If you’re like me, you believe that Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair is a mouthpiece for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Middleton family writ large. Nicholl’s claim to royal-commentator fame was a series of good exclusives about Kate before, during and after Will and Kate’s engagement. Over the past decade, Nicholl’s coverage of Kate has grown more sugary and I’ve taken to referring to Nicholl as “Kate’s hagiographer.” So… keep that in mind, and question where this story is coming from. Nicholl has an exclusive about how the Queen is super-disappointed in how Harry has handled everything around Sussexit, and even before Sussexit. The actual queen, not Future Queen Kate. Although who knows.
Hurt betrayal: Initially the response among senior royals was of hurt betrayal and even fury that the couple would make such an important announcement without consulting the Queen. Now the family is working things out with the world watching, and the Queen is keen to find a resolution before irreparable damage is done to arguably the biggest brand in the world—the British Royal Family. The Queen is more aware than anyone just how dangerous and unsettling this chapter could be for the House of Windsor. Just months ago Prince Andrew was forced to step down (for far more serious and controversial reasons), and now the royal family set to lose two key players who are two of the most popular members of the family.
The Queen is upset: “Perhaps it’s a generational thing, or the way she was brought up, but duty is everything to the Queen and she will find this the most upsetting part of all,” says one of the Queen’s closest confidantes. Duty has been instilled in her since she was a young girl and the crown is everything to her, which might explain why one family source said that she was as much “perplexed” as she was hurt by what happened last week.
A bolshie teenager? “At the end of the day she is 93 and this has been a genuine shock for her,” the source said. “After everything she has done for Harry she feels monumentally let down. All she has done is accommodate him and Meghan from the start. The family are all very upset at how the Sussexes have behaved, not least because of the impact it has had on the Queen, who has a very frail husband, the whole Andrew problem to deal with and now Harry, who is frankly behaving like a bolshie teenager. He has dropped a bombshell and left the Queen to pick up the pieces. It has not been great for their relationship. What was once a very warm and jokey grandmother grandson rapport has dissipated.”
The Queen was mad that Harry & Meghan wanted to plan their own wedding: “She was very upset by some of Harry’s demands and the way he went about certain things. He didn’t want to use the Queen’s staff for the wedding, he and Meghan brought in their own florist and cake makers, and Harry apparently asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry them before consulting the Queen and the Dean of Windsor, which wasn’t the correct way to do things. I think she was dismayed by his attitude in general and I remember speaking to her and her being rather upset by how beastly Harry was being. Their relationship was quite badly damaged by it all.”
What have the Sussexes been refused? Pointedly she did not rule out plans for them to scale back and spend more time overseas when they first raised the idea in the run up to Christmas. “There’s a feeling that what in the last two years have they been refused?” said a royal source. “There has always been a willingness to consider. The Queen is always there to talk about family matters but when it comes to matters of monarchy and the institution it’s not off the cuff. It’s not just a case of popping over for tea to discuss it. Decisions made on things like that have ramifications for three generations going forward and time was needed to get this right.”
I continue to enjoy how we’re supposed to believe that the Queen was handed the shock of her life with the Sussexit announcement AND that Harry had told her and BP staffers in advance of what he wanted to do, only to get the royal run-around for months. I continue to enjoy the argument of “when did the Queen ever say ‘no’ to Harry” especially when it’s preceded by all of the bitter-bitch complaints about how Meghan dared to ask for a particular tiara, or the Sussexes wanted to do a few things their own way for their wedding, etc. “… And now Harry, who is frankly behaving like a bolshie teenager. He has dropped a bombshell and left the Queen to pick up the pieces.” Yes, it’s such a f–king shock to everybody why the Sussexes want to go.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, WENN, Backgrid.
Translation: Henry is not taking anyone’s shit …
Good for him. We all have only one life, and everyone deserves to design it to their liking. If the queen wants to suffer: fine. Have at it, but don’t expect others to follow in your unhealthy footsteps just because of some blood relation.
Absolutely. Shake these people out of their insulated privileges.
To me this is a great distraction from the real problem: Andrew! Nobody is talking about the pedo now.
Bingo! And this is why this leak is likely from Liz/BP. Gotta protect the favorite! She’s mad about flowers and cake for crying out loud! Not about what pedo Andy did! She probably doesn’t think he did anything wrong! These are the shadiest of the shady oligarchs.
According to CNN, the Queen agreed on a period of transition during which Harry and Meghan will split their time between Canada and the UK. Freedom!
HAHA! SPOT ON!
A lie (or the distortion of truth) repeated a thousand of times becomes truth. I’m appalled the way the RF is hammering all over the news, all over the world, having those articles on all kind of sites (not only gossip) and blogs. The spotlight given to this problem is the same: Harry betrayed, Meghan moved him to do this, Harry despised his family, his family is brokenhearted … and on and on. Those news are flooding all over the world, in all possible languages. Every day. It’s really scary. It’s a midia massacre in my modest point of view.
And I spotted many news (not thaaat many, but more than I think it’s advisable) talking about how poor condition Harry’s mental health is. That’s a very old strategy. It’s getting really ugly.
And all of it just points up how important it was/is for their safety and wellbeing to walk away from it all.
I think they’ll quickly move from being “half time” royals to walking away from it all for good when Her Maj passes. I think Harry & Meghan’s statement was very pointed. “We will continue to support The Queen” – after that, all bets are off, because he’s tired of being used and abused by Chucklehead & Workshy. He knows who had their back and who didn’t.
The narrative that needs to be emphasized now, is how abusive C&W&K have been, what petty ratings whores they are, and focus on THEIR betrayal of Harry & Meghan. Repeat it until it drowns out the lies about H&M. The receipts are all out there already to back it up.
It sounds to me like they wanted a wedding where they had a say. Maybe they wanted diverse people to work across their wedding. Maybe they didn’t want the mothball treatment. Perhaps Harry didn’t go about it with finesse (I can see that); but quite frankly, considering all the nonsense the courtiers throw in anyone progressive’s way, is that surprising? The wedding was a huge PR success. The only negative PR came from nasty leaks from courtiers. If this is even remotely true, then her anger is misplaced.
At the end of the day, this is petty stuff, and if the RF had truly supported them (emotionally, mentally, against the press vitriol, etc.) beyond just the superficial, then this likely wouldn’t be happening. This is a mess of their own making.
And again, Wills was the heir’s heir – and he got Her Maj’s permission to break with a lot of traditions with his wedding. They got to make choices re: the guest list and that crazy “canape reception” – which, as 2nd in line, would normally be much more formal.
So it’s not like this was new! And Harry was 6th in line when he got married, so less formal should have been even more okay!
Honestly I think some of this comes down to Rota holding a grudge that they got to see Di married at St. Pauls, but neither son wanted their weddings there. And also because Hazza didn’t want the tabloid Rota covering his wedding. He was visibly worried/anxious about Meghan in the face of the press that were allowed to cover it.
The tabloid press still act like abusive spouses, that feel entitled to abuse and then act all surprised when the other spouse files for divorce. These are extinction bursts, and because the Rota are grudgy a-holes, this will likely reverberate years – I hope Canada has strong anti-paparazzi & tight libel laws on their books or plan to. Because what DM and Express etc are doing cannot in any way be construed as journalism. They’re libel rags, plain and simple.
Im kind of confused by the coverage of this story. From reading the Sussex’s website, it doesnt appear that they want to leave at all? It seems like that want to still keep their patronages, work with the Queen, AND be able to make their own money using their titles while also working in Canada. Can someone explain how the narrative has changed to them “leaving” the BRF?
