The Times of London got the rights to publish exclusive excerpts from Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. We are almost at the moment the British media has been dreading. They’ve built this up so much, so just be aware that the smear campaign has already geared up and they’ve had months to build momentum. Obviously, there’s tons to cover even just from the excerpts (although the Times is paywalled). I’ll cover what I can from secondary sources over what will probably be dozens of posts over the course of weeks, if not months. Finding Freedom is going to land like a nuclear bomb in the British media and the royal establishment. It’s going to be like Andrew Morton’s Diana: Her True Story. It will likely change the monarchy. Here are some highlights just from the early excerpts:
Everyone was afraid of the Sussexes’ popularity: Senior courtiers in other households – the so-called men in grey suits – did what they could to reign in the popularity of Harry and Meghan, even as they were ‘propelling the monarchy to new heights around the world’, the book claims. The couple tried for months to bring their grievances to other senior royals – to no avail – but there was only a handful of people working at the palace that they could trust. The authors say the Sussexes felt their complaints were not taken seriously and believed other royal households were leaking stories about them to the press. ‘There were just a handful of people working at the palace they could trust,’ the authors write. ‘A friend of the couple’s referred to the old guard as ‘the vipers’. Meanwhile, a frustrated palace staffer described the Sussexes’ team as ‘the squeaky third wheel’ of the palace.’
No one was looking out for them: “As their popularity had grown, so did Harry and Meghan’s difficulty in understanding why so few inside the palace were looking out for their interests. They were a major draw for the royal family […] Instead they had to take a backseat. Sometimes they would be told that their projects had to wait when the Prince of Wales or Prince William had an initiative or tour being announced at the same time.” Harry “felt at once used for their popularity, hounded by the press because of the public’s fascination with this new breed of royal couple, and disparaged back within the institution’s walls.”
Unprotected: In the excerpt published in the Times it is also claimed that Harry felt “unprotected” by his family and not taken seriously by palace courtiers who felt he was too sensitive and outspoken. According to sources who spoke to the authors, Harry believed that some courtiers “simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult.”
The royal aides always had it out for Meghan: The Times has reported that one aide made a joke about Meghan launching a line of beauty products once she left the royal family. The Telegraph has reported that staff appeared to turn their noses up at the idea of serving ‘an actress on a cable show’ when they had signed up ‘to serve Queen and country.’
When they came back to the UK in January: There was so much anger and mistrust that Harry and Meghan considered making a surprise visit to see the Queen when they returned in January to discuss their plans with the monarch directly because they felt they were being blocked by courtiers. They decided against it, however, fearing it would ruffle too many feathers.
On the Sussexit deal: ‘Harry and Meghan would have reached a more beneficial agreement to allow them to live the life they wanted if they had handled things in a private, dignified way,’ a senior Buckingham Palace aide explained to The Times. Another courtier said: ‘They oversimplified what they were asking for. They thought they’d give Charles their rider, negotiate over email, rock up to London, give three months’ notice and fly back to Canada.’
Duchess Kate wouldn’t even look at Meghan on Commonwealth Day: Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, said: ‘Although Meghan tried to make eye contact with Kate, the duchess barely acknowledged her… To purposefully snub your sister-in-law… I don’t think it left a great taste in the couple’s mouths.’
Meghan felt raw: Meghan, who gave up her career and her home to marry Harry in 2018 after a whirlwind 18-month courtship, is said to have told friends “I gave up my entire life for this family.”
[From The Times of London via Vanity Fair & The Daily Mail]
A few notes on these excerpts – there will be much more on William and Harry’s conversations in the Sussexit negotiations, where it sounds like William largely hid behind aides and courtiers and gaslighted his brother publicly. There will also be more on the resentment between the Sussexes and the courtiers, who realized in the fall of 2018 that the Sussexes’ popularity wouldn’t just eclipse dull Kate and William, but eclipse the popularity “of the royal family itself.” As for why Harry and Meghan considered just dropping in on the Queen unannounced, it’s because Harry spent months (literally, months) trying to air his grievances to his father and grandmother only to be blocked at every turn by those pesky courtiers.
Mostly, I believe that Finding Freedom will be a big reveal… of a lot of things we’ve widely assumed for years now. The racist, misogynistic, anti-American royal aides, the dysfunction at the heart of the House of Windsor, the feeling that Harry and Meghan were being ganged up on within the palaces and the press.
(Note: this is not the only coverage we will do on Finding Freedom, and there are many stories which will be coming out tomorrow and throughout the week. Please do not threadjack.)
The mistrust, bitterness and resentment that led Harry and Meghan to leave the country is laid bare in a book serialised in @thetimes pic.twitter.com/gqziE6Chm7
— David Jack (@DJack_Journo) July 24, 2020
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN, Avalon Red.
So far, is anyone who has been paying attention surprised? if anyone is, I have a bridge to sell….
This book is for those who aren’t paying attention to the gaslighting, racism, sexism and all isms Meghan suffered in that country.
Strangely enough so many books have been written about H&M lately, why is this one have the RF pissing in their underwear? Is it because the RF knows Omid has credibility?
Yes. Even I know who he is and I visit this site daily, but this is the first royal story i’ve read in several months.
That’s what I find interesting too. There is nothing new for most of the people who have been paying attention to this for the last few years, but laying it bare to read all at once really adds more impact. And it shows that once again the courtiers have way too much power and the Queen should have controlled this decades ago. Diana already had indicated just how bad they were and nothing was done. (Even Andrew Morton pointed out that you could basically substitute Harry with Diana and a lot of the stories sound the same)
And the spin from the other side clearly shows they are worried. Mostly the Cambridges though. Wonder why. 🤔
Yep. It is insane that the senior royal staff has so much power that it affects the family dynamic of their employers. It is a toxic work culture and it comes from the top because the top executive (the Queen) is a weak leader – and that in turn becomes a dysfunctional family dynamic. She has always buried her head in the sand when it comes to family conflict and I think Charles is the same way.
This goes to show that the BRF is an institution before it is a family – it is a difficult balance because a monarchy is an institution that is made up of a family. However, the Windsors have absolutely failed as a family and that is now weakening the institution.
This is, IMO, because they have failed to move with the times – it is absurd that a member of the family has to move through hired gate.keepers to see their parent or grand-parent. It may have been the norm in Edwardian times but we’re in the 21st century. The failure to adapt to the times becomes especially apparent when you compare the BRF with their European peers.
There are many generational family businesses that manage to not be as toxic as the BRF but then again they don’t let outsiders in to control them. I really think it’s because the Queen was never a natural leader and had no real training prior to getting the position. She avoided issues all her life and this mess is really because of her failed leadership. Her mother also enabled a lot of the repressive family bs and she lived so long it infected multiple generations. William is just as bad as the rest.
The royal family are nothing without the courtiers, the personal secretaries etc , they can’t function without them and that is the reason why they wield the real power.
Most business have a support staff that provide help and do most of the grunt work, that’s not uncommon. The failure in leadership is letting the staff take over the top level decisions. It can happen anywhere when there is a weak leader and the underlings know they can get away with it. That’s what happened with the Queen since day one.
She relied too much on her courtiers in terms of decision making and now they run the show.
The whole thing is sickening.
William and Kate make my skin crawl.
Harry and Meghan were amazing in their royal roles and they get trashed – because the Royal Family is intimidated by people who can speak coherently and from the heart. I’m so glad they said, “so long, we’re outta here.”
I think it’s because Omid and Carolyn aren’t towing the party line and bashing Harry and Meghan at every opportunity.
Yes, agreed. For most of us, the excerpts are old news, with some more specific details. but if you are someone who has only followed the headlines, or didn’t see the commonwealth clip, etc – this book is going to be very interesting and eye opening.
Omid is not a tabloid writer, he’s not being sensationalistic – this book could have a big impact. He’s clearly walking a fine line with some of this coverage (its obvious he knows he cant paint the queen in a bad light, for example) but I still think this book is going to open a lot of people’s eyes to what H&M went through.
I am glad Omid is revisiting these headlines and telling the truth. I know some are annoyed by it but you can’t assume everyone that reads this book knows all of the headlines.
Also, some are upset that William is portrayed
as “rational” by one aide. They think Omid is untrustworthy for this. I think Omid has Harry and Meghan’s side of the story and Carolyn has the RF’s side . I like that. As a reader you get to decide whose side you are on. But so far, the RF look really bad in this world which is why KP is scrambling. It’s going to be interesting.
@Ginger – I’m not annoyed by the description of William either. I actually assume he is one of those coldly rational people. Yes, “incandescent with rage” or whatever at times – but sometimes the worst people to deal with are ones who are just….coldly rational. It can be very frustrating if you get more emotional (like I assume Harry does.) It doesn’t mean he’s nice or isn’t a bully.
And I agree, I’m not annoyed that he is rehashing so much of these headlines. For many people, seeing it all in one place like this book is going to make them realize “ohhhhh….that’s what was going on.”
I can hear William’s voice now, Becks1.
‘Harry, you’re being irrational’ states William coldly, rationally as he picks up the other phone to coldly, rationally sell out his brother’s secret location in Canada.
@Nota – exactly!!! “Harry, you’re hysterical, calm down so we can have a rational discussion about why you have to take the fall for my misdeeds.”
I don’t think Will is “calmly rational”. I think he’s very high maintenance and has temper tantrums. Those faces he makes are repulsive.
I think William is capable of being incandescent with rage behind the cold, rational talking down to-and-about Harry. Shunting his temper into harsh, simple, angry (but seems rational to others) language. Justifying all of his terrible actions towards his younger brother under the banner of ‘this is the right thing to do’.
They’re scared because they know he is the one Royal reporter that will not bend to their PR sensationalism nor is gag and bound by NDA’s and legal contracts. They were fine at the last three books this month that were meant to make them look like the victims, they did not utter a word. As the Nicholl lady said, alot had to be cut out of the book for legal reasons 👀👀… “they know the truth will make them look bad, but the book could have been ALOT worse” and i think that as a final note says it all.
Yes. It is having the same kind of impact as Andrew Morton’s first biography of Diana. That book sent shockwaves around the palace establishment and created a backlash against Charles and Camilla. It also made Andrew Morton a millionaire. Diana didn’t contribute to the book but several of her trusted friends were interviewed with Diana’s knowledge and approval. This seems to be the case with the Scobie/Durand book.
I think Diana DID contribute to the books but she never met with Morton herself. She did it second hand via tapes and friends etc, so if she was ever asked under oath if she had met Morton or spoken with him she could truthfully say she hadn’t.
She TOTALLY contributed to the book via cassette tapes. He asked, she answered. This has literally been covered, and the tapes shown, in documentaries.
Now I’m curious to read Morton’s book for some compare and contrast.
Well we all worked this out years ago. The Palace was out to crush the Sussexes because of the jealous Cambridge’s. But of course the analysis in the British press is trying to turn all this on its head. The real losers are the royal family, especially the Cambridge’s. The Duke and. Duchess have shown remarkable restraint considering the dark activities they have witnessed and been the victims of.
i agree, they have both been repressing so much pain hurt and anguish. I can’t belive they managed not burn down the palace themselves. Seeing lies in your name every day and knowing it’s coming inside must be one of the most painful experiences ever, especially ror Meghan whem she was pregnant.
I am glad they got away before it started to affecting Archie aswell because NO DOUBT was he to be the next sacrificial lamb in leui of the Cambridge kids.
Yeah, I’m not sure how much of a splash this will make. It’s like every Trump book that comes out, it just confirms what we already know.
A deep and substantial comment to start with: Meghan looks stunning in green.
I, too, think deeply substantial thoughts. I had the same reaction to the photo on the book cover!
This is deep y’all. Soooo profound. Love it 🙂
LOL – truly an important observation … 🙂
That was one of her best looks ever, IMO.
Yes, she does, this colour is like made for her.
As I recall from many of her pics, Duchess Meghan looks fantastic in jewel tones.
Yes, she chose that gown well, considering that is the lasting image we have of her for now. Can’t wait for the Sussexes to step out at some big glamorous event.
I LOVE that leather green skirt! Sooooo much, omg
I thought it was just me that fell in love with the green! I saved a ton of pictures from their last weekend, and every time I see the green ensemble, I almost gasp – every single time. If ever there was a color made for Meghan, it’s emerald green. But there was almost something otherworldly about her that weekend. She may have been frazzled and emotionally bruised inside, but she looked so calm and serene on the outside. I credit yoga, her actress training, the mutual love and support between them, hut mostly it’s just – Meghan. God, what fools that institution is, to have thrown away such a gift. Harry and Meghan could have lifted the perception of those people sky high.
I think she was in a very Zen place because she knew after those few days they were done as working royals.
Remember the discussion about her vivid wardrobe on that trip – blue, red, green – and the idea she’d likely been muting her color choices previously so as not to overshadow other family members? The other beauty of that last green dress was, Kate and William had just returned from that hastily arranged tour of Ireland, where Kate was busy with her flag color based theme dressing. I doubt Meghan picked a green dress to stick it to Kate (though it’s something Kate would do – remember the pap walk in the blue coat?), but it was such an eye catching dress with that cape, and looked so good on her, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate took it as a slam. So maybe that b*tch face in church wasn’t just about the procession.
I think she was like: I am done after this; so she was relaxed, because she knew it’d be over soon!
