Now that we’re a few weeks past the 48-hour wall-to-wall British Vogue exclusives, I feel like we need to reassess what actually happened with the Duchess of Sussex’s guest-editorship. On the whole, Meghan did a lot of good things – she drew attention to a lot of interesting women doing great work, women who are existing and thriving in spaces which weren’t built for them. Meghan also used her guest-editorship to announce her capsule collection to benefit one of her patronages, Smart Works. Of course there was a lot of criticism, most of it utterly unhinged, but a small portion of it legitimate. But what if we’re missing the bigger picture? What if… Meghan used to the guest-editorship to “claim” certain issues away from the Cambridges?
A week after Meghan’s big British Vogue kerfuffle, the question remains; what was all that about? Meghan’s fans say it was all about promoting her agenda of inclusiveness and diversity, but, churlish though it may be to say it, whatever causes Meghan hoped to promote in the issue were swept aside by the larger controversy.
The Royalist’s suspicion, for what it is worth, is that Meghan and Harry were using the issue to cement their claims to the various bits of territory that will be up for grabs now the joint Royal Foundation of the Fab Four (provide your own hollow laugh here) has officially broken up.
Most critically, Harry has taken full possession of the very fashionable causes of wildlife, conservation and the environment, while Meghan seems to be angling to be the face of mental health awareness, which, officially, both sets of royals will continue to lobby for. This could get messy.
This is… actually an interesting theory, and it’s been the lowkey gossip for months, even before the British Vogue September issue, even before the formal split of the Royal Foundation. Fans of the Cambridges and the Sussex fans all noted that the Sussexes seemed to be happily “encroaching” on charity-territory and issues which the Cambridges seemed to want to claim as their own. Add to that, the Cambridges kept trying to step on the Sussexes’ newscycles with their announcements. That’s already been happening for months, and I imagine that it will get worse in the months and years to come. That being said, it could make for better “work” from both couples – William and Kate will be keen to compete, so they’ll make moves to take over certain issues and then the Sussexes will be like “no, those are OUR issues” and the charities will likely benefit from all that keenness.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, cover courtesy of British Vogue.
Nah. There’s room enough for any charitable issue for both couples, considering how objectively little they do in the scheme of things. Considering the Cambridge’s have done all of NOTHING substantial for any issue, how can they possibly be any territory to encroach upon? Both wildlife and mental health are such broad categories anyway that All of the royals could take on either one, or both, without overlap. This is more shit stirring by the Royal Reporters. It is silly season after all.
Yes there is room for both couples regarding charitable issues but the main problem going forward, which courtiers and royal reporters are well aware of, is that the Sussex approach to charitable endeavours is much more innovative and dynamic, and the engaging personalities of Harry and Meghan will outshine the Cambridges every time. This is the problem.
It is also the reason why a campaign led by the Daily Mail to bring down the Sussexes continues to push ahead. Unfortunately the media know that stories about the Cambridges charitable activities no matter how wonderful are not interesting to people, unless their kids or the Sussexes are somehow inserted or part of the story.
William will definitely be fuming that Meghan has indeed hit the ground running. The detractors, still out of breath and fanning themselves from the groundbreaking Vogue edition, will soon be having convulsions at the prospect of Meghan’s collaboration with M & S to produce a fashion line for charity. I am sure that Meghan has many more ideas bubbling in her head, because she is clever, wants to work and now has an amazing platform to put them into action.
Meanwhile, poor Kate is still waiting for Catherine Quinn to tell her what to do next. Its not her fault, that is the way Kate is. William is well aware of his wife’s deficiencies, and that fact that he lacks the charm and easy warmth of his younger brother.
So, this is the real problem not carving out sections of the charitable world, there is more than enough to go round, the main thing is the impact. William was the first royal, along with the Queen to be cheered by the Grenfell community but he failed to capitalise on it…..if only himself and his wife could have come up with an innovative project.
I have stressed before that William would have benefited more from keeping the Fabulous Four intact, than allowing the Sussexes to break free.
Princessk +100
@PrincessK….BRAVO ASSESSMENT!!!!! Sounds pretty spot on!
@PrincessK interesting. I agree with what you’re saying. It will be interesting to see how things shake out as they move forward.
Whilst Kate has always been rightfully critiqued for being lazy, I have also always got the impression that part of her work-shyness is to keep William happy. I think William does not like to be outshone and in turn Kate has learned to ‘know her place’ and not rock the boat.
However since Meghan’s arrival, Kate’s lack of a defined role has become problem for William. Cue the very blatant attempts for Billy to be seen as more supportive and encouraging. For example, I notice more and more that Kate has recently taken the lead on engagements. Also Billy is now supporting Kate at her engagements that she would usually do solo.
The dynamics have definitely changed. That might in part be due to Billy wanting to atone for Rose, but I think it’s down to their PR people waking the Camb’s up to the modern day.
PrincessK, love the comment that there is certainly enough for both couples to work on. This idea that they are actually viewing human issues as “mine” or “theirs” has me envisioning them as a bunch of spoiled rich entitled toddlers fighting over toys.
The media is doing more harm then good for the Cambridges. And I also agree that Will and Kate don’t spark interest like Harry and Megs. They don’t have charisma. Plus, I’m sure many out there are tired of waiting for the Keen Cambridges to work and stick to a regular work schedule.
I agree with this assessment. Meghan and Harry are really dynamic and know what their strengths are. The wild thing to me, is that Kate could’ve had the same potential, if she wouldn’t have gotten stifled by the RF (or William). I find that Kate shines the most when the events deal with sports and children. While the garden and being outdoors is cute, why not instead steer the whole outdoor thing into sports? In sports-related events, she’s relaxed, animated, at her most natural and do I dare say, her most competitive. Why can’t her people emphasize that? As for William…JFC. He’s well, I don’t even know where he shines. No flavor.
PrincessK…your assessment sounds pretty reasonable, but, maybe it was the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who pushed for the break. After all, Will and Kate had 10 or more years head start on them and practically nothing to show for it. Perhaps they knew they would put in the work and the others would get the accolades. Just my opinion.
