How The Hapsburg Spare Wrote The Script For Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
A. H. Childs
Over the past week, social media has been saturated with the “explosive accusations” leveled by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their eponymous Netflix series.
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Over the past week, social media has been saturated with the “explosive accusations” leveled by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their eponymous Netflix series. Though it is up for debate how much of this media coverage is due to genuine interest versus the British media’s undying dislike of the couple, the result is the same: their names are everywhere.

One of the most common observations is that the trajectory of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has mirrored that of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. There are obvious reasons for this: like King Edward, Prince Harry decided to step away from the Royal Family due to “love;” meanwhile, Meghan, like Wallis, is an American divorcée who clearly wears the pants in their relationship.

However, there is another royal couple that perhaps more closely resembles Prince Harry and Meghan, and that is Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife, Empress Carlota.

The Early Years

Maximilian was born as the second son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria, brother of Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I. Since Ferdinand I had no children, Maximilian and his older brother, Franz Josef, were always considered heirs to the throne, though ironically, Maximilian was dogged with paternity rumors throughout his life, like Prince Harry.

As children, the two princes had vastly different personalities. Franz Josef was calm, obedient, and thoughtful, whereas Maximilian was energetic and imaginative. These differences only became stronger as they began their schooling. As noted by The World of Hapsburgs, “Franz Josef’s upbringing and education was aimed at producing the perfect monarch, [while mother Sophie] allowed the artistic vein in her second-born child to be cultivated to a certain extent, hoping ‘that at least he will be able to lead a happy existence.’”

However, this didn’t stop the two boys from having a close relationship as children. In fact, they would constantly write when apart, and Franz Josef sent Maximilian updates daily when he was sequestered because he had gotten the chicken pox virus.

The Brotherly Feud Begins

But things started to change as they got older. Maximilian began to chafe at being the spare and slowly began a competitive journey to one-up his older brother at every turn. Franz Josef was continually feted and celebrated as the next emperor of Austria, and Maximilian, in his ambition, truly felt as if he would have been the better man for the job. Their relationship quickly began to deteriorate.

Things only got worse when Maximilian got married. His bride was Princess Charlotte of Belgium, the daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium. Charlotte was beautiful and educated and just as ambitious as her husband. Immediately, Charlotte and the wife of Franz Josef, Elisabeth, formed a rivalry that was obvious to aristocratic circles.

“There was also an outspoken dislike and jealousy between Charlotte and her sister-in-law, the Empress Elisabeth. It was impossible for these two beautiful women to shine in the same firmament," notes Princess Stephanie, niece of Charlotte, in her memoirs.

Their rivalry wasn’t helped by the fact that Maximilian, while competitive with his brother, actually had a genuine bond with Elisabeth. In fact, it was reported that he gave Charlotte a portrait of his sister-in-law as an engagement present. Unsurprisingly, Charlotte launched a campaign to destroy that relationship – not unlike how Prince Harry went from calling the Duchess of Cambridge the “sister he never had” to supporting his wife's questionable claim that Kate made her cry and lambasting his sister-in-law for seeming reluctant to share her lip gloss with Meghan.

When Franz Josef ascended the throne as Emperor, he gave his brother the position of Governor of Lombardy-Venetia. For the first year, Maximilian was relatively popular as he focused on social events to woo aristocrats and proclaimed popular liberal and progressive ideas. However, ever ambitious, he started to lobby Vienna to make Lombardy-Venetia an autonomous state, a move that would radically increase his own power. Franz Josef, and the Austrian government, was unsurprisingly not impressed, especially after riots protesting Austrian rule engulfed the province. Maximilian was accordingly recalled from his position. Shortly afterward, Lombardy-Venetia was lost to Italian reunification.

Maximilian despaired not having a position of power, and his bitterness was only aggravated by his wife, who would proclaim that she had no doubt that the time would come “when the Archduke will again play a leading role in the affairs of the world.”

For Maximilian, the opportunity came when Napoleon III and a group of conservative Mexican elites began their search for a man to become Emperor of Mexico. Napoleon offered the role to Maximilian, who gleefully wrote about his new rise in stature.

The Original Sandringham Summit

Though Franz Josef gave his hesitant blessing, he required that Maximilian give up any claim to the Austrian throne and his income if he accepted the position in what was called the “Act of Renunciation.”

