Do you remember King Charles’s coronation in 2023? Do you remember how it was scheduled on Prince Archie’s fourth birthday? Do you remember how much of the energy before, during and after the coronation was devoted to Prince Harry and Meghan Sussex? For months, the coronation storyline was “will the Sussexes be invited” and “will they come?” When Meghan skipped it, they were enraged and they wouldn’t shut up about why she didn’t come back to allow them to scream at her and abuse her. Even the coronation itself felt like it was all about Harry, what he was wearing, who he spoke to, how long he stayed (he left England immediately following the Chubbly), and most importantly, how Harry was “snubbed.” That was a major storyline: sure, the king’s son came to the coronation, but we’re still going to punish him for his crimes of living in California! One of those snubs was… Princess Anne wearing a plumed hat, with a feather blocking some of Harry’s view. Seriously. I bring all of this up because Tom Sykes claimed that “Princess Anne Delivers Epic Snub to Harry in Ukraine.” You see, Harry visited Ukraine last month, and Anne visited the country this week. Here’s Sykes’ take.
Remember the coronation feather? That giant plume on Princess Anne’s hat, which just happened to block Prince Harry’s face from the cameras as he sat in Westminster Abbey for his father’s big day? At the time, there was chatter that Anne herself had wondered whether she should remove it, but she didn’t, and the message, intentional or not, was unmistakable: the showrunners of this soap opera know how to deploy their bit part actors with ruthless efficiency.
Well, they’ve done it again. For, today, it emerged that Anne was parachuted into Harry’s patch — Ukraine — and not just Ukraine, but the very territory you’d think was reserved for Harry alone: the rehab centers, the veteran recovery programs, the Invictus turf.
Other than the, uh, entire itinerary, the contrast couldn’t be sharper. When Harry went to Kyiv last month, his trip was shrouded in secrecy. His meetings weren’t photographed. A rumored encounter with Zelensky has never been confirmed. Harry brought along a friendly Guardian journalist and photographer, and fell, inevitably, into the trap of talking about himself. The predictable result was that the memoir, his father, and his grievances made headlines, rather than what the trip was supposed to highlight: the recovery of wounded veterans in Ukraine. Noble work, yes, but muddied in execution.
Anne? No fuss, no Guardian interview, no Netflix crew, no need to explain or complain. Just the pictures: shaking hands with Zelensky, sitting with amputees in physiotherapy, watching disabled veterans in the gym, poking her nose into the “salt rooms” used for mental and spiritual rehabilitation (yeah, we can do touchy-feely too, pal). Straightforward duty, photographed, packaged, and broadcast by both the palace and the Ukrainians.
Crucially, Anne was there officially, at the request of the British government. Harry had “permission” to go, sure, but Whitehall was visibly uneasy about him freelancing on geopolitics. They couldn’t stop him, but they could make sure he was upstaged. Enter Anne: the hardest-working royal, the archetype of service without ego, beaming out images that Zelensky and Harry weren’t ever going to be allowed to deliver.
Harry’s camp said that Anne’s trip was “great” and that “anything that shines a light on Ukraine is to be welcomed.” Harry is passionate about the cause; he has shown that. But I still can’t help wondering whether, for Meghan and Harry, seeing his aunt beam out the very images he was denied, it all felt very like the coronation feather all over again.
It IS the coronation feather all over again, but not in the way Sykes means. It’s another version of the feather because the Windsors are obsessed with Harry, and they have constantly shown that 90% of what they do and the decisions they make are all for an audience of one: Harry. Anne’s trip didn’t overshadow Harry’s trip last month – Anne’s trip exposed (yet again) that the Windsors are desperate to ride Harry’s coattails and colonize his life and achievements. It’s actually not a flex to admit that the whole-ass British government threw a tantrum and begged President Zelenskyy not to publish his photo with Harry. It’s an admission of how far the British monarchy and government will go to thwart, harm and marginalize Harry through official channels. Also: Harry’s trip was photographed. He was photographed meeting with veterans, he was photographed receiving personal gifts, he was photographed visiting the Alley of Heroes. Ukrainians spoke openly about how they feel like Harry has a Ukrainian spirit, a Ukrainian soul. They admire him and they want to see more of him. Harry’s trip got much more global attention than Anne’s. I would be willing to bet that Harry’s trip got more attention within Ukraine as well.
Screenshot courtesy of the Times.