It’ll all be fine so long as Meghan doesn’t try to encroach upon the sailing and Wimbledon,Kate and William can keep being *normal*the rest of the time.
PrincessK You totally nailed it. Honestly, the only times I have really liked William is when he’s being a brother to Harry. Harry’s got shine to burn, and I do think that Megan is clever and refreshing and joined the Royal family BECAUSE she wanted to work on big charity projects. William is making a mistake to keep his family out of their light.
@PrincessK———BRAVO
That’s why they smear Meghan…… compared to Meghan, Kate is just so lacking in skills, just so lacking! the two women might as well come from different planets! PW as well, to be fair!
Kate’s limitations are not Meghan’s problems. The woman had been in the family for 8-9 years and was a GF for about 10 years before that! What was she doing in her 20s?
I don’t mind competition especially if charities benefit! If W & K had done anything worth talking about in the past few years, we wouldn’t be here. Everyday, they should thank Harry for marrying a WOC
@Lanne “Silly season” is perfect.
The Royal Foundation has a lot of innovative programming, some of which are Cambridge projects and some are Sussex projects. I don’t think the foundation split will eliminate the incubator work of either foundation.
William and Harry have been active in wildlife conservation for decades. I don’t think either wife can really claim it as her own. I think mental health is equally important to William and Harry and there are plenty of opportunities to go around.
Harry was the one who started with mental health years ago. Once he started getting good PR for it, W&K jumped on the bandwagon. It wasn’t anything they showed interest in until after Harry was getting kudos for it.
I wonder if there is a fear from KP that Meghan’s issue will outsell Kate’s?
It already has. Katie’s issue was a huge flop, whilst Meghan’s was the highest selling September issue in history. Bear in mind that September is the most popular issue of the year.
Highest in history?! Amazing.
If a June issue out sold a September issue, British Vogue would be have a lot of angry advertisers.
This is the reason why absolutely everyone (Hollywood superstars, other royalty, presidents, Beyoncé, prime ministers etc) is name dropping her these days. She yuuuge at the moment.
Have not been able to find any figures on September 2019 Vogue sells. Beginning to think KP has a blackout on that also, like the rose story. Lol!
I couldn’t find the figures either, and I’m usually pretty good at finding sale stats.
Are there audited sales numbers on Meghan issue out already? Can you point me to the link?
Kate’s issue wasn’t a flop,let alone a “huge ” one. It sold very well. It just didn’t outsell the September issue,that is the most sold of the year. For that simple reason,this Meghan’s guest-edited one will easily outsell Kate’s. The insane media coverage (whether positive or negative) and the fact that it’s selling for £2 helps too.
Kate was on the 100th anniversary issue and should have been the highest seller that year but it was not. It was not a success by any definition of the word. Not long after the editor at the time was replaced.
And of course we now have the whole “it wasn’t the September edition” excuse but Meghan’s issue is going to set records. She has Americans and other people, outside of the UK looking to buy this edition and they can’t have enough of them made. It will surpass past September editions because Meghan has a world wide support base who is prepared to spend their money to support her causes. Kate doesn’t have that worldwide support because she hasn’t put in the work like Diana did and most women can’t relate to a rich woman who hasn’t done much of anything with the privilege in her life.
Cannot comment about the UK but in the USA the Meghan issue will outsell the Kate issue. This is not surprising as D of Sussex is an American.
Went to my local Barnes & Noble to see about getting the September Issue of British Vogue and was told it will not hit B&N until middle of September. The B&N Associate told me the store was receiving 50 calls a day for this issue of British Vogue and they were not reserving copies; it is first come first serve.
B&N will get double the normal copies but that will be only about 25 copies. The B&N Associate felt that there would be plenty of copies for people who wanted the issue as a collectors item because she felt all the hype will have died down by the time the issue arrives. The B&N Associate said that if they had the issue in the store when it hit the internet, B&N could have sold 300 copies easily. The only places in Florida that received the issue when it hit the internet were news stands at the international airports.
Baytampabay…that is why I bit the bullet and went on eBay. It was more expensive, but I was tired of calling around and now anxiously await my copy here in the states.
Meghan’s will out sell Kate’s. Their are reports that Meghan’s issue is already sold out at shops and many are paying higher prices to get their hands on it. So at this point we can safely say, Meghan’s will outsell Kate’s. At least that’s a logical and rational thought. Can’t wait to see how the Cambridge’s PR team will weave it.
Yeah I think that people are selling them on ebay to Royal fanatics and people in the US. Why don’t I ever think of these things.
Alexander Shulman editor of British Vogue at the time, had wanted to get Kate on the cover for a long time. When it finally happened it was shrouded in secrecy for months and expected to make a big splash upon release. It’s was it’s 100th anniversary special. The September issue is suppose to be a big deal once a year, then Kate’s issue was suppose to be the granddaddy of those issues combined, something that happens once in 100 years, type of issue. But it completely underwhelmed, mostly due to high expectations. Alexander Shulman said it didn’t perform as well as expected and was beaten by Cara Delevingne. I likes Kate’s pictures a lot, but I don’t remember it being a huge deal. I think it’s mostly because Kate didn’t really excite people, even with her position. Before Meghan, the Cambridge’s only excite the public when their having a baby. I think the press negativity towards meghans vogue was mostly directed by KP who knew it would sell out, therefore by projecting it in a negative light, takes away the fact that Meghan is a success.
Which couple is claiming the issue of putting pedophiles behind bars?
You win best comment! Haha
Boom! Which couple will distance themselves from Andrew?
Watched MSNBC this morning and they had several people (legal experts, Katty Kay of BBC America and the “Julie” reporter person from the Miami Herald that has been researching and reporting on this story for five years) on rigorously discussing this ugly mess in great detail. The prosecutors in the USA are definitely going after Maxwell and others Maxwell was associated with through Epstein according to the expert talking heads.
@BAYTAMPABAY
Her name is Julie K. Brown not that “Julie” person. She’s done amazing work in bringing all of this to light. She deserves more than a dismissive reference.
@Pedro45, did not mean any snark or disrespect to Julie K. Brown. I simply did not remember her full name. You are correct that Julie K. Brown has done amazing work; not only on Epstein but other national issues as well.
