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When Princes William and Harry strode out on stage with their partners Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle for their first-ever joint event on February 28, 2018, they were welcomed by a glorious round of applause.
The new foursome had already been given a plethora of nicknames by excited fans, including ‘Team Super Royal’, ‘The Fantastic Four’ and the one that seemed to stick the most – ‘The Fab Four’.
All the enthusiastic name-calling came from a nation optimistically looking forward to what the group of young royals would be able to achieve together.
The first order of business for the royal quartet was an event for the Royal Foundation where they unveiled their charitable vision for the future.
Launched in 2011, the Royal Foundation was set up by William and Harry as the main vehicle to pursue their charitable and philanthropic interests.
The event also served as the informal royal ‘working debut’ of Harry’s then-fiancée, American actress Meghan.
As the all-smiling team sat down for what would be a 22-minute joint interview, they looked out at an audience made up of invited guests, foundation supporters, beneficiaries and, of course, the worldwide media.
And although the four seemingly had all the good looks, skills and training to make the launch a success, it fell flat.
The ‘Fab Four’ went to their first-ever joint event in February 2018, but the awkward nature of it led some commentators to think it was a sign things had already gone wrong
The resurfaced footage shows the royals with forced smiles and awkward glances
Despite the on-stage giggles, the event finished so badly that it was later decided the ‘Fab Four’ would in future only appear together in the context of larger group royal engagements
Things finished so badly that it was later decided the ‘Fab Four’ would only appear together in the context of larger group royal engagements, like Trooping the Colour.
A lot of the discord at the event seemed to take place behind the scenes, away from the glare of the TV cameras.
And although Harry and Meghan didn’t decide to leave the Royal Family until nearly two years later, many commentators now regard the Fab Four’s famous launch as an early clue that things were already going wrong.
They point out that behind the painted smiles and awkward glances, dysfunction was already bubbling under the surface, perhaps down to one member’s need to capture the limelight.
Despite not even being an official member of the Royal Family until her wedding a few months later in May, Meghan apparently did not feel like she needed any time as an apprentice.
She snagged most of the headlines at the event when she boldly encouraged women to ‘use their voices’ rather than ‘find’ them, praising women for speaking out against sexual harassment.
She said: ‘I hear a lot of people speaking about girls’ empowerment and women’s empowerment – you will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices.
‘I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen.
It seems a lot of the discord at the event took place behind the scenes, away from the glare of the TV cameras
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the appearance was that it was the informal royal ‘working debut’ of Harry’s then-fiancée – American actress Meghan Markle
‘Right now with so many campaigns like #MeToo and #TimesUp there’s no better time to continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people supporting them.’
But the novice had unknowingly, just veered into the most fundamental rule of being a royal – to stay out of politics.
The #TimesUp that she just promoted was a viral campaign that had spread around the world in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal, aiming to create laws to punish companies which tolerated sexual harassment.
Although it was a noble cause, the creation of laws would obviously mean input from politicians, which is a big royal taboo.
Meanwhile Harry heaped praise on his future bride, adding: ‘I am personally incredibly proud and excited that my soon-to-be wife, who is equally passionate about seeing positive change in the world, will soon be joining us with this work.’
Acclaimed royal biographer Tom Bower wrote about Meghan’s antics at the Royal Foundation ‘Fab Four’ event in his 2022 bestselling book Revenge.
He wrote Meghan’s speech was based on her ‘virtuous thoughts’ and he claimed it caused Kate to react with a ‘frozen expression’.
After she spoke, Bower claimed: ‘The audience’s reaction was mixed. Many of the young people were impressed.
‘But to many others women in Britain did not appear to be silenced. Indeed, the monarch, the prime minister, the president of the Supreme Court and many senior civil servants, industrialists and media editors were women.
Tom Bower (left) wrote about the ‘Fab Four’ debut in his bestselling book Revenge (right) in 2022
Meghan Markle, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William at the first annual Royal Foundation Forum in London on February 28, 2018
‘Moreover, Meghan was only sitting on the platform, as she later liked to say, as “a mother, feminist and advocate”, because of Harry.
‘Marriage would make her rich and titled, but not famous because of any personal achievement. She was piloting an unscripted storyline way beyond Rachel Zane’s scope.’
As well as grabbing the headlines with her provocative speech, Meghan’s talk also caused traditional royalists to raise an eyebrow.
Bower continued: ‘While Meghan spoke, Harry spotted William’s rictus grin. Virtue signalling from a platform ignored the royals’ role impartially to foster national unity.
‘She had not been invited to join the Royal Foundation to reinvent the Royal Family’s customs. Meghan, William silently feared, did not understand that the public expected mystique not familiarity.’
But despite William’s apparent concerns, he nevertheless welcomed Meghan graciously to the family at the event, adding how ‘delighted’ he was for her to join them, which was greeted with a warm round of applause from Kate.
However, the awkwardness at the event got dialled up further when the presenter innocently asked if the royals ‘ever have disagreements’.
William tried to laugh off the tricky question by responding with a drawn out ‘Ohhhh yes’, with Harry jumping in quickly to clarify they were ‘healthy disagreements’.
