After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned home from their South Pacific Tour, that’s when the smear campaign started. Soon after their return, it was clear that the tour exceeded all of the palace’s expectations, and that Harry and Meghan were a much bigger deal internationally than even the palace courtiers realized. It was around that time that the Sussexes announced that they would be moving out of Nottingham Cottage – within the Kensington Palace grounds – and into Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle. The story back then was that the Sussexes and Cambridges need some distance from each other, and that both couples agreed that there was a need for separate staffs and separate courts. Still, the story for months was that the Sussexes would have dedicated staffers… working in Kensington Palace, alongside the Cambridges’ dedicated staffers. As it turns out, not so much.
The Cambridges and the Sussexes have officially broken up their joint “court” at Kensington Palace by creating two separate offices, the palace announced Friday. Queen Elizabeth has agreed to the creation of a new household for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Prince Charles is also in support of the decision, which will be established in the spring.
“This long-planned move will ensure that permanent support arrangements for The Duke and Duchess’s work are in place as they start their family and move to their official residence at Frogmore Cottage,” a statement from the palace reads. Meghan and Harry’s office will also be moving out of Kensington Palace and into Buckingham Palace, where the Queen resides. Prince William and Kate Middleton’s office will remain in Kensington Palace, where they live with their three children.
Prince Harry currently has his own private office, which has been supporting both his work and Meghan’s since their engagement in November 2017. The royal couple, who are expecting their first child in April, will also appoint new communications staff, who will form part of the Buckingham Palace communications team and report to The Queen’s Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe. Kensington Palace will continue to support Meghan and Harry until that team is in place.
We already know the identity of one of the big new Sussex hires: American political operative Sara Latham will be a (big) part of the new Sussex communications team. Latham was senior advisor for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign. As for the separate offices… we knew it was going to happen, we just thought that it would be a technical thing within Kensington Palace, and that it would involve the separation of already-hired staffers into two camps. But the Queen and Charles clearly want Harry and Meghan to have their own communications office and staff, completely separate from William and Kate’s Keenness and Poor Jason Knauf.
There’s also a lot more chatter about how the Royal Foundation is going to end or be split up. Sources are now murmuring that there’s zero chance it will stay status quo, and it’s likely the Sussexes will start their own foundation at some point.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Very interesting move IMO. I can’t figure out how big a deal it actually is, but even some of the more trustworthy RRs seemed to think it was significant.
It means that the Sussex PR team/ Sara Latham will report directly to the Queen’s communications director and follow the party line or be silenced. It mean less independence. They will be absorbed into the BP communications, like Charles’ other siblings have been. That’s the fate of anyone who’s not Charles or William.
This is the right takeaway, I think. Charles and William are the only two members of the royal family who will have their own offices. Anybody not in the line of succession will now fall under the monarch’s household (Harry and Meghan’s setup mimics that of Andrew/Edward/Anne). They’re making shifts to prepare for King Charles and William, Prince of Wales.
Or it could mean the Sussex’s inclusion to the Queen’s communication team, will help reshape how that team works. This is a new age with new rules. The Sussex understand this and are working accordingly. Being that close to the monarch will be a win for Meghan and Harry. Maybe for another couple they would be silenced and made to curtail to the old ways. However, Meghan and Harry have proven time and again they know how maximize their voice.
See, I think it will be better for them to be with BP than KP. And once they get their own SM accounts , it will be interesting to see how those are handled as well.
Yeah, I’d disagree with that. I think this gives them Independence from the Cambridges’ ego and letting them do as much work as they want. That’s what Anne has separate from Charles and she can outwork him without fuss.
Chrome and TeamCockroach are likely correct that it’s a line of succession matter, full stop. There may be other benefits to being folded into BP vs. KP but ultimately we’re seeing the Royal Family Tree/Org Chart in action.
Chrome and TeamCockroach are correct. This is the ultimate fate of the teams who work for lesser Royals. And no, Joro, no-one is going to change how HM’s team works, unless it is HM herself. H&M are minor Royals. Not many people are particularly interested in their ‘voice’ here in the UK. There is a line that all minor Royals are expected to toe, and they will be no exception. This is a hereditary monarchy, chaps, not a popularity contest.
LOL. Harry and Meghan are not minor royals. They will be 1/3 of the working royal team for most of the next 30 years. The elders will pass away, other elders will retire, and William and Kate’s kids will not work until they are at least 35.
This move shows that H&M ARE minor royals who will have a staff of one who reports to the Queen’s Comm Director. And I think when William becomes Prince of Wales, if Harry is still married, hexwillcut thrm our of the working royals, just like Charles did to Andrew and his girls.
@ANTONELLA Andrew is a working royal. He did 394 engagements last year. All of Charles’s siblings are working in support of the Queen.
No, Harry and Meghan are not minor royals although I know avid Kate fans wish it. Why I don’t know. Harry will soon be the son of the king. Charles will eliminate all the other working royals outside his main line. That makes Harry and Meghan a crucial part of a six person team, with their primary focus, The Commonwealth, given to them by HM.
Lol. Can you stop pushing this minor royal agenda! Minor royals are not sent on high profile overseas tours neither do they command the crowds that H&M do. Neither are they assigned a household of staff to run. Someone above said they will have a staff of one which absolutely false. My goodness the trolls that parade these corridors.
Yay! This is the best News. So glad for Harry and Meghan.
Awesome News!
I think Jason is a mediocre PR person. The sooner HRry and Meghan get out of KP PR the better.
Excellent News.
Omid Scobie has all the details and it’s really impressive and so positive.
Now William and Kate can go back to being lazy and doing the bare minimum, under Jason’s handling.
It means the Queen and Charles recognize that keeping Harry and Meghan under William’s control at KP was a bad idea. KP wasn’t moderating their social media with all the attacks on Meghan, but immediately deleted anything negative about William.
This move frees Harry and Meghan to have a separate office with the powerful backing of BP. It is a logical step and not a demotion.
It means Harry is sixth in line to the throne and Charles is unwilling to fund two separate communications operations for William and Harry.
The Queen is funding a separate team for Harry and Meghan just like she funds one for Andrew.
@Megan Actually, both the Queen and Charles are funding separate communications for Harry
@Chrome ” It means that the Sussex PR team/ Sara Latham will report directly to the Queen’s communications director and follow the party line or be silenced.” not true
TeamCockroach@ Anybody not in the line of succession will now fall under the monarch’s household (Harry and Meghan’s setup mimics that of Andrew/Edward/Anne). umm no
@ Joro Or it could mean the Sussex’s inclusion to the Queen’s communication team,will help reshape how that team works.However, Meghan and Harry have proven time and again they know how maximize their voice.
makes sense .
didn’t HM designate meghan vp this week? if i’m not mistaken morocco requested their presence?
Chrome and TeamCockroach are 100% correct!!
Good that the Sussexes will have their own household. Their head of communications is a US/UK citizen with an impressive resume. She would answer to the queen’s comm sexy, but I bet she will a force to deal with for the tabloids and the Markles.
YAY! Excellent News. So glad Harry and Meghan are getting their own Pr with Buckingham Palace, The Queen.
Omid Scobie just reported that the four of them will remain patrons of The Royal Foundation and that later in the year they will decide if their social media will be absorbed by @royalfamily or if they create a separate account. It’s a healthy move, imho. Both couples have different interests and charities, and not even twins want to be joined at the hip to their sibling 24/7.
I really hope they get their own SM pages! I only follow the Kensington pages for THEM (literally started following the day of their wedding). I have no animosity towards William/Kate but I’m simply not as interested in following them 🤷🏽♀️
They definitely need their own social network as that is where the Cambridge’s ego has taken over. They underreport the Sussexes right now on social network.
Scobie has been wrong before. I think we’ll see a split before the end of 2020 if not the end of 2019.
Finally!
Also, I look forward to seeing the new Sussex team as well as following eventual social media accounts for the Duke & Duchess of Sussex. Maybe the first post will be baby Sussex.
Yesssss!
This feels significant but I’m not sure why. Is this better or worse for the Harry & Meghan?
Oh I think it is definitely better. With KP they had to share their staff with the Cambridges. I think there were some divided loyalties there. Their staff couldn’t dedicate all their energies on all four of them and you can tell that there were some mismanagements.
This new arrangement will allow the Sussexes to build their team from the ground up. I think many of the KP staff were hired for the Cambridges initially, hence maybe some confusion on who works for whom and possibly some snippinest on who they take orders from. Now the Sussexes can choose people wholly dedicated to their interest.
I think it’s much better because now their staff’s main/only focus and loyalty will be the Sussexes.
I could be wrong, but I think it’s better like it’s protection from those who would elevate Will above Harry and Meghan. To me, it looks like Harry and Meghan are being endorsed by the Queen and Charles.
Better as it stops the leaks about Sussexes. There is a reason they started fresh with a whole new staff. The KP staff was hired for loyalty to the Cambridges and they threw Sussexes under the bus as needed to help Cambridges
I know some people like the gossipy part of the story, but for me, the way the split was handled shows just how much they are getting everything ready for Charles’ reign.
The Sussexes going under BP puts them in a position of sharing offices (in a way) with Anne, Andrew and Edward & Sophie.
While in practice Meghan and Harry will surely get more attention (not only by the media, but by the staff themselves -given their position and relevance-); the truth is that we are seeing the future of the monarchy. A new King, a new Prince of Wales, and the rest of the family under BP.
