In December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated because of his love for Wallis Simpson, a twice married American woman whose second divorce was still in progress. King Edward had embraced Wallis Simpson's admiration for Adolf Hitler and had not endeared himself to the fiercely patriotic British People. Neither had Wallis Simpson. As a result, he had to make a choice: to be King of his Country or to love in exile with the woman who made him choose her before his Country and Duty.
Edward chose Wallis Simpson. I could not help but be struck by the similarities between the two speeches - one given over 80 years ago and one given barely 80 hours ago.
When Edward voiced those first words he said
" At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak."
Harry opened his speech with :
Before I begin, I must say that I can only imagine what you may have heard, or perhaps read, over the past few weeks. So, I want you to hear the truth from me. As much as I can share, not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the past 35 years, but now with a clearer perspective."
Hmm...
" And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been mine and mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has tried up to the last to persuade me to take a different course. " said Edward.
Harry said
" The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. "
Really? Meghan had nothing to do with this decision? You made it all on your own? And you can't even say that correctly ? Should be my wife and me?... But I digress
Edward went on to say :
I shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire with profound interest, and if at any time in the future I can be found of service to his majesty in a private station, I shall not fail.
Harry said:
" What I want to make clear is, we're not walking away, and we certainly aren't walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations..."
I could not help but see similarities between the two speeches and how the bullet points in both speeches were the same. If you trim out all the puffery, here are the key points:
Set the record straight by inferring that you have not had a chance to speak your true feelings.
- Affirm love of country and patriotism
- Affirm love of partner in life
- Take ownership of the decision
- Establish empathy with the British Public
- Be humble
- Bring back loyalty to family and familial ties
- Restate loyalty to the Monarchy
Edwards speech:
- Set the record straight by inferring that you have not had a chance to speak your true feelings.
- Affirm love of country and patriotism
- Affirm love of partner in life
- Take ownership of the decision
- Establish empathy with the British Public
- Be humble
- Restate loyalty to the Monarchy
The only differences are:
Harry added
- Make a subtle reference to forces against you without denigrating the media
- Seek empathy from public to assist in new public personna
And that, my friends, is the difference between 1936 and 2020:
THE MEDIA.
Goodbye Harry - been good knowing you
In all other respects, the speeches are pretty much on track and same o same o.
Poor Harry. He can't even be spontaneous with his speech: he has to go back over 80 years to find something to re write and do a sequel... as for Megs, she will end up like Wallis Simpson - living in exile with a Man who would be King.
Only Harry was never going to be The King, she was never going to the Queen of anything other than B grade Netflix voice overs and Harry is no longer Royal.
He just got royally screwed and it is all his own bloody fault.
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