Robert Lacey’s Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult is out, and some additional excerpts and stories are petering out now too. I think that, much like Finding Freedom, all of the most notable stuff was probably in the first excerpts. I also think that people should probably buy this book to see why so many royal reporters are pretending that it doesn’t exist now. That’s when you know Lacey has hit upon something deeply unsettling and true about the Windsor clan: that Harry and Meghan were right to leave, and that changes need to be made in the House of Petty.
In one of the Daily Mail excerpts, we heard that the Queen and Prince William both took issue with the Duchess of Sussex’s guest-editorship of British Vogue. She guest-edited the “Forces for Change” issue, and she highlighted all kinds of interesting women doing interesting things with their lives. The Windsors were HIGHLY disturbed by the “woke” messaging. “The royals don’t do woke” was apparently the issue. Now we’re learning that Prince William actually instigated some kind of fight with Harry about Meghan’s guest-editorship.
When Meghan was asked to appear on the front cover of Vogue magazine, just as the Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Diana have done, she was touched by the offer but had another idea. Rather than just agreeing to a photoshoot, she asked if she could guest edit – and spent months working with the team to create her Forces of Change edition.
But Lacey claims the royals weren’t best pleased with the content, much of it far from impartial, and William and Harry had a “showdown” when they tried to discuss it.
He claims that nobody knows exactly what happened, but described is as “another classic Harry explosion, followed by a further, even deeper rift”.
He also suggests that after their firm words, Harry and Meghan decided not to join the Cambridges and the rest of the royals for their annual summer holiday to Balmoral.
“Another classic Harry explosion”… because Harry’s brother was trying to scream at him about Harry’s wife’s guest-editorship of a magazine? Why the f–k did William even care? Around that time, William and Kate were receiving some of their best press in years, all because they were being embiggened as the perfect (white) couple to Meghan and Harry’s drama. Don’t you think Will and Kate would have encouraged H&M to keep doing what they were doing so they (H&M) would look worse and worse and the Cambridges would look better and better? That’s what never made any sense to me. The only way it makes any sense is that William is a short-sighted, controlling, jealous, petty rage-monster who just had to get in his brother’s face about a f–king issue of VOGUE.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
“But Lacey claims the royals weren’t best pleased with the content, much of it far from impartial, and William and Harry had a “showdown” when they tried to discuss it.”
Been saying this all along…. for all the ‘chariddy’ work these lazy, entitled feckers do, they don’t give two shyts about the great unwashed.
Their main concern is their status quo and privilege. Meg’s issue of Vogue went against that. Hence Camilla TwoFaced being ticked off that the Queen and Waity weren’t included and bigged up in the issue.
Lacey’s book is showing that all the briefing points against Meghan came from KP. They were pissed about the number of black and diverse faces in that issue. Imagine being pissed about a woman championing women who look like her. Something white people do everyday.
The BRF is DEEPLY problematic. They need to stop this party line of framing equality for all as political.
@Mignionette: “They need to stop this party line of framing equality for all as political.” This!! Totally agree. And it also seems Tories are leaning hard into this same bs rhetoric. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel recently went after lawyers who represent migrants!! FFS! (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/oct/10/lawyers-claim-knife-attack-at-law-firm-was-inspired-by-priti-patels-rhetoric)
Priti Patel is a VILE human being.
See below a list of her ‘accomplishments’:
• In 2013, Priti voted against same-sex marriage in England and Wales.
• She voted against banning the detention of pregnant women.
• She’s been a supporter of the death penalty, telling BBC Question Time in 2011 that it would “deter crime”. She later backtracked on these comments in 2016.
Priti patel is a horrible excuse of a human being. Full stop.
Sounds like she’s the “cool girl” of Tories who’s “not like those OTHER minorities.” Little does she know that when push comes to shove, being a “Cool girl” won’t save her. She’ll be thought of as another (censored expletive racist slur), just as “cool girls” are just another “some bitch” when it comes down to it. I really despise POCs like this, who throw other POCs under the bus because they are trying to ingratiate themselves with racists who actively despise them.
@lanne -exactly….
And apparently Ms. Patel is as dumb as a brick. This from people who have worked closely with her. Dumb and forceful in personality. Classic combination.
Priti Patel is a self-hating, incompetent product of tokenism. She’s been caught blatantly lying on issues of capital punishment as well as to the Home Committee. Disturbing to see how the conservatives are pushing back on all measures that push diversity.
I have several sources that will confirm for all Priti Patel is a paranoid, reactionary garbage person. I have heard stories first hand about how she doesn’t understand the questions people ask her and is paranoid that everyone is out to make her look bad. She genuinely believes that the only reason people hate her is because her grandparents are from Uganda.
They are not problematic, it’s madness to call them that as if they’re just people with some flaws. They are evil.
Only evil people would be offended by someone turning down the self-centered spotlight for herself to platform social justice issues and female empowering figures.
Seriously. Why does William care about what Meghan is doing with Vogue? If there’s truly an issue then go to your dad and grandma about it but stay out of it. The top job is still not his yet.
And royals don’t do “woke” was the issue apparently? Okay so why was William on the cover of a gay magazine saying he would have no problems if one of his kids was gay? Why is he trying to tackle racism? Why does he care about the environment and climate change? Aren’t all of those “woke” issues in the eyes of certain people?
They don’t do ‘woke’ bc they have to tow the party line.
Historically the Church of England is the ‘Tory Party at prayer’. The Queen is the head of the Church so by extension the BRF are congregants of the Tory Party. Each hand washes the other so Meg’s championing the lower classes was seen as a slap in the face of her privilege.
The BRF do not give a shit about anyone different to them.