Exactly-they just wanted to step back from being senior royals (more like Beatrice and Eugenie) and not be on the royal register.
This whole thing blew up because of that snarky response from BP and the tabloids whipping it into a “they quit!” Frenzy.
Yeah agreed. However even pro-H&M individuals and sites (like this one, no shade) are supporting the narrative that they are leaving and “sticking it to the institution” – even BEFORE there was any backlash from the tabs etc. So it just seems odd to me that both sides of the fandom are spinning things wayyy out of proportion.
I completely agree. In fact if anything I think that their terms were a little sneaky. By stepping back as senior royals and cutting out their funding from the sovereign grant, they could cherry pick their royal duties, do whatever work they wanted to privately and still get most of the perks of being royal, including their home, security, titles, status and a chunk of money from Charles. That is essentially what they’re asking for.
As for the Queen, I can imagine she was perplexed by the lack of sense duty from Harry and possibly hurt if she wasn’t asked first about the marriage but I think the rest is probably entirely made up.
I think we are gradually starting to see that there are many sides to all of this and nobody has behaved perfectly but from a family level, I really hope they can all work it out.
You are exactly right about the Sussex website. the narrative is that they are leaving bc it is more dramatic and makes the Sussexes look worse.
Because racist classict people and reporters cannot read!
Nor can they drive! (At least the royal ones.)
This is only a guess but the way the story has unfolded, I think Meghan changed her mind after the backlash at their original plan. I have a feeling when Meghan left, she told Harry that she will never step foot in the UK again and that she has no intention of allowing Archie into the UK either. I think the conversation has changed to Harry quitting completely.
And this feeling is based on….?
This is how rumors get started.
Willz: My feeling is based out of the live news coming from the sources of Charles, William and the Queen feeling “let down after all they’ve done for Harry and Meghan along with the laundry list of things they’ve done for him.” That tells me Harry has made the choice to quit the family entirely and will live in North America with Meghan and Archie. Given the vitriol and Brexit impending, I think Meghan feared she was being Marie Antoinetted, which she has been. I think it’s the right and safest choice. I just don’t see the UK royals surviving this decade. I just don’t. Better to leave now and watch the dumpster fire in the distance.
Welcome to the website, Willz. People here think they can secretly communicate with Meghan, so things get a little nutty.
This.
I don’t know why this is being spun as leaving the family. It seems like they want more control over how they work with media (F the Royal Rota) and charities (impact + fundraising vs. counting every appearance). They still want to support the RF and their patronages, just in a more modern way and in a way that is less detrimental to their mental health.
When Harry created Sentebale and Invictus, it should have been a clue he is interested in pursuing projects outside of traditional royal work. The writing has been on the wall for years. It’s not Harry’s fault his family stuck their heads in the sand.
They always want to serve the Royal family but the current atmosphere was too dysfunctional and toxic. I think part of this has come about because of “ the taxpayers fund and own you “ being used to beat them over the head with. If they are not taking their public funds, that can’t be weaponized. Meghan has always worked and supported herself as an adult and paid her taxes and managed her own budget. To basically be called a public leech or the equivalent of a welfare queen is highly offensive and unfair, and diminishes their work. This is criticism is mostly from ardent royalist who have no problems with other Royal expenditures. Also maybe stepping away from the UK will give the Cambridge’s more spotlight that they feel is rightfully theirs— however they better start wearing the big britches and show they are up to it. However they decide to make money, it should and will be double and triple checked to make sure it is appropriate to their roles, and reflect the goals of their charity. They should be flexible with this. Maybe if the situation improves, they can do more to support the royal family. Time will tell.
Yeah, this should have been a smooth transition. It’s basically just asking for a change in employment status.
It’s controversial for a number of reasons especially when you look at the big picture. All of the power players in terms of the family are in their upper 50s, in their 60s, their 70s or 90s. They are comfortable with what they have and/or have +/- acclaims Ted themselves to the situation. If it ain’t broke or broken too badly, why change or fix anything. That probably goes for staff too. I’m not saying they are out of touch but this is setting precedence for them because who has really ever eschewed royal perks’ for individual agency? Margaret didn’t. Her children are in royal orbit. Anne didn’t give her children titles. She took that choice from them but they benefit big time through her and QEII. Andrew and Fergie feed from the trough. Hell, Andrew has been kicking and screaming about the removal of his children—blood princesses no less—from the feeding tray. His children have jobs but they feed from it too, not as much as he’d like, but in terms of their living arrangements and connections—even Eugenie, although she maintains a lower profile. Sophie and Edward, two others who maintain low profiles but who live at Bagshot (I think that’s right). So, WHO, has walked away? Who has said “hey, I’ll still help you but I want to give this self-sufficiency thing a try? Even Edward and Wallis tried to stay in England sup from the table. Furthermore, liters in the firm probably don’t or can’t fully perceive or appreciate what M/H are asking for or the upside for both parties. Let alone the possible workable model it offers for others.
Re: the others— as a side note, if I were one is the others, I either would have run my a$$ to Sandringham or I would be watching closely cause if they are divvying up the pie for H/M then I’d want my cut too. I’d be like wait, wait: I can do my own thing as long as I show up wearing an ugly and dated coat dress 5 times a year? But I have to help William? Define that. Ok. Ok. Yeah, I can do that. No, I CANNOT do that. Sign a NDA? Really? Whatever. Cool. I bet they are all salivating over the potential for this after having had some time to think about it.
I was about to say the same thing. They’re not leaving the royal family, they just want to be more independent, make their own money, and be able to split their time between there and North America. They’ll still be working with the same charities and serving the Queen, just not in a way that is so restrictive. I don’t understand this spin as though it’s an awful, terrible thing they’re doing. It sounds very reasonable to me.
I think the bit about wanting to earn their own money is very threatening to HM and Charles. If Harry and Meghan are financially independent, they can’t be forced to tow the royal line.
They still want to be royals but minor royals like the Wessex’s – they have NEVER said they want to leave thats what the press are saying. They basically want the freedom to do what THEY want as opposed to being told what to do by the various Palaces.
They seem willing to do whatever work the Queen wants them to do for her, but the freedom to pursue things like InvictusGames the rest of the time.
It’s a good distraction from Brexit. Less critical thinking when everyone is occupied with royal stuff.
Tbh I read their website purely as a “this is what we hope to see happen” especially after the BP terse statement in response. Because at the end of the day the Sussexes may retain inferior status within the firm as minor royals but have superstar status on the global stage. This immediately puts them at odds with the RF. The Firm doesn’t want any superstars other than the heirs period. So I don’t see this flexi-royal proposal working AT ALL, William will still work to undermine them at every turn especially in Britain. I predict that are going to have to cut all ties.
I actually predict that the RF will cut Harry loose, for the exact reasons you bring up. Hard to be a Global Influencer when everyone knows that your entry into those circles is now compromised.
Yes Mousy. That’s what THEY want. But it’s not what the RF wants for what it seems. Bonita says that they will cut Harry loose… I hope she’s right and that’s the only action they will take against them. From what I’ve seen, it smells discredit, and it’s a lot more serious.
TQ is on my last nerve.
Harry is acting like a man whose marriage and child are of utmost importance, choosing the family he created over the crap he was dealt. I’m not seeing behavior of an immature, spoilt teen.
Right!?
The queen is mad because they didn’t choose her florist? The queen is mad because they picked the officiants at their wedding!? The queen is mad because they chose a different cake-maker than the one she wanted?
