Prince Harry Windsor Damages His Brand Image
Updated: Sep 4
Harry casts himself as the victim in his story, eliciting audience sympathy, pity, and anger, resulting in consternation, judgment, and conflict. By setting him and the Duchess of Sussex against His Majesty the King. Their Highnesses, Prince William and Princess Catherine, and the bureaucracy that runs their lives, he damaged his personal brand.
Casting himself up as the victim is a tough story for someone in his position to successfully pull off because most people cannot relate to his life, resulting in a lack of empathy. Before he published his book "Spare," he was a hero who overcame a tragic loss felt by millions of people, and now, he's just a whiny rich kid who got the smaller bedroom.
The Brand Story People Loved about Prince Harry
Until his marriage, the public knew the story of two brothers who had overcome the tragic loss of their mother to be a close and supportive team representing Britain on the global stage. That is the story the people love, and now he has shown them a reality they didn't want to know about. People want Diana's sons to be friends, not enemies.
Why the British Media Turned on Him
The British Media has turned on Prince Harry because he cast them as the villain in his story, thinking he has more sway over the British people than the Media.* This is a gamble as most British people are struggling right now, and this rich kid is whining because his brother got more and pushed him one time.
The people can't relate. They have bigger problems. They have real pain from horrific traumas. They have their own family dramas to deal with. AND... the British taxpayer pays the Royal family's wages, so they feel they have the right to demand more from them as International representatives of the British way of Life.
The American media and people see the conflict as something to get behind because Meagan, their dog in this race, is standing up to the big bad British Monarchy they rebelled against a few centuries ago. Their fight against the Monarchy is a part of their patriotic origin story. The American news, tweets, and other US commentator platforms reveal they don't understand the British Monarchy and its job description.
The Monarchy is a brand - a brand that is millennia old - a brand whose contemporary job is to represent the British people on the Global Stage. Members put their own needs aside for the good of the Monarchy, the people, and the country. The Monarchy represents a country of people and serves their subjects. It is the opposite ideal of the importance of the individual celebrity in America.
* Prince Harry may no longer care what the British people think about him and only about establishing his new brand in America. I choose not to believe this option because he still is a Prince of Britain and its Commonwealth.
Cast Himself as a Victim, Not a Hero
First, this may be the result he wanted. If he wanted to upset the British media, the British people, and his family - He met his objective. If not, he didn't understand how to tell his story as a hero, not a victim.
His victim's language and putting himself up as the little abused boy who everyone marginalized is a challenging story for someone in his position to pull off successfully. Most people have experienced hardship and see him as privileged, spoiled, and in a different world from them. This opinion can result in anger and dismissive comments when they see him playing the victim card over something they consider no big deal compared to the trauma they've faced in their own lives.
What a Victim Character Looks Like in a Story
The victim in the story focuses on themselves and their circumstances. They see only problems and create new ones by reacting to every perceived slight. They do not take responsibility for their lives or accept the consequences of their actions. Victims blame others and avoid making choices because they seek a hero to save them.
They are emotional characters who get in the heroes way because they feel hurt, jealousy, fear, helplessness, or other negative emotions, which results in a us vs. them conflict. As victims, what they don't have or didn't get holds more importance than what they do have. They cannot be grateful or appreciative of what they have or what others do to help them. Victims in stories are usually the minor characters for heroes to save, find justice for, or cause issues for the heroes to deal with. Think of the victims in the books, shows, and movies you watch - How do they sound, what do they say, and how do they act?
Prince Harry is Behaving Like a Victim of his Story
The teenage girl who goes into the haunted house everyone told her not to go into. The murdered man whose death needs to be investigated. The jealous wife who makes selfish decisions that hinder her husband's ability to succeed. The angry guy who robs the bank gets caught and blames the police for getting in his way. The victim characters' common thread is their own pain, negative feelings, and focus on what they lost. These are the characters who don't grow. Who stay static because they serve a purpose in the story - To make the Hero look good by saving them.
The Hero Character of a Story
Something bad happens to a character. They lose something, get hurt, and are somehow damaged, yet behave like a hero and move their story forward.
A hero changes the story by self-reflection, action, and choices. They don't let what happened to them define them. They move the story forward despite what they lost. The war hero lost his legs and ran a marathon—the entrepreneur who lost their fortune and then made a new one. The woman whose husband leaves her with nothing but kids and debts, and she finds strength in her struggle. Heroes act like heroes, fighting for a better tomorrow. They keep trying and help others in the process. They talk about tomorrow, not yesterday. They feel the pain of loss and failure, and they get back up, figure out what they did wrong, and try again.
Think of the heroes in the books, shows, and movies you love. How do they show up? What do they do to make the story move forward? How do they sound and behave?
