I actually did not expect an engagement announcement from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle THIS WEEK, for two reasons especially. One, Meghan only wrapped on Suits one week ago, and her living situation still feels like it’s in flux – true, she’s staying with Prince Harry right now, and she has moved out of her Toronto home, but it doesn’t feel like she’s moved all of her stuff to England yet. Two, yesterday was Thanksgiving and what public figure announces their engagement in the 48-to-72 period around Thanksgiving? But apparently, there are rumors. Heavy rumors, hard and fast, that it will be happening today??? From the Daily Mail:
Prince Harry is expected to announce his engagement to Meghan Markle imminently after bookmakers today suspended betting on another royal wedding. Speculation has been ramped up in recent weeks that Harry could have proposed to the 36-year-old US actress, with the couple said to be ‘head over heels’ in love. And bookmakers have now decided to pull all bets on when the engagement will take place, amid rumours that the BBC is now primed for the announcement.
Lainey at LaineyGossip is saying the same thing, that the British media is on high alert for an engagement announcement, which everyone believes could be happening at any minute. From Lainey, in a story she published yesterday:
They’re reaching out to all kinds of media contacts to secure appearances for commentary. Satellite windows have been booked and at least two UK networks that I know of are preparing to come out of scheduled programming and go live as soon as the engagement is announced, if it’s announced. Although no one seems to be able to say for sure whether or not anything will be announced. No one’s been able to say where these tips have been coming from and whether or not they’re legitimate. But everyone wants to be ready anyway.
…Whatever may or may not happen, I’m just telling you that the UK media is ready. And they seem to think it’s happening tomorrow which is why, behind the scenes, they’re on high alert. Which means we have to be on high alert. Never mind that Meghan literally just moved to London this week and is probably not even unpacked. Love is love! So in 24 hours, we may get what we’ve been waiting for. Or, in 24 hours, nothing will have f-cking changed.
Will it happen today? I’m writing this around 8:30 am EST. It’s 1:30 pm in London right now. I say… no, probably not today? Considering all of the drama and tension, I’m saying the real engagement rollout will begin on Monday. I fully expect to wake up Monday morning to the news that Meg and Harry have announced. It will be so much better that way too – we’ll have a full work week to really dissect everything, and there will be new photos and perhaps an interview and it will be so exciting. But you know what? I’ve been wrong before. Maybe I’ll come back from the gym later today and the news will have broken. Who knows.
Incidentally, Hello Mag got a spokesperson at Buckingham Palace on the record this morning. The spokesperson said they “would not give a running commentary on Harry’s love life”.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
BBC just said it was supposed to be 11am today but got pushed to 5pm. My hopes are up But I’m pacing myself!
wow! exciting!
Just a few hours to go. Merely three.
IDK, 5:00 pm on a Friday isn’t when you typically announce good news.
It would be. But some are saying it might be Eugenia and her bf announcing (feh! Lol). I want Harry and Meghan to announce! That’d be a nice end to a sh!tty year.
If there is going to be an announcement it would have happened in the morning – this is normal for the BRF, so it’s prob going to be Monday morning. If it was going to be today it was likely moved as not to take away from what’s happening in Zimbabwe (a former Commonwealth of Nations member).
It’s Sunday and no announcement, no postings today then?
Somewhere in Berkshire Carole is grinding her teeth down o the bone, and I am here for it! I can’t wait to see Kate in her Victorian doily dresses standing next MM. In fact, you could say I’m….. keen. Boom.
Boom! As I said before, M is everything that Dolittle is not, in those things that matter in the public role that a RF member entails: self-confident, well articulated, independent, has work ethic. Interest and involvement in humanitarian/charity work is an advantage. M got to do a speech in the UN, can’t remember where. She did well enough to be chosen for that speech. The Middleton court has been in a full crisis mode since the relationship became public. And now more so, if we are to believe that the engagement announcement is imminent.
I like Meghan, but really aren’t most women far better equipped to handle RF duties than Kate? Most women in their mid 30s with a university education would have held at least one full time job and would be able to handle speaking in public with a little bit of coaching. The standards have been lowered so much because Kate still cannot do basic adult things… so I would argue not that Meghan is exceptional, but that Kate is just extremely incapable of being a functioning adult in a public role.
@nic919 if rumors are to be believed, Michael Middleton particularly, and Carol of course, made sure that Dolittle did so little and that she was so protected that the bar is set very, very low. Especially for the royal wife role. Keen Kate was not the average 30-year old when she got married. She’s been in a state of arrested development since William the Ordinary showed interest in her. She was in her early 20s. Most women in their early 20s (say single, no children, middle-class like Kate was, enrolled at university), have interests, hobbies, have a part-time or full-time job, travel, have a boyfriend, have fun etc. The only interest that KK had was William. Nothing else. To the point that she proved her lack of abilities and ask if you can taste the tea by smelling it. And she is not even able to talk freely aside chitchat. And I could go on.
No RF needs exceptional, outstanding characters. There are many women out there that are very successful, even outstanding. And I’m not talking CEOs or prize winners, Olympic champions.
The thing is, Meghan is already accomplished, to a huge extent when compared to Keen Kate. That’s a fact. The question is what will she do in case she marries Harry. What will they both do? Will they stay low so that they won’t outshine Bill and Kate? Do they care and will they show they are worthy of their privilege? Or will they simply survive and wait for monarchy to end? The public cares to see that the BRF are worthy.
That is what’s so delicious! MM just needs to show up, be polite, and *not* flash her bare ass and she wins! Because for sure in Kate (and Carole’s) mind it will be a contest, one that the Fail, will do its very best to provoke. And Kate, smug and inadequate will be schooled, finally, on how to be a princess.
Why is Carole grinding her teeth down?? Meghan is an American who will never be as popular as the woman who will be Queen, an English born woman. Meghan will always have to curtsy to Kate (I hope she doesn’t!) and walk behind her.
Doesn’t sound like Kate is going to be too threatened by Meghan.
Carole will grind her teeth if anyone Harry marries shows up, does the job well, and reminds the general public how unprofessional KM is because she’s never worked.
Why no criticism of Maxima, Letizia, Mathilde, and all the others who chose to marry in to royal families and follow protocol? Many of them didn’t grow up in monarchies and follow the rules because they are part of the job.
@Maren – Kate Dolittle is very, very safe in her position. She will never give up on it no matter what Bill does. Not that we’ll ever know that (if) he cheats on her. There is no deal breaker for Kate Lamebridge. She is safe.
Meghan doing it better than Dolittle? Dolittle is still safe. Meghan is already better than Kate because Meghan has earned a living in a very competitive field and can actually speak. Hasn’t shown her bits unlike Kate who’s done during official functions. There will be no constitutional crisis or abdication. Kate is safe no matter what.
Kate is “safe” only as long as William wants her around. See Diana, Fergie, and Mark as examples.
Where did the BBC say that? I had BBC News on all afternoon and haven’t heard a thing about Harry.
sorry, it was @robjyoung on twitter. here is DM link
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5113581/The-TEN-clues-Prince-Harry-Meghan-engaged.html
BBC was told “to expect an announcement”
as the time ticks down i’m guessing it won’t happen today. like someone said above 5pm on a friday isn’t nice to reporters…
No announcement today. I think we may be looking at January.
And the bookies suspended all bets on Thursday? They are usually pretty reliable about such things.
I may be dumb but I don’t understand all the bookie stuff. How are they reliable and what does it mean when they say they’ve stopped taking bets?
