A week ago, the Duchess of Sussex’s lawyers filed new papers in her lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday. The legal filing was only reported last Friday. This is the lawsuit about the publication of Meghan’s letter to her father, Toxic Thomas Markle. According to the filing, Meghan’s letter detailed “her intimate thoughts and feelings about her father’s health and her relationship with him at that time.” She also says that the Mail on Sunday deliberately “omitted or suppressed” sections of the letter, which I sort of believe too. And the new filing says that the Mail on Sunday didn’t warn Meghan that they were about to publish her letter, and that Meghan “intended the detailed contents of the letter to be private, and certainly did not expect them to be published to the world at large by a national newspaper, and without any warning.” Y’all know what I think – I think Meghan hatched a brilliant scheme to show her dad was and is a liar, AND she set a trap for the British tabloid press, which they fell into head-first. I look forward to seeing any and all of Meghan’s plots unfold in the months and years to come!
Meanwhile, as we’ve seen, the ITV clips from Harry & Meghan: An African Journey have been making headlines for days. ITV released the clips online days before the documentary airs, which is standard operating procedure for a television network which wants to, you know, promote their big exclusive documentary with two popular royal figures. But according to various unnamed sources, Prince William and Kensington Palace peeps were pretty salty about how the clips came out during the all-important Pakistan tour!
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s emotional ITV interview has “overshadowed” William and Kate’s tour in Pakistan, royal sources claim. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both given candid interviews as part of the upcoming ITV documentary, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey. But according to the Evening Standard’s Robert Jobson, the decision to release teaser clips while Kate and Wills are on a four-day tour in Pakistan has “baffled and infuriated” aides.
One senior figure told the newspaper: “This move has certainly overshadowed the Pakistan visit and what has been achieved here during the last few days, as well as a lot of work by an awful lot of dedicated people here on the ground as well as back home for months.”
According to the Standard, there is a decades-long unwritten rule that members of the royal family do not overshadow official overseas visits by more senior royals.
I wondered if there would be accusations of “thunder-stealing” when Meghan and Harry stepped out for the Well Child Awards last week. But I guess KP understands that kind of schedule conflict – it’s not like that’s a new patronage for Harry, and the event was scheduled months in advance. Of course it stole the Cambridges’ thunder a little bit, but it couldn’t be helped. But the ITV clips going out on the last two days of the Pakistan tour… well, it probably could have been helped, although I’m not sure what Harry and Meghan were supposed to do? Should they call up ITV and say “please don’t promote this documentary or any of the exclusives we gave you”? Of course not. Besides, it’s not like… the Cambridges and Sussexes haven’t been willfully stepping on each other’s newscycles for months now. Remember how the Pakistan tour was announced??? The Cambridges broke the news on a Saturday evening in June, a short time after Meghan made one of her first post-birth public appearances at a baseball game. Come on, now. Tit for tat.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Backgrid.
Am I supposed to feel bad for them? I don’t. Take it up with ITV who most definitely was not going to postpone a much more newsworthy event for their tour.
They are so silly over at KP, and seem to have become unhinged and triggered over anything Harry and Meghan do.
The Meghan part of the clip that really blew up and got her trending was released on Friday after the tour was over and they had left. What else did they want?
Also, its the network that released the trailer not Meghan and Harry. They had no say in it. And really ITV are well within their rights to start promoting the documentary days before it aired. Friday afternoon was fine.
KP aides really went to the Sun and gave public quotes against members of the RF. Fucking ridiculous behaviour from them and it’s all one sided. The Sun pulled those articles bc ppl were trashing KP for not reading the room. No one gave a fuck if feelings were hurt over timing issues.
KP and their occupants disgust me.
What was the Cambridge’s audience for this tour? I think the more important one is Pakistan than the UK. So in that respect, the ITV documentary isn’t that big a deal. But you knew that senior royal aides in William’s camp would get their noses out of joint over something.
Oh please, W+K got wall-to-wall glowing coverage of their Pakistan trip. No one stole anyone’s thunder.
“….as well as a lot of work by an awful lot of dedicated people here on the ground as well as back home for months.”
