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The last time Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walked down the long walk at Windsor Castle, it was a completely different story.

The sun is shining and the crowd is cheering, and an actress from the middling cable drama just married Prince Harry and joins the world’s most famous family in telling the best Cinderella story in history.

In the early hours of Sunday, Meghan and husband Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex made an unexpected return to the long walk, where they joined his brother and sister-in-law, Prince and Princess of Wales William and Kate, to watch what was left for their late true great-grandmother the Queen. Under the sea of ​​flowers.

It’s a picture no one expected to see, and maybe will see again. The two couples walked side by side on royal affairs. In fact, the last time the foursome did anything like that was during HRH when the Sussexes took their last turn to work in March 2020. Their sour faces and Meghan’s fake smile have long since become legendary.

What a difference more than two years and an Oprah interview can make.

In Windsor on Sunday, when a door to the royal black Odis Sea opened, it wasn’t just a new prince and princess, but a completely unexpected Sussex.

The addition of the Duke and Duchess is entirely up to William, with a source telling The Telegraph that the Prince of Wales “invited” the Sussexes because he “thought it was an important show of unity in the family” A very difficult time.”

However, while some media outlets have suddenly started throwing out words like “reconciliation” and the really shabby “olive branch,” let’s sit still.

The Times reported, ” [Wales and Sussex] The camp required lengthy negotiations behind the scenes beforehand, delaying their arrival by 45 minutes. “

While the crowd cheered the Montecito-based couple, there were no reports of those pesky boos they faced as they reunited with their families in Sao Paulo during the Platinum Jubilee in June, hundreds of pictures and live TV footage could not cover up their embarrassment. the whole event.

Just two weeks ago, a stunning, confident Meghan appeared on the cover of New York’s The Cut magazine in a myriad of chic designer outfits for another royal challenge. (I really have to count how many days we have by now.)

The Duchess told reporter Alison P. Davis “Just by being there, we’re disrupting the dynamics of the hierarchy. So we went, ‘Okay, okay, let’s get out of here. Glad. With this The line threatened more revelations, “I can say anything. I have a lot to say until I don’t. “

Bold words indeed, but in the safety of land and sea far from her husband’s family, it’s easy to make a bold voice.

Oh fate, you really can be a cruel mistress.

The Sussexes aren’t enjoying anything they usually do on weekends (making their own oat milk? Updating their dream diaries? Ignoring calls from Netflix executives wondering where all their shows might get theirs? Huge cheques settled long ago?), Harry and Meghan find themselves thrown back into the lion’s den. No one could have predicted that instead of giving a self-engaged speech this week, they were forced to face someone they were so aggressive and openly bashing.

(I’d love to talk about karma here, but I’ll avoid it.)

Did anyone in Windsor on Sunday, even Meghan, a professionally trained actress with years of experience pretending to be on camera, looked visibly uncomfortable?

Sure, the foursome headed there together in the same SUV that William was driving, but the moment they stepped out, the dynamic between them was visibly awkward. Meghan fiddled with her hair and at some point seemed to be further away from the crowd.

The Welsh and Sussexes then walked to the waiting public, the two women still keeping their distance. Despite some early morning coffee-fueled searches, I haven’t found any indication that Kate and Meghan actually interacted at any point during the roughly 40-minute outing. No wonder the Duchess told Oprah and an audience of an estimated 50 million people around the world how Kate allegedly made her cry.

For Harry and Meghan, the performance of the past few days has been like a humiliating example of chickens coming home to roost, circulating around the world and watching TV cameras constantly.

When news of Her Majesty’s deteriorating health broke on Thursday, the Queen’s children and William were flown to her side in Scotland on a private jet. Initially, it was announced that Harry and Meghan would also sprint north.

The Daily Mail’s royal editor Rebecca English reported that Buckingham Palace felt “unbelievable” when the news was announced.

“Charles told Harry it was incorrect or inappropriate for Meghan to be at Balmoral at such a sad time,” a source told The Sun. “It was pointed out to him that Kate was not going and that the numbers really should be limited to the closest family. Charles made it very, very clear that Meghan would not be welcome.”

Within hours, only Harry flew to Scotland, with conflicting reports about whether the Duke was offered a seat on the royal plane. Harry was still in the air when the palace chose to release the news of the Queen’s death. Less than 12 hours after he arrived in Balmoral, he was seen returning to Aberdeen Airport to fly back to London alone.

If Harry and Meghan hope the return to work after the summer is their time to shine, events in recent days have seen those plans unravel at lightning speed. An episode of her prototype podcast this week has been delayed, while an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s talk show after Her Majesty’s funeral has been canceled.

There’s no indication of what Her Majesty’s death will mean for the publication of Harry’s memoir, which will reportedly hit shelves on Christmas and a “documentary” about the Duke and Duchess’ “love story”.

What is very clear is that there has been a tectonic shift in the crust in the Sussex region this week.

As William and Kate ascend to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ thrones, their credentials and seniority have skyrocketed; meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their prime-time anti-Palace rhetoric have never been more considered Thoughtful and short-sighted.

William’s decision to bring Harry and Meghan to Sunday’s event was not only well-meaning, but shrewd – making him look like a big man willing to put personal hurt aside while Britain mourns, in honour of their grandmother.

Harry and Meghan may be back in the royal family under tragic circumstances, but on the surface they appear to be tolerated.

What does it mean when someone once said they “exist…disturbed the dynamics of the hierarchy”? Exactly.

• Daniela Elser is a royal expert and author with over 15 years of experience working with some of Australia’s leading media outlets.