Well based on the excerpts from the book, it seems there was a full campaign to drive them out of the family and it worked!
As for them being blocked from speaking to the queen and Charles, maybe that was intentional and another way to cut them off.
The campaign was to drive Meghan out of the family.
Yeah, you notice now that the phrasing is built around “Harry needs to come home. We need Harry to come back to support the Queen.” They are effectively erasing Meghan and Archie from the picture. They still don’t get that Harry is not going anywhere without his family. But that won’t stop the effort to make it appear that his wife and son don’t exist. The institution and the media have learned nothing.
It’s clear that Meg and Harry’s popularity threatened the Monarchy. I also feel Meg and Harry got a bit too grand and arrogant with this popularity. Too bad a solution couldn’t be worked to harness the popularity and also somewhat temper Meg and Harry’s egos. They we never going to be the next King and Queen, but I don’t know if they realized or accepted this.
How?
Charles and Camilla should have done projects with Harry and Meghan and been seen with them. Charles has PR people working for him, I wish he had come out against William and backed Harry and Meghan.
Charles had his hands tied. The continuity of the monarchy means everything to the Queen and Charles, they cannot afford to upset William.
If William goes out of control, he would need to be reined in. he needs to learn humility, he is so pompous now.
How exactly did they get arrogant about it? what a statement!!! what did they do to make you say they got arrogant about it?
They were too popular, Meghan eclipsed them but that’s a fact! She did because she actually could speak and is knowledgeable! She was overqualified for that job; only women like Kate should be marrying in that family. They don’t need smart and ambitious women; they are fine with mediocrity! apparently most of their supporters are as well
#VS Bit of a generalization there…what about Sophie W? Duchess of Cornwall? Not exactly shri king violets.
@Marni112 — the only woman in that family whom you can say really care and DID was Diana, the next one is Meghan
Camilla has a sense of humor; what else can you really say about her? yes she does her work and supports Charles who is smart (he is probably the smartest of all Betty’s kids). Is she unable to talk when she sees something wrong? apparently. Given the charles & diana situation, I understand why she must keep quiet!
Sophie does her things and stays quiet. I had in the past thought Camilla and Sophie could team up with Meghan on a project; I guess the CW service proves who Sophie is!!! LOL
Sophie laughing uproariously at William’s offensive jokes at Wimbledon years ago. She knew she needed to kiss up to W&K to remain on the royal dole, and it worked.
I think Meghan was never going to accept it, except unlike you I see it as a good thing. M&H are the perfect showcase for the problem with Royalty. It’s not a meritocracy.
As you said, they were never going to be monarchs. But that means that some lazy, boring dullards would always be more important, regardless of what M & H did. That’s not right or fair. So yes, I’m team M&H on this.
Many members of the BRF has never learned that popular interest doesn’t necessarily follow rank! Neither have their staff. They call themselves a Firm but they failed to utilize a great asset for their brand. Because they are stuck in a rigid hierarchical system that they have let rule even their private family dynamic to the extent that egos are wounded if lower-ranking family members receive too much public interest.
For comparison, when Alexandra Manly married Prince Joachim (the “spare” in the Danish Royal Family) she was an instant hit – like Meghan. Well educated, articulate and charismatic (incidentally, also a WoC). For a while she eclipsed everyone – she was new and exciting, she made an effort and she became the most popular member after the Queen. However, the difference is that the DRF harnessed her popularity rather than try to put her “in her place” as the wife of the “spare”.
I do miss Alexandra’s crazy Princess Gowns from the 90s. BTW any local news on Joachim and the brain/blood clot surgery?
ArtHistorian – exactly. they could have harnessed that popularity – a rising tide lifts all boats etc. Charles being gracious and welcoming to Meghan raised his popularity a great deal. Camilla joking with Meghan at the garden party made Camilla look good. The Queen and Meghan on their engagement together – the Queen came across as very welcoming to the newest member of the family. I know her popularity is pretty high usually but that probably ticked it up a few notches, especially for people who maybe weren’t fans of the queen.
Harry and Meghan’s popularity could have been used to make an impact, yes, but it could have been used to make the entire family more popular. Had Kate worn something from the Smart Set, it would have brought a ton of attention and good press to KATE.
They completely missed the mark with H&M and I have to wonder if they’ve realized that yet.
Alex had some amazing gowns from the couturier Jørgen Bender.
There isn’t much info – only that Prince Joachim has had successful brain surgery and that he is stable. The Queen has also asked for the press/public to leave the family alone. There isn’t anymore info but a clot in the brain is serious as is any kind of brain surgery.
They were completely over the top but very 90s. The amethyst gown from a birthday photoshoot was one of my favs.
Thank you for the info re. Joachim and Margrethe’s statement.
Harry has always known his place and had no delusions of grandeur of becoming the next monarch. However, based on the excerpts, it seems they were annoyed on the one hand at being used for their popularity and then on the other hand, constantly being told no and blocked/not allowed to proceed on their projects because it would overshadow the heirs.
Yep, i agree they were rightly annoyed that they were being put out there as a depicting ‘The new age’ whilst being used and abused below, being given no protection against the new waves of intrest that followed them. As keir starmer said, this could’ve either propelled the royal family to success and given them another Diana to sustain the royal family in a new generation or crumbled them out spite and competition and they have decided to let it.
Your “feelings” are clearly influenced by tabloid nonsense. When did they ever show arrogance? When did they ever give a hint of wanting to be King and Queen? 🙄
What did Meghan ever do to show arrogance in that family? Is it because she didn’t wait eight years to do a basic survey? Was it because she happened to be good at speeches?
There is nothing Meghan did that was so utterly different from other royals. Her projects were similar to what Charles has done, with topics that had already been covered by Camilla or Sophie. She didn’t walk ahead of the Queen like Kate did.
Being a biracial woman with confidence is not being arrogant. The main issue was that the Cambridges were lazy as fuck and it took very little to show them up and so while Meghan wanted to set up projects and start work quickly, it made the Cambridges look bad and show in particular that Kate remains really bad at her job. Even now Sophie had to do food bank visits off book so as not to make the Cambridges look even lazier.
This was not an issue with Charles when Anne did more engagements than him, so why is it such an issue with the Cambridges? Because Charles had done decades of projects and did not have a reputation for lazy. William and Kate have done bare minimum for years and got their staff to hold up the couple who wanted to do more.
I’m sensing a very ‘Meghan is an uppity black woman’ vibe from Jessica, Nic919.
I said the same thing, because even with Charles and what he did to Diana, he didn’t throw any of his siblings under the bus to cover for his transgressions. He didn’t leak any information about any of their private lives and ‘scandals’ that could’ve been used. he kept his face forward and it was a solely battle between him and Diana. I mean who knew that William would grow up to be an even bigger bully than his father.
I am afraid this poster is a TROLL………and has achieved his/her goal of writing nonsense
Yes, I need to remember not to give trolls oxygen. If the only posts under theirs is simply ‘troll’, Kaiser will delete them. Once there are longer replies, it gets difficult for Kaiser to delete the troll without making the whole thread go wonky.
Ditto, and this troll got more attention than it deserves for regurgitating hater talking points.
When did they get grand and arrogant? With the cookbook that raised $650,000 for community projects? When her SmartWorks line stocked the charity’s closets for a year? With the Vogue issue that sold out in minutes and brought attention to women usually overlooked? When they asked to be able to have their first child in peace? When they stayed silent about torrents of incessant abuse in the media? When they moved into the smallest home of any of the Royals?
Oh, the tumblr trolls have arrived with their tropes.
Their popularity didn’t endanger the monarchy. The racism and jealousy from the other members of the BRF, the courtiers, and the RRs endanger the monarchy.
Harry never wanted to be king, he isn’t jealous of his brother. Meghan would know this, would know she’d never be future future Queen Consort, and knew she couldn’t change that even if she wanted.
As written by others, their projects are similar to things done by other royals. That Harry and Meghan put far more time and effort into those projects, making them successful? That is a good thing.
Troll
I think there’s always tension between the older royals, who must present a stable, conservative front, and younger, more exciting and flashy royals, who can be looser. In this case the tension is clearly between Harry and his brother and father. If The Spare and his wife are so popular and doing so many new things, what is the point of William and Charles and their traditional approach to royal work? I don’t think they want or wanted to be King and Queen. There’s just no way after everything in Harry’s life I would believe that.
I think it’s simply what they’ve always said: they wanted something different. To accommodate ‘different’ in an institution like a royal family is a HUGE deal though, and if there was ever a challenge to the monarchy, it was that. To go in a new direction, based mostly on a newlywed couple’s popularity, while at the end of the queen’s reign, while the much less popular Prince of Wales is taking on more and more duties, as his heir fends off charges of infidelity and laziness, while Andrew is…you know… What I’m saying is, there are a lot of players involved who probably feel they absolutely cannot afford to rock the boat right now.
So, I think its hard in this kind of family, because its not a meritocracy. If you want to work and launch projects and initiatives, which H&M did, it would be frustrating to always be told to wait b/c William is doing X, or Charles is doing Y, etc. And the irony is – it doesn’t matter. Charles has done good work as the Prince of Wales, but his events don’t get the coverage of H&M’s, and it has nothing to do with whether H&M are doing something that day or not. William’s solo events are boring as hell (heck his events with Kate are boring) and their “launches” are vague with no follow-up. Meghan dropping the smart set or the cookbook is ALWAYS going to be more interesting and get more coverage than Kate showing up at an event and talking about how important the early years are.
That said – of course they knew they weren’t going to be the next king and queen. that’s why they said, “you know? playing second fiddle to these lazy, mean, entitled do-nothings for the rest of our lives is not for us. We want something different.”
And now they have it, and they are going to rock it.
And again if Charles had included H and M in some of his projects think of the coverage the projects would have received. Charles had to know the best publicity for the firm walked.
You literally sound like every insecure man who cut a woman down for being smart, successful, and confident. I don’t know if you’re actually a woman or a man lurking behind a feminine user name, but way to contribute to thr misogynistic BS we always have to put up with.
I’ve noticed on SM there are quite a few men who seem obsessed with Meghan. Some trash her with the envy of a scorned woman while others berate Harry and blame her for his leaving the country and “abandoning” his duty and the royal family (LOL). All of them are ridiculously influenced by the British tabloids, ergo stupid.
LOL at Jessica. Yes, Harry, raised from birth as the not-future king, simply didn’t understand that he wouldn’t be king. Bwahahahahahaha. If this is the level of trolling we’re going to get on this story, we’re in for side-stitching laughter in the coming weeks.
There was nothing arrogant about Harry and Meghan. They never put on airs. The other royals like Will and Kate felt threatened because they actually did more work.
To temper their popularity is very easy. Not by blocking and harassing them, but by making willy and karen to work more and do minningful projects. Thats how to solve the problem. By the way, harry and meghan popularity is high because they were the new shiny couple. The monarchy need to bare for atleast two years and it will calm down after that. But stupid people who are working there cant think because the only qualification to work with the queen are hereditary.
This is such a stupid troll comment, Harry has been their spare and treated as such his whole life. Do you not think that he would know that he would never be king or that he would ever WANT to be King? I don’t think so and neither doe Meghan It’s clear that ONE couple wantec to make an impact whilst the takes the credits and a gold plated. Neither Katie or William wanted to work for their popularity or child with the public which is why they wanted Harry and Megan to work less work worse so that they did not have to work more.
I’m not a big royal watcher at all, and I am not a meghan stan (certainly not a kate stan either), but I did see how Kate gave her the cut direct as they used to say, and I was surprised. To cold shoulder your SIL in public…that’s simply not done. It’s not classy, and it’s not mature. I would never do that, and I have my own SIL issues, trust me. But I have class. Bad showing on Kate’s part, but she did show a lot that day. Nothing good.
Kate is really gonna live to regret that poor showing at the Commonwealth Ceremony. She could be the prime suspect if they ever needed a fall guy for Sussexit. I don’t know why she thinks she’s safe. If William is willing to do this to his own brother, who is Kate?? She’s already done her job of giving him children. her entire future is dependent upon William and keeping him happy.
I think scapegoating Kate has already begun. Who comes out looking the worst in these excerpts? Kate and the gray men courtiers!
No need to scapegoat Kate when she’s out there doing the dirty deeds in public herself. She’s openly one of the guilty parties, not a scapegoat.
as notasugarhere said, is it the scapegoat, she is guilty as charged. There is a reason she has no female friends and doesn’t get along with ANY of the women in the family.
Oh you misunderstand me. Kate is completely a guilty party. I just meant that – out of the Cambs – she’s going to take ALL the blame rather than Willy getting his fair share. Because he’s the heir, who must be protected and she’s expendable (by the institution). I’m not saying she doesn’t deserve the dragging, only that Willy should be right there alongside. I was thinking more broadly than the cut direct at the CW services and meant her (and PWT’s) role overall in the smearing of the Sussexes.
@royalwatcher yup agreed, she is A guilty party but she isn’t THE guilty party. That’s William imo and if push ever comes to shove I could see Kate becoming THE guilty party cause it’ll never openly be William. Between her show at the commonwealth, the stories we’ve gotten about her not getting along with any of Harry’s other gfs and being a “ruthless” member of the RF, the narrative is shaping up quite nicely.
Yes, S808, exactly!!