@BAYTAMPABAY
I apologize. I guess I woke up cranky today!
The feds need to find Ghislaine Maxwell before they can prosecute her.
Last night, I left a comment on the current DM article about Andrew and Epstein:
“It’s okay folks. He didn’t guest-edit Vogue, so everything’s fine.” Right now, 481 up votes and 78 down votes.
Gotta love the commentariat at The Daily Fail as they are so entertaining because you never know what you will read next!
Himmiefan…Too funny!!
I think I saw that …lol!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Meghan’s thing has always been female empowerment. This whole issue was about female empowerment.
One poem by Matt Haigg does not mean she is ‘stealing’ mental health away from the Cambridge’s. It just means she connected with his poems. Btw the idea that you cannot advocate for something because it would hurt Bill and Katie’s feelings is just petty and childish.
Honestly I wish the media would stop looking for beef that does not exist, just to keep bashing this woman. Its’s disgusting and tiresome.
Just today Meg’s Madame Tussaud’s wax figure was moved away from the rest of the RF and placed with ‘her celeb pals’. They keep trying to tell anyone who will listen that she isn’t good enough and doesn’t belong and it’s disgusting.
The press need to do their job and do some proper investigative journalism on the real outliers of the RF i.e. Andy. Also whilst their at it look at Mapozzi who appears to be Beatrice’s Karmic version of her father.
Mapozzi reminds me of Anne Hathaway’s old boyfriend who turned out to be a crook. Same vibes.
“I want to help mental health charities.”
“But I called dibs on mental health! I’m keen to do mental health!”
It all sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it. Anyway, about Andrew…
Right?! Why do they wanna act like there isn’t enough mental health and environment to go around???
@ARC, you are so correct! One person could take mental children’s health, one could take adolescent metal health, one could take women’s mental health and if there are any extra Royals hanging about looking for something productive to do then one HRH could come to the USA and take up Gun Nut mental health.
Mental Health, like voter registration in the USA, is too big for one organization to handle all and everything. All organization need to work together and divvy up the awareness workload.
If every member of the BRF down to the 117th person in line for the throne worked on mental health they still would not have it fully covered.
No there is room for everyone, for example, each of them has a focus/interest on different an area of mental health.
William has been focusing on male mental health
Kate has been focusing on children’s mental health
Harry has been focusing on veteran’s mental health
Meghan has been focusing on women’s mental health
W&K did nothing about mental health for years. It wasn’t until after Harry had worked in it for several years and got kudos for it that they decided, “Oh, let’s latch on to his success”. Similar to William showing up to Invictus and acting like he was in charge.
That stated, there is plenty of work to be done in all areas. Both Camilla and Meghan support pet adoption charities and it is a good thing.
Agree with the comments that there is plenty of work to be done in the same areas- was there encroaching when Diana was a patron of Child’s Health and Anne with Save the Children? It’s just ridiculous. I guess this feud narrative potentially gives the press loads of filler for years to come though so no wonder they ran with it. Sigh
Don’t care for the idea of competition – just want them ALL to be out working regularly and highlighting charities.
I just hope the Cambridges work.
I just hope the Cambridges work.
The differences between them is that the Sussex’s have clearly identified which areas of MH and conservation etc.. that they will be interested in. The Cambridges have been a bit wishy washy with no clear direction on what their interests are. We keep hearing about Kate and childhood MH and fixing ‘broken Britain’ for children but there has been no real clarity on what form that is going to take. Same with William.
There is room for them all to support MH, its big enough for everyone but there needs to be focus and clear comms around it.
William seems to be targeting mental health for men, while Harry has been focusing on vets for a long time now (which is huge and I commend him for it). I actually like what William is doing with his FA partnership. I wish more pro American athletes would talk about mental health. My ex refused to seek any kind of counseling when my FIL died very suddenly, and he’s never healed nearly 2 decades later. I don’t think he ever will.
Here in the UK there has been a few of the big names in football have spoken out about MH. Rio Ferdinand has spoke about how he coped with his wife’s death from breast cancer. That initiative with the FA for players is a great idea, it would be great to see that go further to include the fans – the fans DO pay attention to their idols, esp the younger fans (and players).
@Digital Unicorn – I think you’re right about people paying attention to their idols and celebs speaking out being a great way to reach people. Particularly younger audiences but I think much less so with anyone over about 25. For example, if we had One Direction talking about this at their peak, it would have really made an impact.
With that in mind, I also wonder how much of a difference any of the Royals can actually make. I don’t think any of the royals have a young fan base. Every single royal supporter I’ve ever met has been upwards of 50 and considerably less easily influenced.
Add to that the fact that the charities themselves will be UK based and a large proportion of Royal fanatics aren’t even in the UK… I guess I’m quite skeptical
800,000 people have received job training and/or started their own businesses thanks to the Prince’s Trust. We have the PT to thank for Idris Elba. Yes Charles gets a lot of help with that, but if he hadn’t started it, none of that would have happened. Ditto Invictus Games and Sentebale. See Maxima with UN microfinance and microbanking. Royals can have impact if they focus, show up, and work.
@notasugarhere, Do not forget about Chucky’s work with Dumfries House and the Dumfries Estate.
Honestly, with everything coming to light with Epstein and Pedo Andy, the low-hanging fruit of Sussex Vs Cambridge gossip has lost its appeal because the BRF is publicly supporting an effing rapist. I was never a monarchist but I’m done. The whole institution needs to die.
@OriginalLala, what exactly do you advise the BRF, Inc. (i.e. The Firm) to do regarding Randy Andy?
If I sound snarky this is not my intent. I have some ideas of my own but I have yet to read a post offering OEII and courtiers any much needed advice on how to handle this matter.
It’s not my job to offer advice to the Queen on how to deal with her pedo/rapist son – it should be obvious.
Fundamentally the BRF has supported his disgusting behavior for decades, brushing it under the rug, making sure it was not being investigated by the media, giving him positions where he would have immunity, all the while he is raping minors and we can’t do anything about it because it’s not like we can vote them out. It’s this kind of crap that just demonstrates how ridiculous a hereditary monarchy is.