It is so weird to think that anytime from tomorrow to the next 10 years, a big change is going to happen
I tend to agree with you, here. I don’t think it’s some big gossipy thing necessarily. It seems to be a case of setting up the chess board for smooth transitions. It makes most sense to position them here, rather than setting up a different office, then moving them again.
I never understood why Harry did not stay under Clarence House until he got married. While it made sense for William to leave his father’s office however it was silly for Harry to join households with his brother, and stranger to continue to do so after William got married.
All the non-heirs fall under BP, so not unusual that the Sussexes are now doing the same.
Technically speaking neither Will or Harry should’ve branched off from Charles’s household until marriage. Since Will and Kate were part time royals until the end of 2017, there was no reason for them to have their own household which is why I assume Harry was grouped in with them under KP to justify the need and costs.
@Bren
William and Harry formed their own court at KP before William married. This is because allegedly William and Harry couldn’t trust Charles.
It didn’t make sense for William to leave either. Dickie said that before all communications shared one office at Buckingham Palace. But William and Harry broke away and decided to do their own thing, which was an unusual move. Dickie made the point on TV earlier that it’s really now only William who’s doing the weird thing of being on his own, when all the royals should really be folded in at Buckingham Palace.
They broke away because their father threw them under the bus whenever it suited him.
Yep. It’s a natural progression.
I’ve thought that all along. William and Harry have both had it easy in their younger days. They were the FUTURE monarchs children. 3rd generation. Future faces. They didn’t have to work quite as hard as the CURRENT monarchs children. All of this lazy talk is and was nonsense. They (William, Harry, Catherine and now Meghan) have only done what was handed to them to do and nothing more. A lot of Celebitchy comments, from the blogger to the comment section, like to make it seem like Will and Catherine (and Harry, he is not innocent in any of this) actually tells the Queen to eff off when she asks them to do anything, or, they are only working more now because the ambitious American is in the picture. No. Things are being put into place for Charles to take over. Meaning now HIS children need to amp up their work load, but not quite as much as the current monarchs.
Good points.
Interesting perspective, thanks.
Agreed the Wales princes had it easy compared to other future heirs of other monarchs, who have been doing official duties at a young age, lets say the Prince of Morocco looked more comfortable than Harry, and I noticed the prortoocol lady had to keep reminding them of things. Point is they shouldn’t have seem like they are playing catch, its not a good look on adults. Prince Charles over recent years has been more like unofficial co regent than anything else, they have been doing this transtioning for awhile now.
For pete’s sake, Meghan hasn’t even been a Royal for a year. I think she can be exempted from your scorn lite.
A big change – it is odd. Elizabeth’s been the Queen for at least two generations of the public. That’s why I think her death will actually help the pro-republic people in that the public might not like anyone else as monarch. I think there’s a good chance that the monarchy will pass when Charles does. Harry and Meghan are in a good position to continue their work even if the monarchy does go away. I’m not so sure about Will and Kate.
@Himmiesfan – to convert the nation from a constitutional monarchy, part of which of said constitution is archaic, to a republic with all the associated appurtenances, legal fees, legalese, months and months (if not years) of parliamentary and House of Lords wrangling, not to mention what form that Republic would take and how it would be administered, and by whom… The idea is actually fairly horrific. In order to even begin the process, were there sufficient public consensus over a consistent period to support it via polling et cetera, one imagines that a referendum would have to be agreed upon. And then battled over in parliament on a number of occasions, debated upon, its pitfalls hashed over endlessly. And then the public would dutifully make their X in the box. And then years of frustration, which would be akin to Brexit, would begin. And it would work out as expensively as Brexit had thus far if not more so, with the same uncertainty of outcome: would we be ruled by a Franklin or a Hindenburg? What would the public’s reaction be when they realised that not an iota of money had been saved, let alone invested in their bottomless pits that are public services?
-Unless, that is, you’re advocating for a revolution: and that would be jolly exhausting and horribly untidy. What with the council cutbacks (despite the 5% annual increase in CT), the mess would be left in the streets for positively weeks.
Well, when you put it like that… Sounds like it would be very messy.
@Himmiefan – let’s be honest, do we really believe that all the royals do charity out of the goodness of their hearts? Harry clearly cares about Veterans and would continue to support them even if he’s not a royal, and same with Meghan and female empowerment. But what about the others?
I’ve already unfollowed KP.
Me too. I only followed KP for the Sussexes.
I just did that as well
I just followed KP again! Best news all around! Hopefully the kp account will go back to being a more peaceful & pleasant place.
It will surely be back to bland as that is all the Cambridges can manage.
I’ll take bland over the dumpster fire that has engulfed the kp account over the past year. The more anti-cambridge crowd that unfollow the better!
The anti-Cambridge crowd is your biggest issue with the KP account? Not the vile racism and classism against Meghan that has been in overdrive?
The entire kp account has become a cluster f*ck which is why I’m glad that BP will now be the ones dealing with all the drama. And not to forget they also have to deal with the pr nightmare that is the Markles. BP will definitely have their hands full!
Your reaction is really “yay, the racism is going elsewhere and I don’t have to see it!” ??
Oh please, don’t act like some Sussex fans have not taken part in the misogyny & personal attacks on the kp account. A split ensures that people can now focus on the royals they like. Hopefully that will create a less toxic environment.
Well racism does tend to make places unpleasant.
I doubt it will go away. The Kate stans will continue to post about their “English Rose” and complaining about Meghan on the KP channels. KP will ignore it as usual. At least the official SM channels for Sussex Household will delete the content and ban the trolls.
I seriously doubt they will get their own social accounts due to the palace wanting to keep them in their place. Their activities will be on the royal family account like everyone else.
What do you mean “in their place?” Why are some people so obsessed with putting the Sussexes “in their place?” I never hear people talk about the Wessexes or Anne or Andrew this way.
Plus Andrew has his own SM so surely the Sussexes can have their own as well.
It’s nothing particularly against the Sussexes. Unless there is a tragic accident taking out generations of the royal family, Harry is no longer relevant in terms of succession therefore not the priority e.g. Princess Anne is just as hardworking (or more) than Charles but she is not the heir so is under the umbrella of Buckingham Palace.
The Wessexes and Anne both know their place. That’s why you don’t hear it in reference to them. Andrew has always been overly self important and has often been put in his place over it. The only reason Andrew took a more central role last year was because of Eugenie’s wedding. The Queen has been doing more with Anne ever since. The monarchy is a hierarchy and that’s all there is to it. It’s not specific to Harry and Meghan.
But what on earth makes you assume Harry doesn’t know his place in the scheme of things?! You think Harry is not aware that the monarchy is a hierarchy? And how have the Sussexes acted any differently than other royals not in the heir line? They haven’t. So why the constant comments to know/stay in their place?
Harry and Meghan remain relevant until George and Charlotte and Louis take up full time roles and even then they will be working so this whole relevant thing is a dumb argument. Have Andrew, Anne and Edward been removed from anything? No and they won’t be either.
AKS Harry and Meghan are hugely popular with the commonwealth nations. Harry is not high in the line of succession but he and Meghan will be highly visible and highly active in generating continuous interest in the royal family. Harry and Meghan will not be relegated to the dustbin as William becomes POW.
@royalwatcher – people who always talk about putting H&M “in their place” really reveal themselves. In a hereditary monarchy, popularity and influence is supposed to be irrelevant, but they are so insecure because they know that’s not the case in reality. H&M clearly know their place and are comfortable with it. Why can’t their haters also be comfortable with that?
” their place ” doesn’t look bad at all………….
Yeah I don’t get why they Sussexes being “out of their place” is even a thing. I see it all the time on YouTube and twitter….the fear that Meghan wants to be the future queen and will harm Kate and William and children to get Harry in the Prince of Wales spot. It’s ridiculously psychotic but it’s been mentioned by the crazies several times.
I didn’t say the Sussexes will be put in the dustbin never to be seen again, just that the heir gets priority, hence his own press office apart from BP. Just as Charles gets more focus than his siblings, William will get more focus as time goes on (especially when he takes the Prince of Wales role).
Although I can’t believe what you said about people on the internet saying Meghan plotting for Harry to be Prince of Wales! How ridiculous, this isn’t Macbeth (I hope!)
I think H&M will develop whatever accounts they want. How can anyone stop them?
Andrew has his own social media account. They’ll get their own account too.
In a few years when George is a bit older. Harry is popular but he is not significant anymore. This isn’t popularity contest, ask Chucky.
Btw i do think this is all natural but i do wonder if Harry’s relationship to Charles caused the fall out
Wills never seemed like he respects his father much. He probably knows more than anyone.
LOL. So many W&K fans are desperate to pretend Harry and Meghan are minor or irrelevant. They’ve been handed the Commonwealth as their primary focus, oh nothing big there. W&K’s kids will not work for another 30 years. Harry and Meghan will be 33 percent of the working royal team for decades.
Meghan appears to be bringing Harry and Charles closer, which can only be a good thing.
Bye Cambridge’s.
As the Duke of York has his own account.
Reports are that Harry and Meghan will eventually get their own social media account.
I can’t wait. Wonderful for Harry and Meghan.
“in their place”? Are we pretending that line isn’t a microaggression?
Harry knows he is not the future monarch and his wife knows it too. This move is not about slapping them down. Instead, it is removing Harry and Meghan from the petulant control of William. Now they will have a staff dedicated to them, without having to fight internal battles with PoorJason and Quinn who are trying to prop up William and Kate by shoving down Harry and Meghan.
