英王室に残る溝、女王死去で解消なるか

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国のエリザベス女王の死去は、王室を離脱し米国に移住したヘンリー王子と妻のメーガン妃が他の王族と和解するきっかけになる可能性がある。（写真は英ウィンザー城で、エリザベス女王を追悼するため集まった人々の前にそろって姿を現した（左から）キャサリン皇太子妃、ウィリアム皇太子、ヘンリー王子、メーガン妃）
　女王が亡くなった８日、珍しく英国を訪問中だった王子夫妻は、ウィンザー城で１０日、兄夫婦のウィリアム皇太子とキャサリン皇太子妃と共に姿を見せた。４人が公の場へ一緒に現れたのは、ヘンリー王子夫妻が２０２０年に米国に移住して以降で初めてだった。
　黒い喪服を着た４人は、一般市民が供えた多数の花を一緒に眺めた後、夫妻ごとに別れて市民と交流。その際、互いの仲をうかがわせるような言動はなかった。
　だが、カメラの前に一緒に登場したことは、大きく悪化している関係の修復を予期させるものとなった。英王室担当記者たちは、ウィリアム皇太子がヘンリー王子に対して「和解の申し出」として同伴を提案したと伝えている。
　二人をめぐる状況は、つい２日前には違っていた。ウィリアム皇太子は、ヘンリー王子以外の王族と共に、女王が亡くなったバルモラル城に到着。ヘンリー王子はその後、一人遅れて城に到着した。二人とも、女王の最期に立ち会うことはできなかった。
　英王室に詳しいリチャード・フィッツウィリアムズ氏は、二人が別々にバルモラル城に到着したことは、「疎遠」になっていたことを示していると指摘。ヘンリー王子とメーガン妃による最近の王室批判は「王室に大きな打撃を与えた」と受け止められているとし、王子夫妻と王室との今後の関係は、夫妻の「出方次第」だと述べた。
　ヘンリー王子とウィリアム皇太子は昨年、母ダイアナ元皇太子妃の銅像の除幕式で再会した際、険悪な関係にあることが明らかだった。女王の在位７０年を祝う今年６月のプラチナジュビリーでは、二人は顔を合わせなかった。
　メーガン妃は最近、米ファッション誌ザ・カットのインタビューで、今は自身の経験について「自由」に語れるように感じると告白。この発言は、王室に対する遠回しの脅迫だとも受け止められた。

■ヘンリー王子夫妻は「予測不可能」
　しかし女王の死去を受け、こうした険悪な関係が和らぐ兆しも出ている。チャールズ国王は即位後の最初の演説で、ヘンリー王子とメーガン妃への「愛」を表明し、和解に前向きな姿勢を示した。
　フィッツウィリアムズ氏は、国王はヘンリー王子に和解の手を差し伸べる一方で、王子夫妻が「予測不可能であることを知っているため、非常に慎重に」なっていると説明。夫妻は若者に人気があるが、英国では王室側を支持する世論が強いことから、国民が喪に服しているときに公然と王室を批判することには大きなリスクが伴うと指摘した。
　ウィリアム皇太子夫妻がヘンリー王子夫妻とそろって公の場に登場したことは、新たな家族関係の幕開けにつながる可能性がある。しかし、ヘンリー王子は年内に回顧録を出版予定で、その内容によっては、状況はすぐ後戻りする可能性もある。
　フィッツウィリアムズ氏は、ヘンリー王子夫妻が女王の国葬に参列することは間違いないが、「それ以上のことは分からない」と説明。「ヘンリー王子が回顧録で批判を控えたのであれば、話は変わってくる」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/13-14:17）

Queen Elizabeth II's death could help start a reconciliation between Prince Harry and wife Meghan and the rest of the royal family, after a reported rift and their relocation to the United States.
The couple, who were on a rare visit to Britain when the queen died on Thursday, reunited with Harry's brother William and wife Kate at Windsor Castle Saturday. It was their first joint public appearance since they moved stateside in early 2020.
All dressed in mourning black, together they looked at the growing banks of flowers left by the public before greeting well-wishers as separate pairs, giving little away about the state of their relations.
But the decision by the quartet -- once dubbed the fab four in closer times -- to step out together in front of the cameras at all appeared a sign of progress in repairing badly fractured ties.
UK royal reporters said heir-to-the-throne William proposed the olive branch to his younger brother, who has been increasingly critical of the family since leaving frontline royal duties.
Just two days earlier it was a different story, with a tearful looking Harry, 37, arriving alone in a vehicle to the Balmoral estate where the queen had earlier died.
William and several other close family members -- but not Kate -- had earlier turned up together in a single car, but also arrived too late to see the queen before she passed away.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Thursday's separate arrivals showed the brothers had become estranged.
He argued that Harry and Meghan were seen to have done the royal family a lot of damage in recent months with their broadsides against the monarchy.
For the future, the ball's in their court and it depends how they want to play, Fitzwilliams added.
- 'Different paths' -
Things used to be so different.
After the princes' mother Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997, they touched the world by walking behind her coffin at her funeral.
William was 15 while Harry was just 12.
They appeared to share a close bond as adults, uninterrupted by William marrying long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton in 2011 and starting a family.
But relations soured following former British Army captain Harry's 2018 marriage to Meghan -- a mixed-race American television actress -- at Windsor in 2018.
He said in a 2019 interview that he and his brother were on different paths. A year later, Harry and Meghan sensationally announced their move to the US.
The couple's subsequent explosive Oprah Winfrey interview in March 2021 saw Meghan publicly claim Kate had made her cry.
The most damaging claim, however, was that an unnamed royal had speculated about the skin colour of mixed-race Meghan's future child.
William reacted later by telling a journalist that the royals were very much not a racist family.
Relations between the brothers were visibly frosty when they reunited last year to unveil a statue to their mother.
They did not meet during the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
More recently, Meghan told The Cut magazine in a lengthy interview that she now felt free to tell her own story, which some saw as a veiled threat to the monarchy.
- 'Unpredictable' -
However, since the queen's death there have been tentative signs of a possible softening in the estrangement.
Despite Harry claiming to Winfrey that his brother and father were trapped in the monarchy, Charles appeared open to reconciling with his self-exiled son in his first speech as Britain's new king, notably expressing love for him and Meghan.
He's offering an olive branch, but he's offering (it) with great great care because he knows they're unpredictable, said Fitzwilliams.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are popular with young people, but could be taking a big risk openly criticising the monarchy, he added, especially at a time of national mourning and in its aftermath.
There's no doubt that the Sussexes will draw a lot of attention right now, noted Fitzwilliams, with British public opinion already firmly on the rest of the family's side.
Saturday's joint appearance with William and Kate, who this week became the prince and princess of Wales following Charles' ascension to the throne, may herald a new chapter for family relations.
But with Harry anticipated to release his likely controversial memoirs by the end of the year, things could also easily regress.
Obviously they will attend the funeral. More than that, it's impossible to say, said Fitzwilliams.
If in Harry's memoir he has stopped being critical, that's different.