Well, we don’t get paid to advise them, so there’s no need to offer advice. But they could stop showing up with him as a public measure of support, for one.
I don’t think anyone is advising them. A PR person worth their salt would not have allowed Andrew to be photographed looking like a smug git on his way to church with his mother.
BP issued a statement saying categorically that Andrew did nothing wrong, it is for that reason that the Queen has been forced to show ‘support’ for her son by publicly riding with him to Church, in order to buttress the statement. Privately she may be furious that he is entangled with this very sordid affair. But this is the way the RF operates, one step at a time. If more is damagingly revealed then we may get another statement, whereby it is announced that Prince Andrew will step down from public life or something like that
But I believe that at this very moment the RF top lawyers are quietly hard at work trying to plan to shut down any scenario that could implicate Andrew. Many royal scandals have had the lid tightly shut on them but with social media today they need to work even harder.
@PrincessK, I agree with you that Andy needs to immediately lie low for a great amount of time. Stick him in a cottage on one of the Hebrides Island in Scotland with a minder.
If he is truly innocent then he should be working with the investigators to aid them in his work. The fact that he is NOT aiding the investigation leads me to believe he is not 100% innocent as he claims.
I do not believe he is innocent but until he is charged with something I am limited to speculation as to what part he played and what exactly he did in this sordid disgusting mess. If he did have sex with an under-aged girl then I cannot see how he cannot be charged with something in the UK or USA.
Wasn’t Pedo under the title “Trade Ambassador” or some such nonsense (like HE really did THAT work lol). That would also give him diplomatic ammunities, no?
So, I think the queen is in a tough spot here. And please believe me when I say that I have no sympathy for her. But like @PrincessK said, once BP came out with that statement in support of Andrew, the Queen needed to do something to show her support or else people would say “the queen doesn’t actually support him.” But I think there was a better way to handle this. Hell she could have arrived with Andrew in a range rover and not the Bentley (Bentley allows for better viewing of the people inside.) They could have staged a photo of them walking the grounds together, SOMETHING that made it look like the RF is aware of how bad this looks for Andrew and how heinous Epstein was.
Instead its the Queen and Andrew smiling gleefully as they arrive at church in the Queen’s Bentley. It’s just tone-deaf and a really bad move on the queen’s part.
I’m not sure what you do with a situation like this. At best, Andrew was friends with a criminal who trafficked young girls and hosted disgusting parties (where Andrew was present) and at worst, you have a prince who participated/enabled the actions of that criminal. No aspect of that is a good look for the royals, which is why I think the statement from BP was actually a mistake.
The truth is that if the monarchy responded to scandals the way in which we would, or the way that we think they should, believe me there would be no monarchy left in the UK today. The RF response is not really to protect Andrew but to do whatever it takes to protect the overall institution of the monarchy, which is always to distance itself in anyway it can from anything bad, whether true or false. If the RF was a corporate organisation they would have forced Andrew to hand in his resignation, but because its a complex family firm, it can never be as simple as that.
Unfortunately, PrincessK, the more they drag their heels on this while it becomes publicly visible and they are seen smiling with him, it has the potential to be more damaging to the BRF than anything else.
Infidelity in marriages like the War of the Wales is one thing, but raping children is quite another.
They need to figure out what to do with him. If there is any way he ends up being publicly charged, they have to find a way to legally remove him as a Counsellor of State. HM won’t do anything, but King Charles III might.
Yes, I don’t think we could arrest Andrew. Pretty sure he does have diplomatic immunity. People act like BP statement wasn’t approved by the Queen. It’s from the Queen. Andrew’s her son. I’m guessing she believes he didn’t do anything wrong. As a lot of people on here don’t believe certain stories, but do believe others, my guess is the Queen, thinking she knows her son, doesn’t think he did anything. Honestly, that’s not that weird. A lot of mothers would probably feel the same way. Just saying for her it’s complicated.
The best thing to happen for the monarchy in general is to whittle it down like Charles wants. Sure Kate, William, Harry and Meghan will all have to work a lot more, but it would cost a lot less, and all the other family members would still be rich, and Andrew could go off and not be seen much which would be better. Meghan and Harry would probably be removed as working royals too, when William and Kate’s kids get older, but that would be okay too. They can just be wealthy philanthropist.
The reality is he’s never ever going to see a prison cell, nor will he ever be punished. Andrew will be protected no matter the cost. What we officially know about Andrew is only the tip of the ice berg, but it enough to permanently damage his reputation. He’s been hanging with Epstein for over 2 decades. Most of these secrets tend to be open secrets, kind of like how everyone in Hollywood knows each other’s business. As for the queen I’m disappointed that she would ride with him like that. It looked boastful and cocky. People may believe that she thinks her son is innocent as a lot of mothers do, but the queen knows the truth about everything, she is never kept in the dark. I’ve been hearing rumours about Andrew for years and If I knew, then I can’t begin to imaging the things the queen has heard in graphic detail too, but that won’t stop her awarding him with medals. That’s why I’m so mad at her .They need to permanently ship Andrew off somewhere like they did with Edward VIII. no one will miss him, except his loyal mother, because if more is revealed about him, and they are still publicly supporting him, then he could drag the whole ship down. If the monarchy is so determined to survive then Andrew needs to just disappear from public life.
“A week after Meghan’s big British Vogue kerfuffle, the question remains; what was all that about?”
Really? It was the RRs and tabloids that acted like twits over the magazine and they’re still trying to blame Meghan for all the stink they stirred up? There’s no stepping on anyone’s toes or trying to steal any issues. The areas are so broad and there’s so much need there’s space for each of them to work and help these causes/charities. Again, much ado about nothing.
This mess from the Daily Beast is more tripe for a royal reporter. The controversy that these so called reporters created.
As for Meghan and Harry supposedly making a “claim for causes close to the Cambs” is more BS. Meghans main point I saw with the Vogue was promoting women, Harry talked about what hes always talked over the years (before Meghan), if people had took a moment to actually pay attention to what hes said.