Emphasis on the “awful”. Interesting that phrasing can be read both ways.
“Future King” William seems to have a pretty fragile ego for someone who has been told how important he is his entire life.
Those who are “embiggened” by words they know aren’t true are the most insecure. And Wills *knows* he’s not the smartest, nor is he prepared; he has been catered to and @ss-kissed all of his life. I’m sure his ego is as tissue-paper thin as his father’s. After all their years together, look at how Kate *STILL* looks at Will for his approval after she speaks. Speaks volumes to me.
The part jumped out to me was how members of the royal family aren’t supposed to overshadow the tours “of more senior royals.” So it’s totally okay whenever will and Kate step on Meghan and Harry’s new cycle because they’re the “more senior royals,” they can do whatever they want, they don’t have to play by the same rules that they want Meghan and Harry to play by.
I think William is all about that hierarchy and I think he’s instilled that “value” into his aides: that it’s a bigger and better deal to work for will and Kate because they’re the future future king and Queen, so even if they do very little, even if they always look bored or manic or disengaged or petulant while doing it, even if they’re difficult to work for and don’t give their staff much to do, their staffers are better off than Meghan and Harry’s. They, and the people that work for them, are simply just more important than Harry and Meghan. I keep getting the sense that the aides and courtiers at KP seem to think that they (the aides) somehow outrank Harry and Meghan by working directly for W and K, even though H and M are HRH and members of the actual royal family, while the aides are just employed at KP. Maybe will and Kate’s workers have the idea that EVERYONE (family or not) is, or should be, working only and specifically for the monarch and her heirs. Not for the charities, not for the people, not to make a fulfilling life for themselves and their kids. So they see Harry and Meghan as just a couple of workers who are technically in service to Will and Kate because Will and Kate are their senior royals. And they keep wondering why M and H do anything for any reason other than embiggening W and K.
@Amy Too You are so right!
I am surprised you admit it’s tit for tat. Usually you blame WK for everything.
It’s hard for me to believe the Sussexes didn’t have any knowledge or control over the teasers and air date. Meghan is knowledgeable and highly experienced in this area. All the details around the documentary and how it was to be promoted would have been discussed and agreed on by both parties well in advance.
Sophie ITV have been advertising the documentary days before the Cambridges headed to Pakistan and throughout the tour. They ramped up the advertising on Friday as they were airing the documentary on Sunday to promote viewing, it’s a normal thing they do. The Sussexes wouldn’t have any say about it.
I have to agree. I personally think ITV would have moved the whole documentary of Meghan and Harry had asked. ITV was always going to pick the most newsworthy teasers to get people talking and to tune in.
FWIW, it wouldn’t just be the Cambridges annoyed at this. It would potentially be the FO, their staff both in the UK and Pakistan who killed themselves to coordinate everything (including the last minute hotel booking and reworking the schedule), the Pakistani government/police/military, etc.
And before anyone says that if the tour had been good it wouldn’t have been overshadowed… I think the emotion displayed and what Meghan and Harry said would have swamped anyone’s tour coverage, even their own. Today people aren’t talking about their charity endeavors, but their mental state and the rift with Will. I have a ton of sympathy for them both and their interviews really broke my heart, but I thought the timing of the doc was less than stellar.
Yes, Meghan obviously runs the TV station. She probably had control of the timeslot and any commercials run as well! *eyeroll*
The big teasers came out on Friday, after the tour was over. Doesn’t seem that bad to me, especially if they didn’t have control over when the doc aired.
Exactly! William and Kate had left Pakistan by the time that teaser aired on Friday. That is so petty, William could do with growing up a bit, petulant git!
Yes if anything they may have waited for their tour to be over before the clips were released. They could have stared promoting it days earlier.
I mean, i’m sure the Cambridges are salty over it, but whatever. I dont think H&M had any control over the release of the interview teasers, and in general they cant be expected to just law low every time the Cambridges work. Other royals worked last week, its not H&M’s fault that they get so much press attention.
