No event in modern history has brought human activity to a grinding halt as abruptly as the coronavirus pandemic.
Sure, the Nazi blitz of London was a trifle inconvenient, but even then, people went to work — they just hunkered down in bomb shelters afterward.
Queen Elizabeth was just 14 at the time, but she played her part — speaking to her fellow young people in radio addresses intend to soothe fears and offer hope for a brighter tomorrow.
In the final year of the war, Elizabeth made herself as useful as possible, learning to drive and repair ambulances and trucks as part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Needless to say, Elizabeth was and is quite the badass.
And many believe her grandchildren have failed to similarly rise to the occasion during the first and (hopefully only) global emergency of their lifetimes.
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their decision to step down from their roles as senior members of the royal family, the move attracted a good deal of negative attention.
Now, the couple is once again drawing flak for their behavior in the midst of the pandemic.
Fair or otherwise, comparisons are being made between the Sussexes of 2020 and the royals of the early 1940s.
Obviously, the two situations are very different, and Harry and Meghan are generally criticized no matter what they do.
But it’s worth noting that even if they’ve behaved as responsibly as possible at all times, the couple’s recent activity has resulted in some seriously bad optics.
Take Harry and Meghan’s decision to move to LA in the midst of the crisis.
We’re sure they took every precaution — but instructing the plebes to stay put while you board an international flight is simply not a good look.
Many believe Harry should be even more vigilant than other public figures, as his father, Prince Charles, has been diagnosed with Covid-19.
Even the release a Disney documentary narrated by Meghan has been criticized as poorly-timed.
So perhaps the decision to re-launch the Sussex’s humanitarian organization is intended to stir up some much-needed bad publicity.
As you may recall, the Queen has prohibited Harry and Meghan from using the Sussex Royal name in their
Now, the organization has been renamed, and an announcement to The Telegraph, the Sussexes revealed that the new moniker is of even greater significance:
Not surprisingly, Archewell is named after the couple’s son, Archie — but there’s more to the story:
"Before Sussex Royal, came the idea of ‘Arche’—the Greek word meaning ‘source of action,’" Meghan and Harry explained.
"We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name," they added.
"Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon."
Possibly to avoid being accused of further tone-deafness, Harry and Meghan announced that the official unveiling will take place when times are a bit less hectic:
"Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic," their announcement read.
"Faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be," the couple continued.
"We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right,"
For now, they said, the young family is simply focusing on "enjoying all the time together."
Well, it might not be a teenage future queen tuning up a tank while Nazi Messerchmitts darken the skies, but it’s a step in the right direction!