This all becomes a non-issue when William becomes Prince of Wales, then eventually king. For all we know, this might be the plan. Since Harry’s royal status will never change, charity work will be his life’s work. It would make since for Harry and Meghan to take the lead on these charity initiatives. I just don’t see why there should be any animus between the two couples over this. Harry and Meghan will be a huge asset to William’s reign.
Exactly! These people who are trying to tear down what ever Meghan and Harry do seem to me not to think about who is supposed to do the work with the Cambs if the monarchy is still around when it’s time for Wills reign.
Most of the family “working” now are old. It will be a long time before the Camb kids start pulling their weight.
I really hope Harry and Meghan plan to leave and do their charity work privately when it’s time for Wills reign.
I agree. Do people really think Will and Kate want to be the only working royals? They are being shielded and protected now because everyone is focused on the Sussexes. If Harry and Meghan leave, all scrutiny and negativity will return to the Cambridges because there will be no other royals to talk about.
“It will be a long time before the Camb kids start pulling their weight” – honestly if this is referring to George, Charlotte and Louis I doubt they will ever be expected to do a full slate of royal engagements as adults. Look at their parents!
Will and Kate’s big plan is to reduce expectations about their own workload so that the volume of royal engagements they will ever do will be far below the volume that has been done over the past decades by the Queen, Phillip, their children and their cousins (Kents, Gloucesters etc.) When people ask who will do those engagements as that group retires/dies the answer is those engagements just won’t happen. Will and Kate will do a carefully ‘curated’ slate of things that allows PLENTY of time for leisure, vacations, ‘private life’ and they will carry forth that pattern when their kids are old enough to work.
@ Toot: As long as Harry and Meghan’s house, clothing, etc is being funded by the British people, they will be expected to do public work. I don’t think going private is an option for them unless they want to give up all the perks and privilege of being royals. (Btw, I’m not judging them for this.)
I mean…we re still a solid 20/25 years away from that. That’s a looong time to be bickering over.
I would say more like 15 years away.
@BaytampaBay, I really don’t think so. Charles is only 70, and considering the Queen is still reigning Monarch at 93 with no plans of abdication and his father is alive and well at 98, I think Will is still looking at about a 25 year wait before becoming King. He will be Prince of Wales before that, but I don’t anticipate that’s going to do too much to change the rivalry.
@Bay, I disagree. TQ has another decade in her as if she is like her mother will live till she’s 100. Charles has at least 20 years as King when he does succeed. By that time William will be in his 60s. A lot can change in 20+ years.
I don’t really want to go around predicting the timing of William’s ascension to the throne as that necessitates a few deaths, but I’d guess he’ll be king in his 50’s. Until then, we’ll keep getting these narratives of feuding couples that conveniently ignore that the brothers are on very different paths with different sets of responsibilities. In truth, they aren’t in each other’s lane.
You never know. I know the Queen has had longevity, but her father didn’t. Charles is already in his 70’s he seems healthy bit it’s possible he dies before his mother too. Who knows.
I guess Charles does have longevity genes going for him. However I wouldn’t bet the farm that he’ll make it to 95, Wills might be King at a much younger age than Charles.
William and Kate have been doing this causes and charities thing a long long time. I feel like Meghan and Harry with her have hit the ground running with causes they care about. If W & K wanted these particular causes, they should have done something about it. There are plenty to go around.
This is the sense I have always got. Whilst William and Kate have always looked like they were going through the motions, Harry and Meghan look purposeful and passionate about what they do. I suppose that is the advantage of being the spare in this instance.
That said I think they all enjoy a position of immense privilege and William is slowly becoming a middle aged whinger with the hairline and teeth to match.
Prince’s Trust, Duchy Originals, sustainable town of Poundbury. Charles did all of these while the heir. There is nothing holding William back from doing more except William.
How are you going finding those vogue sales numbers. Migionette?
Both get equal press coverage when they do something (unlike Charles and Diana where Diana trounced Charles) so I can’t really see either couple caring what the other is doing. Neither is suffering from lack of attention. There are daily stories on both of them all the time.
What’s funny is that The Prince’s Trust is hugely successful. Prince Charles has helped an insane amount of people through his initiatives, and he managed to do all of this without good press or popularity. It just goes to show you that a good work ethic will overcome negativity. Harry and Meghan seem to be taking the same approach. They just keep rising above the negativity and are focusing on placing attention back on important issues. All of those charities are elated when they are mentioned on the Sussex Royal Instagram page.
All of those charities are also elevated when D&D Sussex get coverage in The Daily Fail be it positive, negative or neutral.
I just think both couples get no shortage of attention. So the idea that they could “steal” attention from each other sounds strange to me. When Charles and Diana were competing with each other, it made sense. Diana really did get more attention and Charles was seen as stuffy. Here, both couples are seen as glamourous (well, at least the wives are). I also think both couples get the attention they like. If either Kate or Meghan were seen as the homely sister-in-law nobody wants to pay attention to, I’d get this narrative. But people like them both. So these articles seem pointless. If anything the husbands are boring in comparison, but they don’t get the same criticism like Charles did. He not only was seen as boring and as talking to plants, but he also had the Camilla fine. By comparison, Harry and William are all doing fine.
I also think most royals receive the attention in the way they want. Princess Anne works the hardest out of everybody, but I don’t think she cars that no one pays attention to her. She seems to like it that way.
That’s not true; They do not get equal coverage otherwise there wouldn’t be such a smear campaign against the Sussexes.
Proof: Kate is out with the Queen vs Meghan & Harry paying their respect after the NZ shooting
All the attention was on M&H…….all headlines were on them to the point where some fans had the audacity to attack Meghan for going out on the same day Kate was out. Apparently, when Kate is out, Meghan should be in hiding……. Insanity really!
At the moment, the Cambridges cannot compete with the attention Meghan and Harry get.
The weird thing is even those who supposedly hate the Sussexes spend their entire time talking about them.
Those who are organizing the smear campaigns made a mistake; the entire attention at the moment is on M&H. They are relegating to the shadow those who are supposed to benefit from the smear campaign. The Cambridges had their regetta event on x day, how much was it covered compared to the Vogue issue? or Meghan going to the Yankees vs RS game? or vs Meghan attending the LK premiere? The next, almost the entire thing was forgotten except if Meghan or Harry could be somehow dragged into the headlines.
