A blue-blooded soap opera

Right at the outset, let me tell you this. I'm not a Briton. And considering what the country is going through, I'm glad that I'm not. To be clear, these ARE tough times across the world. Close your eyes, pick a random spot on the globe, and chances are there are problems brewing there. Either in the form of a secessionist movement, or dissatisfaction with the incumbent government. But not in GREAT Britain. While knee-deep in the quicksand called Brexit, the country has found something far more important to worry about - Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

They've had enough!

Are they interesting to read about? Sure they are! Are they a glamorous couple? Of course and god bless them! But do they affect the lives of common Britishers? Absolutely not! Do they solve the problem of NHS? Nein! So talking about the so-called Megxit issue is an absolute waste of breath, because at the root of the problem is an antediluvian institution that prolongs its existence by making a fool out every man in the UK - the British monarchy. Or as we call them in India, the 'loan that was never repaid'. The entire episode around Harry and Meghan brings out the worst face of the British monarchy. A racist, classist, misogynist, and highly insecure family whose biggest achievement is their 'birth'. For long, people have blamed the institution and never the actual members of the family. But this time, there is no excuse. The Queen, the Prince of Wales and Prince William are equally responsible for what is unfolding now in Britain. 

Should we empathise with Harry and Meghan? This is a complicated question. Without a doubt, the two of them were treated harshly by the British press. While our teenage escapades tend to remain in our own circles, theirs ended up on the front page as headlines. But that's what most celebrities call 'everyday life'. Life in the limelight can be difficult, and sometimes outright cruel. That's hardly a thing to crib about when your entire livelihood is being funded by the taxpayer. Harry and Meghan have every right to leave this life behind. And they have the tools to make it in the real world. Meghan was a very successful actress before she married, and Harry I'm pretty sure is not completely useless. My problem is with the reaction that this decision has garnered. 

A crisis meeting! That's what the Queen convened to discuss the situation. And on the agenda was a very simple topic. How to deal with Megxit? But the answer is very simple - there is no way to deal with it, because there is no problem in the first place. The monarchy is still stuck in its halcyon days, when Prime Ministers were servants and the public were a nuisance. The silliness of what is unfolding in Britain is unbelievable. And the amount of air-time being given to a non-existent problem is really a sad bit of news. Let them discuss this as a family. As a grandmother trying to make her grandson stay...or as a father trying to make his son stay....or as an elder brother trying to make his younger brother stay. But overreacting to this situation is an important step for the royal family. After all, the monarchy's biggest achievement has been convincing the public of its necessity. 

Entitlement is my birthright, and I shall have it

But how did we reach here? Things must have been pretty bad for the two of them to basically walk away from a life of entitlement. Ever since their engagement, the right wing press in Britain have been gnarling at their feet. Harry has never been a rule-abiding well-behaved prince like his brother William. Maybe being further away from the throne gave him the freedom that William never enjoyed. And then Meghan entered the picture. She was an actress, a divorcee and a person of mixed racial heritage. So for the royal family, she was like the anti-Christ. But nevertheless, love pulled through, and the two got married. And even for a republican like me, the wedding was truly magical. But almost immediately after the wedding, things started to go south. The fact is Meghan is too liberal for the family. A woman with a voice and an opinion is a threat to the monarchy, unless she's in-line for the throne. In which case she's decisive and well-informed. The duplicity is pathetic. So if you're waiting for a list of reasons why Megxit is happening, there aren't any. The royal family could not stomach the Sussexes' free-thinking. And they stood by and watched as the press tore them apart for the smallest of things. 

So if anyone is responsible for this crisis, it's the very people who are trying so hard to solve it. And this should ideally get the people of Britain thinking. At least in India, our government tries to destroy our secular fabric when our economy isn't doing well. That's how we hide the real issues in India. But you have an entire institution catering to this. A royal wedding, a royal baby, a coronation, or a royal separation. Nobody's talking about Brexit are they?