@Becks ITA, and I don’t even get why this is an issue because the tour was OVER. William and Kate were getting on a plane to come home that day. The press from their tour had been great. So why is this even a problem? How many days after a tour ends are all other royals supposed to wait to do anything? This is all so ridiculous!
ETA this reminds me of the fauxrage over how Meghan’s pregnancy being announced overshadowed Eugenie’s wedding. Which, again, was OVER by the time the pregnancy announcement was made. Eugenie got the entire weekend full of glowing wedding press and IIRC we found out about the pregnancy on a Monday. How long do these people expect their events to dominate the news cycle? FGS
+100
The issue at the moment is that Harry + Meghan coughing would overshadow almost anything the rest of the family does, regardless of timing. And that’s what’s infuriating for Future Future King William (The Conquering).
This whole line of complaint makes the Cambridges sound shockingly petty.
But we knew they were shockingly petty when they hopped a commercial flight with paps in tow, the day after the private plane ‘outrage’ in the tabloids. I had no idea he could be that ignorant. That stunt will come back to bite him, hard. It was a cold sneaky stunt and one day he will know how it feels.
This all goes back to the comments made about William in the recent Charles biography – its said that William is VERY competitive with other family members of press attention. He acts like it doesn’t matter but it DOES and it shows with the salty obvious PR.
William is just like his father in that he does NOT like being overshadowed by ANYONE.
My growing dislike for the House of Cambridge is turning to loathing. It’s unfortunate because Kate looked and performed her all-time best on that tour, but William and his crew are undermining any gain she made (a low bar, to be sure) with this outrageous petulance. F*ck ‘em. OF COURSE, ITV was going to promote their program, and OF COURSE they’d release clips aimed at getting the highest viewership (as opposed to stunning scenery and adorable children, which while significant and visually beautiful don’t hit British viewers in their heartstrings like Harry and Meghan). FFS
+1
+2
Both Sussexes and Cambridges are constantly in the press anyhow. What is a good time to release things? There will always be analysis over timing of releases, leaks, events, etc. I think the 24/7/365 news cycle and people-at-large can cope with two couples being in the news concurrently. It doesn’t mean there is petty scorekeeping going on, and only scorekeepers care about this anyhow. I have known some and it is a ridiculous, energy-consuming and futile endeavour on their part, and a game they play totally by themselves.
Yeah, I agree with you.
Or in an echo chamber for validation.
I think most of us are able to follow both couples and even a few of the dusty older Royals without being stricken with amnesia when a new story pops up.
Dear Cambridges
if two 1-minute long clips overshadowed your tour, you’re the problem and not the Sussexes.
With love,
Loretta
Ha! So true. KP is acting like they posted the entire documentary to step on their tour. 2 clips! It was only 2 clips.
My thoughts exactly. It’s easy to be salty when you don’t actually you know…do much, and NOW all of a sudden you want people to care.
LOL So true
Yes, ma’am, you got it!
I always wonder who benefits most from pitting H&W (and their wives) against each other, and I think the main winner is tabloids. But I also believe that there are a lot of ‘lifers’ as far as aides go who have their noses out of joint in the last couple of years. I think there’s a lot of people behind the scenes who genuinely are SO salty about so much.
I don’t know that the bulk of this comes from H or W themselves, but I do think there’s a lot of people who could stand to benefit from the feud. Andy’s supporters are one. Aides who hate the couple are another. And of course, the more articles the more comments, the more clicks, the more revenue as far as the tabloid media goes.
Agreed. I Think the aides give off major Downton Abbey vibes when they align their work with the reputation of the house they serve. This article reminds me a lot of Thebes article printed about the Sussexs “asking” no one to speak to them at Windsor. It was an aide who took the liberty of speaking for them and spoke out of turn. Here you have much of the same thing. An aide who feels salty.
And?? I couldn’t care leas. I have no goodwill to Lazy Kate and and Will the Bore
I’m….uncomfortable with the narrative that Meghan plotted and schemed with the letter business. I know it’s meant as a compliment, but it’s rooted in something universally problematic: the notion that black women are skilled schemers. We can never just be innocent bystanders who, like everyone else, gets knocked down unfairly. We’re always seen as suspect. Master manipulators.