Protect the heir at all costs means throwing Kate under the bus if William needs to protected. That’s what happening here. Kate participated, but William really is why this went south. The UK media won’t say that though.
iF William wants Kate out she will be out and he will move on. Consorts are expendable.
@Tessa – agree 100%. If Diana was expendable as a wife, Kate certainly is.
Eventually when they have thrown everyone they can under the bus, all will be left is William and Kate to take the blame.
I do tarot and I don’t usually bring my reading here, but when I looks at how the public will perceive William and Kate in the future (separately) her public perception will be in ruins ( 10 of swords, 5 of pentacles) and his WON”T. It’s the same everytime. I also see a Pisces woman in williams future who will be detrimental to Kate’s downfall.
I always enjoy when you reference your tarot readings here because I’m interested in that myself. Fascinating take.
@FP: A Pisces huh? Well Rose’s birthday is on the 15th March and therefore is a Pisces…
Wow, I’m glad it’s rose and not me, lol. But I see a lot of negativity in how the public will see kate. The 10 of swords was at the ends of Kate’s reading, along with lots of other negative cards, also at the end was the moon, and the star. The moon is Pisces and the star could literally mean there’s a new ‘superstar’ to come into the family. I didn’t like Pisces until I did williams reading and he had a queen of cups at as the outcome of his reading which again means either Pisces, Scorpio or cancer. But it was also clarified with the 3 of cups with could mean love triangle or a celebration. But his Pisces was more positive. William also got a 4 of cups, so people won’t really love or hate him, they eventually won’t care. A Pisces has also come up for Kate before, and she is more of a threat to her than Meghan. Also Kate got 10 of pentacles in reversed which could mean a ‘collapse in an empire’, ‘divorce’ and ‘not getting money owed’. So there is definitely a financial struggle there.
@FP: Thanks for this. As for the love triangle, William is a cancer so if Rose fills the Pisces then there’s some unknown scorpio involved (maybe). But it’s interesting to see if any of this will play out. While I don’t fully believe tarot or base my life on it, I still like to read readings.
Tarot is fascinating but you have to keep it in perspective and not rule your life by it, but your reading sure makes this interesting, FP. The three of cups can certainly indicate a third party involvement. Time will definitely tell what unfolds in the future with this sordid mess.
I’ll have to write down my readings next time. But from what I remember it’s very much William and rose (the Pisces) who remain a unit and Kate is the third wheel. The knights of cups (William) and queen of cups (rose) came out together along with the 8 of cups (walking away) and the 8 of wands (swift movement or travel). Williams and roses cards were together in the reading meaning wherever they go, it will be together, so I see them traveling or leaving together. Kate (queen of pentacles ) was separate from them, along with the magician (as a negative is known for manifesting dirty tricks and manipulation). I see 10 of cups with William and rose which is a ‘happy ever after’ card, so William does feel happiness with her, but there’s a 10 of swords in the mix too, meaning they might not be happy for long, not if kate has anything to do with it.
Oooooh, @February-Pisces, I did a reading for Kate a while ago too, specifically about her personality. I got the 10 of Wands reversed for where she is at presently, and what was interesting from that was that I got the distinct impression that she’s been overwhelmed by the false front she’s presenting on her life to other people. I also drew an Ace of Swords reversed when I wanted to know what other people in her life thought of her, and that made sense too–no one really knows who she is, her real personality is imperceptible, and she blocks people from knowing her fully (I did this reading before the Tatler article came out, I think, and I was surprised that I got this right).
For her own self-image, I got 2 of Wands upright. For the obstacles she’s facing, I got 4 of Cups upright, which you got for William it seems. The last card was for where she would be going if she remained on her current path, and I got Wheel of Fortune, reversed, so I’m guessing if she stays on this course she’s on currently, it’s going to result in her luck eventually running out at some point.
@A very interesting. I think the ace of swords in reversed could indicate that people don’t trust her, or that they don’t rate her very highly intellectually. I’ve had the 10 of wands in reversed for her too before and it usually means that’s she’s ‘flogging a dead horse’ and that she’s just not up to the challenge, so she avoids work as much as possible. She’s has well and truly bitten off more than she can chew. Her mother tried to mould her for this life, but she’s just not cut out for it. I think the 2 of wands means that she’s trying to decide which path to go down, whether to stay or leave. The WOF reversed is not great as it can indicate her luck changes massively. I think she has accumulated a lot of bad karma and eventually that karma is going to come back round. To Kate leaving the RF would be the worst thing ever, as her whole life has been built on this, she as much as she doesn’t want to be there, she fears leaving even more. She knows that KP will do to her what they did to Meghan. I’ve not seen whether she would be happy post royal life, only that they will ruin her image and make her look like a failure. But she will fight back at William, and she has her own tricks up her sleeve. But ultimately ‘The house always wins’.
It was surprising that she openly did that at a service watched by many. Normally she’s more subtle and this was supposed to be about the military and not being pouty over a procession. Even William made a better effort to not seem rude and he is the main instigator behind all of this.
Apparently, William only acknowledged Harry at the service and didn’t acknowledge/speak at all to Meghan.
Kate was hateful enough to wear white to Meghans wedding so the snub is no surprise.
Many ppl said that Kate worked up fake tears to William and courtiers and it turns out they were correct and Kate indeed faked her tears that’s why kp story over this is extremely changing were since. I love this book with trilling from omid and it makes Kate looks extremely bad and unhinged.
The wearing of off white at the wedding was bad i agree, but it was vague enough that some people could defend her. Her bitchface at the commonwealth service? We all saw it and only the most devoted sugar could say it was acceptable to be that rude at a church service.
Lady Sarah Chatto used to wear white at weddings deliberately. Not a passive aggressive pastel, but full-on bright white. Started it as a teen. She stated outright it was an old superstition about wanting to fool bad spirits coming for the bride.
Probably why all Sarah’s bridesmaids essentially wore the same dress she did. Woe betide the young bridesmaid who was mistaken by a demon for the bride! Poor sacrificial bridesmaids.
She wore it at Lady Helen Windsor’s, Zara and Mike’s, Lady Rose Windsor’s. Stopped doing it after that iirc. She wore blue and white to Peter and Autumn’s. Dark gray to W&K’s wedding and was the best dressed IMO.
I’m sure this will now cause Kate stans to insist this is what Kate was doing, but no. Kate wanted attention for herself in pale yellow, trying to spoil her dream husband’s marriage to someone IRL. She’s had no thought about protecting Meghan at any time.
Kate’s behavior in Church in Public with Cameras shocked me. I literally sat with my mouth hanging open. And hardly no mentions about it? That should have been global imo. What a true botch she turned out to be. I had such high hopes when they married. I never really followed the royal after Diana passed but her son was marrying. Then I didn’t really pay attention until H and M. Those two are why I really started following through celebitchy. They seem to be sweet warm and caring. I admit I adore the Sussexe
Yes, it was really a poor showing on her part. It was a televised service at Westminster Abbey for commonwealth day. I don’t care how ticked you are at Meghan for whatever reason (I’m seeing on twitter lots of kate defenders insisting she was in the right because M did X), that day was not about her. All she had to do was smile and wave, like Meghan did, and sit down. and she could not even do that. She looked petty and rude, and that’s not a good look for a future queen.
Outside of Meghan murdering one of Kate’s family members, there is no reason for Kate to have acted like such a rude bitch at the service. NONE. So they didn’t walk in the procession. So fucking what. No one normal would have an issue with this much less act ignorant in church over it. There is no defence to Kate’s behaviour.
Didn’t Kate go to another event afterwards where she smiled and shook hands with everyone? That bitchface is her true self. Maybe that’s why Tatler was so scathing.
She’s lucky her face that day isn’t being spun as her being pissed at having to support the Commonwealth countries. If you were unaware of the Cambridges plan to take out M&H, what other reason would there be for such an ugly bitch face in church? Clearly she doesn’t care or want to show the minimum of support for the CW she will be queen over one day.
If kate was such a nice person and had nothing to do with the smear campaign against Meghan, she wouldn’t have acted like that. given how much abuse Meghan has endured and everything she has gone through the last three years, Kate did this knowing it would fuel the haters, and she didn’t give AF. She has absolutely no empathy for Meghan whatsoever. She was more upset about not getting to show off in the procession.
If anything it shows her over confidence, that she knows she can literally say or do anything and the press will cover up for her. I think only the guardian wrote about how bad it looked. I was thinking about the ‘one shoulder dress’ earlier. Meghan was called ‘vulgar’ and accused of breaking protocol with her OSD. So you would think Kate would have had doubts about wearing one too a few weeks later just to avoid being accused of the same thing. But no, she wore one and was the most confident I’d seen her. She knew that no press was gonna call her ‘vulgar’ or say she was breaking protocol. So how did she know she would get away with it?
I also noticed it the day they were both at the polo match with all of the kids. There was zero interaction between them which just seemed bizarre. Meghan was standing there with the baby-a normal family relationship would have had the two of them talking and Kate peeking in at Archie.
Louis even toddled in Archie’s direction which would have been a reason to chat. I think George came to look at the baby too. The distance was obvious. Kate made no effort to roll out the red carpet there.
The children were probably wondering (perhaps George) at why their mother behaved that way. Louis would probably have enjoyed interacting with his cousin.
Someone said that inside the tent William played with Archie?
Louis is literally the most amicable and mature person in the Cambridge’s household lol.
That was so bizarre, dare I say even slightly sociopathic, because whether she likes Meghan or not that baby is blood with your children. They will always be connected in that alone. They are literally part of an institution where blood connections bind for the sake of national diplomacy and she still didn’t bother.
It was like she didn’t even care to make the kids familiar with each other, even though that would only benefit her children. Especially a future king who will rely on his close family to aide in his reign.
She couldn’t even do the right thing for her children’s sake. It showed a very dark side side of her more clearly than ever before.
@hey Jude her love of children is an act. She couldn’t even be bothered about giving her newborn nephew a second glance. Shows how much she really loves children. I remember when my niece was born, I couldn’t wait to see her everytime and give her a cuddle. Newborns change so much. But Kate doesn’t give AF. And the polo match was suppose to be the first meeting with archie too. She didn’t even look at him.
I remember when George was born and everyone was excited about seeing fun uncle harry play with his nephew. But they have never been pictured interacting because William blocked it. He didn’t want harry getting positive press with baby George. Even when it was questioned, KPs response was that they didn’t want to make harry look like a ‘spinster’ cos he’s single. Lol, it shows willies pettiness against his brother started way before Meghan.
I felt this way too. I can’t resist the babies in my family, I genuinely love kids so I love playing with them, making them laugh, etc. Like it’s been said, Kate’s love of kids is a front for commercial reasons. No doubt she adores her own, but not her own nephew. It’s okay, people don’t have to love kids, but don’t pretend in order to get good press.
Meghan looked so stranded 🙁 holding that little baby by herself, no one talking to her.
She must have known everyone would be watching, cameras on them. I think it was intentional, deliberate and meant to be seen. Those who are loyal to the crown would have seen it and supported it.
She got too arrogant at that moment and badly miscalculated thinking she was putting them in their place. Now there’s proof that the Cambs snubbed the Sussexes for the world to see.
I am old enough to remember squidgygate, tampongate, toesuckinggate, prcompanydebtgate, fakesheikhgate, thequeenisacowgate, randyandygate etc The Sussexes will be attacked at every turn but they will be just fine. Thankfully all the PR, positive and negative is making them very very bankable as M is strategic and Harry tactical. It will get worse before it gets better but luckily they are a team.
What was the queenisacowgate?
What astounds me is not all the DM tabloid bashing of H & M but that prince Andrews involvement with a pedophile/ procurer/ photos- allegations by one of the victims is not a bigger deal then what H&M or K&W or Zara even is doing.
When Sophie had her own business – before she was a working royal, she was duped into saying a number of negative things about members of the RF – including the tidbit that the queen was a cow.
She also ended up closing that business owing over a million in debt, which she never repaid.
I’m also old enough to remember all of those. I still have been appalled by the lack of evolution.
I think they should have let Harry and Meghan roar,.the stories could have been ~ they have our full support. Wm & Kate are “private strength’ of monarchy, ful-fillers of tradition, and M&H could have been the ‘face’ of the new monarchy, set free to show the world the monarchy is evolving whilst maintaining traditions important to … whomever……they could have balanced each other out
Seriously, the opportunity they squandered here…
Would it have killed the Royals to say back off of Meghan, she is one of us now? Apparently, it would have.
No, they wouldn’t have warned the media because they were complicit with them.
Also I firmly believed at the time of the wedding that the Sussexes popularity and media interest would die over time. Just the harsh trust of celebrities, as they got older and less photogenic but also coverage just fizzles out after royal weddings. The hate campaign really made exalted them to new heights of global attention and popularity.
Yes. Diana was my age. I was so hopeful when Megan married into the family. Charles walking her down the isle. The petty betty doing an engagement with her. Wth happened? The tour and the crowds imo. PWT couldn’t handle the popularity. But why are Charles and petty betty so afraid of PWT and his tantraums? Call his drugging bluff. There are others in line for the throne. He will back down
I wonder how the Will and Kate are taking this. And what project they will announce to try to eclipse it.
I believe the whole royal cabal genuinely thought that Harry would fall in line. That M&H would actually follow through never occurred to them, so they have no plan except deny and obfuscate. Frankly I would be thrilled if Charles is the last king.
