This week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been on a quasi-royal dash around the Middle East – sorry, a two-day humanitarian visit to Jordan at the behest of the World Health Organisation. And their timing was, as always, deliciously perfect.
Meghan, looking like she’d just rolled out of bed in creased, clownishly oversized beige linen trousers, had a kickabout with a group of young girls at the Za’atari refugee camp, before Prince Harry, wearing his now signature scowl, joined her for shooting practice.
Their first international tour as a couple for 18 months came just two weeks after Prince William’s three-day tour of neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where, in his capacity as president of the Football Association, he took part in – wait for it – a football training session with young female players in Riyadh to promote women’s sports. Snap!
During their stay in Jordan, Harry and Meghan also visited the National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts in Amman, inviting comparisons with Kate’s work as patron of the Forward Trust, a UK charity that supports recovering addicts. This time, Meghan opted for high-street style over haute couture, wearing a £109 jacket from Zara – the very same store that Kate has long made the cornerstone of her professional wardrobe.
At the clinic, Harry left an inspiring handwritten note on a wall for patients: “It’s OK to not be OK.” The duke may have had in mind something that Prince William had said days earlier, at the Bafta Awards, when discussing the tear-jerking Outstanding British Film winner Hamnet. Opening up a little about his own mental condition, he admitted he was “not in a calm state”.
In the royal sibling rivalry stakes, even more significant is the destination for Harry and Meghan’s power trip: Jordan, which has a special, personal place in the hearts of William and Kate.
As a young child, Kate lived in Amman for almost three years, when her father worked for British Airways. In 2021, the couple took their children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – on a private family holiday to the cherished spot. A family photo taken at the ancient city of Petra was on their official Christmas card that year.
So, well done, Harry and Meghan – it seems you’ve done it again!
Not that the headline-stealing went as smoothly as the Sussexes might have liked: they were seemingly snubbed by the King and Crown Prince of Jordan, close friends of King Charles and Prince William, who were unable to agree to the couple’s request to meet them.
Ever since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family six years ago and moved to Montecito in California, they have shown an uncanny knack for drawing media attention away from William and Kate’s charitable activities. One might even call it jealousy.
In March 2024, when Kate revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer, news leaked on a Sussex family friend’s Instagram feed that Meghan would be launching a limited edition strawberry jam and luxury dog biscuits.
On the same day in September 2024 that Kate released an emotional video message announcing she had completed her chemotherapy treatment and was focusing on staying cancer-free, the Sussexes issued a teaser trailer for their Netflix docuseries about the elite world of international polo.
Then last October, when Harry and Meghan were named “Humanitarians of the Year” at the Project Healthy Minds Gala, they gave speeches in New York about the dangers of social media on children – hours after Kate published a deeply personal essay on the dangers of screentime for children and an “epidemic of disconnection”.
Could this all just be a coincidence? Of course. But how about we look at a few upcoming key events in the Waleses’ diary and, as a thought experiment, imagine how Team Sussex might go about upstaging them?
As a patron of the FA, Prince William will doubtless be in the United States for this summer’s World Cup. With eight fixtures being played in California, Prince Harry may also be keen to attend… but, rather than risk a public run-in with his brother, how about quietly fixing for the Sussex clan to holiday en famille for the first time in the old country? A flying visit to London to show Archie and Lillbet their ancestral home, with a cheeky selfie taken among the tourists outside Buckingham Palace, would blow people’s minds – and the Waleses off the front pages.
Around the same time, the Princess of Wales, as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, is expected to present the winners’ trophies at Wimbledon. Which would be a good time for Meghan to upstage her by drafting in her friend, the former tennis world No 1 Serena Williams, for a new touchy-feely podcast, discussing women’s sport or motherhood – or get Venus along, too, and talk about sibling rivalry!
In November, the Earthshot Prize, Prince William’s prestigious award for initiatives helping to solve pressing ecological challenges, will be unveiled in Mumbai. Perhaps in advance, the Sussexes – who, like Harry’s late mother, understand intuitively the power of a photograph – could nip to Agra and pose on the same Taj Mahal bench where Diana famously sat in isolation as her marriage to Charles disintegrated?
Those are just a few off-the-bat thoughts for Harry and Meghan. As the pair recently lost their 11th publicist in five years, they can have them on me, for free. Because I, for one, can’t wait to see what mischief they get up to this year. Let the games begin!
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk ’
