Tina Brown, the founding editor of The Daily Beast, has accused Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of allowing their “appetite for money” to lead them into making “disastrous decisions.”
In a new interview with U.K. paper The Daily Telegraph, Brown, a friend of Princess Diana and an esteemed chronicler of the royal story, also said that Meghan “looks ridiculous” in the wake of her much-derided TV show With Love, Meghan.
She added that the irony is that Harry “really misses being a prince” but now looks like a “disaster tourist” when he arrives at the scene of events such as the recent California wildfires.
Brown, who now writes a successful Substack called Fresh Hell, said that she believes he will never return to the royal family.
She said that the late Queen Elizabeth II “managed her own death with aplomb,” adding, “She planned her entire exit so there would be minimum bad drama. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she didn’t think: ‘I’ll see in Liz Truss, I’ll kiss off Boris Johnson and I’ll stop taking my meds.’ Because it was just so perfect. Everything about that managed death reassured the public: the procession of that coffin, the way it was flown back, the sight of Princess Anne with it.
“Charles impeccably took over. God knows the man had been in training for 50 years. It was a beautiful transition. Everybody wanted to say the House of Windsor was going to blow up, but compared to a great many things, the House of Windsor is on a pretty steady footing.”
Brown was giving the interview to promote her London journalism conference, Truth Tellers, which she established in memory of her late husband Sir Harry Evans. The event takes place on Wednesday, May 7 and speakers will include CNN boss Mark Thompson.
Asked about the royals, Brown, whose best-selling royal books include The Palace Papers and The Diana Chronicles said: “There is still a Harry-shaped hole in the royal family, but I don’t think that hole’s going to close. It’s a pity, because that’s all they lack, that bit of sizzle coming out. The side-sizzle Margaret provided for the Queen is actually very good for a royal family, because it [would take] the pressure off William and Catherine to have to be perfect, which is very boring for them. What’s unfortunate is that Harry is the most talented in the family at human relations, like his mother.”
She added: “He really knows how to play the role of the prince. I think he really likes it. That’s what’s so ironic. For a bit he thought he didn’t because the palace is boring and oppressive and so on. Now he’s had a few years doing it without them, I think he really misses being a prince because he was good at it. He and Meghan talk about ‘doing good’ but what good are they doing? The good you can do as a royal is so much more potent. When Diana shook the hands of the AIDS patient without gloves, when royals always wore gloves before, how much more potent was it that she was a princess than if she’d simply been a celebrity?”
Speaking about Harry and Meghan’s attempts to rally humanitarian support after the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles in January, Brown echoed the views of actress Justine Bateman, saying: “You become a disaster tourist.”
“Unfortunately, his appetite—their appetite—for money made him make disastrous decisions. The disastrous decision of the book was very hard to return from. I think the Oprah [Winfrey] interview was the most gratuitously stupid move. There wasn’t any money in it. The relationship between the brothers sounds like it’s very hard to repair. I think Harry would make it up, but I don’t think William can.”
Asked about Meghan’s new show, Brown said: “Every week she announces a new project. Stop announcing projects! She’s almost compulsive about announcing things and they don’t really happen. They fade and she looks ridiculous. I feel sorry for her, because she’s so lost. I think Harry’s a talent that’s worth more than that. I hope he gets a life back.”
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