As we heard yesterday, Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to the basic Sussexit plan: she’s approved of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepping down from full-time royal work, and she’s approved of them moving, however permanently or temporarily, to Canada. There are still many details to be worked out, and my guess is that they probably won’t be worked out entirely this week, especially the financial stuff, which will probably take a while to work out. This week we’ll hear, for sure, about whether Harry and Meghan keep their Duke/Duchess titles as well as their HRHs. That will be interesting, because A) I kind of don’t think Harry and Meghan care about the HRHs and B) Prince Andrew was not stripped of his dukedom or his HRH. Here’s some additional information about what went down at The Summit:
Meghan called in: Palace sources told PEOPLE that the Queen ordered Harry, Prince William and Prince Charles to meet at her country home on Monday in order to “talk things through.” Meghan was thought to have called in from Canada.
The Queen’s statement: Royal historian and biographer of the Queen, Robert Lacey, tells PEOPLE: “It was incredibly personal. I can’t recall a royal statement where one gets the sense so much of the Queen herself speaking. Using phrases like ‘my family and I’ is very moving. It clearly shows her wish to resolve everything.” Adds Ingrid Seward, the Queen’s biographer: “It’s deliberately very vague and doesn’t tell us much apart from Harry and Meghan have won the first round. I’ve never seen a statement like that in 30 years. It was very personal and sounds very sad.”
No Camilla, no Kate, only “heirs”: The Queen’s historic royal family summit on her Sandringham estate on Monday was an exclusive affair for the monarch and her heirs. The meeting, which lasted two-and-a-half hours, was held in the Queen’s country home in Sandringham, Norfolk. But not all senior members of the royal family took part in the Queen’s summit, as the only attendees present in the room were born members of the British royal family. Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton, Prince Charles’ wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and the Queen’s husband Prince Philip (who is officially retired) were not in attendance.
Two-and-a-half hours… does not seem like long enough to work out everything. They probably spent most of that time just coming to terms with the fact that Harry would be leaving. Is it interesting or not that Kate and Camilla kept their distance? Camilla DGAF. Camilla is generally fond of Harry and Meghan, but she’s not going to get involved. But I think it’s incredibly interesting that Kate was not involved at all – this is an issue that affects her, just as the smear campaign against Meghan was directly tied to the embiggening campaign of Kate. Plus, those royal reporters spent years telling us that Kate and Harry had a special bond, and that he adores his niece and nephew. But I guess none of that matters now.
The Daily Mail’s Richard Kay had a lot of exclusive information about the meeting, which is funny because Kay is definitely known as a William AND a Charles guy – both leak a lot of sh-t to Kay, so Charles and William ran to Kay as soon as the meeting was over. It’s also funny because Kay emphasizes that Meghan was not allowed to “call in” because “no one knew for sure who else might have been listening in,” the source huffed to a tabloid journalist as the source spilled his guts about the Summit. So stupid. Kay says that Harry turned up to the meeting early so he could have one-on-one time with the Queen and talk to her face-to-face. Kay says the meeting was “calm.” For Prince Charles, the biggest sticking point is the financial aspect, “sources revealed that Prince Charles also views the matter far from concluded as he knows Harry will rely on his Duchy of Cornwall to meet family bills.” A “friend” told Kay that Charles “doesn’t have unlimited resources. Harry needs to know that.” Again, Harry reportedly has an inheritance of something like $40-50 million.
As for that curious joint statement issued by Harry and William yesterday, I did get it wrong – the joint statement wasn’t about William’s secondhand gaslighting quotes to the Sunday Times. The denial from the brothers was about a different Times story about how Harry felt “bullied” by William. The fact that Harry and William felt the need to deny it… well, that means it’s true.
PS… Apparently, the Sussexes’ office released the info that Meghan didn’t call in because she and Harry thought it was unnecessary.
Just to clear up some reports… The Sussexes decided that it wasn’t necessary for Duchess Meghan to join yesterday’s Sandringham meeting via phone.
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 14, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
Once again, we have to keep emphasizing that they are not leaving the royal life nor the family. They are just turning into minor royals. Why is this so hard to comprehend…
I think it’s because change is so incredibly hard for this family. Tradition and duty are elevated, and stepping back a bit from that may FEEL like abandonment to those within the family. A little bit of change hurts a lot. A lot of change hurts just a little bit more.