There is no way they can eclipse this; this is H&M we are talking about! only H&M can eclipse this by announcing a project or something…..
Exactly, and the RF know thar very well.
It really does seem like it turned when Meghan got pregnant and they realized she wouldn’t be leaving any time soon. The bad stories started to come out even before the Oceania tour was finished, which of course was when the pregnancy was made public.
Something happened on and or during the Oceania tour and I am dying to know what it was. IIRC, after the tour was when thing really began to go south.
I am not referring to Meghan’s pregnancy.
I remember seeing Harry having an extremely annoyed and even angry face during the Oceania tour. I wondered at the time if it had something to do with the stupid rumors being spread about employees leaving. Obviously it was much deeper and far worse than that. That period of time is when it seems the trouble greatly escalated.
On some level I don’t blame them for thinking Harry would fall in line. Almost every other Windsor man has. They just really underestimated how much Harry loves Meghan and underestimated Harry period. Glad he didn’t inherit Charles’ spinelessness (is that a word?)
They’ve already announced the pass-through ‘charity’ money for COVID, that was their big attempt at getting attention.
Gurl, they couldn’t even eclipse Megan closing a car door, there is no way they’re going to be able to eclipse this, no matter how many photos of their children that they try and push out, Kates gonna have to try and get pregnant or something.
Oh absolutely they have no chance of success. Just wondering how they will try 🙂
Check out the DailyMail’s headlines trying to spin every single thing W&K did that’s indisputably wrong into H&M’s fault all over their site today and you can see how the Cambridge’s are taking it, as it’s clear that spin could only come from their team. It’s delusional. They’re not taking it well. This might be the biggest fit Willy’s ever taken. It’s Trumpian-level egotism and meltdowns but just dressed up in European aristocracy.
Based on the excerpts I’ve read, the book seems to take a fair minded approach and basically presents the facts without calling out either side. It seems written to allow the reader to draw their own conclusions based on the facts presented. The excerpts thus far do seem to validate the gossip theories discussed about the huge role the courtiers played in all this Royal drama.
@edna, I agree, and that’s where it’s going to find its foundation. The prior books released were pretty sensationalistic, rumor-mill-based, and written with a clear bias. From what I’ve seen, it looks like this one attempts to actually portray truth objectively, as opposed from one persons’s emotional response to an event. That they interviewed multiple people, and even use Omid’s observations as a reporter within that system, I think this book will be as close to truth as you can get — and that’s 100% what is scary to a lot of people.
If this is any indication, the book is not to come out and openly say what is saying, perhaps for fear of libel.
It strikes me that when is the Sussexes POV, they use expressions like ” they felt this, they felt that. “…when speaking about the man in grey, you have direct quotes from sources…and the other households are pretty much not given a POV so far- you don’t have in this excerpts any ” William did this or that” but rather vague mentions of the RF as a whole and unnamed,ed households when they are talking specifics- the maximum they are showing, so far, is Cambridges and Charles folks bitching about schedule…
I mean, I do want it to be like this bombshell, but so far, I can only see it as a comprehensive put together of things we already known in the context of the Sussexes exit and in keeping with a more clear ” their side of the story” angle.
I do want some tea and pointing fingers, but I am afraid is not it. Let Omid at least point out the fact William´s secretary is still working for him even though his boyfriend is the leaker.
I don’t expect that we will see anything new in this book. We probably already discussed here already.
That said when you take years of nonsense and put it in a book, there is more of an effect and the people who don’t follow anything but the wedding are going to hear more than they did.
I think it’s going to show just how messed up this family is, especially with the courtiers interfering and connections to Diana will be made. Also the Andrew factor will come into play because those trying to demonize Harry and Meghan for not wanting to deal with constant micro-aggressions, will wonder why they were left out there exposed but Andy the rapist has been fully defended.
There are now headlines about Kate and Will being unsupportive, which are not the typical press they get. Only this time, Will won’t be able to get his lawyers to threaten to sue and the papers won’t be taking the stories down.
I had the same thought as Priscila, i was disapointed there was no new tea for me but I agree now that this book is playing out very differently for non royals watchers, which is most of the public. The excerpts have been seen as explosive, making this book on the Andrew Morton level to people who haven’t been paying attention closely.
@Harper I think William would very well try and do what he does, which is put an statement, threaten to sue and they bury it with pictures of his kids, but not this time as Omid is not on the RR
I do agree we are in for some loving family photos of the Cambridges, with the kids romping around in shorts, perhaps with sticky faces? Maybe on the Norfolk beach this time?
Although I’d rather see a photo of Harry and Megs and Archie posed around a rose bush.
@Harper that picture would be worth a billion words!😂😂😂😂
This book is definitely for people who haven’t been keeping up or have been doing so loosely. This confirmed that Sussex Squad was right about pretty much everything. It gives a bit more context as well.
You can tell Harry and Meghan were desperate to get some help from the Queen but were still trying to work within the palace system. After being given the runaround and then their plans leaking I don’t blame them for saying fuck it and launching the website. I know people feel some type of way about it but that website was their saving grace imo. It was apparently the ONLY way to get the Queen’s attention and to be taken seriously. They ironed out a deal and got out of the UK at the perfect time.
I also don’t think launching the website was a great decision BUT I think they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. There was no good option for them, they had to choose among several not great decisions. The fallacy is thinking there was one right way to go about it but I’ve never seen anyone present a strategy that would’ve been better.
Wasn’t the story they launched the website because Wooten knew about their plans and was threatening to publicize it himself? That the idea of assuming part-time status was around for a while (as TQ later admitted), Harry didn’t want to put anything in writing because he was afraid it would be leaked, was told he had to, and lo and behold, it was leaked. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan hadn’t been able to pursue the idea further because the courtiers were blocking access to TQ and Charles…
The people with power were refusing to address the issue, and anything reported other than by Harry and Meghan was bound to be twisted. So I think it was a fine idea to launch the website, which told people directly what they wanted and why, and got their story out there first instead of them having to play catch up refuting almost certain lies and inaccuracies by others.
@windyriver that’s exactly right, the palaces leaked it and the Sun already publicized it. The other royals were stonewalling them. It was messy but I sympathise with the Sussexes reasons for launching the website even though the arrangement wasn’t set in stone yet because they didn’t have many great options.
The die was cast during the Australia tour. Most of us knew then that her life was going to be made miserable once they got back to the UK.
Agree. I think the book alludes to the fact that the palace was spooked by the Sussexes popularity after the Oceania tour. From that point on fear and jealously took hold and the smear campaign went into full force. KP and the Cambridges went full tilt to discredit the Sussexes.
I’ve seen some complaints from people that the book isn’t “juicy” enough but I think that’s because close royal watchers came to these conclusions weeks, if not months ago.
I think this book is for the general population. It dispels tabloid rumours/stories and doesn’t go “Sussex = good” and “Cambridge = bad”. Both “sides” are said to have made mistakes and I think the purpose is for the reader to come up with their own conclusions
My favourite “company statement” that keeps going around is that they are relieved because it COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!
What did those people do to poor Meg? And will she ever be ok?
This is what I’ve been saying for months now – I didn’t expect the book to spill any real tea. But, the royal family/palace has so clearly been really spooked by this book that it made me think what “could” be in there – I didn’t expect anything explosive, but its clear there is a lot more that could have been said .
Tom Bradby did mention that if the truth came out that the royal family standing on the world stage would plummet and that they might even lose their standing in the United Kingdom.
That’s a pretty strong statement – I now wonder exactly how much Bradby knows and his source(s)? It must have been incredibly bad and I wish we’d get the unvarnished truth.
I really hope that the skeletons in the closet will come out sooner rather than later about this.
The press knows exactly what went down behind closed doors but they are not allowed to speak about it because ‘legal reasons’ due to ongoing legal cases – which alludes to H&Ms legal cases against the UK tabloids. I firmly believe they (The Sussex’s) have hard evidence that family members (and others) were leaking.
I still wonder if the palace colluded with Thomas Markle in some way to try and stop the wedding. His comment about the BRF “owing” him still sticks out in my mind. We know he is a clown who seems to think Meghan “owes” him for financially contributing to her upbringing like any normal parent would do. But what could he have done for the BRF to make him say that they owe him?
I really don’t think that the British media has been dreading this book. This morning’s tabloids were practically salivating over it as if it were the latest episode in the Royal family soap opera.
At a time when newspaper sales are down and Parliament is in summer recess the tabloids are probably seeing this book as a way to generate content and sales over next couple of months.
Certain RRs have been attacking this book for weeks if not months. They’re afraid Omid will reveal their contacts within the remaining royal Palaces. Jones’s boyfriend for starters, along with how exactly Emily A got the exclusive on Harry and Meghan getting Frogmore Cottage and how the tabloids found about the Cotswolds rental.
Based on Katie Nichols saying that a lot was cut out for legal reasons, I suspect all the things you mentioned won’t really be covered in detail.
William is being portrayed as “hurt” instead of the scheming Willileaks that we know he is. In the first excerpt, the leaks are mentioned but IMO skimmed over, which is disappointing because it gives context to why M&H posted the SussexRoyal website so fast. It’s a fact that Wooten and The Sun had the information about the stepping back and asked H&M to comment. It feels wimpy that the authors didn’t dive into that because the screaming headlines that the Queen was blindsided are what most of the public believes to this day. It also allowed the media to paint Harry and Meghan as impulsive and emotional.
There are other excerpts that don’t make him look great. I’ll wait until we get to those.
I think in general though this book will expose more of the general public to William and Kate not being benign in this entire matter. People who followed this already know this but most of the public just saw William as the calm older brother. The excerpts show that this isn’t the case.
Well, The Queen herself kind of retracted the first statement and made clear that in fact they had been negotiating for months, but they did not have an answer yet- it is not the best, but at least TQ did this on their behalf- or hers.
There is a lot Omid can’t talk about for legal reasons. I’m going to wait till the book comes out to draw my conclusion. The book is almost 400 pages and we have only seen a few excerpts.
Head’s up everyone. We should expect an influx of new trolls on here. We’re already seeing them now. Just label them ‘troll’ and let Kaiser delete them.
@Nota Yes, I’ve seen several in the last hour. Seems that we can’t happily occupy one of the few pro-Meghan gossip sites without a M——t troll coming along to spew their hatred. Why don’t they stay on the Heil? They’re in ‘good’ company there.
The Cambridges were shown to have paid for more IG followers, which has noticeably stayed constant since Sussex Royal stopped posting, so I am sure they have paid trolls to come post on one of the few sites that is consistently pro Meghan.
They are clearly worried though.
@Nic919 — I am surprised no one in the royal rota trash is talking about this! they were all too happy to let us know how W&K had more followers; until the NYTimes story came out which explained what was behind!
Now that H&M no longer have an account, looks like there is no need to buy bots anymore! that’s so shameful and so petty; I cannot believe that adults will resort to doing such things! IG followers? same feeling I have about the FlyBe stunt!
Meg really shook them to the core with her novel approach to royal’ing; so much mediocrity in that world! H knew his world, why marry a woman like M? that guy had a leg out of the door before he met M and had said so. People keep writing BS like M used H. Actually he USED her; he should be lucky a woman of her caliber agreed to marry him (nothing against him) and enter that family!
Imo Megan is an extremely intelligent person with a natural ability to read the room so to say. Imo they discussed and possibly had an idea of more about leaving before they married. As pointed out H has always been vocal about not wanting to be in the firm. I believe things began to be looked at now rather than later when all the hate for M ramped up. Then PWT and Katie witch showed their true colors and H said that’s it I am outta here. Every time I see H looking at PWT in Church all I can think of is how badly H wants to punch PWT in the face. Cannot blame him. I would look the other way😅
So the Royal Family learned nothing from the Diana era. Rank and hierarchy does not equate to popularity. Just because you’re the heir doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be popular and loved by everyone.
Harry had always been more popular than William. And I guess as long as Harry remained single, William could tolerate Harry’s being more popular. But once Meghan entered the picture and the Sussexes outshone the Cambridge’s on every metric, the jealously could no longer be held in check.
I think they hate Meghan for a lot of reasons but emboldening Harry to finally break free is very high up on the list. Even after everything the palace still wants Harry to come back and be apart of that creepy threesome with the Cambridges. They wanted him to stay the hypeman and main attractor to the Cambridges because without him, they’re a snooze. In the excerpts, William is said to have been “concerned” about Harry moving so fast with Meghan and “only looking out for him” when I think he could see his power and influence over Harry slipping away and that is what worried him.
‘Concerned’ a military vet in his thirties is getting serious with a woman? LOL. He was calling Meghan ‘this girl’.
They want him to want them, so every time he shows he shows he does not love them, like Kate they feel like jilted lovers, left at the altar for the sake of another bride.
Meghan had been gainfully employed for years and was paid quite well and had previous speaking engagements as well as charitable causes. Her family lived in the US and had no involvement with anything British.
What did Harry need to be cautious about in William’s mind?
THe Will stans chirp about his “being right.” He had no business butting in, he had no say in who Harry saw or eventually married.