@Llamas – I don’t know anything about betting aside the very obvious. I think that in case that there is a very likely possibility that the issue that is bet on will happen, bookies know that they will loose money. So they suspend the betting. Say that based on rumors, there is much talk that M and H get engaged. There are certain hints and the bookie calculates that there is a high possibility this engagement will be made public. In case it’s true, each individual will get at least the money they paid for a bet (that’s what I consider would happen but usually people get more than the amount they put, otherwise what’s the point). Say you have 100.000 people that bet an average of 1000 pounds, since they want to try their luck. They are almost or very, very sure there will be an engagement announcement. The bookies will have to pay at least 100.000 (bets) x 1.000 (the average amount per bet) that is 100.000.000 pounds. The betting house would loose at least 100 million pounds. It’s a yes or no. Odds are high for a yes. So they suspend the betting.
It usually happens when people starting betting very heavily on something because they have inside knowledge that its a sure banker and then the bookies suspend bets because they don’t want to lose a lot of money. But of course sometimes people get wrong information.
Dear God I hope it is announced at 5:00pm today. Simon McCoy is reading the news on BBC news channel right now, and I anticipate some epic eye-rolling at the very least if he is the one to announce it.
If they announce at 5pm, i hope he has to do it.
I’m addicted to his eyerolls.
Me too, LAK! He just said “not long to go,” so he may be coming off air at 5, which would be terribly disappointing.
The chitchat is killing me. Who cares about black friday!!!
They won’t announce today, there is an incident in London and there was an incident in Egypt earlier.
Maybe the chose late afternoon so her family can watch it live too.
Ava: of course they won’t announce at 5pm on a friday.
For planned announcements, it’s usually 11am Mon-Thursday.
Exception: emergency situations like babies and death.
…but it is fun to play with this particular social media hype.
And if or when they finally announce, i hope Simon does it. He would incorporate so many eyerolls and sarcasm as he usually does when he announces anything royal. S-o put upon that he has to make these announcements whilst trying to maintain a professional demeanor.
@ LAK
;o-)
Loved that answer, LAK — what the hell would we do without you?
Don’t you guys get tired of being like Charlie Brown with Lucy pulling that football away over and over?? It is now 11PM in England and there is NO announcement. Why does everyone believe these rumors over and over?? Last week, they were waiting a year. This week, it is TODAY, absolutely IMMINENT!!! OMG!!!
Oh. Nothing. Sad.
Ooooohhh, sh*t’s getting real!!! Off-topic, I’m so hooked up on Suits right now.
All these connected TV people on Twitter seem to think it’s happening today and that they even pre-filmed something. I guess we’ll see…I’m dubious.
anticipation…..
I just want to see a ring……..that is all. I feel like Harry will have incredible taste.
*sings* It’s keeping me wa-ai-ai-ai-aiiiting….
Maybe it’ll be a truly 21st Century announcement…they’ve adopted a new royal pooch or something. Lord, I would troll the media SO HARD if I were them. But I’m about 72% evil.
LMFAO, Adelphi! I would so be here for a Harry/Meghan twitter account that repeatedly announced mundane developments. #newcurtains
If they would name said puppy Keener my day would be made.
Right. I was saying yesterday that maybe they’ll announce the Queen has decided to abandon HATS in 2018!
Well, the “royals” are dependent on the media – an extension of the public – for their survival, so I’d think that “trolling” the media would be a little ill-considered.
Am I the only one who really doesn’t care all that much? They’ll get engaged eventually, I’m not exactly scheduling my day around it. Yes, I do love a fancy wedding, but let the girl unpack her suitcases first, lol.
I agree. If I do have any interest, which I do, it’s to see the Two Princesses of the realm and how they will deal with one another.
Team Harry all the way.
I do! I care! I need something pretty and happy to follow!!
Harry & Meghan are going to make great reality tv. Let’s drop the pretense that royals aren’t celebrities. And at least these will be celebs who may actually use their fame for good. (And who knows, maybe Kate will be inspired by them to join the 21st century).
No, you’re not the only one who doesn’t care. I don’t understand why the media takes every little thing as a sign an engagement announcement is coming. They’ve been talking about it for a year.
Kate and Will have severely lowered my expectations so I’m not really excited either. Hopefully Meghan has made a good choice for the rest of her life (!).
Her suitcase has probably been unpacked by the valets and everything wrapped in tissue paper (I wonder what their tissue paper budget is).
The tissue paper! If someone could explain the tissue paper thing, that’d be great. Carole Middleton is really into tissue paper, too, right? I’m a poor who doesn’t understand the tissue paper thing — someone please explain! Why is wrapping clothes in tissue paper a good thing!?
Odette: reduces / prevents wrinkles.
Odette, one of the things I love about this site is the wittiness of commentators and the thinking gymnastics that some royal-related issues provoke. For entertainment, royals are the gift that keeps on giving! So what I think about the tissue paper, in all seriousness: one has that much stuff that when storing clothes away, they or their staff or someone else’s staff – ALERT, pun intended!!!!! – wrap those clothes in tissue paper to absorb humidity OR to avoid smell cross-contamination from other items. So items are kept clean and fresh! No smells to disturb those sensitive noses! That, plus ego flattering. I’ve come/ arrived since my cloths are wrapped in tissue paper (by paid staff!!!!!!!).
Thank you, LAK!
Plastic dry cleaning bags can also work, but have the disadvantage of slipping around in the suitcase.
I’m with you Lady.
Same.
I still can’t get my head around getting engaged after barely spending time together. Spending 2 months at most from what I read? On holidays basically not living together full time. Cultural differences aside. Thinking that a RF with such a long tradition is a culture itself. Disfunctionality is another serious matter that has negatively affected the personal lives of BRF members, and will continue to do so. Open declarations of political views is another one. Appearing in s** scenes prior to entering one’s life is another one. The BRF may well continue to silence British media but they won’t be able to do it with the US media. And M is American. Who knows what stuff will come out once that the engagement is made.
I feel the same but it’s not my life so eh. For me it would be smart to live together before getting engaged but BRF works differently i guess.
Lord knows holidays are an idealized version of your relationship. The thing they do have going for them is age. As in hopefully they are mature in their 30s. I would be more skeptical if they were both in their early 20s
I don’t think they need to live together before being engaged. But they should live in the same country for a while. Although they supposedly see each other regularly. Long distance is really different than seeing each other everyday. Habits seen every few months is different than living with it everyday.
Agreed Louise. If they lived in the same country I would say living together is not a must. Since they do not I said live together. But your comment about habits seen every day vs a few months is true. I had a friend that was long distance engaged and when they moved in they fought a lot because it was different. Theres a difference in seeing a partner on a vacation vs every day life. They worked through it but pushed back the wedding as a result
I didn’t live with my spouse before married, and we usually didn’t see each other more than twice a week, sometimes three. Almost seven years later, we’re still together.
I didn’t live with my husband before I married him, either. We married after we’d finished our studies, so were apart a year before, too. 20 years on, it’s worked out okay.
It does seem to be a very short courtship. But at 36 she can’t wait forever, although they could have lived together for a year, it would make sense. So if they get engaged today, when is the wedding going to be? I vote for April or May.
It has been a year, hasn’t it?
The mister and I were engaged 9 months post first date, married 8 months after getting engaged- at 29 and 33.
Almost 23 years ago, now.
I think they will be okay. They aren’t kids.
What will come that is more than what has come out for Harry or Charles. You act as if the scandal has not been part of the royal family. Harry was snapped naked in a Las Vegas hotel for crying out loud, Prince charles wanted to come back in his next life as a tampon so he can live between Camilla’s legs, just what exactly do you expect to come out of Meghan’s closet that is worse than what has already been exposed about the BRF?
As an amateur royal watcher I am well aware about BRF royal scandals. Few in the past years, mostly related to Dolittle’s lack of decorum. BRF have increased dramatically their control over the British media. A commentator on this blog linked an article that mentioned editorial self-censorship over BRF issues as well as possible retaliation against those who publish unsavory materials about the BRF. In my view, the BRF have carte blanche to do whatever they please with absolutely no accountability. But US media is very different. I have no idea what could come out about MM. Nor do I wish that scandalous stuff comes out. Unless MM had some sort of plan and made sure she didn’t put a step wrong, maybe nothing will come out. But are there any guarantees? Tabloids exist for one reason: money. Sell more and get more money. What sells? Scandal sells.