The theme of the event was ‘Making a Difference Together’, but the group never made a joint appearance together again
When asked what the last thing they quarrelled on was about, Harry also tried to play it off by joking they ‘come so thick and fast’.
William forcefully tried to continue the banter, quipping: ‘Is it resolved? We don’t know!’
Harry then attempted to steer the topic back towards the serious message, adding: ‘I think it’s really good we have got four different personalities and we all have that same passion to make a difference.’
He then added: ‘But we are stuck together for the rest of our lives’, before Meghan quipped at the end ‘togetherness at it’s finest’.
At the end of the question, the presenter summed up the whole interview when she said: ‘Well you’re putting on a great show if [your last argument] is not resolved!’
After re-watching the interview following all we now know about William and Harry’s very bitter estrangement, some viewers will also be able to see signs in William’s speech that he seemed uncomfortable with how Meghan was behaving.
He told the audience: ‘The task for us would not be to reinvent the wheel.
‘Instead, our job was to follow the example of those who had come before us, hold on to the values that have always guided our family, but seek to engage in public life in a way that was updated and relevant for our generation.’
While watching it back, some viewers will be able to see signs that not everyone was happy at the event
Tina Brown, the former editor of Tatler and The New Yorker, wrote in her bestselling 2022 royal book The Palace Papers that Meghan’s brazen speech didn’t sit well with her future sister-in-law.
The author, who had lunch with Princess Diana in New York two months before her death in 1997, wrote: ‘When it was Kate’s moment to speak, she was strikingly less articulate, as well as brief.
‘Few knew that it was she – after years of providing emotional support to her younger brother, James, as he struggled with clinical depression – who had been the prime mover of the foundation’s mental health campaign.
‘It was crafted after careful consultation with mental health professionals, policy experts, and Palace advisers.’ (As a trio, Kate, Prince Harry, and Prince William launched Heads Together, the royals’ campaign for mental health awareness.)
‘Now here was Meghan championing a fashionable cause anointed by Hollywood and sure to make headlines. It was an awkward dynamic.’
As well as Kate’s speech, her awkward body language also gave away that there were bubbling tensions between the group.
The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden discussed the situation in a recent episode of the YouTube show Reading the Royals, which analysed the fallout of the Waleses and Sussexes.
A royal expert has claimed when it was Kate’s moment to speak, she was strikingly less articulate
Tina Brown, the former editor of Tatler and The New Yorker, wrote about the ‘Fab Four’ debut in her 2022 book The Palace Papers
A body language expert said their behaviour ‘suggested there has been some lively debate between the couples’
He said: ‘On the face of it they were all smiles, but you don’t have to look hard to see some of the awkwardness.
‘At the time we put some of this awkwardness down to just the fact that Meghan was new, there was a bit of shyness, it was their first appearance together but, with hindsight, we now know of genuine tensions behind the scenes.
‘When Meghan was making her comments about women’s empowerment there was even more awkwardness than at other times.
‘It became clear during this press conference that Meghan was going to be different and perhaps difficult.
‘And she was going to be veering off script and would be taking the Royal Family in directions they might not be comfortable with.’
Shortly after the ‘Fab Four’ walked off stage, the Mail spoke to a body language expert whose comments can now be seen as, with the benefit of hindsight, remarkably close to the mark.
Judi James said: ‘Meghan’s style of communication is emotional and forceful. Putting her passion for the causes across she looks like a force of nature that might take some stopping.
‘When the subject of “disagreements” between them came up there were some interesting “tells” in terms of body language.
‘Both women used their hair as a cut-off, hiding their faces and therefore their true emotions.
‘William sank in his seat saying “oh yes” and Meghan grabbed Harry’s arm in what looked like a gesture of restraint and support.
‘The words “stuck together” were used and although the mood was light enough it was an interesting moment that might suggest there has been some lively debate between the couples.’
Looking back on the event from 2022, the Royally Us podcast hosts Christine Ross and Christina Garibaldi noted it was seen as ‘the start of the downfall between the four of them’.
Ms Ross said: ‘At the time, we didn’t think anything of it, but when you go back and watch the clips, from the event, it’s noticeable’.
Some royal experts have noted the event has been seen as ‘the start of the downfall between the four of them’
Rift: Harry and William during the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace in 2021
Nevertheless, the world did eventually get the memo that all was sadly not well between the two couples.
A little over a year after the failed launch, on June 20, 2019, a statement was released announcing the Sussexes would be leaving the Royal Foundation and setting up their own charity.
It was seen as the final step in dividing the couples’ public duties after they had previously split from William and Kate’s household of Kensington Palace and hired their own staff.
And less than a year after the separation, on January 13, 2020, Queen Elizabeth II announced there would be no royal future for the Sussexes as Megxit was finalised.
For those who remember the optimistic launch of the ‘Fab Four’ less than two years previously – it was a dramatic fall from grace.
Instead of Princess Diana and King Charles’ two sons and their wives working together to achieve great things for the country, the relationship ended in disaster.
And with William and Harry reportedly not having spoken to each other in years, it looks like there is no way back for them anytime soon.
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