Again, I know its meant as a compliment, just another perspective to consider.
I agree wholeheartedly. This notion that Meghan master minded the whole letter fallout + lawsuit, just reinforces her detractors’ negative view of her character as a ‘manipulative b!tch’.
@StepUp and Lulu: I saw people arguing that on Twitter last night. I’m 100% team Meghan and, like Kaiser, thought it was a smart thing to do because she knows her father and likely knew he’d sell her out, but there are definitely people who took it to show how “cunning” (and not in a good way) she is.
She can’t win no matter what she does, which is the saddest part of all of this to me.
I don’t think it confirms Meghan is manipulative. It shows she knows her father. I’m sure she hoped he wouldn’t betray her by selling the letter. But when he did, it confirmed her worst opinions about him. Thomas might have sold the letter, but the Sun decided to chop it up to support their narrative about her.
This notion that by writing the letter, she gave Thomas the ammunition to prove he’s a crappy father is nothing more than victim blaming. If she hadn’t done this, he wouldn’t have abused her more. Nope. Not going to give that idea any oxygen.
To be clear, I do NOT think that if she hadn’t written the letter he wouldn’t have abused her more. Not at all. I’m unsure how you got that out of what I wrote, honestly.
So true, tired of she’s coloured so shes scheming, big spender, spends frivilously, needs an entourage, doesn’t know her place, needs attention. No…she’s good women, trying to raise a happy family, being a contributing member of her community. British press needs to give it a rest.
I see what you are saying, but I think what Kaiser is saying is more that when Meghan sent the letter to her father she didnt intend it to play out this way. I think she sent the letter so that she had a record of what she said, but I think she would have been just fine if the letter remained private.
I think when her friends went to People mag though she absolutely knew her father was going to release the letter at that point. I think THAT was calculated (and brilliant.) I dont think the initial writing of the letter was part of this huge master plan.
Fair enough. And I’m not disagreeing with you. I just want to remind that our perceptions of other people and their actions are often rooted in stereotype-laden, unconcious socialization.
Like I said, twice, I know Kaiser didn’t mean it badly. I’m also saying that we all reproduce stereotypes without realizing it — even when we’re trying to be supportive and kind…that’s all.
(And again, not yelling…just a teachable moment — as pedantic as that sounds. 🙂
Sad that grown adults who *should* share the same aims of supporting charity can’t seem to work together. It’s like in old times when royals all had their little fiefdoms, except now they fight over TV time and social media likes. It looks bad on both the Cambridges’ and Sussexs” parts.
or maybe that the adults that write for websites and tabloids make this stuff up for clicks and money
It makes sense that they fight over what little they have control over (or think they have control over). They really don’t serve a purpose but they’re brought up to think that they have a God-given right to rule and be important and respected. This used to lead to wars and huge political and religious changes, banishing, exiling, or killing people who upset them. They used to have so much financial, social, religious, and political power. Now, they really have no power at all. Yet the born-ins, especially the heirs (Especially William) still have the old mindset. So they’re going to put all of their scheming and power-playing into the small, stupid stuff that they have any kind of influence over: like who dresses better, who’s stepping on whose new cycle, who has better relations with the press, who’s following made-up protocol better (crossing legs, walking in front of someone else, speaking first). They have all this time on their hands, and all these sycophantic yes-people working for them, all this money and resources, and centuries of indoctrination about how they’re literally the highest, godliest, most important people in the land and the only thing they can direct their energy into is worrying about and influencing their media narrative.
Plus, they’re all living and working in London most of the time. The King isn’t going off for years to fight a war, while his brother is busy running a dukedom in the North, and his son is spending 2 years doing the Grand Tour on the continent. They’re all with each other all the time and if they’re not with each other, they’re seeing and hearing about each other in the news multiple times a day.
Doubt it. PW and KM got “wall to wall” glowing coverage. They even managed to get through the tour without suing the press! Lol. Only kidding. Seriously, they got fantastic press, the people of Pakistan seemed to enjoy and appreciate the tour and what it brought to their country: a different perspective on their beautiful country.