And her future sister-in-law has flashed while on official engagement.
Exactly what worse could come out of Meghan’s closet that has come out of the royal closet, or indeed is still to come out of the royal closet.
My husband and I got married within 5 months of our first date and we didn’t live together either. We also didn’t spend a ton of time together as we lived 40 miles apart.
We’ve been married over 20 years. So it can be done.
I just love reading stories like this, bluhare. Well done, both of you 🙂
Agree wholeheartedly ! A similar (though slightly lengthier) situation for us.
@ Blu
Just about the same …
Exception to the rule. I wouldn’t be bragging.
@K: “I wouldn’t be bragging.” Wtf
My husband and I married 4 months after we met 18 years ago, so their pre-engagement relationship doesn’t bother me. I have a feeling these 2 would be able to have some autonomy over their lives. And they can’t be any more ridiculous that Charles’ brothers were as royals.
There are two Ks. This K has also been married 20 years (almost) after not living together first, as I mentioned above.
And I need to alter my username, because I don’t want comments like that above being attributed to me.
Not bragging. Stating a bloody fact.
@K
Good idea to alter the name. I was gone for a time and have no idea if someone trolled in my name. After being confused by same names, I decided to add an avatar that can’t be copied.
@bluhare
Never say anything good or nice about yourself, or you are bragging. Didn’t you get the memo?
Marriage is tricky. Arranged marriages have a higher rate of success than free choice marriages. People like to point to the abusive situations, but that happens in free choice too. If a loving family chooses, they have researched the family and the potential spouse. My theory is that lust and infatuation cause us to overlook red flags and negatives or ignore our instincts.
Marriage is a gamble, and there is no real exceptional formula for success except the people are well matched and sincere. I know someone who lived with her bf for ten years, and they married, and then he cheated, and they divorced two years later.
Congrats to you and your husband and wish you another successful 20+ years.
@magnoliarose, I disagree. Bringing up something like that apropos of nothing would be bragging, but in this context, as a rebuttal to a statement about how it’s unwise to get married on relatively short acquaintance, I don’t think it’s bragging at all.
I would be deeply skeptical of any fresh revelations that come out after they’re married. The Daily Fail especially have gone to extra-ordinary lengths to get absolutely everything they possibly can about Meghan and I feel certain they’ve released it all, just to sabotage this relationship before it ever gets to the alter. For goodness sake, they’ve traced her ancestry all the way back to something like the 16th century!
The important person in all of this is actually Harry and what he thinks of Meghan and he doesn’t strike me as the sort to be very easily shocked – short of her having topped someone, I don’t see any fresh news moving the dial for him.
Ancestry tracing is something they do to all royal brides, and it is included in all official books and magazines once engagement is announced.
As for how it is framed, MM is in good company. Kate was described as descended from coal miners as if her ancestors only just left the mines rather than over 100yrs ago.
And it wasn’t just the UK media playing this Kate’s coal miners ancestor game. This is a WaPo link about Kate’s ancestry which was written on her engagement http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/03/AR2011030301599.html
I remember all the noise that was made over this as well.
When you’re going back that far, how accurate can this stuff be?
If they are using mitochondrial DNA, very accurate because that remains the same. It’s how Richard 3’s bones were identified. They traced his mitochondrial DNA to present day descendants.
If they are going by census, less accurate since records may not go that far. It would require anecdotal research more akin to putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
And for the royals, bloodlines are important which means someone researching all the way to Edward the confessor or earlier if required.
Diana and Fergie were easy since they are both aristocrats with already known ancestral links to the BRF, as well as working for the royals.
Meghan is already doing better than Sophie if her link is in the 16th century because Sophie’s link was found to be in the 14th/ 15th century!!!!
@ belladupont, surprisingly accurate, the Tower of London holds the oldest archive records in the world, that and the British aristocracy using themselves as a kind of living, breathing, breed record means that families, even humble ones can go back a long, long way.
Harry could do a lot better
Harry could do a lot worse.
I agree, if indeed it is IMMINENT then it will nor be today, but Monday.
PLEASE, PLEASE, let it be today. We’re in need of some good news after the horrible news this year.
What horrible news was that?
Just 2017 in general…
This is the last article about them I am clicking on about this until it is officially announced! Ha! 😉
:o-)
@Maria
Dear waitie carol middletons decade hunting struggle was a HUGE circumstance all it itself.
Not trying to be a cynic but how many times did we hear that during the waity years? I’ll believe it when I see it.
That’s what I was thinking too. This is not the first time bookies have stopped taking bets, vendors have started producing tea cozies with the couple’s faces, and the media has reserved airtime and experts, all for it to come to nothing. It could be today, but after the Imminent Engagement Announcement that Never Was of 2007, I wouldn’t get too pumped just yet.
They also stopped taking bets about a certain tiara being used for the W&K wedding, but were completely wrong. Sometimes rumors are just rumors, not tips.
I’m waiting for the Kate’s pregnant with twins or Eugene is getting married announcement. Something completely off the mark.
Exactly Maria. We hear these imminent articles too often when a British royal has dated.
Will and Kate weren’t this methodical about it though from the very beginning. Will was so/so on Kate for the longest. From the moment, Harry introduced her as his girlfriend to the public, it feels like they’ve been heading towards marriage and he’s been very clear about his intentions with her otherwise why would she take the steps she’s been taking career-wise.
I wish her the best.
I agree with you , I think he fell like a Redwood (no pun intended for my Canadian cousins) and was pretty certain fairly early on. Some people just are, it seems to have a lot to do with chemistry and timing.
I just want to see the ring.
I find myself oddly happy about this. I think she’ll be a fantastic addition, and will take up much of the slack in terms of charities, particularly with the retirement of Prince Philip. She’s beautiful and interesting as well. Good for Harry!
Hang on a bit…I don’t want her working too hard, she already looks like she has lost weight and she will be thinking of starting a family too. No way should she be made to feel she has to do extra to make up for other people who have been members of the family longer than her. Hopefully she will start slowly but I am glad Harry will have somebody to go with him especially to black tie events.
Do you think Meghan will be allowed to do more work than Wills and Kate, or even lazy Harry, showing them up? Um, no. No way. She will be absorbed into the BRF, and do some work, and wave from a balcony once in a while, and spend the Brit’s money on clothes and trips, just like Will, Kate and Harry.
This is a woman who is walking away from a complete life to marry an unemployed, very rich, very famous, immature playboy. I don’t think meghan is doing this so she can work hard the rest of her life. I think she is amazed at her good fortune in hooking up with one of the best meal tickets in the world.
@Maren I think that position is quite ridiculous. I think you need to look up the definition of ‘playboy’…..Dodi Al Fayed, maybe yes….William and Harry certainly no. Of course they have had fun in their youth no different from other wealthy public school educated young men but they are NOT playboys.
If you were Meghan’s mother would you really think marrying into the RF is good fortune? You totally lose your freedom, your every move is scrutinised, people are waiting to tear you apart for the smallest mistake, the whole world waiting for you to get pregnant, constantly being surrounded by servants and security. You have probably never experienced what its like to have servants….it is just as hard to have servants than having none, you are constantly having to work your way around their needs and yours as they are not slaves.
The pressure is enormous and the compensation of good food, nice clothes, nice accommodation, best of everything cannot match the loss of freedom that goes with it. Meghan is making a big sacrifice and Harry knows it . Your take on it really unbelievably simplistic. Also I am sure Meghan along with Harry will try hard to help good causes and be very good and dedicated ambassadors to a variety of interests.
I think Meghan is used to working and she will get bored if she is not busy. My opinion.
See my note below. She can pour herself into her own charity, keeping busy, working hard, and still not “showing up” W&K by doing more local engagements than they do.
