Prince Harry's upcoming trip to New York without Meghan Markle is a ‘further attempt to prove he is…’
A royal expert has weighed in on Prince Harry's upcoming solo trip to New York without his wife Meghan Markle.
A royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry's upcoming solo trip to New York without his wife Meghan Markle is a "further attempt to prove he is relevant.” Harry is set to represent the Archewell Foundation at the UN General Assembly High-level Week and Climate Week. Prince William, the Duke’s estranged brother, is also expected to be in New York at the same time for the Earthshot Prize.
Former BBC Royal Correspondent Michael Cole said on GB News that Harry’s trip is an attempt to "prove he is still relevant" after stepping down from the royal family. "If you are a member of the Royal Family, you just are relevant. If you're a semi-detached member of the Royal Family living in California, you have to be on the move to show that you are of some worth to the world, hence the recent trips with his wife to Nigeria and Colombia,” Cole said.
"He's going to New York in the week of the General Assembly, the world's biggest talking shop, and Climate Week, carrying the banner of the Archewell Foundation,” he added.
Cole also discussed potential reasons why Meghan will not be joining Harry on the trip. He noted a previous incident in New York where the Sussexes became involved in a car chase.
"We don't know why she's not going, perhaps she has other things to do. Jam to make, people to talk to on her hilltop in Montecito,” Cole said.
"Are they concerned about another one of those two-hour relentless car chases through New York City, which happened in May last year? Although the taxi driver and indeed the mayor of New York both weighed in and poured cold water on that tale, of them being pursued by paparazzi and being scared out of their lives,” he added.
Cole went on to praise Harry for his work with charitable causes. He also questioned if the public "will be interested" in his latest trip without his wife.
‘They've come out of the box all the time to prove that they are relevant’
Host Bev Turner said that the prince going to New York alone is "triggering speculation" because his life is "sold on his relationship" with Meghan. "If you build a career solely on your personal life and your relationship and your marriage, which is what they've done via their Netflix documentary, via his book Spare,” Turner said.
"If your life is only about your relationships, when you then go without your wife, that's what triggers the speculation. Because there's no other sort of substance beneath what they do,” Turner added.
Agreeing with Turner, Cole said, “What have they got to sell? They've got celebrity, and that's a fast-depleting factor in all of this. And in America, they don't want what was yesterday, they want what's next.”
"They've come out of the box all the time to prove that they are relevant and that they are important. But they could have done an extremely good job within the Royal Family of doing that - they would have had the structure and the support to do wonderful work around the 54 countries of the Commonwealth,” he continued.
He added, "They started to do it, and they were doing it rather well, and she was being an asset. But then suddenly in 2020, they took fright, jumped on a plane to Canada and then onto California, which may have been her destination all along."