Colin Brazier

The Queen has a secret weapon in the War of the Waleses

It was a big call, sending the royals out and about straight after the Oprah interview. We have to be seen to be believed, as Her Majesty is said to have once observed. It’s a philosophy more complicated than it appears and one which should have the Sussexes worried.

As a strategy, it’s not risk-free. Within 24 hours of ITV’s broadcast of the Meghan and Harry interview, Charles went to a vaccination centre in North London. A couple of days later, William was at an East End school. It’s amazing how rarely these things go wrong. True: appearances aren’t widely trailed in advance, armed officers are at hand, and to a great extent crowds police themselves. Even so, it just takes a moron with a brass neck and a grudge to make trouble. A slap, a mouthful of spittle, a foul-mouthed slogan. Whatever the stunt, smartphones would guarantee global notoriety for the perpetrator.

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