Updated at 12:06 p.m. ET on March 19, 2021.
Looks like Prince Harry married a girl just like the one who married dear old Dad. We recognized all of it: the desperate unhappiness, the adoration of the masses, the beautiful clothes worn beautifully—but especially the easy and immediate way of reaching out to commoners and blessing them with the life-changing gift of her attention. He found—and then gave to us, the grateful public—another Diana. And Meghan Markle more than repaid the palace for her admission to the golden circle. She captured the affection of the entire world, she pumped up interest in the royals, and she had much to offer, all of it gladly given. Like Diana, she had the power to help the Royal Family survive a major challenge to its relevance. But, once again, a talented and life-giving outsider was rejected by the host organism.
In the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan looked poised and thoughtful, and managed to make her series of shocking revelations seem reluctantly tendered, a hostile witness having the terrible truth pulled out of her, much more in sorrow than in anger. When Harry was allowed into the conversation, he sat beside his wife looking like he’d been shot from a cannon. Before he met Meghan, he was a prince of Europe—almost a crown prince—a young man whose life was part of a continuation from Excalibur to Afghanistan, where he fought with valor in the manner of Prince Hal finding within himself Henry V. Now, however, he is like Antonio: tempest-tossed and thrown up upon the wide beaches of the brave new world. Once, he led men into battle, as his forebears had done for generations. Now he is a Californian with a Spotify deal, charged with thinking up some podcasts, which could be a heavy lift. For Harry, the situation is evolving.