Dissing Meghan

 And now there is discussion on exactly why Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is not accompanying her husband, Prince Harry, to his grandfather's funeral. Why is it some people cannot simply accept the perfectly reasonable explanation that her doctor has advised against a pregnant woman making a 6000-mile flight? For that matter, with the attendance limited to just 30 people, isn't it a humane gesture for her to make space for someone with a much closer relationship to Prince Philip than hers? (After all, the prime minister has said he will not attend for just that reason.)

It amazes me how people will seek to find the worst in this woman.

In Memoriam: The Duke of Edinburgh

 Philip Mountbatten, born with the surname Battenberg, was a prince of both the Greek and Danish royal houses. He was exiled from Greece (where his grandfather had been king) with his family after the Graeco-Turkish war in the 1920s. Eventually, he settled in the United Kingdom and, like his uncle Louis, anglicized his name and became a British citizen.

He served with distinction in World War 2 and, as a cousin to King George VI, became friendly with his daughter, Elizabeth, the princess royal and heir to the throne. Despite a bit of familial interference, they were married and had two children, Charles and Anne, before Elizabeth's father died and she became Queen Elizabeth II.

They have had one of the longest royal marriages in history--65 years--and, reportedly, one of the strongest. The Prince has been recognized as a driving force in the modernization of the British monarchy, especially in the early years of Elizabeth's reign.