All of this and Meghan is on Maternity Leave!!! My goodness, what would happen when she is back full time?
Coverage is the same……..absolutely NO; that’s why the Cambridges are now leveraging their cute kids.
I agree. I think pre-Meghan the Cambridge’s hardly got any coverage unless they were getting married or having a baby. Everything else is a blur, I literally can’t think of anything they did. Kate was the only person to fill the role of the ‘new diana’. The press had been waiting for 2 decades, and Kate just didn’t bring the excitement. I have nothing against Kate and was super excited when they got married, but the Cambridge’s just don’t have that star quality. She wasn’t getting the clicks or sales. I said before Meghan came along, that whoever Harry married the press would literally go insane for whether good or bad, because they need a royal family click bait/cash cow. I remember reading that Williams recent bbc documentary where he says ‘losing Diana was the worst pain of his life’ didn’t get as much attention as they hoped. Usually either prince talking about Diana is a ratings winner. I didn’t even know about it. I can imagine William being mad about not getting attention. I think the Cambridge’s know that actually work doesn’t get them anywhere publicly cos literally no one cares. Meanwhile harry and Meghan have become this power couple. I think KP and the Cambridge’s hope that getting the press to trash H+M will ruin them, but it’s just increasing their star power by making them more famous and interesting, whilst the Cambridge’s still continue to still be lacklustre.
If she did, I consider it a boss move.
Let’s be honest, the Cambridge work ethic is a bit thin and while the Sussex brand is fairly equal on appearance numbers, Sussex involvement does seem to be more meaningful, strategic, and more impactful to the causes and organizations they choose.
So pissing match or nah, being claimed by House Sussex only helps.
Yeah, I don’t think the Sussexes were out to “claim” any thing from the Cambridges. The topics they talked about were topics that Harry and Meghan have talked about for years.
I think part of the issue with the four is that Harry and Meghan are much more concrete in their actions. Kate and William seem to focus more “raising awareness,” whereas Harry is setting up international athletic competitions for veterans. Awareness is important, I’m not diminishing it really, but it does just feel like at some point you have to take the next step.
That’s why I think the Shout initiative is important and William’s work with the FA and male mental health is important. Those are the kinds of things I feel like we should have been seeing from the Cambridges for years now. Hopefully they – or at least William – continues with that kind of work.
Anyway, if there is a competition among them re: charity work, then I’m hoping the charities and causes only benefit so that would be a good thing.
The people with the Shout initiative said Harry and Meghan were equally involved. That isn’t just a William or W&K project, although KP’s timing of things might have made it seem that way.
Kate is still learning according to most of her engagements. After 8 years that gets a little ridiculous.
There is room for everyone and WK has nothing to lose if they just showed a bit more innovation or really hit the ground running instead of being keen and having detached causes here and there. In fact there is also nothing wrong if they just do bread and butter events like Anne while trying to find their thing. In fact, they don’t have to do much to earn so much goodwill. They are the future monarchs, they will be prioritised. HM gets attacked just for holding hands. But no…they can still be be given their space and time to figure out what they want until HM appeared. The paps also can’t make up their mind. On one hand WK is more important and always popular because they will be King and Queen Consort. On the other hand they claim HM threatens to outstage them all the time. Make up ye minds trolls!
For charitable causes, we all should work as one together to make a difference. Royals and celebs included. All this drama just negates the cause. Some just like to make it about themselves.
Meghan is no saint. She loves the attention and money, but one thing she has over Kate is that she definitely has more drive and ambition.
Yes, Cathy Cambridge, who waited over ten years to nab a prince, is the altruist here. Have all the seats.
Profplum…Lol!!!
@Propflum: Hmmm tried to have all the seats but was told to stand as Meghan had already booked all 40 of them.
P.S: Hmmm is entitled to her opinions on a gossip site just like you are. No need to get personal.
Evil Owl: how was that ‘personal’? It was a response to an opinion; people are also entitled to reply to your opinions here. Acting like a snowflake (as many Cambridge fans seem to do) isn’t going to keep people from responding to you.
I think both Cathy & Megs wanted the money. With regards to attention Meghan definitely wanted it but I think Cathy only wanted status and could care less about attention.
Other than money, attention and/or status, why would anyone want to marry into the BRF? Jecca, Isabella, Chelsy & Cressy certainly did not want to be part of the BRF!
I disagree, Katie Keen was all over the press attention when she was GF. She mugged for them at every opportunity, that only stopped when she got the ring.
I will say that out of the two of them, Megs is the one who is probably better able to cope with the press attention. Actors by nature are somewhat narcissistic and growing up in HW she knows how it all works.
As for the wealth, its mostly tied up in property and trusts. If I was going to marry for money it would not be to a royal but a tech billionaire. Miranda Kerr has the right idea.
Agreed.
There are people who really believe these two are in it for the money?
There is no way. Meghan was making money just fine as an actress and without this level of scrutiny and with fewer concerns about the optics of spending her money.
And Kate, maybe I guess but I think she really did just want to be a princess if only because that’s what her mommy wanted for her.
William was pretty hot when Kate met him at university. I could see her being genuinely attracted to him.
@Beachdreams: It was personal because Propflane asked Hmmm to sit down and take a break from speaking (which is what ‘have all the seats’ means) I have seen this a lot in the comments section when someone challenges the popular perception of Meghan. As a grown woman, I don’t like being told to have a seat when I am expressing my opinion. Propflane can respond to Hmmm’s opinions, like you said, but it doesn’t require telling her to STFU.
Umm most people marry for love. Why would you assume they married solely for money?
With all the crap she is getting, she deserves all the money she can get from this mess.
Anyway, we all like money and attention – it’s what you do with it that matters.
Meghan so starved for attention, she was an mid 30’s actress who no one heard of until she was dating Harry. gtfoh.
Why the bitterness?lol, Kate fans kill me.
They do, don’t they Exhausted?