The real story is Harry saying he “loves his brother dearly” and they are there for each other “no matter what”. They are on “different paths right now” (PW gearing up to be POW), but they love each other. “As brothers we have good days and bad day, but we love each other”
So….there we have it. And the press immediately trying to twist that into “bad blood”. The press makes MM’s point: they will say anything, without consequence. And people believe it! Even when PH is “I LOVE MY BROTHER DEARLY” smh
If one brief clip (because Meghan’s was posted *after* the trip) can so easily overshadow your “most complex tour”, then you’re the one with a problem. Somehow the Cambridges’ announcement didn’t overshadow Meghan’s baseball appearance, Kate’s sloppy announcement of Broken Britain didn’t overshadow the Together cookbook launch, and Beatrice’s engagement didn’t overshadow the SA tour. Conclusion: once again, the Cambridges have a serious problem.
The whole notion of “overshadowing” seems like such a relic to me. Maybe back in the day when there were only a couple of newspapers and a royal wanted to ensure that their tour made the cover, sure. But now? People follow who they want to follow and there are about a billion different sources to find info about whatever your fave is up to that day. If one wanted to focus on the Cambridges’ tour 24/7, they could. Those of us who follow Meghan could more or less ignore the Pakistan tour and focus on Harry and Meghan.
I swear to god it’s the same mindset of the royal reporters, who are dinosaurs but don’t realize it yet.
@Lorelei – yes!! The notion of overshadowing is so outdated. With KP itself having twitter and IG, if people wanted to follow the tour, they could have, without interruptions from the Sussexes.
Shouldn’t the future king and queen be as blandly professional as the current queen, while the more minor royals entertain the tabloids?
You’d think everyone would be delighted with the current state of affairs. Unless they were shallow and petty and had nothing better to think about.
Seriously, every schism in that family seems to stem from someone (Charles/Diana, Elizabeth/Margaret) tossing a wobbly because they’re getting fewer cheers and excited punters. Supposed elite, elevate thyself.
You’re so right. King and Queen and the rest are court jesters.
I don’t know how anyone can watch the ITV interview and think Meghan is the schemer DM makes her out to be. She’s down to earth, and even more so since motherhood. And the way Harry danced around the question about his relationship with his brother was noble and heartbreaking. Shame on William.
Harry is well down the line in succession, but he & Meghan are number one with the masses.
That won’t change even when Wallace is on the throne.
Yup, the Duke & Duchess If Hearts. 😍❤️
I don’t think it overshadowed the tour at all. The Pakistanis loved it and were there till the very end. I’m unsure what’s going on, but they weren’t as upset when Harry’s portion was also released during the tour. Idk when they could have released the doc? During Charles tour? Or during the same time that ITV is releasing Charles’ doc?
Again I’m not sure that the smear campaign is coming from W&K? Sure they benefit off of it, and they have done nothing to stop it… but I feel like there are bigger forces at work against M&H, I also think that people give a lot more credit to William than he can actually do.
Other commenters here have stated that the Sun put up then took down an article where sources at Kensington Palace confirmed William was furious about the interviews highlighting Harry and Meghan.
Even after the documentary aired, William is supposedly still pissed. The current story from the British media is that the Queen and Charles have been supporting the Sussexes (…how? Who knows) and Will is upset about the documentary. You would think after the fawning, mindless tour coverage from RRs he would be satisfied.
If a 30 second clip of your little brother’s (& his wife’s) interview “overshadows” your whole week-long tour….maybe ask yourself why. It sounds like a personal problem to me.
Kaiser, it’s very serious situation. The timing actually hurts H&M , the Cambridge’s came off very well, looks very engaged, happy, and representing the UK perfectly. I’m very worried about Megan. Being married into the royal family is a nightmare even for the thick skinned, Kate looks like she can’t eat and has anxiety herself, but, she will never talk. Megan is being open and that’s not what the royals do. I feel bad for her, Dianne had it worse because her husband never even loved her. You have been all over this time and again and this has blown up, you’ve been right. I think it’s gonna end badly.
