Meghan and Harry will 'fade into obscurity' after quitting royal family, says Germaine Greer

Feminist author says couple 'miscalculated' importance of their roles

Chelsea Ritschel
Tuesday 11 February 2020 16:34 GMT
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Germaine Greer says Meghan and Harry will likely 'fade into obscurity'

Germaine Greer says she believes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will “fade into obscurity” now that they have given up their royal titles.

Appearing on 60 Minutes Australia, the Australian feminist author said that the Sussexes, who announced in January that they would be stepping back from their roles as “senior members” of the royal family, may have “miscalculated” how important their roles were.

“I think they may have miscalculated and I think they may slide into complete obscurity,” Greer said. “If you actually look at the vast panoply of royal relatives, many of them are completely obscure.”

According to Greer, who predicted in an earlier 60 Minutes interview that Meghan would “bolt” and possibly bring Harry with her, one of the issues that led to their departure may have been that the former actress thought she was “among friends” when she joined the royal family.

“Wrong. She was not,” Greer said.

The 81-year-old also discussed the couple’s royal wedding, which she called “terrible” because “it was full of showbiz personalities”.

“The whole point about showbiz - it’s not real, and it won’t sustain you,” the outspoken writer said.

Greer also hypothesised that it was because Meghan was an “outsider” that Harry fell for her.

“He was looking for a way out,” she suggested.

As for what Greer thinks will happen now that the couple and their nine-month-old son Archie have relocated to Canada, she said that it is unlikely they will come back to England because she doesn’t think they would be “welcome”.

“I mean they’ve really burnt their bridges and they’ve put up the shutters around Frogmore Cottage,” she said, adding: “How could they come back and say: ‘We made a big mistake and Canada’s horrible’”.

“I think they’re more likely to fade into the kind of obscurity that affects the junior members of the royal family already,” she concluded.

Greer’s comments come after Prince Harry revealed in January during a speech at a private dinner for the Sentebale charity that he felt he and Meghan had “no other option” than to stand down from their royal duties.

He said: “The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change. I have grown up feeling support from so many of you, and I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms as you saw me find the love and happiness that I had hoped for all my life. Finally, the second son of Diana got hitched.

“Once Meghan and I were married, we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve. For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this.

“The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges and I know I haven’t always got it right, but as far as this goes there really was no other option.”

Since leaving England, the couple has made just one joint public appearance, at the JPMorgan-sponsored Alternative Investment Summit in Miami, Florida, last week.

While at the summit, Prince Harry reportedly revealed in a speech to attendees that he does not regret their decision because he wants to “protect his family” and he does not want Meghan and Archie to “go through what he did as a child”.

Harry also took the opportunity to discuss mental health, and how he’s been in therapy for the last few years to “try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother”.

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