As you know by now I am a huge fan of the Queen of England, as was my mother. I have all of my mother’s books on the royal family upstairs in a spare bedroom. I watched The Crown several times and have already watched the new season – do not like this season nearly as well.

But anyway, I have been following the recent drama from London. So saddened by what Harry and Meghan did by making their announcement on social media after the Queen had asked them to wait until the details could be ironed out.

I has shades of his uncle King Edward the 8th and his abdication which rocked the royal family. Harry is clearly besotted by Meghan; so much so as to turn his back on his family, his brother who needs his support, and his military family. It is all so sad.

Where does his duty lie? As a married man, his first loyalty is to his wife. Where does her duty lie? As a married woman, it is to her husband. Did she not know the pressure and scrutiny she would be under when she married him? If not, she had to be totally blind.

I fear Harry will end up exiled, like his uncle, and married to a controlling woman who does not truly love him but loves the celebrity. They have a child together so she will be forever linked to Harry and the royal family. The baby’s name is “Archie” – what kind of name is that for a grandson of the Queen of England?! Her father and sister were very critical of her before the wedding. We ignored their warnings because we wanted to believe the fairytale.

A lot of people don’t care about this. It’s like a soap opera to them.

For me, I see an erosion of traditional values and roles. The Queen has dedicated her whole life to the service of her country. She has done her duty when it was painful to her personally. She has carried the nation with dignity and grace through fourteen Prime Ministers. Even Queen Victoria is no match for the gracious lovely lady at the head of the Royal Family. She has put duty and country before self at every turn.

How has she done it for so many years? She said herself, “I know how much I rely on my faith to guide me through the good times and the bad. Each day is a new beginning. I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give the best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God…I draw strength from the message of hope in the Christian Gospel.”