You know what surprises me? It’s been more than 24 hours since Prince Harry’s Newsweek interview came out online, and there’s not a lot of actual gossip from “royal courtiers” about it. If this had been William, Kate or Charles, I would imagine that the comments about “no one” wanting to be king or queen would have prompted days of analysis, discussion, and unnamed sources throwing themselves into the path of destruction. Then again, it would be really shocking if it was Charles, because he actually does want to be king. I guess Harry doesn’t think Charles “counts.”
As Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair noted yesterday, Harry’s comments have riled up the small-r republicans in Britain. As in, these are the people who want to phase out or outright abolish the monarchy and turn Britain into a republic. There is a lot of talk online about “reluctant royals” and the need for a “national debate” about abolishing the monarchy.
The Daily Mail columnist Max Hastings wrote a lengthy piece, one befitting the DM, although I’m shocked that Sebastian Shakespeare and the other DM royal-beat folks haven’t gotten involved. Maybe they’re waiting for a weekend deadline. Anyway, Hastings basically says that Harry needs to “stop whinging” and that many in the royal family “cherish a terrific sense of entitlement.” Also: “Being royal encourages princes to feel sorry for themselves, because nobody dares tell them to snap out of it.” That’s what I kept thinking too – does Harry seriously have no one in his life who can really tell him “STFU, you whiner. You have no idea what it’s like to be normal or ordinary.” Hastings also points out that the Queen – or some senior royal – should have that job, to tell the younger royals to STFU, but Hastings casually notes: “it might have been better if the Queen had more often cracked the whip over her family.” Oh, and this:
Prince Harry should have stayed in the Army instead of allowing exasperation with a commanding officer whom he took against to persuade him to quit. Everybody who knows him — as I do not — says he is a delightful, albeit not especially bright, young man, in danger of becoming spoilt by keeping bad or at least silly company and irregular hours.
The entire Royal Family needs a chief executive figure, to exercise a degree of discipline, especially over its younger members, which the Queen unsurprisingly no longer can, if she ever did. Such an appointment will never be made, because it is not in the nature of royals to accept orders, or even much advice, from mere commoners. When it is offered, it is usually rejected.
Somebody should be telling both young Princes that it is self-indulgent to grant interviews, as they did two months ago, describing their emotional tribulations following their mother’s death. Letting it all hang out emotionally is the fashion among their generation, but keeping their own mouths shut, as the Queen has always done, is the only way to keep alive the fragile mystique of monarchy.
Did you know that about why Harry quit the Army? I did not. I thought it was because he was told that he couldn’t go on any additional missions. So he allegedly quit in a snit and now he’s just enjoying himself and having fun and whining about how his life is so terrible. Ugh. I always thought Harry was so different in that respect from his brother, but I guess not.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Anyone who thought Harry was SO different to William had their blinders on. A few people have brought it up on articles before but everyone loves Harry so he gets to slide with his BS.
Of course this story is believable. I don’t think Harry is any more special than William when it comes to working. He’s just as spoiled and maybe more being the youngest. This isn’t shocking at all. I agree with the fact that the Queen should’ve cracked the whip on her lazy family.
Exactly. William and Harry’s many shared flaws have always been extremely apparent. Harry just has a bit of personality that helps off-set all his many issues. People get blinded by the fact he has moderately good social skills and isn’t unattractive, and ignore the fact that he does so, so little, that he’s constantly proving just how little of his education he took in, that he’s very regularly on vacation and that he’s avoided both full royal duties and getting any type of actual job ever since leaving the Army. Not to mention how utterly incompetent he is behind the scenes. Sentebale was a total disaster until Charles’s people stepped in and fixed things, yet it’s the closest thing he has to an achievement as a royal.
In every way that matters long-term he’s just like his brother. I’m glad people are finally seeing that.
Harry is/was Prince Charming, that’s why it was never so obvious but it seems he’s slowly losing his charm.
My problem with Harry was his attraction to Africas “white cowboys”. If you spend that much time in Africa and all your African mates are white scions of English noble families who migrated to Africa to colonise, theres something wrong with you. And that photo shoot a few months ago in Malawi I believe, surrounded by white conservationsists, really pissed me off.
That said, I can distinguish that beef with this other stuff. I dont have a problem with what he said yesterday. And I certainly dont have a problem with them publicly speaking about how their mums absence affected their mental health (Scummy DM seems to). And I definitely dont hold the woman who has been happily married to a racist for seventy years as some kind of standard. She is probably the same just too proper to express it publicly.
Its not all bad with both Will and Harry. I do think losing their mother affect them esp Will. I do think talking about it helps. But I’ve always found them both lazy but for some reason everyone always thought that was just Will’s problem.
I’m very much on board with this. And let’s not forget that poor orphaned baby he promised to help who is still living in abject poverty in her ailing grandmother’s shack. Some will bring up that one Lesotho prince he is friends with but he’s only trotted out for sentabale fundraisers. Do better, Harry.
Not true Cherise, one of Harry’s close friend’s is a member of the Lesotho royal family. Of course Harry’s friends will be drawn from the upper echelons of society whether they are black or white. Stop laying into him for heaven’s sake!
I’m not “laying into him”. I actually agree wuth what he said yesterday and think people should get over the idea that these people are toys for their entertainment whether they like it or not. But you would have to be a complete racist not to care than 99% of his African friends are white. Its Africa. He would literally have to be avoiding making black friends to end up with that all white crew. And no, he doesnt hang with the Prince of Lesotho besides when they are promoting their charity. He spends his time on white owned ranches and the whitest suburbs of Cape Town and Nairobi.
Cherise speaks truth regarding Harry AND William’s the Happy valley African friends. It shows in how they describe Africa in an imperialist way.
Agree. I think both William and Harry were pampered because of their parents’ divorce and then their mother’s death. He acts just as entitled as William.
I was about to type this. The Queen and Charles probably felt a lot of guilt that things ended so badly with Diana, and that she died when Harry and William were so young. That was probably the excuse used to be lenient on them, let them enjoy life, be “ordinary” and “normal” as their mother had wanted them to be. They will never be normal. It would have been better to teach them to have apathy for the less fortunate, to realize their extreme privilege, and to want to work hard with the power and money that they have to make a positive difference in other people’s lives. Instead they find that showing up to events and shaking hands is too much of an obligation, that what they do is actually hard work in comparison to 99% of the what the world does for 8-10 hours each day. To be fair, this isn’t a problem with just the Royals. I know many upper middle class and moderately wealthy children who are just as lazy with no work ethic. I did not grow up that way and in some ways I am grateful that not being privileged motivated me to work hard to earn what I have. I’m not sure if it is possible to keep someone so wealthy and privilege grounded without the help of commoners who will have the permission to knock some sense into them at a young age. At the very least they should have been pushed to do well academically. There are at least some rich children who are book smart and could have gone on to get advanced degrees from Cambridge or Oxford. It looks like all that money on a good education was wasted on them.
typo. Mean to type “empathy” rather than “apathy” in the above comment.
I think this is an erroneous assumption. The queen was never going to be anything less than indulgent with Will and Harry. She never did anything to check the behavior of any of her family members. She felt no guilt about Diana’s death. It was just something to get on with. Charles was extremely upset about Diana’s death but he was going to be an indulgent parent anyway. It has been shown over and over that Charles parents by committee. He was thoroughly affected by the emotional distance of his upbringing and a direct, confrontational parenting style with boundaries was never in the cards for Charles.
In all honesty Charles’ report card is a basic C. He was warm and affectionate with his children but there was never any illusion that Prince Charles would ever put anyone or anything before Prince Charles.
This. Not surprised at all. I don’t really understand everyone’s love of Harry.
I never did either. He always seemed like the typical spoiled, clueless brat. And now he’s proven he’s just about as dumb as I always suspected. Coming from that inbred dynasty it’s not surprising at all that his genes are less than exemplary but still sad.
Completely agree with you and the DM article. Harry and William are coming across as a pair of spoiled brats who need to be given a reality check.
He does have superior social skills than Normal Bill. And that is a huge advantage in the royal-ing stakes. But this also blinded everyone to the underlying feelings of entitlement, I think. I agree they were always there.
Harry’s charm and social skills have helped him out a ton, but it seems he shot himself in the foot and this could be a turning point in how the public views him. Perhaps this is the end of the monarchy in a generation or two. I doubt William and Kate will be capable of raising their children to be hard working.
The media has gone out of its way to misrepresent what Harry was trying to put over in the interview, simply for the sake of getting a sensational headline.
He said, “We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people…. Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.” I don’t think the media has misrepresented anything.
Mea Culpa
That said, there is an entire history of made up media lies, heir vs spare policy, youth etc that was being used against him where he needed to prove his mettle.
For awhile, he seemed to be moving in a positive direction, but like i said yesterday, he was much better when he had the army balancing his privilege life.
Now that he is out of the army, it’s all privilege and no one to check him, so he has given into the opinions of his privileged life.
I don’t know if they have anyone who can yank him back to that positive direction, which really was a period of him doing good. Charles doesn’t seem to be, Philip doesn’t have the strength. Anne might be an option, but behind the scenes she’s just as entitled as the rest of them. He needs the external structure of a “real job” with real accountability, which needs to be worked into Sentebale, Invictus, or his rehab work with veterans.
I’m with you, LAK!
I also dared to hope that this Harry unlike his ancestor King Harry, was different from his brother. I’m beginning to think that Meghan should run like hell. Honestly, I think she can do better.
Meghan is a divorced woman that is older than Harry…actually she hit the jackpot getting him not the other way around.
I used to buy the PR about Harry until that letter he sent to the media over Meghan and then the way he seemed to behave at that wedding when Poor Meghan seemed like she was trying to soothe him in all of the pictures. He was supposedly angry over paps being there, but if he acts like that when things don’t go his way, RUN, MEGHAN, RUN!!! You deserve MUCH better.
Harry = Wills with more charisma
Oh! What was wrong with the letter….?
There was nothing at all wrong with the letter Harry issued, he was quite right to call out racist and sexist behaviour.
@PrincessK, that’s what i thought too.
He went up several notches in my estimation after that letter defending her.
I didnt think there was anything wrong with the letter either. And being in the minority here, I don’t get why everyone here seems to hate him. I like that he is open about what he went through after his mother died. His candidness I think helps people who may be going thru the same thing. And I like that he is protective of Markle. And I have never heard him utter a racist word. Plus, how do we know that 99% of his friends are white?
Harry does more than Will. In 2016 he worked more days than Will or Kate, and when he shows up for things, he really shows up. I don’t get the backlash. It must be hard to be born to a role that is so public, where so much is expected of you. I am sure there are days when it’s fantastic, when you feel privileged to be able to make a difference, and there are days when you wish you had the luxury of choosing what your job was going to be – something that most of us get, or at least got at some stage in our lives.
As far as leaving the army goes – that was always going to happen. No royal stays in the army indefinitely.
The interview was conducted over a long period of time, and picking one or two statements out of it to hang him on is unfair.
Andrew served in the Navy from 1979 – 2001.
@nota – that is a finite period of time.