The Possible Story of Prince Harry the "Spare"
In his book, Harry casts himself as the victim who feels like the second banana in his family and wishes he could have protected his mother from the media and Camilla. Since he grew up in it - it was normal. And now, he thinks it wasn't and wants more in life.
He grew up in a world where one's birth and family name determines their worth. He knows his place in the pecking order and then comes along an American actress who listens to all his past hurts and validates his pain. From watching her in their documentaries and interviews, you can imagine her upsetting the cart by bringing in a new point of view. It is plausible that she asked questions and pointed out how unfair it is for him to be considered less, as the spare, to be below his brother in the pecking order. It is possible to imagine she told him they are more popular, more loved, and more valuable than the others, so they should be equal and get more appreciation for being them.
She is an American celebrity who brings her proven personal brand-building skills of crafting her truth to share with the world. As an American, she doesn't know the rules and traditions of Monarchy. He fails to guide her and teach her the traditions that regulate his world, as she has stated time and time again that she received no training, no direction, and little support to succeed in his world. She doesn't understand the more prominent brand of the Firm and the formality of tradition that rules their existence. Tradition and rules push aside her personal feelings, needs, and identity to serve the Monarchy, which, in turn, serves the people of Britain. This way of life is the opposite value system from the place where celebrity is about the individual's ability to make money from their brand image, no matter their family roots.
In their documentaries and interviews, she is cast as the victim of the media, and he gets the chance to play the Hero who protects her like he wishes his dad had saved his mum.
Soon, together, they begin to list all the wrongs done to them, all the ways they were seen as less than the Cambridges, and how unfair and old-fashioned it all is. They take it upon themselves to try to get a centuries-old establishment to change for them... It Backfires & they are Out with only one way to make money - a Sensationalist Tell-all.
There is a lot of hurt there, and understandably, he'd want his family to understand his side and validate his feelings. He may want them to prove that they love him by admitting they mistreated him, ask him to come home, and give him the place he thinks he deserves.
The Firm, his dad, and his brother won't listen because their entitlements conflict with those of the Sussexes. Until both sides choose to understand the other side - this story will end like the former King Edward II and his American divorcee.
Many families share this story, and those who see themselves as victimized by their siblings will identify with Harry. His story will resonate and reaffirm their own victim story. Victims focus on hurts and, in the process, cause more problems and division. As long as Harry casts himself as the victim of his family - they will continue to grow further and further apart.
Could Prince Harry be the Hero? Yes.
But not by vilifying others, pointing fingers, and playing the blame game. He allowed himself to become the victim of the American storytelling industry, where if it bleeds, it leads sensationalism determines the story's value. He has allowed himself to be paraded in front of a country that doesn't understand the Monarchy, whose origin story is based on the villainy of the institution of his very existence, and in the process, has cast himself in the role of victim, not Hero.
Heroes strive to solve problems. They look to save the day by defeating the villain and saving the victim. Harry must accept his family for who they are and understand their strengths and weaknesses if he wants to be the Hero. He must love them despite their behavior and find a way to be a part of their lives without allowing them to damage his.
He did start down the Hero road when he acknowledged that the institution no longer served him and his family. He decided to move away and remove himself from a toxic situation, but then... He changed the story and cast himself as the victim of their villainy, who had no choice but to tell the world his victimized side of the story.
Do you want to be the Hero or the victim of your story?
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News Stories about Prince Harry:
From the Daily Mail:
Prince Harry 'has been written out of King Charles' Coronation and will have no official role in the service if he attends' after he left Prince William 'burning with anger' following release of tell-all memoir
Royal sources told the Sunday Times that Harry has no place in the proceedings
William is said to be 'angry, anxious and sad' amid the Duke's bombshell claims
The Royal Family have thus far refused to comment on the revelations in 'Spare'
Prince Harry has been written out of King Charles' Coronation script, it was claimed today, as royal insiders said Prince William is 'burning with anger' amid the bombshell revelations in the Duke of Sussex's memoirs.
It will be interesting to see if he will be at the coronation or not
This family drama is distracting the Western world from real problems we are all facing.
In the Mirror
Prince Harry warned Invictus Games 'at risk of terror attack' after Taliban kill claims
Mikey Hall, 47, who competed in the first Invictus Games in 2014, called Harry a “disgrace” to veterans – and wants the prince to stay away from this year’s event.He said: “I don’t want him there any more because he is destroying himself and the Royal Family.
“I met Harry twice and I thought he was a good lad, very down to earth. But now he seems like a complete and utter idiot and is just making a fool of himself.
“He is a disgrace to him, the family and veterans, saying he has killed 25 people as a veteran. He has only done that to sell books.”