Well, on the simplest level, it makes sense a man who took 10 years to finally settle on someone, partly because others wouldn’t have him, wouldn’t get how Harry could be so sure, so fast. Harry invited Meghan to Botswana within a month or so of meeting her. It always seemed like “when you know, you know” for Harry and Meghan, both adults in their 30’s, and it must have been obvious very early Harry was very serious.
We also don’t know what William was told about Meghan by others, but “a cable tv actress” rather than “college major in international relations also doing work for the UN” is likely, given the reported “showgirl” comment by someone.
The probable reality is much less kind, that William was indeed worried about what Harry’s relationship meant for his own control and influence – with a touch of snobbism, racism, and jealousy thrown in. He probably expected if Harry ever got married, it’d be to someone like Kate, attractive, compliant, dull (not to mention British/white). Surprise!
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I think William wanted to be known as the “family man” He wanted Harry to remain the single spare, the party prince.
Yep, I’ve been saying this from the start. As long as Harry was unstable, unfocus, and jumping from one relationship to another, William would always be viewed as the stable brother and family man. William coasted on this undeserved narrative for years. He lost control of the narrative and his mind when Harry pursued a family of his own.
As someone mentioned above, they hate Meghan because she emboldened Harry to see the bigger picture. His actions reflect someone who now understands his well-being and happiness is greater than serving the institution he was born into.
William wanted Harry to always be the scapegoat/lackey to call attention away from him if he were criticized by the media or to play down things like the Rose situation. Kate liked to preen and pose when she appeared with two Princes and she could giggle and flirt with Harry. They both did not like it when Harry moved on. I wonder if WIlliam would have allowed Harry to marry at all unless he and Kate found some bland woman for him, a stepford sort that could be controlled by Kate.
Yes that was williams USP. Whilst harry always wanted what William had. Expect we now know that William settled for a woman he doesn’t really love, they pretty much live separate lives and he has a whole other woman on the side and ‘sees the kids whenever he can’.
Harry proved how much he will do for his family, giving it all up to protect them. That’s true dedication that will stand the test of time. William can’t even give up his mistress.
I think William wanted harry to have a a short lived marriage and tried his best to drive Meghan away, just so harry could look like a failure. Like Kim’s 72 day marriage. I also think he wanted to see harry divorce first so it could open up the divorce door for himself. I don’t think William would have the guts to pull the trigger, but it would have made it easier for him to ditch Kate, if harry got a divorce first. Whenever the ‘divorce door’ opens they all seem to run through it at the same time.
@February-Pisces– your comment about Wills wanting Harry to divorce first and then pave the way for Will”s freedom is astute. Wills had more than one motive in throwing his brother under the bus.
@Feb I think you are exactly right. Willi was hoping Harry would get divorced so he could then do it too with less backlash.
They would have been the bachelor brothers again for spin
I saw an excerpt in the NY Post today, and the invites by the Cambridges to Harry to see his niece and nephews “dried up” after Harry got angry at his brother over his comments about Meghan. It implies that Kate is the one that called Meghan a “showgirl.”
@FP, I don’t think William wants a divorce actually. I think the current arrangement suits him just fine, and after the disaster of his parents’ divorce, he’s keenly aware of just how much the Queen and the staffers are invested in making sure that his marriage works. They desperately want to project an image of domestic stability after the turmoil with Diana and Charles, and I think William himself is invested in that too. That’s why he goes all out on anyone or anything that implies otherwise.
This is also why he probably wanted Harry to be a permanent f-ck up. It makes him look better without trying. William can easily look like the dedicated father, family man and husband, in comparison to his brother, who can’t keep a long term permanent relationship etc. It would have served William’s narrative well if that happened, and I don’t doubt that he was deeply unhappy and angry when Harry didn’t play by that narrative, because William truly believes that everyone has to fall on their sword, just to make William look better.
I don’t think Willi wants to divorce either, unless something REALLY good came along. I agree that the current arrangement seems to suit him just fine. He’s just too narcissistic to have his rep tarnished.
Meanwhile the RR and pushing the unstable, petulant, think-skinned Harry trope. This is going to get really ugly.
Warring factions within a royal court. It’s a tale as old as time, frankly, and it’s astonishing to me that anyone is surprised, ever, about the goings on in the British Royal family.
The quotes are riddled with microagressions about Meghan and it’s gross. I genuinely do not care how she acted (though I’ll never be convinced that it was as horrible as they make it seem), because she was in a completely vulnerable state being attacked from all sides.
Im sure she just can’t wait until this chapter of her life is over, and I feel her. Even reading this stuff on a semi daily basis is exhausting, I can’t imagine living it. I hope they make it through this stronger and better.
Yeah, and all those Cresdidas and the-other-one-what’ s-her-name, had more time to see what this life in fact is. And they just said thank you, next 😉
Meghan was if fact more suited for Harry as he is now. He became very immersed in working with people And his charities, and Meghan has a lifelong story with that, too. I bet he felt connected to her in that sense much more to other women who really don’t go beyond with philanthropy.
I believe they thought they could do so much and were stopped and tried to be taken advantage of.
I don’t know if they (the RF) could have managed them differently, but I think they could maintain them as an asset ( a big one), instead of creating this monster of harassement. It’s gonna be hurtful for everyone, but they think they are protected in their bubble. I worry about Harry and his family and I wish them the best.
Do you guys remember the Kensington leaks about how Meghan was mean to the servants? We knew it was BS but apparently the servants were actively working to stress her out too? Good lord these people are awful. So glad they are out of this mess. I would do the 1 year review via Zoom and say nope we are out just like you wanted (for Meghan and Archie at least).
I’ve just seen that the Kweeeeeen is vigorously defending her ‘loving arms open’ approach to Meghan, according to a Heil headline. She cooked her a vegan meal, you know! These things matter!
What worries me is that Penis with Teeth and Wiglet will undermine Meghan and Harry’s narrative by jumping all over the news cycle with their feelings and their outrage and their hurt and their ah, bless, ‘concern’ over Harry’s mental health (he’s just fine and happy with his gorgeous wife and son, but never let the truth get in the way of a good gaslight). We’re going to have weeks and weeks of Wiglet-whinge over how she once lent Meghan a scrunchie. Meanwhile, the men in grey are sharpening their knives and finding whatever news cycle crack they can seep with poison.
Republic. NOW.
Well, when you welcome someone with open arms, it makes it that much easier to slide the knife into their back.
And what’s with the vegan meal thing? Meghan is not a vegan, so why would she go out of her way to specially cook her a vegan meal? Their narratives are a mess.
Re Harry’s mental health – even Andrew Morton said you could just replace Dianna’s name, from articles back when they were hunting her, with the Sussexes and it would read the same. Pulling out the old strategies that put H’s mother in danger. Imagine how that would feel. I hope they never go back.
I thought the same, it shows the extent these people dont care and do not know her. She is not vegan- and even if she was, the minimum a host could do was to have at least one vegan meal cooked for a vegan guest! This is common decency!
Lies lies and more lies. How about we start with Meghan isn’t vegan. They need to get the facts right if they’re going to push out more lies.
Have to admit I thought she tries to go vegan weekdays? Wasn’t she? My mistake
@Anna, an old interview states that while filming she tries to stick to vegan on weekdays, but she’s not strict about it. She’s never actually been vegan.
I think they added the ‘vegan’ thing just to rile up the right wing trolls. She isn’t vegan, she even said in the engagement interview they were roasting a chicken.
I saw that too. Is Meghan even vegan?
Doesn’t matter since the dinner didn’t happen
What’s interesting is that there is an article where Kate states that she can’t cook.
If cooking your future sister in law a meal means you are “rolling out the red carpet” then you have problems.
Sitting at the table with the Cambridges is like dining with the Borgias.
Yeah – didn’t William say something like this at a public engagement.
Exactly, putting out that as a defence sounded so weak and weird. By saying that Kate welcomed them into her home and gave them a meal actually proves that they were not nice. Fancy using that as evidence, it goes without saying that you would invite your in laws into your home and that in itself does not prove anything.
Just a week or so ago the palaces were busy explaining that they never defended Meghan because it’s just not done but KP couldn’t defend the Cambridges fast enough against the truth. I can’t say it enough, I’m so glad that Harry and Meghan decided to leave and live their own life.
Where the RF and press went wrong was with the over smearing of M. If you are going to smear someone, don’t cover them head to toe in dirt. A handprint on a white dress is more noticeable and can be more effective than a head to toe dip in crap as more people than you intended will end up feeling sorry for your victim. People in the Uk may be split on this issue but more people are beginning to question the existence of the RF beyond the queen. Willileaks has been told he is very intelligent all his life, which he really isn’t, he is just a sly and petulant baby. Right now, history will not be kind to him and Kathmandont as they are not useful enough to be used as diplomatic envoys during the UK’s time of need post brexit and post corona. This is not the time to be outed as right wing racists who drove their brother and sister inlaw out of dodge in front of the whole world.
History indeed will not be kind to the Cambridge’s, they are trying to play the game of white nationalism and British exceptionalism from the 50s and 60s, pandering to those who will be dead before the reign. Whilst ostracising the left leaning egalitarian youth, who they malign through their attacks on Meghan and Harry and their reflecting belifes.
History will show that Meghan was mistreated and segregated from the royal family because of her race. They can’t cover that up, or deny it no matter how many people of colour they are photographed with. They can change the narrative of ‘today’ news, but not how we will look back on this. And at the heart of that ‘segregation’ will be the Cambridge’s. Their stans know it and like to deny it as a way of enabling them. And once the stans have move on from hating Meghan ( and eventually they will move on) we will see this objectively.
@Elizabeth Regina…yes!!!!
I just don’t understand what they were thinking. Anyone with a smidgen if sense could see it was orchestrated….just too much negative gossip.
Looking on from the outside that caught my attention. I actually told my husband that they were trying to make her miscarry.
You know, that’s a good point. We know from the time H&M began dating the claws were out, they probably never thought it would lead to an engagement. When it did, the claws were sharpened, but they were clearly just flailing and thinking they were so smart they could derail it if they just buried Meghan in filth. I genuinely believe they enlisted the Mad Markles to make it happen, piling on dirt, which was stupid because they’re trash. I think they (the RF as well as the BM) used Toxic Tom’s shenanigans and refusal to come to the wedding thinking that would cause delay or cancellation. At this point, it’s just throwing sh*t at the wall to see if it stuck. Then, I think they thought they’d have time to work their magic because surely Meghan, at her age, would have trouble getting pregnant. Shock! So then the sh*t-throwing grew desperate.
Now that it’s too late to rectify, and no one would ask me anyway, I can put out into the universe that a strategic approach could have made a direct hit — like, pick one significant thing Meghan did that they could paint with some assurance as over-stepping, or offensive to Petty Betty (not that there is anything). It might have had some impact or raised eyebrows among people who don’t rely on tabloids for their opinions. But, they didn’t because they can’t see past the end of their noses. And they never encountered a couple like Harry and Meghan — focused, engaged, sincere, possessing values and empathy.
@F-P, I agree and I think this is what makes Finding Freedom the threat it’s turning out to be. It is a compendium, a retrospective that pulls the timeline together and presents the facts in a cohesive timeline that paints the full picture, instead of the white-out blizzard of lies and innuendo we’ve all been subjected to these past years.
This is why the Tatler article on Kate was so effective. It was a dirty handprint on an otherwise pristine white dress. We’re so used to Kate being built up and fawned over, that the sly, backhanded compliments were a shock to the system.
ignore my random response now lol
Meghan’s chicken recipe is lowkey viral on Pinterest and called “engagement chicken” and to show how the Firm understood and wanted to get to know Meghan…the Queen made a vegan meal. Yeah that shows a lot of attention to detail.
The Future Future Kween, actually! LOL
the woman is mediocre, just watch her recent interview on her whatever early years…..
you cannot expect much from her
This explains why she panicked. Obviously Meghan was going to outshine her. Even dim Keen could see it.
There is a convergence of two things. The servants are snobbier than who they serve and are enraged to serve Meghan. Also this is a dysfunctional family pure and simple. Nothing will change while the queen is in charge.
Defund the monarchy is the future.
I’ve been on a royal reading binge recently, and I picked up Kitty Kelley’s book The Royals. It starts with an anecdote about Princess Margaret going to see Schindler’s List, and not even sitting half way through the movie before storming off because she couldn’t bear to watch it. The next day, Margaret was talking about how unpleasant the movie was, and how she had to get up and leave, to the butler serving her breakfast. He mentioned this to an American friend, who asked him if he felt offended by what Margaret had said, and the butler simply replied, “Royalty is royalty, never to be questioned.”
If the Cambridges, courtiers and British media go nuclear trying to defend their heinous actions, Archie’s dad will burn the house down if they keep messing with him and his family.
And this clarifies even more all those ridiculous Kate embiggening stories. Kate could never match Meghan’s accomplishments. Kate is white, lazy and complacent and that’s about it.
And, its clear now that Kate was incredibly threatened by Meghan and took full advantage of the Great Smear Campaign* to orchestrate her own embiggening campaign.
*”took full advantage” or just out and out participated in/enabled/actively encouraged the GSC.
The Cambridges have the most to lose as we already know they have been leaking to the Sun via their press sec’s partner. If you follow the stink, it will take you to Kensington Palace.