All in all I think Meghan has a very high degree of emotional intelligence and will be able to withstand pressure. On top of it, she may just not care about perception and stuff. I firmly believe that currently the RF do not lose sleep over what people think. Talking about high level royals like the two Middleton-Lamebridge, have we seen any improvement except for a few more public appearances? There’s almost no improvement whatsoever. The seniors are preparing for the unwanted but inevitable. The seniors are concerned with survival. The juniors with high life and no accountability. Meghan could live well with no household staff in sight for most of time. She’d be the boss of office staff. Harry will comply. It’s Meghan who wears the pants, not Harry. She will be in the best position ever in the BRF.
She will do more work than Kate because she is smart enough to know she has to do better to be accepted. She won’t see much of Wills and Kate and will do her own thing. Kate is not beloved by Charles that is more than apparent and Carole snubbing Camilla is stupid since Cam has Charles’ ear and he will be in charge. He is more interested in the family looking good, and since Kate is lazy, he is not going to allow that to drag everyone else down. There is no way Kate is important enough for them to keep Meghan from being a positive addition and Charles might even get a kick out of it. He can be unforgiving, and when HQ is gone, you better believe he will be less tolerant. Keeping his grandchildren away was just dumb strategically.
Maren, Ditto and he hadn’t even finished asking her before she said YES!!!
Her best bet (if they marry) would be to create her own charity, like Harry has done with Sentebale. The number of engagements Harry&Wife do could end up being political – even within the family there may be pressure not to show up W&K. She could pour her efforts in to a charity in addition to doing the bread-and-butter engagements that could help people meet her up close. That was how Camilla won over a lot of people, because she showed up engaged and interested in the local things.
Excited about the news. As for the living together, it’s no guarantee the marriage will last. Some couples that lived together did the marriage ended in divorce. Will and Kate lived together for a moment but still was the Verbier weekend. It always depend on the people involved.
Agreed. Living together doesn’t guarantee success. Nor would Meghan have any status; she would simply be Harry’s live-in girlfriend. With engagement, she gets a taste of expectations and protocol. I always thought engagements were meant to give the couple a final chance to say no, not just about planning the wedding.
My great aunt lived with her boyfriend for ten years, this was in the 50’s. Scandal! So under family pressure they got married. And got divorced a year later.
I don’t think living together results in a successful marriage, but dating on the same continent does help. A week here and there isn’t helpful as its like a vacation phase. To each their own, but this isn’t an ordinary marriage, it comes with a lot more stressors than most marriages; and a gilded cage.
I think technology makes it a lot easier to carry out long distance relationship…..videophones, skype etc all help significantly bridge the gap on a day to day basis between their meetings.
Besides, some of the longest lasting relationships I know had relatively short periods between meeting and marriage. My parents had 6 months and stayed happily married until he passed on a few years ago.
I wish them the very best, either way.
Okay, I have to admit I want to see an interview…just to see everybody analyze it.
I’m going to check the DM comments after the story comes out so I can laugh at the racists. I’ll probably need safety goggles.
Please don’t, you’ll end up losing the will to live wading through that bile.
LOL!
I’m waiting for at least 400 or 500 comments at the minimum on this site at the article that will announce and discuss the engagement once that it’s made public.
For the occasion of this marvelous (political), entertainment and gossip event, I’ve already prepared a few virtual crates of champers and delicious canapes and chocolate truffles for the comments section moderator or moderators. They will have a lot of work to do! Cheers from now 🙂
Very true, and well anticipated. The moderators will have their work cut out. I am expecting websites all over the world to crash when the announcement is made. The announcement of this engagement is definitely creating more interest the W&K for numerous reasons 1. Biracial divorced American actress (even one of those would have caught the headlines marrying a British Prince but all FOUR…Go Meghan! She must be very special) 2. Harry is still the most popular member of the RF and many hearts will be broken that because he has not chosen someone with their own image. This is why I cannot understand why and how the wedding can be low key…Is it because it would outshine the W & K wedding in terms of interest?
Ooooh I am here for it. A nice distraction from the negative stuff.
I want to know how he’s going to incorporate Diana into this moment. Wills gave Katie Diana’s engagement ring, so what will Harry do?
One article said he might give her Diana’s beloved Cartier Tank watch. Perhaps that?
I read he’s taking diamond from one of Diana’s brooches to be made into an engagement ring.
I can’t imagine they’re rolling this out on a Friday. I would go with Monday or a Tuesday.
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK so I very much doubt the BRF would care whether any announcement came out over Thanksgiving weekend… That is, if there even is an announcement to be made…
That was my thought too. I know that Megan’s American but why would the BRF give a damn about Thanksgiving?
Come on, we need some good news!
I thought the younger generation of royals were encouraged to live together to determine compatibility. They want to avoid more scandals associated with divorce. And since MM just moved overseas that would put the engagement announcement late year 2018 wouldn’t it?
How fitting they would announce days after the budget 😐.
I wonder who will be bank rolling this extravaganza?
The British tax payer no doubt.
Also call me cynical, but for those asking about the timing of such an announcement – it makes a great distraction for the monumental fuck up the powers that Be are making of brexit…
Brexit would have been a monumental fcukup no matter what. And it’s going to continue to be a clusterfcuk for years, possibly decades. They might as well go ahead and get married.
Come onnn! I need something silly and superficial to focus on!
*I’m also joking, I wish them the best.
Lol @ people worrying about skeletons Meghan may have, trust and believe the media has already tried to find them.
BRF already had their share of scandal let’s not forget uncle Andy being caught up in that underage prostitution thing.
If they get engaged good for them, if they decide to wait good for them. A long engagement would be good though gives them time to live together, gives Meghan a sample of what to expect and Harry won’t have to be Willy and Kate’s third wheel. anymore.
It would be funny if one of the York girls who was getting engaged or something other than what everyone is expecting.
The real sleaze is in the blood members of the BRF. Anyone marrying in usually classes up the family.
The Royals are behind colonialism and genocide so there really isn’t anything the Meghan could do that would be as bad as that.
Yes exactly we’ve already heard the worst of it she has a few tacky relations that will talk to the press. If there was something worse it would have come out ages ago. The Windsors have much worse in their past. I do think they are rushing though it’s a huge step to marry into that particular fishbowl.
Best wishes for both of them.
Maybe the announcement will be she is pregnant and they don’t know if they will bother getting married.
Gee, I wonder if Kate ever had people speculate that she was pregnant out-of-wedlock? If Meghan was pregnant–which she most certainly is not–wouldn’t it make more sense that they would definitely want to get married?
Interesting how there are always attempts to reduce Harry’s relationship with Meghan to something sexual…
”Gee, I wonder if Kate ever had people speculate that she was pregnant out-of-wedlock? ”
Numerous times Mimi, don’t play revisionist history.
”Interesting how there are always attempts to reduce Harry’s relationship with Meghan to something sexual…” You mean like they did with Kate ? the ”booty call”?
I was joking. Funny how some people can’t take a joke.
It would be funny they announced she was pregnant and they decided to wait until after the baby was born to marry. That announcement would make my day.
Wishing illegitimate children on them and no wedding ring is actually pretty sh!tty because this anachronism remains governed by out of date conservative rules that can’t be changed without all the realms’ parliaments agreeing to change them.
Meghan would be treated as something to be ashamed and her children wouldn’t be recognised nor could they inherit.
Only the monarch’s illegitimate children have a chance of being recognised because the monarch can exercise monarch’s privilege to recognise them and grant them titles. Harry, being the spare, would depend on the goodwill of too many people within the family for that to happen, and even then, the Parliaments wouldn’t automatically accept it.
You know what’s “shitty”? Referring to child born to parents who are not married as “illegitimate”. Get your mind into the present day. Royal family or not, NO CHILD born to two people who love each other is illegitimate.