It’s not one or two statements from the article that are driving this populist backlash, it is the general overall impression of entitlement that exudes from the piece.
I blame the writer, but there is no denying that Harry gave her ammunition.
I hang out at a forum that is populated with pro monarchists and is super supportive of the BRF in particular. It’s telling that not one person has defended this article there. They aren’t up in arms, like they are here, but the general reaction has been that Harry needs much better advice in his public role.
I agree.
Harry is whining on behalf of whiny bill middleton, the demand that he get out of secret hiding AH forest and back to London. Harry is being used.
His Invictus dedication and other charities is conflicting with this interview.
Kate, i agree with you. The tempest in the teapot this article has spawned comes from not recognising a pretty straightforward truth – Harry is pointing out that unlike in eras past where the end of a strong ruler’s reign was marked by battles of ascendancy, that the current royals are happy to keep to the rules of ascension blood and order of birth stipulate and there is no desire to cut off the head of the next in line and usurp their spot. What’s so offensive about that?
It’s also clear that unlike ruling kings of yore, the age of democracy means the king doesn’t exactly have the importance that predecessor rulers did. So here you have a young prince who recognises all that – that the key decisions for their future are predefined for them with little chance of their own input but it is a future career of no great import (okay my words, not his). I don’t see how this is misinterpreted so sorely but more woe the subjects than the palace on this point.
I have no idea about his Army choices although i know standing back from his unit was not his cup of tea and he seemed to have had one more such reversal than he could stomach.
Turning on this family seems to have become a popular sport. I don’t think they need sympathy so i’ll spare my tears but point out that you can come across as more unsophisticated than the people you are deriding by piling on to some imagined slights and ending up seeing less than your victim er target er the perp.
Is_boston: we haven’t cut off the head of a royal since the 17th century so your original point doesn’t make sense.
Further, the road to this family involved removing 50 people in the line so we could have acceptable monarchs who were beholden to the public.
Finally, abdication 1936. A firing dressed up as a tragic love story. The only reason the current family is on the throne. Can be done again. The present Queen is painfully aware of 1936 and walks a line that keeps her on the right side of keeping herself on the throne.
So Harry is presenting an historical analysis regarding the current family versus the “days of yore” but couching it so very cleverly in simple language that we unsophisticated rubes are misreading as immature elitism?
Now I see.
LAK, Your response doesn’t rebut mine. No part of it does. All you say is fair and all Harry’s saying that nobody’s gagging to be king. It’s a relatively benign remark that’s been dissected and cross-examined – usually in disjointed fragments, losing its context – and ended up miles from the original statement. I’m still baffled, when I read the short paragraph response, about how that fairly benign, innocuous and relatively inoffensive remark has been pulled out of its context and taken on such a life. A life not supported by the phrases adjacent to it!
BTW, I know British history pretty well – I’m an expat – born and bred in London and environs with all my family still there.
I don’t understand the DM’s interpretation of him leaving the Army. He just didn’t want a desk job, and the government wasn’t going to allow him to do anything else. He was good for PR to quiet people about going along with the US war, but realistically he required security that really wasn’t compatible with just being “an ordinary combat soldier”. He was being allowed to play soldier but not indefinitely.
Is_boston, it’s the “we are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people” statement that’s getting people’s backs up. We support that family to the tune of half a billion pounds plus per year, the greater good of the people would be far better served if that money went on, say, the NHS.
Is_boston: using your own analysis skills per your original comment, i would say that my comment reposits what @Tina and @ suze said, which it does.
kate and betsy, very few people stay in the military indefinitely. Many people leave after 10 or 20 years. The original comment seemed to be implying that no members of the BRF had served a lengthy period. Andrew did.
After I read a few years ago that Harry compared fighting to playing a video game, I had no respect left for him.
He never said or did any such thing. This was a media lie that has turned into fact even though the documentary that it supposedly came from was widely available, shown on BBC and is still available on the British Army website and youtube.
Harry’s public image was still negative at this point so the public swallowed this made up lie as fact.
If you have the time, watch the documentary yourself.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o0muT7nTUgA
To be clear, i’m a pacificist and do not approve of war, so i am appalled regardless that such a weapon exists, but Harry never, ever says that killing is like a videogame.
I think the young royals just want to be celebrities (well except that some celebrities work for their money, see Meghan Markle). They like to be worshipped, loved without doing anything for it. Using taxpayer money, not their own, to holiday x times a year, to party etc. that’s what they want.
Yeah… there’s nothing royal about Harry, William, Kate… there’s no reason for the UK taxpayer to fund their celebrity-lifestyles.
Not an unbelievable assumption. I do agree with them that it must have been excruciating to walk behind their mother’s coffin. It was so public and so awful ….
Having said that – do they not realize what drudgery the average person endures in their day to day life, just earning a living and raising a family and … living? Would love to see them cut off from everything and paid, say, the wages of a groomsman taking care of a polo pony. For at least a year.
I think it’s unfair to take that one quote and run with it, considering how extensive the interview was. Like Lainey said yesterday, when you read about how he was made to walk publicly behind his mother’s casket, on display as a royal requirement, weren’t we the entitled ones? We wanted to see how the boys were doing…
Yep!
True, and remember how much criticism of the monarchy there had been that week. There was virtually a revolt. I can imagine that the boys would come under some kind of pressure, whether it was overt or more subtle.
The problem is, as I think Queen Mary (George V’s consort) understood shrewdly, is that mixing celebrity with royalty cheapens the latter. It’s like the conundrum facing most European royals since the early 20th century: what does being “royal” mean? If royalty becomes more democratic, and anyone can marry in, what’s so special about “royal”? The fine line they have to walk in the modern era between “democratization” and “specialness” seems to be to be a mighty difficult one. The more plebs you let in, the less special you seem, and if you get un-special enough, what’s your purpose? What’s the point of having you all around?
Harry thinks people still need “the magic” – but what is the magic composed of? Just money and privilege and another unroyal gal getting to wear diamonds and walk down the aisle in Westminster Abbey and then live the life Kate lives? Is “patronage” really worth all that deference and money?
I think it’s going to be fascinating watching this play out over the next half century or so. I think the monarchy is going to be on very thin ice in a generation or so, and particularly if Britain finally gets a written Constitution.
Oh please! Who turns them into celebrities? We do. By spending time writing about them here we are making them into celebrities. The younger royals have to contend with 24/7 social media. If social media had been intruding into the lives of the Queen, Philip and Margaret in the 50s and 60s, heaven knows what muck would have been revealed.
Totally agree. Not so long ago all threads about Harry were littered with ‘Honk for Harry’ cries…now because of one interview the knives are out. Ridiculous.
Tabbygal: that’s public life. Especially when you don’t are not selling a talent to the public and can use that to rehabilitate yourself.
Many a public figure has fallen in a moment and sometimes for less than an interview.
It’s a good thing Harry is off on his ‘summer in Africa helping elephants’ annual jaunt. By the time he gets back we’ll have forgotten. Assuming of course that other royals don’t screw up whilst he is away because this interview will be quoted as they are bashed.
+1000
Totally agree, and the common marry in after 6 years is even worst! Bill and waity is in serious lazy crisis – although by the time they move to London it will be Christmas break to go back to mommy and hiding at AH for a few months of holidays. Waity will now need to manage her household staff – and with attacks so frequent, she cannot run to carol middleton manor every day.
I have to say… reading all these comments. Most of us in the Western world are well off and have nothing to complain about either. Sure, I’d be glad to have a trust fund and not have to go to work every day, but I’m paid a good salary and have plenty of money to spend on useless stuff like handbags. Life is pretty good in Sweden, raising a family or not, and certainly not drudgery!
Mathilde Three cheers to you. Agree completely.
Some of the comments yesterday and today about normal people having a dull drudgery of an existence, counting pennies whilst they shopped etc and passed off as what it takes to be normal and it made me wonder what the readership of this site is like. I consider myself fairly normal and ordinary but don’t find my life a challenge nor am i unable to complete a grocersrs run without counting down a bank balance. Perhaps the writers are talking about shopping at Burberry’s and having to count just how many £900 frocks they can afford to take home that day? Limiting yourself to just 2 or 3 a trip can feel like such a chore.
People can cry and moan to fellow travelers about their lot all they want. It’s human nature. However, most of us don’t complain about our daily struggles to those who pay our bills because we know they don’t care. If we become too negative, we become liabilities.
Harry doesn’t understand that you don’t do that. If you are supported by public goodwill, you keep your complaints to yourself and to your close associates. The public can and will turn on you.
Well, it’s one thing crying and moaning about your lot. Everyone does that. But it there’s one thing to be thankful of it’s that I at least don’t have to make public appearances and have my wardrobe scrutinized into oblivion. Nobody cares about my love life except the people closest to me and I’m under no obligation to produce either heirs or spares but can enjoy my boyfriend in the privacy of my own home without any pressure at all. I don’t have to share my life with the media or public and would not do it either for any amount of money. I’d much rather enjoy the luxury of doing whatever I please and looking as scruffy as I like whenever I feel like it.
I feel for Harry, I cannot imagine a worse nightmare than seeing stupid articles about myself in the Daily Mail!
Harry isn’t under pressure to produce heirs or spares.
His life is subject to scrutiny, it is true. I am sure there are times it is miserable. It has made it difficult for him, relationship wise. He is wildly well compensated for it, though. And he can and does have the ability to disappear from the public eye for weeks at a time.
I do think he has some good intentions, and has started to translate it to actual action. I think his Invictus work, in particular, is very valuable. I look forward to further work on mental health and veterans.
I just don’t pity him particularly and definitely not for this interview. He pulled this down on his own head.
If the story about how he quit the army is true, it put this interview into another perspective and it tells me that actually Prince Harry has been lucky to enjoy all this good PR for so long. This also tell me how incompetent is team is, with a brother like William it should be easy to appears great in comparison and he can’t even do that. Sight.
I thought he left th army because he was being appointed to a desk job and he didn’t want that.
That was the official line.
Yes, that is the exact rumor I read at the time too, that and that he ‘missed flying’. Whoa, this is very different.
What are the rumors? I haven’t heard them!
I don’t get Hastings’ shade about him not getting on with a superior officer and leaving because of that. If Harry’s view is that his experience and competencies are more suited to a field assignment and his superior was only wiling to offer him a desk job – i can understand him not taking the post.
He actually said in the Newsweek interview that he enjoyed working in the army (i assume he means in the field) because he is good with his hands. He aknowledges he is not bookish – a skiill which I imagine would be pre-requisite for a desk job..
I read it as personality clash rather than disagreement over skillset. A personality clash where Harry quit rather than stay in his beloved army.
@Lak, In that case, I feel his pain and I empathise.
It’s kind of the point of the army though that it’s not up to you to decide where you’re most useful. He wasn’t useful in the field, he was a massive liability.
This piggy backs on the point that he was given the expensive helicopter training in Arizona for flying in dessert like conditions, I thought it was estimated at $1 million per person, prior to this desk position. People thought it made more sense to send someone through this training that could do their duty in that region.