99 percent of actors are unemployed in their chosen profession. Meghan was on a successful tv show for 7 seasons, did charity work, had a successful lifestyle blog, and had a fashion collection with a department store. She didn’t need to marry Harry, she chose to.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL, Kris.
Why so salty?
I had not heard of her before but all of my kids, the Netflix generation, knew who she was, so rather than say nobody heard of her, just say that you like me were a bit behind the times.
Of course, Meghan waited 10 years for Harry……… you know when she was playing Princess as a kid, she was already plotting to get him………get a seat indeed!
hmmm.
Honest question What’s wrong with wanting “attention and money”?
Attention: in the world in which M developed, she needs attention to be a recognized actress and maintain her 7-year career in television, she must attract people’s attention to recognize the organizations she wants to support and this is still part of her life real. . . . (Just think of everything M has done so far).
Money: “Tell me you live in a cave and I can believe you don’t want money.” The money at least encourages me to work, build my house, have a car, pay for family studies, pay for my electronic equipment and the Internet, vacations, etc. It shouldn’t be an insult to want to have money.
We must stop being idiots.
I just read the article, “The Trouble with Andrew” that Lainey linked to yesterday, and I wonder if this “charity grab” isn’t part of a longer game plan. Charles’ ascension, and then William’s, will phase out Harry and his family as working royals, especially if Charles’ plan to streamline the monarchy is successful. By claiming certain charities and establishing themselves as high-profile patrons, the Sussexes are setting up a solid case for why they should be retained as valuable royals. Harry, for all of his newfound wokeness has never shown any indication that he has any intention of abdicating his privilege. Moreover, I’m sure that being a working royal will offer great opportunities for his son as he grows up and needs to work in the private sector.
There is no realistic way for William to “phase” Harry and Meghan out against their will. He and Harry are the only grandchildren of the Queen who are working Royals. He, his brother, and their spouses did not become full-time working Royals until their 30s, and his own children will probably follow the same path. Even assuming the best case scenario that Charles, Camilla, and all his siblings and their spouses all remain healthy and work into their 90s, and that he and Kate stay healthy and remain married (not a given in light of his family’s recent track record), there’s simply too much work to go around.
I Agree with @Wadsworth here. There is just too much work to be done. Granted there are those that maintain that Harry & Meghan’s popularity will wane and in doing so they cite Andy / Fergie as the basis for this opinion.
That said I am not so sure.
Fergie was a different person all together, She was careless, sloppy, haphazard and often fluffed her lines. Meghan (despite all her warm and fuzzy Americanism’s that the British press like to crucify her for), is a much smarter player. She had established her own life pre-harry, is well presented, well educated, resourceful, willing to literally roll up her sleeves where there is hard work to be done and refuses to indulge the press in their games (hence why she is being smeared for the lack of access). The latter point is important in maintaining longevity. Yes they may smear her now and continue to do so in the future, but to some extent she still controls her narrative should she need to re-brand once William becomes PoW and then King.
The point of all the above is to say that as @Wadsworth mentions above, William would be supremely short sighted to phase out Hazza and Megs. It would put his own children under much greater pressure at a younger age, something I suspect William would desperately want to avoid as he himself struggled with the adjustment from young adult to being a full time working Royal, so much that he spent the first few years of his married life pretending to be Bill the search and rescue Pilot.
Also Royal’s like the general population, now live much longer. To date Liz is the longest serving monarch in UK history. So I am guessing that with that in mind Bill will not see his investiture as the PoW for another 3-10 years and the throne for at least another 20+ years.
I do however feel that the above illustrates one of the many reasons for the split of the foundation. I have always felt that Bill did not feel comfortable with some of Harry and Meg’s ideas about the Sussex Brand and they way they wanted to do things, as he may have felt they compromised him as he moves into a more constitutional role as the Prince of Wales. Splitting now rather than suddently when Liz passes on allows the Camb’s to build their new brand as the ‘posh ones’ as they prep to become the Prince and Princess of Wales. It also allows them shield themselves for a few years by exploiting the inevitable good couple/ bad couple comparisons that inevitably follow.
However I notice since the split that Bill and Kate have changed their presentation methods on engagements. So the RF and particularity the younger Royals have benefited greatly from Meghan’s arrival. Because as any black woman will know, women of other races are often applauded for the things we are vilified for doing. For that they owe Meg a debt of gratitude as she has quite literally paved the way for them to use emoticons in IG posts amongst other sins….
Charles’s constitutional role has not prevented him from doing massive charity work. The excuse that William cannot do more because of politics? The guy who intimated POC on the African continent should limit their family size while he was expecting his third? The guy who announced he would destroy all of the ivory in the Royal Collection (which doesn’t belong to him)? He has a lot to learn but he certainly isn’t apolitical. William’s position to the throne doesn’t prevent him from doing work.
The Queen is the only one reviewing the red boxes and providing royal assent to the laws issued in parliament. No one else from the family is required in the UK government, even Charles. Therefore the constitutional excuse is utter bs.
The streamline plan is to eliminate the elders and not incorporate cousins. Charles, Camilla, W&K, Harry and Meghan. That will be the core working royal family for the next 30 years. Harry and Meghan aren’t going anywhere, although their children will never be working royals.
Most of the cousin elders will retire. Anne, Andrew, Edward and Sophie? Charles might want to phase them out but I don’t see them going anywhere.
Andrew will definitely be phased out now. Post-Brexit, the U.K. might become a poorer, smaller nation. In that scenario, the Royals would probably be under pressure to show more value for less cost. The pressure on the working Royals is only going to increase, not diminish.
Wadsworth, I agree with you, except post-Brexit, we will definitely be a poorer nation (and probably a smaller one).
The only way this “competition” could have any real effect would be in the competition for donors. Both of their foundations will need to fundraise. Harry and Meghan have established relationships with American corporations like MLB and Disney, which is fertile ground for them. British donors have probably already been canvassed heavily by other Royal charities, but Harry and Meghan have unique appeal to American donors. And Latham is familiar with large American donors through her political work, which is probably a big reason why they hired her and put her in charge of their foundation.
^^^ This again. Also wasn’t there some kerfuffle about Willy not being able to attract big celebs to his causes, yet they are qeueing up to work with the Sussexes ?
