The Royal Family’s Desperation For a Split Screen With Harry And Meghan Is So Obvious That It’s Pathetic
- L J Louis
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Kate, Charles, and William’s emergency projects and appearances, scheduled just a day before Meghan and Harry’s humanitarian award ceremony in New York, highlight the British Royal Family's desperation for positive PR and the unmatched star power of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
In the world of British royalty, timing has always been everything. But recently, that timing seems less like a matter of chance and more a desperate PR maneuver. The days leading up to Meghan Sussex (formerly Meghan Markle) and Prince Harry’s prestigious humanitarian award gala in New York offered a glaring example. Just as their event drew headlines for championing vital causes, Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, and Prince William suddenly sprang into a flurry of public engagements. Coincidence? Hardly. It’s no secret that before Harry and Meghan, royals like Kate and William are known for doing the bare minimum and being borderline lazy, as it’s been reported in numerous papers, ‘Workshy Willy’ and ‘Lazy Katy’.
Fast-Tracked Engagements: Spontaneity or Strategy?
The working royals’ packed schedules the day before Meghan and Harry’s widely anticipated gala felt suspiciously strategic. Events that appeared out of nowhere: the visit to a local children’s charity, William and ‘papa’s’ meeting with environmental youth leaders, and Kate’s unexpectedly urgent round-table on online safety, seemed like an attempt to dominate British media coverage. Even more interesting, these were not pre-planned commitments advertised weeks in advance, but last-minute additions. Their purpose? To crowd the headlines, generating favorable press and, critically, offering the British press easy material for “split screen” coverage, comparing these sudden acts of duty with Meghan and Harry’s headline-making activism.
Lazy Katy visited Home-Start Oxford, a family support charity, yesterday. On the same day, she also co-wrote and published a personal essay titled The Power of Human Connection in a Distracted World on the Centre for Early Childhood's website, where she discussed the negative impact of smartphones, calling too much screen time an "epidemic of disconnection.” If this sounds familiar, it is because that is the exact cause Meghan and Harry have been campaigning for the last six years.
Here is what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have done, not as a PR maneuver but real activism because they care:
We had the Parents' Network: Launched in 2022 through their Archewell Foundation, this initiative provides a community of support for families in the U.S., U.K., and Canada who have experienced the loss of a child due to social media-driven suicide or whose children have struggled because of online platforms. Partnership with ParentsTogether: In October 2025, it was announced that The Parents' Network would join forces with ParentsTogether, a national nonprofit in the U.S. that advocates for families and online safety. The Lost Screen Memorial: In April 2025, Harry and Meghan helped unveil a temporary memorial in New York City consisting of 50 smartphones, each displaying the lock screen photo of a child who died due to harmful online content. New York City Mental Health Summit (October 2023): To mark World Mental Health Day, a summit was hosted to discuss the intersection of mental health and social media. SXSW Festival in Texas (March 2024): Meghan was a panelist and spoke about the "hateful" cyberbullying she experienced while pregnant. She emphasized the need for better safeguards to protect people online. Summit on Responsible Digital Future in Colombia (August 2024): During a trip to Colombia, they participated in a panel discussion about creating a safer online environment for young people. CBS "Sunday Morning" Interview (August 2024): The Duke and Duchess discussed their concerns about online safety as parents and the goals of The Parents' Network. The appearance that had all the other royals pretending to care at the Project Healthy Minds Gala (October 2025): The couple was honored as "Humanitarians of the Year" for their work in mental health and online safety.
The Royal Family’s Desperation For a Split Screen with Harry and Meghan
Contrast with Paris Fashion Week
When Meghan recently made her debut at Paris Fashion Week, there were no parallel royal engagements. Why? Quite simply, the working royals hadn’t been tipped off. There was no time to manufacture competing engagements—no press blitz to overshadow Meghan’s shine. Meghan’s primary reason for the solo trip was to support a personal friend and long-time collaborator, Pierpaolo Piccioli, who was debuting his first collection as the new Creative Director of the fashion house Balenciaga.
In contrast, the Humanitarian Gala was public knowledge well in advance, giving the royal establishment time to orchestrate their busy diaries. It’s not a bad strategy; it’s obvious and poorly executed. Kate should have stuck to her lane with the early childhood initiative, not online safety.
The Struggle for Relevance
Much of the British press depends on Harry and Meghan to drive clicks and engagement. Without the Sussexes’ star power, the rest of the royal family risks being relegated to background noise—hardly the vibrant symbols of national unity they aspire to be. Their recent actions speak volumes, confirming just how much they lean on Harry and Meghan’s popularity to sustain public interest. Even Kate’s newfound passion for online safety, a cause Harry and Meghan have long championed, feels less like an organic commitment and more like a calculated move, especially after reports of William openly admitting to ‘posts anonymously on fan forums and can be on there for ages.’ We all know he’s trolling his sister-in-law, much like how Kate’s former stylist followed Meghan and everyone else on her obit.
The Real Public Reaction
For many, these last-minute appearances ring hollow. The public increasingly views such efforts as self-serving rather than service-oriented. Instead of genuine engagement, we see attempts to co-opt the initiatives the world actually cares about—those led by Harry and Meghan. The charm, the relatability, and the authentic advocacy just aren’t there. Solitaire Townsend, co-founder of the Futerra consultancy, was quoted by multiple outlets as saying: "Is Prince William attending Cop a stunt? Yes. But that doesn't mean it's a bad idea.” Of course, most public engagement by the Waleses is a stunt. The royal institution is a scam of epic proportions.
In a world that values genuine authenticity, it’s always clear who the real leaders are when it comes to the two royal camps. While others scramble to make emergency diary entries, they are just trying to stay relevant and overshadow those who show up and do good without taxpayers' money.
The Royal Family’s Desperation For a Split Screen with Harry and Meghan Is so Obvious That It’s Pathetic.
LJ Louis is an enthusiastic traveler, aspiring artist, and passionate writer of both fiction and non-fiction who loves exploring new cuisines. She is also a dedicated advocate for women's rights. With an impressive educational background, she holds a double major in psychology and criminology (BA), a Bachelor of Laws (Hons LLB), and an advanced diploma in fitness and health promotion. LJ shares her insights through engaging content on topics such as human sexuality, sex positivity, health, psychology, and even Meghan Markle.