From the current New Yorker comes a hilarious piece on the travails of the scions of the House of Sussex and when we can expect to buy some of their branded merchandise. The article appears here and contains the phrase “hard Megxit,” which I absolutely adore. In fact, I consider it a stroke of journalistic genius. It starts off like this:
In the past couple of weeks, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fate has been sealed: It will be what the British tabloids are calling “a hard Megxit.” They’ll cease to be working royals and will no longer go by His and Her Royal Highness. What’s less clear is the fate of their brand, Sussex Royal, which currently encompasses both a Web site and a very popular Instagram account. The road to “financial independence,” the couple’s stated goal, appears to run through the land of branded goods. As for what kinds of goods, people have been looking for clues in the couple’s trademark application, which includes product categories such as stationery, toiletries, and sporting goods. The Daily Mail, reporting on the filing, dubbed the couple “The Royal Cash Machines!”
“People want to be like Meghan in their everyday lives. They want to feel like a duchess going to the grocery store, or picking their kids up from school. They want a little bit of that royal magic.”
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Far be it from me to cast aspersions on the uber-wealthy or the previously-royal. I mean, hey, I’m all for the likes of Aaron and Danica settling down in their place on Malibu beach – I even wrote about it here. So why not let Harry and Meghan have their moment in the West Coast North American sun too, right? I guess the urge to make fun of royals (ex-royals, wanna-be royals) runs strong – at least here in The Colonies. And that is true even with so much media bandwidth being monopolized by the Super Bowl and the impeachment imbroglio lately.
It’s all complicated by the fact that today Brexit takes full effect as the UK pulls out of the EU. My guess is that few Americans care. Fewer still will want to read about it, here or here. But bottom line? Well, I guess you better get your Harry and Meghan memorabilia while you still can. You been warned.