THIS. It will always confuse me as to why, instead of a big splashy thing, Harry and Meghan didn’t just say “following the lead of my Phillips and York cousins, as well as the examples set by other European monarchies, we will step back from a senior royal role into one where we will be financially independent, but also support the Queen on key occasions.”
DONE.
I don’t Zara or the York sisters would have appreciated being named in the statement.
100%. This is exactly the lifestyle / commercial freedom they want.
They DID say that, minus the references to other royals. It’s the press who predictably turned it into a hysterical “they’re leaving!!!!” gossip cycle.
They aren’t following that though. They are basically becoming part-time Royals like Will and Kate were until 2017, but more financially independent. All the “Royals” you named aren’t Royals. They are private citizens that have Royal relatives/titles. None of them work for the Queen. Harry and Meghan still plan to go on tours and such paid for by the government. Their website says as much. It’s also a big deal that they want to use their title to make money. I get their desire to be financially independent, but the government gave them the title because they were going to be in a public service role. The Royals have always had strict rules against that for obvious reasons. What they are suggesting is actually really complicated and honestly, I don’t see how it’s possible. It was absolutely ridiculous when William tried it and he at least had a pretend PR job to sugar coat things. They should either stay or leave completely. Half way Royal doesn’t work.
Apparently the Queen disagrees with you, Ainsley.
Shazbot, you read my mind! That’s exactly what I thought when they said “and there is precedent” for being financially independent but didn’t mention the royal cousins specifically. My only guess is they don’t want to follow that template exactly.
The Sussexes seem to want to keep their patronages and role in the Commonwealth, which is being more involved then their cousins with royal work. But that half in, half out formula might make life more difficult? I think being commonwealth ambassadors alone could be easier.
Ainsley7, so the Duke of York should have been stripped of his title as soon as he was removed from his duties, right?
Ainsley fwiw I agree with you. The Sussexes deserve their freedom and right to live their lives under their own power. As long as they keep their royal titles and association, however, they’ll still be bound by rules and restrictions on what they can do, commercially. It might be easier for them to voluntarily give the titles up, to be free to do what they want. It’s too early to tell. I completely believe that with good guidance and advisors, they should be fine. They can navigate this.
Millie: he should have been stripped of something. It’s partly because of his longtime crass cashing on his title and proximity to the Crown (both him and his ex) that this is been made so difficult for H&M, who’ve never done anything wrong or associated with criminals. They’re getting painted with the same brush, so to speak.
I feel like a lot of Royal-adjacents have been dancing the “financially independent” piece for years. The DM had a ton of stories over the summer about Fergie and Zara and others who were being paid like $100,000/yr by a shady HK businessman to be “Royal Advisors”. The article talked about how MOST of them are on the till, and we just don’t know about it. Now, that is not including the “Senior Royals”, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth to know that they are being paid for access. If that has been accepted as SOP, I don’t know why such a hullaballoo would be made about HM wanting to step back and not be “Senior/Working Royals” anymore, except that due to their popularity, they would probably do it 100% better than anyone else. Or maybe the fear is that they would expose the system of how It operates and their hush-funds would be taken away/forbidden.
@Ainsley7 – they want to use their royal titles…..do you honestly think think that anyone will ever not know who they are, titles or not? I don’t think the titles are even vaguely relevant to them – forever they’ll be known as the former Prince Harry and the former Duchess of Sussex, if they give up their titles. And so what if they want to cash in on the titles – is there something wrong with that?
Cashing in on their titles is the equivalent of corruption. The titles are there for the public service role, not to be trademarked & sold for cash.
My take is as follows. The new Sussex Royal website lays out the rules of engagement with the press i.e. they will not engage with the traditional press pack or the Royal Rota. So the press are changing the narrative to turn sentiment against Team Sussex for; (1) The Lawsuits (2) Effectively being pushed of the Rota and losing their most valuable couple in terms of earnings.
@Ainsley- is what they are proposing much different from the Queen’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent? He is a HRH, has Kensington palace grace and favour home& think the Queen covers rent through Lancaster.
He runs a consultancy business but also has his patronages and represents the Queen particularly abroad in Commonwealth countries& the state must cover costs of that. He’s also presented documentaries on royal families- a gig im sure he got trading off his association with royalty.
I imagine it’s just more complicated because they want to split time in Canada.
I really feel a lot of this is press hysteria.
It isn’t that different. It would be codifying things that the Queen deliberately hid or kept quiet regarding P&P Michael of Kent and their possible funding.
I imagine because a lot of people never saw them as senior royals to begin with. Both Harry and William have always chosen a workload more suited to minor royals, with the promise that one day they’d kick into gear and start racking up engagements like their older relatives.
With that in mind it’s not clear what stepping back actually means here. If they’d ever worked as much as Charles or Anne then there current schedule is what I’d expect of a step back worth announcing, but as it is I guess stepping back means something like 10-20 engagements a year, and what’s the point of that? It seems vastly preferable to just give it all up than to cling on to minor royal status.
If you have watched any documentaries or even The Crown, it’s obvious that through decades, the House of Windsor is always concerned about the public turning tide and the republicans convincing all to stop funding the monarchy. As such, QEII, as her predecessors before her, has always been obsessed with preserving the monarchy and she herself always felt it was her duty to work as much as possible to continue to “prove” their value. I’m an American, so I’ve been monarchy free since 1776; however, I do understand and appreciate the tradition and history and why she feels it is her duty to preserve it and has done so for the past 66 years through storms rougher than this. It seems no one cared that Harry and Meghan were stepping back, but their rush to put out the website saying “we will do this on THESE terms,” however justified they may have been, was surely going to create a kerfuffle. It was also grossly mishandled by the Queen’s secretary, if reporting is true, who denied the initial meeting. As such, you have two sides who have continual leaks, and it would be like if our own family dramas had warring factions and clingers who were each leaking to the press.
All of this stirs up more of the “we don’t need a monarchy” sentiment, and it is sincerely at risk of crumbling. If that happens as a result, justifiably or not, Harry will forever feel responsible and that won’t bode well for his family.
I do think there is some personal hurt by family members on all sides, and that is understandable, and with the BRF’s infamous stiff upper lip, they don’t cope with family dynamics well, to say the least.
So Andrew won’t bring down the Monarchy but Harry will ? I see what you did there…
Goodness, I’m not sure why such a reply. I support the couple. Of course, Andrew is awful. They were/are just in crisis over that and his funding was stripped and he has essentially been hidden away. After Elizabeth passes, he will be marginalized even more, and God willing, he will find his way to the most despicable prison. This isn’t even comparable except that in both scenarios, it will cause more people to doubt the monarchy even more.
Amanda, you’re spot on. Just because aware that if your every post here doesn’t start with ANDY IS A PAEDO!!!!, even if the topic is baby Yoda or something, people will call you a racist.
Why should Harry feel it is his fault?
Go back a generation to how Diana was treated, and how that likely colors Harry’s view of the whole structure. He lost his family of origin (divorce then death), and it is reasonable to assume this informs his actions. He’s trying to preserve his new nuclear family AND help TQ by removing himself, over time, from the royal coffers/taxpayers. Sorry, but your ending statement seems ridiculous to me.
Damage to the monarchy? Look no further today than casting your eyes on the pedophile prince.
Harry, forever feel responsible? The monarchy has a history of self, other destruction. It’s close to ending. William does not want to be king and his behavior supports it.
I don’t find it interesting that Kate wasn’t involved. It would have been incredibly weird if she WAS involved. If his step mother and grandfather were not involved, why would his sister in law ever be? I know there was a lot of embiggening of Kate or whatever, but it seems silly to think that that would have ever happened regardless of all that.
Yeah, I don’t think it is weird that neither Camilla nor Kate were involved. This is an issue about Harry and Meghan’s future in relation to the monarchy and it makes sense that it is the monarch and the two future monarchs who are involved in the negotiations.
Absolutely. Whether it affects her or not, she is relatively insignificant and the blood royals, I imagine, could not give less of a sh*t what she thinks about anything! I doubt she offers opinions and that’s why they like her.
I’m sure she had to mind the children!
Because at the moment, Kate is on the same level as Meghan
Yes Kate will be PoW and Queen Consort and when that happens she’ll be higher than Meghan in terms of rank (not personal worth)
But right now her and Meghan are both married in royal Duchesses
I understand that – but again, if his grandfather, and step mother are not involved as the spouses to heirs, there would be absolutely no reason to ever involve Kate.
Yeah I don’t see why she would be involved. She has very little power in this family. To the extent they’ve tried to “embiggen” her it is to elevate William. I’m not a big fan of hers – she’s lazy and dull -but I don’t get the hate of her. Hating her doesn’t help anyone else.
My feeling is that Harry would not want his HRH taken away if it means bowing to William.
Y’all need to stop with this nonsense. If William is future king by virtue of being born the firstborn son of a future monarch, then Harry is forever HRH by virtue of being born the second born son (and thus spare) and brother to future monarchs. Harry’s HRH is not based on anything other than he is Charles’ son and William’ brother. It’s his birthright, he can’t lose it anymore than Charles can’t be skipped in favor of William. Harry is not afraid of anything, that’s just wishful thinking on the Sussex haters’ part.
Agree. If Kate HAD been involved there would be bitching too. The women really need to be left out of this. It doesn’t really start or end with either of them. It’s Harry’s decision and he’s William’s brother. That’s it.
H&M did say they’d be discussing their plans with all “relevant” parties, sooo… 😉
Meghan wasn’t on the phone either. 🙂
I would think she might be involved or have a little bit of say since this is likely to be the template goin gun forward for all spares. Of her three children, two are spares. Though it doesn’t surprise me in the least that the Queen thinks just having William, their dad, in the meeting to advocate for and make decisions about their children, is enough. The Queen seems super old school and would probably be shocked that people might suggest that as the kids are half Kate’s, she might have an opinion about what will happen to them in the future.
The monarch is legal guardian of all minors in the line of succession. I would think she believes herself fully capable of deciding the trajectory of those in her custody. Including Archie who, while not HRH, is still in the line of succession, and therefore decisions regarding his upbringing (including residence) do require TQ’s sign-off. I’d imagine that negotiation itself took up much of the meeting Monday…And I’d wager that’s why he stayed in Canada even when Meghan returned (briefly) to the UK…a lot easier to block a minor in TQ’s custody from leaving than to force one to return…
@AmyToo i just don’t think william and kate operate as a team like that.
My take: this is a family issue no one of the Royal wives had to be there.
The main problem has always been between the two brother (William being an a-hole) and the fact that Harry has been done with the crown, since the day he had to walk behind his mother coffin.
The “feud” between Kate and Meghan was a shield for this dysfunctional family.
And the press being awful to Meghan was what pushed Harry to this choice, Meghan supported her husband, but his choice has been taken long ago. And the fact she is in Canada, for me speaks volumes.
I really don’t like the narrative “Meghan was bullied Harry is saving her, she had all planned”. This was a couple choice, but I think a lot it’s on Harry.
It’s his family.
THIS…THIS…THIS!!! It ain’t about getting away from the Press…it’s about getting away from THE ROYAL FAMILY!!!! Who obviously is doing WAY TOO MUCH to make Meghan’s Father look like a Saint!
Diana died in a car accident because unfortunately she wasn’t wearing seatbelt (USE THEM), but this family put her through a living hell that’s for sure. And the main cause was because Charles was not allowed to marry the woman he was and still is in love with. Harry doesn’t want to be anywhere near all of them, and he is very far from the throne, so why should he want to put up with all this toxic crap?
@Eleonor: Although Charles probably loved Camilla back in the day, he was too much of a playboy to settle down, it was never about him not being allowed to marry her. However she wanted to get married, took up with Tom Parker-Bowles who was a REAL catch at that time, and chose to marry him. However the feelings between Charles and Camilla never went away and the rest as they say is history.
She never wanted to marry Charles. She wanted an affair with him for influence and fun, but both she and Anne always wanted Parker-Bowles.
Harry’s friend Bryony Gordon said this move is “typical Harry”. I definitely think this was all his doing and Meghan supported him. I hate that some people think that a man that created Sentabale, Invictus and served two tours in Afghanistan can’t think for himself and do this. He has always wanted to step down. He never wanted the royal life.
I wonder if Meghan just might be pregnant again and part of the sense of urgency for the Sussexes is getting this settled in order to get far away from the toxic British tabloids before it is obvious. If so, I imagine this was something Harry would have only revealed, I think, in his private one-on-one meeting with the Queen knowing she will personally keep it private. Just a thought. Time will tell.
Yes people assume it’s all Meghan who is the mastermind and I think it’s all harry. Meghan is very smart, but she still has only been in the public eye for about three years (exc suits years as she really didn’t get that much press attention). Harry has spent his whole 35 years of life dealing with this shit. He knows the system inside out and knows how to play it. He’s probably been collecting receipts for the past twenty years in case he ever had to use them. I think it was very much his idea to play the long game and to get them out of the endless cycle of being a ‘lil bitch’ to the press. They underestimated him, and he really outsmarted them.
As ungenerous as it may be, I really hope that Meghan and Harry, ten years from now or so, emerge the clear victors. I hope, by that time, they establish a lovely Canadian life for themselves, are financially comfortable, and living their best lives, while the rest of them back in the UK find themselves loathed by the public because they refused to change with the times and can’t recognize their own bullshit and shortcomings.
I don’t think it’s ungenerous at all. It would be exactly what the BRF deserve. I think the rest of them know they overplayed their hands because none of Charles, William or Kate (in her school run photos, which are now suddenly allowed?!) looked happy at all. You’d think if they had just gotten what they wanted they would have looked a bit more chipper.
I agree. I think they have the foresight and are more in tocuh than the others – they can see the way the tide is turning and they arent going to stay aboard a sinking ship, especially with all the awful sh*t they have had to endure. In a few decades time H and M are going to look like the smartest of all of them for having recognised and not wanting to be associated with an out of touch, inherently morally questionable institution that totally goes against any idea of equality and also supports paedos and traffickers in order to protect ‘the crown’. They are on the right side of history and eventually the majority will see it too.
Meghan’s spokesman released a statement she was not barred from the summit; the Sussexes decided her dialing in was not necessary. This is smart for the denial because leaving a story out there that the royals are dogging her (again) hurt negotiations. The Sussexes play the long game.
I also think that helps show that it’s not her pushing for it but Harry.
What no joint statements on this ‘fake news’ story?!?! Someone’s office is leaking to the tabloids – the question is who has the most to gain from it. I think it came from the Cambridges as a way to take the ‘bullying’ stories off the front pages – William will never stop throwing her under the bus. I can’t see why Chuck would leak it.
It definitely came from KP because the article I saw even said “from their Kensington Palace spokesperson…” The Sussexes have NO KP spokesperson!! The leaking from KP is really pathological at this point! They cannot seem to stop!!
The various royal households really need to STOP LEAKING to the press! And they need to stop demonizing Meghan. I can see why Charles would want some of the details out: the meeting was calm, etc. in order to put a damper on the media hysteria but that bitchy little aside about not allowing Meghan to phone in because they don’t trust her no to leak (oh, the irony) was completely unnecessary.
If that part isn’t just the writer’s invention, then it shows a big part of WHY Harry and Meghan are doing this: that his family don’t like her and that they are complicit in the media smear campaign.
The initial reports that I read stated that they didn’t want Meghan to call in because they were afraid of someone listening in on the conversation (I guess staff at the place where she’s staying ?) or the phone being tapped. This rings more true to me than that it wasn’t necessary as it’s her future, just as much as Harry’s, that’s being discussed and decided.
Like most narratives, the truth is probably somewhere in between. I imagine Charles, William, etc were concerned about the possibility of Meghan recording it or having outsiders listening from her side (projection much?) AND Harry and Meghan decided her participation wasn’t necessary so they didn’t push back. But who knows?
@VaVa: ITA with you.
And it shows — once again — that whomever leaked details of the meeting has his head up his ass and still wants to do harm. A meeting that we all know very few people attended which severely narrows who could have leaked.
See courtiers, you should have let Harry have that meeting with the Queen that was planned, but was cancelled by them when Harry came back from Canada.
This current messy public situation may have been prevented.
To be honest a few eggs had to be broken to make this omelette. Bill leaked the story via Wooton and the Sussexes took the bull by the horn and reshaped the narrative. More power to them (literally).
Agree completely. The leak started it, but speaking with the Queen before hand, Harry may have discussed with her what would happen on Sussex end if their plans were made public before everything was finalized.
It was confirmed Meghan didnt call in
I think they had to agree. First of all Harry and Meghan are grown. They are not close to being next in line for the throne. Harry has made up his mind that he is not going to allow the Firm to bully his wife and family like they had his mother. Archie is a mixed race child, and I am certain Harry and Meghan understand that he must be offered a different upbringing with different opportunities than William and Kate’s kids. I think the Firm has a hard time letting go because there is value to Meghan and Harry. They generate interest beyond the idea of royalty being a vestige of a different time which brings to mind racism, colonialism and imperialism. Meghan’s presence provided proof the the monarchy is evolving. But now we know they aren’t.
Here’s a funny video I watched last night about this exact thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dUEQJrhuvM
Harry’s children were always going to have a different upbringing and future than William’s kids. They were never going to be working royals, while Willam’s would.
In what world Is Richard Kay a Charles guy?! He was a Diana man through and through. He would never do Charles bidding and Charles would never go to him.
And that joint statement was a big mistake. It puts an emphasis on all the times similar stories were written that weren’t denied. Calling a man who has the strength to go on national tv and talk about his mental health struggles fragile was hugely damaging to wills work and yet no rebuttal there.
Charles has gone to Kay with exclusives in an attempt to get William in line.
Hi Kaiser! Agree with you. None of the RR “belong” to any one royal. PC strategically picks who he leaks to, when and why. Often to cover his tracks. He uses various RR to pressure his sons and to get good press. (He leaked all of PH “party prince” gossip) PC has been playing this game his entire adult life. He leaks on his sons, siblings, etc. I wish he would have used this “skill” early on FOR GOOD to protect MM and her family. But he did not. They all play favorites with the RR. They go to different outlets to confuse “the source”. PC certainly doesn’t care that his sons are being torn apart and their wives ripped to shreds: it’s (nearly) his time to SHINE👑
I think Charles and William needed Harry more than Harry needed them. I think attempts to run Meghan off were due to Harry exerting more independence with Meghan around. I imagine what will come out in the coming days is how William and Harry’s feud was tied to Harry’s desire to leave The Royal Family and how Charles paying for the wedding and the money from The Cornwall Duchy was his attempt to keep Harry and Meghan in the Royal Family. They’ll all take the day off today and I expect no leaks. I can hear Charles now at Birkhall furiously spinning webs. Who wants to bet €5 that Andy and the rest of the Yorks will be blamed as the our racist leaks by Monday?
Andy isn’t going to be blamed for anything, ever ever ever. They made him take a seat, but that is it. He’ll be back (unless even worse things come out, in which case he’ll just retire).
TBH that is probably part of the issue here. They protect Andrew and make Harry cape for William after his tanty, and defend Kate’s weave – but don’t lift a finger when Meghan was being unfairly vilified and attacked, for months and months.
All kinds of fanfic will be coming out in the coming days. But the calls coming from inside the house will likely also continue (until access dries up).
I do agree with this: “I think Charles and William needed Harry more than Harry needed them. I think attempts to run Meghan off were due to Harry exerting more independence…” Totally.
Charles will try to remove Andy from Mama’s grasp. I don’t believe it will be successful. I sense they’re all about to turn on one another. Harry saw that and said goodbye.
Pedo Andy will NEVER be removed unless criminal charges are levied. Mummy Dearest won’t allow it, and after she’s gone, Charles, as much as he detests Pedo, will feel it will damage the monarchy (in as much as admitting it, again, w/out formal charges). If those charges are EVER filed, they will drop him faster than a New York Minute.
The William/Harry difficulties have always revolved around William being jealous of Harry and his accomplishments. So much of what we’ve seen in the last two years was W&K trying to shove down Harry and Meghan. William tried to horn in on Invictus a few years ago too. He doesn’t want to work, but he wants his brother to sit down and stop making him look bad. Ditto Meghan, who walked in ready to work and showed how little everyone else was doing.
This is the stupidest situation.
All of this could have been avoided if the royal family did any planning.
Agreed. This IS the stupidest situation. It’s not as if Harry is disowning his blood relatives, he’s just changing his life – and who can blame him. He’s got plenty of money, I don’t see why they have to have negotiations about finances. Pay for his security detail Charles and call it good. Live your best life, Harry. You’ll find out soon enough that it flies by, so embrace it and enjoy it.
I hope Willy Boy is ready to step up to the plate and bring his lazy wife with him and start working All. Week. Long.
Vava, +1 on every point. Esp “All. Week. Long”
Very happy H&M made this choice. Together they will make it through the shit storm.
“Calm” meeting? Harry probably had to put on sunglasses to keep from being blinded by the “incandescent with rage” William….and Charles too.
I don’t for one second believe this was calm. Old Phillip was described as “spitting blood” and while he wasn’t there, I firmly believe he and the men in this family think Harry is a ingrate being manipulated by his grasping hussy of a wife. The stories in the press don’t paint a calm picture.
What probably really happened? Harry and TQ met, he told her what jerks everyone was being, and TQ was forced to lay down the law to Willy boy and Chuckie. This would explain the brevity of the whole thing and why Meg didn’t need to call in.
I agree Rapunzel. I suspect that TQ did not see H&M stepping back as being so catastrophic, but Chuck and Bill wanted them to stick around a bit longer as human shields and hence why they blocked access to TQ, leading to Harry going rogue.
And maybe shared with her — in their private meeting — his receipts as to whom exactly was throwing him and Meghan to the wolves.
JA Lowcountry Lady- if he had receipts, I’m sure he showed them. It’s probably why he came early. And why talk of the queen has turned away from disappointment with their behavior to sadness they are stepping back.
The Queen will not lay down the law to the heirs vs. the spare. She is well aware that Palaces leak, she knows she has spent years using her power to protect her rapist son and not her newest granddaughter-in-law.
Whatever comes of all of this, it will end up more heavily on Charles and William’s side than Harry and Meghan’s. That’s the fact of how this Firm works.
Nota- if Harry, as suspected, has receipts on the heir, the heir to the heir, and heir to the heir’s wife orchestrating the media slander of H&M, she’d have no choice. It’d be put her foot down or have it all exposed. TQ would never let that happen. Harry’s got all the power if he’s got the evidence of shenanigans.
Given how she has made most of Andrew’s legal troubles disappear for years? She has more legal power than Harry ever will, no matter what proof he has. Everyone knows the Palaces leak. No great shock if someone shows up with a name, like the recently fired person from W&K’s team.
Whatever deal comes out of this, it will be what Charles and William want over what Harry wants.
Nota – Idk if I agree with you that it will certainly be what Charles and William want. To some degree you maybe be right, but I hope at some level there is a feeling of kinship and love which will mean if there is any “family” feeling here, it will show up. If they crush Harry, then they will be seen as huge POS. Maybe they are. Hope not.
Ditto the comment upthread that it seems so much of the drama could have been avoided if they had just met with Harry initially. And I think it was smart not have any non-royal-born family members there. This move does impact Kate but she has no power here.
This has definitely been in the works for a long time; I was thinking of their nanny yesterday. They must have known they wouldnt stay full time in the UK when they hired their nanny. I dont think Meghan would hire someone and then tell them they have to move to a different continent for half the year – I feel like it must have been discussed at the outset.
Not surprised Kate was missing. While she’s definitely an active and willing part of the smear campaign, that’s pretty much all the “power/influence” she has. No way would she be consulted for something of this magnitude and complexity. Will only gets in because he’s the heir’s heir and he’d probably throw a fit if he were excluded.
Plus, he’s a huge part of the bullying problem.
Plus then they would also have to invite Carole.
I definitely think that is why he was brought in. A statement the Sussex’s made last year said that any future plans the couple make will be discussed with the Queen and Charles only. This was when the “send them to Africa” scandal hit. I feel that Harry only had Will there to call him out on the smear campaign.
H&M’s statement did say that they would be discussing with all “relevant” parties, so… 😉
Ok Leigh, that was seriously funny. 🥳
She took the time to be in full makeup and hair, deliberately papped doing the school run. She and Carole are not innocent in the bullying and smear campaigns.
Indeed they are not – the stories of them (Kate, Pippa and Carole) bullying anyone they saw as a threat to the goals was repeatedly reported on in the press during the waiting years.
You reap what you sow and this will come back and bite the Middleton’s – just as it’s coming back to bite RF.
The Queen’s statement was too little too late, and yet of course quite a few people are choosing to forget what she has done and enabled and are trying to paint her as the sweet old lady reconciling with Harry. I believe this meeting was calm and composed and polite, but I don’t believe that story.
After what they did to Meghan (the leaks, the cooperation with racist attacks, the Princess Michael brooch, the complete lack of decorous and mature behavior at her wedding), she has no obligation to play nice with this family and call in, or associate with them. And that’s only on the basis of what we know/have seen. Imagine what else she’s had to put up with.
I think Harry will keep his title. But they’ll snatch Meghan’s at the first opportunity and she’ll be some icy variant of That Woman We Barely Tolerate.
I don’t know that they can take anything from her other than HRH, at least while she is married to Harry, a la Princess Michael. I believe that there would have to be a letters patent issued in order to do so.
There isn’t any precedent for that. It’s just wishful thinking.
@Trace: How’s that?
How can Harry keep his title but not Meghan? If the Sussex title is entirely removed that’s one thing, but he’s a born prince with an HRH and they can’t deny him that unless they want to declare him illegitimate. Meghan as his wife is legally HRH The Princess Henry. And can Harry remain Duke of Sussex and his wife not the Duchess? Even Wallis Simpson was the Duchess of Windsor although they pettily denied her the HRH and she legally had the right of it through marriage. That’s a slippery slope and definitely unfair if Andrew keeps his title when he’s put out to pasture for now. At least this couple will still be working for the RF while Andrew has all his projects removed from him. Unless they want to base this on Princess Marthe Louise of Norway who doesn’t use her HRH because she’s a businesswoman. But I don’t think they can give to Harry what Megan cannot have. That really would come across as racist and a punishment for Meghan.
Princess Märtha-Louise gave up her HRH voluntarily, so the situation would only be equivalent if the Sussexes give up their titles of their own accord.
That would make sense if they voluntarily relinquished their title. But not if Harry can keep his title while Meghan as his wife is denied her use of it. We can only see what happens in the days to come.
I think the hysteria about their titles is unfounded and completely whipped up by the media because they want to punish Harry and Meghan for trying to change the game – I suspect that them cutting out the Royal Rota has made the press very very angry.
Isn’t the Norwegian Princess wacky and that’s why they don’t want her using her title?
She wanted to have her own business. And while she is eccentric, it is smart of her having her own business since the CP has plenty of children and the NRF has the smallest fortune of any of the European monarchies. Plus, she’s still very much at family events and the NRF is not the family of vipers that the BRF is.
Yes, she voluntarily gave up the HRH to move to HH years before her eccentricities were known. It was so she could go earn a living. The Norwegians followed the plan from the beginning with the heir’s children. The future monarch, Ingrid, is HRH. Her younger brother is His Highness (no Royal).
OK why do we keep moving the goalposts on statements we believe and statements we don’t? Harry clearly doesn’t give a damn about playing the palace game, so why would he then cave and agree to release a statement with William denying bullying if it’s true? Brothers fight, they have tension but it doesn’t have to escalate to bullying. Why can’t we just take at face value what harry says?
The one thing that ALL sides are always doing is infantilizing Harry, who is manipulated by Meghan, and William, and Charles, and Doria, etc.
H may not want to play the palace’s game, but he only has so much room to operate. Think about the things we believe W and H have done to hurt each other. Do you feel the list is equal–or that many times H has had to bite his tongue and endure it? It makes sense to me that H would have crossed his fingers behind his back and participated in that joint statement to avoid enraging his brother further. Even from afar, W could negatively impact H+M’s ability to earn a living by continuing to chip away at their reputation. H has shown immeasurable restraint and clearheadedness. It’s interesting that he’s the one whose mental health is being questioned.
@Ash: you are spot on! why in the world would he agree to such a statement if Wills is the big bad bro? It just further supports the weak & dumb Harry narrative (which is not true).
Those of us who understand negotiation tactics understand why that joint statement was released. It wasn’t because Harry agreed with it, it was to get something else in exchange in the negotiations.
That’s a “I’ll wash your back if you’ll wash mine” negotiating tool. So in order to get something, Harry had to capitulate to that joint statement even if he had to grit his teeth doing it. Quid pro quo.
Big question, will the summit count as an engagement for William?!? 🙂
🙂
That’s a home run, kyliegirl. Too funny.
I like that they’re giving Omid Scobie scoops. He’s always been fair to them in the past, so it seems like a very decent thing to do.
I have so much respect for Omid. He sticks to the facts, regardless of who he’s covering, and only circles back to provide additional context when commenting goes off the rails.
Kate always looks like the poster person for bored, unhappy housewives. Harry always looks agitated, on edge, like he anticipates a fight… Meghan is always sunny and smiling! And William looks smug… always smug.
This is worse than GoT. My goodness!
Genesis 2-24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. He who loves his wife loves himself.