RUTHFULLY YOURS

On Tuesday, news broke that the Queen had banned Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from marketing the “Sussex Royal” brand. Friday morning, another story broke, saying that Meghan was whining about this because she and Harry had already invested money in selling themselves. Also on Friday, the Queen won and Meghan backed down.

Queen Elizabeth comes from a generation that holds that you can’t eat your cake and have it. In other words, when you make choices, you have to take both the benefit and the burden of that choice.

Meghan Markle, on the other hand, is a child of the Veruca Salt generation. For those who are not fans of the classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, Veruca is the spoiled brat who sings “I Want It Now.” Although Veruca gets her comeuppance, too many people have bought into the Veruca Salt theory that the world is hers for the taking:

Give it to me now.

I want the world,

I want the whole world.

I want to lock it all up in my pocket

It’s my bar of chocolate

Give it to me now!

I want today

I want tomorrow

Meghan probably imagined that being married to a prince would be a never-ending fairy tale of fame and fortune, of fabulous parties, gorgeous clothes, jewels, fancy homes, and celebrity friends. While it’s true that British royalty brings with it clothes, jewels, and homes, it’s mostly a terribly boring slog. The royals traipse from one event to another, listening to endless speeches and lining up to meet hundreds of people.

Meghan might have gone the Kate Middleton route and handled her day job with charm and graciousness. But that wasn’t Markel’s style. Instead, she spent money like water, alienated employees and, worst of all, severed the tight relationship that existed between William and Harry. And then, once she had cut Harry adrift, she announced that she’d had it with being a royal and wanted to be free!

In her case, the freedom Markle imagined was taking the Sussex brand (for the Queen made her and Harry the Duke and Duchess of Sussex), and marketing it for all it was worth. In that way, she could get the fame, the clothes, the big houses, the fancy parties, and the celebrity friends, and possibly even resurrect her unimpressive little career, all without the boring work that comes with marrying into the House of Windsor, Inc.

The Queen was having none of that. If you don’t do the work, you don’t get the perks:

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex must drop their ‘Sussex Royal’ label after deciding to step down as working royals.

Following lengthy and complex talks, the Queen and senior officials are believed to have agreed it is no longer tenable for the couple to keep the word ‘royal’ in their ‘branding’.

Harry and Meghan have spent tens of thousands of pounds on a new Sussex Royal website to complement their hugely popular Instagram feed.

They have also sought to register Sussex Royal as a global trademark for a range of items and activities, including clothing, stationery, books and teaching materials.

In addition, they have taken steps to set up a new charitable organisation: Sussex Royal, The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It has now been made clear that they will need to ‘re-brand’.

Markle was not pleased:

The 38-year-old complained to her inner circle that using the name ‘shouldn’t even be an issue in the first place and it’s not like they want to be in the business of selling T-shirts and pencils,’ the insider said.

They added: ‘Meghan said she’s done with the drama and has no room in her life for naysayers, and the same goes for Harry.’

The Queen however, proved that, as David Mamet said, “old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance.” Or, in this case, “old age and principles will always beat self-centered greed.” Markle has backed down:

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have abandoned plans to use the “SussexRoyal” brand after they step back from royal duties.

The couple, who are known in Britain as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will no longer seek to trademark the term SussexRoyal because of U.K. rules governing use of the word “royal,” their office said late Friday. The non-profit organization they plan to launch later this year also will not use the name.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not intend to use `SussexRoyal’ in an territory post-Spring 2020,” their office said.

The Queen probably would not be amused were someone to high-five her and say, “You go, girl!” However, she really does deserve an encomium for sticking to her guns in the face of an unprincipled gold digger.