Cutit/Hiyah: You know what’s sh!tt!ier? Ignorant (oxford AND Urban dictionary definitions) people who don’t understand the rules of royal families.
I hope you are out protesting Albert of Monaco whose 2 older children are officially described as ‘illegitimate’ and as a result not in the line of succession and have no titles, and any money they have is purely out of the goodness of his heart rather than gaving an automatic right to it as his children regardless of the circumstances of their birth.
Here is a shocker, legitimacy or illegitimacy absolutely still rules royal families and any children born outside wedlock are listed as such by law and treated the same by law.
Alittle knowledge might go a long way instead of SJW-ing without the facts.
As you’ve explained before LAK, it continues to impact inheritance laws in the UK especially regarding title. Those laws are behind the times to many people, but they remain the laws. Those laws include the legitimacy vs illegitimacy definitions being what they are.
I’m thinking back to the conversation we had on here about the second son of Viscount Weymouth who was born to a gestational carrier (biologically the parents are Weymouth and his wife). Legally he isn’t “of the body” and *possibly* couldn’t inherit the estate if his elder brother passed away.
Then there’s Christopher Guest (Baron Haden-Guest) and his wife Jamie Leigh Curtis; their adopted son cannot inherit Guest’s title. Until laws are changed, they are the laws.
I knew none of this LAK and nota. I was actually joking, I honestly didn’t think illegitimacy was even a thing anymore:(
I’ll go read now.
Nota: Weymouth’s second son is also not born ‘in legal marriage’. Therefore, despite being 100% genetically Weymouth + wife, their use of a surrogate automatically made him illegitimate in law and unable to inherit because Weymouth’s relationship with surrogate isn’t ‘in legal marriage’ nor is baby born ‘of the body’ that weymouth is wedded in legal marriage.
If first son dies, title would automatically be granted to next male who fulfills those conditions rather than second son. And if none can be found, including in distant blood relatives, title reverts back to the Crown.
I think they applied to parliament to have their second son recognised so he is able to inherit, but I haven’t followed up to find out if they were successful.
Lady D: these situations bring up 1001 reasons why we are lucky to be regular people because we don’t live by these antiquated laws.
I have no reason to revise history. I truly don’t recall any comments about Kate being pregnant by William before they married. I wasn’t into royal message boards, only reading general celebrity gossip sites during those years, but I’ll take your word for it. Kate was not a big deal pre-wedding in the US so I don’t recall anything negative about her other than that she waited a long time for him to propose.
As to the OP, when I see a joke, I’ll take it. I didn’t see one here. Given the ongoing attempts to degrade and belittle MM in stereotypical ways, your comment read as more of the same. Of course, whenever minorities react to coded language, insults and barbs, we are frequently told that we should just chill and not take things seriously.
“Ongoing attempts to belittle Meghan”. Where is that coming from? On this site, it’s all positive. Now Kate is a different story.
I think mostly positive would be more accurate, Maria. She’s been called a fame wh*re, a booty call, a gold digger, a concubine (that one is so disgustingly racist), and a literal prostitute by some posters here.
@Lola,
Yes you are right. Mostly. There hasn’t been that much that is negative. But compared to Kate, who gets criticized from her hair length, skirt length, accent, smile, Meghan has had it pretty good on this site. I don’t read other sites, so I guess I’m pretty ignorant. And I am the first to admit, I’m a real bitch when it comes to Kate. I like Meghan though, I see her as a positive force for the royals.
But, alas, no news today.
Kate is criticised because she’s a royal. A public servant doing a job publicly and badly. Before she married in, overwhelming opinion, helped by lots of gaslighting PR, was that she was a good addition to the family in terms of her public job. Her engagement PR was ridiculously OTT positive. She’s been a huge disappointment. If she was employed privately, she’d have been fired a long time ago.
I know we can’t help ourselves in forming opinions, but i try NOT to examine any opinion i may have formed about MM because it’s non of my business until she officially marries him.
People like to pretend that these marriages are private, but they are not. They are a job with a social contract to the UK + Realms to represent us in exchange for our money at £350M annually. And when you pay for something, you develop an opinion. About the Queen and all her family and those who marry in because they have accepted the job.
However, for any new potential inlaws, one can’t know how they will turn out as a royal. They might be the worst on paper pre-marriage, but be very good royals eg Sofia of Sweden. Kate is the perfect example of someone good on paper pre-marriage (perhaps not for the waiting thing), but she’s turned out to be a bad royal.
MM could go either way. We can’t know until she marries him. Until then, unfair to criticise her and she’ll enjoy fairly positive opinion, even with the racist trolls. After the wedding, everyone will judge her because then she’ll be on our dime.
Calm down, it was A JOKE. Holy high horses, batman.
What’s a joke, Hiyah? That you’re on here posting under two different names? lol…
So 50 minutes to go…
What if they cultivate all this fuss and then the announcement is about Princess Eugenie getting engaged?
I would feel bad for Eugenie. Her announcement would be met with so much disappointment.
Also, were people expecting an announcement the day before/day of WK’s engagement or was it hush hush and unexpected? I didn’t pay attention beforehand.
I would love it if that were to happen. We’d still get a royal wedding with Fergie thrown into the mix!
It’s going to be super awkward if 5:00 rolls around and there is no announcement whatsoever.
It could end up being the traditional “tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”. The BRF media game has been slipping lately. There is speculation from one tabloid about HM moving to Windsor because of the BP restoration. It could be something as simple as that, spinning out of control because the press office isn’t doing their job very well.
Remember the chaotic few hours of speculation leading up to the surprise Prince Philip retirement announcement?
Yeah, we all thought he was dead. That was so ammateurish, even by their standards.
@Lainey
Today would be great for Prince Henry Sparkle Couple. They would have the weekend to celebrate with family and fresh start at duties on Monday.
congratulations. so now they can tax evade together with the queen’s blessing.
5:08 and no news! Apparently there was an incident just now so maybe that’s why they’re holding off?
What incident?
Possible gun shot heard at Oxford Circus, London.
Gunshots heard at some central place in London, people trapped in shops.
If there was an announcement, it would trump all news. Shots at Oxford circus, Zimbabwe be damned. It would push ALL other news off the schedule. That is how rotal engagement announcements are treated.
@ LAK…..’it would trump all news. S at Oxford circus, Zimbabwe be damned’………lol!….But you are totally correct!
Gunshots turned out to be a hoax, thankfully.
Nobody is going to announce an engagement on a Friday evening, on Black Friday no less. Its such a bizzare time to do it. Trolling of the highest order lol.
Not sure why the Brits would care about Black Friday.
IKR?
You all forget she is American. Regardless of what you think of Americans, you can bet there will be now a helluva lot more attention paid by the Brits to American holidays and traditions.
No. Honestly, we aren’t going to pay more attention to US holidays because a guy who is what, 6th in line to the throne marries an American. The royal family aren’t a big enough deal to the average Brit for that, and anyway, she’ll become a Brit herself.
I’ve nothing against her. She seems perfectly nice. But he’s not in the direct line any more, and even if he were, the interest would be in her, not her nation of origin.
The point I was trying to make (albeit badly in this case) was no PR person worth his or her salt is going to schedule a highly anticipated Royal engagement announcement on a Friday at 5pm. Its a very inconvenient day/time. People will be busy either shopping (Black Friday), commuting home from work or going out for drinks. No one is going to stop what they are going to crowd around the nearest TV. Its also an inconvenient time for journalists as some one else pointed out above. A good PR person will schedule a Royal announcement during the day when he/she knows people will be able to watch the engagement announcement and interview live.
To be fair Black Friday does exist here, albeit only as some weird sale thing that shops have latched onto and Brits probably don’t quite understand why all the shops are having a sale on some random weekday in November. I happened to be in a shopping centre yesterday in Hertfordshire and all the shops had big Black Friday Sale!!! signs up (except Lidl, which typically ended up being the only place I bought anything).