But Maximilian was outraged that he was expected to give up his income and place in succession, and refused to sign. He even considered backing out of his Mexico scheme, but his wife convinced him that the North American nation was their destiny. She even allegedly referred the plan as creating their own “Belgium,” referencing her father’s success at building an empire.

And so goes the story of a second son who fled across the Atlantic for fame and glory, albeit 150 years earlier.

It is hard not to see the similarities with Prince Harry. Just like at the “Sandringham Summit,” Prince Harry was shocked and angered that he was expected to give up his military patronages and that he would be “cut off” from his cushy allowance when he quit royal duties.

Moreover, Maximilian remained bitter about the “Act of Renunciation” and, while on the ship en route to Mexico, drafted a protestation in which he stated that he did not recognize the legal validity of the contract because he had been forced to sign by unfair pressure.

Meanwhile, only yesterday did Prince Harry similarly bash his experience at the Sandringham Summit, claiming he was “[terrified”] because his brother yelled at him and King Charles III said, “things that weren’t true.”

Though Prince Harry did not go so far as to claim he was coerced during the meeting, he certainly tried to paint the situation as unfair -- ignoring the fact that the move was necessitated by his wish to pursue commercial activity.

The Mexican Misadventure

Amusingly, The New York Times archive has an article from 1864 about the ascension of Maximilian to the Mexican throne. Though The Times acknowledges that previous press coverage had deemed the archduke a “‘delicate specimen of humanity,’ a ‘mere puppet,’ a ‘tool,’ a man ‘without any physical or moral constitution worth a groat,’” the Gray Lady went on to enthusiastically support Maximilian in his endeavors, claiming that the negative reports had been unfair. Liken this to how the American media has been overwhelmingly positive re the Sussexes despite their dismal reputations overseas.

That said, the Mexican people were not overjoyed to have a new self-proclaimed Emperor, and Maximilian and Charlotte immediately started what modern terms would name a PR blitz to win hearts and minds. However, their attempts often misfired. For example, Charlotte renamed herself Empress Carlota, which was seen as desperate and strange. Moreover, Maximilian issued a speech where he seemed to lay allegiance to France over Austria, which further alienated him from Franz Josef.

But most strikingly, Maximilian continued to profess progressive ideals, despite being the leader of an institution that relied on conservative support to survive. Most disastrously, Maximilian agreed to confiscate church property in a bid to appeal to liberals. But liberals in Mexico did not want a monarchy, and by alienating religious Conservatives, which was the core of his original base, Maximilian eroded much of his support.

It was a disconnect seen in the Sussexes today, who believe they can be famous by spouting “woke” ideas, ignoring the fact that most progressives are unimpressed by their unrelenting use of titles, private jets, and an unabashedly privileged lifestyle that they continue to claim is “normal.”

With discontent brewing in Mexico, Carlota fled to France to beg Napoleon for more support. However, the failures of her imagined destiny had a serious toll on her mental health, and she began to act erratically and display acts of paranoia. This got worse when Napoleon refused to give any aid.

Meanwhile, Maximilian's rivals raised an army and overthrew the once-archduke. He was executed in 1867. Carlota, meanwhile, had suffered a total mental breakdown at this point, and it remains up for debate whether she ever learned of her husband’s demise.

Though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not up against an armed coalition and an unstable new country, this window in history should be a chilling promotion to the pair. After all, like Maximilian and Carlota, Harry and Meghan believed that they overshadowed William and Kate, ignoring the fact that the Sussexes were naturally going to be more popular in the months following their marriage.

“[We were] doing the job better than the person who is born to do this,” Harry snidely remarked during his Netflix special.

Like Maximilian and Carlota, it was this belief in their superiority that spurred the Sussexes to take a leap on a strange new venture overseas.

Lastly, like Maximilian and Carlota, the Sussexes seem to be unable to land on a winning formula. Harry and Meghan’s enterprises have not been as successful as they need to be, and their main source of attention (and income) remains on their toxic sniping at the Crown, which gets staler and staler with each snarky crumb.

It remains to be seen whether their new life as high-class influencers will bring them the wealth and happiness they desire, but the relatively frosty reception of their explosive tell-all on Netflix suggests otherwise. Moreover, rumors have claimed that the streaming giant has not been happy with their collaboration. Would a Netflix cancellation be equivalent to death by firing squad for Harry? Perhaps for his career. Would it spur Meghan to jump ship and flee to greener pastures? In this author’s opinion, most definitely.