If true, the queen is a petty POS.
She really has been showing her ass the past couple of years.
The stuff about the Queen being angry about flowers and officiants reeks of Kate/Carole because that’s exactly the dumb things she and her party planning family care about. I doubt any of that mattered to the Queen. Harry should have totally married Pippa, according to them. She would know how to properly plan a wedding. #PippaTips
Didn’t W&K also choose their own baker and florist? And get complete control of their wedding list? I seem to remember a quote where, when W complained that there wasn’t any room for their friends at the wedding as it was all foreign dignitaries and politicians, TQ told him to go ahead and make HIS list first, and then she’d fill in the rest.
What Billy wants, Billy gets. Period.
Katie Nicholls writes: “I remember speaking to her and her being rather upset by how beastly Harry was being.”
The reality: The Queen says, “They chose their own florist, did they?” Slight wrinkle of her eybrows. “Oh dear I hope they didn’t hurt Lady Baby’s Breath’s feelings.” Switches hand bag to other arm (code for get me away from this nosy twit).
Katie Nicholls writes: “I remember speaking to her and her being rather upset by how beastly Harry was being.”
She spoke to the queen directly and her grandson can’t? WOW!!!!! I doubt that the queen is talking to a reporter about her “beastly” grandson. She sure has delusion of grandeur much.
Seriously, TQ needs to clean house. The “palace insiders” are so undisciplined that they can’t stop leaking. I don’t understand why this is allow to happen. Every single headline – whether it’s intended to make H&M look bad or TQ look good – is hurting the monarchy. They look like amateur hour. It appears as if the Queen doesn’t have a grip on power. The leaks have got to stop.
Hold on guys. Hold on. We are all right to fume about the Queen’s conduct. However, have you spent some serious time around the elderly? They are really set in their ways, and not much can sway them. They usually hold certain ideas for 50+ years and will not divorce with them easily. Add in the fact that shes the Queen.. and there are protocols that are older than us. I don’t agree with her actions either, but I also see how a 93 year old is not flexible to change with the times and will literally get petty over stupid stuff like flowers/procedure/etc. Not excusing it, just a reality.
Giving my apologies to all the commentators above, I don’t think the problem is or was any baker or florist or the color of the napkins. From the very beginning H&M union was sealed. Or have everybody forgotten the fancy brooch sported by a minor royal? You have to have guts to do that on a family gathering if you are not sure about the feelings of all (or most of) the family. And I don’t think this minor royal is so brave (or can afford) to spit on senior royals noses.
wonder why he wants to leave?
I don’ know! Hummm…..
Right after Harry goes above and beyond what is required of him and put his name to a joint statement with William that lets William off the hook for being a bully, we get Cambridge BFF Katie Nicholl writing this sort of crap!? Are you kidding me!?
Yup. This is where there’s a PR problem at the palace. And if it isn’t fixed, it will implode because the RF needs H & M and the conflicting messages make the RF look confused and weak. The messages from H & M have been consistent. The “royal reporters” and those who are using them for their own “gain” need to be reigned in-pronto.
Harry is an idiot, he continually allows his family to use him despite what they put his wife through. Meghan need to cut her loses with him he’s weak and he will continue to allow them to play him like a violin.
I hate this story they are now pushing that Meghan is forcing Harry (who loves his family) to choose her and Archie or them, but that Meghan will not let him have both. Really makes Harry sound like he’s about 8 years old. They are doing everything they can to diminish his responsibility for Sussexit and put the “blame” on evil Meghan.
We don’t know what’s going on, so let’s not let that statement bother us. Harry and Meghan make joint decisions. That statement didn’t happen without Meghan’s ok. During this crisis, neither of these two would put a comma in a sentence without consulting the other. Let’s trust and support them as a team.
I also think it’s an insult to Meghan for us to think that Harry is an idiot. He may not be an intellect, but there are different types of intelligence and he most likely has one that Meghan lacks. We fall in love with those who have qualities that we desire but we lack. A woman like Meghan could never be attracted to an idiot, let alone fall in love with one. If Meghan left it to Harry to handle this, it’s because she has full confidence in him. If we don’t believe that, then like the haters, we believe Meghan is controlling Harry.
My concern is that they’re going to slow walk this to try and keep Harry and Meghan split up in the hope that Harry will see “reason” in time and they can convince him to dump her.
If he is stupid enough to let them do that then he doesn’t deserve Meghan. I’m positive Meghan won’t have a hard time finding Archie a stepfather.
Stepdad, LOL.
One thing Meghan has proven she can play the long game, and have all the i dotted and the ts crossed.
She proved her father was a lair, without saying a word.
I do wonder what the reaction would be if Meghan and William released that statement. Would Meghan be called an idiot and that she doesn’t deserve Harry? Somehow I doubt it. And, Harry got what he wanted. Harry has been wonderful this week and deserves some respect.
Also, Katie Nicholl hacked Harry’s phone for 10 years. She isn’t the most reliable.
If that happens, then they’ve lost anyway. Any father would struggle to walk away from their child, especially when the media is hounding that child…
Also something tells me William has lost Harry, I do not see how that relationship can ever be rebuilt.
I don’t think he’ll ever leave her, he seems really committed to his family – as he should be.
Meghan might have to take the hard decision to quit for her own mental health, but so far she’s chosen to quit the royals (i.e. money and status) rather than quitting Harry.
But I will not judge her ever if she decides she’s had enough.
If Harry does that, he can kiss all the good will and popularity he has amassed on the west side of the pond goodbye.
Americans and Canadians have been backing him precisely because he told the Firm to stuff it, and stood by his wife and son.
I really hope it keeps like that. Yesterday, I saw a massive wave of comments in several sites, supposedely from USA and Canada, insulting them on every way possible. The midia massacre is enormous.
I hope my math is wrong and my stats sucks, but the wave against them has swallowed all the rest. Not pessimist. I’m just trying to count the damage.
The negative comments I’ve seen run mostly along the lines of “Who’s gonna foot the bill if they move” and “Poor old granny got blindsided”, but mostly it’s been “Leave them alone and let them live their lives”, plus a lot of praise for Harry for supporting his wife.
Harry ditching Meghan was what they wanted since the very beginning. They were sure that after few months, the novelty would worn out by itself and each one would go back to their ordinary business.
I’m sorry. I do understand that the Queen takes the crown VERY seriously. I’d imagine after the way things went down with the line of succession, that she truly believes her duty is to fill this role first and foremost, and family and everything else comes later.
But what good has that done? From all I can tell it’s kept things afloat for them, but at the cost of their family. There is SO much repression, and misery in this family. Parenthood has always taken a backseat to the crown. Being there for your children has always taken a back seat. You have generations of deeply damaged people all being forced to keep a certain appearance and pretend that everyone is fine, because pretending is SO much better than showing genuine human emotion. And that’s not even taking into account the Andy’s of the world. Even the best behaved of this lot could use decades of therapy.
While I’m sure she’s upset – she can take all of the seats. She played the biggest hand in everything that is crumbling around her.
All excellent points.
Yes I agree with everything you said. From my limited viewing of certain The Crown episodes on Netflix, it seems the Queen has taken duty to her country very seriously and placed it above all else since she became Queen at such a young age in her 20s (like 25?). But it has come at a high price and left her relationships damaged with her children, grandchildren, husband, etc. But the world has evolved and while I’m not sure how close William and Harry were to Charles growing up after losing their mom so young, they both have taken an approach to putting their children’s well-being first. (I don’t think William is a perfect man by far but I do think he genuinely loves his children and you can tell whenever they are in his presence they seem happy and relaxed to be with their dad).
