Squires: Prince Harry proves that power and privilege can't give you peace when you reject God in favor of grievance

A modern fairy tale about a British prince and an American actress has turned into a Shakespearean tragedy about two drama queens.

Like King James’ “graffiti-gate” and Jussie Smollet’s hate crime hoax, Prince Harry is a man who thinks he can find his crown by throwing himself down on the altar of victimhood. The pull of this false faith is so strong that even a man born into a family that ruled the world for much of the 19th century has gotten sucked in. It was said that the sun never set on the British empire, but with each passing day, Harry looks less like royalty and more like a spoiled and self-obessesed child of the West. His narcissistic personality traits and entitled demeanor can be found on any college campus on either side of the pond.

With every media interview and social media post about his new memoir, "Spare," the Duke of Sussex continues his descent into self-pity and grievance. Harry is the perfect evangelist for his newfound faith – rich, white, male, privileged, alienated from his family, godless, desperate to prove he is a good “ally," and full of guilt.

He details the fight he had with Prince William over comments his brother made about his wife. The memoir also includes Harry’s belief that he was “bred” to provide spare parts – “kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow” – to William in case the heir to the throne ever fell ill or was injured.

There is even a very strange account in the book in which Harry details applying Elizabeth Arden cream to his penis in order to counter the effects of frostbite during a trip to the North Pole. The audio clip that is circulating online includes Harry’s admission that his mother used the cream on her lips, a fact that made him hesitate to apply it to his “todger.” He ultimately took the advice of his friend, claiming to feel his mother’s presence in the room before applying the cream – “down there.”

For years, Harry and William have been sympathetic public figures due to the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, when they were young. But much as with Kanye West, the reservoir of goodwill and understanding Harry built up over the years has run dry. Many people were willing to attribute his drinking, drug use, and Nazi cosplay to the folly of youth. Publicly trashing the family who stood by you during that difficult time is a completely different story.

I initially believed Harry was under the influence of his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. I assumed he was being manipulated by the woman who pulled an “OJ” – exploiting old racial wounds to seem sympathetic in the court of public opinion – on Oprah fans and BLM stans. The allegation that he gave up hunting and sold his handmade rifles out of respect for her added to that belief, as did her tendency to exert dominance in their public interactions – and photos – together.

Given the role he believes the paparazzi played in his mother’s death, I completely understand why Harry would be protective of his wife and children. But the exalting language he uses to describe Meghan, as well as her penchant for dressing like Diana – and even asking for “guidance” from her during a trip to her gravesite – suggests a level of transference and codependency. This dynamic will not end well. A princess wants a husband she can respect, not an additional child she has to constantly comfort.

But for all her faults, the Duchess of D-listers isn’t taking to every platform today to trash her family in public. The seeds of estrangement from her father and stepsister were planted years ago. Prince Harry’s public alienation from his brother and father is taking place in real time.

Harry is the epitome of navel-gazing, self-pitying Millennials. The man who is a literal prince complains more than any pauper and whines like a preteen. Harry has been sucked into the cult of self, and like millions of fellow members, he can’t get out the vortex by looking deeper within. Let's contrast Harry’s public proclamations with those of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, during her coronation in 1953.

“I will, to my power, cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all my judgements.

“I will to the utmost of my power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel. I will to the utmost of my power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law. And I will maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England.”

This is the difference between a generation that is constantly looking within and using its power and influence to air its grievances and one that looks outside itself for purpose and direction.

For all his cattiness and chattiness, one thing I have not heard from Harry is a single reference to God. He told Anderson Cooper he tried psychedelics to help him with his grief, but that is a far cry from a genuine profession of faith. He proves no amount of wealth, power, or privilege can protect you from self-destruction when you reject God and build your identity on grief and perceived personal slights.

The only hope for overcoming false religion is true religion. Harry needs to know that there is a God in heaven who is truly sovereign and more powerful than the monarch who occupies Britain’s throne. He needs to know that Jesus is Lord and that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is not.