That’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that the royals reportedly didn’t like it because it was too “woke” yet William and others have taken on “woke” issues
I understood what you said. But their version of woke is ‘controlled’ and comes from senior Royals only after lots of ‘consultation from courtiers’.
The real issue is they felt Meg was off the rails and misrepresenting them….
@Mignionette: Ah okay in that case I do agree with you. Sorry if I sounded too bitchy
Ladies they do not call this place Celebitchy for nothing! LOL!
I think it is more that the BRF is fine with performative, not actual, woke.
Bingo! With the exception of Charles (maybe?), the BRF is about performative wokeness at best. I don’t for a second believe someone like William actually gives much of a sh*t about most of his “causes.” He cares about being liked by the people and being the star of the show.
William cared about what Meghan was doing with Vogue because on some level (not even that far beneath the surface), William understands that Harry and Meghan are reaching a demographic that is just flatly not interested in him and Kate. He understands that Meghan is significantly more interesting than Kate to the public, for better or for worse. And I’m sure once the issue was actually released, he was even more ticked, as it became one of the fastest selling issues of all time – without Meghan’s face on the cover.
the whole idea of the “royal family doesn’t do woke” – no, they don’t (but as we’ve said, they need to figure out a way to “do woke,” because the world is changing quickly), but I don’t think that’s what bothered William. I don’t think he was like, “omg you’re putting too many black women on the cover!” I think the real reason was “this issue is going to be really big and its going to make Meghan and Harry more relevant and popular.”
Agreed 100%. William’s struggle wokeness wasn’t being taken seriously, while Meghan’s was seen as the real thing, which is why the green eyed monster in William grew horns.
ooo, good analysis @Becks1. We know that William is a jealous person and desperately wants approval. He saw all of that approval and love being directed toward the newest member of the family, Meghan, and couldn’t handle it.
You nailed it. Meghan’s beliefs were never the real issue; it was her overwhelming popularity + her resonance with younger generations that enraged FFK. Wilileaks the BRF used racism to attack Meghan not out of fear that her beliefs and so-called wokeness were out of step with the rest of the family, but rather because they were so insecure about her ascent into global popularity.
@Sofia. Yes! Exactly. I have been thinking about that exact example.
The Church of England is not pro-gay marriage. Did they have anything to say about William’s activism? How fitting for a privileged white jackass like William to think he gets to decide what progressive views other members of the family are allowed to have or not have.
When they do these things they can wink and nod at the establishment and stay on the surface of the issue. When someone like Meghan does it, it’s from a sincere place and it might actually make a difference which the establishment doesn’t want so she’s a threat.
“The top job is still not his yet.”
You’ve hit on something here–Prince Petty realllyyyyy wants to be in control.
I remember the spin that he was Regent, a few months ago. He seems to be rather power hungry.
Honestly, this wasn’t my favorite Meghan endeavour because a high end fashion Magazine that sells luxury to rich people seemed so contradictory to the message of change many of these women represented, like environmentalism. It seemed like Vogue was the wrong vehicle for the message to me.
Of course that’s not why William was angry! There’s no such thing as impartiality in politics. Not supporting a cause… racial justice, voting rights, or anything else… sends a political message of its own. The monarchy courts the Tories and hence they stay silent on progressive issues. H&M threaten to dim William’s shine by being embraced in pop culture, including elite publications. So, off with their heads (figuratively)! Ugh.
This is something that I’ve also wondered about with Meghan and Harry. They do sometimes seem to talk to and sell to and work with those who have benefited the most from capitalism and all the other problems that H and M are trying to counter. Banks, Vogue, celebrities, uber rich tech people. It seems incongruous, but then I think about the fact that the people who buy luxury items, or who control tech companies, or control financial institutions, the wealthy, the famous, the privileged are the people with the most money, the loudest voices, the greatest influence. If you can reach these people and get them invested in changing things from the top down, or the inside out, it can be incredibly effective. Possibly more effective than trying to agitate for change from the bottom, or demanding change from the outside. It seems to me that Harry and Meghan, if they were politicians, would not be the type to only accept grass roots, small dollar donations. They would likely accept money from corporations and celebrities in large sums, BUT I also feel like they wouldn’t compromise on their principles and positions. They seem to be about getting things done and reaching as many people as possible, with whatever allies they can get, in order to affect the most change, rather than being super idealistic about where the money comes from or whether or not everyone who is willing to support their charity endeavor is now and has always been a consistently non problematic liberal progressive. They appear to have conservative friends that they sometimes work with. They seem to be more results oriented without worrying too much about who they have to work with in order to achieve those results. I think they’re more pragmatic than idealistic. I think they know that someone people want to attach their name to H and M because H and M are currently very popular, but I don’t think they worry so much about whether someone is helping them or supporting them with absolutely pure intentions, I think they figure as long as the charity is getting done in the end, it doesn’t really matter if some of the donors only donated because they wanted to be seen with Meghan or Harry. It’s something I accept about them.
@amy too i think they are very aware that many of the high dollar donors are in it because it’s them and i dont think it bothers them. I remember in a documentary from a few years ago Harry talked about overcoming the awkwardness of reaching out to people like Joss Stone and Coldplay to ask them to play a charity concert for Sentabale because he reasoned that it was for the charity. I mean look at the Invictus Games: they have a TON of corporate sponsors because they are needed to put on a competition of that magnitude. I think for H&M they try to highlight grassroot orgs and media and diverse sustainable brands(Meghan’s been wearing more eco friendly brands from black designers lately and Harry even wore a mask from a black owned business) , but in order to get their projects at Netflix made and to keep their charities flourishing they’re gonna have to schmooze with some rich people.