The fact is that it would be almost impossible for any of the royals to hold down normal jobs even if they really wanted to. There would be far too much focus on whatever they did, plus having bodyguards following them around. They are royals for heaven sake and they are not supposed to be ordinary.
It is not impossible, it just takes commitment and strategy. Plenty of royal families only have the direct line as part of the working royals. Siblings are sent into private life to earn a living.
Eugenie holds down a normal job, as does Peter Phillips. Zara’s job isn’t “normal,” but it is a job.
Both Bea and Eugenie have had normal jobs. Andrew was in the navy for 22 years. Anne runs an enormous estate and breeds horses. Peter Phillips has had a normal job for years.
And plenty of royals do a huge lot more serious charity duties that entails meeting time, planning strategies with the professionals – see Queen Maxima, Leticia, CP Victoria, Mary.
The lazy entitled young whiny willnot cannot BRs, for the most part – and only show up to meet greet – except potential King Henry who do invest serious time – sincere support with his charities and duties.
Well Republicans loved this interview. If the young royals continue like that, the monarchy will be really in trouble one day.
Huzzah. Give me Rexit over Brexit any day. My life is more enriched by being in Europe than being the subject of the Queen, tbh. If Harry and Will and Kate are so bothered by Royal life, they can abdicate and leave us be.
Painting with a broad brush, aren’t you?
If he wants so desperately to be normal, why don’t he abdicate to his position and the money and go live a normal life somewhere, maybe even work a real job and pay real bills?
Because they still want to live like kings and queens, they don’t want to give their lifestyle up. They don’t realize that they can’t have it both ways.
@ Char – Do you honestly think the press would allow him to live “normally.”
Not in the UK, but if they were serious about getting out of the fishbowl, they have the money to do it. If they chose a country where no one is really allowed to legally photograph them in public, they could live off the radar fairly well if they adapted their behavior. Switzerland comes to mind, or some countries in Africa. The billionaire TNT heir lives in Switzerland (to avoid German taxes) and is left in peace.
Good question @Char. Probably because they want to be normal on a part-time basis only 😉
He and will want to be normal in the same way their Eton friends are normal. Wealthy from family money with the option to chose where and how much they work.
Agreed- not normal like the everyday citizen, normal like their rich friends. I think it kind of harkens back to Harry’s “dating troubles” back when he had a string of aristo girlfriends, and everyone kind of knew it would never happen, because the girl was already rich and connected, why bother marrying a royal and putting your life on display? Kind of the reverse here- he still wants the perks- connections, rich and beautiful friends, vacations, etc… just without the scrutiny. And honestly, I can’t blame him too much- I wouldn’t want it either. I hope, though, that I would be smart enough not to complain in a news publication. Save that for your family and friends.
They want to be normal and not have to work, but on the British taxpayers’ dime.
#royalproblems
My gosh, all the comments on here sound exactly like the ones I run away from on DM. Geez!
PrincessK what Republican DM are you reading?
If a royal said they didn’t want to be King because they wished they could do something like being a doctor, maybe that would play over better. But saying you simply want to be “normal” is just weird, since I don’t think there is anything in life that’s really normal. Everybody’s lives are so different.
In 2013, he gave an interview where he was asked about ‘normality’
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm7Y1ZE2oDY
Start at 3.28
The thing that is most striking is that there is an absence of entitlement in the entire interview even though he recognises his privilege. He makes a snarky remark about the press, but it’s a tiny sour note in an otherwise positive interview.
The more time he has spent without a real job, he has backslid.
He said the same thing in the damn interview…my lord you just noticing he is an ass? Lol
I thought what Prince Harry said in that video was fine. Wrote a longer comment but forget it. I wish he and William well and their families.
Oh, and also. Does anyone actually remembers what this interview was given ? In all of this operation his primary goal – his charity – is completely forgotten.
@rachel, I think it was done between October and May , but I am not sure.
The goal of doing an interview with a magazine with an internaional audience which would have helped his charities is completely lost. That for me is what is unfortunate. To be fair, he is being honest about his own lack of kingly goals (to use a trumpism), but in phrasing his response the way he did, he comes across as churlish to some people.
I think the sponsors will still be on board, but this whole controversy has taken the shine away from the very good work he is doing in his charities.
Exactly poor Harry was probably trying to promote a charity. I don’t blame Newsweek and blame other media for blowing and twisting just one of his many points totally out of context and proportion, well done DM and its ugly form of populism.
If anti royal sentiment was populist we’d have a Republic by now. Equating thoroughly reasonable cricitism of an anachronistic institution and it’s utterly clueless members to DM bile is ridiculous. The DM punches down, that is not happening here.
I read an article year’s ago, when William and Harry were in their late teens early twenties that Prince Andrew gave them a talking to.
Basically the prince’s were whingeing about their lack of privacy , not having a normal life etc and Andrew just told them to to stop whingeing and realise how incredibly privileged, lucky they were. And many people would kill to be them and live their lives.
Sorry I looked for the article but couldn’t find it.
I still think though making those young boys walk behind their mothers coffin was the cruelest thing I had even seen . I will never understand why they were made do it.
“People say to me, Would you like to swap your life with me for 24 hours? Your life must be very strange. But of course I have not experience any other life. It’s not strange to me.” – Prince Andrew
Andrew is a difficult one on this. He’s so deep in and INTO his entitlement, he would never want to give it up. Advice he’d give about “Stop trying to be normal” comes from someone who would never want to be without his entitlements. Him telling his nephews to stop longing for “normal” rings false that way, because he thinks “normal” is a bad thing.
I think it was in response to the bad press the BRF got for not publicly mourning Diana’s death. Charles and Philip had to put their grief on public display at the expense of William and Harry,
It had to be excruciating for the boys. Seeing white flowers with a card labeled “mummy” on Diana’s coffin could break any heart…
In almost every funeral I have gone to, the family, including children, walk behind the casket.
Go look up 9/11 firefighter deaths and the kids following their fathers’ caskets as thousands of pictures are snapped.
I’m going to my MIL’s funeral tomorrow and her sons will not be walking behind the coffin.
Other kids have lost parents true, but very very few can compare to what William and Harry have had to endure. Thousands of stories and books and films dissecting their parents lives and rumours of members of the RF having a hand in their mother’s death, the infidelities etc etc. all played out in public. Dreadful …and it is never ending its still going on…total nightmare for them.
When I read his interview I had the feeling he admitted that a monarchy is unnecessary in the 21st century, that a “royal existence” is pretty pointless nowadays.
What I read was that he hates his job, wants less work but of course, still loves the money he doesn’t work for.
*That’s* The Question They Should Be asked: Do they feel they deserve the money especially contrasted to how other people struggle. Why live in museums instead of drawing a salary and managing their own lives.
I personally believe they really think they deserve the money, esp. Kate and William. Would they admit it? Of course not.
Exactly.
They want ALL of the power/money/influence, SOME of the attention, and NONE of the responsibilities.
He said the world (not just the British, but the world) needs institutions like the monarchy.
He sounds arrogant, no one needs a monarchy. Some people would maybe miss this institution but they would get used to it.
Having an institution whose job it is to be neutral, a voice of reason, of apolitical consult? I can see a need for that.
The monarchy exists simply to justify the position of the 1%.
Harry should talk to the French to see how they get along without it.
Does anyone else remember a pic a while back of Charles and Camilla in a car with people surrounding it, banging on the windows? They looked terrified and the discussion of shooting the protestors was frightening, too. That would be the fuel for this populist fire burning more brightly every day.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8193570/Prince-Charles-and-Camilla-car-attack-someone-could-have-died.html
With all of the terrible things going on in England and elsewhere in the world, if Harry and Wills and Kate aren’t more compassionate, they will be lucky if this doesn’t happen to them.
– as is the hundreds of millions in tax payers funding, Duchy, other.
Prince Harry was repeating what whiny lazy bill stated (of a Monarchy not needed…) in Couric interview after george was born. This is bill using his brother – at KP and allowing Meghan to attend pipa nauseous PR fail – Harry had to speak up for whiny bill waity ‘throne idleness and HM BP orders to handle more of grandpa duties from London.
“….should be telling both young Princes that it is self-indulgent to grant interviews, as they did two months ago, describing their emotional tribulations following their mother’s death.”
Wtf?! Even for DM this is disgusting. Where do they get such scummy commentators?
This!
So heartless. I get the British stiff upper lip thing, but my God!
I didn’t like that comment either. Maybe they would’t talk about it so much if people didn’t freakin’ bring it up all the time, in almost every interview. You want them to talk about Diana, but not the pain they suffered after her death… doesn’t make sense.
Is that her nipple? Is she braless?
Looks like bad dart placement and poorly executed stitching IMO.
Those look like nipples to me, I went back up to check lol
The British royals seem to have their ‘poor us’ year.
We’ve discussed his reasons here for leaving. He couldn’t advance any further due to the lack of a degree. He wanted to stay. He loved the regimented life.
I thought it was related to Apaches being phased out for a new machine, in addition to not wanting a desk job. He needs structure, and he appears to need structure imposed on him from an outside source. He should turn his calendar over to Charles and Philip and have them set his work schedule.
As I recall, he followed the usual British Army officer career path – training, active duty (or major exercises) as a lieutenant supporting a captain, back to a desk job as a captain to lead up to a promotion to major. And then he left before making major – I don’t remember the degree bit though.
You don’t need a degree to advance up the grease pole of army promotions. You do have to take a desk job for a few years if you want to reach the very top because the upper levels are more administration and less action. Harry had reached the ranking where that was required if he were to be promoted to higher rank.
I don’t think Harry can handle a desk job. In my pure opinion he is hardcore ADHD and needs physical stimuli to be at his best. In this sense we shouldn’t consider him to be unintelligent or any of the other negative labels we slap on adult ADD sufferers. He probably has to be physically engaged with a task to fully optimize both right and left brain, imo. He’s a tactile learner, not stupid.
I was a school teacher, a reading specialist. I think Harry has a LD with comprehension problems. He was interviewed when he was in the Army, and he explained how he would “know” the material, but would flunk every exam anyway. Harry could be ADHD as well. I remember reading how Diana felt Harry would receive better help in the US, and she was trying to find the right American specialists and teachers. Then she died. Harry got shoved back into school with his LD issues mourning the loss of his mother. I have difficulty seeing PC, who was carrying on a torrid affair with Camilla, as a caring father. In some respects, it is amazing Harry survived.
Connell
Very interesting and I agree. I’ve always read of Harry’s near obsession with video games as a kid/teen and that would explain a lot. And anyone who thinks video games don’t prove intellect on some level had never played one.
Re: the tactile learner – I agree, I don’t think he’s stupid. I think his family let him down by not giving him the supports that Beatrice got for her learning disability, and I think they further let him down by letting him run wild socially with a dodgy set, which set a lower performance bar.
I’ve always seen Harry as a visual & kinesthetic learner. He was active, and loved art. Having the dyslexia would have made visual learning via reading in the classroom difficult. He’s mentioned in interviews and coverage of his tours, that he would have thrived in a more hands-on educational environment. When he was in S. Africa touring a school for boys coming out of gangs, he had expressed open envy of the curriculum, which included things like woodworking. And who can forget his efforts in Nepal, both with the post-quake rebuilding, and also chatting with talented artisans and gamely giving Nepalese carving a try?