Most Brits barely pay any attention to the RF anyway, so I doubt Meghan marrying will make much difference. Perhaps the odd future Daily Mail article on how Princess Meghan (sic) has been baking pumpkin pie at Balmoral and Phillip really loves them or something.
Aaaaaand…nothing.
I think it’s safe to say it’s not happening today.
Just turned on BBC hoping it would happen… instead some horrific news about some kind of incident in London. Horrible. Just when you were hoping for silly happy news.
If it helps the incident turned out to be nothing. Two men had a fight on a tube platform and someone pulled the emergency cord, and other people heard there was some “incident” and got panicked.
The only announcement that would be better would be a Breaking News impeachment announcement.
Why this earlier:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/884000/buckingham-palace-announcement-queen-philip-prince-harry-meghan-markle-engagement/
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/662478/Meghan-Markle-Prince-Harry-engagement-Royal-wedding-Queen-Buckingham-Kensington-Palace
No idea if accurate. Fingers crossed though for a Monday announcement over a January one.
Lainey may know more than she’s letting on. She works with Ben Mulroney on ETALK – Ben’s wife is besties with Meghan.
I used to think that too-but she hasn’t offered up anything really interesting, and it’s been a year.
yay! im so excited! that castle needs some color:)
This may be crazy (and I haven’t read all the comments on this thread) but I kind of see a “Diana” thing happening with H & M.
I think an announcement of an engagement will throw W & K completely out of the picture. Where K is very, very basic, Meghan is not. She dresses very well (please, G-D, do not make her wear nylons/pantyhose), she’s pretty, and she can hold a conversation.
W & K will make some stupid announcement saying they “are thrilled with the engagement and the press will now have someone else to focus on” (while CM starts investigating poisons.) The photos of Meghan and Kate together will be hysterical because Kate will look so shabby next to her. (I would love to listen to a conversation between the 2 of them) + (I wonder what Meghan really thinks of Kate.)
I don’t ever see the Diana phenomenon ever being replicated by anyone. I think what made Diana a little different is that everybody saw her when she was really young and grow up in front of the world through the stages of adulthood/womanhood. A lot could be projected onto her. And even though Harry is charismatic, I kind of think Diana’s charisma trumps even his.
I hope we never see it repeated; ultimately it ended up helping to destroy her.
Wow way to put two women against each other, so you can tear down someone ypu don’t like.
I am pretty sure that a media savy and PR/image-oriented person like Meghan (due to the nature of her profession) is very well aware of Kate’s extremely obvious shortcomings. Meghan knows that she’s light years ahead of Kate. No matter what the trolls think. Meghan has the upper hand. Question is if Harry will be able to be a man and become his own person and be independent from Bill. I am sure that Bill would be able to throw H under the bus if he feels threatened. Bill the Ordinary, the Petulant and Dolittle of Middleton-Lamebridge only cares about himself. And he’s not afraid to stick two fingers to everyone. He shows it all the time.
It’s a minor point, but can I just point out that tights are a necessity in this country if you don’t want to freeze to death. Either Meghan will wear nothing but trousers (which would be awesome, if unlikely) or she will, at some point, wear tights.
Definitely a short courtship, feels rushed because Harry seems under pressure to settle down and Meghan is 36 so would want children asap! They haven’t even lived together, so they’re probably still in fairytale land! Who knows if it will work out long term!
As for Kate, people need to give her a break, she married a man she loved and is doing her best in a challenging role, it’s easy to criticize from afar but she may just be a very shy person who struggles with anxiety?
This is an excuse that is often used for her that don’t bear out to me. Her behavior throughout the dating years doesn’t indicate shyness. She has no problem laughing it up with Ben Ainslie and celebrities. It is only when she has to *act* like a compassionate human for 10 minutes straight that she appears to have problems, like constant fidgeting and rolling her eyes at a homeless shelter.
Unlike some of her ardent fans, I do not think what we’re seeing is the best she can do. IMO she and Wm benefit from people thinking this is the best they can do, because it makes for fabulous cover for their laziness. Crazy like a fox.
She is so often infantilised, which plays to her advantage because she’s bone-deep lazy and does not want to work. Ever. She is an educated 35-year-old who has no excuse for this constant bumbling and unprofessional behavior. And none of that begins to excuse the laziness.
You learn the job by doing it, so show up and learn.
“don’t” should be “doesn’t”?
I need to edit before I click submit comment 🙂
She’s a mother of young children and not yet married to the next in line to the throne. When the Queen retires or dies then Kate will be in the same position as Diana was, married to the next in line. That’s when you will see Kate and William become more full time. Your irrational hatred of her on every single thread gives your comments no legitimacy and youre not convincing anyone who knows better.
Hatred and criticism are not the same thing. Tired of people pretending not to understanding that.
They are the third-ranked couple in the land. The first ranked couple are 91 and 96. The second ranked couple are 69 and 70. How can anyone keep defending the two lazy 35-year-olds who refuse to do the simple task of showing up more often?
It does not matter if they have kids or not, they’re supposed to be pulling their weight. They’re certainly taking all the perks, housing, and security of being high-up without doing the work. They are not injured, infirm, or incapable of working – they’re just lazy and selfish.
All of the other royal couples had kids and they worked more engagements than W&K when those kids were young, Diana included. Having kids doesn’t give them a Get Out of Work card. Just ask all the working parents paying 600 million a year for the royal circus.
Sophie did more than 200 engagements the year she was pregnant with Louise. She nearly died having Louise, BTW. After Louise was born? Sophie did around 200 engagements that year too. She’s married to the 9th-soon-to-be-10th in line to the throne.
They do work. You just dont give them any credit. Sophie didnt have her mother killed in a car crash because the press was out of control. Why do you think Harry is keeping his relationship under wraps? The firm calls the shots. The RF was in trouble prior to Diana’s arrival on the scene. That whole marriage was a strategy. Sophie would never have the press frenzy like Diana did because as you say she’s far down the line. The potential for it to happen again is a possibility with Kate. It’s not like she can just hop in her car and go to engagements whenever. There is planning with security etc. I dont see you complaining about paying for a girlfriend’s security who has done absolutely nothing for the RF so far. Do you think Harry has foot that bill? No way!
They do not work nearly as hard as they should, and they never have. If they continue to get excused for it, and not constantly called to the carpet? They’ll keep getting away with it.
Presumably Harry is keeping this relationship as private as possible because he said publicly, after Cressida, that that was how he would do things from now on. It isn’t a result of his mother’s death; it was a decision he made in the last few years.
Made up “press frenzy” is the excuse you’ll use for their laziness now? SMH. Unless Kate Middleton plans to spend her personal time getting in a car driven by a drunk driver and refuses to put on her seat belt, you’re barking up the wrong tree with this line.
The “firm” doesn’t set their schedule, the royals themselves determine their schedules, what they’re going to do, which invitations to accept, how much they’re going to work, all of it. The royals and the royal staff have made that clear for decades. Once the royal decides to do X, the staff and security take over all the planning and prep work.
That is one of the things Charles needs to tidy up, because the different Palaces often don’t talk to each other about schedules. It means that you can end up with three royals in one town all the same day, when one royal could have covered all of those events if they’d had some kind of central scheduling. It would decrease security and travel costs too.
The dozens of staff are there to arrange things, do the prep work, security does the security planning. It all runs like a well-oiled machine, until the principles throw a wrench in to it. Like W&K&H not scheduling 6-9 months out like the rest of the firm does.
From what has been made known, her employers were providing Meghan Markle’s security in Toronto. Given what has happened in the past to other actresses and stalkers (see Rebecca Schaeffer), they needed to do that to protect themselves legally. Time will tell who is covering Markle’s security now, if she really has left Suits, but for the last year it has been paid by her employers.