Thank goodness they got out. It’s pretty obvious that the Windsors are just afraid of Meghan and Harry being the most bankable, desirable members of the royal family. And they aren’t that way just because they are the hot, new couple. Strategically, they are running circles around the whole family!
William is afraid of Megan’s intelligence and Harry’s easy and natural way with people. H and M appeal to a demographic he has tried and failed to reach. Try as he might, he will never establish that psychological contract with most people as he hasn’t really be seen to put in the work. That’s why he is frantically searching for a ‘legacy’ by hopping on every popular bandwagon. On a deeper level, no one trusts someone who throws their own flesh and blood under the bus. Yesterday was a great example of his tone deafness.
More support that the monarchy needs to go.
The front page of Vogue says it all. “Change”. A word to be feared.
The Cambridges might have been receiving their best press in years but they were also being completely overshadowed by Meghan. I can’t recall anything of interest that they did in 2019. Harry probably told him to sod off with this petty bs and he got incandescent with rage…again.
Reading the articles it comes across as Harry being the one to have a “classic explosion” though. It makes it sound like William is justified in his anger and Harry just goes off.
They are trying to pass off William’s rages as Harry’s rages instead. William threw yet another massive tantrum to try to control Meghan, Harry stood up to him.
William hates Meghan. He doesn’t just feel threatened by her. He hates her.
equality I have come to stop believing any royal reporter’s take on the family. One thing they figured out years ago is that the pen is mightier than the sword and to control the press is to control the people. Reading their propoganda you would believe that Harry is the one always incandescent with rage, Charles is the best father in the world, Diana was attention seeking, William and Kate have pigeon love, her Maj is a sweet granny, the Middletons are super rich, Kate was independently wealthy, William loves to work and is looking forward to continuing his father’s work in the Duchy.
it takes a bit of sleuthing to figure out truth from fiction.
That’s just Lacey towing the party line. Regardless of the situation, it HAS to be that Harry is he hysterical one while William screams the RF into shape. Otherwise, it looks like Harry made the right decision to escape with his family.
@RoyalBlue The one that amuses me the most is the Kate being independently wealthy one. If she was it was the family’s money; she never had a job that would have paid that much. Her fans will argue the point though like it really matters. Sophie, Fergie and Diana weren’t self-made before marriage; they all had regular jobs so the only reason they are so eager to build Kate up is the warped competition with Meghan.
Haven’t read the article and don’t plan to read it but regardless of the issue, the UK media has always portrayed William as being justified in his anger. And each time, all the so-called events that apparently triggered his anger where just mundane things with little consequence to him. He comes off as a controlling rage-aholic, with racist tendencies. Now, I don’t know if Harry told him to sod off but I’m really hoping he did.
would anyone blame Harry for just exploding at this point? I would if I were in his shoes. Years of emotional abuse, gaslighting, and smugness. I have siblings like William, and I’ll tell you, the struggle is real. I am sure for Harry, every turn, every look, every clearing-of-the-throat, every little word has carried weight that he has to brunt. It’s terribly frustrating.
I’m sure the palace was and is, super frustrated with that. The palace help make sure Meghan was public enemy #1but folks still rather talk about her, good or bad, than give an ounce of attention to the rest of them no matter what they do. Kate is doing her best to morph into Meghan and no one cares. William launched some nature prize and a documentary and still garners even less interest than his wife. Meghan dominates the royal landscape even after leaving and will continue to dominate the royal landscape till the Cambridge kids become of age.
Bless him though. He really is trying to be the People’s Prince 2.0.
I was really finding it hard to believe that outside of stuffy courtiers, people at the Firm actually cared that much about the Vogue issue. Really thought it was just usual dumb media storm about everything Meghan does.
If people in the Firm were really that bothered the hypocrisy about royals being apolitical (when there is a wealth or evidence they are far from that) & on not doing ‘woke’ and then months later William was talking about need for diversity at the BAFTAs & about being bored of racism etc, really jumps out.
Now I wonder if the Firm sent signals to their press buddies to trash it. Dan Wooten was first out the gate with that lie on tv that royals don’t do editing. And we know of his friendly relationship with some KP staff.
Makes me wonder about Edward Enniful’s comments about Meghan being brave & about ‘rules‘. Maybe he knows there was a scuffle behind the scenes about the issue.
If this is true, really says a lot that a magazine gets them so upset when we haven’t had as much outrage over anything Andrew has done
The issues that Lacey mentions above are the basis of the talking points the RR’s used to Trash Meghan. KP briefed against her and still her issue outsold all the rest….
Dan was comically outraged. The gesticulation and shrieking was a sight to behold.
The very concept of “Royal” to me is like a fossil: something dead you keep in a museum, a Royal family is a total nonsense, and the FIRM knows this, knows they don’t make any sense anymore this is why they refuse to update themselves, their “brand” .
Were Harry and William even talking at this point? The Royal Family didn’t support the project, that’s clear. There were too many black people on the cover and the Queen and Kate were not included as “Forces for Change”. It’s obvious there was anger in the Palace about that and that’s why they gave press the greenlight to trash it and Meghan. And the Palace made it be known to Edward Enniful that they didn’t like the issue because a year later he blamed Meghan for attacks she received in the press and denied that racism was involved.
Maybe they were talking … in july they went to play in a polo match together.. soo who knows
They participated in the polo because they made a commitment to the charities involved. There weren’t any pictures of them interacting at the polo so I think we can surmise that they weren’t on speaking terms at that point.
There was a rumor that Harry and William got into another huge fight the day of the polo match.
