For the British people, this time they finally hear the good news — Harry and Meghan pay the money back!
This money is the renovation cost of the Frogmore Cottage, which has been talked about by British netizens for a long time.
Harry and Meghan first lived in Kensington Palace after they got married. They were neighbors with Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate. Later, it was revealed that Meghan and Kate were at odds, and Harry & Meghan's child was about to be born, so they decided to live separately. Therefore, the queen gave Frogmore Cottage as a gift to Harry and Meghan.
Before moving in, Harry and Meghan had spent 2.4 million pounds to renovate the villa, which was actually paid by British taxpayers. After the two announced their "resignation" from the royal family and moved to the United States this year, the British people have been clamoring for them to pay back the renovation cost. Of course, Harry and Meghan agreed to repay the cost, but it would be paid by installments. With a monthly payment of 18,000 pounds, it will take 11 years to pay off.
Until recent days, Harry and Meghan announced the return of the money through a spokesperson: "This contribution as originally offered by Prince Harry has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty the Queen, and will remain the UK residence of the duke and his family."
At the same time, a piece of news revealed that Harry and Meghan were seeking "economic independence" and would no longer ask Harry’s father, Prince Charles, for money in the future.
The news of the Harry and Meghan repayment is widely reported by British media. After 8 months, the money was suddenly paid off at one time. It also made people curious about the reasons. According to British media, there are two possible reasons.
One is that Harry and Meghan are rich now!
They have just signed a contract with streaming media platform Netflix, and there will be a lot of cooperation in film and television dramas in the future. This contract is worth up to 150 million US dollars. So now, Harry and Meghan probably aren't short of money. 2.4 million pounds can be easily paid off all at once.
The other is that Harry Meghan may be "forced" by the British people.
After spending so much money at the beginning, they announced their "quitting" shortly after the villa was renovated. They were harshly scolded by the British people. Later, they announced that they would pay the money in installments, but the British felt it too slow to pay 18,000 pounds a month. Besides, Harry and Meghan still spent money extravagantly, which caused more dissatisfaction. After being complained by the British for more than half a year, Harry and Meghan were probably annoyed by the chanting and wanted to end it quickly, so as soon as they had money, they gritted their teeth and paid it off.
According to media reports, many royal officials are surprised at the sudden repayment.
A resource analyzes that "Sovereign Grant" has always been a pain point for Prince Harry. "Sovereign Grant" refers to the subsidy given by the British Treasury in order to support the Queen as the head of state, providing her with funds to pay for her official expenses and money to maintain the royal manors. To put it bluntly, it is the money paid by the British taxpayers for the royal family.
Whether Prince Harry is doing right or wrong, "spending taxpayers’ money" has been the handle to "control" him by the royal family and the media. So, Harry made it very clear from the beginning that he would pay the money. He felt that if the money was paid back, no one could control him.
The source adds that "control" may be a bit serious, and Harry probably just wants to be treated fairly and avoid being criticized by the media. After the huge contract was announced recently, another wave of attacks from netizens has arisen. The insider speculates that the reason for the sudden repayment could be his new income. Otherwise, he was probably so irritated by criticism.
For whatever reason, anyway, the money is back. From professionals to British citizens, the attitude has been quite uniform, "Liquidating a debt is perfectly justified".
Joe Ventre, the digital marketing manager of Taxpayers’ Alliance, who advocates lower taxes, says, "This is a hard-fought win for taxpayers, who were furious to see Frogmore upgraded at public expense before the couple swanned off and dodged the bill with a decade-long payback plan. "
"This royal refund is exactly what should have happened in the first place."
Netizens’ comments are sharper. They are basically saying that repaying the money is good, but not enough.
Seeing those comments, everyone should understand. Harry and Meghan hope to pay off the money and write off their grievances, but the British people and the media won't keep silent, and the royal family won't settle with them. "Daily Mail" commentator Richard Kay even says that "the couple’s £2.4million cheque for Frogmore Cottage means their divorce from Britain is final".