No one cares much for Sophie. Even royal watchers forgot she’s on tour right now. When she married in she was the only young woman in the royal family and ranked in the top3.
After the fake sheik story she tried everything to look better and played besties with her mom in law.
You can’t compare anyone to Kate. She’s not the Princess of Wales like Diana was. Thats Camilla. Yet Kate is the “big deal”. Known worldwide and hunted by Paparazzi. Sophie and the other minors, same with all the other monarchies have it easy. Someone like Madeleine can walk through London without bodyguards.
Kate hasn’t that privilege. She lost of when she was student. She lost so much freedom when she was young. Paparazzi camping outside Jigsaw bureau every damn day… and people wonder why she had to quit her job!? She was stalked. The Royal Family even paid for her security. That shows you the fear William had! You all like to ignore facts and prefer to slut shame her and call her Williams booty call. She was his girlfriend and he cared for her.
They live in a fish bowl, desperately trying to save as much privacy and family life as possible.
Kate already has security assigned to her so what is the issue? There is no excuse not to to make a few more one hour or less appearances per week because the security gets paid one salary regardless of how often she leaves KP. Is this the new excuse? Kate isn’t doing as much to save money on security costs? And this still doesn’t justify why she does less than Sophie who will never be Queen consort or even close. Kate married the second in line to the throne and has yet to do anything near the amount of work Sophie has done, even before she started having kids. Phillip has retired and the Queen is getting Charles to do more for her. She will likely never abdicate, but she is in the process of retiring now. So William and Kate have to step up now.
Most here aren’t criticizing Kate’s security guards but the fact she rarely uses them for official events as opposed to when she goes shopping.
Those “minors” keep outworking W&K, which is shameful. All of the royals live lives of luxury off the taxpayers, and the vast majority of the time live in a bubble of extreme privacy.
William cared so much for her that he dumped her repeatedly, openly pursued other women even when she was in the room, and danced on a table screaming “Free at last!” one of the many times they broke up.
No one is supposed to care about seeing the royals in newspapers, that is another negative legacy from Diana. After the deliberate entrapment by the tabloid when Sophie and Edward were NOT part of the working royal stable? Sophie has ended up doing the job well, which is likely what HM appreciates. That and she keeps Edward happy, and since Edward is Philip’s favorite, it makes both HM and PP happy.
Madeline not being hunted? That is why she has proactively been posting pictures of their kids on social media for years. It decreases the value of pap shots of them, because the European tabloids are relentless when it comes to Madeleine and Chris. There were even paps chasing Madeleine in NYC. Queen Silvia injured herself stepping off a curb wrong trying to avoid one of them.
KM is no where near the draw Diana was and isn’t followed anywhere near as much. She wasn’t “hounded” at her job at Jigsaw, the job she worked only 2-3 days a week for less than 9 months. She was also offered multiple jobs at other places that promised to keep her behind the scenes – she refused them.
William didn’t pay for her security for years pre-engagement, the taxpayers did. That came out in a discrimination lawsuit from one of the officers.
Nic919, the excuses like goal posts, keep moving.
re: Kate being pap hunted at jigsaw….her own boss said Kate wasn’t hunted. She also said that they took the precaution of offering Kate the pap free back entrances to avoid any paps and not only Kate turn their offer down, but also offered to walk outside to give the paps a photo when she hadn’t found any lurking earlier in the day.
The offer to use private, pap evading entrances / exits to clubs and shops were always made to Kate and she always turned them down preferring to use the pap heavy exits.
All the better to construct the narrative that she was being pap hounded and thus couldn’t work or go about her life in peace.
From this false narrative came the excuse that only a wedding ring and official entry into the royal family would give her the necessary protection to work. If only she were married into the family would she be able to work.
It’s been 6yrs, and we are still waiting!!!
Friday night after Royal Variety:
Kate: So what’s the plan?
William: I’ll go over there to to the tumblers; you go over there to Anne, and we’ll be out of here in 10 minutes.
Regarding meet/greet with performers after the show.
I’m sorry. Is one of the excuses now that Kate can’t work more because she might be in a car crash?
kate duchess paparazzi
These photos prove otherwise. People aren’t stupid! William and Kate just won a court case where she was photographed at a private residence sunbathing topless. The press tried to do to her what they did to Diana. But I suppose youre going to say its Kates fault for that one.
They were awarded a tiny settlement in comparison to what they demanded, and nothing that will prevent their photographs being taken in the future. Tip? Don’t lie to the paraolympians, skip off on vacation, and sunbathe topless at a relative’s long-stay hotel/estate. Easy peasy.
I’ll just recall the story of W&K leaving a nightclub completely un-photographed. They then drove around the block back to the club, deliberately got the attention of the photographers, were photographed – then claimed they were being harassed. The “just happened” to get caught photo of them kissing (taken by their previous favorite Tanna), which knocked Uncle Gary’s drugs scandal off the front pages.
All done deliberately, as they have been doing for years, to yank the chains of the press.
So Kate doesn’t do more engagements because the paparazzi might catch her when she is on holiday instead of working? This still makes no sense as an argument to explain why she doesn’t do more royal work.
She wasn’t shy when she was barely dressed “roller derby Barbie”; she wasn’t shy when she was falling out of clubs in the middle of the night flashing her bits getting into a limo; she wasn’t shy when she strolled down a cat walk at uni wearing 2 rubber bands and some fishnet. She’s very calculating, and she’s very lazy. Doesn’t give a fig about her role, she bagged the big prize and that’s all she ever wanted.
LATEST NEWS! A report has come out that the couple are planning a NON TRADITIONAL wedding…..ughhhh! The Queen was reportedly at a meeting yesterday and agreed with the couples plans. Also there are new signs that it could take place at Windsor…..ughhhhh!
From what I’ve read, there was a regular staff meeting, possibly related to HM moving to Windsor during BP restoration. We’ll have to wait and see.
Dare we hope that *if* these two eventually marry, a “non traditional wedding” would involve Flying Elvi?
LAK, bluhare. Could you live with swans at Windsor or are they reserved for the St-Martin-in- the-Fields Christmas dream only?
I live about a block from the river. Friday afternoon there must have been 1000 of the huge white Trumpeter swans on the river. It looked amazing. One side of the river bank was all Canada geese waiting their turn in the river.
Exciting! I love non-traditional, more interesting. Wow! Can’t wait!
I don’t believe anything being reported about their engagement or wedding plans, at this point.
What the heck does non-traditional mean? Like private at somebody’s estate and with just still pics released later??? I am going to be really irritated if that is the case. I need a royal wedding, dammit. I have my whole middle-of-the-night watching party menu all planned out-champagne and all.
And chocolate biscuit cake. There must be chocolate biscuit cake.
ITA, CynicalAnn
The wedding belongs to the couple (and family and bureaucrats). I wonder if they can run off together and marry.
But I would be pissed if it’s not televised. That’s all I want and all the viewing rituals and excitement that surround it. I love weddings anyway. Deny me this and to me they will forever be remembered as party poopers and sourpusses and does not bode well for their future in my eyes.
Non traditional will mean a) no riding in a coach b) no kiss on the balcony c) probably not in London and fewer photo opportunities. If they are going down this route why? is it because a) she is a divorcee b) her father is not well enough to walk her down the aisle ( Diana practically held her father up) c) Harry wrongly believes that Meghan is not popular in public opinion. If it is for any of these reasons then they are actually being very traditional about things.
It would be much more ‘non traditional’ to proudly get married in Westminster Abbey and kiss on the Buck House balcony with proud Miss Doria looking on and show the world that the RF does not discriminate against divorcees, biracial people or hard working actresses. Doing otherwise is just caving in to the snobs and racists.
I do wish Diana was around she would have put them right. Harry is one of just two children to the future heir to the British throne for heavens sake and should be treated as such. The interest in this wedding is going to be greater than W&K , I can’t remember the media and public getting so ‘excited’ for various reasons in a royal wedding since Charles and Diana.
