HOLLY WAINWRIGHT: The 'Atlantic Gap' explains almost everything about the Beckham family implosion.

The most on-trend Beckham is not Victoria, although her eyeliners are, frankly, perfect.

It's Brooklyn.

Because this week, with his spectacular burst of Instagram stories explaining exactly why he will not be reconciling with his family, Brooklyn Beckham became the patron saint of going 'no contact', the simple hashtag behind the complicated issue of family estrangement.

Cutting off your toxic family is so hot right now, Oprah has done a special on it. Actually, that sentence is an oxymoron. Perhaps it should read: Cutting off your toxic family is so mainstream right now, Oprah has done a special on it. She described "going no-contact" with your family an "epidemic".

Watch: A theory about what Brooklyn Beckham and Prince Harry have in common. Post continues below.

And perhaps it is, particularly in America. A reported 27 per cent of Americans say they are estranged from at least one family member. Those stats include siblings (the most common reported rift), and at least one parent (adult children are four times more likely to be estranged from their fathers than their mothers).

Brooklyn Beckham lives in Miami these days, but we all know he is British, the first-born son of one of the great dynasties of anglo culture. There's the Mountbatten-Windsors, with their sprawling estates and their castles. And there's the Beckhams, with their sprawling estates and their viral dances to Kenny Rogers.

Breaking up with problematic family members is also a growing reality in Britain, but not so much. All data on such a complicated private matter is imperfect, but most recent figures suggest that around eight per cent of Britons are currently estranged from parents. It's also reported that 'no contact' is more common in higher-income families.

So far, so on trend. And Brooklyn ticks another box, too. Seventy per cent of parents whose children are estranged say that the break was only made final after their adult child married.

The argument is that having another family to join, and a partner to back you, can give someone the guts and the security to finally tell their own problematic family members to stick their toxic nonsense right up the Christmas turkey.

Image: Instagram/@brooklynpeltzbeckham

So Brooklyn Beckham is a British man from a complicated family who married an American and made some big decisions.

Just like… you know who I'm going to say: Prince Harry.

The comparisons are obvious. Both of these princes were famous before they were born. Both have been of enormous interest to intrusive press their entire lives. Both feel that their parents have used them when it suits for publicity and leaked against them as a means of control. And both of them seemed relatively happy to play along with all that until they had their eyes opened to another way by their American partners.

I'm not suggesting they have swapped one form of control for another. I'm not interested in the sexist narrative that these hapless English gents are having their strings pulled by conniving femme fatales. But we all know that one of the most altering things about falling in love is seeing yourself, your life and your weird-arsed family through someone else's eyes.

And if those eyes come from a celebrated American tradition that prioritises individual optimisation, is much more comfortable with therapy speak and believes it is your state-given right to pursue happiness? Well, putting up with your tipsy mother nuzzle-dancing on your neck at your wedding becomes untenable.

Allow me some cliched generalisations about "my" people:

British people suck it up. Stiff upper lip, keep calm and carry on. You've seen the tea-towels.

When faced with a complicated emotional problem, they say, "Well, what can you do?" and it is not a question.

We take the piss as a form of feedback. Imagine the level of sh*t given between the Beckham brothers about everything from hairstyles to girlfriends to… decisions to move to Miami and put your wife's name in yours.

We like to complain. "Having a moan" is a national sport. The crucial piece to this is not solving the problem you're moaning about. Being irritated and inconvenienced is a nugget in the national psyche.

And British people put on a front for the neighbours. This is very important. Examine the Beckhams' much-discussed over-sharing social media presence. There is very little sharing going on here. It's everyone putting their best frocks on and smiling at the cameras. Posh is seconds away from wiping someone's face with a spit-hanky. It's why the Victoria documentary was such a hard watch. She was dragged kicking and screaming to the edge of discussing anything difficult or vulnerable. Yes, because she's been traumatised by unimaginable negative press attention and also because emotional gushy tell-alls are not in her DNA. All those OK! Magazine spreads from the old days about babies, weddings, homes? Long-form press releases. Nothing to see here. We are Grafters Done Good, and that's all you need to know. Oh, the itchies at the very thought of displaying your messy insides to outsiders!

The raw emotion of Brooklyn's Stories shows you the distance he has travelled. "Keeping it in the family" is not serving him anymore. He has the American sensibilities of "being your best self" in his ear and American billionaire money in his pocket to help him break out of the family brand.

Just like Prince Harry, who now comfortably discusses EMDR therapy, intergenerational trauma, using psychedelics to "clean the windshield" of his grief responses, meditation, mindfulness, the list goes on Brooklyn is shaking off the "never complain, never explain" mantra and swapping it for something closer to "the truth will set you free". His version, at least.

Meanwhile, over in England, Prince Harry's brother and his wife suggest that a brisk walk in the countryside can solve most problems.

For Victoria and David Beckham, after this week, it's going to be a long, long walk.

Listen to Amelia Lester giving the American perspective on the Atlantic Gap on Wednesday's Mamamia Out Loud:

Feature image: Getty.