Now, whatever happens with the KP handle and those offices are only William and Kate. No more residual, unearned shine from what Harry and Meghan do.
“In their place” is absolutely a racist term directed at Meghan.
It’s very easy to pick out the racist’s in this comment section because they are the ones using that term.
Exactly, Nota & Cairincat! It’s just coded racism. Put the black woman in her place. How many times did we hear that over Obama’s presidency? We see you.
KP, PR which was run horribly, so I’m happy with this move.
Jason did a mediocre to poor job, it was never great. I think William likes yes men around, which might be why KP PR was so haphazard and bad.
So Happy Meghan and Harry are outta there soon.
Jason was mediocre at best.
They will have an office in Buckingham Palace as any of the Queen’s children and working Royals who are not in direct line to the throne. Plus their head of communication will report to the Queen’s Communications Secretary. The Queen’s people will be able to control Harry & Meghan’s PR activities.
This is no promotion
I think people are just happy that they will get away from the incompetent KP management.
In BP they will have the power to choose their own staff and build their office from the ground up instead of sharing staff with the Cambridges. Yes, their staff in technically under the BP press umbrella and have to report under the Queens press secretary (as does all the press staff of Anne, Wessex, etc). But I highly doubt they will be micro managed and “put in their place” like some ppl believe. The point of hiring incredibly competent staff (and they are off to a great start with hiring Sara Latham), is that they don’t have to be supervised.
So No this is not a demotion or somehow a bad thing for the Sussexes like some ppl are gleefully thinking. I for one am happy that they don’t get to keep poor Jason.
It is interesting, isn’t it, how many people want to crow it’s a demotion and the Sussexes are being “put in their place.” If anything, it’s a lateral move to a place with better management and benefits lol. Plus they’re getting their own loyal, dedicated, and more competent staff. And they are one step closer to their actual boss (the queen). I’d say that’s a win for the Sussexes.
@Royalwatcher IA.
Some people don’t like the amount of attention Harry and Meghan get and think this move is a way to stop that.
It won’t.
Meghan will always draw attention because she is an American woman of color in the royal family. We will always care about what she’s doing.
Royalwatcher, their own loyal, dedicated staff is one woman who will also work for the Queen and answer to her Comm Director. Why do people try to make H&M more than they are in the royal family? Is it a basic misunderstanding by Americans on how royalty works!??
Sara Latham has already been appointed, but the the DoS “will appoint new communications staff”. I don’t see how the BP press release can be interpreted any other way than the fact that more staff will be brought on to support the head of communications. It’s definitely a RD day here on CB with all the effort people are putting into diminishing HM’s importance as working royals.
The press release reads:
“The Queen has given permission for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to base their Household Office at Buckingham Palace. Their Royal Highnesses will appoint new communications staff, who will form part of the Buckingham Palace communications team and report to The Queen’s Communications Secretary, Donal McCabe. Kensington Palace will continue to support Their Royal Highnesses until that team is in place.”
Further, it reads: “Sara Latham has been appointed to head up communications for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex…”
https://www.royal.uk/announcement-household-duke-and-duchess-sussex
I don’t take Sara’s hire as a good thing…..she was always hired as damage control to politicians….hired by bill Clinton for damage control after the cigar incident and then Hillary and that didn’t work out well.
Jason Knauf was “damage control” for the Royal Bank of Scotland, Christian Jones was a Brexit speechwriter. So, does it really matter where these people come from if they’re considered competent and qualified by the people who hire them? IMO, no.
If I were Anne, and this shook out any other way, I’d be pissed. Harry should be treated just the same as the other royal children who are not heirs, in recognition of how hard Anne, Edward, Sophie etc work.
Why would she be pissed? Don’t you think Anne has her own staff? Perhaps she doesn’t want her own SM but I am sure she’s got whatever of her own staff that she wants/needs. So actually the Sussexes now WILL be in the same position as Anne and the Wessexes. Finally. The position the Sussexes were in before (sharing with a sibling) is what was different.
That’s what Muffy is saying, Royalwatcher. But if it HADN’T gone like this, and they got some sort of preferential treatment, then yes, I think Anne would be within her right to be mad.
Oops sorry. I misread you Muffy!!
@Muffy Have you ever met Princess Anne, or been in her immediate locale? She wears the expression of a constipated bulldog licking urine off a thistle, brisk handshake and How-d’you-do-so-what-do-you-do-here, whizzes round, photo opp and back in the car. In terms of work – no. Turning up is not work. At least, I imagine, not to any of the CB community. Realistically, none of the Royals works. They don’t pull all nighters when they have deadlines or are at the mercy of tyrannical bosses, have performance reviews (except by the royal reporters: another non-job), nor ever have to worry about the basic essentials of life. I admire the Queen because of her dignity and fortitude, and Meghan for her historical hard graft, ambition and position as a role model for young women worldwide. But a handshake and a smile/grimace, handing off flowers to an ill paid aide and making small talk…!!
Why would Anne care?
I doubt Anne would care, MA. This is a logical progression and what should have happened when W&K married.
@JadeBrit….what you are saying is ridiculous. You should try being a member of the RF and people scrutinising every centimetre of you 24/7. I know how l feel if l have to do a public presentation just once a month. They do not have an easy job they have to be nice and polite all the time and try to show interest in the same mostly boring stuff and people over and over again, with camera lenses trained on them.
Many of them do a lot work in private and behind the scenes, networking and raising donations. Not to talk of overseeing their estates. Not talk of managing staff. Having an army of servants and bodyguards is usually a huge nuisance, something that people who have never had staff or bodyguards to manage would never know. I can tell you it can be absolutely awful and makes one long for freedom.
It was never meant to be a promotion, it’s a realignment for the Sussexes as they begin establishing their long term roles in support of the monarch. Having a staff that is loyal to them alone is an added bonus.
The other story in this split is that Will & Kate can no longer lean on Harry for their benefit. Good or bad, everything that comes out KP is now all on the Cambridges.
Spot on Bren.
Well said.
I think this is great for The Sussex’s.
Are Ann and Andrew working from Buckingham palace???
Yes, all the Queen’s kids except Charles work from BP.
Completely agree with this take. I know a lot of the H&M die-hards want to set this up as some great win for them but actually I think it’s just a completely normal step in the process of setting up the next monarch and PoW. Harry will have the same as any other royal not in line for the throne (albeit a more popular one with a very popular wife.)
Honestly it doesn’t really matter – I just want the young royals to display a strong work ethic (which Meghan already seems to but all of the other three really need to work on).
This is no demotion, no matter what die hard W&K fans want to pretend. With this move, we’re seeing both the Queen and Charles freeing Harry and Meghan from William’s control. It is both a logical move, given the Queen’s current age, but also one couched in the knowledge of William and his temperament. And after they’ve watched KP fail to protect Harry and Meghan for the past two years.
This is a good move for Harry and Meghan, but not a good look for William and Kate.
Well said , notsugarhere.
@notasugar Why on earth would it not be a good look for W&K? It’s not a bad look for either the Cambridges or the Sussexes – it’s just a totally normal step as the monarchy transitions into its next phase. All of the Queen’s children (not in line to the throne) are under BP so makes sense for Harry to be there (or under CH with his father Charles).
Also I never said it was a demotion for anyone which you would see from my original comment if you weren’t so busy being unecessarily defensive…
Sorry, but all of the negative Meghan stories STARTED with that Jobson biography, which Charles sanctioned and used to put both of his sons on blast and increase the shine on himself. The queen’s BP courtiers were leaking like a sieve at that point too (the atomizer story about the church came from them, among others). The idea that with this move the Queen and Charles, the latter of whom regularly throws his children under any available bus because he’s incredibly insecure about the fact that no one really likes him, are somehow protecting Harry and Meghan from those old meanies William and Kate is just laughable.
William has wanted to be independent from the rest of the royal machine for years. Dragged his brother away with him, but that situation is now being rectified. William wants to fly solo? Good luck to him. The rest of the royals will sit back and watch him sink and ultimately learn his lesson. No more residual shine from the work of the Sussexes to distract from the lack of work from W&K.
Not a sugar? You are totally misreading this through your sugar coated glasses. M&H will have ONE employee they have to share w the Queen. The queen’s Comm Director has final say on all of their PR. This is putting H&M where they belong, with the others siblings of heirs. Not an insult, but their logical place, in support of the heir. Any other read is so sugary as to be silly.
Again, no. They will have a full set of Household/office staff, including comms director, private secretaries, all of it funded jointly by the Queen and Charles. Anne, Andrew, Edward, they all have similar set-ups. Moving them to BP puts things in line for Charles as king, which may happen tomorrow or in 5 years. It also puts them under the direct protection of BP instead of the inept William-centric staff at KP.
@Lolo….quite true and l was able to give that Jobson a piece of my mind to his face. 😊
Maybe it’s not a promotion. But it’s definitely not a demotion. I find it bizarre that some people are pushing this narrative that it’s a punishment.
I’m happy about this news and happy for Harry and Meghan and their soonto be born child. They need some time for calm and out fo the spotlight. Harry is not ever going on the throne. Meghan has been treated horribly by the press. This should calm things down I hope, for all their sakes.
I think of them as a family, especially since The Crown tv series. Remembering how other family members suffered … it’s been heartbreaking. I know these people are rich but the public and everyone is better for it if they’re all happy and a supportive family, rather than constant divisiveness. If they’re happy, they’re more effective in public service and there are wee kids involved again. William and Harry AND Meghan all had difficult parental and family experiences, and I don’t imagine any of them want to repeat that for their kids.
