Harry & Meghan's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad May
May is going to be a royal pain for Harry & Meghan
This May will be a roller coaster of emotions for our favorite couple.
On May 6th, Meghan and Harry celebrate Archie's birthday while King Charles celebrates his coronation.
As you know, Charles chose his crowning date to fall on his grandson's birthday, seemingly for no other reason than to make Harry and Meghan's lives more difficult.
If this weren't enough, three days later, on May 9th, the first working day after the coronation, Harry will appear before Judge Mr. Timothy Fancourt to begin his 7-week court battle with Mirror Group Newspapers.
The court case will make Harry the first member of the British royal family to enter the witness box in a civil lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the British tabloid press is frothing at the mouth over the question weighing heavily on all our minds: Will the Sussexes attend Charles' coronation?
Will Harry & Meghan Attend Charles’ Coronation?
For the tabloids, Harry and Meghan's attendance is clickbait, gossip fodder, and another way to drive profit margins for the newspaper barons.
For the royal family, it's another opportunity to publicly embarrass and degrade the couple.
But for Harry and Meghan, it's a matter of life and death. And that's not hyperbole.
Serious & Credible Threats
Harry & Meghan faced serious and credible threats emanating from the far-right,
Neil Basu, former head of UK counter-terrorism policing, told Britain's Channel 4 News.
He also admitted there were genuine threats to Meghan's life on several occasions while she resided in the UK.
"If you'd seen the stuff that was written, and you were receiving it… you would feel under threat all the time." Basu told a 4 News reporter.
In fact, the threats were so severe and credible that authorities had assigned teams to investigate. Basu said this has resulted in prosecutions.
The intimidation hasn't stopped just because Harry and Meghan left the UK; it continues just like the British tabloid press smear campaign against them.
Prince Harry's lawyers state that he is "gravely concerned about his safety and security during future trips to the UK" and feels he has no choice but to take legal action "given the gravity of what is at stake for him and his family."
This threat also extends to Archie and Lilibet, a security risk they inherited at birth, just like their father.
Harry's legal team says the Sussexes want to bring their children to visit Harry's home country, but they think it's too risky without proper police protection.
Protection that RAVEC (The Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures), with help from the royal family, made sure the Sussex family wouldn't receive.
After RAVEC pulled the Sussexes' taxpayer-funded security detail in January 2020, they ruled that Harry and Meghan couldn't pay for UK police protection either.
You may be asking yourself, "Why don't Harry and Meghan pay for private security?"
They do, but the couple's security detail cannot replicate the level of protection UK metropolitan police offer because, as a private entity, they don't have jurisdiction in the UK or access to UK government intelligence.
Eviction From Frogmore
Harry and Meghan's security challenges were recently compounded by their eviction from Frogmore Cottage on Charles' command.
A ruthless move, even for the petty King.
Harry and Meghan didn't just lose the home Queen Elizabeth gifted them; they lost the one remaining space in the UK that meets their family's security needs.
Frogmore Cottage is part of the Windsor Estate. It's protected by the Metropolitan Police's Royalty and Special Protection Unit and enjoys special safeguards.
To attend the coronation, Harry and Meghan will either have to find private accommodations with reduced security or be forced to engage with royals at the palace.
Indeed, reports have come out that Charles plans to invite Harry and Meghan to stay at Buckingham Palace in Andrew's (I refuse to call him a prince) old digs. Call me ridiculous, but I don't see Harry and Meghan celebrating Archie's fourth birthday in a sexual predator's former sleeping quarters
Toxicity
Harry and Meghan are also most likely asking themselves if Charles' coronation will be a repeat of the Queen's funeral in terms of toxic family dynamics.
For instance, is William still "incandescent with rage" over Harry's memoir?
Can he be trusted to maintain his composure, or will he give Harry another royal reaming?
Moreover, will Kate give Meghan the silent treatment as she did at Queen Elizabeth's funeral?
There were reports that the Duchess of Cambridge didn't speak one word to Meghan throughout her two-week stay in London.
Will Charles use the coronation to publicly snub Harry and Meghan, as he did at Queen Elizabeth's funeral when he disinvited them to a state reception at Buckingham Palace under the lame guise of it "only being for working royals"
Finally, does Charles plan on inviting Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to the coronation, or does he expect Meghan and Harry to ditch Archie on his birthday?
Looking at it all together: the security threats, the royal family’s refusal to protect Harry and Meghan and their minor children, the lack of accommodations, and the potential for more toxicity and abuse, perhaps instead of asking ourselves, "Will Harry and Meghan attend the coronation, we should be asking "Will the royal family make it possible for the Sussexes to safely attend?"
Harry to Appear in Court
Whether or not the Sussexes appear at the coronation, Harry is expected to begin his 7-week court battle with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) in Britain three days later, on May 9th.
During the trial, Harry will give evidence and face cross-examination by MGN's legal counsel, making him the first British royal to enter the witness box in a civil lawsuit.
Harry's suing MGN over allegations of phone hacking and using other illegal tactics to obtain information about him between 1996 and 2011, during which Piers Morgan was editor of The Daily Mirror, one of MGN's publications.
For his part, Morgan is accused of authorizing the "systematic and widespread" use of illegal private investigation tactics by MGN's journalists. Including intercepting voicemails, Harry shared with everyone from Charles and Diana to his ex-girlfriends and William.
In other words, Piers Morgan is accused of using the same "dark arts" of journalism that Rupert Murdoch employed to build his media empire - which is a shock to absolutely no one.
All in all, it's going to be a rough May for the Sussexes, but there are two bright spots: Archie's fourth birthday will be celebrated with the love and the care it deserves, and the fact that the worst of the month will be over within the first nine days!