is that there will be cameras in tow as Invictus activities are filmed by a film crew.

Splitting Meg: As for Meghan, she remains a deeply divisive figure in both the family and the country. The source said: ‘There is some nervousness from Meghan about how she might be received. They understand that the British people feel as though she has turned Harry away from them and there was a natural disappointment with how things have played out, but there is hope to break the ice here.’

The Scooter King Situation: However, Harry’s friend says there is a WhatsApp group through which Prince Harry shares family news and photos with the wider royal family. This friend also makes the extraordinary claim that Harry has hopes of meeting William and his family. “The feeling among his friends is that Harry is likely to stay at Sandringham and there will be a series of informal meetings with the wider family, and yes, that will include William. They don’t hate each other as has been reported. Are they tired of each other’s views on this situation? Yes. Are they wary of how the other will react? Again, yes. But there is a lot of hope that there might be a civic meeting in a few weeks. It’s been many years and everyone is older.’ He adds: ‘Their wives may have to grit their teeth.’

(From The Daily Mail)

The absolute funniest part is that the palace apparently threw multiple tantrums at the very idea of ​​Meghan “whipping jam” or updating her OneOff account on British soil. Heaven forbid, must the shades of Buckingham Palace be thus polluted by JAM?? While we make fun of Prince William’s tantrums and the Kensington Palace clown show freaking out over the Sussexes, the truth is that King Charles and his courtiers have been in full panic over Meghan’s Instagram since last year. Speaking of which, BP is where Boshoff’s sources came from. All of these “sources close to Harry” are Charles’ people. I see – the review of BP’s talking points is this forced perspective on “but what does Harry really hope to achieve by doing A, B and C??” The palace puts these talking points in their WhatsApp route whenever Harry and Meghan go anywhere or do something big. This is BP publicly announcing their terms surrounding the Sussexes’ visit. I sincerely hope Meghan updates her OneOff throughout the trip.

Images courtesy of Backgrid, As Ever’s Instagram.