This is incredible news. Yay! The news release wording was interesting to me – plan to separate has been in motion since the wedding and moving to BP has the full support of both the queen and Charles.
And the fact that they are completely leaving KP AND not taking ANY staff? This reinforces my belief that the Cambridges/their staff were leading the leaks and smear campaign after that first hugely successful tour.
I can’t wait to see everything in action with separate SM accounts and reporting on engagements, etc. I’ll be curious to see how many followers KP loses once the Sussex SM is active.
My hope for the Royal Foundation is that the Cambridges take over that and the Sussexes take over the Prince’s Trust from Charles. I know the rumor was that neither son wanted it, but maybe now that Meghan is on the scene Harry can reconsider and they can build on its success while expanding it for their own interests.
It’s the best news on an otherwise sad day.
Tragic.
@KittyCat There are no words, KittyCat. No words at all. Some events are so profoundly traumatic that they break the boundaries of language, imagination, and leave only a dreadful and echoing silence.
Yes , it’s excellent news.
Agreed. William should be happy about this move. He is free to run KP without any pushback (plus with with ever so keen Jason having his back)…and he’ll probably need extra support from BP and CH when he/KP screws up again. It’ll be very interesting to see how KP’s level of (in)competence shapes up this year.
Yep. The problems were clearly coming from the Cambridges’ shady staffers.
I don’t know how much I buy into the theory that the Cambridges were behind it. I mean, it’s plausible but not sure…
But at the very least, this shows a few things. They had no confidence in any KP staff and/or there’s no KP staff they felt close enough with to take with them or who wanted to go with them. Very telling where the loyalties lied …as it should, William being the heir I suppose…but seeing as how that was the reality, it still was unfortunate for them.
My understanding is that Charles wants stay in Clarence House once he is King, and instead use BP for work only. That means that as POW William will stay in KP. It doesn’t make sense for William and his whole family to share KP with Harry and his whole family. I think William and later George will use KP as POW. Harry and Meghan are now building their own path away from KP and BP makes sense.
H&M will have the full support of BP but it’s also significant that instead of just using the existing BP press ppl, they are being allowed to build their own office from the ground up.
He can’t. The Queen didn’t want to live at Buckingham either when she became Queen and the government was like too bad so sad and they moved.
I doubt he can keep Clarence House either. The government granted almost 400 million to rehab Buckingham Palace. They’re not doing that to let Charles stay elsewhere. I could see him moving to Windsor 4 days a week and 3 at BP.
They have too many buildings, they need to pare down. Clarence House will be turned into offices or staff accommodation like SJP. Once Anne and Alexandra retire, that means SJP will be all offices and staff accommodations. The Kents, P&P of Kent, Gloucesters – once they’re gone there’s only W&K and Eugenie at Kensington Palace. It only makes sense to rent out those spaces or use them as office space. If he’s really slimming down the monarchy, that means slimming down their building use too.
Charles has stated he is moving his court to Windsor when he becomes king. He plans to keep Clarence House as his London residence, and use BP as office space and social functions. That’s why the Sussex move is so important. They are moving to the future monarch’s court.
He might want to stay at Clarence House, but he doesn’t get the final say over that. He might be able to push for staying mostly at Windsor, but an expensive, standalone residence like Clarence House has to be on the elimination list.
I am still interested in whether Harry and Meghan will have a base at KP. Windsor may not be far from London but it is far enough and but in makes no sense for them to keep going backwards and forwards. Frogmore their country residence, and they need a London base not just for events they attend in London but they also need space and rooms for meetings, a place to hold receptions, especially with their big Commonwealth role. They may use BP but l don’t see why using KP should be out of bounds after the split.
This is the correct take. The move/split for logistical and practical reasons first and foremost. But the added wrinkle is the separate household, with additional staff, not to mention very impressive/heavy hitters on their staff.
What nonsense, Mayrose. The new Monarch will move into BP, whether he likes it or not. That is what is expected of him. And that’s what he will do. Should he require ‘persuading’, the Government will make it clear to him. I’m sure he’s learned the lesson of what happened to king Charles I.
Does this mean their Twitter/Insta will go under the overall TheRoyalFamily handle instead of the KP one?
Omid reported on twitter that the SM will separate “later this year” and the Sussexes would have their own (not under the RF one). I really hope it happens with the birth of the Sussex baby as the first post. So….in the next month or so.
They haven’t decided yet according to the RRs. They will decide once their new press secretary is in place. I don’t see why they can’t have their own independent from the @royalfamily one. Andrew has his own and I think we can all agree that H&M are infinitely more popular and their work will only grow and expand in the future. It makes sense to have their own since the @royalfamily is busy enough covering QE and all the other royals.
Andrew does what he wants anyways regardless bc he’s the Queens favorite. But you make a point of presidence. I bet they will have their own. Why hire a high power PR lady and have to fight with QEII, Charles, Anne, Cambs, Wessex, York, Glousters, Kents for latest post on TRF sites?
I wonder if Meghan will post more directly and make little videos similar to Carl Philip/Sofia of Sweden?
I’d trust Omid over the other RR. He has the inside scoop and doesn’t do baseless rumors.
OMid actually got detailed information from the Palace. It’s in his thread.
Several reporters didn’t get all the details he got and basically were once again playing catch up.
I think they should too. The RoyalFamily accounts are for all the royals too. And with how H&M clearly want to modernize their social media strategy, they would just clog up the RF feed.
For the people saying they will now be under control of the Queen whose control do you think they have been under? It’s a monarchy, she has always been in charge. This removes any influence from William in the affairs until he is king. The Queen has already given Harry and Meghan their Commonwealth roles. The Royal Family social media has highlighted more of Meghan’s work than the Kennsington Palace has. The Queen hasn’t been the issue.
Yes! This a million times.
Actually, Will, Kate, Harry and Meghan were under Charles’ control. He was using money from the Duchy of Cornwall to fund it their office. That’s why Clarence House is allowed to play nasty PR games and KP is allowed to be incompetent. It’s interesting to me that Charles put his foot down not long ago and said the KP press office wouldn’t receive additional money to fund the separate offices and they would have to make due. Harry and Meghan’s office moving to BP means they will be funded out of the sovereign grant. Direct tax payer money instead of money that isn’t properly taxed.
Actually, the new household is co-funded by Prince Charles and the Queen.
Lexa is correct
Harry and Meghan are not entitled to a single penny from the Sovereign Grant, which is why Charles will continue to fund them/their office.
The Duchy of Cornwall money is intended to fund the activities of the Prince of Wales only, NOT his sons’ households, both of which should be funded from the Sovereign Grant. Charles fudges it by placing their expenses – some £4+ million pa – under his general household expenses. No details.
Yes Chrome. The Sovereign Grant is to fund the work of the monarch, including the work anyone does in the support of the monarch. Everyone except Charles/Camilla should funded out of the SG not the Duchy of Cornwall.
She worked for a English politician also, still concern?
I’m pretty sure she worked with Blair. Who is deeply unpopular.
She worked for Tesss Jowell when she was Culture Secretary during the time of the Olympic bid
As for the stuff about her working for the Clintons and Obama what she was actually was Podesta’s right hand .She was the one who initially raised the alarm about the dodgy e-mail that turned out to be where the hack into Podesta’s gmail originated
No one is going to care. She didn’t make political decisions just did PR.
Agree. Who she worked for won’t matter, just like it doesn’t matter that Christian Jones worked for a Brexit/conservative politician.
It’s more like she’s been hired for damage control…..hired by bill Clinton with the whole sexual harassment rumors…..I can’t imagine. Never helped Hillary’s image. You can hire all the pr’s you want….but you can’t change people opinion.
I love how this was presented to the public, with the Queen and Charles’s approval.
Sara Latham worked for the Clintons and, I think, the Obama’s as well.
I love this news, so many of us here have suggested this…
Yes, she worked for President Obama in 2008 and for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Also Bill Clinton and Tony Blair
Sarah has an impressive resume. She’s worked for 2 presidents, a Secretary of State and a Prime Minister, easily some of the most powerful people on this planet, yet some on this board are trying desperately hard to diminish her accomplishments and her hiring. I wonder why?
She also worked for Tony Blair, who is possibly the least popular person in the UK.
This is great. Buckingham Palce is much more professional than Kensington Palace. Now I need the Sussex page on twitter and IG
I love the Buckingham Palace Twitter site and The Clarence House Twitter site. Both are much more professionally done than KP site.
MM AND HARRY LOOKING FANTASTIC LEADING UP TO SUSSEX BIRTH. Harry looks best when he keeps his hair and beard grooming well clipped…..you know a while back during his bachelor days ie: Harry scraggly look…..the hair and beard was really quite messy…anyway i showed the messy Harry photo to a tween and response from tween “he looks like a wolf.” 😊
But they are not taking the new advisor either…the one Meghan had a meeting with at the pub?
Nope. He is the Cambridges’ new head of Communications, since Jason was promoted
No Christian Jones is staying at KP and getting a promotion, he will be the Press Secretary. He is replacing Jason Knauf who will now be an “adviser” instead.
Harry and Meghan will hire their own brand new staff. Their first hire is Sara Latham and she will be their Press Secretary.
Anyone else think it’s interesting that Christian Jones is a Brexiter while Sara Latham worked for Obama and the Clintons?