Kate has ALWAY ALWAYS ALWAYS been a mean girl, she’s been showing us her ass (literally and figuratively) for years and it has been ignored both by the RF and the press. Neither Kate or William are nice people – William has always had a rep for being a nasty boor who has treated his family and brother like sh!t for years. Look at how badly he treated TOP CEO and her family for over a decade and he still treats his wife like crap.
TQ and Chuck both notoriously hate conflict and like sticking their heads in the sand – the nasty dysfunctional family dynamics that we see are a direct result of that. The only way that cycle will be stopped is if someone burns it all to the ground and I think Harry will if pushed far enough. Its becoming clear to me that his relationship with his brother is at a point that it won’t ever be repaired. Harry is angry at his family and he has every right to be.
One of the excerpts talk about how TQ and PC just let William sink or swim on his own and that is so dangerous. Neither of them even try to reign him in and this is the result of that.
Remember when H said his family would be the family M never had? I firmly believe H believed this. Can you imagine the hurt and shock he must have felt? The utter betrayal? And to discover your brother of all of them is the worst? I love H and M. They are breaking that dysfunction for their family😍
I may well read it now.
Can someone help me understand who exactly the “courtiers” are? Are they actual members of the Windsor family? Are they staff who work for the family?
They are staff who are work for the various royal households. They hold way too much power in the royal family. Some have worked for the Queen or Charles for decades.
They are staff that hold pretty much all the power. The Queens staff can prevent her grandsons from seeing her for months if they so choose.
As someone pointed out on Twitter, Harry lived down the road from the Queen and was told he couldn’t see her for at least a month to talk (after they got back from Canada). She was in her house and horseback riding on the shared grounds with Andrew during that month. He could probably look out his window and see his grandmother, but he couldn’t talk to her until the end of January? That’s why her staff has too much power.
To be completely honest I don’t buy that. If the Queen wanted to give Harry time, she would. This is not just the little gray men (I agree they are powerful and probably really opposed to Meghan), it is internal family dynamics. The Queen created a family / business in which her own grandson / senior employee doesn’t feel like he can reach her.
I agree that the queen would give harry her time if she knew. If she was told ‘harry needs to see you urgently’ she would make time for time. But it’s those courtiers are the ones doing the blocking. I highly doubt the queen knows how to use a mobile or anything so any call harry makes will have to go through them. She probably asks if he’s called and they would be like ‘no mama’.
The Queen’s courtiers have been having a power struggle with Charles courtiers for years, so the Queen did not want to create further division, and told Harry to speak to his father.
Courtiers are the higher level staff, secretaries (personal and otherwise), who serve as “advisors” to the monarch and senior royals. Each “court” (KP, Buck, Windsor) have their own courtiers/advisors who act as “layers” between all others (incl. family in the BRF) and the monarch (Petty Betty). Apparently “One” doesn’t not have family just “drop by” w/out an “appointment” made through the private secretary, and possibly denied w/out ever asking “One”. “One” does not receive a phone call from family unless it’s passed through channels as well (and “One” may never even know about this unless the courtiers tell “One”). This dysfunctional bunch write LETTERS to each other.
Crazy. AND cold as hell.
They are senior staff, such as the private secretaries to the Queen, Charles and William. The private secretaries are the senior operational members of the royal household. They have a lot of influence, especially the monarch’s private secretary. They are the chiefs of staff for the various royal household.
Aren’t they also the ones responsible for keeping all the traditions going? Everything from seating arrangements to which flowers the visiting dignitary likes best. They know which crowns get used when, the history of the jewels and when they should be worn, and by who. Which dates get celebrated and the reason why, and which military uniforms the royals must wear that day. Don’t they keep peerages and lineages straight so someone is never seated near a certain someone else? They keep track of the petty insults offered and by who, they know which of the royal’s friends can be trusted, and who to avoid. They get to whisper in a royal’s ear, some get to open and read the mail. They know how to confer favours with royals to get what they want, whether it’s an early copy of a magazine or a table at a great restaurant. They decide which room is used and who gets their picture chosen to be placed and where.
This is what I think they do, along with a hundred other necessary and petty actions each day.
They are the private secretaries and assistants and people who run the households.
Most are essentially civil servants. The monarchy is part of the government i.e. the establishment which doesn’t depend on political party allegiance. The ‘Equerries’ are military officers who typically serve a senior royal for a few years before returning to military service. Their royal service earns promotion. A few, like Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser, start out as personal servants and gain power by becoming indispensable.
Off-topic: @Celebitchy, will you cover any of the Operation Legend stuff?
Also, way more lighthearted: I think Harry Styles’ disgusting quarantine mustache also deserves to be featured on here, it’s… hilariously bad.
It was the beginning of the end when Michael wore that horrific brooch and made she she was photographed wearing it to a family dinner with Meghan.
They knew and never cared and overplayed their hand in Harry leaving with Meghan.
None of this is really new news – most of what has been reported of the past few days was reported at the time (esp that Harry was going to just ‘drop in’ on his grandmother). I was interested in the comment about how they felt they weren’t getting a shot at the bigger events etc.. to that says many things – mainly that Meghan WANTED to get involved and she WANTED to support the institution but ego’s stopped them. Lets be honest here the only ‘ego’ who put a stop to them getting some of the good engagements were from the Cambridges. Hasn’t it always been Chuck’s dream to have his sons step up and do more – take on more responsibilities etc..? At least one son did – the other, clearly not interested.
Now we know why the Cambridges have been very visible recently, they’ve known that the dirty laundry was going to be aired in some way and their smear campaign/leaking to the press confirms it. If things had to be cut from the book due to legal reasons that means the Palace saw a manuscript or at the least their lawyers did.
Didn’t want to serve an actress on a cable TV show…. Yet perfectly willing to serve waity kaity who had no career or purpose in life other than waiting to become Duchess Catherine.
They’d rather serve a sloth. Unhinged.
An ENGLISH, WHITE sloth.
It would still be bad if Meghan was white, she was also an AMERICAN and an ACTRESS *GASP*. Remember, Prince Philip the Philanderer advised Harry to be careful with Meghan, telling him: “One steps out with actresses, one doesn’t marry them”,
I bet they resented Kate and her common family.
I hope Harry told him off. What an awful comment to make. And it should be remembered that Philip was once poverty stricken with no title. His mentor wanted him to marry Elizabeth. And Elizabeth parents were not all that happy with Philip and told Philip and Elizabeth to wait another year before any engagement announcement. Her parents even took her out of the country on a royal tour.
Philip suffered greatly from his marriage to the Queen. I think, if he had allowed himself to, he could have found a great deal of common ground with Diana and other royal spouses, because a lot of them went through the same thing he did. He was reviled by the palace, the old guard, and the Queen’s staffers, because they were all allied with the Queen Mother, who was loathe to give up her position and power and the spotlight that came with it when her husband died and her daughter became Queen. She edged out Philip on purpose to preserve her stolid vision of the royal family, whereas Philip was, at the time, a reformer who wanted to shake up how things were done and understood, on some level, the importance of moving on with the times.
@Tessa – Philip was born with a HRH as he was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark.
In reply to BayTampaBay his title was not legitimate at the time because his family was exciled from Greece when they were trying to become a republic during the Greco-Turkish war. They were (and are still) essentially defunct. A ‘monarch’ without a land and without people is not on Monarch.
No problem with the idea of serving less successful white actresses than the “z lister” biracial one, like Cressida and Sophie Winkelmann
The British press and the friends of the Cambridges are all over the media defending them. No matter how much they twist the narrative around to favor the Cambridges, the whole world knows how they treated the Sussexes. And Kate’s rude behavior towards the Sussexes was on full display on national TV during the Commonwealth service. No amount of defense can deny that she snubbed them deliberately. Her true character was unmasked. She and her husband William were certified bullies and they bullied their brother and his wife out of the U.K. End of.
so much fear by the british media, they are going batshit crazy.
this is of course partly to discredit any and every aspect of the book and also to distract from the news that the Cambridges used grant money to appear to gift funds themselves to charities. they are in bed with the tories and the rota.
I think that these book excerpts show that the Queen is no longer fit for purpose, if she ever was. It seems as though the courtiers and not the Queen run the Firm with an iron hand, all the while colluding with the Royal Rota. I think that is why the Royal family would be scared about this book, it shows them for the petty, powerless, moronic and racist turds that they are who have basically become the puppets of the “men in grey suits.”
Hear hear!
I started following the RF and CH instagrams and FB pages because I started following the Sussexes. I soon unfollowed them and kept only the Sussexes.
They got a general boost, and that included the KP account, but none were as petty and greedy as the KP insta account.
This courtier power reminded me of how life was for the Japanese Masako.
interesting to me that they were not desperately trying to contact his father, the Prince of Wales. why is that I wonder. is it because Charles was in cahoots with Kensington, was it because their relationship had deteriorated, was it because his own father was giving him the cold shoulder, wa it because his father was jealous of his popularity and the attention his wife commanded?
so many questions and it just amazes me that charles gets a pass from all this when he is clearly complicit and permissive of the Cambridges dangerous behavio. his carefully curated image must remain untarnished until he wears the crown.
Overtime I read that Charles was talking or meeting with Harry, but granny had the last word over their plans. And he dis not want to communicate in writing for fear of leaks, which ended up happening.
@ennie if that is true, then Charles is continuing to be the wimp he always was as a child. what a weak person and even weaker king he will be.
Yes, but in regards of authority and actual permissions, the top has the power. Just see what is going on with Andrew. As far as I know, the official full time royal Members were diminished thanks to Charles, and he fought to keep Andrews girls out, too. But in regards to important things, the queen has the authority, See how Andy is maintained with privileges even when he doesn’t work, and is at the right side of his mama. I suspect Charles would prefer differently, even when they’ve walked together.
I think it’s because Charles, in spite of everything, is not the real authority here. It’s the Queen. The Queen is the top, the head, the one whose word is the final deciding factor in everything. Charles can only do so much for Harry, at least as far as William and his staffers are concerned. The Queen can do a lot more, and she didn’t do enough, because she has, increasingly, become far more reliant on staffers who are advising her poorly.
@A and @ennie, but yet it was Charles who reined in the queen and demanded that Andrew step down. It was Charles who went to church with Andrew on Christmas Day, separate from the family and insisted on his role being cut back. It wasn’t long ago when people were saying he was the de facto king regent. In any case he outranks the Cambridges and Sussexes and could easily have stepped in to calm the storm but twiddled his thumbs while Rome burned, and I think it was a conscious decision on his part. He will forever be an absentee father who never showed favor to Harry. Charles fully supported the smear campaign, and was happy to play the role of father figure to William while Harry’s world crumbled. with his posed pictures resting his head on Williams shoulder, interviewing his surprise at Williams interest in the Duchy, and playing hoops with William in the wheelchair. I know that people love to give him a pass because of his duchy work but for some reason I see him as the primary reason the next generation is so fractured. I can’t stand him.
As for petty Betty. Nah. The old biddy is not calling the shots. She is just happy to retire to the country, and hang with the corgis and Andrew. If it’s her personal secretary whispering in her ear then he is in fact the one with the power.
@RoyalBlue, it wasn’t Charles who reined in the Queen wrt Andrew though. For one thing, the Queen hasn’t been “reined in” as far as Andrew is concerned. She still supports him, publicly demonstrates that support, and has made it clear that as long as she’s alive, and perhaps even after that, she will ensure that he has a place in the RF, and that he’s just waiting for the whole storm to blow over so that he can step back into royal duties again.
And for another, what Charles actually did was join forces with Andrew, a few years ago, to get the Queen’s last competent private secretary, Christopher Geidt, sacked, so that Charles could expand his own influence and do things his way. The Queen has been badly advised and guided ever since Geidt departed from his job. If he’d been around, the Andrew interview would have never happened, so whatever Charles did actually backfired spectacularly, and hasn’t particularly increased his own influence in the process either.
I don’t think Charles has a great deal of power or authority over William, but it’s not because he’s helpless, it’s more a learned incompetence that’s purposeful on his part. As you said, he didn’t do much of the parenting. The Queen, on the other hand, had easy access to William over the years he was growing up, and he’s mentioned how he’d have tea with her in the weekend afternoons after coming up from Eton to spend time at Windsor. William flouts Charles’ authority all the time, but he has marginal respect for the Queen, and Harry knows this. Harry also knows that Charles is inherently selfish and would not help him in this regard, hence the reason why he went to the Queen. Because Charles has very little authority, and whatever he does, he only does for himself.
Right now William has the power, nobody wants to upset William. Give it a few years and more about his personality and behaviour will start to leak. I have never heard anyone say anything kind about William.
Meanwhile, jokes on them, if the Duchess came out with a beauty line that said we could all glow like her, she could buy the palace because that ish would SELL.
Would anyone buy raccoon eye makeup from Cathy Cambridge?
Her 80s Avon eye pencil? No thanks I’ll pass. But if Meghan did a skin care range, I would purchase by the bucketload.
But selling milk is just fine.
They’re trying to demean her with the beauty line joke when they sell all sorts of tacky tchotchkes at the royal palaces and made bank off the Sussex royal wedding.
Are these excerpts direct quotes from the book? “Reign in”??? Who TF edited this book? Is that a barely recognizable pun? Don’t.
This misspelling irks me. Unless it’s being used as a pun, it’s rein in.
