The royals should embody virtue – not signal it

ONE should not be censorious if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fly in private jets to their holidays, though one cannot help laughing when they combine this with exhortations to save the planet. There is, sadly, no royal yacht nowadays (a new one would be a good make-work scheme post-Brexit), and we are not a civilised enough country to leave them and their baby alone if they were to travel on public transport. But they are making two mistakes. The first is to go somewhere hot, sunny and celebrity-filled for their break. One of the secrets of the Queen’s popularity is that she has almost never been seen sunbathing with the rich and famous. The worm of public envy never stirs when she spends her summers in Scotland. Her Balmorality is impregnable. The Sussexes’ second error is to take moral stands on issues which make ordinary people feel inferior. It is increasingly well understood by voters that endless lecturing about racism, sexism, diet and the environment is the main modern means by which elites disdain the commonalty. The British royal family is popular in part because, although — obviously — grand, its members do not share the attitudes of super-educated, globalised people. Most of them are not graduates; no monarch since the 17th century has shown an inclination to read serious books. Until recently, Prince Harry’s magical gift was just to be obviously warm-hearted and open to all. He imperils this if he starts expressing views. So much better to embody virtue than to signal it.

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IN the London Review of Books this month, James Meek wrote a long article about Jacob Rees-Mogg and his ‘curious duality’ in being both a high Catholic, fogey Brexiteer and a founder of Somerset Capital Management, which the author sees as globalist and ruthless.