By: Fern Sidman
As the Meghan-Harry- Oprah interview story continues to generate ink, especially in the UK tabloids, one can only look back in retrospect to see who the winners and losers are. Clearly, the UK Royal Family took a punch to the gut as did Meghan Markle and hubby Harry, also known as the Sussexes. Yes, folks, both “institutions” came out smelling pretty odious and there was no side that garnered all the sympathy and accolades. Both the Royal Family and the renegade pair who are enjoying life in sunny California with their son Archie and another on the way had their share of stalwart supporters and unrelenting detractors. So, in the end, no one won the prize for victimhood or virtue. The contest was definitely deadlocked.
Fear not, folks. At the end of every good story there always seems to be some winners. This time the loving cup and tons of those “Benjamins” printed at the US Mint goes to both iconic television personality Oprah Winfrey and of course, the executives over at Netflix.
The versatile Oprah who has vast experience in television production, the film industry and much more is already a multi-billionaire, but the $8 million that CBS forked over for the licensing agreement to air the interview definitely helped to bulk up her already gargantuan bank account. And let’s not forget the fact that she will have gone down in interview history as reeling in a big one while taking in the stream of praise that has come her way.
And for the folks at Netflix? That’s an easy one. One can only imagine a formidable group of executives from Netflix rubbing their hands together in glee as their eyes morphed into neon dollar signs while watching the Oprah interview. Oprah asked the Sussexes whether they have every watched the mega-hit known as “The Crown.” A loaded question right there as the series has catapulted Netflix to the front of the line as one of the premier movie and series producers and has garnered heartfelt paeans from just about every corner of the earth where there is a television.
So, just having Meghan and Harry saunter out to the interview set and mesmerize the world with revelations about the Royal Family that are beyond shocking is more than enough to motivate the average watcher to give some serious consideration to subscribing to Netflix in order to slake their insatiable hunger for the entertainment industry’s dramatic take on the history of the Royal Family.
And, of course, the mere mention of the series “The Crown” on both the Oprah interview and in the interview that late night CBS television talk show host James Corden did with Harry a few weeks back certainly can’t hurt when it comes to marketing the blockbuster series. Although the statistics have not been thoroughly researched, I would surmise that Netflix walked off with at least a few hundred thousand more subscribers, considering that 17 million people globally tuned into the Oprah-Meghan-Harry event.
Turning our attention to the focus of the interview which did reveal much about the machinations of the UK royal family it is noteworthy to review a bit of history about the family, so that one can get a better grasp on who they are and what they mean to the British Empire and the many countries that comprise the commonwealth of nations that recognize the leadership of the monarchy.
Even though the House of Windsor looks and sounds very British with their “stiff upper lip” and “carry on” attitude, the royal family has a very weak British blood line in their DNA. As a matter of fact, the royal family has way more German blood and practice more German traditions than they do on the British side.
The House of Windsor as we know it today began in 1917 when the family changed its name from the German “Saxe-Coburg & Gotha.” Queen Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George V, was the first Windsor monarch, and today’s working royals are the descendants of King George and his wife, Queen Mary. King George’s mother, Queen Alexandra had both Danish and German blood coursing in her veins and had German blood on his father’s side. Queen Mary was known as the princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg in Germany, even though she was born and raised in the United Kingdom. Her parents were Francis, Duke of Teck, who was of German extraction, and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, who was a granddaughter of King George III. Rumor has it that Queen Mary even spoke English with a German accent.
Before 1917, members of the British Royal Family had no surname, but only the name of the house or dynasty to which they belonged. … The family name was changed as a result of anti-German feeling during the First World War, and the name Windsor was adopted after the Castle of the same name. German bombers were called “Gothas”, in reference to their manufacturer, Gothaer Waggonfabrik
This all stems back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert whose 63 year reign placed its indelible mark on the United Kingdom. Both Victoria and Albert were of German lineage. Queen Victoria was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover (as in Germany) and the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha dynasty became part of the family in 1840 when Victoria married Prince Albert of that dynasty. Victoria was succeeded by her son Edward VII in 1901, upon her death. He was known as a descendant of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as well.
To this day, the royal family on the Emerald Isle still practice such German traditions like opening up gifts on Christmas Eve rather than on Christmas Day.
With the advent of World War II and the subsequent abdication of King Edward VIII (aka, David), the royal family did everything in its power to publicly dissociate with Germany. Because the two countries were in the midst of ferocious battle during both world wars, it was thought best to treat Germany as the enemy that it was.
Interestingly, history has recorded that the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, (also known as the former King Edward VIII and his American wife, Wallace Simpson) traveled to Nazi Germany during World War II where they were feted by Adolf Hitler and prominent members of the Third Reich. There has been much speculation on whether Edward’s trip with his wife to Nazi Germany was meant to show the world that at least one country in Europe recognized him as the King of the British Empire and his wife as his royal consort, deserving of adulation and tremendous respect.
Another piece of information that has rocked royal historians to the core is a most interesting one. Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark who later became the royal consort to the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth (and abandoned his foreign royal title and was granted a strictly British prince title by his wife in the early days of their marriage) was the only male heir of his mother, Princess Alice and his father Prince Andrew. His sisters all married Nazi officers. Redeeming the family from its connection to the Nazi party was Philip’s mother, Princess Alice. Although she also spoke German, she ended up back in Greece during World War II and helped Greek Jews escape from the Nazis who had invaded the country.
The Royal Family, however, has over the last thousand years, successfully navigated life’s turbulent highways. Although it has taken some serious bruises along the way, somehow, the pageantry of the monarchy has captivated people from across the globe and kept it in its favor. Despite the consistent presence of the Republicans faction in the UK that calls for the end of the monarchy, the House of Windsor still prevails and remains a much loved institution in the British empire.
