There are men who manage a crisis and there are men who manage a crisis while also booking a television appearance, and Harry is doing both simultaneously this week, in the same country, with what his spokesman described as two different sets of concerns.
James Corden confirmed Tuesday that Harry will appear on his new television show, which airs in mid-July and which films in Britain, where Harry is planning to be for the Invictus Games one-year countdown events in Birmingham. According to GB News, which broke the story, Harry’s programme “includes both public and private engagements across the country,” of which the Corden appearance is one, and the security situation is another, and the two are apparently being managed independently, which is an unusual approach to a trip where the security is the question and the television show is a public engagement that requires the same security to exist.
Harry’s spokesman told GB News on Monday: “The issue has never been accommodation. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit.” The entirety of the visit now includes a James Corden television appearance. The protective security in question has been declined by RAVEC for activities outside royal grounds. James Corden’s television studio is not on royal grounds.
The King offered Harry accommodation at a royal residence. The King has cancer. He has met Lilibet once. Harry, per GB News, has not formally accepted the accommodation offer, which means the King’s specific wish to see his grandchildren is currently dependent on a security committee’s decision, a government bureaucracy that paused its own review in March and did not mention it, and a television scheduling conflict that has now been confirmed to the press. Per GB News, sources close to the Sussexes “painted a picture of a man in distress over the situation,” which is the situation of a man who booked a television appearance for the same trip whose logistics are described as requiring him to “explore every available option.”
William is in Scotland this week for the Order of the Thistle Service at St Giles’ Cathedral. He attended with the King, Queen Camilla, and the Duke of Edinburgh on Wednesday. Harry is in California, booking television. The King has both sons’ schedules and one of them is easier to read than the other.
When the security situation requires exploring every available option and the television booking has already been confirmed, which problem got solved first?
Sources
GB News: James Corden confirms Prince Harry will appear on his new TV show
GB News: Prince Harry’s current security obstacles flow from the deal he chose