@AMYBEE there were pictures of them interacting at the polo match. you can check it on sussexroyal ig
Was this the same match where Kate avoided Archie and Meghan as much as possible until Louis went over to see the baby? There was a weird vibe and that was likely related to Harry and William being at odds. They were smart enough to not act angry in public at the match, but I don’t recall seeing any friendly interaction between them.
Well Edward is certainly regretting that statement as I doubt he will ever have another best seller as Meghan’s issue. He’s boxed himself into an awkward corner. Too black to be establishment and too subservient to appeal to the ‘wokes’. He should have just picked a side and have done with it.
I am going to play devils advocate and say that Edward did not put that statement out. I think Conde Nast put that statement out.
Sadly this is how the game is played.
I will go further and say Edward called Meghan before that statement went out to warn her. She aint dumb and I am pretty sure that in a year or two Anna Wintour will have her moment with Meghan and the UK tabs will shit their pants again.
@NIC919 Look at the last picture, Harry behaved nicely as usual and he touched William’s back!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzvrmBll4wb/?igshid=1guehvud1s6gy
Hmm, I guess they didn’t have an issue when Top CEO ‘guest edited’ HuffPo?!?!?!
The hypocrisy is astounding and the fact that BP hasn’t bothered to deny (officially or otherwise) tells you all you need to know.
We will never know what TQ really feels but I always get the sense that she will bend over backwards to appease William to keep him on side as he is totally the type to threaten to walk away if he does not get what he wants. TQ and Chuck notoriously avoid conflict, esp with William.
The thing is…I don’t think William can still make those threats. His identity is built around being King. His “supporters” only support him because he will be King. If he abdicates to be normal Bill, he’ll be roundly trashed.
Exactly!
I heard that the top CEO got a sugary piece in the fail today. was hoping that would get covered so I don’t have to click on it. sorry for threadjacking.
@lemonylips, me too! Apparently someone wants to pin a medal on Kate’s uncomplaining chest. Uncomplaining?? Bwahahahaha!!
The queen and Charles really need to call willies bluff. The next time he threatens to walk they should say fine, leave. He would never in a million years, just like he’s too chicken to leave his wife who he can’t stand.
Yep Kate never complains, only when it’s about Botox, hair extensions. The Tatler reaction only demonstrates just how thinned skin she and William are. Didn’t he recently threaten to sue one of the ratchet rotas for saying kate took freebies. Yep they sure never complain, they just call their lawyers and threaten to sue every single time someone dares say anything bad about them.
The fact that they barely acknowledged the release on social media and we didn’t get that idea of Meghan and Edward until over a year later tells me this is more than likely true. The idea of the issue was forces for CHANGE. Queen, Kate and any other conservative girlie would’ve had no business being apart of that issue. Despite all the outrage it was a HIGHLY successful issue and “Forces for ______” is still a theme we see with vogue.
If Clarence House and Buck Palace can promote Kate’s photography project and William’s earthshot, they 100% could have supported and promoted Vogue and the SmartSet (which I don’t think they did.)
I think to a large extent it really was about the palaces not knowing how to deal with Meghan’s popularity. They could have harnessed it, used it for good – but the palace is still stuck in this idea that the heir has to be the most popular one. And why? it doesn’t matter. the heir is the heir. Gone are the days where an heir to the throne might be challenged by the more popular younger brother. They should have adopted a mindset of “Meghan’s light reflects on us all” or something but instead it was “she shines her light too bright, we must break her.”
Well the men in grey suits only go by a tried and tested play book. Uplift the heir and denigrate the spare. This has worked in the past and in their eyes, why fix what’s not broken. Unfortunately they are dealing with a soldier and strategist and it all blew up in their faces. Their M bad and K good schtick can only last for so long but ironically, the unfairness is one of the reasons why young people in particular love M.
Her Vogue was the best selling issue of the DECADE. I don’t believe that fact has been published anywhere prominently in the Uk. That’s a simple fact. Why wouldn’t it be newsworthy? But that fact has not been published, and in the UK media, the issue was called a “failure.” Just another exhibit of the agenda that the royals had against Meghan.
“They could have harnessed it, used it for good – but the palace is still stuck in this idea that the heir has to be the most popular one.”
Yeah, this is a big problem for them. It’s not happening. Any chance of that happening when out the window before Meghan came along. Someone said this before but Meghan filled a void that was desperately needed and breathed new life and interest into the institution and royal watching. It’s why she STILL dominates the royal sphere even after having left. W&K pissed away their chance at being the “it” couple years ago and folks still don’t care about them even tho they’re the only game left in town. Try as they might but Meghan will continue to be the Big Dog (one they have no control of anymore) until the Cambridge kids come of age and by then W&K will really be an afterthought.
@ElizabethRegina, agree that the courtiers only play by one rule book, but it should be obvious to anyone with a grain of sense that its NOT working. Margaret, Harry – the spares do not do well in the British royal family and with social media, I think its going to be worse for the Cambridge kids.
@S808- yeah, I agree. Meghan is going to be the Big Dog for the foreseeable future, and will outshine anything Will and Kate do (I saw on twitter today that a video on the telegraph about Meghan’s CLOTHES had over 300k views, the video of Kate at the natural history museum got 70k views, lol) and then the Cambridge kids will be the ones taking the spotlight from Will and Kate. They desperately want to be the “Big Dogs” but aren’t up to the task, bc part of what makes Harry and Meghan so interesting is their work and causes.
My simplistic take on this tidbit – if it’s accurate – is that Prince Harry is the only person in that entire family standing up to Bully Billy.
Excuse me, another “classic” Harry explosion? He’s not the one I keep hearing about being incandescent with rage!
Harry’s always struck me as more of a cutting remark followed by days, weeks or years of icy silence (as a fellow petty virgo, I understand).
