FINDING FREEDOM

Two members of the royal press corps give a close account of the Windsor-Markle marriage.

Though royal family members cannot authorize a biography, it’s hard to imagine a more supportive work than this. Scobie and Durand will convince readers that after what Harry and Meghan have been through at the hands of the press, the British people, and the rest of the royal family, they deserve a dose of compassion. Though there are no major bombshells, the authors add previously unknown nuances to what appeared to be a modern fairy tale. They offer details of Harry and Meghan’s first date, many of their takeout orders, who said “I love you” first, Meghan’s awkward early encounters with William and Kate, and their decision not to use a night nurse for baby Archie. Readers seeking dirt should look elsewhere. Here’s what passes for a “confession”: “To this day, Harry doesn’t like wearing a tie. He once confessed to the authors of this book, ‘We need to liven these things up, make them more fun and interesting.’ ” Some details are straight out of "Rumpelstiltskin": Meghan’s wedding veil was a “tulle-and-silk creation so delicate and of such pure white that workers had to wash their hands every thirty minutes over the five hundred hours it took to complete.” But fairy tales don’t typically end with the prince and princess turning in their resignations. What went wrong? Race and class set the stage for failure as the senselessly cruel media wrestled the couple to the mat and made sure they could not get up. “My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” Harry said in a statement not long after his son was born. “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer seen or treated as a real person.” As the story ends with the beleaguered couple fleeing to Los Angeles ahead of the pandemic travel shutdown, one can only hope they have found the freedom suggested by the title.

If you’ve ever thought being in the royal family sounds like a nightmare, this book leaves no doubt.