• Reading Level 5
Science | Geography | PSHE

Harry and Meghan ‘must give up their titles’

Is Prince Harry wrong to criticise the Royal Family? Yesterday senior courtiers were reported calling for the Duke and Duchess to give up their titles after criticism of Prince Charles. Prince Harry has had many roles in life. He was the traumatised boy who walked behind his mother’s coffin. He was the heroic army captain who flew helicopters over the skies of Afghanistan. He was the royal wild child who spent his twenties partying in Las Vegas. Now, Harry has a new role: father. And, he says, he is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. In an explosive new interview, the Duke linked his struggles in life to the way he was brought up by his father, Prince Charles. “I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody,” Harry told podcast host Dax Shepard last week. “But certainly when it comes to parenting, if I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on.” Speaking from his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, Harry discussed his slow realisation that his upbringing had been shaped by his father’s own experiences as a child. “I started to piece it together and go ‘okay, so this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know about his life, I also know that is connected to his parents so that means he’s treated me the way he was treated, so how can I change that for my own kids?’” Across the Atlantic in Britain, newspaper columnists reacted with apoplectic fury. “Just how low can Harry go?” asked the front page of the Daily Mail. “You might expect a scintilla of restraint, maybe the tiniest bit of respect for his granny and her feelings,” wrote journalist Sarah Vine. “But no.” “For a guy who craves privacy, Prince Harry sure is yapping a lot about his private life,” declared pundit Piers Morgan. One thing is clear: 2021 has been a difficult year for the British monarchy. In March, the Royals were left reeling after Harry and Meghan accused the family of racism on US television. Then, a month later, Prince Philip died, leaving the Queen to sit alone at her husband’s funeral. Now, Harry’s latest interview, in which he described royal life as “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo” and accused both his father and the Queen of poor parenting, has put the family back into the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Yet not everyone agrees with Piers Morgan and Sarah Vine’s assessment of Harry. American psychologist John Duffy believes the Prince is a role model: “Harry’s emotional expression could encourage men and boys to open up as well, and to reframe our definition of masculinity.” In the UK, the podcast’s release coincided with Mental Health Awareness Week. Each year in England, one in four people will experience a mental health problem. “Hearing someone like Prince Harry discuss the ways in which empathy, compassion, self-awareness (and therapy) have helped him deal with his emotions is a breath of fresh air,” says writer Victoria Richards. “In my opinion, Harry’s nailed it.” Is Prince Harry wrong to criticise the Royal Family? Royal rift Yes, say some. The Duke’s comments about his father and grandparents were completely uncalled for. It has been less than two months since his grandfather passed away. Many of the struggles he described are likely a result of the pressures of being in the public eye, not bad parenting. And if Harry truly wants privacy in his new Californian home, he should stop giving intimate public interviews. No, say others. Prince Harry is not blaming his father for the problems he has faced in life, but rather speaking candidly about how trauma and hurt can be passed on from one generation to another. By being open about his mental health in public, Harry is breaking down toxic traditions and setting an example for young people everywhere. The Royal Family could learn from his approach. KeywordsSchool - In 2011, research by the National Autism Society in Britain found that one in three children with autism say that the worst thing about school is being picked on.

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