Photo by EJ Hersom/Public Domain Flickr
Glorifying the life of someone born into riches makes no sense to me.
I live in Australia which is part of the British Monarchy. This means as citizens we ultimately answer to the queen and the rest of the royal family. It might not seem like a big deal. But it is. The queen can override decisions we make.
It rarely happens except for the one time I can recall where the queen’s representative Governor-General Sir John Kerr fired the Prime Minister of Australia. Recent documents show evidence of the queen’s involvement.
This event happened in 1975, before I was born. It still affected me when I learned about it in school. I grew up in a family that adored the royals. I never understood the royal family. The idea of a royal family feels very 400 years ago.
Princess Diana’s escapades were my childhood equivalent of watching the Kardashians. Then when Princess Diana was killed in a car accident, it made me see the royal family in a completely different light.
I watched the Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah.
My take is different on the whole situation. I think Harry realized the royal family is a myth. They pretend to be one thing and do another. The royal family is a business.
I’ve always liked Harry because he’s been the rebel of the family. He has broken royal protocol so many times.
Like when he told dirty jokes and drank champagne out of a prosthetic leg.
Like when he kissed his various girlfriends over the years in public.
Like when he hung out with infamous bad boy rappers at a party.
Like when he jumped off a balcony for LOLs before his brother’s wedding.
Prince Harry is the diamond in the crown’s jewels. Harry put the human in, at times, an inhumane royal family.
When Harry left Britain and moved to the United States, we saw him differently yet again. He was willing to risk it all for his wife and child. He didn’t want to end up like his mother, Diana.
What nobody knew was the secret battle behind closed doors that occurred with his wife Meghan, later admitting she had suicidal thoughts because of all the royal family politics.
The interview showed how ridiculous the royal family could be. It’s all about them and their perfect image. But we all know there is no such thing as perfect, especially when it comes to a rich and powerful royal family. There are always going to be dark secrets at the bottom of a wonderful pot of tea.
Still, I watched the interview for entertainment. I secretly cheered for Harry and Meghan being able to live their lives the way they want. They proved so many people wrong. They escaped the institution that made their home back in Britain a prison they couldn’t leave. They decided to write their story, and not have their story be written by royal family PR writers, doing deals with major media outlets to boost the royal family’s commercial brand.
One strange part of the interview was when both Harry and Meghan kept referring to different times when the royal family said they couldn’t afford to pay for security, or when they said Meghan would have to work because they couldn’t afford to pay her, even though she was forced to give up her career to join their masquerade ball.
The thought in my mind is, “Couldn’t afford or didn’t want to?” Or, not “on-brand” enough?
Do a Prince Harry if you feel like this
Harry’s screw you to the royal family is gold. He quit a life of royal privilege and got a job working in Silicon Valley, for a company called BetterUp, as the Chief Impact Officer. BetterUp is a coaching and mental health startup.
Harry has been public over the years about his own mental health issues. This career move allows him to use his mental health challenges to help others, without having to worry about the bizarre nature of it that the royal family would normally want to cover up to re-enforce #perfectlife.
The job is poetic really. With all the power, money, privilege and people Harry had access to by being born into the royal family, he couldn’t make a true impact. Ditching the royal family has been the only way for him to feel like he’s going to be able to make a real impact.
Taking the job has another meaning. Harry wants to know what it’s like to be real again. He wants to experience the perils of workplace culture. He wants to dare himself to lead. He wants to learn about real business, not royal business paid for with gold from hundreds of years ago.
Harry wants to live a normal life. Can you blame him?
He got a job and is trying to make his own way. Props — Sean Kernan
Normal is better than being born into privilege. Privilege makes you take everything for granted and think you are above everybody else.
I can relate to privilege. I fell into a business that made me a lot of money and turned me into an a-hole. Getting a real job brought me back from Jupiter to Earth. With feet planted firmly on earthly ground, I learned hard life lessons that changed my life.
The rest of the royal family should follow Harry’s lead and get real jobs. If they did, they might learn how to serve people rather than use them as a way to profit.
I want to see the royals mopping the floor of my local McDonalds. I want to see the royals get paid on KPIs rather than status. I want to see the royal family know what it’s like to struggle, so they can see what it’s like for us to struggle.
During the worst of times you find out what you’re destined to become.
But I also want the royals to experience struggle because it reframes how you view the world. Struggle makes you richer than Donald Duck in a room full of royal jewels. Struggle is where the next level is found.
Patching over the cracks of your public image is ridiculous. None of us are perfect. We’re all crazy royals living a lie, at times.
Money doesn’t determine who you become in this life. Excess money and your image are royal distractions that lead you to live a life of regret.
Making an impact is the hidden gift of this life.
If you feel a life of money, entrepreneurship, privilege, luxury, or freelancing has got the best of you, get a real job for a while. It humbles you. You will discover impact beats money every day of the week.
The royals should get real jobs like Harry to be of service.
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