September 28, 2024
Prince Harry is shining bright sans wife Meghan Markle as he makes a series of blockbuster appearance in America.
The Duke of Sussex, who has recently charmed his admirers after appearing on the Jimmy Fallon Show, is all in his glory sans Meghan.
She told the Mirror: "It has been a whirlwind week for Prince Harry in New York, championing all the causes he cares about most: young people, Diana's legacy, the climate and the corrosive effects of the social media. 'We've split the atom. We've walked on the moon. We are more than equipped to tackle this' intoned the Duke as he strode like a colossus across the stage at the Clinton Global Initiative.
"Statesman Harry was all sharp suits, polished performances, and packed halls until he hit Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show with expletives and manly joshing as the pair pranked their way around a Haunted Maze to kick-start America's Halloween obsession. 'Is that Michael Buble?' quipped Harry of a itinerant ghost. Half kid, half adult, Harry appeared to have it all - charisma, wit, goofball charm and yet the star power the Duke of Sussex exuded in Colombia was missing. Meghan was nowhere to be seen.
"Compounding this solo optic was Meghan's no-show at Kevin Costner's ranch last weekend when Harry gave away a prize at a First Responders fundraiser. By all accounts, the Duchess was ill. As for New York, she was never on the billing; this was Harry championing his own pet projects and charities.
"Surely we are passed the era when a comely wife is handmaiden to her husband's grandstanding? Apparently not when it comes to the Duke and Duchess.
"Part of the problem lies with their Sussex brand. It was very much together, under the gaze of the world's media, that the couple walked away from the Royal Family. For better or for worse, Harry and Meghan became synonymous with rebellion, identity politics and woke culture. The Sussexes versus the Establishment was a global phenomenon.
"Alone Harry had been a second-rung royal or, in his words, the Spare. Meghan a bit-part Hollywood actress in a series called Suits. Together they were mega. Megabucks and mega stars. Nothing could stop them, not even a 'manly pep talk' from that other renegade, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. But out on his own again, the Duke's brand looks, well, a little thin, no matter how good Harry is at his American royal-adjacent role (very, as it turns out)."