Like others have said, William doesn’t mind being portrayed as “woke” so long as his status and privilege remain exactly the same, and nobody he cares about will ever be uncomfortable. In other words, no change at all. Meghan must have scared the hell out of them.
How dare they think the Queen or Kate are forces for change when they are literally a symbol of the past. A literal anachronism.
And Meghan would have been reamed a new one had she included them–how dare she make the Queen and the Duchess political! She’s using them for her own ends, etc.
My guess is that William tried to get Harry to convince Meghan to put Kate on the list or some other Tory aristocratic types and Harry told him to sod off and let Meghan do her thing.
And I agree that Harry is probably the only one in that family who regularly stood up to William. Like I said before, I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry clocked William’s behind on numerous occasions growing up.
You can just visualize Big Willy getting “incandescent with rage” and Harry going “not today” and clocking Big Willy.
For every single person who has ever lost their shit about Meghan or Harry but is also conveniently ignoring or downplaying Lacey’s book: Your criticism is based in racism and jealousy. You can’t freak out about the Sussexes and then get quiet when there’s so much out there about the other family members especially William and continue to pretend you’re not full of crap.
The old excuse for not talking about Andrew was his crimes were too vile and everyone already agreed about him, but now with Lacey’s book, you guys can keep the same energy for William, so of course we’re going to hear all the anti-Sussex stans speak up, right?
They won’t speak up here, of course. But Meghan was a successful biracial woman with a career before she became a royal. She had a better royal track record, resume to resume, than Kate and even William. She wasn’t groveling on her knees in gratitude for being given a title and allowed into the “top eschelon of society.” Therefore, they hate her.
The fact that Andrew gets a pass, Kate’s lack of work gets a pass, William’s tantrums gets a pass, but Meghan’s success is shit on shows the world how utterly bankrupt this organization is. The RF, by sneering at “wokeness” is just emphasizing to the world that they bullied their biracial duchess out of the country. They’re showing the world that they believe that discussions of racial equality are “political.” The UKIP and Brexit white nationalists are singing “God Save the Queen” at the counter-protests. 2 Commonwealth nations have just dropped the Queen as their head of state, and many more are to follow.
Okay. You do you, RF.
Given all the crap H&M went through behind the scenes, I have to applaud their game face during public appearances. I honestly couldn’t have done it. My expressions show on my face too easily.
When I’m reminded of this story in the saga, I always think about what the response would have been had she just been on the cover. The sad thing is, they would have reacted with the same virulence and contempt. No matter what, they (the press at the directive of the firm) seem determined to hate everything she does.
@Mignionette:
October 16, 2020 at 9:18 am
“I am going to play devils advocate and say that Edward did not put that statement out. I think Conde Nast put that statement out.”
Edward said this in an interview and we saw the words come out of his flip flopping mouth. He is a sell out.
When I say he didn’t say it I mean he was forced to tow the Conde Nast line.
I say this because around the same time he also made a tweet about being profiled in his own building.
The two incidences are most definitely linked.
Watch this space.
I honestly think the statement the BRF doesn’t do woke was and is a type of shorthand repudiation of Meghan and her activist stance. After all, Charles has been doing “woke” for decades.
Harry and Meghan are simply people. They get stuff wrong too. They may even put the cart before the horse at times as well. However, even with that, the BRF, William in particular and the courtiers were simply not prepared for someone like Meghan to join the fold. She didn’t fit into their prior experience and didn’t conform to their expectations. In terms of the courtiers, in their estimation, she probably wasn’t as “impressed” (that’s the wrong word) or as humbled as she should have been for the reverence of the office, the establishment and the queen—so to speak. Meaning, she probably treated them like regular ass staff members in an office setting. 😂 Added to that they were woefully underprepared and was gobsmacked by the phenomenon Harry and Meghan would become.
Finally, I haven’t seen discussions about this BUT if William had reservations, Suspicionand an active dislike of Meghan and it was thought that Harry was
Maybe not a popular opinion but I can see both Harry and William having the potential for a temper. While Will might be naturally be more testy and willful in his temperament, Harry could have learned that sometimes you fight fire with fire. I come from a household of 7 and sometimes the person who shouts the loudest wins.
Agree, I’ve always gotten the sense that Harry is very defensive of his loved ones. If you go after someone he cares about, he will go on attack.
Hopefully, the longer they stay away from the UK and can live a calmer life, Harry may start feeling that peace he needs.
Oh I definitely think Harry has a temper. It’s the way its portrayed in the press though – William is angry but its justified!!!! super justified!!!!! Or even this week – he used to have a temper but now he’s totally fine!!! meanwhile harry is “unhinged,” “out of control,” “exploding,” etc. Harry’s outbursts are always described more as something similar to a child’s tempter tantrums.
On the plus size, Harry is growing up, enjoying his family, becoming the best he can be. In the long game of things, Will will make a boring and petulant king (guessing he won’t even be on the throne for at least 20 years).
He was probably afraid of the attention it would bring her. Even though Charles and Ann have both guest-edited magazines … and also Kate. But Meghan isn’t allowed. I don’t see the FFK as anything other than an overgrown brat with a huge stick up his butt. Not monarch material, not in the least.
…stick up his butt and a knife perpetually in his hand.
The reason why William had such a problem with Meghan’s guest editorship is that she was good at it and the issue was popular. Meghan is person of color whose excellence and competence surpasses his. William doesn’t like to be outshone by anybody but ESPECIALLY not a black woman.
Those smug looks captured by the cameras really show what a turd he is.