I hope they bow to positive public pressure….” We want a London wedding!”…..”We want a kiss on the balcony!”
I don’t think it would be for those reasons. I think he figures he’s not the heir, and with Kate having another baby, he becomes even further removed. They want their wedding the way they want it-private, with friends and family, and not a big public spectacle. And no, this wedding will not be bigger than William and Kate’s.
Get a grip people, it isn’t because she’s biracial it’s because she’s divorced. Divorcees are always treated this way it will be a registry then a blessing at st George’s just like camilla and Charles. This is the reason I worry about her ability to adapt to the culture and traditions, because as this site attests Americans don’t get it.
Westminster Abbey was asked back in May about this and gave the go-ahead. ‘A spokesman for Westminster Abbey said: “The Abbey follows the General Synod Ruling of 2002. Since then it has been possible for divorced people to be married in the Church of England.’.
Her previous marriage was a civil union and not in CoE. Like Letizia of Spain’s first civil marriage, it doesn’t stop her from marrying in a full ceremony in a church. It would require permission from HM because of his place in the succession, and possibly the Archbishop of Canterbury who isn’t going to protest it.
Charles and Camilla were a completely different issue back in 2005, because of the pre-existing relationship that contributed to Camilla’s divorce (by that point Charles was a widower). It was even a former Archbishop of Canterbury who was publicly encouraging them to marry, so in a way the Church was pushing *for* their marriage.
Things have gone off the rails in these threads. It’s almost disturbing to read some of these comments, the level of projection is at an all time high.
That said, Meghan herself might have a better grasp of reality than some of her fans. She might well adapt quickly and do a great job. I hope so – she has the potential to bring a lot of energy and intelligence to the role.
I so agree, suze.
I am NOT American. I cannot see the parallels between Camilla’s entry into the RF and Meghan, apart from the fact that they are both divorcees the scenarios could not be more different. The Church of England no longer bars divorcees from getting married in Church so it is not because she is a divorcee. Please let us stop making this as an excuse. I find it dreadful that Harry and Meghan’s nuptials should be planned in terms of the scandals associated with Charles and Camilla. Divorce is no longer the stigma it used to be like in the 1920s and 1930s when divorcees were treated worse than adulterers, sexual molesters, and rapists combined. Fact.
If Harry and Meghan have a less grand affair, it will be because that is what they want. Not for any other reason. A very different situation from Charles and Camilla. I can see them wanting to do something different to his mother or his brother.
When the media was trying to say her mom lives in gang infested Compton, they were not talking about her status as a divorcée. It is disingenuous to pretend that racism isn’t behind some of this. It’s like pretending that everyone who voted for orange Mussolini did it because of “economic anxiety “.
And what about Kate who was born in the UK and raised with the rich set? She still can barely handle the Royal traditions and expectations. What is her excuse?
Their is 500 divorced royals now…please stop.
It’s about her race, it’s always been about her race. Harry released his letter because of the racism Meghan endured. The hype is about her race without saying it. It’s just easier to say divorce.
Even the Washington Post is getting in on the action:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/world/europe/much-ado-in-britain-about-prince-harry-and-maybe-an-american-bride/2017/11/25/4421d1e6-d159-11e7-a87b-47f14b73162a_story.html
I just want to live her to live long enough to hold her mixed race great grandchild. Omg then we would have had a black president and the queen of England acknowledging a part black heir. Things that I never thought I’d ever see in my life time. Granted I thought that mixed heir would have come from me when I married William but sadly that was not to be.
@ BooRadley….lol! 😂
Ooooo! Diana’s Diamonds in her engagement ring! But no announcement until January.
All according to US Weekly.
DM just reported that the announcement could come on Tuesday. PM is meeting with her cabinet and a rep from BP was seen going to KP. Why do I keep believing all this?
Search me.
I think they recently got engaged and will keep it private for a bit. Maybe after she lives with him for at least a few weeks ( didn’t she just move in). I think it’s wishful thinking by the British media.
I believe marriage is the cards….but I can’t see an engagement until maybe the new year. Keep in mind that’s literally a month away. Lol
I saw the pics of her old Home in Toronto, it’s empty. And her dogs are in London going through the process. I say give them a month or so to get used to things & her & the dogs settled. Then January/feb the engagement announcement to coincide with a June/July wedding.
Torontonians wil miss her. She lived not far from my son and DIL. They used to see her in the nearby park with her dogs, though they never spoke to her. And, by the way, she did not live in the suburbs as DM claims. Although not right downtown, pretty darn close.
lol I laughed at the reference to the suburbs. the annex is practically downtown as many u of t students lived there when i went to school and it was a short walk to class
Hmm…its all getting really intense. I suppose anything can happen but the sooner they get it over with the better. I believe it will be announced this week. Living in London Meghan needs security and so its better that she gets it as his fiancee. I am sure that the Palace are concerned to end all the wild stories , rumours and speculation.
I imagine that Harry and Meghan have been rehearsing their interview. I wonder what the difficult questions will be. Will race? divorce? actress? American? come up. The only tricky question that came up during W&K engagement interview was when Kate was asked about criticism that she had never had a job. Before Kate could open her mouth William quickly interjected and said that was not true and that she had worked with her parents company.
Sixer if you stop by, I’d love to know what you think of Dr. Sentamu and the dog collar.
I love John Sentamu! I like it that he put his dog collar back on with a bit of – “Well, I promised but if it’s meet the new boss, same as the old boss, I won’t be best pleased.”
If I have to have one, he’d be my kind of church man !
😉
But how can she overlook the fact that he dressed as a Nazi?
He was a teenager. And in fairness, it’s been a swift cultural jump from a country that poked fun at the Nazis all the time. We had a long running, top rated sitcom called ‘Allo ‘Allo, set in occupied France, in which the Nazis were just idiots and buffoons. Some almost loveably so. It was cosy Sunday early evening viewing – incredible, but true. It could never be made now, but that’s the country he grew up in. Brits always laugh at everything, but they often seemed to render it cosy when I was a kid in a really odd way. Think of Benny Hill, literally chasing after scared and disgusted women. It’s not been on national TV for so long that it was already seen as distasteful when I was a kid, but again, it’s so alien to our culture now.
I don’t say that to defend him, as such. He was in a position where he should have known better. Just to explain that our cultural understanding of racism and fascism wasn’t what you could call nuanced. That’s the nation he grew up in.
True observation.
i agree
And Allo Allo is one of the most hilarious shows I have ever seen. Ive seen all episodes at least once. It is done in very good humor, I think.
I live in a country formerly occupied by the Soviet Union and this show was crazy popular here because we recognize the sentiment of “having to make do” because you have no choice.
I’M FIRST! I’M FIRST! MY TELLYBOX JUST SAID THEY’RE ENGAGED!
Sixer, you just stole my thunder 😀
Teehee. Sorry! I was quietly sending out invoices and a nice lady on the tellybox announced it.
Dammit sixer. I’m the town crier!!!!
And Nicholas Winchell doing the commentary on the beeb!,!
I had The Wright Stuff on in the background while I was working (trying to avoid the BBC and anything Brexit-related) and Anne Diamond got all excited.
I WIN I WIN I WIN!
To think so many people said a non white person would NEVER be welcomed into the family.
Last barrier down.
Well, it is true. Yay! There will be a royal wedding this spring, and am expecting to see some major bling.
AND they are engaged
Finally!
Prince Harry is to marry his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle, Clarence House has announced.
THEY ARE ENGAGED!!!! ITS OFFICAL.. IT HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED…..YAAAAAY!!!!…..😄😄😄
THERE WILL BE A PHOTO CALL AT 2PM LONDON TIME….YIPPEE!!!!!
The eagle has landed folks the eagle has LANDED. Announcement released!!