It does make me wonder – his mother, was she dyslexic too? She was always put down as being not particularly gifted academically.
William, like his father, had an easy time at school for the most part, which would suggest that they were both visual/auditory learners.
Of course, lots of kids struggle with these issues that Harry did; it didn’t help that the British public school model was the one that all the schools for us ‘plebs’ took on. Classism in the classroom much? Public schools attended by the aristocracy never incorporated kinesthetic learning back in the day, because a gentleman was not supposed to engage in ‘menial labour’; sport was allowed, but physical learning experiences beyond that were largely prohibited because they were the purview of “the lower orders”. The modern schools inherited this screwy idea of the passive learning environment. Kids who are kinesthetic learners are regularly labeled “problems/difficult children” (at least they were when I attended school, 80s-90s). I hope things are getting better now.
Harry has dyslexia. Diagnosed around his 17th year.
YES!! That’s my exact thought also. It is very very true of my son. He needs to be completely involved to learn anything – body, mind and soul.
@Erin , ITA. @Andrea made a similar point down thread.
He attended a meeting at Chatham House last week and asked some very good questions abour sustainability and post relief operations which totally stumped his highly qualified audience. His queries showed that he had a sound grasp of the subject area from a practical standpoint.
Not surprised at all and yet another reason why Kate has no excuse.
Agreed, Erin!
+100
PH may like to be hands on busy but, I see him handling office type work fine. With a Private Secretary, staff how much would he really do per se, except delegate if he had the desk job ….his active style of managing his duties/ charities like a royal is greatly important.
I see the main reason for PH – is he is a potential King – make no mistake, and inspite of throne idle willy kids! Maybe by the time we should get a King Charles, he may give or the Throne goes to another of HM heirs (making Di sons off to private lifestyle still at taxpayers Duchy expense); and at the rate POW sons seem to be making little of the wonderful loving single parent father – keeping the kiddies away – PC may just miraculously give his Line up) – that would be something for carol.
@Erin , ITA. @Andrea made a similar point down thread.
He attended a meeting at Chatham House last week and asked some very good questions abour sustainability and post relief operations which totally stumped his highly qualified audience. His queries showed that he had a sound grasp of the subject area from a practical standpoint.
If I were Meghan I’d have such a hard time dealing with all of their laziness. Acting isn’t the most strenuous job, but its still a job and in her free time she does quite a bit of philanthropic work.
So does he: Invictus Games. I’d love to know what she thought after reading the article: like, oh he’s misunderstood? or uh-oh?
A few weeks of work with many others doing the organizing/setting up is hardly hard work. We should all have to work as hard as Harry.
I’m wondering how their relationship would last, long term, if he really is such a dullard. From the tiny bit I know about her, she seems intelligent.
All this whining coupled with the laziness and sense of entitlement would really make me think that all the perks in the world wouldn’t be worth it.
I’ve been quite a fan of the two of them since their relationship came to light but now my impression of him has changed so much that I’d advise her to think really hard before continuing this relationship.
With the beard he looks like the side of the family related to the Kaiser and the Romanovs.
Yes – I agree!
Prince Harry is beautiful ginger handsome – and his beard has been getting much better groomed!
Does this mean he’s figured out that his neck and his beard should not be the same thing? Thank goodness for that…
The monarchy should be dissolved. The tax $$$ should be reallocated, and these assclowns should be forced to get real jobs. I don’t understand how the British people put up with this.
I don’t either. Dump them!
IAWY.
All monarchies should be abolished, these people are not better than you and me just because they bear outdated titles.
My mind went to rephrase mode on this part:
The Congress should be dissolved. The tax $$$ should be reallocated, and these assclowns should be forced to get real jobs *and actually do them.I don’t understand how the American people put up with this.
Hell in a handbasket.
On the subject,
I think I’d learn to live with their “abnormal” life of guaranteed Healthcare, lodging, food, clothing, sporadic responsibilities and just see someone to vent to. Yep, I surely would.
I do feel for them having lost their mom in such a way, so public in their time of grief…no one should be subjected to that, royal or not.
But the average congressional salary is $174,000–far more than I make, but still not on a par with royalty. They also can be voted out. And they did not get the job because they were fortunate enough to have “royal” parents.
I am side eyeing Hastings article – as are quite a number of the usually virulent DM commentators.
What i do know is that a lot of people of my generation cannot see the monarchy surviving as it is now. Much as we love TQ, Harry is right. After she goes, the monarchy does need to be modernised . That work needs to start now.
How to do that and still retain some of the so-called ”magic”? Well, that is the million £ question.
A consulation with the younger tax payers who will fund their lifestyles and who don’t care too much about unveilings and ribbon cuttings (sorry!) is going to be in order.
Perhaps it requires revisiting the role of the monarchy vs the role of the royals in the 21st century.
My point was more that while the remuneration is less they still are receiving taxpayer supplied benefits that said taxpayers for a good part, are not, and are decidedly not earning it. Just venting…..sigh.
What a lot of folks forget, is how the Queen modernized the monarchy during her reign.
She dragged them kicking and screaming into the 20th century.
She ended the presentation of debutantes.
She relaxed the protocol about bowing/curtseying.
She changed succession rules that cut out firstborn females.
I’m sure there is much more that I’m forgetting.
She wasn’t pro- active on any of those points. She faced a crisis at each point or was bullied into it by family members.
1. 20th Century royal family was actually her grandfather and father. I’d even go as far back as Prince Albert who created a programme for the royals that was more public service and less I am a Prince ivory tower.
Every descendant since then built on the model he set out. The Queen has not done anything innovative that was her own initiative. 90% of what she does is ideas, ceremonies, strategies laid out by everyone before her since Albert, but most especially her grandfather and father.
In the Queen’s own lifetime, it’s outsiders who have forced changes on her. She’s a follower rather than a doer. And every single change forced on her came because of a crisis that threatened the monarchy.
2. The push to drop debs etc actually came from Princess Margaret who hated the practise and was an absolute snob who didn’t want to meet the wrong sort of person.
3. Stopping Bowing and Curtseying. This was a gradual change that overtook her. There has never been an edict saying it’s been scrapped altogether. Look at her own family members bowing and curtseying to her. Ditto MPs who join privy council.
Due to cultural shift to egalitarian society, she had to accept that people were unlikely to do it as they found it demeaning. People are free to do it IF they want to do it. The fact that her family and MPs still do it tells you that it remains in place.
4. Here is where Kate forced a change. People were so convinced that Kate was going to have a girl as her first baby that the govt had to look at the succession laws. It would have been a political nightmare if she had produced a girl and we were still beholden to the old rules. Other monarchies made these changes in the 80s and no harm done, yet the British only changed the rule AFTER it looked like Kate might birth a girl. Not only was it a reactive move, but the law didn’t extend to corrent the gender bias of peerage laws and only included updated the religious laws because others pointed those out.
I don’t feel this is the modernizing Di whiny son/s is about. He wants the PR that he and middleton family are regular normal like the rest of us – while accepting millions of tax funds a year – luxury lifestyle ignoring the people- vacations on private jets at GB expense and sacrifice to the people.
Diana sons wants all the perks – treated as royals – just not the duties and giving back to charities and the people. And giving back don’t mean handing charities fund collected from the people to fire victims – there should be more. Willnot nor waity did NOT spend hundreds of hours work earning funds for the W/H/waity charity.
Harry just got savvier about PR, that’s all. His reinvention began after the Vegas fiasco…
I am surprised there was such backlash to these comments, but it probably has more to do with this introducing even more instability during an already tumultuous time in England. In the long run, I would be surprised if the monarchy is still around by the time George is ready. I say no.
I think it’s bloody rude for anybody to tell adults to keep their emotional shit to themselves to preserve a “fragile mystique”, or for appearance’s sake. Good on everybody for talking about it. Public figures discussing grief and depression make it a lot easier for the rest of us to navigate stigma about mental health.
That said, OF COURSE he’s entitled. The Crown is technically the gift of God. He’s been told his entire life that the blood of everybody from the House of Plantagenet to Queen Victoria runs in his veins. There is no way people come out of that without being slightly screwy; we should just be glad he hasn’t gone completely mad like previous British kings, gained 400 pounds, and spent all the country’s money on courtesans. Nobody EVER SAYS NO TO MONARCHS, THIS IS NOT A NEW THING.
Which previous British king or queen went mad? And don’t t say George III because he didn’t, or Henry VI as he had no descendants (And he was 550 years ago). Sorry, I’m being pedantic ! 😁
Well I think it’s fair to say that Henry VIII was a monster who bumped women off as soon as they were no longer useful to him, as he did with various advisers. Then he was king and could do as he liked, now he’d just be seen as a psychopath.
If you believe some historians he may have had syphillic induced psychosis and passed the syphillis onto his kids.
@Luca76 – the syphilis thing with Henry VIII is not true. There is no record of mercury treatment (which is how they treated syphilis in those days) being used on him. I have read speculation that Francis II had syphilis, as there are records of mercury treatments being ordered for him.
Thanks Woodstock. Although it would at least give some explanation for his horrible behavior .
@ frisbee – there is evidence to suggest that Henry VIII was ok (by the standards of the day!) until he had a very serious fall from his horse when jousting. I believe he was unconscious for a couple of hours and feared dead. There is a train of thought that this head injury caused a change of character. It may be at the same incident he got the injury to his leg which ulcerated and would not heal, causing him a massive amount of pain long term – which obviously would not have improved his temper!
Also, for the first 20+ years of his reign he was perfectly normal by kingly standards, although I believe he preferred play to work! If you think of it, when he was desperate for a male heir and realised he wouldn’t get one with Catherine of Aragon, he went to great lengths to divorce her rather than ‘dispatch’ her more quickly. But that was before that head injury mentioned above
Sorry, I meant “went completely mad” as in over the top spending and excess. Which is pretty common in, well, most British courts in history, to be honest, though George IV is the usual exemplar.
Well yes, he was the golden Renaissance prince in his time, tall, handsome (by the standards of the day) broad and athletic, intelligent and creative (purportedly) . I don’t believe just the fall and the ulcerated leg did him in though, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and he took that absolute power for himself with the split from Rome. He broke a huge taboo, was ex-communicated (a big deal for a previously born and raised Catholic) and gained huge personal autonomy as a result – and I suspect the result was that with all the brakes off it ruined him and set a pattern of behavior that included divorces, beheading and general removal of a string of wives (and even previously valued friends like Thomas Cromwell) he deemed not fit for purpose. His character putrefied in very much the same way as his leg and there is no doubt he ended a monster operating on a highly dodgy rationale for his actions which is the very definition of losing it!
Jennifer: as far as spending goes, Henry 8 wins there too. George 4 is a more recent example primarily because we still have evidence of his spending unlike Henry whose spending has been lost to time eg the field of gold which was more a palace sized temporary structure built to dazzle the french or the various palaces he built that have since burnt down.