I’d guess that Meghan is pretty ant-Brexit. I can’t say I am surprised that their PR person has an Obama connection. They are friendly with Harry and Would be in a good place to offer advice on how to handle the racism.
This makes sense. Only the heirs should have their own office. Harry knows that he and his family will fade into the limelight as he gets older and maybe that’s what he wants anyway. I will continue to cheer for the Sussexes and I think they may be able to achieve more with the Queen’s staff behind them. I’m really sick of the personal attacks on Meghan and I really hope this will bring her some ‘protection’ as she grows comfortable in her role and does more bread and butter events. Let’s see what happens.
Andrew and Anne have their own staff as the Sussexes will with this change.
What is different is that they don’t have to deal with the Cambridges or their egos any longer. Plus they don’t have staffs with divided loyalties
Harry and Meghan will have their own office/household, as clearly stated in the press release from BP.
…and they will never fade into the background.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have looked tired lately, haggard. Perhaps under pressure because something is afoot? (And it’s not the D and D of Sussex.)
Probably stressed because they had to actually work.
That is true.
Since Charles was named by the Queen as her successor for real, they have been working more come to think of it. Also, I think they got a lot of goodwill while Harry was close to them – from the public and the Queen. Harry was doing a lot of work but they weren’t really, yet they were benefitting while slacking.
With Charles more in charge now, and if William has issues with Charles and if Kate has interfered with Charles being close to their kids… I imagine, since Meghan like Charles, Meghan has more clout than anyone expected. Maybe that’s why William got upset with Meghan and Harry…. shoot. That’s not good. Not her fault but man, this IS a tough adjustment then for Will and Kate.
Now remembering Diana and why we are all still dealing with this divisiveness today… healing takes a very long time when that much pain was caused. All because of royal protocols. That’s all I keep thinking about when issues arise in the press about them all. It’s very sad.
I love how some of the comments are desperately trying to spin this as a “demotion” to “keep the Sussexes in their place”. Uh, no.
This is excellent news for for Harry and Meghan because Buckingham is infinitely more competent and professional at running things than Kensington ever was. This is a natural progression and quite frankly EVERY member of the royal family should be under the ‘jurisdiction’ of Buckingham. They even tried to unite everyone several years ago but Charles was insistent on keeping his own household and I imagine William was similar.
But what I find really interesting here is the fact that Kensington Palace initially insisted that the Sussexes would still be handled by them even after getting their own offices. Combined with the other fact that NO KP staff are going to Buckingham with them tells me that something probably did happen. Sorry to those who still think it’s impossible, but this just convinced me even more that KP was behind at least some of the smear campaign.
Yeah, this is clearly evidence that the Cambridges were behind the smear campaign which also explains the frosty relationship between William and Harry now.
Prince Charles is the longest Prince of Wales in history and has so many organizations developed since he was in his 20’s. I really can see why he wanted his own Office and or Court.
He worked hard for the past 40 plus years , well 50years. I also think in doing so, it has allowed him to prove himself as a solid force as Prince of Wales and future Monarch.
William on the other hand, has yet to prove that he will work hard, as an heir or for the Monarchy. I think him wanting his own Office and or Court is for different reasons, but I don’t begrudge either for wanting it.
See, I can understand that, especially with all of the work Charles has done, but I’m still of two minds on the issue of separate courts vs. streamlining. And yes, William has said numerous times that he wants to be a different type of PoW. Having KP allows for him to distinguish himself from Charles as he pleases. I must say, he certainly is proving how very different KP and CH are…perhaps not in the way he wanted.
I prefer Charles. He has worked hard but whiny William doesn’t see any value in that apparently? I don’t know what to believe anymore really.
I do hope Harry and Meghan build their own family lives separate, financially especially, from the rest. Because the closer time gets to Will being King, the worse it will get for them. I’d rather they be away and happy. Second home in Canada or something. Completely separate ventures too.
There was no benefit KP had in being part of a smear campaign. Clarence house (yes, Charles) and Buckingham Palace (like the Yorks who are based there) are equally, if not more likely than KP for being responsible for a ‘smear camapign.’ Infact KP were biased towards Harry instead of William at times, so this change is maybe more beneficial for Wills than it is for Harry. This is in no way a promotion for Harry.
Yeah, I’m not sure why people are thinking the smears are going to stop. Most of the initial stories that leaked about Meghan and Harry came from/were attributed to BP and CH staff, not KP, and were castoffs from the Jobson book on Charles. I think it’s a good thing they’ll have the weight of BP behind them as they respond to stories, but I also worry that this means, overall, less freedom to do their own thing because they’re under a very watchful eye, have to report in to the head of communications at BP (something they didn’t have to do at KP), they’re sharing some of BP’s communications staff versus hiring 100% of their own people, AND it sounds like their overall comms team might be smaller.
On the other hand, it could mean better strategy and response, and it means a relatively fresh start. It feels like a fair compromise, and, per Rebecca English, it sounds like they’d been talking about moving Prince Harry to BP last year but it got delayed because of the wedding. I hope it works out for everyone.
There was complete benefit to Cambridges being behind smear campaign. The Sussexes had a wildly successful tour that was longer and with more events than anything the Cambridges have ever gotten. The Sussexes got massive crowds. The Cambridges needed to adjust the narrative so no one was talking about their lazy ways and smaller crowds.
As if the Cambridges have never got bigger crowds before Meghan even turned up @bluthfan ? They also had a hugely successful tour to Norway/Sweden in 2017, which you seem to be forgetting. And that was 6 years on from their wedding. So they have no need to worry about H&M’s succesful tour so early on in their marriage and be behind this ‘smear campaign,’ when it’s just as likely it was anyone else (Harry’s own father being one)
Yes, the Cambridge’s get large crowds. And William wants to keep it that way, and wants to get the largest crowds. William does not want Harry to be more popular than him. That’s a pretty accepted “thing,” even among pro Cambridge RRs.
Re: the smear campaign – of course will and Kate were behind part of it. Not all of it, but part. Any story that came out that made Kate look like the victim? Or made William look like he was just trying to protect Harry? Those were KP. I also think andrew was behind a few of the stories as well.
I was at the Norway tour, the crowds weren’t that great.
Only one day when the entire Norwegian Royal Family appeared with them, was there a bit more of a crowd, but definately not on the same level as Pr.Harry and Meghans Aussie, NZ tour.
You have no proof that the Cambridges were behind any of the smear campaign, it is just claptrap. This is like all those crazy theories from Tumblr! If we are to believe this narrative then the same must equally be true that Harry & Meghan were behind the negative stories that labelled William as difficult, short-tempered and that Kate was unwelcoming to Meghan.
They didn’t get big crowds in Australia . Most people weren’t interested
The staff at KP allowed horrible comments about Meghan on their official channel, but immediately deleted negative comments about William. It was obvious and damaging to the monarchy as a whole that the KP staff openly allowed that bullying, while William was out pretending to care about cyberbullying. William may have wanted his brother to stay under his thumb, but the Queen and Charles saw the damage and made this positive move.
The Queen and Charles are literally just moving H&M from one place to another. They still have to share their place with someone, whether W&K or anyone else. All that has changed is who’s part of their team.
Yet that is apparently some some ‘positive move,’ when in comparison it’s like W&K have gained a lot. The Cambridge’s are finally by themselves and the team can focus on JUST them for the first time ever, so if anything TQ and Charles must have thought of this working out well for the Cambridges. There is no proof that anyone throught this a great move for H&M when all the lesser working royals are also under BP.
They’ve moving them to BP with their own separate staff/office/household. Away from the failing staff at KP who had loyalty to William and against Harry and Meghan. This is nothing but a positive move for the Sussex Household, to be aligned with BP. And to be aligned with BP against the inept staff at KP.
William has always wanted to run his own show, but now he doesn’t get to take Harry and Meghan down with his ship. The royals are going to kick back and watch William finally learn his lessons.
Meghan sounded very disdainful about social media when she was asked abt twitter during the Panel for Womens day. She said she prefers reading the economist. Why do you guys think she will care to have her own SM acct given that she considers it beneath her?
That is not what she said.
Amazing news. It shows that the Queen and Charles recognize how formidable H&M are. Despite being the mere sixth in line, they can’t deny the increased attention and popularity H&M brought to the entire family.
Part of this was inevitable regardless of popularity, following in the footsteps of Anne, Edward, Andrew. But what’s interesting is the creation of a new household and not just folding H&M into an existing one. And the Queen and Charles are both footing the bill of the “insignificant sixth in line” for it. The hire of Latham is HUGE. Her resume is impressive, especially compared to anyone at KP. Someone who worked for Clinton and Obama isn’t just joining to keep the status quo of the antiquated BRF PR strategy. It signals a fresh shift.
Also note how none of the KP people are going with them… interesting. You could reading into that different meanings.
“Amazing news. It shows that the Queen and Charles recognize how formidable H&M are”
Not really, when all the other “minor” royals have all their own staff while sharing the same office space,as M&H will do. They also realistically needed to hire someone else because their close collaborators are leaving in any case. It’s not about Charles and the Queen gifting them with additiinal staff because they are special..
And if they made a point that this split is being approved by Charles and the Queen and being funded by the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall,whether it’s true or not,it’s simply because they didn’t want speculation about who is paying for the additional staff at BP for the 6th in line to the throne. The optics are already bad.
