Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast has a new interview with Robert Lacey, the supposed “respected royal expert” who wrote Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, the same book we’ve been discussing for much of the past month. Lacey obviously talks out of both sides of his mouth, but I also sort of suspect that he’s purposely dropping in some truth-bombs which will re-center some narratives. One, Meghan is not the reason for William and Harry’s falling out. Two, William is a rage-monster. Three, William & Kate don’t actually *want* Harry and Meghan to come back. That last one is an interesting little truth. You can read Sykes’ interview with Lacey here. Some highlights (Lacey covers a lot of the same old ground, I’m just highlighting what I think is new stuff):
The Cambridges don’t want to reconcile with the Sussexes: “I used to be optimistic of some sort of reconciliation. I am less so now. I am actually coming to feel that it actually suits William and Kate quite well to have Harry and Meghan off the territory. You know it’s the old, ‘This town is too small for both of us’ syndrome. William and Kate are determinedly stepping into the void that Harry has left.”
The Queen screwed it up too: Lacey tells me, for example, that he finds it “absolutely astonishing” that photos of the Sussexes were not prominently displayed on the royal desk for the 2019 Christmas broadcast. “They were there the year before. But in 2019, the Queen could not even bring herself to say their name. The word Sussex never crossed her lips in her Christmas broadcast. She couldn’t even bring herself to say Archie’s name. She just referred to the arrival of her “eighth great-grandchild,” and moved on. “They’re victims of many things, these boys, but certainly Harry is a victim of the royal system,” said Lacey.
William & Kate immediately felt jealous of & competitive with Meghan: “Everything was going well with the magic threesome of William and Kate and Harry, with Harry playing the subordinate backup role, and then along comes Meghan. She made Harry realize the reality of this subordinate role. Then they become the royal superstars, the royal rock stars, and the Fab Four rapidly disintegrates under the pressure of the competition for celebrity and attention and affection that Harry and Meghan create. William’s possible jealousy has never been voiced, but Ken Wharfe (Diana’s personal protection officer), for example, told me he always got the feeling that William had a jealousy of the lovable rogue affection that Harry generated.”
Harry has always been the bigger man: “I thought it was interesting that when Harry effectively disclosed the feud to (ITV broadcaster) Tom Bradby he followed it up, almost immediately, by saying: ‘But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.’ I’m not aware of William ever publicly saying anything like that.”
Meghan made Harry a better man, and William hated that: “I don’t think anybody can dispute that Meghan at least crystallized the ideas and the discontents that he already had. She has really transformed Harry. I mean, whatever you think of the pair of them, sitting there speaking to the world about global issues of sustainability or social justice, it’s definitely not the dunce, bottom-of-the-class Harry, any longer, and I think this is another aspect that has discomforted his elder brother.”
How bad do the Windsors look in the wake of the Sussexit: “Very bad,” said Lacey. “They’ve effectively expelled two mixed race individuals. So I don’t think it’s surprising that, Barbados is saying, ‘Thank you very much, we don’t want a white Head of State anymore,’ and Jamaica looks to be going the same way. The Windsors so far have not been able to do ‘Woke’, and when I’ve said that, I get floods of emails from people who say, ‘Woke is finished.’ Well, I don’t agree. I do not think Woke is finished. I think Woke is the gospel of the rising generation and this couple articulated it and will go on articulating it. Harry and Meghan are united in programs of self-realization—and to hell with any blood institution that gets in the way.”
The one-year review: “The people who will judge the success of the arrangement are the Queen, Charles and William. There’s no mention of Harry even being involved in that. So the royal family have a decision to make; are Harry and Meghan in or out? If they’re out they then become ex-royals and to be an ex-royal puts them in the same category then as the Windsors (the Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson)—except unlike the Windsors, they’re not going to shut up. The Duke of Windsor did shut up. He produced his memoirs and went into quiet oblivion. This couple are not going quietly. They will not shut up. They are not going away.”
I get that a lot of people have already cancelled and written off Lacey, but I’d just like to point out that he is a very established, well-respected “royal historian” and royal commentator and he’s saying some sh-t which none of the other royal commentators will ever say: that Will and Kate were jealous, that they felt competitive with Meghan and Harry, that they don’t want M&H to come back. Lacey is also one of the few people talking about the long-term repercussions for just how awful the Windsors were to Meghan. Anyway! Yeah, this is all stuff we knew, but it’s fascinating to me that Lacey is the one saying it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
The irony because the Cambridge’s need Harry. The monarchy needs him. They keep going down down down.
