Harry can be more open in America and finally speak about the trauma of losing Diana, thinks aristocrat
For someone who grew up in the British royal family, like Harry, adjusting to American culture might initially be difficult, but there are experts who are really hopeful of Harry's future. One of them is Lady Julie Montagu, a television host, yoga teacher, former cast member of 'Ladies of London', and author who was born and brought up in Illinois and is now married to Lord Luke Montagu, heir to the Earl of Sandwich.
Harry moved to Los Angeles with his wife Meghan Markle and son Archie last month and days and there were questions raised on tax and immigration status. While Meghan was expected to have no problems settling down in their new Los Angeles home, being a "Cali gal," many experts have expressed concern over how the Duke of Sussex was going to adjust to the American lifestyle which was starkly different from where he grew up.
However, Lady Montagu told Town And Country Magazine that the culture shock might prove to be a positive force for Harry as Americans are more emotionally accessible than British people.
"I always say whenever you meet an American, you know their life story within 24 hours," Montagu said. "We're very emotionally open, which I think for Harry is actually a really good thing. He'll be able to talk about his feelings, probably more than he was able to talk about over here. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to hear a little bit more about how he feels about losing his mother at age 12, and maybe how he and Megan were treated in the press over here."
Then there are things that he might want to hold onto and certain mannerisms that he would want to pass on to his son, who will grow up in the lap of mixed culture. Montagu proceeded to provide an example from their daily lives.
"My husband grew up knowing you should be fully dressed for meals, socks and shoes on," Montagu mentioned. "We set the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And when I say set the table, I mean set the table. We have placemats, all the cutlery out, the glasses, and we serve everyone as our guests."
That did not mean that American parenting styles had no similarities with that of its British counterpart. "I remember one thing my husband said to me when we were dating is that every time I spoke to my parents, I'd hang up the phone and say, 'I love you mom and dad,'" she recalled. "I'm like, yeah, that's what we do! My kids say 'I love you' all the time, and we hug."
Some other aspects of the American way of life were the general cheerfulness of people in the big cities as well as customer service in restaurants.
"That cheery, optimistic outlook on life is everywhere in America and it's so contagious. I love it. And my kids always notice how much people greet each other on the street. America has the best customer service in the whole wide world. It's three rings on the phone and someone is there on the other end, or you go into a shop and as soon as you walk in, they greet you, and when you leave they say 'oh, have a great day!'" she continued.
Overall, Julie said she was optimistic for the couple and advised Harry and Meghan to take some time to balance their different cultures.
"I feel like he has found somebody that he can be emotionally open with and I think that's a really good thing," she added. "Family becomes the most important thing."