Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had such a big day! For starters, the royal pair went totally rogue and dropped out of the royal family kind of out of nowhere. I mean, we all thought it was coming, but no one imagined that they would do it in quite this fashion. Can you imagine if King Edward VIII tweeted, "I'm out, y'all. Going to go marry my American"?!
I can, actually.
But Harry and Meghan have a little more class than that, and they actually issued an official-sounding statement on Instagram. While the news that they are stepping back from "senior" royal duties, working toward financial independence, and planning to live part-time in "North America" (I assume this is code for Canada) was a huge shock, the news that they apparently announced this without even making sure it was OK with The Queen Of England is massive.
While it's easy to get caught up in the tidal wave of "OMG" that's going around the world today, there is one person whom I cannot help but think of at a time like this: Princess Diana, forever the HRH of my heart. I have a sneaking suspicion that everyone's favorite rogue royal would have had quite a field day with this news. If there's some kind of astral heaven out there, I hope she's in it and thoroughly enjoying herself.
To mark this momentous occasion, I present to you: 10 reactions Princess Diana would have to Prince Harry's abrupt departure from the royal firm, in GIF form. Because if you thought she already had enough reasons to haunt the royal family … well, I bet now she has even more.
"Ooh, this will be good."
First things first: Diana would recognize the absolutely monumental moment that's taking place. We are basically living through our very own monarchal crisis, y'all! It's kind of gigantic. I can't help but think she would quietly sit back, absorb the news, and start scrolling through Twitter to make sure everyone is being nice to her baby.
"Really, Liz?"
When the news broke that the Queen and family are apparently "disappointed" in Prince Harry and Meghan's decision, you know Diana would not tolerate it at all. As if we haven't all been hearing about how unhappy they are? As if we all don't know how much Meghan and Harry have had to deal with? You know she'd shoot her eyes at Charles and mouth, "Do. Not. Even."
"Don't worry, boo."
Prince Harry probably started feeling the nerves after the rest of his family had an "Excuse me, what?" reaction to the news. I mean, you can make the best plan ever and feel so good about it and know you're doing the right thing, but it's still so intense to do something that your whole family of origin doesn't agree with. And if you multiply by that about 80 zillion, you probably start to get an idea of what Prince Harry feels like right now.
As a renegade royal herself, Di would totally be in Frogmore Cottage, making sure Harry and Meghan were OK. Plus! Bonus Archie cuddles!
Tiger Mom
In fact, I would go so far as to say that Diana would probably tell Harry and Meghan to do what they can to relax, and that she would monitor social media and field phone calls and texts for them. Princess Diana would be the most formidable wall the royal family would have to deal with. She'd take all the heat for Harry in a heartbeat.
"Remind them why they love us."
First on her "Protect Harry and Meghan At All Costs" campaign? Mysteriously, channels across the UK, and then the world, would suddenly switch on to Princess Diana documentaries. Because why not? Let's distract everyone with some glitz and glam. Who doesn't want to talk about her massive wedding veil, again, for the 15,000th time? I could talk about it every day for the rest of my life.
If that doesn't work, go sassy.
If it seemed her public wasn't quite feeling the classic Lady Di vibes, she'd know what to do next: Step out wearing something killer. Because y'all know if Diana were still with us, she'd be slaying fashion-wise on a regular basis. She could absolutely use the moment to soar — and to distract, distract, distract. Let her baby do what he needs to do! Look how good her legs look, after all this time!
She'd also be furiously texting Fergie.
If there's another royal who would totally Get It right now, it's Sarah Ferguson, aka Fergie. Not only were she and Diana similarly ostracized in their marriages to Andrew and Charles, respectively, Fergie was positively hounded by the press after she and Andrew divorced. I guarantee that among the many people Diana would have group chats going with, Fergie would be involved in at least eight of them.
"Reassuring Mom" Mode
After making the rounds on her own, Diana would totally circle back to Frogmore to check on the couple. She would be concerned about Harry and possibly high-fiving Meghan in a back room. Who knows? Maybe she would be high-fiving both of them. And Archie! When do babies learn to high-five, anyway? She'd teach him how to tonight.
"Let's just go get a drink."
OK, this GIF is cute and cuddly, but if Princess Diana were alive now, she'd absolutely knock one back with her youngest son. They'd probably stay low-key and keep it at home, but who knows? Princess Diana was always one to keep it interesting. She might be like, "You know what would really mess with them? Let's go out and have a ball."
At the end of the day, they'll get through it.
The best thing about how Princess Diana might react if she were alive today would be that she would (a) be totally supportive of her son and his wife, (b) be a little worried for them but hiding it, and (c) focus on how, ultimately, everything would be OK. Because you know what? When you're making choices that are good for you, it probably will be.
Good luck, Harry and Meghan! You're pretty bold.