As I already pointed out in my post, if that were the case they’d just have them folded under a shared press secretary with one of the others, the same way Harry was folded under Jason whose boss was really William. They just made a big time hire, someone who’s more impressive than KP staff combined. Someone who’s worked for presidents and politicians doesn’t join “minor royals,” especially if the intention isn’t to carve out a special role or strategy. The Queen and Charles just carved out a separate household for them specifically and cut into their own budgets to accommodate this new royal household–instead of having one of their usual people handle them.
And Harry and Meghan are clearly not minor royals. They’re senior royals as son and daughter-in-law to the heir. The same way that Charlotte won’t be a minor royal until George’s kids are adults. But hey, whatever makes you feel better.
@Ma There’s no reason why they should have been folded under a shared press secretary with one of the others,when everyone else has their own dedicated staff.
It made sense for Harry to be folded under JK when he wasn’t “working” full time,and even after marrying,they were given their own assistants,secretary,and I think Christian Jones was recently hired for them,to help JK.
What you say about having “one of their usual people” handling them also makes little sense. I don’t think they have staff waiting around doing nothing just in case there’s someone who needs them.. These people probably are already underpaid for what they do,and I don’t see why they should handle multiple royals.
“They just made a big time hire, someone who’s more impressive than KP staff combined. Someone who’s worked for presidents and politicians doesn’t join “minor royals”,especially if the intention isn’t to carve out a special role or strategy.
It really depends on what she has on her plate right now. I doubt they went to great lenghts to find her. And they don’t need any strategy. None of these people is preparing an electoral campaign. She’s just going to work as their press secretary under another press secretary. Nothing more.
Also,I don’t understand why the KP staff’s professionalism must be put in question,unless you know exactly the background of every single member. Am I wrong,or it was rumored that Christian Jones who, apparently,is now one of the untrustworthy and not professional aides,was actually chosen by Meghan?
“The Queen and Charles just carved out a separate household for them specifically and cut into their own budgets to accommodate this new royal household”
Please. Nobody is “cutting their budget” because they have plenty of money coming from the duchies to spend.. And that’s the point. They need to make it clear that they’re not taking money from the Sovereign Grant to pay for this split,because they know it wouldn’t be acceptable.
Charles is already paying for the KP staff,and actually it would have been more significant if they had stayed at KP because that would have put them on the same level as the Cambridges,with the same level of autonomy.
Harry is a minor royal,as far as order of precedence,line of succession are concerned. Obviously,they’re not on the same level as Andrew and Edward when it comes to visibility,interest. Nobody can deny that. But even this level of attention will inevitably change in the future.
As discussed above, everyone except Charles/Camilla are technically supposed to be funded out of the Sovereign Grant. The Queen and Charles both supporting this new office financially shows they both support the move personally behind the scenes.
@V – I’m not sure but it seems like my comments are bothering you a lot? I think this move is about practicalities of dealing with the inevitable succession, but also the way it was done shows the importance of H&M and signals a change in approach coming in the future. I also think that Latham’s a formidable hire. You’re free to disagree *shrug*
@Ma I’m not bothered at all. I agree with you that it’s a natural transition. I just don’t see any reason to overstate things when,again,it’s a natural transition that doesn’t give them any special treatment compared to what the other working royas based at BP are getting.
@notasugarhere Charles is also paying for the KP staff and has started to fund that household when both William and Harry were not supposed to have any separate court. So yes,having now the Sovereign Grant to fund a split between the youngest royals because they don’t want to share the same space would be absolutely bad in terms of optics.
No, the same amount of staff would have been required regardless. Harry was always going to have his own separate Household, like all the other working royals. This move should have been made back when W&K married, but was going to be made. Technically only Charles and Camilla should be funded out of The Duchy, and W&K should be funded by the Sovereign Grant. I expect this change is only temporary and by next fiscal year the Sussex household will be funded fully out of the Sovereign Grant.
“Amazing news. It shows that the Queen and Charles recognize how formidable H&M are”
Not really, when all the other “minor” royals have all their own staff while sharing the same office space,as M&H will do. They also realistically needed to hire someone else because their close collaborators are leaving in any case. It’s not about Charles and the Queen gifting them with additiinal staff because they are special..
And if they made a point that this split is being approved by Charles and the Queen and being funded by the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall,whether it’s true or not,it’s simply because they didn’t want speculation about who is paying for the additional staff at BP for the 6th in line to the throne. The optics are already bad.
Yes, the creation of separate household, office, staff is significant. The Queen and Charles are paying for them to have a separate team apart from any other royals. They’ve seen the incompetence of the existing KP staff, and Harry and Meghan shining in spite of it. They know the importance of Harry and Meghan to The Firm, as this move shows.
Thanks Nota. The V person seems rabid in comments.
Yes, are they another newish arrival? With that whole RoyalDish shut down, I guess they had to go somewhere.
@notasugarhere – RoyalDish was shut down?? or did they just shut down their Meghan threads again like last time when it spiraled to out of control racism?
Rabid?! The tone of my comment was perfectly balanced and polite. Expressing a different opinion,respectfully,is not being “rabid”.
“They’ve seen the incompetence of the existing KP staff, and Harry and Meghan shining in spite of it. They know the importance of Harry and Meghan to The Firm, as this move shows.”
This is your personal interpretation based on your personal biased agenda,to use an euphemism. I mean.. “the royals are going to kick back and watch William finally learn his lessons”.
The fact that I’m the one who is being accused of being rabid,when I literally saw accusations of using a mother’s death for personal PR is almost comical.
MA, RoyalDish shut down all discussion of Harry and Meghan last week. The owners gave up, deleted the threads, and banned any mention of Harry and Meghan anywhere on the site. We’ll see if it lasts, or as you wrote, if they reopen them like last time. That means there will be plenty of new people on here, trying to turn CB into a rabid anti-Meghan site like RoyalDish and tumblr. So be on the lookout for new posters with a clear agenda.
William has used Diana for PR for years. That’s a known, a given, for anyone who pays attention.
@Notasugar please tell me those lunatics won’t be migrating over here. As it is, I’ve had a nut job following me all over this site for a month now, insisting that I’m lying about owning the same coat as Meghan because it doesn’t fit in with her ‘Meghan is a wasteful spendthrift and Kate is a perfect English rose’ fan fiction. I was perfectly happy for the racist trash to have a spot on the internet far away from decent people.
They might find refuge on RoyalGossip or tumblr, but be on the watch for new names who are vehemently anti-Meghan.
WTF with their coat obsession? Many of Meghan’s clothes, especially pre-Harry, are affordable. Nothing strange in being able to buy one of her coats yourself.
@notasugarhere – thanks for the info. I’m thinking maybe it’s because the hate got out of hand from a legal or image perspective, and not out of the goodness of their hearts, because the owner used to join in as well. I wonder if it’ll last? Meghan drove a LOT of traffic to them, they’ll be losing out on that $$$. I used to frequent there a while back when it seemed an equal mix of haters/sugar/neutrals but got sick of the toxicity and hypocrisy when it came to Meghan (same with royal forums, fug girls). All of these places started out kind of okay with her? Like there were haters but there were a lot of fans too. But the haters started to overwhelm and you could just tell you were dealing in really white spaces that were out of their depth in dealing with issues like race and xenophobia, and thus unable to provide a useful perspective on Meghan.
They’re psychotic about portraying Meghan as this crazy spendthrift. I’m a few years younger than Meghan, but we share a shopping philosophy- high quality neutrals that fit in with your wardrobe and ‘shopping your closet’. The DM had misreported the cost and the season of the tan Oscar De La Renta trench she wore (shocking). They said it retailed for some stupid amount, when it originally retailed for about half what they said. It’s a coat from 2 falls ago, it’s likely she got it on sale like I did, both the outnet and farfetch had it for about $1000. This one lunatic swore up and down that it was from this season, even though this season’s version only comes in yellow- and has followed me around this site calling me out every time I make a comment that is critical of Kate. The Kate stans are insane. She’s their perfect white, fragile, future queen (consort) with perfect taste and nothing will dissuade them from that hilarious caricature.
Even on this post- the Queen and Charles pulling them under BP and hiring a PR chief with high level experience on both sides of the pond shows that they are reaching out to protect Harry and Meghan from (1) the rabid, racist public and (2) whatever inept smear campaigns the halfwit Cambridges dream up.
The mods on RD were completely out of their depth. They didn’t recognize the microaggressions or the outright racism. When someone called them out on it, they panicked and shut the thread. When it re-opened, they let it be a free-for-all.
Meghan and Harry did drive a lot of their traffic from a certain crowd. If the thread stays closed, that crowd will find somewhere else. That closure might take lead RD back to being a more balanced, interesting place.
AhoyOy, you’re right, if you know what you’re doing you can purchase high-quality classics at good prices. Just time it well, pay attention, and pick things that don’t go out of style quickly. It sounds like that person was an ardent DF and tumblr follower.
Agree, Nota, I wandered over there a couple of times so that I could follow Meghan’s Australasia tour fashion and I swear, if I read ‘we’re not going to host a discussion about racism’ after someone tried to gently explain how racist the posters were being, I was going to scream. I haven’t been back there since. Lunatics. The lot of them.
I find the timing of this shakeup very interesting. For weeks after the Sussex’ tour there was a torrent of press and social media abuse directed toward Meghan. For weeks we had to sit and watch all this s**t being slung at her, then last month an article in People magazine where friends, not the RF, speak out on her behalf. Then Bey and Jay make their acceptance speech into a tribute to Meghan. The beyhive are put on high alert. Other media outlets such as CBC in my country and CNN run segments about the racial and sexist abuse of Meghan. The world is beginning to take note of this.