So I guess the Queen might be uncomprehending as to why Harry wants to take a step back but he’s also not in the line of direct succession. He will never have the duty she did and it doesn’t make sense for him to live his life the way she did.
Correct translation:
Duty = Preservation of Power at all costs
I’ve always said that the dysfunction goes back generations in this family. Just reading about what kind of parent Victoria was as well as how fucked up her own upbringing was confirms that the family dysfunction in the House of Windsor goes back centuries.
I have a family member who has been involved in geneaology and I learned recently on my father’s side of the family, they left England in 1632 to live in the US. This was the period of The Great Migration, 1620-1640. They left because of both the political climate and religious persecution. The Plummer family has a published book, on who they were, where they settled, and what their occupations were. Settled in and aroung Boston, eventually along the East Coast, with one family moving to Canada. I could never live in the UK. If I wasn’t working I’d be on a picket line yelling end the monarchy 🙂 The monarchy is destructive to both itself and others, serving no useful purpose. Those who don’t learn from history …
Excellent comment @Erinn. This is a family tragedy and I dont blame Harry for wanting to break the circle of dysfunction. Somebody has to. Luckily Harry married someone to whom mental health and happiness was more important than a tiara.
I don’t really understand the point of having a royal FAMILY when it’s very obvious that they don’t act anything like a family. They appear to rarely or even ever speak to each other just as father/son or brother/brother or grandma/grandkid. They talk to each other through the press and through secretaries. They’re not projecting any sort of “perfect British family” image. No one is saying “I want my family to be just like the royal family! They look so close and happy!” Why not have just the monarch be the only “working royal” and ditch the rest of them? Or elect either one person or a few different people to fill this kind of ceremonial role? Like some countries have a President who doesn’t actually do much of anything besides be the “face” of the nation? The family thing isn’t working out so far and doesn’t seem like it’s going to get better any time soon: not with Charles as king, not with William as king, and if George is growing up with William as his father and the Middletons leaking all over the place on his mother’s side, I don’t know how well adjusted he’ll be either. Trauma begets trauma, ways of interacting with each other (or not) are passed on generation after generation. No one is able to break the cycle without it being some huge scandal. (Diana, Harry and Meghan)
The Windsors are weird even by royal standards – it is like protocol rules even how the family interact with each other (they literally have a protocol for who is curtsying to whom, according to rank). They seem positively Edwardian.
I know most about the Scandinavian RFs but they look positively relaxed and “normal” in comparison to the Windsors in terms of how they come across as family. I do think part of the issue is the extreme longevity of the Queen (and her mother).
A “bolshie teenager…” that term is so specific and not commonly used, I can’t help but feel a message is being sent here. Either this person inadvertently gave away their identity, or they are specifically sending a message to Harry and Meghan by revealing themselves like this.
Any bets on this person? An actual courtier? Poisonous Princes Michael of Kent?
(I don’t know what bolshie means 😶)
Petulant
Bolshevik. I think because of the metaphorical ‘bomb’ Harry’s mentioned as setting off.
Ok that is slightly conspiracy theory-ist.
‘Bolshie teenager’ is not that uncommon an expression in the UK- it’s basically another word for petulant/rebellious.
I don’t think the wording means anything or refers to one specific person.
Just my North American vocabulary, then, I had never seen it. I even checked google trends and see that use of it peaked in 2004. 🙂
That said, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that anonymous sources sometimes give themselves away based on the wording they use, and that as outsiders, we public have no idea when signals/hints are being communicated.
Also to be clear, I was being tongue in cheek. But in retrospect that is not at all communicated by my phrasing!
Colloquially “bolshie” is used in Britain as a term for “uncooperative”, “truculant”, “deliberately combative”, “someone who is difficult to manage”. HOWEVER, the word originates as a shortened version of Bolshevism and it can also denote “radical”.
Mainly, I think that “bolshie” having become a byword for “difficult” says something about how being “difficult” or seen as “difficult” has a classist undertone – as in, people not knowing their place in the pecking order. At least that is what it looks like for an outsider who once lived in England for a short period of time and who found it exhausting how much energy people spent on pigeon-holing each other according to class – and I ran with a fairly middle-class crowd. I did meet a girl who had transferred from Cambridge to a uni in Yorkshire because she couldn’t stand the snobbery so I expect that it is much worse in the higher levels of society.
@ArtHistorian – I immediately thought “Bolshevik” when I read Bolshie. Again, the classism here with these people. They’re so ridiculously out of touch with what many young people actually want. They don’t want stuffy line of succession photos and stiff upper lips and Christopher Robin cosplay (I’m looking at you, Kate). Many young people do hold progressive ideals. This is one of the reasons Harry and Meghan are so popular. The BRF could have used that to their advantage but no…maybe the centuries of in-breeding is impairing their thinking.
Wouldn’t it derive from Bolshevik, as in an loud and unrepentant (leftist) agitator?
I didn’t know the word. But the etymology is unmistakable. And I would bet nobody young would use it. But I’m not familiar with slangs.
So Harry’s ghastly behavior amounted to he and Meghan selecting their own florist, bakery and officiant for their own wedding? These are their transgressions?
Right?? Do they realize that kind of stuff just makes them all look worse? (like if those WERE the issues around the wedding, and someone is still ticked about almost 2 years later……they need some perspective.)
I did read a report around that time that the Queen had indicated she didn’t understand why Meghan (of course, just Meghan) wanted or needed a big wedding because, after all, it was her SECOND wedding. She was said to wonder why the Sussexes couldn’t have a small ceremony like Anne’s second marriage or even Charles’ (heir to the throne after all). If that was indeed her thinking, then I could see how she’d think everything about it was too much fuss, however good the PR value was (which I’m sure was a strong selling point for her and her couriers).
It was Harry’s FIRST wedding.
The Queen is old.
Dysfunctional families are very good at making mountains out of molehills if the molehills aren’t the molehills they demand.
Are you forgetting choosing their hospital, Ob-gym, not announcing the birth Until she was back home or appearing on The lhospital steps a few hours after birth and showing the baby face two days after birth.
Meghan probably fcuk this, I’m not Walking outSide to hundreds of photographers yelling at me.
The BM did their best to get them to cave in like all the other Royals, and it was like do your dammest, and we will sue, the dailyfail is not replying to the lawsuit, they think if they ignore it, Meghan and Harry will drop it.
Weddings destroy relationships. Everyone takes everything so personally, it’s crazy. Just reading reddit, it’s amazing how offended people get over transgressions revolving around a wedding. God forbid you offend a florist? Or, on the flip side of the coin… God forbid you just use grannies florist to make her happy… Sometimes compromise, and learning to compromise is how you maintain relationships, especially with family.
God forbid granny tolerate her grown descendants creating their special days the way they prefer. After all, she did.
God forbid that a bride and groom are allowed to plan their own wedding.
Wouldn’t it be more the tabloids, fed by the courtiers and the household’s staff? They want to make wrong every single choice they made. I’ve just saw an article in a foreigner language about how many “protocols” MM broke since she’s married. It so childish you could laugh: not using pantyhoses, using black nail polish, having the hair on a knot, using a black dress… If you just read the title you would think she was selling top secrets.
Yes! They picked their own florist and cake maker? The horror! My god, the pettiness. This just reads like a lot of grumpy courtiers who are mad they can’t control everything.
Well , when you put it like that…
Hmmm. I wonder what florist Eugenie used …
Also, I thought Meghan and Harry’s wedding flowers were incredibly beautiful.
