Kids

Whenever Prince Harry makes any reference to bringing his children to the UK, it’s usually in a particular context about security and royal protection. It’s almost always a reference to wanting to show his children his place of birth as well, not on a permanent basis, but as a “visiting daddy’s homeland” sort of way. Harry’s original dream was to raise his kids alongside his niece and nephews, not to mention his cousins’ children as well. But then those people went after his wife and privately had “concerns” about his babies’ skin color, so Harry’s plans changed. Basically, Harry still wants Archie and Lili to be able to freely visit the UK with a high degree of security, but I think Harry knows that there is no “going back” for any of them, especially his kids. The entire royal institution wants to get their hands on Archie and Lili and control them and use them as next-gen scapegoats for the Wales family. Harry knows that as well. So no, I do not buy Richard Eden’s latest column in the Daily Mail:

Just last December, the Duke of Sussex was waxing lyrical about life in the USA.

‘I enjoy living and bringing my kids up here, it’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live and it feels as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me,’ California-based Harry declared of the late Princess Diana on stage at a conference in New York City.

Now, however, I can disclose that he wants to give his son, Prince Archie, and daughter, Princess Lilibet, a taste of his own childhood back home.

‘I can tell you that Harry wants to educate the children here in the UK,’ one of his pals tells me. The old friend discussed the subject with King Charles’s younger son during his visit to Britain this week – and the reasons for his plans are fascinating.

‘Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their niece and nephews are enjoying,’ explains the chum, referring to the Prince and Princess of Wales’s offspring, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven, who currently all attend the same public school, £32,000-per-year Lambrook in Berkshire.

‘Harry wants his children to have the very best education. He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton. He wants that for his own children.’

Harry may, however, have a challenge selling his plan to his wife, Meghan, who is said to consider sending children to boarding school ‘barbaric’. The friend concedes: ‘There is still some negotiation for Harry to have with Meghan. The King, however, is delighted.’

That comment suggests that the duke has mentioned his British education plan to his father. Archie is only six years old and Lilibet, who was controversially given Queen Elizabeth’s family pet name, is four, so they are unlikely to be sent to boarding school across the Atlantic any time soon. Their cousin Prince George, for example, won’t start boarding school (probably Eton) until next year. Harry’s comments do, however, provide an insight into his desire to retain links to his homeland and give his children, who have American accents, something of a British upbringing.

[From The Daily Mail]

I won’t pretend that American education isn’t a steeply tiered system in which millions of kids fall through the cracks. But let’s acknowledge the facts in this particular case: Harry and Meghan are going to send their kids to elite private schools throughout their education, and I’m sure the best schools in California will be chosen. No, I don’t believe that Harry longs to send his kids to British boarding schools or have them educated in the UK. Personally, I don’t think Harry has super-strong feelings about education in general and he’s fine with Meghan making those calls for their kids. And he probably wants Archie and Lili at home for as long as possible too, just like Meghan. It’s funny that Meghan and the Princess of Wales probably agree on their hatred for boarding schools.

Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram.