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A picture from days gone by: The royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (July 2018)
Photo: STR / EPA
Sometimes puppies are more than cute fluff.
If they happen to be little corgis and move in with the Queen of Great Britain, two dog children can quickly become symbols of national importance.
The fact that Elizabeth II, as it became known on Friday, recently shared her lockdown quarters at Windsor Castle again with two representatives of the dog breed, which has been at the core of their iconography and folklore for decades, was only accepted as a harmless, colorful message by people who only each other marginally interested in the British royals.
For friends of the monarchy who were more closely acquainted with the customs at court, the Corgi code was clear: With the Queen, things get down to business, nerve-wise.
In 2015 she announced that she was giving up her Corgi breed, which she had pursued with great passion since her parents gave her Susan, her first own Corgi, for her 18th birthday in 1944.
From this "foundation bitch", as it is called in the correct breeder terminology, all future litters in the palace over 14 dog generations should ultimately descend in a direct line - a uniqueness that makes the Queen a breeding legend among Corgi connoisseurs.
She has never been without a dog for more than five decades, so it must have been difficult for her not to take any more when the last Corgi from Susan's dynasty died in 2018, but she decided to do so because she did not want to leave any animal behind once she dies.
The fact that the Queen, who will be 95 years old in May, nevertheless decided to have two puppies, can be read as a clear signal of how urgently she needs the comfort of dogs, of unshakably loyal beings: because her husband Prince Philipp, 99 years old old, is currently still recovering from a heart operation.
And tonight the interview will air.
A symbolic exchange of blows
One can expect that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan will deal violently against the royal family in their conversation with US talker Oprah Winfrey - with whom the couple is also friends.
The conversation could develop a similar spark to the last BBC interview with Princess Diana, in which she spoke openly about her failed marriage, mental illness and royal intrigues in 1995 - a clear, drastic break with the mantra "never complain, never explain" the Queen had previously imposed on the royal relatives for all family matters.
The Corgi puppies are just a small dramatic moment in the symbolic exchange of blows that has been fueling the tension over the past few days for the interview, which has meanwhile been extensively teased by the TV broadcaster CBS.
In an interview with entertainer James Corden, Harry presented himself as an extremely affable folk royal with acute bladder pressure, if one referred to the tactlessness of such a charisma on the palace side while Prince Philip was still being treated in the hospital.
When the royal family announced that they would now officially investigate a complaint filed against Meghan in 2018, in which various employees accuse the Duchess of having bullied her during her time as an active royal, Harry and Meghan accuse the Palace of Lies and describe the allegation as a vicious campaign .
What sets this royal crisis apart from other palace disputes and makes it much more exciting than ordinary royal scandals is its complexity and dazzling complexity: the conflict between the renegade Sussexes and the royal family is a picture puzzle that makes the motifs and narrative styles of both sides appear different from different perspectives .
Are Harry and Meghan victims of an encrusted, outdated power construct - or just dissatisfied that the royal springboard has been sawed off for their self-marketing plans?
Are the allegations of bullying only now coming to the public in order to discredit Meghan on time - or did the alleged victims simply want to maintain considerate discretion and now feel obliged to counter the Sussexes' narrative perspective?
In contrast to fairy tales, which are told in a straightforward manner, the real royals primarily fight a battle of narratives.
This also means that shortly before the US broadcast of the interview, the royal family will once again present themselves as socially committed people who are concerned about the really important issues: As is the tradition on "Commonwealth Day", the Queen will give a televised address .
She is supported in a TV special on BBC One by Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, Prince William and Duchess Kate, who will talk to employees from the health sector, among others, to draw attention to their special achievements during the Corona crisis.
According to the palace, at least the Queen will not look at what then follows.
At 2 a.m. German time, CBS wants to broadcast Oprah Winfrey's interview with Harry and Meghan - unless a surprising plot twist occurs, on which at least the friends of conspiracy myths speculate.
Because when it comes to the fight of the narratives, of course, they also make their flowery rumor contribution: According to this, Prince Philipp had died in the past few days - the palace had postponed the announcement in order to prevent the broadcast of the interview at the last minute.
You can read the most important information about the interview on Monday morning at SPIEGEL.de. RTL shows the conversation in full from 3 p.m. VOX shows it at 10:15 p.m. in the form of a »Prominent Special«
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