The florist/baker thing is probably better understood as an exchange of favours that didn’t happen. Certain suppliers might have invested years in creating a relationship with a particular courtier, and expected to be selected for contracts as a matter of course… and H&M upset this delicate, old standing balance of favours and expectations.
A byzantine organization (such as a Royal Court) relies on many unwritten rules, and on “soft” power which is then exercised ruthlessly to punish perceived transgression and keep everyone in place.
The system is having its revenge, pushing them out.
And, if all of this is true about the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker then why not just have explained the necessity of certain choices to the happy couple – I’m sure they would have understood the quid pro quo and gone along with it.
Much ado about nothing, taking our eyes off of what is really going on.
I really hope they break away and then the BRF just goes away. They are exhausting and always taking up news space with their drama. They have shown over the last year they are irrelevant.
Yes I know they bring is a lot of tourism revenue but I am sure if the Monarchy was pretty much gone people would still visit the castles, displays ect. Not a Brit but interested in what the BRF does that is needed for the good of the UK
Just look at France. No monarchy and yet they’re doing just fine with tourism of Versailles and other royal landmarks.
@Beach Dreams, I agree. I always side-eye the whole “Royals bring so much tourism to the UK” argument. I agree that royal history and it’s associated architecture–such as Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, ect.–brings in a lot of tourism but frankly without sitting royals, more palaces would be open to the public more often, potentially bringing in even more tourist money. I do concede that certain events, such as royal weddings, etc. can generate more tourist visits but on a day to day basis? I’m not sure they’d be much of a difference.
If the palaces owned by the British people could be opened up for viewing, tourism would bring in far, far more.
Don’t be fooled by the tourism defence—its a straw-grasping effort to find relevance in an offensively outdated system.
Grifters, the lot of them.
Yes to this. The last tome I checked places like Versailles had a boat load of tourists. It would be no different in GBR
What intrigues me about all this is the spirit of Diana being so palpable. Trauma lives on, pain lives on if not dealt with properly. All that happened to her, happened to her children too. All the wrong that the Queen did to Diana, is coming back to bite her. Harry has carried it with him. He will not let happen to his family, what happened to his mom.
Agreed. It’s clear that Harry is acting from a deep well of pain only amplified by the treatment of his wife and child.
It also shows (at least to me) why Diana made some of the extreme choices she did when things turned bad for her.
Harry and Meghan have each other’s backs – they certainly seem to be deeply in love and completely devoted to one another’s health and well-being, which is what people need in relationships for real trust to be developed. Who did Diana have? NO ONE. She was surrounded by the same toxic family energy, the same back-biting, rumor-mongering, manipulation, etc. with no one by her side that she could fully trust. Some of the shit she dealt with was coming directly from Charles (or at least his handlers). Her own husband. I know she had close friends but I also have read that she became quite suspicious of people’s loyalty to her and would cut them off if there was even the faintest hint of shady stuff – and I can’t say I blame her. If your own spouse doesn’t support you, undercuts you, is cheating on you, who can you trust?
Diana fought with the only tools she thought she had at her disposal, and some of that created more damage for herself and her children, sadly, because they were the same manipulative tools that were being used against her. But yes, the pain has transferred to her Will and Harry mostly because the root cause of the toxicity has never been acknowledged/addressed, and it never will be, as far as I can see.
I remember watching Diana’s funeral procession, with the two boys walking behind her casket, and I felt sick. They were made to participate, publicly, in a kind of “grief-porn”. I thought – what kind of a family would put them through this, after losing their beloved mother?
I feel like this “poor Queen” narrative is ringing true for some people, but I also think its backfiring in a way because its pretty clear that the queen did know about their plans. This article even admits that! This is all just stupidly messy.
And it’s so contradictory. The queen is always available to talk to her family about their concerns and roles but she’s not going to just sit down to tea and talk about it.
She was blindsided by the announcement but talks had been going on for weeks.
She is so angry that she wasn’t given a heads up about the announcement and about how serious things had gotten but she also refused to see Harry and his meeting with her was cancelled.
She has so magnanimously accommodated their whims even though she didn’t actually know about what florist, cake maker, or priest they were using until afterwards and then was pissed about it. So did she let them do their own thing even though it was different than what she wanted…. or did she not know about it and got angry?
She was furious! But mostly she was disappointed. No actually, just confused and perplexed. But remember also the article that said “no one is incandescent with rage. No one is going to be punished.” And the article that said everyone was incandescent with rage and the Sussexes would be punished.
They had such a wonderful, warm and jokey relationship up until this bombshell was dropped a couple of days ago. But also, their relationship has been very badly damaged since the wedding when he acted beastly in wanting to pick his own florist.
@Amy Too, you’ve summed it up.
This article is so badly written it is laughable! How does Nicholl even have a job when she can’t even write a story without contradicting herself?
I’m amazed at all the detailed, specific leaking of Queen’s hurt and anger over this issue; compared to all her silence about and photo ops with Andrew to show her support of him. I think her opinion on who has truly betrayed his duty to her is a bit crazy. This is about the Sussexes stepping back to second tier, not being complicit in sexual acts with trafficked underage girls or accepting shady payments for access. Some of Andrews behavior towards Queen and country has been reported by government and respected journalists as seriously traitorous and yet all we are getting is how excessively horrible and painful the Sussexes actions are to Queen, country, and family. I think history will see it differently.
Very well said. Mixing speech is an old tactic to. The public gets confused and go to the strong side. Guess whom? They are trying all the tricks they know and most of them are older than my grandmother. It doesn’t require a special knowledge to know from where the come. Courtiers?!
Great summation, seeing all of those contradictory points lined up like that. Even *horoscopes* take a firmer stand and have a more coherent message than this.
The truth is being lost in the press hysteria – EVERYONE has said that TQ and Chuck knew what was happening and knew beforehand that they Sussex’s were dropping the story. TQ and Chuck were a bit pissed that they were only given 10 or so min notice of the release. BP confirmed all this but as usual the truth doesn’t generate clicks.
If anything TQ is probably sad that family drama made it onto the front page but she only has herself to blame by allowing ego’s and bad behaviour to run rampant.
Yep.
The hysteria is all generated by the tabloids all over the world. And I would bet the tip of my nose it’s the BP/KP/Clarence House agenda about the matter.
Prince Andrew is “one of the most popular members of the Royal family?” Since when?
I hate the word, “keen”
He’s probably a rockstar to fat old men who have a thing for young girls, I guess. Andy’s living the dream…(barf)
Since his pal had that horrible inconvinient litlle detail splashed all over the press?
“Very frail husband” that she couldn’t be bothered to visit in the hospital. Sit down, Liz.
Jen: I’m done….LMAO
IKR?!?! HA 🤣 HA 🤭 HA 🙄 HA 🥂 HA 🤪 HA 💔 HA 👀 HAAAA!!!
But she didn’t! Well… well.. well… Either he is not so frail or…
Jen. Exactly. The frail old husband who DM has photos of today being driven around Sandringham by Penny, Countess Mountbatten. LOL maybe Will gets his gardening predilection from dear old Grandpapa. Penny is referred to as a family friend, is that what Rose Hanbury is too?
In the long run, I don’t think this ends well. I don’t see how the Sussex marriage can go the distance with all that had happened and will continue to happen. What a Cluster$!#@.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor did just fine. But I think the scrutiny during Meghan’s pregnancy took a toll on her mental health. I don’t say that to be mean or slight her. I doubt anyone could have withstood what she did and come out completely sane. I think Harry has had his own struggles and is sensitive to what she’s gone through.
If they choose to stay I 100% believe their marriage wouldn’t survive, which is probably what a lot of people behind the scenes secretly want. I think they are going through hell now but the outcome of this decision based off of what’s best for their mental health in the long run is the best decision for them IMO.
I guess it’s ok to be a pedophile but not a bolshie teenager.
It is if you’re a senior British royal, apparently.
This will never happen, but all of the public relations (BP, KP, etc.) need to fall under one person — a trained PR professional, not a coutier — with the individual “courts” reporting to them with major announcements before they go out. Provide some sort of autonimy (Instagram), but the Queen should have stopped all this back biting years ago. Though she probably thought it all went away, like it eventually does. (In her mind.)
I know Meaghan feels restricted by the rules, but (I know I am about to write something that isn’t popular), but she married into “The Firm,” it’s a company, with company rules. You either change them gradually, or if you do it radically, be ready for the consequences. (I say all of this as a Meaghan/Harry stan, believe it or not.)
That said, they don’t deserve all the the racist, classist attitudes towards them. My grandparents left Scotland in the early 20th century because of how their position in life was set by societal rules. Not like America was that much better at the time, but at least they had an opportunity.
“ … she married into “The Firm,” it’s a company, with company rules. You either change them gradually, or if you do it radically, be ready for the consequences.”
Leonsmomma, I agree with you. You can’t marry into this family and make your own rules. I think Meghan truly believed she would try to fit in as a royal wife but found these rules way too restrictive. I do believe she wants to walk away completely but knows that Harry isn’t ready for that. Yet.
Kate and Camilla endured years of daily harassment and criticism. Since they had no intention of leaving The Firm, they knew the tides would eventually turn and they just went about their business. I believe the tide would have turned for the Sussexes as well as far as press goes. Were they not fawned over and greeted enthusiastically everywhere they went? I mean the actual crowds. Couldn’t they just have blown off the press and enjoyed the work itself and the people they benefited in Britain and abroad? They weren’t willing to take the long view.
The Queen has never defended anyone. It’s not her way, right or wrong. I thought the first published photo of Archie with the Queen and Philip was her way of showing her support of the Sussexes. It was an unprecedented photo.
William, OTOH, would have locked his brother in the bell tower forever.
Re taking the long view:
Very easy to say that as an outsider, when your actual mother was chased to her death by the same lack of hyenas. They hounded Meghan so much during her pregnancy (using her father and sister to rain abuse at her daily, *throughout*) that I wonder if they were hoping to dislodge the baby.
Don’t judge a man till you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.
Actual support for the Sussexes would have included her telling the press to knock it off. She’s done it before. She did it for Dianna, she did it for Fergie, she did it for Charles when he went public with Camilla. She could have done it again. A denial was managed when it was reported K had botox and another when it was reported she had hair extensions. Kate and Camilla (who brought the critisism on herself by having an affair while married with a man who was married) have never faced this kind of vitriol. You’ll come back and say they have, of course, but they haven’t. There were 451 negative articles about Meghan in a single month while she was on maternity leave. 451. The tabloids have literally put a target on Harry’s wife’s back. She has been linked to terrorists. That stupid gender neutral article (by none other than Katie Nicholl) whipped the trumper-types up into a FRENZY. And now they are going in for the baby.
I also think Harry has been ready to walk away from the firm for decades. He just hasn’t had someone who has had his back until now.
Maybe the long view for Harry included dead loved ones. Not a chance he should have to take.
The queen has definitely come out in defense of Camilla, Charles, Kate, and her pedophile son. One single statement from the palace or a few church pap walks like she did with Andrew would have shut up a lot of the abuse and false stories. The media continued because they were allowed to continue. I would not be willing to take the long view if that meant sacrificing my mental health and relationship with my partner potentially while the “family” that is supposed to have my back protects a child molester instead.
I am not sure that Meghan felt restricted by the rules, because the rules are not clear cut. They are fuzzy for the spare. Harry and Meghan were assigned charities, but appeared to have been hampered with what they could do because they could not outshine William. How do you circumnavigate that?? If there were a clear job description for the spare, where Harry and Meghan could excel, I think they might have been able to stick it out.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the rules changed once they realized H&M were out shinning W&K, which in reality is not that hard to do. The narrative and support from the BRF got really weird about the sussexes after the Australia tour and since then it’s just been a downward spiral of bad decisions and PR moves from the firm concerning them.
Taryn, could be. The role of the male spare in the old, olden days was much clearer. Try your best to kill the heir. 🙂
TQ probably has been accommodating to Meg. It’s quite possible others have too. What they aren’t getting is it’s not just a matter of accommodation. It’s a matter of showing you care. TQ and others in the BRF have shown in there handling of this that they don’t really care. What H&M really needed was a stop to the harassment and TQ doesn’t see why doing nothing there is where she failed her grandson.
H&M did that interview and told them they want to thrive, not just survive. These dingbats are too busy getting incandescent with rage to listen.
I agree that most of them were accommodating and welcoming but they also did nothing to stop that attacks on her and didn’t give either her or Harry the support they needed when they really needed it. Meghan coming from a different country etc.. means that it would have been doubly difficult for her to adjust to that life – everyone has their limits but I do wonder what’s gone on behind the scenes for things to get to this ‘will I touch it down’ moment.
There’s also the matter of all the leaks to the media. Being accommodating and welcoming is all well and fine, but how were they supposed to feel anything but attacked with all of the leaks coming from KP, BP and CH? It’s a classic case of smiling in someone’s face while stabbing them in the back.
Katie Nicholl has no credibility. She was the one who ran that story saying the Sussexes would raise their child to be gender fluid and Byline Investigates has a whole section on her very shady, barely legal methods of getting g stories including using private detectives and phone hacking. VF has really devolved from newsworthy to gossip on a lot of their stories since Graydon Carter left. He always had a skeptical tone to these types of stories, now they seem so one sided with no reaching out for comment from the actual partit’s involved. A lot of people think Kate’s mother Carole is behind a lot of leaks, especially about stuff concerning the wedding, even Camila Tominey gave old Carole a twitter shout out . The worst thing is that these sources and leakers are treating something like this, which is seriously a big deal nationally and somewhat internationally, as a joke and a game, another way to make their team look good. This is what I find most disgusting about this. They go on about Harry and Meghan upsetting the Queen ( Rightly so on that statement) but the willful blindness on what lead up to this and the serious issues underlying this is just dismissed as fluff to pump up the dutiful Cambridge’s. Such a cesspool.
Nicholl is the one Kate and Carole had on speed dial, with Tanna, during the decade of dating.
Right on. Vanity Fair over all has had biased coverage against Meghan from day one. I subjected my ears to their royal podcast run by two self-important babies who have zero knowledge. They just ragged on Meghan and praised Kate based on biases and high school level patter, which read as sheer racism.
Nicholl’s coverage and the VF podcasts killed the publication for me. As a middle aged geography prof—when I know more research than the supposed Royal expert journalists who want to spin vitriol and kiss up to perceived narrative of power with zero facts? Time to turn off.
Are we supposed to believe that the Queen concerned herself with the cakes and flowers at Harry and Meghan’s wedding? Sounds to me like one of the royal courtiers didn’t get their usual kickback and they’re pissed. And this part does reek of the party-planning Middletons.
lol
I see no stories about the Queen pitching a fit about Eugenie using an outside cake designer for her wedding. All this is doing is setting up more examples of the press using different treatment for Meghan. More fodder for lawsuits from Harry and Meghan.