If this is how they really think, then the UK Royals are truly too out of touch to be any good anymore. I love royal stuff in general, but that’s as a fun diversion for an American not connected to royalty. Literally nobody except themselves thinks it needs to be me vs you in all this. If we could have EVERYONE with such privilege fighting for these and other less “fashionable” causes, maybe stuff would actually get done. It’s about actual progress, not photo ops.
Get with it and get on board, or you’re going to find yourselves obsolete. Pomp and circumstance is all good fun and games…but everyone else is living a life that is NOT all fun and games, and I can’t see them sustaining longer if they don’t move beyond the pomp and circumstance part. Can you imagine how AMAZING the headlines would have been if they’d all *really* deserved any ‘Fab Four’ (don’t sully the title) designation?
I think we can all collectively agree all the smear against Meghan has been Handy Andy and his puppet show. He’s disgusting, and clearly they are not speaking to this and protecting him. Anybody under the sovereign should be utterly disgusted that they are protecting a pedophile and he should serve his time. I feel for his daughters at this time, it must be very difficult to even glance at him.
I was shocked to see birthday wishes from randy Andy’s Instagram to Meghan, because of all the Royals it was claimed that he ignores Meghan at family functions.
All this spurious babble from the gutter press about Harry taking on the “very fashionable causes of wildlife, conservation and the environment” trivializes the work he’s doing and doesn’t even mention his work with disabled veterans via Invictus which is just as important. They presume Meghan is concentrating on mental health issues but don’t mention her work promoting women’s causes, especially promoting diversity, work and educational opportunities for those with limited financial resources.
If only the Cambridges had stepped up to the plate early on instead of lolling around and only paying lip service to what should be their life’s work this farce wouldn’t be happening. Meghan isn’t claiming certain issues from the Cambridges, she and Harry literally picked up their leftovers and made a meal of it.
Then there’s the irony of Prince Andrew’s involvement with a now dead rapist and trafficker of young women that the British media won’t touch. He has been close friends with Ghislaine Maxwell for a long time, long enough to know what she and Epstein were involved in and used them to get some sick jollies. So the press is spewing utter drivel and lies about the Cambridges vs. the Sussexes but can’t shine a light on what amounts to the sexual crimes of a senior member of the BRF. Why are they so hamstrung and who is pulling the strings at the top to hide the truth? I fervently hope that the next tranche of documents contains indisputable proof that Andrew was a willing player in Epstein’s and Maxwell’s depraved world.
The press is also ignoring the irony of Eugenie working with an anti-slavery charity while they cover up Andrew’s activities.
I don’t know if some columnists are specifically talking about how the Queen is handling Andrew.
I definitely think that above all for royal reporters it’s difficult to write scathing opinion pieces about her. And I must say that I’ve not paid attention to what Times,Guardian,Independent are writing about this particular story over the past two days.
But it’s not true that the British press is ignoring PA’s relationship with Epstein. He was literally on every front page of broadsheets and tabloids all the weekend,and yesterday his face was still in the Guardian headlines. I don’t know why some people are pushing this narrative that Andrew is being kept out from the press newscycle. It was the British press that 4 years ago covered for days Virginia Roberts’ defamation lawsuit.
As for M&H “doing “so much with the leftovers”,I don’t see how this is true considering how they have been focusing on very different areas since the beginning. Kate has always focused on children-related mental health initiatives and charities. After their initial joint HT campaigns to raise awareness,Harry has slowly focused more on veterans and William is pretty much focusing on male MH-oriented topics.
Meghan is working work with charities that promote female-oriented initiatives. Whether they “step up” or not in whatever they do,they are not going to throw tantrums because the other is stealing the food.. There’s no reason for it.
And even for issues like conservation and wildlife,Harry and William have been active with different organizations that have *equally* benefited from their support.
William is patron of Tusk since the mid 00s,and Harry is patron of African Parks United. Both organizations have got a great boost thanks to them.
There’s space for everyone.
Perhaps Prince Andrew’s nonsense presents an opportunity for Meghan. This is one of the few cases where there is a clear just cause for “whatabout-ism?” Someone said it earlier: every time the Royal Reporters rag Meghan for some made -up protocol violation or claim she doesn’t “know her place,” the perfect response can be: “Whatabout Prince Andrew?”
Every time a Royal Reporter gets on Meghan’s case for existing, their twitter should be bombarded with “Whatabout Prince Andrew? At least Meghan didn’t bring PEDOPHILES TO WINDSOR CASTLE AND SANDRINGHAM?”
Lainey gossip has been hitting this discrepancy hard.
This is such a dumb take. Harry has been working on conservation and the environment for years. And IMO has a great deal more to show for it in terms of tangible results than William. But both brothers tackle the issue and do it from different angles. William does it from a more “grasstops” approach with a focus on global collaboration (although I can tell you that is more him taking credit for others work, but I digress) and Harry from a more grassroots, regional perspective. Both are critical angles on the work, and both play into the the brothers’ strengths IMO.
Same with mental health. Harry tends to focus on young adults and veterans. William is doing really interesting work focusing on men and male suicide in particular. Kate is supposedly going to focus on early years. And Meghan? I am not sure where DB gets the idea she is even dipping her toe into Mental Health? I don’t really see that much besides general “wellness” overall.
So see, where is the competition? These a big, complex issues that need as many people as possible working on them. I am no fan of the Cambridges but I highly doubt they are this petty or that their staff is.
All of a sudden Kate had all these plans, that got pulled out from under her by the interloper Meghan? Who is pretending that Kate had any work lined up?
Until Meghan claims broken Britain for herself, there is nothing to suggest that Meghan is Taking issues from Kate. Meghan just happens to have done more concrete projects in a short period of time which makes Kate’s “learning” about issues eight years in look like a whole lot of nothing.
Either way, it must be hard to be in the spotlight all the time
The Cambridges have had TEN YEARS to claim whatever causes they want and show their dedication to them. Frankly, I think it’s more than fair that the Sussexes gave them 18+ months to get it together after Meghan came into the fold. They didn’t, so the Sussexes decided not to wait around for them to, because they’d be waiting forever.