@ frisbee – all opinions welcome😀 especially if, like yours, they are voiced politely.
Some other could take note judging by other comments made on a recent royal thread!
Yeah agreed…when people complain because he’s still grieving over his mother , and talking about how much that affected his life they are being insensitive asshats. I lost my father 15 years ago nearly to the day and guess what it still has a huge affect on my life. This fiction some have that grieving is over after 6months is some cold hearted BS.
That’s a different issue than knowing they’re entitled and believing that monarchy is a scam (which I do).
I completely agree. My husband died six years ago, and I was left with two boys, 10 and 13 years old. I have no family. I feel sorry for my sons, I know they are not what they would have been (they lack the sense of security, confidence, wisdom) if my brilliant husband had lived. You never get over it. My youngest is seriously ill right now, not sure if he has a future. My oldest is at university.
Connell,
I am so sorry about your husband and I hope your youngest son recovers. Very difficult for you. I had the same experience, my boys were 10 and 14. And I agree that losing a parent so young is traumatic for a child. I have no problem with Harry on that score. But think of the help that was available to him that our boys didn’t have. Therapists, protection officers who are with them all day, and many others. And I do think Charles was a good father. Face it, for him, it could have been a lot worse. Still went to the best schools, has all the opportunities that other people can’t even hope to have.
As far as being forced to walk behind his mother’s casket, my guess is that he’d
complain if he hadn’t been allowed to. He is a whiner just like his brother.
Grief is different for everyone. Some people get over it in 6months and others never do. Others don’t grieve for years and others never grieve.
I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope your youngest gets better soon and that you all are able to find strength in each other.
No one gets over a death after 6 months . That’s just the amount of time that the white hot grief stage takes for some. Anyone who ‘never grieves’ is most likely displacing their emotions and in need of therapy. There’s nothing admirable about denying emotions of loss.
Some are very good at dealing with things head on quickly, then moving on. Practical and efficient. I think there are others who don’t feel things that deeply, Luca, including loss and grief. They just don’t. It isn’t them failing to deal with the emotions, it is that they don’t have them at the same depth or extent others do. Doesn’t make those people potential serial killers in the making, merely emotionally shallow.
There is a big difference between getting over it/coming to terms with it/ learning to cope with it.
Well notsugarhere if you lose someone close to you like a parent at a young age in a sudden way it will affect you. If you are older and independent and experience a less traumatic death sure I think people process that kind of loss in a healthier way. I once listened to a story on NPR where they asked nurses how they’d like to die and the majority said cancer because they would get a chance to say goodbye to their family and get their lives in order.
Luca76: that’s your opinion. People don’t grieve the same. I’d not going to judge anyone for taking their time or those who seemingly take no time at all. It’s their privilege to do it as they see fit whether that’s years or no time at all.
Further, i’m not going to insist that someone grieve in my preferred way of grieving or even the community prescribed way of grieving because otherwise their grief isn’t real or deep.
People go through stages of grief in different ways and at different times in their lives. There are no hard and fast rules in grieving and I think that’s the point LAK is trying, rightly, to make. I know my own process has been a long one, I lost my Mum when I was twenty, can’t remember a thing about the first six months after she passed – I just went totally numb – then experienced everything all at once. Some people do move on, that’s just the way they are and some people never get over it, they just learn to live with it. I’m a ‘learned to live with it’ variety and I’ll confess that when the shit really hits the fan on an emotional level the one person I still most want is my Mum even if rationally I know that can never be, the wanting never really goes away.
When a child loses not just a parent but the parent he was closest to, every effort has to be made to reflect on that loss. This isnt one of those situations where you just shrug and declare “he is over it” six months later (although I doubt they even got six months of latitude). Havent both Princes said they only began to face it as adults? Thats a shameful indictment on their father, man with the resources to educate himself on childhood grief. It says a lot that they returned to boarding school. In most circumstances the loss of one parent makes families want to be closer to their remaining parent and something like boarding school becomes out of the question. That this basic instinct to hurdle didnt kick in says they had a very weak connection with their father. And the only thing worse than losing your mother is being left with a distant father who is also so obsessed with his image that he works media to create the impression of a connected father.
I’m surprised there is a backlash against him talking about mental health – I applauded him for talking about his experience with therapy and how it helped him. If only people were more open to talking about their issues and getting the help they needed. If one person seeks the necessary emotional and psychological support as a result of what he said, then he has more than proven his “worth.”
LT: The backlash is against everything else he said NOT the mental health bits.
He says blankly that the world needs monarchy. He sees it as a force for good. Monarchy, the system that enforces class and wealth inequality, that has benefited the very few at the expense of the rest of the world. Worse, he (and his family) magnanomously accepts the burden of it as if he and his family are doing us a favour.
In the last interview, I didn’t really think he talks about his grief over Diana that much. What he seems to talk about more is how he had to do things he didn’t want to. So a lot of what he says seems less about his love for her and more about things he disliked in the aftermath of her death. At least that’s how his last interview came across to me.
I don’t think people would have an issue with him discussing his grief if he discussed it in a way that illuminates his love for her or what a profound loss it was for him that he’ll never get over (nobody is surprised he most likely loved his mother dearly — that’s what is expected). That wouldn’t destroy any mystique. But when he starts getting into the family dynamics of what was requested of him and how he didn’t like it, that goes into some other territory, and that can come across a bit strangely, imo.
I do think the public nature of his mother’s death and funeral are unusual, but given what London has been through in the last couple of months, I think maybe he has to calculate the timing of when he comes out with things a little better. It’s not that he can’t say them or that he doesn’t have a right to feel like the public nature of his royal existence can be a bit tiring at times, but I think the timing was bad here, given what’s going on in the world right now.
I remember a few unfortunate things that happened at my father’s funeral nothing so dramatic as Harry’s but it definitely is tied to the trauma of my father’s death. So I completely see where he’s coming from. And having gone through a sudden accidental loss of a parent at a young age (though not as you as those two) I can identify with the feeling that everything would be tied together for him. Unfortunately when you lose someone suddenly it’s hard to break through to the positive without also experiencing the trauma.
Prince Philip used to be the one keeping everyone in line. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the most spoiled sibling is Andrew, Elizabeth’s favorite which probably shielded him a bit more from Philip.
Why feel the need to tell the public, that’s what I don’t understand. Imagine going in to work and whining to your boss or your clients about your life? They already have a public face and a private life. Stop asking the public for sympathy.
I do think William and Harry talk about their feelings over their mom dying is a good thing. When my mom died, one of my strongest sources of comfort was listening to other people talk about their own loss.
Actually, William said something years ago about the change in the word Mom, such a ubiquitous part of our vocabulary, until you don’t have your mom anymore and I again felt that same common note and connection.
Philip was in charge of the family behind the scenes, but I don’t know if he had control of schedules. He led by example, an example Charles and Anne followed. Andrew didn’t, or he did but with plenty of getting what he wanted out of the deal.
Philip’s favorite Edward tried to get (or they tried to get him) off the gravy train but it failed. They should have put Edward and Sophie in charge of actually running something, like the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, as real jobs in addition to royal engagements.
Royals just cannot hold down regular jobs like the rest of us, they just can’t. Think about it! I don’t know why people keep banging on about them getting real jobs. If you want the royals to get real jobs then that is the end of the monarchy.
Plenty of other royal families have them go into private life and hold down jobs. Only the main line stays as working royals; their siblings are required to go out and work for a living. Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg are some examples.
Actually Edward, if reports are true, is due to inherit his father’s title on Philip’s death – he has already taken on the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/801552/PRINCE-Edward-and-wife-Sophie-to-takeover-Prince-Philip
Lolz, Edward was Phil’s fav. Give off. He was his fathers least appealing son. Phil is quoted as saying “Anne was his favourite son”. She is clearly his apple of the eye. They are very similar.
He will be given it if Charles deems fit to give it to him, it can not be officially “inherited”. Nothing is guaranteed as that is not an official aristocratic title but one that was made up. If Charles doesn’t want to give Edward the title, he doesn’t get it.
My point was that Edward and Sophie should have been working office jobs actually running DoE for the last 20 years, in addition to royal engagements. Not just being the official figureheads, but showing up 2-3 days a week running things. Edward could have keep dabbling in media production and Sophie in PR — all for DoE Awards.
I feel POW is quite disappointed in his son/s – and hurt from the last interview of mental health with losing DI…etc. Prince Charles parenting was ignored after all his love – care – protecting his young sons having a healthy upbringing (as well as TQ and BRF care) all those years up to – the years of waity/carole middleton stalking.
I talked to some royalists/Harry-defender and they don’t even understand why he gave this interview. Some say he disrespected the Queen with it. Wonder if there’s something behind this?
I also thought he was sh*t talking her and Charles- At least indirectly, in a reading between the lines way.
William and Harry appear to be very immature, ungrateful and miserable.
+100
Its really a conflict for the Prince Harry we have seen over the years. Only time – we will maybe learned the reason – ‘throne idle’ whiny bill is a factor (maybe to move the people to willy).
So glad to see here the same thing I said yesterday albeit in other words: the juniors cannot be controlled. Feral behaviour with a shameless sense of entitlement. They may have been pampered after Diana’s death but mostly because the way she had been treated by TF. That led to an outrageous lack of ethic and a growing entitlement that nowadays really shows. Not that they didn’t have it before. Having a royal status means that they should work harder that anyone else. In the public eye with full accountability. Let them show that they deserve their titles and beyond privileged lifestyle.
No one wants to be on the throne? Really? I’d trade my left arm to have his, or kate’s, or william’s life….
The job of “stringer” looks pretty good, including great housing perks. Princess Alexandra, the Wessexes, the Kents, the Gloucesters. Visiting charities and small business, going to local events, connecting those in need with services, seeing what is going on in the country, bringing the intel back to Central to add to the bigger picture.
I’m a serious introvert, but doing those things with small groups would be an enjoyable gig. That’s the part the younger royals appear to think is beneath them. Too bad, since all the stringers will be offed from the payroll under a new CEO.
Harry and William absolutely do not recognize the value of the years of service given by the ‘stringers’. Like you say, going to local events around the country and recognising the achievements and work of countless organisations, businesses and charities is really important. And H&W are dissing this and absolutely do not want to do it. They are lazy.
Oh no you would not! You would probably go insane after a week. People dissecting everything you do, your clothing , your hair , your demeanour, your weight, your relationship with your partner, cameras trained on your every move, all over the papers, social media etc , unauthorised biographers digging for dirt on you. Really??
If she didn’t make it all about her appearance, there would be something else to talk about – the work. As it stands, she puts her appearance and clothing as more important that working.
I really hope that line about Harry “keeping bad or at least silly company” wasn’t a dig at Meghan Markle. There’s nothing bad or silly about Meghan’s work ethic, education, erudition, and sheer hustle.
I read that as a slam against Guy Pelly et al. But he could think it silly for Harry to be spending so much time with an actress if he doesn’t think that profession would be a good match for royalty.
