Can the British crown survive Harry's resignation?

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced Wednesday that they will no longer be prominent members of the royal family.
• The couple will no longer be paid for their representation work for the British crown.
• This resignation arouses republican criticism of the monarchy.

An earthquake. The end of an era. A revolution ? The announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to become workers like any other, and therefore no longer to be employees of the British crown, has aroused many comments.

Most of the reactions, including that of Queen Elizabeth II who would have learned the news like any of her subjects, ranged, Thursday morning, from amazement to disbelief. Some observers may well write that this decision was inevitable, it is nonetheless a great shock for the British crown and for the country. Cold, several experts of the British monarchy worry that this resignation does not sign the beginning of the end of the crown. Royal history has been marked by many scandals of this type (for more details, the series The Crown is available on Netflix), in short, she has seen others. The symbol is however very strong, and highlights an increasingly criticized system of public funding of the crown.

Who is the boss now?

Laura Clancy, a media and crown researcher, has already written several articles and a book on the arrival of Meghan Markle in the royal family. She analyzes this resignation as a sign of the disintegration of an institution: “Before the marriage of Harry and Meghan, the members of the crown sometimes took, once a decade or so, an original decision which went against tradition and anchored the crown in a form of soft modernity. But since the sons of Charles and Diana are adults, these iconoclastic decisions multiply, because the institution no longer knows how to play its role, and multiplies the signals to show itself in phase with the century. This is not what the crown is supposed to do. There is a crisis of meaning. "

"They are not CEOs, they are not managers, they are employees. The company promotes a single person — the monarch. If Harry and Meghan want to sell something else, they have to leave the company. You cannot use the company's trademark,“ British royal, ”and sell something else." https://t.co/PaoWhSwMJJ

If they're making millions from their royal status that status needs to be removed. Royal titles and positions are public offices and should be governed by the same standards as other officials and politicians. Making a private profit from public office is called corruption. https://t.co/S1bmzzb29H

So inevitably, the English Republicans, favorable to the end of the monarchy, jump at the opportunity and point out the absurdity of seeing a prince and his wife resign. They recall in particular that the family members are employees of the crown and fear that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will continue to exploit their notoriety. “They are not CEOs, they are not managers, they are employees, notes an expert site in royalty. The company promotes only one person - the monarch. If Harry and Meghan want to sell something else, they have to leave the business. You can't use the company brand, and sell something else. "

Bye bye Archie

Even before this resignation, Meghan Markle suffered many criticisms, mainly sexist and sometimes racist, from the British tabloids. Above all, he was criticized for not "playing the game". What game is it? In exchange for wages and a comfortable standard of living, the members of the royal family agreed to live publicly, to stage their children, to give news of their health and their way of life. It is an unspoken pact. However, Harry, marked by the death of his mother, harassed all his princess life by the paparazzi, had warned that he could not bear to see his wife go through the same hell.

Behind the announcement of the resignation, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced a new report to the media, very detailed and very distant. No more access to their privacy. Their son in particular should not rewind his reel anytime soon.

Gossip tax

If this “gossips for taxes” pact is broken, will the British crown still have a reason to be? Of course, there is Charles, and especially William, Kate, George… But beyond the symbol of a family that shatters before the eyes of the people, opponents of the royal family take advantage of this episode to demonstrate that the system is obsolete.

"This decision is a tsunami because the royal family of England has a special place in the hearts of the British," said Sophie Lagesse, journalist for Le Soir . The specialist of the crowned heads however estimates that the resounding resignation of Harry and Meghan will not calm the public interest for the crown: "It will perhaps not tarnish the image of the royal family but on the contrary cause even more questions and curiosity. People will want to know why and how, it brings water to the mill of this royal family so that we keep talking about them. Not in positive, but it doesn't matter as long as we keep talking about them… ”

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• Kate Middleton
• Prince william
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Meghan Markle
• Prince harry
• People