Meghans vogue highlights the charity work that other women have done. So what is williams problem? Don’t royals hand out honours to those who have done good work? Don’t they raise awareness to charities? Or is he so offended by the sight of women of colour? Or maybe he knew it would be a record breaking success, and that people would compare it t his dud duchess wife’s vogue edition which massively flopped.
Or they are basically saying is that Willie is salty AF and a sore f*cking loser.
To me, and this is just my opinion but it sounds like William is racist af. POC are useful to make him and Keen look good but other than that, not so much. Since Keen or the Queen weren’t included in the issue, well then off with Meghan’s head!
The fact he’s ‘angry’ is offensive to women of colour. But he is a hypocrite, he posed for the cover of British gay magazine Attitude and was praised for it. Also his half baked racism speech at the BAFTA’s was flat AF. He pretends to do ‘woke’ when it suits him yet he has all tories working for him.
Meghan’s issue of Vogue shows a woman who is intellectually aware, interesting and caring about social issues. Kate’s cover was… herself, a hundred pictures of herself looking the same. Now, the more I read into this it seems clear to me that every fight is pretty much about William being jealous of how the Cambridges appear in comparison.
William knew people would compare both covers, they know what people will think, and it looks bad for Kate and that’s why he’s upset. Not necessarily because of what Meghan is or does, but because it highlights what Kate isn’t or doesn’t do.
It’s depressing because Kate probably suppressed anything that could possibly be interesting about herself in order to be accepted in the RF, she played by RF and William’s rules and those rules where damaging to William himself. He got the wife he wanted, not the wife he NEEDED.
And Meghan shows this by being the woman Kate could be (but was never allowed to be).
He is just in shock that having a personality seems to be a good thing and receives positive feedback, because he spent years preparing his own wife and pretty much married her because she was “proper” and “blank personality”, and “proper” isn’t what’s cool or what works in 2020.
This also seems to validate that William always saw and used Harry as a “bad cop” to his “good cop”, to make William look like a better future King he always wanted to be compared and be “the better one”, almost as if it was Harrys OBLIGATION to be somewhat worse or inferior so William would stand out and be validated as King.
If this was a deal they had at any point, Harry is certainly not doing that now.
I was thinking about Kate. I don’t know what person she could be. You think William suppressed her possibility to develop personality and potential? I’m not sure. She is really a blank figure, like cardboard – we see facade only, but what is beneath the surface? Really, what we know about her? Completely opposite opinions: she is a force who rules behind the curtains – she is submissive wife, she is lazy – she just doesn’t want to outshine her husband, she is strong – she is weak, she’s evil one who plots to destroy everyone she sees as a threat – she is just following her mother and her husband.
Well, if this was her intention – to hide her personality or the lack of it from the public – she succeeded. One thing we definitely can say about her – kind and attentive she is not. Just as her chosen husband.
We know nothing about her because, I’m afraid, there’s nothing there. This is a woman who has never worked. Ever. Three months of part time work does not equal work, and there’s nothing that could be independently documented as having been done by her for Party Pieces. They have an incredible art collection that’s part of the Royal Collection. For someone who studied art, Kate has shown no interest in learning about the collection. That would have been an easy way to show some personality. In 9 years, she has zero projects attached to her name. 1 5-question survey is all that exists of any “early Childhood” or “Broken Britain” initiative. She could have spent 10 days a month traveling the country shaking hands and cutting ribbons. That would have given her 300+ appearances a year, even that. She’s never done it. I don’t think there’s any personality there to hide. Kate’s only serious source of energy and thought seems to be Kate. She has nannies for the kids, so she’s not likely doing much cooking or cleaning or changing diapers. I can’t think of any other married-in royal who has a record as flimsy as Kate’s. Queens Maxima and Letitia had careers, Empress Masako had a brilliant career. I don’t know much about CP Mary but I’m pretty sure she’s done more w/her life that Kate. Kate seems to be an empty vessel–a blank barbie that folks in the UK can project any conservative Perfect White Lady ideal onto (silent, submissive, and most importantly, skinny).
Kate doesn’t need to say anything because we can see from her actions who she is. She is diligent on staying very thin and ensuring her hair and botox are up to date even during a pandemic. She disputes any media that points out that her looks are not as natural and effortless as the PR spin. She purchases expensive clothing without regard to the cost or that she has numerous similar items she could still wear. She does not care to put any serious work on any of her few patronages and her priority is to make surface level photo ops so that she can look like she is working but over time it becomes obvious she is taking credit for any work done by others.
She remains silent when her sister in law is being attacked relentlessly by the media, even during pregnancy and despite claiming maternal health is important to her. She remains silent when tabloid stories involve her in the negative stories against her sister in law. And most obviously she shows her disdain in public, at a church service, when she is told that she cannot walk in a procession. She values the petty and superficial things in life and has yet at almost 40 demonstrated any depth of thought on any issue.
Just looked it up. In one of them, she’s wearing the dress she wore to that garden party where she was photographed with Rose Who and their “husbands.” LOL.
Why can’t William just be happy for his brother ? Can’t he mind his own business? He and his wife are seething with jealousy and envy toward his younger brother and sister-in-law.
The Vogue magazine Meghan guest edited is the magazine’s fastest-selling issue, with copies flying off the shelves and selling out in ten days, according to the magazine’s secretary.
Although William and Kate are the FFK/Q but his brother is the more popular one in the hearts and minds of the world .
Harry meets a girl, falls in love and William is Incandescent with rage and tries to ruin it. Harry decided to get married and Willie is again incandescent with rage and tries to stop the wedding. Harry Is expecting a baby and Willie works with the press to put enough stress of the mother risking the babies life. Harry has a baby decided he would like to have a small intimate christening and keep the names of the god parents private, again Willie is incandescent with rage. Harry’s new wife has major success with a project she has been working on for months, highlighting and increasing the funds of a number of charities, Willie is again incandescent with rage. Harry buys a house, Willie is raging. Harry has a £150 million Netflix deal, again Willie is incandescent with rage.