Saw this article last night, and the comments. 90% were planted or troll comments. They were enormously supportive of Harry, he didn’t mean what he said, Harry has been through so much, most popular royal, a great heart, the RF is wonderful, etc. Real comments probably came in today, haven’t looked yet. It’s the DM doing damage control. Did you see Harry at Trooping of Colors? He seemed out of spirits. As far as I know, he has not been to Ascot, a first that I can remember. He gave this interview to Newsweek, right? Why not a British paper? I do not believe that no one wants to be king: Charles does, Andrew would take it. Is that a backhanded way of saying that members of the RF hate their job? I don’t believe that, but Harry might feel that way. He has announced to everyone that he is not exactly smart. Harry has a cream job. You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
If you read the Best Rated comments on the Max Hastings article they are anything but supportive. They criticize Harry – rightfully so.
Yes they are DM people the same people who love Brexit, say no more except they are idiots who would drive the UK over a cliff because of their bigoted ways. hateful small minded bigots lead the thinking on DM comments.
I agree that DM commenters are the scum of the earth, but it’s not strange to think that Harry was out of line here.
One thing to remember is that typically the published interview is not complete but rather is very selective, depending on the emphasis the interviewer wants. Plus what the interviewee says is driven by the questions asked. So we don’t actually know what else he may have said, or what he might have said if asked different questions. It’s really just fragments and can’t be used to judge the entirety of his thoughts or life.
The following just occurred to me: once that Harry has publicly stated about how ordinary his life is and considering the backlash, why not prove to everyone they were wrong? I’m thinking: reality show!!! Just for a week. Let cameras follow him preparing his CV under an assumed name, scroll websites for vacancies, strive to make convincing cover letters and pray that he will be invited to an interview. If he scores one, undergo a makeover and attend the interview and see the results. While living on a week’s worth of an average salary for London in a rented studio flat (I am being generous) in zone 4-5 in Greater London. See him doing his grocery shopping, going home, putting the staff in the fridge, cooking his meals, cleaning up his studio flat, doing laundry and all other things that nice, hard working and ordinary lads do. Harry please do it! TV stations will fight to get this show! All the proceeds from advertising minus the production costs would go to causes that you support so dearly. What do you think Harry? Isn’t it an amazing idea? All I want is to see the reality show! Featuring Bills and Chutney. Please Harry! And all by yourself, no help allowed!
Great idea! I’m all for it.
Thank you Maria!! The idea for starters is just to see if he can get a job and what kind of job, and also how he manages house chores, etc. Another free idea to Harry is that he could vlog undercover, I think it would not raise to much attention to him. But please, do not use Chutney for the make up and styling. Nor Willies’ for that matter, should he have a stylist. The TV station or production company could well take care of that. Also, in case he manages to get a job, let us see a second season with him on the job. You know, just the working life of an ordinary bloke. But for how long, I don’t know!!!!! Who knows how long would he be able to do hold an average job, as he does not seem fit for something else? No offense to any hard working people who have all my respect!!!!!! And as an extra, I would love to see him sweat during his workouts in his tiny kitchen (I guess he works out quite often) and those well defined muscles. It would definitely make up for this petulance and sense of entitlement; he would be able to show off his skills publicly and who knows, he would probably improve his marriage prospects! Please do it Harry, you know it’d be for your own good!
Maybe you didn’t get that part of the interview. He’s doing this for us, poor miserable, ungrateful peasants. We need him. Not just Britain, but the whole world needs him. And we should be on our knees thanking him. So he is doing this entirely for our own good. He can’t even possibly imagine doing anything for his own good, he is so totally selfless, headed for sainthood if you ask me.
Especially with is lack of a university education and work experience in the last five years, Harry would be very lucky to even get an interview at a decent job. He looks on paper as lazy as he is.
Staff in the fridge?? LOL!! There would be an uproar…
Would he have met a beautiful and educated actress like Meghan Markle if he weren’t a Prince? I have my doubts. So there are clearly some advantages to being royal.
I’m curious: Has it been determined that HE was paying for the flights to “woo” her out of HIS PRIVATE funds, or…?
I guess we’ll never know. They sometimes say that flights for private travel is payed for from their own pockets. But I don’t think there are any means to verify that. Even if they paid for the flights from their own pockets, the security is still paid for from public funds. It’s outrageous.
We can’t know for sure of course, but usually when they use a cheap mode of transport, whether that is flying economy instead of first class or using a cheap airline carrier or taking the train, that is usually from private funds. Any and all first class travel is either taxpayer funded or gift from friends.
Yeah…he looks exactly like her type & even have traits of her type. So yeah lol
Why is everyone surprised he’s entitled? He was raised entitled. the entire family is entitled. The queen accepted over $300 million pounds of taxpayers money to fix the palace she lives in. I’m side eyeing this latest article about him keeping silly friends and irregular hours or the story about why he left the army. It’s difficult to understand how u spent 10 yrs in the army and not develop a work ethic. That dig about him not so bright uncalled for as he loves educated women. I still thinks he’s more compassionate than his brother and both were spoiled to overcompensate for the loss of their mother, anyhow I hope he’s okay.
I think it’s more surprise that he managed to cover it up so well for a time.
I’m almost prepared to think William told him to go with this line of talking in the press, but then that would be deflecting blame and deny Harry the proper responsibility of taking ownership for his own words.
I also tend to think Charles does want to be King because he sees it as his life’s purpose, so Harry talking on his behalf seemed odd to me.
Aren’t all Terribly Rich kids entitled? Add titles next to their name and it’s going to be even worse.
While everyone is giving Will and Harry a bad time for them trying to be “normal”, they’re also giving them a bad time because they’re NOT normal. They’re royalty, they were born with people bowing down to them, anything they wanted was handed to them. How could they NOT be entitled?
Honestly, I’d be cherishing the hell out of that entitlement.
Have I just walked into a parallel universe?
How the heck has Harry become the bad one on Celebitchy? I’m off to read the comments on the earlier articles.
I wonder what provoked this interview? Something behind the scenes?
Too much talk about Henry IX which needing to be shut down?
+1000
Spot on!! They want everyone to get back to entitled lazy – insincere – Throne Idle willy middletons and family! Maybe this is the reason DoE went to the hospital – he disagrees to throw Prince Harry under.
Prince Harry didn’t even attend Ascot or there is time – very curious who is making changes.
The impression I get from William and Harry is that they were even more spoiled and indulged because of the trauma of their mother’s death. Obviously, I was not there to see how it happened, but I imagine their father and the Queen were/are reticent in forcing them to do things they didn’t want to do and wanted them to “enjoy” life. That terrible event also gave them a degree of public sympathy that no other royal ever had, so perhaps everyone thought they could get away with it forever. As a result, they have the mindset of a “9 to 5 royal” who does a handful of events related to things they *personally* care about, and then gets to be “normal” and “private” the rest of the time (while their luxury lifestyle is being funded by the taxpayer, of course!).
Another problem is the people William and Harry surround themselves with. They were born into two royal / aristocratic families; they attended elite schools; they married/dated wealthy socialites. They only hang out with people who are as wealthy as them (perhaps wealthier) but with none of the duties and responsibilities. That’s the lifestyle they know, their version of “normal”. I doubt any of them has any middle class, let alone working class friends. Heck, they don’t even interact with fellow European royals, the very few people in the world who probably relate to their situation, and who may help them deal with it (no wonder the European Royals seem to bee close personal friends with each other – the British Royal Family is the glaring exception, even though they’re related to all of them).
That’s who William (Kate) & Harry are. They’re members of the Britsh upper class who want the life their “peers” have. They have zero sense of normalcy, but also zero sense of ROYALTY.
Considering that George and Charlotte are being raised by their nouveau-riche Middleton grandparents, I fully expect this to get worse over the years. The monarchy won’t last long after EIIR is gone.
That what I think, too, @Plum. Their idea of “normal” life would be in the US the equivalent of the life of the Du Ponts or the Hearsts.
Compared to Letizia, Maxima and their husbands, the British royals seem remarkably uneducated and unaccomplished. At least the younger ones do. What does Zara do beside ride horses, and would she ever have gotten as far as she has without access to the best horses in Britain??? Doubtful.
One of the things that has struck me about the Wales boys with these recent interviews is just how easily influenced they both are. William is easily influenced by his friends and wife’s family and the same goes for Harry (who is influenced by his brother and friends).
I’ve said on here before that I give him a bit of slack over his attitude as he puts in the work with causes he is passionate about, supports (albeit a bit reluctantly) his father/grandparents and makes an effort with the press. His overall attitude to his ‘duties’ is better than his brother’s and SIL’s.
Thats a really good point, they are aren’t they? I remember a quote years ago from someone who attended Eaton with them saying the only remarkable thing about both of them was how average they were on every level. They must be terribly wishy wash IRL. We know that Katie Bucket is so limp you could wring her out but it occurs now that William – and by extension Harry are probably quite similar, unfocussed, wishy-washy dullards the lot of them.
The circumstances into which they were born were extraordinary – funny how there is a tendency to assume that therefore, they should be, too.
Makes you kind of long for the days of the Plantagenets!
@seesittellsit Plantagenets FTW!
The trio certainly comes across as rather stupid. But it’s a less than critical public that refuses to call them out. Or maybe it’s apathy. Instead there is simpering sycophancy for a family that is below par in every way. Their blood is not blue, there is no such thing as ‘royal’ – just a family who at some point in their long history overpowered others, and set themselves up so that no-one could challenge them. Since everything in their lives is provided on tap and without effort or proof of ability, there is no reason for self-reflection, or working hard to achieve something. There are no consequences for failure. Quite the opposite in fact – it’s all hushed up by PR or more lies are spun to make them look good. No-one needs royalty; it’s a spent concept.
This is really on point.
I think an aide once said of Charles that he was like a pillow and retained the imprint of whoever was with him last.
It really is. When he was surrounded by scheduling, physical work, and mental challenges (Army), he thrived. Without that? He may be spending too much time with friends (or siblings) who aren’t nose-to-the-grindstone.
+100
Totally agree.
Prince Harry allow whiny bill middleton to dictate to him, and whiny take common waity and carol advise to order Harry – mistreat his father. Harry needs to align with his father POW.
Only a miracle will make the monarchy last once The Queen passes. It doesn’t look good right now.
I don’t know…it never looks good. Change is unknown…I don’t know I think they will do fine. Their was extreme doubts when QEII’s father took over. It was extreme doubts & talk of the monarchy ending when QEII’s took over so young. Doubts more then a few during her reign decades later. Doubts when Queen Victoria became queen. It’s always something that exists in transition. You never know how it will go or what it will all mean when one takes over.
They might surprise us all and go above and beyond what is called of them once the time comes. It’s hard to predict, hard to pinpoint.
Were in different times and people are in patient and we live in more dangerous times. A lot of the Commonwealth countries will leave the Commonwealth once The Queen passes unless there is a miracle and also the monarchy being safe.
The circumstances into which they were born were extraordinary – funny how there is a tendency to assume that therefore, they should be, too.
Makes you kind of long for the days of the Plantagenets!
