But the royals, the king, in his words, deserve it. The King is, after all, as Scobie often points out and reiterates on Newsnight, a “publicly funded civil servant”. The incident must be investigated and those involved held accountable because, he says, “this conversation took place behind private doors and was conducted by publicly funded officials.” He continued: “They should be scrutinized like us politicians and all other publicly funded officials.”
And he's being egged on by Republicans, with cheerleaders like Yasmin Alibhai-Brown shouting on X, formerly Twitter: “We pay for so much…” The idea is that the royal family is fair game because it is funded in part by the “Sovereign Grant,” which comes from government-approved taxes: in front of, behind, above and below those private doors. All statements, behaviors and actions, whether trivial or not, can be analyzed and judged by us.
So Kate can go after Scobie for falling in love with William and marrying him. She made the decision to marry a publicly funded civil servant and become one. Then she gave birth to three publicly funded civil servants (age doesn't matter) and no doubt uses him as a stick to beat the children when they misbehave: “Louis, give Charlotte back her yellow digger.” This is how one behaves in public funded official NOT.”
It doesn’t matter that this approach is dehumanizing and cruel. We pay for them, we own them. We can do whatever we want with them. In fact, Peter Morgan, the creator of The Crown, doesn't even feel the need to provide justification for his fictional depictions of living royals, which most people see and think of as some kind of good-looking documentary.
“Playwrights are born to write about kings and queens. That’s what we do,” he once said. And his pal, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, actually claimed to The Crown: “It humanized them.” These people, who are inherently unrelatable, [Morgan] made them understandable.” And so “The Crown” also (or rather especially) describes the most private moments. And presents them as facts – or at least they are interpreted as such. Even though the series is little more than a red-headed rant, dressed up, decorated, styled and acted with great taste, skill and precision. I wonder if the actors ever think beyond their performances. Can those who chronicle the most private moments in the life of a living royal expect to be immune from unfair, inaccurate or downright fabricated stories?
If we succeed, as the Republicans wish, in destroying the monarchy, tearing it to pieces and throwing it into the bin of historical anachronism, then what? One can only assume that the next head of state (bribable just because he actually wants to do the damn job) will be a publicly funded official with his entourage who will also be subject to endless attacks until this institution is over.
Except that an elected head of state would expect that. Politicians demand criticism, that's part of the terrain. They give up their private lives, they cannot complain about the (legal) media control. They are certainly schooled in the treacherous ways of political life. As they sit around the Cabinet table, they know that most of their senior colleagues will eventually write a book trying to antagonize their ministerial colleagues. And if they don't, one of their cunning women will.
It is therefore surprising when they express very personal, offensive or indiscreet thoughts via WhatsApp. And so it's not surprising that after making a mistake like that, they then, um, somehow manage to lose all those incriminating messages when the, um, damn phone thing somehow shuts off, then restarts and all the, um… messages were deleted (for the first time in IT history).
In a functioning democracy, politicians invite and encourage media criticism. But the Royal Family, as the embodiment and backbone of our traditions, cultures and values – which works for, represents, promotes and promotes so many good and important ventures – deserves better. Better than Scobie's gossip disguised as a vital debate about the future of the constitutional monarchy.
Especially when it comes to digging up and dusting off the old accusation of racism contained in Meghan's original revelation to Oprah Winfrey. You'll recall that she said there were “concerns and conversations about how dark it was.” [Archie’s] Skin could be when he is born”. Unless, of course, says Scobie (and Prince Harry), it wasn't racism but “unconscious bias.” I once dropped out of a course on this topic at a company I worked for. I didn't feel the need to have my instincts corrected. If you think a person might be wrong for a particular task because they seem like an annoying, lazy idiot to you, you're probably right.
Now Scobie is complaining about the backlash, which he sees as misreporting of himself and his book. Exactly what his book does to the royals. Maybe the king should persuade Princess Anne to marry him. This will put him in fear every day and the rest of us can tear him to pieces!
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