You know about those hypothetical questions that the people make about the Royal Family,
and one very interesting and very concerning at the same time is, if Harry and Meghan ever
get divorced, what would happen to Archie and Lilibet?
Because with so many moments where Harry has showed an absolutely miserable body language,
tell me that it didn't cross your mind at least once.
Now, it will always be about their private life and they will own their decisions.
But those hypothetical questions sometimes are extremely alike situations that can happen
in our own families.
And you would agree with me that keeping a family bonded together, sometimes feels like
you're playing 3D chess in real time.
So, more than being cynical or pessimist, this is more like a mental exercise of what
would happen if Harry and Meghan go full Kramer versus Kramer on both sides of the Atlantic.
Welcome back, my body language buddies! my name is Jesús Enrique Rosas, I'm the Body
Language Guy, and it would be great if you join us by just liking this video, subscribing
and hitting that bell! let's get down to it!
What maybe is not that obvious is that if Harry and Meghan were to get a divorce in
the United States, the most common outcome is that it would become joint custody, unless
one of them is deemed unfit for PArenting roles.
There used to be this custom that whatever happened, the custody would weight a lot more,
if not completely, towards the mother.
But nowadays, fathers hold the same rights and a judge will usually go great lengths
to make sure that whatever the outcome, it is in the best interest of the child.
Now, this is where it gets interesting: The judge will review what is Archie's and Lilibet's
family in the US.
And in that regard we've got Doria, and... uhm... well, let's say this is when Meghan
will regret NOT inviting her father Thomas to a Sunday BBQ at least... once a year.
Did you know that in Japan there are businesses where you can rent family members for special
ocassions?
Maybe Meghan can get a discount by the dozen.
But on the UK side, Archie and Lilibet will have all this well-documented, absolutely
NOT rented extended family, with support of all kinds.
It's also relevant the time that any of the two children would have been in schools, how
they feel there, the friends they have and the bonds with the country where they have
grown.
That's something very important for the emotional development for children because any sudden
or strong changes in environment, school, circle of friends, would have a great impact
on them.
And in this case, we would be talking about moving to a different country and culture,
will be a great shock.
And again, any judge will do their best to act in the best interest of the children.
Now, one thing is for certain.
This is not like children of divorced parents that get to have two homes.
Because for that to happen, then Archie and Lilibet would have to endure more than 10
hours of travel, coming and going, just to see the other parent, depending on which country
they end up living in.
No judge will allow this nonsense.
Not in the US, not in the UK.
So most probably they will be living in either country and it's the parent at the other side
of the Atlantic that will travel to see them.
I have no doubts that both Meghan and Harry would also treat their children as a priority,
even if they decide to go separate ways.
But there's also the fact that, each one of them, as adults, would want to have their
own professional space.
Be parents, but at the same time be professionals.
That's part of having a balanced life and in fact, it improves their experience and
their time dedicated to shared parenthood.
So it's no wonder that Meghan would choose to remain in the US, because there's where
most of the opportunities that she, and Harry, have been building for her career.
I think no one sees Meghan with any intentions of going back to the UK.
But that complicates things, in the sense that Meghan is going to stay in the US so
she can have custody but at the same time pursue her professional endeavours.
And that would be a big question from the judge:
How much time are you going to dedicate to motherhood, and how much time are you going
to leave them with a nanny, or with Doria, while you're working on your career?
And this is a reality that is tough for any woman, and I would like to explore that in
another video.
Especially generation X women where society demands that they do everything perfect at
the same time; both having a thriving career and being excellent mothers, not to mention
sexy loving wives for their husbands.
That's a utopia that only creates mental breakdowns in women that are constantly pressured into
living three separate perfect lives in just one.
But again, that's a great topic for another video.
Now, regarding the Queen, some people claim that she's got legal guardianship of all the
children of the family, and this is simply not exactly true.
This is a misconception all the way back to 1717, when King George the first and his son,
George the second, weren't on the best terms.
One of the issues that they were fighting over was the parenting skills of the younger
George.
The King was really worried about his grandchildren and the future of the monarchy, so he created
a law known as the Grand Opinion for the PreROgative Concerning the Royal Family.
Under this law, the King became effectively the legal guardian of his grandchildren and
had the final say over their education and marriages.
But what is relevant here is that this was a royal prerogative and not an Act of Parliament,
so it has little to do with today's monarchy and it's really hard to hold up legally.
In simple terms, Queen Elizabeth doesn't have any extraordinary legal authority over her
great grandchildren.
So, you can see that there is not an easy answer to this, and by the way, I would not
be keen on taking on the Royal Family on a legal battle, and that's why most of my royal
memes are as vanilla as they can get.
Now, what do you think about the fact that Archie and Lilibet are both of royal blood?
would that make a difference or influence the decision of the judge?
I'd be glad to read your opinion in the comments.
At the same time, I doubt that the Royal Family would ever want to enter a legal dispute of
this sort.
It's not hard to imagine that they would honor whatever agreement Harry and Meghan decided
between themselves.
And the biggest hurdle is that this would become a custody battle between two countries.
For example, Sarah Ferguson got a pittance, but on the other hand she never tried to move
out of country.
For any legal action of this international scope, Meghan would not have the funds to
fight a custody battle and on the other hand, you can guess that the Royal Family has Disney-level
attorneys.
Again, this is just a mental exercise and If we get anything from it, is remembering
the fact that children always need to thrive in some form of stability.
Especially, emotional stability.
And that emotional stability always starts at home and expands to the places where they
spend their time.
In most cases it's school where they learn to apply and reinforce what they already get
at home.
I understand that sometimes a couple just can't get it to work.
Marriage requires conscious time and effort to thrive, and if there's children in the
equation, even more so.
And things turn really, really worse if one or both parents use them to blackmail the
other.
And sadly this happens with too much frequency and it's really hard to detect, let alone
be stopped.
What children need the most is the assurance that at least at home, wether if it's with
both parents or with shared custody, there's always that feeling of invested energy in
their wellbeing so they can develop the emotional tools to thrive in future circumstances.
A divorce will always hit them hard, no matter how many times you'd like to tell yourself
the opposite to feel better.
That's when being human, both with your parter, with your children and yourself, becomes one
of the most important tasks you'll handle if you're going separate ways.
If you want to support my channel and help me make more videos, all you have to do is
like, subscribe and hit that bell so you don't miss any of my body language analysis and
tips.
My name is Jesús Enrique Rosas and I'll see you soon, my body language buddies!