To feel sad for Prince Harry

[OldManRivers]

Have been looking at the photos today of Harry in the car being driven from the airport in America back to his home. He looks so sad. It must be very difficult for him to attend a huge family occasion like that with his role drastically changed, and to see all of his family but now he's on the sidelines popping in so very sporadically.

Also I can't help but think he must feel sad to think his children won't grow up around their cousins, and extended family. Meghan doesn't have any family except her mother so they don't have any in America either.

Originally he and Meghan wanted to carry on being part of the royal machine and do appearances etc but also have some independence so it's not as though this life was their original plan, where it seems like they're sidelined and alienated. AIBU to think regardless of what's gone on it must be very hard for him to be in another country, away from his ailing grandmother who he is very close to, and feel like a bit of an outcast?

It is what they have decided as a family is best for them. Even if he was sad to be leaving to go back that doesn’t mean they arent happy with their decision overall.

he didn’t want to live under the royal spotlight. I actually think the public element of their visit was handled very well to respect that.

I think it is very hard for him but it's also a clear choice he has made. I don't feel very sorry for him to be honest. We don't know what has gone on behind closed doors or even if there is a way back for him should he wish to seek one but he's a grown man and his choices are his to make.

No I don’t feel sad for him and nor do I think he is sad. This is what he wanted.

Yes, he is nearly 40 years old and has made his choices for himself and his family. None of us really know what has gone on and who has been right or wrong, it's probably a bit of everything on all sides as these things usually are. Families are complicated.

It's a choice he made and continues to make. He has the money to fly back to visit. Who knows what it would do to his marriage if he insisted he wanted to move back but again that's on him / them.

I take your point that this wasn't their original plan, but they had a choice - after they took their year out, they knew the options were either to be full working royals or to be fully Independent - they chose the latter. They are lucky to have had a choice; most of us have to take what work we can get!

He made his choice.

He is from a family who is all about having close ties to each other but has chosen to marry someone who comes from a completely different background and who isn't close to her family members.

This makes for a huge disparity in how they view living their lives and he has chosen to live the way his wife does and that is to be alienated from his family.

I think he regrets it.

I have never stopped feeling sad for him ever since the day his mother died. I truly believe that he is very troubled soul.

I feel though that initially he and Meghan wanted to be a part of the royal family but also be free to pursue their own projects, and then when that wasn't an option things to started to escalate and now they've ended up in a situation where they're basically ostracised/ have ostracised themselves. It's easy to see how things like this can get out of hand, especially when arguments are so public and on the record as is the case with the royal family.

I just don't think this is what he wanted. There are reports he and William are building their relationship again, but it's not as though their children will all grow up together which would have been lovely for Harry and Meghan's children to have the benefit of knowing all of their cousins/ half cousins etc.

How do you know what he does or doesn't regret?

@Palebluelily how does anyone? We are all speculating based on what we read and see.

Surely this is exactly what he wanted? An invitation to a family event, minimal exposure to the press, children kept well away from any scrutiny/criticism, private birthday photos of his daughter with her great-grandmother, personal security assurances from the queen to and from the airport, and whisked back in time to be at his standing desk first thing Monday morning.

Who knows what goes on behind the scenes. Is anyone's family situation without complications?
I hope they when he's back home with his wife and children they share mostly happy days. I'm sure they do.

He brought a lot of it on himself by talking about his family to a chat show host. I know that some of the others done this too (in the past) but it really has caused a big rift there and things can't be unsaid now.
I'm not anti either of them though , they made a decision to move away and lead a different life and he should now get on with it and stand by that decision. Once his book is out this year then maybe it'll all blow up again and it'll be interesting to see if they just come back and forth for any more big events or if that may be the final nail in the coffin.

I'm a republican and it's very rare I have a supportive sentiment toward any one of these over-privileged, unelected people.

But I thought the booing of that couple - when presumably invited there by his grandmother who's event it was, after all - was disgusting behaviour and showed this country up in a very poor light. They are not unaware of the bias against them and showed a great deal of courage, grace and stoicism in the face of such palpable, open hostility. As for their own family, the only ones behaving with any kind of grace or humility were Zara and, funnily enough, the York sisters.

And if they did shoot off home early after such an antagonistic reception, it's not to be wondered at. I can't imagine for one moment how that might have felt. And then people wonder why they keep their children under wraps and don't want to come back here. I was surprised to see Markle on UK soil at any point after she originally left: she'd have been well within her rights never to return to this country no matter how many bridges were tentatively rebuilt.

I doubt she will again, and I wouldn't blame her in the slightest. I don't doubt she and Harry did have some legitimate complaints about the behaviour of that family - the wearing of a racist brooch in her presence and a likely raft of other things, it's not as though they don't have a well-documented past form.

The whole thing leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

Well if he's feeling sad it's all of his own making. I don't think Meghan fully understood the role she would play in the RF, and get the feeling that she didn't like the fact that she would never be number one , having married the heir to the thrones younger brother. Most of the Royal stuff is not glamorous, appearing at charity events on a miserable Monday morning, smiling at strangers even when you feel like crap. I don't really blame her for wanting Californian sunshine instead!!
However I do believe the Oprah interview was a ghastly mistake and has shown H and M in a very poor light.

I think it was sad to see two brothers who seemed so close so far apart now,
but it was his choice .
He definitely hasn’t helped matters by what he has said in various interviews he has given since.

I'm not anti either of them either, and I think that they probably do have a lovely happy life in California on a day to day basis. I just think it's so incredibly hard to cut yourself off from your entire family - which is just about what he's done. Even if their are problems in your family with a couple of people, to leave everything behind would be extremely difficult for anyone never mind someone who had only known life as a royal.

I believe he regrets the Oprah interview, and I bet he wishes he, Meghan and the children could still be part of the family.

I feel sad for him he lost his mum. I can’t feel sorry for him over much else. He has fabulous life of privilege

It's also not that uncommon for families to move abroad and with a couple from 2 different countries some is always going to be displaced from their home country. With modern technology people have the ability to stay in contact way more than ever before. Distance doesn't have to mean absence.

I also saw a photo (didn't click on article) from the journey to the airport, he just looks normal, maybe a little tired but just a normal resting face. Remember the media will try and create stories around photos to generate clicks and therefore revenue.

I never really minded M and H, but the turning point for me was when they named their daughter Lilibet when they were literally fresh from slagging off the Queen and her family to the entire planet! I just thought that was so out of order.

I hope they fade into obscurity and live their life out in California happily and quietly, as they apparently want to.

He wanted his cake and eat it. The rest of the RF basically said you are either full-time working or your out. Part-time flexible working isn't an option.

He chose to be out though they could go it alone. Have they actually made any money as independent celebrities?

Doing that interview with Oprah slating his own family wasn't the best idea. His own family have probably lost all trust in him. Keep him at arms length tell him nothing you don't want the world to know. Bit like the family gossip.

The original plan was for M to give up her previous life. That didn't work out so they decided he would give up his. Lots of couples change plans, for the benefit of them and their kids. Apart from the link to royalty and their wealth, it's no different in my opinion.

Well firstly, the photos you see will be an edited selection. So if someone wants you to see sad, that's what you'll see. None of us look radiant all the time and it's very easy to pick a down looking snap and discard 100 smiley ones.

Secondly, they must all be exhausted after the physical toll of the flights and the emotional intensity of the last four days.

But the main point here is that when two people from different continents marry, they can't both live in their home country. I know many people of Harry's age and older who've moved abroad to live in their partner's home country. There is always a sadness about leaving the UK to go back, even though most of them have happy fulfilled lives and are happy with their life choices. It doesn't mean they've made the wrong choice.