I know it must have hurt Harry deeply to see his family behave as abominably as they did towards Meghan. How even their “love” for him wasn’t enough to put aside their petty jealousies and biases to support his wife. But I imagine now that they’ve shown their true colors that it also has to be a relief that the truth is out/confirmed. He isn’t overly emotional. He was being gaslit and used by his family.
Meghan gave Harry the love and strength to walk away, but she paid a huge price to be with the man she loves. I’m surprised she delivered a healthy baby. The BRF would not have shed a tear if she miscarried. I’m glad she’s gone and is surrounded by people who love her and want her best interest. I hope she is wildly successful in all her ventures.
💯
I think they were hoping she would miscarry. They are trying so hard to write her out of Harry’s life even with a child. I think they thought if she miscarried it would be easy to run her off. I know that sounds extreme but I got that vibe.
Me too. How else can “one” explain the horrible press while she was pregnant.
I think this is when Harry really understood what his mother went through and decided to get Meghan out.
what does the RF have to offer Harry? Maybe his grandfathers military roles. Nothing else really.
It was a long time coming, if you ask me. People before Harry didn’t have the courage or support system to leave the royal family behind, in spite of everything, even though they desperately wanted to and would have been better served if they had. Imagine if Margaret had had a spouse or partner who cared about her and supported her, or she’d had a better sense of self. She could have had a much better life overall.
Someone mentioned Kate never got along with any of Harry’s girlfriends, which I believe, since as someone else mentioned, she has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been a mean girl. She also used to flirt shamelessly with Harry to the point of being embarrassing.
And let’s not forget how she mean-girled Bea and Eugenie which likely led to the blood-princess curtsy rule. And she doesn’t have any female friends at all, apparently. She has zero intellect or personality, and is demonstrably lazy and boring. The best I can say for her is she seems to genuinely care about her children.
But mean is proof of a low character, and she is about as mean as they come.
The only way kate can shine and get the male attention she craves is if there are no other women in the room at the same time.
The blood princess rule came in because Anne did not want to curtsy to Camilla. That said Kate and Pippa, both several years older than the York princesses, acted like total bitches to them more than once. They had fits at a fashion show over seating and Kate pulled some kind of stunt in Beatrice regarding the one charity function she ever did pre marriage.
The Order of Precedence was changed after Anne bitched about Diana and Fergie too.
The blood princess rule came in because Anne did not want to curtsy to Camilla. That said Kate and Pippa, both several years older than the York princesses, acted like total bitches to them more than once. They had fits at a fashion show over seating and Kate pulled some kind of stunt in Beatrice regarding the one charity function she ever did pre marriage.
Caring for your own children is not a virtue, even far worse people than Kate do that.
Geez, what a miserable person. I imagine Rose is much nicer.
I highly doubt it. If there’s one thing that the royals and aristocrats care about the most, it’s issues of precedence and rank and hierarchy. Rose and her sister were born without titles, and they made it a point to marry rich, titled aristocrats who were twenty years older than them (supposedly at the urging of their mother who wanted them to be “settled” and who later gushed about how “well” they had both married).
Everyone in this crowd is venal, petty and small-minded, don’t worry.
Eh, I doubt it. Adding to A’s points, Rose has close links to the Tories (interned for Michael Gove and is friendly with his family, which includes nasty DM “writer” Sarah Vine). I think anyone who’s a Tory is bound to be unpleasant because of all the -isms associated with them. Let’s just say both of them are likely terrible in their own way.
There is no ‘blood-princess curtsy rule’. It’s a myth that fits in with certain agendas. However, there is a change in the previous rules on order of precedence for royal ladies, in fact two changes have been made.
Originally a married-in female royal took the same precedence as her husband on all occasions whether or not he was physically present with her. After Camilla married Charles the order was altered for private occasions when a husband was not present. The new order put Camilla in 4th place after the Queen, Princess Anne and Princess Alexandra. Sophie Wessex was in 5th place. It would affect things like seating arrangements and order of entering and leaving. When Kate married William another order was published putting Kate ahead of Sophie Wessex for private occasions when William was not present. The York Princesses have never been included in these changes and they rank behind Sophie Wessex.
People of HRH status do not bow/curtsy to others of HRH status. They bow/curtsy to higher ranks i.e. to those who are ‘Majesty’. In practice none of the royal family, including those with no titles, bow/curtsy to anyone except the Queen and Prince Philip and they only do this on the first occasion they see them on any day. (Meghan’s curtsy, and radiant smile, to Prince Charles at the Commonwealth Day service was an exception and probably conveyed a personal message)
An interesting display of precedence was seen at last year’s Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey. Early reports stated that the Duchess of Cambridge would represent the Royal Family. William was in New Zealand. Then reports were that Prince Harry would be there and he arrived with Kate (Meghan was near her due date). Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester was already present when Harry and Kate arrived. Harry took precedence over Kate, going ahead to shake hands with assembled clergy. They processed in reverse order with choir leading followed by Prince Richard alongside Kate and Harry behind with the senior cleric. Kate didn’t look happy to be walking with Prince Richard. The seating places the highest rank at the far end and the lowest beside the aisle. Harry took first place and Richard moved smartly in after him leaving Kate in 3rd place. She was probably expecting to be seated beside Harry. As they are leaving and greeting some of the congregation Richard follows Harry with Kate again in third place. There is a short video of this on youtube.
This occasion showed that Kate did not have her husband’s rank despite it being an official event. Harry outranked her and Prince Richard, who is 27th in line to the throne made a point of outranking her too.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing that detail.
What does she do all day? I really am seriously asking.
Oh me too. Literally what do those two do all day, day after day? No job, don’t have to keep the grass cut, the house clean or the kids fed. Hell they can go away for days and everything will run perfectly in their absence. So really, what do they do? Learning a language, or a cooking skill or pick a musical instrument, there’s hundreds to choose from. If I were Kate, I’d be taking elocution lessons or at the very least attend the weekly *Toastmasters sessions. My gardens would be beautiful beyond description with the time, money and skilled assistants available to the Cambridges.
*(Toastmasters is an organization that teaches participants proper speech making techniques to turn you into a skilled and in demand public speaker.)
Ya know, that’s the first I’ve ever realized that: you never hear about any female friends of Kate’s. Other than Pippa.
Only bit I find interesting so far is how the courtiers are presented. They seem very mischievous and one except claims they were the ones in William’s ear warning him about Meghan because she was so foreign to them. Like why would staff be in personal relationships like that? If shes not a security issue- what’s the problem?
The palace& press played themselves too with the smear campaign as press were openly reporting some royals thought she was a degree wife, had all sorts of names for her, negativity was coming from the palace. Even a few weeks ago the Fail claimed William was going around trying to get relatives to persuade Harry against marriage& how Kate wasn’t interested in Meghan’s friendship attempts. Never denied on record or via ‘sources’. But now court records state she felt unsupported& unable to defend herself, they want to claim she was welcomed with open arms& always supported. They need new people.
I feel like there definitely needs to be a much closer look at the sort of people who are in the employ of these royals. I remember looking up a few of the staffers and being surprised at how many of them have worked for Tories or, more recently, the Brexit campaign, etc. I’m not drawing a particular conclusion from this, but I can’t imagine that their political activities didn’t have some sort of impact on how they chose to treat a person like Meghan, who is a biracial American, and the living embodiment of everything that these people would have a distaste for–a foreigner, a biracial woman with a black mother, an American, an actress, and ultimately someone who does the job of royaling much better than any of the people who were born into the role ever could.
Meghan flew in the face of every prejudice and justification these people had for the existence of the monarchy and the class system in general, exposed their mediocre selves, and rankled their insecurities. No wonder they wanted to get rid of her.
I Think that kate loved being the center of attention at every Events she loved being pictured with two princes flirting with the younger princes who everyone adored. Kate flirtation with Harry was so over the top it played into the Fantasy kate and her fans have been spewing for years . Meghan put a stopped to the Fantasy the fan fiction that’s has been spread around the kate blogs for years that Harry was secretly in love with kate . I Believe that the queen had no problem with Meghan neither did Charles but I Believe the Cambridge’s and the courtiers never like Meghan for the beginning and set out to destroy her and Harry marriage the courtiers with the Cambridge’s permission work with the press to undermine anything Meghan did they leaked things that were untrue they worked to poison the British public against her .
You know what amazes me. Harry and Meghan – two smart, wise, charismatic, hard workers – left. They put a whole ocean between them and the palace. They walked away to begin a new life. And not ONCE have the royal family, the vipers and the press ever stopped to think that THEY did them wrong. They point the finger at Harry and Meghan – especially Meghan – and blame them for everything. Total Royal Family narcissism and gas lighting in the highest degree. Not once did they ever reflect on THEIR own part in all of this. Walking away is huge but the only thing they could have done considering no one listened to then or tried to help. Good for you, Harry and Meghan – good for you. You walked away from toxicity and I totally admire you for doing this. Now – go rock this world!
Yes! Abuse them until they run and then spit outrage that they dare to leave the abuse. It is sick and this more than anything will lead to them being kicked off the dole. No ability to self examine.
No one wished them well either.
Exactly! A prince left behind all he’s ever known and the people who drove him away can’t stop for a minute to examine how extraordinary a move that was and the part they played in bringing it about. They wish to pretend that it’s all because of Meghan – Meghan, Meghan, Meghan they all scream to cover the fact that Harry left because the family he was born into is in bed with the toxic media and together tried to destroy the woman he married.
The senior working royals remind me of how tone deaf and oblivious Prince Andrew was in his Newsnight interview.
They are coddled brats who are still unsure about the 21st century.
To add to Suzanne’s point, I believe this was the BRF’s plan all along. From day one they found what they perceived to be Meg’s weakness and exploited it i.e. her family. They emphasized heavily the cracks in familial relationships and over-laid that onto friendships which naturally wane between women of all ages, over time.
I now believe that the intention was always to paint Meghan as someone who would cut and run. The constant narrative about her cutting friends and family members off. Yet they only produced one such friend and it was clear for even the most ardent DM commenter so see why sperm donor, junior and TOD might be cut off. In fact very early on I noticed that this was a talking point not only amongst the RR’s but also TV journalists and even guests such as Brexit Politician Anne Widdecombe. It was as if they had all been briefed to ‘tow the party line’.
The BRF were hoping Meghan would leave with Archie in tow. They would then throw their arms around Harry and welcome him back into the fold of his old life broken and falling out of pubs. Sadly Harry’s role in the family was always to play court jester distracting from the far sinister actions of William.
The backlash against Harry choosing his family is typical dysfunctional family dynamics 101. The RF are angry with Harry because they realize that William needs Harry to function and for his marriage to function. I would not be surprised if William drifted further away from Kate now that Harry is not there to third wheel it and keep her entertained.
@Mignionette. This is just so true.
I have always had the impression that it is as important to William to be known as Diana’s son as it is to be the heir to the throne. I’ve always thought that part of what really makes him jealous of Harry is that out of the two, Harry is truly the heir to Diana’s legacy: he is emotional, warm, kind, empathetic and relatable whereas the Winsdor is strong with William partly because it is in his nature and partly as a necessity of his role as heir. Of the two, Harry chose the wife that emphasizes his Spencer side and that will belp him keep up Diana’s legacy of charitable efforts, empathy and sensitivity. Whereas William chose a cold fish social climber who is all about image. I think Catherine played her part well and it took Meghan, who is truly and effortlessly the kind of person Catherine wishes she could be to show the Duchess of Cambridge’s true colors. Combine this with William’s resentment towards Harry and you have an exacerbated situation. I also hate that the Firm levied the same gaslighting and dismissiveness towards Harry (and by extension Meghan) that they did to Diana herself telling him he was being “hysterical ” and “emotional” instead of acknowledging that what he was going through was very true and valid and absolutely justified and that they needed to do something about it before Harry reached his breaking point and there was no going back. All of this could have been prevented.
Will and Kate thinks that dressing Kate up like Diana will make her the people’s princess instead of actually doing any of the work Diana did. Harry and Meghan understood that you actually have to get your hands dirty and connect with people to be loved. And they are. Not a single person they have worked with Outside of the firm has ever said anything negative about them.
A bigger issue for the monarchy is that Harry is also the real heir to Charles’ legacy as perhaps the most effective POW in history. Harry’s already building a legacy of his own with Sentebale, Invictus, his interest in and commitment to military/veterans, mental health, etc. But – he’s no longer part of the working family and will not be there to support Charles’ (or William’s) reign.
The actual heir, meanwhile, has been permitted by TQ and Charles to basically live the life of privileged landed gentry (complete with rose pruning), what’s quaintly described by early novelists as “a private gentleman” – on the taxpayer dime. Does what he wants, barely fulfilled responsibilities, no discernible interests, even in the Duchy he’s set to inherit. Any work done the past couple of years was primarily because Harry and Meghan were suddenly there to compete with, but even that often involves much smoke and mirrors and co-opting of things originated by others. Diana’s “boys” are heading towards their 40’s. There’s no reason to believe William will be any different, accomplish anything of significance, in the future. For one thing, he and Kate have already said their involvement in patronages will be limited (as of course they already are). He will be king, he will inherit all the goodies, regardless, unless the public takes a good look and decides if they’re getting any value at all for their money.
This will be Charles’ final legacy for the monarchy and the country.
