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| Harry & Meghan back to UK - 6 years after Megxit, 8 years after Royal Nuptials (souvenirs BTS collected in London, wedding week!) |
Last week, it was announced that Harry and Meghan were returning to England - six years after a headline-grabbing move to North America and eight years since their equally publicized wedding in St. George's Chapel. Although we were not invited to the Royal Wedding, May of 2018, we were in London a week before, caught in the excitement of the upcoming nuptials of the English prince and an American actress and scooping up souvenirs of the occasion. Little did we know then that some of those commemoratives would boast a title to be taken away in just a few short years.
That's the way the cookie - or as the Brit's would say, "biscuit"- crumbles.
As the Duke and Duchess come full circle, we highlight chapters of their titled, and eventually untitled, story.
Wedding week, London, 2018, Meghan becomes an HRH (and we were nearby!)
Saturday, May 19th, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The wedding not only garnered hundreds of millions of viewers globally, it also bestowed the title of "Her Royal Highness" to Meghan to match up with her husband's "His Royal Highness", which he received at birth.
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| Chris at St. George's Chapel, 2023, where Harry & Meghan were married. |
My husband, Chris, and I were in London a week before the wedding, meeting up with great friends, Pam and Quint, a few days before heading to Southampton to embark on our transatlantic cruise home via the Queen Mary.
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| Met Harry's uncle, Lord Spencer, in 2014. |
Though I had met the groom's uncle, Lord Charles Spencer, four years earlier, I had not close enough connections to receive an invite to the wedding, but I wasn't to be idle on that day. I had a date back home to appear on Fox News and talk about the Royal nuptials (and a BTS afternoon tea at The Townsend). For that, I needed a new fascinator as well as some commemoratives to show off. I found all at Harrod's (as well as a few other London retailers).
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| More Wedding Day, BTS presents at Townsend |
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| Wedding Day! at Fox 2 News |
I quickly amassed a carry-on's worth of wedding treasures including two elegant cups, a box of shortbread cookies and, of course, a pretty tea tin filled with tea. To date, the marriage has held on, but some of the labeling on the tea and cookie packages have not.
Megxit
In January of 2020, Meghan and Harry announced that they
were going to "step back as 'senior' members" of the British royal
family, split their time between the United Kingdom and North America, become
financially independent, and only represent the monarchy on a reduced basis.
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| Tea and cookie tins carry the HRH titles, though Harry and Meghan no longer do. |
The announcement of their decision led to a meeting of the royal family on January 13, dubbed the "Sandringham Summit" and described as "unprecedented".
Queen Elizabeth II still in charge, issued a rare
personal statement and was praised by many for her rapid handling of
the matter
Less than a week after the summit, an agreement
was announced whereby the couple, while still valued members, would "no
longer be working members of Britain's royal family" and would not use
their "Royal Highness" styles.
Only the cookie and tea tins still hold the title!
Duke and Duchess of Sussex return to England, With-out Love, Without Titles
Harry and Meghan began their tales-for-sales after leaving the UK, with Harry's autobiography "Spare" (see BTS' Tuesday Tea and Tomes, May, 2023) and their eponymous Netflix six-episode documentary. But without the Royal dish, media interest waned.
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| Prince Harry's sort of tell-all, "Spare", 2023 |
Last year, after the seismic ratings dip of Meghan's lifestyle series, "With Love, Meghan", Netflix began loosening ties with the Duke and Duchess for future programming as well as pulling support for Meghan's "As Ever" merchandise which includes candles, honey and herbal teas. It's speculated that the reduction in Netflix revenue as well as the costs of living in tony Montecito, California combined with Harry's mounting legal fees, may have been factors in their decision to move back to England - despite all their previous public statements as to why the Duke and Duchess could not find it a welcoming or nurturing place for them to reside.
Happily As Ever After?
What's next for the Sussex family? News outlets have daily updates: home in Cotswolds, Meghan returns to acting, more time with King Charles. . .
Although the story, sans HRH titles, may have even more twists and turns than we currently know, we'll continue to keep up with this page-turning saga.
As we like to say at Barb's Tea Service, "please stay tuned" (and we'll refresh the tea and biscuits, too!).
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