Cabbie calls it as he sees it in Mark Knight’s Sussex cartoon

When Prince Harry and his wife Meghan stood down from active royal duties and moved to America last year, it was because they wanted “to lead a quieter, normal life away from the spotlight*”. The Sussexes didn’t want their children, Archie and Lilibet, to grow up in that crazy royal bubble and asked the world’s media to respect their privacy.

Unfortunately it hasn’t really worked out that way.

Cynics* among us might direct some of the blame for their constant appearances splashed across media back onto the royal couple themselves. After all, the first thing they did in their bid for privacy was a “reveal all’ world exclusive television interview with Oprah Winfrey. Then, in a further bid for the quiet life, there was a multi episode Netflix documentary where the cameras followed their every move, not unlike what the Kardashians do. And let’s not forget Harry putting out a biography called Spare, where among a lot of personal details, he told us some very private things. So their concept of the word “privacy” is very interesting.

As a cartoonist, I have to admit I find them a lot of fun to draw. All the royals are a delight, but Harry and Meghan have taken royal watching to a new level. This week they were in New York where Meghan was accepting a Women of Vision award. On leaving the award ceremony, Harry and Meghan were followed by the paparazzi* trying to photograph the reluctant royals. What happened then were wild reports of a two-hour high speed car chase throughout the streets of Manhattan, with the Sussex security vehicles at times blocking the pursuing paps*. We do know that at some point Harry and Meghan tried to give the media the slip by dumping their security limo and hopping into a New York City yellow taxi cab. Maybe electric hire scooters would have been a better idea, who knows? But if any of you have ever been to Manhattan, you would know that the traffic congestion* is so bad, a high speed car chase would be hitting speeds of 20km per hour tops.

But the part I liked was the cab ride, so I thought I would draw a cartoon on that.

I thought I would look at the fact that even a New York cabbie, who must deal with an interesting clientele*, might be surprised to find Prince Harry and his wife in the back of their taxi. I played up the theatrical side of the story by drawing them in an older style yellow taxi that appeared in the critically acclaimed* 1976 movie Taxi Driver, starring Robert De Niro. I have drawn the taxi driver character De Niro played in the movie behind the wheel. In the background are all the city lights and traffic congestion you find around midtown. The royal couple are drawn sitting in the back.

The Prince’s ginger hair and beard and Meghan’s dark tresses make them a brilliant and instantly recognisable caricature* subject. Harry is asking the driver if he is surprised that he has a couple of royals in the back escaping from pursuing paparazzi? This is where I had to think about what the driver’s reply might be. Would he say “Okay, I’ll lose them, hang on!”? However, I thought about Harry and Meghan’s appetite for self promotion and appearing in the media and considered the fact that they would never run away from a photo opportunity. So I thought the driver might offer to drive slower, not faster, so the paparazzi can get as many pictures as possible. A slow speed car chase. Yes, that was the unique twist I was looking for on an old cliche* of the car chase.

And another chapter in the adventures of the Sussex royals pursuing their privacy.

Please note cartoonist Mark Knight is taking a well-deserved holiday and shall return to Kids News in July.

GLOSSARY

• spotlight: when someone or something gets a great deal of attention
• paparazzi: photographers who follow famous people everywhere they go
• paps: abbreviated term for paparazzi
• congestion: when a place is so blocked or overcrowded that movement is slowed
• clientele: clients, customers
• acclaimed: attracting public approval and praise
• caricature: a drawing or description that makes part of someone’s appearance or character more noticeable than it really is
• cliche: opinion that has been said often enough that it’s worn out and overly familiar

EXTRA READING

Prince Harry and Meghan lose their royal touch

ABC panel casts pall on pomp in Mark Knight cartoon

King Charles III crowned at Coronation

QUICK QUIZ

1. What titles are Prince Harry and Meghan also known by?
2. What awards night were they attending in New York prior to the chase?
3. What big projects since leaving the royal family have kept Harry and Megha in the public eye?
4. Which actor inspired the driver in Mark Knight’s cartoon?
5. What are the names of their two children?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What happens next?
Imagine this cartoon is part of a story that is made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell a complete story, and Mark’s cartoon is the start of the story. Think about what the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Visual Arts; Visual Communication Design; Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Being able to draw is only one of the skills needed to be a great cartoonist. Write a list of all of the other skills that you think cartoonists like Mark need to do their job.

Next to each skill, write a sentence that explains why that skill is important or helps them to do a great job.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Personal and Social Capability; Media Arts; Visual Communication Design

VCOP ACTIVITY
Describe it
Look at the cartoon and make a list of five nouns that you see. Then describe those five nouns with five adjectives. Now add a preposition to those five nouns and adjectives.

Finally, choose your favourite bundle and put all the words together to make one descriptive sentence.

(For lower reading level articles, remove ‘add a preposition’)