And he doesn’t need them. At all. Ever again.
Times have changed. ER II has essentially kept this out of date institution alive, based on the affection the older Britons had about her sharing common hard times – the War, the post-War rationing (she made a point of using ration cards for her wedding dress and reception….can you imagine anyone of the next two generations of her family doing likewise)? Plus she maintained an appointments calendar that rivals her grandchildren well into her 90s.
Charles may be able to hold off the changes, but I can’t imagine why the UK would want a monarchy led by William and Kate. Utter lack of interest in work, and immersion in the world of country homes and school chums with multi-hyphenate names and eccentric family histories who similarly don’t work beyond a figurehead/do nothing job in a family firm. Are Britons of their generation going to want to continue that do-nothing snobbery?
As Lacey has said, the Sussexes represented a more modern face to the RF and William was too thick to realize he that the institution could reap the good will and PR. Now THAT is dumb.
Will and Kate would return the BRF to the old times. How history shows royals, but tacky.
Complete adoration is compulsory and they will not hide their threats if anyone dare speak against them.
Very early I was a defender and year after year they’ve proven themselves to be set in their ways. Now, they’ve shown their hand as hateful misogynistic racists and There’s no defense for them.
That they keep allowing and instigating attacks on their brother and sister in law that have fled and spoken no ill towards them… ugh. They’re the embodiment of the poorest of human qualities.
Cambridge’s can’t keep the Sussex name out of their mouths. Everyone needs them because they can’t stand on their own.
The monarchy does not need Harry. If they needed him he would still be there.
They do need him, but it will be interesting to sit back and watch their decline. Once the Queen is gone, the majority of the other 15 Commonwealth countries who have her as head will leave. Scotland will go for independence again. Charles will end up King of England and Wales, William will be king of nothing.
🙄 Harry was consistently the second most popular royal after his grandmother and regularly attracted the most attention. William and Kate only got more attention for their wedding and the births of their children; their “popularity” is superficial and the BRF knows it. If they didn’t need him, there wouldn’t be constant pleas via RRs for him to come back alone.
Lowrider, technically, you are correct. The BRF doesn’t need Harry. It’s structurally setup that way. In addition, the firm will keep on going much like any organization that churns along after losing a prized and charismatic employee.
However, in the scramble to fill Harry’s shoes and even those of Meghan’s, what they brought to the table is being revealed. Case in point, Kate has begun stepping away from the mumsy frocks and Diana cosplays to embrace a more modern woman’s business casual office attire. Although, both William and Harry spoke about environmental issues, William is trying to run the table on that one and to crowd Harry out the conversation and those endeavors. Mental health and well-being is another issue where William is trying to dominate, if not globally then in the UK. Moreover, instead of Sophie floating under the radar like she used to do, her work is now being repurposed and repositioned in ways that can be as lovely interpreted as feminist. Then you have the fact that Kate and William hired Harry and Meghan’s social media person. QEII has even hired their former secretary or rep. I think her name is Sarah. I’ll look her up. She used to work for the Clintons or Hilary Clinton’s campaign.
So, technically, you are correct. The firm doesn’t need Harry for it to exist or even to continue in its existence. And Harry doesn’t need them to exist either. The world, so to speak, is his oyster. He can live it now on his own terms. However, in terms of the public will, the BRF has more to lose than does Harry. Harry has already made his bid to become a private situation.
@ Lowrider, the monarchy desperately needs Harry and Meghan, but the PWT and Unable are too jealous and angry to see beyond their feelings to allow Harry and Meghan to shine as they overshadow these two. What the difference is, is that Harry and Meghan DON’T need the monarchy, but the monarchy in its entirety needs them, but PWT is too jealous and petty to see how it would benefit everyone.
It sounds good on paper that the monarchy doesn’t need Harry but Harry and the Queen are the ones with the popularity and the monarchy needs that to continue. Will, Kate, and Sophie can’t keep the public’s attention enough to continue the loyalty for the royal family. They may get through Charles’ reign but with the economical decline from Brexit and covid the royals will be lucky to have a pared down monarchy like Spain.