“The actual heir, meanwhile, has been permitted by TQ and Charles to basically live the life of privileged landed gentry (complete with rose pruning), what’s quaintly described by early novelists as “a private gentleman”
There is an excellent example of the above definition of “a private gentleman” in the TV miniseries “Belgravia”.
I think you’re right- William has always been told he’s the “smart one”, the king and I bet you any money he seethes over how “stupid” (by Will’s perception) Harry, the spare, is the one with the true emotional intelligence and who the public always cooed over.
Reading these excerpts from Scobie’s book has put into context something I never understood – why the RF didn’t use Harry and Meghan to diversify, to divide and conquer. That is, why not send Harry and Meghan to events/places where the RF is typically not very popular? Places where maybe those with anti-monarchist views might be attracted to the charisma and pull of Harry and Meghan, and then maybe start to see the value of having a monarchy in the modern era? And then keep sending William and Kate, et al., to the more stodgy events where the ladies with pearls will be happy. Why not make the RF popular with a larger segment of the population? Having read the excerpts, though, it is clear there is no central person making these sort of decisions for the good of the whole. Having these individual “courts” with courtiers who are jealous and only out for their “principals” just leads to disfunction. This isn’t a real family. The poor children are brought up by nannies and then as adults have to make appointments to talk with their parent or grandparents. I can’t imagine a more toxic way of life.
Yes, the RF squandered what they had because of jealousy.
Time and again.
IMHO RF was in doubt if M&H’s popularity was in fact increasing RF’s popularity. Judging by energy and self awareness of M&H, they were nowhere near to accept secondary roles, they wanted to lead. I think they may thrive in this kind lets say ‘self-employment’.
I won’t deny that the lack of centralized decision making contributed to this, but let’s also not forget that, even when there was such decision making at the top levels within the office of the Queen, this exact same sort of behaviour was happening. The same petty jealousies and infighting, the squabbling about rank, hierarchy and public adulation, etc, have always been a fixture of the BRF, and it’s always been their biggest weakness.
Someone else in the comments upthread mentioned it, but it’s worth repeating here–the BRF, particularly the Queen and her staffers, operated under the belief that rank should directly correlate to public interest and affection. The Queen, as the monarch, is owed the biggest spotlight, the largest stage, and the greatest slice of the public affection and press. Then, after her, comes Charles, and after Charles, comes William, down the line of succession.
But the problem is, the press and the public doesn’t function like that. Which the Queen has discovered, time and again, with people in her family. She’s always had the misfortune of being surrounded by people who are much more personable, charismatic, and fashionable than she is, people like the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Diana, etc. They dominate the press, while people like the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William are generally thought of as ginormous bores who don’t sell papers. And instead of understanding and accepting that press adulation is largely fleeting and not something to court, she’s created a culture of jealousy and disdain for anyone who she thinks is encroaching on the lion’s share of the press attention that she feels she is owed, as the monarch.
This has effectively destroyed a number of her close relationships on some level. She had a tense relationship with her own sister, because she always feared that the people liked Margaret a lot more, and thought the Queen was a bore. Same with her mother, who only barely hid the fact that she also felt she was owed adulation and respect over her own daughter, the f-cking Queen, and courted the press rabidly to shore up her own popularity. And so it was with Diana. This attitude has permeated down the tree and affected the way Charles and William operate as well, and we see the effects of this problem with their treatment of Meghan and Harry.
You can’t have reverence and relatability at the same time. Just doesn’t work that way. The royals don’t understand that.
You just can’t command public interest to decline – even with the vicious smear campaign Meghan and Harry still command more attention than any other member of the BRF. It is a loosing battle for the Queen, for Charles, for William. They just don’t have the “it” factor that capture the public imagination. The Achilles heel of the BRF has always been overweening ego combined with a lack of imagination and a less than stellar intellect.
I think that they would much rather have reverence, in order of rank rather than merit. Relatability is just a tool for them to get popular support, which is what they need to keep their jobs. If they didn’t need it for job security, they wouldn’t bother, and the Queen has made her distaste and discomfort with that pretty clear for the most part.
She’d much prefer if people were still forced to respect the monarchs, rather than rely on press coverage that would allow the people to make up their own minds. In her mind, she fully believes this is how it should be. She gets to be whatever and whoever she wants, do whatever she pleases, and people have to bow and scrape for her approval, rather than the other way around.
A very good analysis. Not just are they all fighting for survival of the monarchy itself, they are all trying to curry favour with whoever has the most power within the family to get the best perks. Sophie and Zara come to mind.
Think the RF are scared because there is a lot that Harry could reveal and they don’t know how much he has contributed. So far the excerpts are mostly rehash of old rumors. But are they waiting for the other shoe to drop? Anything Will might have done when he was younger that has been covered up? Affairs in addition to Rose?
Even if Harry was not single, the problem is Meghan made William’s choice of a wife look mediocre. If Meghan was supported in that family and by the Queen, she would make Harry even more popular in tandem. If Harry married a mediocre woman, the public would continue to have little expectations of the trio and nobody would question why is Kate doing less or doing the bare minimum? Why does Kate still speak like that? If Kate was like Meghan, William would at least be able to leverage on her competence and popularity and then look good in tandem. I don’t believe William only saw her as a cable actress. Before she joined the firm I believe the Queen and all heirs would know of her education, languages spoken, her UN and philanthropy work. Compare this to Kate! William is jealous and furious at the same time. He is the heir, he deserves the “best” Queen at his side, but he got vanilla. Being vanilla is still ok but both of them are lazy and two lazy people won’t encourage each other.
I have no doubt HM was backstabbed. The Queen can put a stop to the RR nonsense anytime. So can Charles. They can control the narrative. They did not. The BuzzFeed article comparing Kate and Meghan’s headlines is proof.
Why? Was it because of William? Andrew? I think it’s a combination of these two. Meanwhile, Carole and Kate added to the leaks to make things worse.
I will remember what Harry said. “If you knew what I knew…”. This family is nuts and dangerous.
I don’t think William is angry because he wanted to marry someone like Meghan. I think William is perfectly content with a complete nonentity like Kate, because Kate will never overshadow him. He doesn’t want the “best” Queen at his side, he wants a Queen who will be happy to take the back seat and play second fiddle, whose self esteem is dependent on him, and not on anyone else. What William wants is to be the only person who gets the spotlight and the good press, which he feels is owed to him, because of his rank and status as the FFK. Meghan and Harry’s popularity was, therefore, a threat to his own, and they had to be removed and exiled as a result.
I bet the Royal family did a deep dive, CIA level background check on Meghan. They wanted to dismiss her as a “ cable tv actress”, but she is way more than that, and they know it. Also, I don’t think William has any weird interest in Meghan. I just think he straight up does not like her and never did, because she stole his and Kate’s “spotlight” and disrupted things, and amplified existing differences with Harry. I don’t think she meant to do any of that but just her being there and being herself did that.
“I bet the Royal family did a deep dive, CIA level background check on Meghan.”
Of course a very deep background check was done on Meghan. Someone (and I would love to know who) approved Harry’s marriage to Meghan or they would not have been given a “semi-state” wedding at Windsor Castle.
There is so much more to this story that we will ever know anytime soon.
It’s inevitable the BRF fails. It does not represent diversity and change. I thought and hoped the end would be with Diana’s time, it didn’t, but it continued the push. Harry’s Diana’s son, representing the need to be one’s self, live one’s own life. My patriarchal family left England in 1632 for a need to be free and no longer suffer oppression. This is a somewhat strained time for H&M but in the long run they will become both validated and the best of examples.
The book said Cry gate was a lie, that no one cried at the dress fitting. Didn’t KP put out stories that the beef was over skirt length or tights? FF is becoming Tatler 2.0 for Kate.
I remember Diana saying she was good at her job and couldn’t understand why the RF didn’t acknowledge that and make better use of her. Instead she was diminished because Charles was jealous. History repeating in the next generation. I can’t wait to see how this shakes out for the RF. Tony Blair stepped in to save them last crisis. Who will save them now?
I repeats in every generation. with Elisabeth and Margaret things were similar . I was surprised that Meghan wanted to marry-into the monarchy.
Not just the Charles, but the Queen also. Tina Brown talks about it in her book The Diana Chronicles. She mentions one incident at the opening of parliament where the press was focused on Diana at the expense of the Queen, because Diana wore her hair in a “controversial updo.” This was in 1984, and Princess Margaret was supposedly outraged by this, and thought that Diana had made a “fool” out of the Queen. For wearing an updo, and thereby getting press attention.
This family I tell you.
I saw Diana’s hairdo that time and it did not look much different from the way she usually wore it. I did not get the big fuss.
@Tessa – Diana could have had accidentally smudged lipstick and it would have gotten more press coverage than QEII opening Parliament.
I read those excerpts and the resentment of and anger toward the couple runs deep. What is missing is an explanation of why. They knew they were popular and different, but what exactly did the Royal family expect or want them to do. It’s not like Harry &Meghan could make the press stop reporting on them for the others, especially if people were constantly leaking. Even when they were in maternity leave or too Canada break, every tidbit became a big deal and stuff was being made up. The staff were awful and they were practically bragging to Tatler in May 2019 article how they were calling Meghan names and complaints about 5 am emails and working with her. Also in that extract but not mentioned above was the fact that they resented that Meghan stayed in touch with her business team in the US, so could work around palace sometimes. Wish they’d unpack that more.. How can their projects take a backseat to Cambridge’s when the Cambridge’s barely did anything. I remember the big fuss around the Kate’s garden show and the Sussexes stayed away and Camfed had to take down Harry’s picture, but the press still tried to make a rivalry thing out of it. I was resisting getting the book but want to read it all now
Whatever comes of this, one thing is clear: these people aren’t a family anymore. Permanent damage has been done and there’s no going back.
Yeah, H&M have zero incentive to return. And the BRF has shown they care more about hurting each other to make themselves look good than supporting and loving each other.
I would say maybe this is the curse of being king. No one can understand what it’s like to be royal unless you’re born into it. And just as Elizabeth could never be wife or mother or sister but always Queen, William is duty bound to always put the throne first. Even when it means losing his brother. Harry “won” in a sense that he gets to have a normal life, a normal family. William will always have to put the monarchy first. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Does anyone really think the BRF wants the Sussex family back in the UK?
Kate knew she had nothing to lose when she snubbed Meghan. Nothing. The entire of Britian had Kate’s back, you think she cared about the threat of extra workload, ha. She didn’t expetct to work harder and she hasn’t, she knew her team would have to WORK harder to amp up the pr spin, but not her.
After Meghan came on the scene Kate did a 360, she went from noveau rich style to hiring the top of the top stylist teams and secretaries, she stopped listening to her college aged friends and replaced them with mature advisors whose work speaks for themselves…She wasn’t about to let a bi-racial woman and an american at that, outdo her. Kate is very competitive, she out competed Meghan, because she want’s to win more than Meghan, I think Meghan saw this in Kate, but she is too nice to ever say it.
But she still didn’t out-compete Meghan. She doesn’t come out on top at all – maybe in the UK she barely eeked out a win, but even then not really, because every article trying to embiggen her ALWAYS has to mention Meghan. She now needs Meghan to be relevant.
Meanwhile, Meghan is thought to be the most sought after speaker in the WORLD now and she and Harry have emerged as global icons.
Kate may be a big fish in the small UK pond, but so is Meghan.
Kate is NOT the big fish in the world pond – Meghan is.
I am definitely going to read this book-a lot things said on this site since their marriage hit the nail on the head-I truly believe Kate is a mean girl-the women around her is her mother and sister-that shows insecurity. Meghan has a more laid-back approach to working and living which Kate and Bill could not stand-Harry has some this laid-backness himself-when in Australia on the beach in a group-he fits right in with everyone. One writer the other day said-the royal family did not know how to harness Meghan and Harry’s popularity to make it work in a modern world. They cannot outshine the future throne-sitters in any way-this was the major cause of the split and backstabbing and smearing in the press. God bless the Sussex family and keep them close to the heart.
Hmm yes Meghan and Harry both have toxic family members however they seem to have chosen NOT to repeat the toxic behaviours that these family members choose.
They have chosen to exit rather than engage and fuel the jealousy, racism, false narrative, etc. This is shown in how they actively tried to create healthy boundaries with the press (detailing their approach to royal rota on Sussex royal) , with William and Kate (making separate offices, splitting royal foundation and even opting out of being neighbours in Kensington palace), the royal family too (taking the initiative with Prince Charles and the Queen in communication).
Families can become toxic due to how people react to stress and how this behaviour is learnt when young from their own parents. It takes a lot to address and change this and I think Harry and Meghan tried with the older generation but for them getting it right with Archie and their main family unit is really the most important thing.
Anyone interested here is address to toxic stress / effect on families:
https://www.podshipearth.com/toxicshock
Ok
First I want to correct what I said, they seem to be all in a toxic dynamic. Saying that just about Meghan was not fair on my part.
I hope you are right and they are simple escaping. Because you can t win.
“The Times of London got the rights to publish exclusive excerpts” – Kaiser, can you tell us how Rupert Murdoch got the rights to publish/spin this book before anyone else gets to see it? Instead of a fair/friendly publisher like Harper’s Bazaar?
I think the book is published by a murdoch publishing group as well that’s why his newspapers are getting the first opening
In case you place pSX someplace else in your primary C drive, then chances are you’ll
be limiting it to read-solely access.