Richard Kay believes that Harry treats the 2.4 million renovation costs as a chain, binding them to the land where he was born, and preventing them from getting rid of the royal family and the media. In Harry's eyes, the money is not lent to them by a generous country to settle down the newlyweds, but as a stick to beat them.
That's why Harry and Meghan felt that paying back the money was "significant." They hoped to eliminate criticism in the short term.
But the commentator sees another result - Harry and Meghan signed a huge contract firstly, and were eager to pay back the money at once. Harry also said that he would not ask Charles for money in the future, which meant that they would completely sever relations with the UK and stop pretending to play a part in the royal family.
To put it straight, when the children grow up, can make money, and are strong enough to fly away from home, they will immediately pay off the money their parents gave them to settle the house, as well as want to make a clean break. It is no longer a question of who is reasonable, but a thing emotionally unacceptable.
Some sources also analyze that, if they think they will not be accused by the public and the media after paying back the money, they are wrong. Their search for this new and high-profile media role in the United States will make them like public figures more than ever. In other words, they will only be exposed much more frequently, receive more attention, and hear more voices of criticism.
Just as the media report the news of the repayment, another piece of news proves that point.
Everyone knows that Prince Harry had a military career. He served in Afghanistan, and had a lot of connections with the military. In 2014, he founded the "Invictus Games", which is a specially designed international sports meeting for the disabled, the sick and veterans. It has been held for four times, as a bonus point for his performance of royal duties. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan made their first public appearance as a couple at the 2017 Invictus Games held in Toronto.
However, due to the epidemic, the plans for the Games in recent years have all been disrupted. The Games originally scheduled to be held in April this year were canceled. Next year, the Games planned to be held in the Hague will be rescheduled to 2022. And the Games in Dusseldorf will also be postponed to 2023.
The fundraising activities for the Games were disrupted too. According to the original plan, a fundraising event for the Invictus Game will be presented in California next June and will be broadcasted live through Amazon Prime. The event may be held at the Hollywood Bowl, including music and comedy performances. Not only will Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran be invited, Harry and Meghan will also give speeches. Organizers expect to raise at least £1 million.
Harry took this job last year and was still following up a few weeks ago. But last week, Harry and Meghan suddenly announced the cancellation of the event! For a while, the organizers of the Games were all dumbfounded, and they were all "very shocked".
A few days after the news came to light, there was news that Harry and Meghan had signed a huge contract with Netflix. Foreign media reported that Harry and Meghan’s lawyers used the “conflict of interest” term, because the event was originally scheduled to be live broadcasted on Amazon platform. That is to say, Harry and Meghan intended to cooperate with Netflix in the future and had to cancel the event just because the cooperation with Amazon would offend the new sponsor.
But soon, Harry and Meghan's spokesman came out to clarify that canceling events and signing with Netflix were totally two different incidents. Before signing, they had already decided to cancel the activity. The real reason was that due to the epidemic, activities need to be rearranged. Harry would continue to participate in the related events of the Invictus Game.
Objectively speaking, the current evidence can’t conclude that the cancellation of the event was due to Harry Meghan’s concerns about "conflict of interest". It is also insufficient to explain that the cancellation was due to the epidemic. However, netizens do not believe Harry and Meghan’s explanations.
No one believes you two. You would say anything to make yourself look innocent!!! It's always someone/something else fault. —— a comment on the internet
Let’s go back to the topic mentioned above. Even if Harry and Meghan paid off the money they owed, they shouldn't even try to silence the media and the British people. Now the public attitude towards them is quite clear — they can't be trusted. Everything disagreeable to the netizen's eyes should be criticized.
Anyone with discerning eyes can see that this kind of "distrust" is not formed in a day or two. Since Harry and Meghan announced their "quitting" from the royal family, their actions have always caused controversy. Even if the money is now paid back, it is hard to dispel the negative impression they have left on the British people. On the contrary, it will make their relationship with the UK more and more alienated.
To borrow a comment from commentator Richard Kay,
"What he failed to understand then — and probably still doesn't now — is not that there was public resentment at the cost of refurbishing Frogmore..."