Did Charles finally clue in to how bad that was for Meghan and the RF brand? Did he finally realize how utterly badly KP handled this sorry mess? Is this an intervention to try and better handle the situation? Maybe…
It all looked so, so bad Mego. The majority of the Commonwealth is in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. All you ever hear is how important the Commonwealth is to the Queen, how much she wanted to ensure Charles would be the next head, blah blah blah. Well, what can citizens of those countries be thinking when they see that the BRF isn’t even othering to clean up racist attacks against a WOC on their SM pages? SMH.
I don’t think the RF knew the kind of media power that Meghan was bringing with her. I bet KP was completely surprised by how Meghan outmaneuvered them. First was the hand-written letter to her father–genius move. Then, G. Clooney pops up in the press to slag the press for their coverage. And then the American media moves in to shame the British tabs for their racist/sexist coverage, her friends go to one of the largest gossip magazines to spill their tea, and now the official break from KP coming in the future. It was a well thought out plan, to be sure. Weeks of nothing from the White Markles–I mean, these are power player moves. Blow the dust off your playbooks Brit tabs, because the game has changed.
+1 Africa Twitter was pissed off and noticing the rabid and hateful attacks.
@Ma
What the hell is Africa Twitter? Africa is a continent with 54 countries. I am Nigerian and I do not know what you mean by African Twitter.
@Linda – I’m sorry if I was being too glib but I thought it was a thing. I realize that Africa is not one homogenous country but in fact a large continent made up of a multitude of diverse countries and ethnic groups within those countries. I meant to use it in the way “Black Twitter” is referenced, at least here in the U.S., for what is usually African American Twitter accounts that are a microcosm in itself though not made up of homogenous voices. Here I meant that I saw various twitter people from various African countries taking notice of and joining in on the discussion regarding Meghan and her treatment. Maybe I should’ve said “Africa” Twitter instead to make my point of the similarities with Black Twitter. I meant no offense.
This isn’t really about Charles wanting to separate them from the other two because M&H deserve much better.. In some ways it’s the opposite.
This is clearly positioning Harry as the same level as Anne,Andrew and Edward who share the same office space but have their own staff that report directly to the Queen’s communication staff.
If I’m not wrong William has an independant office,like Charles.
Actually,the first reports about splitting the existing staff weren’t very realistic because there wasn’t much staff to split in the first place considering that those who were working exclusively with them are going to leave. They needed to hire someone else in any case.
The press release clearly states they are getting a separate household, office, staff. They aren’t combining with anyone else, they’ll be separate but protected by BP. Staff for those royals (Anne, Edward, Andrew) are all physically housed in difference places, particularly with the renovations starting at BP. Edward and Sophie’s household staff are in a wing at Bagshot Park.
It does not say that. It states they will have a staff of one, who also will work for the Queen. The “staff” will report to the Queen’s top Comm person. You’ll see.
Nope. Sara is just the first of many hires, but they’re getting their own separate Household/office and multiple support staff like private secretaries. No surprise, as Anne, Andrew, Edward all have their own households and staff too.
@Antonella – They’re getting their own separate “royal household.” Not just one person.
The press release states Harry has his own private office (private secretary and assistants), which has been supporting Meghan since their engagement. The queen gave permission to base their household at BP. The newly formed household includes their private office and the person hired to head up their communications. A new private secretary has to be hired to replace Samantha Cohen and Meghan needs to replace Amy as an assistant. These new hirings are expected after the birth of baby Sussex this spring.
Where did I say they will not get separate staff? They already have their own assistants and secretary. I simply said they will get their own staff that reports to the Queen’s press secretary,like every other working royal based at BP,but they will share the same office space,which doesn’t mean the same room… It means they will not have the same autonomy they had at KP.
Now only W&K will have to deal with the inept staff at KP. Harry and Meghan will have autonomy and the backing of BP to combat trolls. They will have a separate Household with separate offices. That’s how it work. Not all staff are housed in space at BP especially with the 10 year revamp. Some are at SJP, Sophie and Edward’s are at Bagshot Park.
Goodness this simple, logical change has the W&K fans terribly upset. In a few years time, there will be six working royals. That’s it. Nothing minor about being 33 percent of the team and being tasked with being the leads in the Commonwealth. Moving Harry and Meghan to the BP brand is a logical progression. It should have been done years ago when W&K married.
“Now only W&K will have to deal with the inept staff at KP. Harry and Meghan will have autonomy and the backing of BP to combat trolls”
If you say so.. Probably the queen in person is already selecting an entire team of highly-skilled professionals who will be paid just to combat trolls on instagram and twitter.
I don’t know if this logical change that reflects all their current positions has the Cambridges’ stans upset. In theory they have no reason to be upset.. lol
In my opinion,they would be more upset if H&M remained,even if just temporarily until William becomes PoW,at KP with a completely different staff,with the same level of autonomy.
Terribly upset is right, nota. It has thrown them into a complete tizzy trying to deny there is anything good about this change for M & H, and I am sure someone will be along very shortly to utterly and completely, with many paragraphs, to tell me why.
By the way, I added your ‘nota’ to my dictionary today. I’ve been staring at that little red line under your name for a couple of years now. Also by the way, does it bother you to be called nota? If it does I owe you many an apology.
I like nicknames LadyD!
Good to know, nota:)
Harry has always been very popular and always will be. He’s Diana son who is attractive, charming, dedicated and a bit fractured, things many women love in a man. Charles becoming King and William POW will not stop the draw folks have to Harry. Andrew never had the draw Harry does so in spite of monarchy protocol from the public’s eye comparing Harry and Andrew’s place in the monarchy is comparing apples to oranges. And while Anne and Edward are very respected they have never been as popular as Diana’s children and that’s OK. There’s a place for everyone.
I’m sure the Queen and well as Charles recognize that they need to continue to capitalize Harry’s popularity to keep the public supporting the idea of the monarchy remaining intact for decades to come.
Harry’s popularity has been waning for some time now. We have William with his 3 kids to secure the succession. So he’s not needed for that. He’s also increasingly seen as ungrateful, thanks to his comments about not wanting to be Royal. More and more people are of the view that if that’s what he wants, he should just give up the titles and money and go off somewhere to be a private citizen. We’d respect him more if he had the courage of his convictions.
@Lily Nice try but Harry was JUST polled as the most popular royal, even above the QUEEN.
@lily Sure Jan
Let’s be serious – a lot of that popularity IS tied in to him being the kind of spunky, handsome little brother type guy. His looks aren’t going to last forever – his hairs getting quite thin – though he could possibly look good shaved. Not saying he isn’t also charming and interesting, but a lot of that popularity is definitely tied in to everyone having crushes on him as a teenager.
William is the one who has railed constantly against his role since he was a toddler. William’s 18th birthday interview, interview a couple years after marriage about putting off his royal role as long as possible because he didn’t want it. William and Kate taking huge royal perks and whining about working the whole time.
Harry legally isn’t allowed to leave, as he is a Counselor of State. His popularity is rising, on a global stage, thanks to Invictus Games, WWTW, Sentebale, Atlantic Council’s award for distinguished humanitarian leadership. Now with the Commonwealth duties, he and Meghan are getting even more recognition and responsibilities outside the UK. Because the Queen and Charles see how badly the UK needs the Commonwealth, so they’ve sent out Team Charisma to do the job.
@Erinn – No doubt, also the fact that people love Harry and William because of their affection for Diana. It’ll fade eventually but I don’t understand the need by some (not you) to deny the CURRENT reality which is, Harry is extremely popular and beloved. Why is it so hard for some to accept that there’s something positive about the insignificant sixth in line? No need to make up things
Yes, of course he is. Polls tell you more about the people who commission them than anything else.
I’ve seen a lot of popularity for Harry on SM (which are probably the people who voted in that poll), but never much in real life since a several years. Probably the last huge gossip Harry got was in 2013-ish when he did you-know-what in Las Vegas. Even his own wedding didn’t beat that lol. And yes, it’s also true that he’ll start slipping in popularity anyway as years pass. That’s happened to all royals in the spotlight and Harry will be no exception.
@Alittlesugar – Ah yes, instead of polling conducted using approved methodologies and sampling, let’s go by anecdotal experience of strangers’ circles of 50 people, max.
Too much logic MA 😉
Now that you mention it… Harry won’t wane in popularity unless Meghan wants that to happen. He has done more good work than Andrew et al on public international scale. Meghan has excellent education and skills.
William is the not so great side of his Mom. Harry is the best side of his Mom. In the end, I hope they can heal as brothers and grown beyond all this fractured mess. Kate seems willing and able to assist on that front. I’ve got new regard for her since she reached out to Meghan publicly a few days ago. Fingers crossed for them all.
I doubt any differences between Andrew and Harry will make a difference. Andrew was also hugely popular once upon a time, when he first got married and when his kids were still young. I also doubt if Meghan will be able to apply her ‘education and skills’ in this setting where things have been known to backfire badly. Diana who was considered the best at it had tried, and she ended up with a seperation and divorce. So I wouldn’t wish for Meghan who is still very new to this whole thing to even try.
“William is the not so great side of his Mom. Harry is the best side of his Mom.” – which basically means nothing at all since it’s very hard even now to work out WHAT was the great or bad sides of Diana. It’s been said on here before that neither William/Kate nor Harry/Meghan seem at all like Diana (in good or bad ways), and I agree.