The happy ending is the end of the monarchy and the archaic practice.
I thought the Sussexes were insignificant. Now, they have the power to force ITV to air clips of their upcoming documentary during the last day of the Pakistani tour. So powerful. /sarcasm
Can these petty aides please stop showing their collective asses? I mean…OMG! An independent company wants people to watch a documentary they paid for. They want to promote it in such a time and manner as to garner intense interest in it. No one is trying to undermine the Cambridges.
Yes. They have been salty since the Pacific tour. It’s very hard for them to get over themselves not being the Centre of attention.
I saw this on Twitter and it was getting dragged. They basically directly blamed the Sussexes for releasing the clips. People basically told the grumblers to Stfu and take their grievances to ITV, since, A) Cambridge’s were back from Pakistan at that point, and B) the tour was getting tons of press attention, mostly for clothes, but not like they were at the back pages, C) Sussexes had nothing to do with ITV programming and previews, and they didn’t even mention this doc on their Instagram. The tweet and the article was taken down, so wonder if some legal teams got involved or maybe KP didn’t want to get into the fray, since aides were being quoted and it looked sloppy.
I think what William is salty about is that the Sussexes have the power to overshadow him in the first place. Harry alone had it, and now with Meghan even more. He hated that even though they are “lesser royals” that they have a bigger impact and can attract more attention and effect to their causes.
I also think he’s salty cause he and Kate barely work, so they probably feel entitled to the limelight when they actually step out and do something. If they worked regularly they wouldn’t care so much.
The Sussexes shouldn’t have to stop working and doing good things just because William wants to hog the spotlight whenever he does his royal duties.
Only one of them was released while they were on tour, Meghan’s one was when they were flying back. Also they’ve never had any problem releasing things while others were on tours. The ski trip pictures were released when Charles was on tour, pictures of Charlotte (for no reason) while Harry was on tour. And the Sussexes had no control over this, it wasnt up to them but on ITV.
How come all this gossip in the sun or the daily mail is deemed credible if it’s against the Cambridges, yet if it’s against the Sussexes it’s just lies and vilification? I think the tabloids are the puppeteers is this house against house game. They invent “sources” and that’s how they ensure they’re cited here or other websites and get clicks. Stop reading, citing, and believing this garbage. Seriously!
The tabloids play a double game sometimes. Believe me, Diana knew it very well.
I hope they’re as salty as the fucking Dead Sea
Yes, it was definitely stealing the Cambridge’s thunder, but for whatever reason, I can’t bring myself to care about it. If William wanted better and more press coverage of his good works in Pakistan, then maybe he should have started with being kinder to his brother and helping him with the press by being in his corner. You reap what you fcking sow.
Wow I thought after their emotional responses in that documentary the cambridges would realize they’ll look bad continuing to criticize them especially so soon since the documentary aired but I guess not. IMO they seem heartless here
A new trailer for the crown season 3 has just dropped. It’s so telling especially given what is currently going on. In it someone ( don’t know who) says “elder sister, younger sister, number one and number two”, Princess Margaret says “who’s number one”, “ “you, she knows it too” margarat says “ yes I think she does”.
Gawd this is so relevant and William and Harry, and William knows he’s number two as well.
No good deed goes unpunished. In the Machiavellian world of the BRF, where status means everything and generations of family members have been steeped in the rules of hierarchy, along comes an honest, hardworking and dedicated young woman who, at first blush, is welcomed into the family and lauded for her “can-do” attitude and smarts. Then bit by bit the scheming courtiers, the gutter press and the very members of the BRF who supported her start the relentless chipping away of her self-esteem. Meghan, by virtue of her hard-working career successes and genuine sense of philanthropy, has exposed The Firm and The Family as mostly lazy, untrustworthy dilettantes. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if over the next few years they distance themselves more and more from the BRF and eventually take themselves out of the line of succession.
Harry is committing the same sin with William as his mother committed with their father: being more popular and making headlines easily. I pray it won’t end in tears.