All that has come from his own mouthpieces who seem to think this makes Willie look good, when all it does in confirm that he hates anything good happening to his brother.
You know ehat happen to old man that keep raging, one day he will get a stroke.
Keep raging on willie
Imagine if William had just said how proud he was of his brother and his sister-in-law? Consider how good William would look to give them some kudos. He is totally clueless.
Exactly why did William not take his problem with Vogue to Meghan? Is it just me who is offended? Does he feel she is so far beneath him that he won’t speak directly to her?
He probably said some sexist stuff to Harry like “Get your woman in line!” and tried to put the kibosh on the whole thing.
What did Prince Petulant think was going to happen? That these women whom Meghan put a spotlight on would form an army and overthrow the Royal family? Has he ever read an article in Vogue?
Should have fought harder. It was a horribly embarrassing, trite (lacking originality or freshness) and average edition that did Meghan no favors. Just awful…and plagiarized!
Meghan’s Vogue edition sold out in ten days, because the focus was on LIFTING up other women and that should be applauded instead of the constant jealousy and gripes from those sitting in the cheap seats. By the way, most magazines covers are average looking and very few of them are original in their format! MH’s magazine at least used the concept of the reader seeing themselves in the mirror and thinking about their own forces for change.
Megan’s cover concept has been done before. Even with the mirror. That’s not a bad thing! J/s.
Her issue was great though. It’s perfect PR, but I can see another angle why the BRF hated it.
You lift someone up, support them and on turn they and others lift you up. It’s indirect and effective. I think the BRF think it’s all about them. Why Kate’s was a basic portrait cover about herself. How the BRF embraces Kate I think her cover is an approved reflection of how they feel. That the praise should just flow in by their existence. Megan’s approach was revolutionary to them and they’re not open to change.
Kate’s cover sold so badly they had to say it was because it wasn’t a September issue. Nope. It’s because no one cares about the mannequin duchess.
As opposed to what, another picture/story of Kate on the cover doing and talking about …….something? William is this you? If the issue was so “awful” then why does Vogue plan to revisit that theme of Forces for Change? Anyway, have a nice life, whatever.
Sure Karen. Sure.
Ba ha the troll has to appear. Good try, troll
That so called trite issue was probably the most women of color and activists featured in Vogue in the past decade. Also, interesting how now CondéNast is finally discovering black photographers and featuring more black people on their covers, or to mention the whole Bon Appetit turmoil. So while this issue you denigrate is not directly responsible for those and more immediate issues like George Floyd’s murder brought this to the forefront, this issue was prescient in so many ways. We’re still talking about it well over a year later and it bothered William enough to set his hounds on Meghan again.
I believe you are confusing duchesses. Only one vogue cover had to have excuses made for not selling well and it wasn’t the Forces for Change one. Caterpillar brows and overalls don’t sell very well I guess.
“Horribly embarrassing,” oh my, aren’t you cute? Embarrassing to whom? It was huge and flew off the shelves. Who was embarrassed? You?
I thought the occasional injection of woke actually did them some good.
This has always been about William’s ability to control Harry and keep Harry close to him. I think Charles was planning on letting go of Harry during his reign and making a big ceremony of it to give future generations a blueprint of those who reject royal life.
However, I think I’m somewhat proud of Harry because hebhad made himself no longer is useful to William or the monarchy.
A lot pointed to Charles keeping both his sons on and cutting others like the Yorks loose.
It was said numerous times he was streamlining to just his son and their families. As William and Kate showed they were not interested in working or taking on more work. Or even keeping up with how Charles transformed the POW role that Harry and his family would be key to carrying the load. This hasn’t changed much imo. I’m betting William will fail in his POW role and Charles will do what it takes to bring Harry and his family back. Haven’t we already seen Charles trying to knock William down?
Yes and I 100% agree that both Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles are desperate to have Harry back. What I meant was that I think Charles has or rather had an actual plan for spares going forward which is why his plans involved Harry.
Charles is never going to do what it would take to bring Harry back. That game is over. Charles made an agreement with the tabloids to exploit his sons and their families. One son didn’t cooperate. And that son left. Charles would never agree to the Sussexes not dealing with the Royal Rota because he needs the tabloids on his side. So Charles and Harry are at an impasse that is unsolvable. Besides, Harry would never bring his family back to a place with a toxic staff and even more toxic but powerful relatives.
Ebony
I agree Harry would never return knowing how toxic The Cambridge’s are. However, to bring Harry back would mean pushing out William.
From how I understand it Charles plays the game. Father that lets his office operate like all the others, unchecked. And they duel it out with tabloid bs for pr. That’s not to say it’s Charles making personal attacks on Harry like William is.
If the Charles streamline is to work he needs members that will work and generate goodwill for the BRF. William will not come close to that. And if Charles wants Harry back he will protect him.
Now, will Harry return? I truly doubt it. He has so much worth fighting for now. He looks happier than ever.
They may be desperate to bring Harry back but I see no reason for Harry to return. Harry chose the healthiest option for his family and I think he made peace with his decision before announcing it. The second he lost the military titles, I really believe he stopped caring about any of it. He has enough money to want for nothing, a bright future in film production, a beautiful home in California, a doting wife and a son he knows will be raised better than him.
What I find funny is that the Royal Family via the British media goes on and on about how irrelevant Harry and Meghan are becoming. But I think part of the plan was to create a life that would allow them to be visual on their terms rather than the Grey Men’s. I actually think both are interested in being producers and getting out from front facing work. Why highlight causes over Zoom when you can just produce a documentary about it? I just feel this is more their comfort zone.