The British press (with William’s help) are the reason The Queen is in this mess. Maybe they should ZIP IT and wait. The Queen should really speak directly to the WORLD on this issue. On another note the British Media is now chasing after being labeled “racist”. They are all over American media trying to explain themselves.
Lmfao a BOLSHIE. Really? Now we are gonna accuse Harry of communism? 😂
WILL THE PALACE NOT SHUT THE HELL UP! Damn they make it worse every time something is leaked.
Kaiser, I have to say, you nailed it: Kate’s Ass Kissing Hagiographer, lol. Kudos.
Nicholl’s dictation (I refuse to call it “reporting”) reveals a couple of things here. The first is the Queen’s “close confidant.” Which is code for courtier with an axe to grind. Pray tell, it was probably Lord Young or one of his minions, but apparently Lord Young’s job is now on the chopping block, as well. Well done, Katie.
Also, the Queen is the Queen. Any notion that anything outside the normal wedding planning (all weddings are a pain in the ass for everyone involved, let’s just get that on the table) caused her some kind of trouble is absurd. Nothing was going down at that wedding that she did not ultimately approve. Period.
Again, it all comes down to this: Meghan, in the minds of the courtiers, the Cambridges, the Middletons, the Phillips siblings, et al, is an uppity black usurper who didn’t/doesn’t know “her place.” It’s as simple as that.
Hence we had all those “Kate’s a Regular Mum Who’s Preparing to be Queen (Consort, not really a Queen)” stories over the holidays from Nicholl – who, by the way, has a mispelling in the subhed to her story on VF this morning. Dear God, Radhika Jones needs to hire a GD copyeditor for Nicholl, because she apparently is not proficient in her mother tongue.
I found “hagiographer” pretty funny too, after I looked up the definition 🙂
The queen was super hurt that they wanted to use their own FLORIST? and felt like her grandson was being ‘beastly’? do they truly not understand that, far from sympathetic, that kind of crap just makes them look petty AF? can’t imagine why harry would want to get away from that!
the newspaper coverage has confused me. They want to step back as senior royals but will still support Queen. But then there are articles from the Bradby guy suggesting H&M might do a no-holds barred, tell-all interview, which suggests they’re using that as leverage for these negotiations. How does your familial relationship survive a threat to air their dirty laundry?
Another article indicates the “succession” photo was the final straw. But haven’t they done succession photos before?
It makes me sad that they don’t have a place they see as a home, as a refuge. Because if Frogmore WAS that place for them, they’d surely be there right now. Although, it could also be that Meghan is in Canada because there’s a better emotional support system in place for her there. I hate that their first home together (and Archie’s first home ever) has seemingly been tainted.
I would bet she’s in Canada to get away from the media coverage and toxic environment in the UK. She has Archie to think of so her mental health is important,
Bradby inflamed this situation and made it all worse with his incessant commenting, he needs to shut up for awhile now.
Yesterday out of curiosity I looked up footage from Diana’s funeral. I wanted to see how how the boys looked at her funeral (age and size wise). And I had a hard time spotting Harry because he was SO small. Heartbreaking.
If anyone wants to throw shade at him for protecting his wife and child they need to review that day and they will have their answers.
IMO the British people acted very selfish at the time of Diana death. I can remember them demanding to see the boys as if the public grief was much more than the grief the boys suffered. It was all so sad. Having said that I do believe the majority of the Brits hold a special fondness in their hearts for Harry because of that day.
I was shocked and disappointed at how the British people behaved when Diana died. The selfish demands to see children who had just lost their mother were insane.
When the boys came out to look at the flowers outside Buckingham Palace, the way the crowd grabbed at them made me sick. They were like vampires. It was disgusting.
That’s the one thing about Diana’s death in which I think the Queen did the right thing. She did plenty wrong, but keeping William and Harry out of sight at Balmoral was the right thing to do. The public baying for blood, demanding to see Diana’s sons was disgusting.
I don’t see any of the Brits asking for Andrews title or his 75 year lease at Royal Lodge. Not to mention Edwards 165 year lease of his home Well maybe Harry/Meghan will get a similar deal for Frogmore….200 year lease.
Edward’s lease is shorter than Andrew’s. Andy’s was for 75 years, Edward’s for 50.
I don’t understand how Meghan is said to be this great planner but never saw that hot mess coming. She’s a black woman, she’s American and she’s a divorcee. She was always going to have a very hard time with the British press.
She must have know but Harry most likely promised her they would be out of there within the first five years. They needed some time to build their brand anyway.
Was she supposed to anticipate her child being called a chimp?
The disgusting truth is that everyone expected their child to be called a chimp, or something else equally racist, even before Archie was conceived. But just because it was inevitable doesn’t mean she was prepared for it or that she should’ve let it go.
i think Harry sold her on this idea that their jobs as royals would be globe trotting philanthropists. So its understandable that the reality was a bit of shock.
The job of every royal, major or minor is to support the monarch and the heirs and to accept their position in the pecking order. The philanthropy is nothing but a side gig for good PR.
The raison d’etre of the royal family is to survive at all cost.
So in that context, it is normal that the Firm would privilege the Queen, Charles&Camilla and William&Kate over Harry&Meghan, irrespective of who was the latest family rock star.
Yes, it’s Meghan’s fault. She should have known the way the people and the press of a FOREIGN country would behave. Shame on her.
I blame Harry who IMO didn’t brief her properly on what was to be expected (see Diana, Fergie, and to a certain extend Kate). And like you said, she is a divorced American actress with a dysfunctional family selling her out so she has been gossip gold for the British tabloids. And the very visible lack of support by TQ and Charles during the smear campaign kept the whole thing going on and on….
She was fully briefed – by Harry, by other members of the BRF and by staff. She and Harry are deeply in love and are working from the same page. Harry is fully supportive and was right from the start. So your comment is, at best, fatuous. NOBODY could have anticipated the amount of racist vitriol, threats and lies the gutter tabloids encouraged though, and it was interfering with their good works and family life. They’ve done exactly the right thing and hopefully it’s a strong message to the BRF that they have to modernize, slim down and get with the program or it’s going to crumble.
Thanks Carole that clears everything up.
Dear Lord, there are enough people in line before Harry for the throne (if the monarchy lasts). Just let him and his family step back. They are so obviously not wanted, why are the senior royals even caring? They all wanted Harry and Meghan gone. Let them live their lives. Why does the majority have to keep making things so much more complicated than they need to be? Yeesh, this poor couple has been brutalized long enough.
Because they never wanted Harry gone. Meghan maybe, but they need Harry badly if this future slimmed down monarchy is going to work to plan. They just wanted him to be quiet and submissive while picking up the ever-increasing slack as the old guard retires/dies.
They are wanted, and the royals never planned to have Harry and Meghan gone. The Queen would not have handed them President and Vice-President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust if they were supposed to leave. Or have handed the National Theatre patronage to Meghan.
A nice American married into a trashy family.
That’s all I see here.
Liz: If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
He is trying to get out of the kitchen. The royal family set the entire house on fire to keep him on the kitchen.
😂 I laughed way too hard at this comment. Cheers!