Quite. The only ‘extraordinary’ thing about the last couple of generations – Charles onwards – is how exposure to so much top-level, privileged education has resulted in so many seriously dysfunctional dunces.
Skylark, it makes one a little more skeptical of the standards of such august institutions, schools and universities. The reality is that a blind eye was shown, Remember when that Eton art teacher was sacked (and later was awarded compensation when she took it to court) when she claimed Harry had cheated.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/feb/14/schools.publicschools
Ok…she spent nearly a year with him. Hmmm…
https://youtu.be/cC_MzqEcqL8
@Nessa nessa, Interesting.
I wonder why their Comms team did’nt insist on reviewing the piece before it was published?
Saw William’s interview in the sidebar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CQeVLDs8m0
He was much more adept at answering some tricky questions although he gave off an entitled vibe too lol.
I rarely get more angry than I do when hearing immensely privileged wealthy people talking about “ordinary lives” because occasionally they go shopping.
There is nothing “ordinary” about Harry’s life unless you count needing to eat, sleep, and using the loo. Even as a soldier, he was whisked out of danger when necessary. He inherited everything that makes his life so pleasant, he lives in homes that are beyond the reach of 99% of the planet, drives whatever car he wants without worrying about car payments, and dates women that really ordinary men can only dream about having a go at. He doesn’t clean his own toilets, scrub the kitchen floor, or even settle up his own household accounts at the end of the month. He can decide how much or how little he wants to work and what “causes” he wants to work for. He takes off when he wants without worrying about the work at the office.
Harry’s entire life has been shaped by a wall of money and social privilege that beggar description – and he wants creds for also not wanting to be King?!
Give me a break.
+ 1000000
Perfectly said. Excellent comment.
Even when Charles and Diana were being self-absorbed, they still sounded better than Harry and William. At least they didn’t frame their woes as if they were doing the rest of us a favour.
No Diana/Charles gave interviews that just outright said one couldn’t do the job at all. And say the whole monarchy is heartless & being tampons. And wanting to be queen of people’s hearts (which I love by the way).
I’m sorry but as untimely as this interview is…nothing William or Harry have said would be as bad as THAT. It was almost a constitutional crisis with the mess they all did. And the fire at the palace? Ill-timed interview…better accepted back in feb/march or something. Not now with everything going on over there.
The tampons stuff was part of a private conversation. That never came up in an actual interview. I don’t count private tapings as something Charles had any control over.
Whatever was said in tv interviews was usually framed more articulately (I do think Charles and Diana were articulate. Self-absorbed, yes. But also articulate). Whatever Diana said in private tapes I don’t count because I don’t think she counted on people actually exposing that stuff to the world after an early untimely death.
Neither of them should have been stupid enough to do tv interviews, but when Charles and Diana talked about their marital woes publicly, I can’t recall them making the mistake of comparing it some version of normal that they longed for. Diana complained about three people in a marriage and Charles said the marriage irretrievably broke down, which are more along the lines of universally relatable problems, but I can’t recall she or Charles comparing their marriages to that of regular people. They talked about the problems as just problems within the marriage itself full-stop. Granted, I don’t think they should have talked about their marital problems at all, but even when they did, they never made the mistake of trying to compare themselves to normal people or said they should be like normal people (not even when Diana also talked about modernizing the monarchy and bringing it into the 20th century).
I’m talking here strictly about tv interviews where you’re supposed to put forth an articulate stance. And I don’t think either ever made it seem like they were doing us a favour. Even in the tapes where Diana was being media-trained, she would catch herself and ask “Am I being condescending?”
Charles and Diana were crazy in other ways, but they framed whatever they had to say in ways that made it clear they weren’t opposed to doing charity work, nor did they frame their charity work as something as a favour to the public. So, in that sense, I do think they gave better interviews than Harry and William (even though none of them should really speak).
The crisis that resulted from Charles and Diana wasn’t really the result of a single thing, but the culmination of years of bad blood. But overall I do think both were verbally more dexterous than their children.
Diana’s and Charles’s biographies, written by other people trying to capture their voices, are where their self-absorption and sense of melodrama come out more, but in tv interviews I don’t think they sounded as though they felt they were doing the world a favour by gracing us with their existences. Despite all of their weaknesses, I never got that vibe from them at all (even if they might have been secretly thinking it).
I also think Charles and Diana were better at articulating what they actually wanted to do with their roles.
Diana was dumb to do that tv interview, but she did seem to have a vision of how she wanted to carry out her role and was able to verbally lay it all out. She wasn’t incoherent about it. Ditto for Charles whenever he’s spoken about what he could do as Prince of Wales.
@perplexed I mainly was talking about their interviews. The one Charles did admitting to the affair. And the one Diana did saying Charles wasn’t good to do the “top job”. Different speech patterns didn’t make them more articulate and those tv interviews did more damage then anything PW or PH have said in an interview. That’s what I’m saying…that was the lowest the monarchy have ever been. So yeah….that’s what I had in mind…tampons was just a throw away mention to frame the storm those interviews created.
As for the tapes…it was used for a mag/later books and this interview was in a mag so it applies. It did more damage…this was just not knowing how to speak. It will blow over once it’s explained better. That wasn’t something that could be “explained away” with Diana & Charles. It made things worst…so much worst because they were suppose to be together the next king & queen the future queen is saying the next king isn’t gonna be good? Yeah…so much worst.
This is a case of bad timing, high emotions, and nothing else to talk or gossip about. They stretching that one line until their focus is shifted to something else. Hopefully a positive something else.
Man, I have been banging the “Harry has the same issues as William” drum for some time now, and even I am a bit stunned at how the tide has turned on him so quickly. He has positive qualities that should serve him well, but boy oh boy he needs to get advice outside of his own set.
I disagree with much of this writers analysis but one thing struck me as true. The Windsors need a strong managerial hand at the wheel. They are their own worst enemies. And these are dangerous times for the clueless and over privileged.
I don’t think Charles and Diana ever said they were doing us a favour by doing their duty during any of their “woe is me” tours. It’s that implication that has the tide turning against Harry (temporarily — it will probably blow over 6 months from now when he gets engaged). Nobody likes hearing any famous person, royal or not, claiming to do a favour for the public.
Harry and William have been successful so far in their private lives (since they haven’t lived long enough yet to totally screw up like everybody else) which is why any damage they could potentially inflict has been minimal. But who knows if 10 years from now they’re private lives will remain successful in comparison to their parents’. It’s when these people’s private lives go off the rails that the real damage begins. Charles and Diana, Andrew and Fergie — I don’t think there’s ever been anything singular that any of these people have said that has inflicted damage. It was more the fact that their private lives were such a mess and they didn’t know how to contain that from the public that seemed to bring about the damage. It was the culmination of years of conflict that brought everything to a head. Had their private lives been more successful, most likely their wouldn’t have been any damage to inflict.
I don’t think William and Harry have said anything singular to hurt the monarchy and destroy it. In fact, I don’t think I even implied that in my original comment. But I do think they give really bad interviews. That’s as far as I went in dissing them. And I do think Charles and Diana had coherent answers of how they hoped to shape their public lives, even if everything about their private lives was clearly a mess. I do also think Charles and Diana were fairly well-spoken, but I’m not sure how much of that has to do with simply coming from a different generation where being able do sound coherent was considered important.
…but what a mess they have created in whiny throne idle billy middleton….where I feel all this PR mess is coming from for Prince Harry.
Whiny and his middleton family CANNOT be outshone – while he waity is doing us a huge favour – by moving from his middleton family secret private AH forest to the multl millions thrice renovated K-Palace.
Did anyone else pick up on the part about royals needing a manager to tell them what they can and cannot do? I thought “these are adults. Saying they need to be parented through their jobs. Ordered even. Says a lot about how infantalized the royals are.”
I think it’s more a comment on how grimly lacking in basic intelligence they are, in that they need someone to guide and direct them so as not to publicly expose that lack. They don’t have the brain power to understand their own lack of brain power.
They may have been born with silver spoons in their mouths but they most def are not remotely the shiniest spoons in the drawer.
I noticed lol….with most of them. Not just this generation but the line in general long before any of them were born. They are extremely sheltered…*kanye shrug*
And just to add this very pertinent quote from Hasting’s article:
“Amid a rainstorm in London, I once ran into that lovely Northumbrian Sir John Riddell, now dead. When I said it was a rotten sort of morning, he responded: ‘Every day is a sunny day for me, because I am no longer the Prince of Wales’s private secretary!’, a role that he filled in deep unhappiness for five years during the Eighties.”
So why did he stay in the job – he could have resigned?
He could have, I guess, but that’s not the point.
I quoted it as an illustration of the very obvious frustration of those who take up positions with the royals, thinking they’ll be working together for a common and useful cause, and then finding out that the nuts and bolts of their job mostly involves tongue-biting, tantrum-tolerating and hugely reluctant acquiescence to grim, entitled stupidity.
Quite honestly they should be fairly well read and book smart if they had been given any motivation to do that. They were given all the tools but were not shown how to use them. Just goes to show how coddled they all are. Their million dollar education from nannies, tutors, and boarding school basically since birth did nothing because they weren’t forced to work hard in any way shape or form. Many privileged children at the very least use their good education to get top marks and go onto the Ivy League, Cambridge, or Oxford. Become academics, write books, have enough intelligence to have conversations on politics, art, literature, or philosophy with their bourgeois friends.
Exactly.
The royals need to stop complaining. Almost everyone has to work for a living and 99.99% of the people working aren’t as well compensated for their work as the royals. Being a landed toff like their friends isn’t their lot in life. Move forward. Stop wishing you were someone else. And stop crying about your mom. Most people endure tragedy. It is called living life. It is self-indulgent and annoying when someone goes on and on about it for decades. Like they are spinning their wheels and never get ahead of their lives tragedies.
I can’t be the only one who thinks labia or bologna when looking at that hat….
He just as bad as William and Kate,. Meghan is too, but at least she works for the money she spends on all her luxury vacations. The way she exposed her relationship to the American press and the coy instagram pictures soured her in my eyes. If they marry she’ll do as little as the rest of them. She clearly wants that title. Sorry. Not here for the Meghan love fest-the way they got together with Harry chasing a woman who was living with a bf of two years makes me dislike them even more. Shady entitles people all round.
My question about Meghan is that she must have seen how petulant he can be at that Jamaica wedding where she seemed to be trying to soothe him in all the pictures, yet she still wants him? She is educated, beautiful and was committed to charities. How much work has Harry done since they hooked up? Not much. Nor has she done much charity work.
I tend to think she is caught up in the fairy tale, the American idea of marrying a Prince and being a Princess. Since she is smart, I expect she will snap out of it. In fact, I was thinking that if I had been in her shoes and left sitting in a hotel room while everyone else went to a public church for a wedding, that would have been the last straw for me. How insulting!! Maybe she has snapped out of it already.
You do know she is filming right? Like right now. And she did charity work early this year when she was off in India. Now she is working. Harry seem to be doing both his charity work & his royal stuff. Nevermind the invictus stuff….
