Opinion ‘Prince’ Harry in the real world: It’s no fairy tale

Spare a thought for the “spare”. Harry of the House of Windsor has had a tough life — for a “royal”. The spotlight has chased him practically from when he was born and a voracious public, obsessed with the powerful fiction that is the idea of royalty, has treated his family’s triumphs and tragedies as entertainment. Perhaps, by all but cutting ties with the family he was born into, Harry thought he could escape the oppressions and pettiness. That by striking out on his own, with a partner who is not from the world of “insiders” he inhabits, he can be more than a second son. Unfortunately, the world outside has its share of cruel dramas too.

Earlier this week, Harry resigned from a charity he founded. Sentebale was founded by the self-exiled prince and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 to help families affected by AIDS. He has reportedly been closely involved with it ever since, even after he left England for the New World and tried to make it as a content creator for Netflix. Both Harry and Seeiso stepped down as patrons due to differences due to “untenable” differences with the charity’s chairperson, Sophie Chandauka. Chandauka has accused Harry (in barely veiled comments) of turning a blind eye to misgovernance and acting with apathy.

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There is little doubt that the reality show/soap opera that is British royalty can be oppressive. And Harry, having married an “outsider” would have had an even harder time of it. But squabbles and biases infect many a workplace and family. Harry, like most “royals”, has never faced the pressures of work and the real world. Like the life he left behind, the one on the outside isn’t a fairy tale either.