What the family doesn’t realize is that this is an existential crisis for Harry. This is him affirming the one real, stable connection he’s had in his adult life (no offense to prior girlfriends), realizing that he is incredibly privileged and his life thus far has been really empty. Shaking hands and cutting ribbons is fine and good, until it’s not. It’s an empty life for him. There’s no connection, and that is what he desperately wants and needs. The problem is that his family doesn’t understand that, because the royal life has been enough for them. Or, if it’s not enough, they can drink/shag/work their way around those feelings. They are offended when he says it’s not enough for him, because it makes them realize it’s all so empty and disconnected and they don’t want to face those emotions. Harry sees the precipice of his privilege, and the deep needs of the world around him, and is compelled to do something meaningful to help. Unfortunately the very “thing” that he has been taught will save him (his family) are too far up their own a**es to realize it.
@ Noodle-what a breathtaking & heartbreaking post. You completely nailed it 💔💔
If it’s so tough for her to manage the family, her job, then maybe the Queen should step down?
+1
At what point are people going to realize that Harry is a grown man and capable of his own decisions?
Shh. That fact doesn’t enable the tabloids, RRs, and Meghan haters to keep spinning their lies.
It sounds like there were personal drama behind the scenes leading up to the wedding, and given how the Queen is all about following traditions I can see her saying no and in turn the palace started leaking false stories. One thing I have always wondered how come Harry and Meghan never issue a cease and desist or threaten to sue base on human rights like William did with the Rose story?
They were not accused of having affairs with others like Cain was.
At the end of the day, this is 100% about race. They expected Harry to be damned grateful they were gracious enough to allow a black, divorced, American actress into the fold and in return, Meghan was supposed to bow and scrape and do every last thing demanded of her and give up every opinion about even the most insignificant of decisions.
Makes me laugh that this is truly apparently the best they have to rile things up against H&M — a teenager and a BEAST because he wanted his own florist and cakemaker.
The “biggest brand in the world” clearly isn’t the only one that feels threatened here.
Right? I actually snorted involuntarily when I read that. THE HORROR! These cheeky little twits hired their own bloody florist. The empire is burning; the empire is burning! Oh, Harry you Bolshie Beastie, what have you DONE?
Look, my brethren, upon the fields of despair and see what mine grandson hath wrought in devastation upon the kingdom.
/swoon
Lol!
Again harry and meg are supposed to put up with being treated poorly because the queen has been enabling andrew all this time? How does that even make sense? Maybe this is all blowing up in your face because you mismanage things lizzie
Why is this effing woman even given a platform to spew such nonsense? Nothing she writes is based in truth, it’s her own opinion fed by the Cambridge/Middleton camp. I used to like Vanity Fair in its earliest iteration but it’s nothing but swill since Tina Brown, then Radhika Jones took over.
Having grown up in a narcissistic upper class family, this interview and the tone of the statement that was just released seem very favorable for Harry and Meghan. The tenor seems to have changed, it’s much less aggressive, less “these fools will be punished” and more whining about them not playing ball fairly, which is what these kind of people do to cover their ass when conceding defeat. What they’re saying without saying is that the Sussexes have proven they have the power; expect them to get most of what they want.
Thanks for the translation. Good reminder that all of the statements are in code.
I would be interested in what this “Insider” has to say about Prince Andrew’s behavior….I smell a coverup of some kind, like Harry and Meghan have some serious dirt on this stupid family and they are willing to spill it unless they get paroled from their English prison and 93 year old warden, who by the way, they will have to pry that crown off her cold, dead head.
If a family relationship can be severely “damaged” by some phone calls placed outside of protocol (but not outside of common manners and polite decency), then there’s no relationship to begin with. People getting married are often “beastly” because they’re nervous and they want things to go well. They do things that don’t make sense, sometimes, and they get easily frustrated and nervous. Again, if the relationship was destroyed not by bad manners but by mistakes in protocol…that’s absurd and there was no relationship to begin with.
I suspect that’s the case because I never had to make appointments to speak with my grandmothers. Both had work and schedules and duties, but neither of them ever used that as an excuse to ignore me. She isn’t his grandmother. She’s his queen and nothing more.
The biggest brand in the world?
Get over yourselves, your hateful murderous blood-stained empire is the past.
There are moments in all this noise when I wonder just how much TQ and Prince Charles are really all that bothered by these details. Did that really bother them that much, if at all, or is this all a bunch of stuck up, troublemaking ‘courtiers’ stirring the pot – as well as whatever W. and passive K. might have been up to?
I remember a long time ago reading that those around the RF are sometimes more conservative about Royal life/protocols than most members of the RF themselves. I wonder how much of that might be true?
I am relieved that H and M are getting clear of that toxic cesspool.
I think that W and K are going to wish they hadn’t driven them off.
Yes, they will, especially William.
There will come a day in the not-so-distant future that Harry will be the only person on earth who knows what William knows, who grew up a prince like he did, who understands him fully. William will sorely regret running his brother out of the family.
I wish Harry and Meghan would set the record straight, yes people are going to assume the worst when they don’t know. Is H&M doing this move because they felt bad taking from the Soveriegn grant that is funded by the taxpayers, or did they do this so they could move to a different country and didn’t want Canada complaining about having to dish out the money or do they not care about that and will countinue taking from public purse. I like H&M by far more than I like any other royal, but I would like them to make it clear or hire a better pr guy. They are not yet private citizens so they need to be open about this. BTW W&K are certainly gaining good press from this the comments on DM is how they are so stable levelheaded future king and queen.
What is it about the record that they need to set straight? They want to be off of the public dole because Harry cannot tolerate the way Meghan is handled as a public figure. He wants them out. The primary reason, as they’ve stated, is to get out of the Rota system and have the right to say what they really think to whatever journalist they choose. They want the ability to fight back against false and defamatory comments that incite vitriol and threats of violence against Harry’s wife. They want their son out of the toxic cesspit of courtier intrigue and media microscope.
To do that, they have to be financially independent. They said all of this on their website quite clearly (albeit in more professional words).
The royal family didn’t protect them, and the family has made it clear that no protection will ever be forthcoming. When someone insinuates that Kate uses hair pieces or that William boinked an aristocrat, the family circles the wagons, but when Meghan is routinely and openly called racial slurs by the Daily Mail and accused of spending obscene amounts of money she didn’t spend or being “difficult” to work with because she has an American work ethic, nothing is done. Harry cannot protect himself or his family until he gets clear of the public money paid to senior working royals…so that’s what he’s doing. He’s getting clear of it.
It’s that simple. The side benefit of no longer being a tax burden is something I’m sure both Harry and Meghan understand fully. They will no longer be doing public work, so they will no longer receive public money. I’m sure they got that memo. The record, however, is very straight.
That is ALL this is about. The family screwed them and they’re handcuffed to help themselves unless they get out of the working royal system. And, by the way, this 100% Harry. I have no doubt that he conferred with Meghan and that she’s in full support, but this is 100% Harry. The press is literally shaking with their excitement over blaming all of it on Meghan, but anyone with eyes and a few brain cells can see these decisions come from Harry, not from her.
Sorry I posted my comment before I read the Queen’s statement and am ashamed to admit I have been hanging out at the DM comments section too long I almost started believing the lies lol. Harry and Meghan have so much integrity I am not surprised by this decision. It’s a brilliant move. Thanks for your post.
They have mentally trying to enslave Harry all his life-then tried to do the same to his wife. I am telling everyone this Harry was making plans as far back as 2018 to form a plan to get off the media treadmill. He told a friend this near the end of 2018. I think it was in Vogue or Cosmopolitian. Harry is very clever and aware of dark forces trying to hurt his family. He wants to be able to tell his children the reason he made this choice and will not feel ashamed or guilty for doing everything for his family to make them feel safe and happy. I find this trait in men very appealing. To love and care for someone enough to do whatever to protect them.