As for who they are…outside of interviews which is problematic for Harry for me…I don’t know them. Maybe he is childish…maybe she is too. Maybe they mesh…maybe they don’t. I don’t know these people personally. I’m not pivy to what their relationship is. We don’t even know when they officially became a couple. Like at all…so…their is that.
Prince Harry did not come off as petulant at his friend’s Jamaican wedding – more like he was upset about the media presence overtaking his friends wedding. Meghan seem to be calming Prince Harry – reminding him to breathe (as in yoga/healthy practice).
She and the boyfriend were already broken up, as shown in pre-Harry social media and public accounts. That breakup appears to have been May/early June. She was in the UK in July working, which is likely when these two met. As for her social media, no she wasn’t outing things and teasing tumblr. I can see why she shut down (and deleted) her blog, as so many things were taken out of time context by people obsessed with finding fault with her.
How did SHE expose anything? Pics of her travels? Same type of pics she posted on instagram for years? Same non-exposed pics that were posted for months before anyone even connected the dots because a mag leaked the info? Same pics that would have been seen as nothing without the context and simply pics of her in London like she have pics of every place she have been? That “exposure”? Without that leak from Harry’s friends to the mag…the bananas, the London locale, the tea & puzzles wouldn’t have meant anything. The flowers? Some would have guessed she got back together with her boyfriend.
None of what she posted hinted or mentioned or screamed “I’M DATING PRINCE HARRY!!!”. And the only reason we know for a fact they are together at all is because of HIM. She haven’t said a word…even the reitman clothes was already scheduled to being released anyway. That was something she have endorsed & done commercial for for years…..but k.
To be fair, I think Megan’s leaking stuff to E! and Lainey through her best friend who’s married to one of the hosts. It’s more her side of the story though.
Charles believes he to be King because of Divine right in other words a decision made by God. I think he is ready for the position. The young Royals seem to be wrestling with a modern place in society but I think they need to be careful as baring all makes them look normal and horribly disgustingly privilidged
I don’t think Charles believes that, unless he perceives it in a Unitarian Universalist kind of way. He isn’t a strict CoE dedicated Christian, but rather a spiritual person who investigates and supports different belief systems through the years. Catholicism, Buddism, Islam, you name it.
I doubt very much the the RF have believed in the Divine Right for generations
I cannot believe I have been reading so many hateful comments. It feels just like DM online here. Everybody except me seems to have sunk their claws into Harry. What people do’t understand is the reason why William and Harry have been giving so many interviews recently is because it is the 20th anniversary of their mother’s passing. Harry just made a very obvious comment, nobody wants to be royal but if you are born into you have to do it. Simple. He said many other things in the interview which have been ignored. If the DM and others had not focused and twisted one aspect of it, nobody on here would have commented on it. Pure evidence of how the media can manipulate readers and listeners so easily. It is very disturbing and I understand even more how William and Harry feel about the modern media which seems to have an insatiable desire to stoke the fires of cheap sensationalism. I hope this kind of witch hunt does not end badly.
We understand about the reason they are talking mental health. We also understand that Harry, William and Kate are extremely lazy and don’t want to work for the country, yet want all of the money and perks that come with being royal. And Harry thinks royalty is oh-so-necessary.
No, Harry, it isn’t.
Clearly you don’t know how much people on this forum hate the DM. Using it as a source, even if it’s speaking truth swiftly invalidates a comment.
Most are reacting to the Newsweek article rather than the DM article. They are commenting on things said in the newsweek article. And here is some news, many outlets have written op-eds about it including the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Independent and all the tabloids including the DM, the Sun, the Mirror.
This isn’t like the time the mainstream media made up the ‘ killing is a videogame’ lie. Most people didn’t and don’t bother to watch the full 45min video on the British army website to see that it is a lie.
This is like Vegas. We all saw the pictures. Couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen. Just as we’ve all read the newsweek article. Can’t pretend he didn’t say any of it or even tell us what a privileged tit he has become. We gave him a chance after Vegas, but clearly the benefit of the doubt was misplaced.
He is like William, with charm, which has been his saving grace because it hid his entitled ways.
I didn’t read the DM. I read the Newsweek article.
The young Windsors have come into criticism before and they will again.
Tide already seem to be turn back in PH’s favor as the press comb through the rest of the article & quotes. Like I said it would…I mean everyone forgets the “but” after…..lol
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3871417/lorraine-kelly-ant-mcpartlin-prince-harrys-struggles-show-riches-and-fame-cant-stop-misery-and-pain/amp/
I read the whole article in Newsweek. This was a series of interviews, not just one, and he was trying to convey that the young royals were envisioning a more modern monarchy.he also attempted to provide a human background, but he isn’t able to do that in a skillful way.
However, there are several problematic quotes where either Harry said some well intentioned but privileged and clueless things, or the writer crafted an unfortunate overall impression by including only the tone deaf remarks. Whatever happened, it’s not just one quote that has people’s backs up.
I am not seeing a turning of the tide. I see anger picking up steam. Hopefully, Harry will get some good advice and avoid this in the future.
Agree!
Potential King Harry does good caring interviews – but this time, he try helping and listen to his whiny petulant big brother bill middleton – instead of his father POW especially, with Throne idle billy, now in close proximity at KP.
I hope so. He was just telling the truth about how he feels and I also don’t feel that he said it with malice.
Funny, I thought he was going to get a backlash for comments about the way his family handled his mom’s funeral, not the comments about the monarchy lol.
I think the new articles explaining the original is damage control , with the royal PR machine swinging in to clean up.
I don’t believe William, Harry and Kate talked about mental health except in terms of a couple of slogans chanted endlessly. Harry did mention that he sought professional help at some point. But that’s it. William, who is in desperate need of psychological help is above it all, as is Kate, coming from her perfect family background of a mother pimping out her daughters to the highest bidder rather than actually work. These people have no business preaching anything to anyone.
I believe Harry, William, Kate have all been caught up in talking openly believing it’s acceptable for good mental health. (ie. their Heads Together initiative) All over the world this is being pressed in public, that it’s ok to talk about things and it’s necessary for mental health. See Canada’s Bell Let’s Talk day which raises extraordinary money for a private corporation which overcharges and monopolizes Canada’s telecom industry.
What we’re learning via this comment section and apparently everywhere else is that talking about it will never be acceptable. That’s a valuable lesson and I sincerely hope the monarchy survives this. As I said elsewhere, I really do think something is wrong behind the scenes within the family. And for every person out there who did believe it was safe to talk about things publicly, I hope they’re ok.
This backlash has depths far beyond Harry for me. I know this is a gossip site. Maybe that’s the thing with me. This episode truly IS a great representation of when gossip can be harmful.
The backlash isn’t about his conversation regarding mental health.
So much time has passed since her death – and then was a time people hope to move on from. Both princes were happy with their father/HM/RF and super royally taken care of compared to the rest of us in similar situation; having to move on with living, not feel sorry for one (privilege entitled) self.
Someone decided to release these interviews (may have done so deliberately), to harm Prince Harry (especially Invictus games soon), with so much serious issues in GB and the complete opposite as royal.
According to gossip he’s currently in Toronto being infantilised by his latest conquest she should be telling him to grow the f up!
She’ll tell him nothing of the kind – she wants that golden prize HRH. She’ll do just what Diana and Kate and every other woman hoping to grab that ole Princess fairy tale did: play it sweet and cool until she gets that rock. They only find out the real price tag once they’re in.
+1000000
I could not agree with you more, seesittellsit!! This girl has her eyes on the prize.
Exactly! Meghan is the 3rd ranking actress on a d-list show she is an old woman in Hollywierd years! Bet that before she found Harry, she was probably thinking about her next career opportunity, because while she had the rare job of being a regularly employed actress, she knew this gig wouldn’t last forever. Now all she has to do is infantilize and take care of Harry’s toddler
Tantrums of his “bad lot in life” and make him feel like a stud for getting to bang her and she can get the princess Henry title with it’s lifelong mooching off of taxpayers, wearing haute couture clothing on the regular and be dripping in diamonds
Of priceless historical values. Also, living in an old English manor or castle wouldn’t hurt!
“The whole world is in revolt. Soon there will be only five Kings left–the King of England, the King of Spades, The King of Clubs, the King of Hearts, and the King of Diamonds”.
King Farouk of Egypt, 1948
Look at Charlotte. I think she’ll end up running the entire place. She’s so cute & looks deep in thought like an old soul.
Look at Charlotte. I think she’ll end up running the entire place. She’s so cute & looks deep in thought like an old soul.
Well Prince Charles is the master whinger of the royal family and he’s their father. He was always feeling sorry for himself for having to marry Diana, not being able to live with Camilla, being sent of to private school , being unfairly treated by the press etc.
I think the Queen of England has been very good at one thing – being the Queen of England! Unfortunately she doesn’t seemed to have been able to instill a sense of duty or responsibility in the next generation or her grand children. Everyone has sympathy for those boys for losing their mother, but at some point sympathy wears off when they keep showing themselves to have no understanding of how what they say affects the general public. It seems coddled and a bit daft :/
What Harry should have said lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bGjlvukgHU
Apols for taking the mickey…
I’m going though the Lion King soundtrack and couldnt resist sharing Simba’s enthusiasm to take on the reins of kingly power lol
‘I just can’t wait to be king!!!!’
Guys, I was being funny earlier about the reactions to Harry’s honest views about the future of the monarchy. But on a serious note he explains himself further and as I think I mentioned some months back, I wouldnt be surprised if he gave up his title at some point and opted for some other role.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4636038/I-wanted-confesses-Harry-reluctant-prince.html
They are, by virtue of the fact that a Monarchy exists and is supported by the British people, ‘entitled’. So I don’t know why anyone is much surprised by them behaving as such.
i.e. Shut your trap & keep up the facade?
Anyone thinking getting rid of the monarchy in terms of more money in your pocket or going to healthcare or education dont understand commerce or govt. Dream on! It will only line the pocket of some other entitled rich person who may be more undeserving. Be careful what you wish for.
I completely disagree with your article and as I felt for so many times now I really wonder if you know what you are talking about with British royals.
It is just gossip in it’s lowest form to ever think that Harry quits the Army to have fun. This young man, a junior royal and unlike his brother the heir to the throne, actually served like any soldier until a gossip press leaked his regiment and the exact place where they were. He was a danger for his folks because of his status ans decided to give up.
You cannot say that he’s lazy nor he doesn’t care for those years he was trying and struggling to have a role as only the spare to the heir. It’s unfair to pick a sentence out of it’s context and label him in a wrong way but at the end of a day what to expect from a gossip website.
The world is a judgy place…..
Btw headstogether is the best thing tht they’ve done in years. They should go that route. 🙂
HT was a short-term PR exercise, and an exercise in grabbing funding away from the organizations that help people directly. They don’t have the training to function effectively in the world of mental health. W&K seemed to think that everyday life = extreme mental health challenges. Those two actually talked as if dealing with a newborn, with loads of help, constituted a mental health crisis. She doubled down on saying that if you had a loving family you wouldn’t experience mental health issues. At least Harry went to some form of training about the subjects involved.