Harry has the best of their parents, William the worst. We’ve seen Meghan is powerfully connected and supported, both inside the royal family and with her outside friends. She’s made for this kind of job and is a great partner to her husband. Their work and reach will continue to grow, regardless of where he fall in the line of succession.
OMG! You are young, aren’t you? Andrew was SO popular when he married Fergie! They were more popular than Charles and Diana! Andrew was handsome, a soldier, fergie was funny and charming. They as a couple were beloved, fergie much more than Meghan- who seems hated by many British.
You are totally incorrect about Andrew!
You are totally incorrect about Meghan. The couple of dozen die-hard (and mostly US) haters do not represent the majority views of the 67 million in the UK.
Yeah andrew was popular. You’re right. Until he started to go down an interesting path. Harry’s not perfect and has done stupid things but nothing he has done will equal the rumors about andrew. I know, I know some of you are hoping harry becomes andrew 2.0 [that was what royaldish was talking about before they banned all talk of harry and meghan right 😉 ] but dont hold your breath. As for meghan not being popular in the uk you better tell those crowds of young people of color who come to see her about that. Guess they didn’t get the memo.
That is exactly what I said @Anton , but apparently that isn’t the right ‘logic.’ I never denied Harry is popular as of now, but in the future that is nothing definite. He will go the same route as the other royals who slipped in popularity at some point in life, just as Andrew did eventhough he was once the most popular out of all the Queen’s children.
Sorry, but we out number you by a good 300 million 🙂
Andrew was popular for a very short time when he was looking for a wife and fought in the gulf war. After the problems with his wife and subsequent behaviour his popularity quickly plummeted. You just cannot compare him to warm and charming Harry, son of St. Diana, whose popularity is in a league of its own.
I remember when Andrew and Fergie became very unpopular, too. They started out well, but were never going to outshine Diana. The press started comparing the ladies and never let Fergie be better than Diana no matter what she did. Some of it was Duchess Sarah’s fault, some of it wasn’t, but it was ugly fast.
W&K PR cleanup on aisle 5. Now there’s a DF article spinning William personally asked Philip’s opinion because he wanted to make sure his little brother would be well cared for at BP. So much BS, so little time.
Ha! Agree, so much BS. Wonder who thought that article up. Jason maybe? Harry wasn’t well cared for by the KP PR team, so the idea of PW being concerned is just absurd.
I found this article interesting in that William is on record saying that his granddad, Prince Philip frequently tries to give him advice which he (William) ignores. Imho, this story was put out solely to benefit William and attempt to make him the loving, caring older brother.
“Seeking wise counsel” yeah right. William does what he wants when he wants. It was a story designed to make William look good and makes it look like Harry suddenly has problems so bad only the wise old King Consort with Williams help, can solve them and save Harry.
The narrative that William is Harry’s guardian and caretaker is really bizarre. First, he’s only a couple years older than him, he didn’t raise him ffs. Harry is also a grown ass man who JOINED THE ARMY and did tours in Afghanistan. He’s in his mid-30s and is doing just fine for himself. The ongoing infantilizing of him needs to stop.
Rereading this post and all the comments – it just seems to me that this is an example of a situation where multiple things can be true.
Harry and Meghan getting their own separate office (separate from William) was a natural step and we all knew it was going to happen. Basing them at BP could be part of a strategy for Charles’s ascension to the throne, it could be to get them out from William’s control and to separate their messages, and it could be to place them closer to the Queen for whatever reason.
But, it IS a significant change when the scuttlebutt for the past months/year has been that Meghan and Harry will have their own staff AT Kensington Palace, and it would still be more or less aligned with the Cambridges. This move in many ways will give H&M more freedom in my mind, because they wont have to align anything with the Cambridges.
People keep harping on the fact that they are “minor royals” except….they’re not. Yes, he’s 6th in line, and that means a lot from a hierarchy perspective, but not from a “working royal” perspective considering the third, fourth and fifth in line are still young children/toddlers/babies. It’s not like George is out there working as a royal. So for all practical purposes, the new age of “major royals” will be Charles/Camilla, Will and Kate and Harry and Meghan. And that will be the make up for Charles’s reign. harry and Meghan aren’t being pushed to a corner here.
I don’t think this move is a promotion necessarily, but I agree with the view that its definitely not a demotion either.
H&M having their own staff and being 6th in line doesn’t change them from being any different from the other working royals (Anne, Andrew/Edward) because they also have their own staff eventhough they are 7-10th in line (Anne even below 10th). All this is doing is putting the Sussex’s down to their level. No doubt Harry and Anne will also be working royals during Charles’s reign, but they won’t be in the spotlight just like Anne/Andrew/Edward aren’t now.
Definitely not a demotion. Lining things up for the reign of Charles while also removing Harry and Meghan from under William’s control. The spin the KP camp are trying to put on it is pathetic. We’ve seen for years how William throws Harry under the bus. He isn’t concerned about Harry, he’s worried that now he and his wife cannot hide under Harry and Meghan’s accomplishments.
A new, separate Household approved by both HM and Charles. We’ll see three decades of Harry and Meghan being 33 percent of the working royals, and HM and Charles are positioning things for them to shine. Harry and Meghan will be in the spotlight for decades.
Well perhaps your meaning of promotion is different. If say for example, H&M have been given a complete seperate office away from everyone (maybe in Frogmore, just like William in KP) then that would show the Queen and Charles trust him and are letting him do it his way. But instead they are taking him into BP where his team have to ‘report’ to the Queen’s secretary. That is treating him enough like the other working royals not in direct line for the throne to be like a demotion. There is also no definite proof that the racist/hateful posts will stop on SM all because of their new team and office, that’s only to be seen in the future.
Nope, no demotion here. Positioning them for the future under BP, getting them out from petulant William. When Charles becomes king, he’ll also move to the BP brand. Gives Harry and Meghan a Household worth of support, funding from both HM and Charles. Key line “permanent support arrangements for the Duke and Duchess’s work are in place”. HM and Charles are making it clear how important Harry and Meghan are to the Firm, so important they are openly protecting them from William and his team at KP. Obvious.
@Becks1 – Agreed – they are absolutely senior royals. Unless the Cambridge fans want George, Charlotte, and Louis to skip college and just go straight to royal duties? I highly doubt they’ll start “royaling” before the age of 30.
H&M are the son and daughter-in-law of the future heir. It’s weird because you never have this many people beside themselves trying to convince everyone that the Wessexes are “minor royals.” I mean, comparatively, they are minor royals. But they still perform a really important role and represent the Queen at important events. I think that this is either a neutral move at worst, a promotion at best. Some of the things that came out of the announcement made me lean towards the latter but the way some of H&M’s detractors are in a tizzy over it make me lean more strongly in that direction. Why are they so up in arms about “minor royals”? They tell on themselves.
@MA – I know, its kind of hilarious in a way, the people falling over themselves to convince others that Harry and Meghan aren’t important and are “minor” etc. If they’re so unimportant, then don’t worry about them.
Don’t all the press secretaries report to Ms Osman at Buckingham? Including Clarence House and Kensington Palaces’ secretaries. If that’s the case it is hardly a demotion. In fact it allows them to shine their own light. Having their own household demonstrates the significance they will have over the next 20 years or so. I am off to unfollow Kensington now!
RoyalBlue, you are making too much sense for the Meghan haters. All this talk of the Sussex PR team having to “report” to TQ’s secretary is ridiculous in the context that KP does not “report” to BP and/or CH. Does anyone honestly believe KP operates on its own, without oversight and direction? That the Cambridges, despite their lack and show of a good work ethic over the years and Jason’s (and Carole’s) shoddy PR strategies, answer to no one? This narrative that the Cams and KP are fully autonomous and independent doesn’t sound anymore convincing than the DDoS are being demoted, no matter how many times it is used to put the DDoS “in their place”. No one but the die-hard Meghan detractors believe that nonsense about a demotion.
Thank you ladies. No way are KP and CH autonomous. It is an organization, and all organizations have an org chart which clearly displays the hierarchy. In this case the sovereign is the boss and all roads lead to her.
This is the same spin the DM seems to be fishing for today. They are spewing the same rhetoric and insinuating H&M will now be under the control of BP as if it were any different from before. They are not sure though, because they made it a point to say that KP and BP have not responded to their questions. Lol.
I don’t know why the DF bothered to contact KP and BP. Even if these offices responded, the DF would’ve put a negative spin on anything they said or wrote if it pertained to Meghan. Regarding the “who reports to who” and the shoddy KP PR team issues, there are some interesting online sources (PoW Annual Review, PR Weekly and Wikipedia, included) that highlight how all of the royal household PR teams are aligned (especially for press releases and press coverage coordination) under TQ’s Director of Royal Communications and how the KP Markle daddy wedding debacle affected the BP communications staff. You just have to search for them, but in no place but the red tops and SM will you find journalists (not RRs) stating the DDoS household transition to BP is a bad move or that it hasn’t been months in the making, thus not “news”.
Which has never been proven. In all these years Clarence House and Kensington Palace have never been said to report to anyone – seems like that’s the new theory here now to justify H&M’s new team having to report. The article/statement makes it sound like whatever staff H&M has till now didn’t have to report to the Queen’s secretary either, but when they make the move to BP they suddenly will have to.
It does allow them to shine, without the W&K-focused team at KP getting in the way and trying to dim their light.