The slimdown plan was always Charles & spouse, William & spouse, Harry & spouse. The plan was never to eliminate Harry and spouse as working royals.
Charles wants the elders to be lost via attrition (Duke of Kent, Michael of Kent, Glouchesters, Princess Alexandra). He wants to eliminate his siblings and spouses as working royals. He wants to eliminate any of his nephews and nieces (the Yorks) as working royals.
Charles always intended to have Harry and spouse as working royals during his reign.
Nota
So the big question is… what now? After the queen passes and he ascends what will the plan be? He cannot streamline with just the Cambridge’s. They have already refused much of what POW role requires. And you can’t zoom call or prerecord all your dozens of events a few times a year and then vanish for months.
Could it be possible Charles welcomes Harry and Megan back into the fold as protected semi working royal representatives? Something along the lines of what they wanted before without the Targets on their backs?
The Cambridge’s are the weak links here and it’s tough to deal with another heir, but it’s been done before.
Good morning Nota! I hope you’re having a fine day. You’re right and I think the only reason any plan included Harry was because Charles is aware of William and Kate’s refusal to do anything of value. But I also think he *had* some plan of what do with the spare. In any case, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Charles intentions with Harry are straight down the loo. He knows who he’s stuck with now and that’s why the monarchy is in trouble when he ascends. Harry is personable and maybe would have helped smooth things over but that will never happen now. I think Charles’ reign is going to marked by a lot of justification about why the monarchy still exists.
WW, these are good questions. If William was heir to George V and Edward VIII the heir to Charles (minus being a Nazi) history in Europe would look very different. William is a throwback that I don’t think Britain will tolerate any longer. He’s too temperamental, too egotistical, and I think that when Charles ascends, he will be exposed and that could backfire horribly.
You know, after reading many comments from this post & other posts; for those of you who are more aware about the royals than i am; i think the real reason william didn’t want Harry to marry Meghan was because he realized the positive effect she (& her mother by extension) was having on Harry. Finally, Harry had people who were in his corner legitimately (Meghan & Doria) & loved him for who he was as a person. I saw that picture of Meghan, Harry, & Doria at some event; they looked like they were in deep discussion about something. It seems that Meghan brings out the best in Harry (vice-versa) & Harry knows he has a partner who will not only support him, but will go to back for him, when no one else would. William can’t compete with the man Harry has become. I always got the impression watching from America that the RF just wanted Harry to play the third wheel to william/kate. I mean that’s kind of lame, considering at some point, & time, the man is going to want to have his own life outside of the RF. I remember reading an interview by Harry & he stated it was the queen who wanted him to leave his military life to become a full time royal; while Harry wanted to stay in the military.
I’m taking some of this account with a grain of salt because I don’t think this is the complete story. It’s really screams control freak if William came at Harry because of a magazine Meghan guest edited. That sounds really off the rails. I definitely think the reaction to the issue, with the RRs completely melting down and freaking out, shows that tWilliam and the other royals were pissed. Some of it was a reaction to the diversity of the issue, but it was more than it being “woke”. Let’s remember, the Cambridge’s and Charles have actually met some of those cover stars, including Jacinda Ardern, Adwoa Aboah, Sinead Burke, and Greta Thunberg, so obviously those particular women weren’t too woke for the royals. Also, what gets lost in the criticism about there not being enough white women was that all the British women featured were women of color like Gemma Chan, Adwoa Aboah, and Jameela Jamil, as well as the dancer from the Royal Ballet . That was never highlighted because the reporters were too far in their racist outrage feelings.
What I recall was before the issue dropped, there was a lot of speculation that Meghan was going to do a glam photo spread at Frogmore or reveal her newborn on the cover ala Surie Cruise.They had the knives out, ready to mock her fir being “Hollywood “,and whatever they were leaked was not what happened. I think part of the rage from William was the cover not being able to be directly compared to the more “ royal” Kate, as well as the depth of Meghan’s work and involvement, the fact she has a real voice and wasn’t cowed after her maternity leave. That was a huge part of the anger and it was so obvious they wanted to drag her down and the animosity was so personal, like she did a “ gotcha” on them.
There is something going on with William that everyone around him is covering up and I think it goes to some pretty high levels.
I think you’re right, and they’re scrambling and lying to cover it up.
Sorry I disagree with you on “I also think that people should probably buy this book to see why so many royal reporters are pretending that it doesn’t exist now”
If anything lacey has shown how he’s regurgitating tabloids reports especially the anti Meghan ones. The part about vogue issue is what cameltoe and the rest were saying. Cameltoe had the audacity to say it out loud that Meghan had too many black people on the cover😡 I for one wont be buying this trashy book. Yes it has some juicy stories about billy but lacey is just doing it to cover base.
I read the book and felt a bit let down because I think someone put a muzzle on what could be published regarding William. The UK is really bad about letting the cat out of the bag too early. There really wasn’t anything new that we haven’t been talking about for weeks.
However, I really do believe that the royal family is going out of their way to hide just how bad William’s behavior is. The book is very abrupt in some places so I think Lacey, like Omid got neutered when it came to the behavior of the heir.
@Notsosimple- did it mention leaks from the royal household to the press? Books that don’t go into the leaking & possible motivations for them aren’t complete accounts. I saw one historian recently claim that Sussexes were paranoid& that courtiers are there to protect the royals & don’t work against them-which we know is untrue.
The Times review of the book suggests the real cause of the rift is unknown. Just because we speculate so much I hope we find out the true story one day!