Is Harry still the second most popular royal according to polls?
Perhaps they don’t need him but god knows they could have used him. He and Meghan would have brought good will and loyalty from loads of people within Britain and the commonwealth and helped William during his reign and ensure a throne for his son. Now I think William will be the last king of a fading monarchy
@notasugerhere: Harry and Meghan will continue their own work and will have a following but once covid has settled and the Wales and Cambridge’s start touring again some people will move on. The appeal of royals is their sham power and superficial riches. Also the monarchy is not a popular contest. As long as Bill adheres to his main duties the government and media will prop him up. As the cambridge children age all attention will be on them.
Harry did the right thing by leaving the institution, I just wish he would have left several years ago.
That’s wishful thinking from the Meghan hate crowd. Harry and Meghan’s influence isn’t going to decrease. They have their massive NetFlix contract. They’re beginning to launch their Foundation. He continues with Invictus Games and Sentebale. They’re continuing up and up movement.
If royals do not have popularity, they do not have taxpayer support, ergo there is an end to the monarchy. W&K only have the old school type of royal support. They haven’t captured the imagination or interest of younger people in the UK. Their old fashioned marriage of convenience, their old fashioned way of approaching their role? It is seen as backwards. Fewer and fewer people see value in monarchy, and with W&K as the future? The people see a future without the 600 million a year monarchy weighting them down.
Thats why everyone is on meghan and harry and not thinking about the royal racists they left behind!
@lowrider — do you think the attention H&M is made up of royalists? my goodness, this is very misguided! I am not a royalist, I couldn’t give a F**k about them, H included, until M joined that family. I paid attention because M was mistreated,
1) I saw excellence being compared to mediocrity and people deciding mediocrity is ok…..
2) I saw Michelle Obama (Meghan) vs Melania (Kate) all over again….one woman is intelligent, articulate, the other is not
3) I saw a woman who is driven, ambitious and wants to use the huge platform she has to help those in need….yet all of that didn’t matter. It was more important not to eat avocados, not to touch her own belly, not to wear black nail polisher and all bullshit some people with little goals pay attention to in life
Meg is now safe and thriving in the US….H&M will continue to despite the Cambridge kids growing up; those will get the attention of the royalists, after all what is there for them to talk about?
I am so happy H took his son out of that useless parade
Talk of Harry’s popularity reminds me of a line from The Windsors, which goes something like, “the people really respond to the fact that I don’t give a f***.”
Lacey is making it easier for other people to begin talking about this. People who will be able to do a better job of it.
Harry was no longer a dunce and that discomforted William. I mean… What do you even do with that? Has William ever been happy for his brother?
And yes, Cambridge jealousy and pettiness emboldened the racism we watched play out and that will not go away easily.
Also, what even is the point of the review? Are they going to use his military honors to force Harry back in while leaving out Meghan?
Yeah this interview is interesting to me because he is coming out and saying what a lot of us have speculated for years – William’s jealousy, the competition the Cambridges felt towards the Sussexes, how William has not publicly offered support to his brother in the past year (rather saying “I cant put my arm around him anymore.”) He’s not saying this in the book (at least not in the parts I’ve read so far) so I wonder if he was a lot more careful in the book for legal reasons? The fact that this interview is with Tom Sykes is interesting to me too, wonder if Lacey felt more comfortable talking to him?
I feel like him and Omid say more in their interviews than in their books. Probably because of legal reasons. Someone that has read the book said he bashes the Sussex’s and praises the Cambridge’s ( especially during the exit) they say Lacey justifies William’s anger and jealousy. But in interviews he is more on Harry’s side. It’s confusing
I have about a hundred pages to go in this book, and like I said yesterday, its interesting because I feel like there is just a lot left unsaid. It definitely makes me think he removed a lot for legal reasons (or knew just to not talk about it at all), maybe its easier to come out and say it in the interviews?
@Becks1… I’ll def be back next week to see your summary on the exit summit 🍿👀
😊
@Love – finished it last night. The most annoying thing to me was he keeps referring to Meghan as Rachel Zane during the negotiations. He makes it clear he thinks Harry and Meg overplayed their hand. But he also makes it clear that the royal family messed up, well, royally, and if Geidt had been there it would have been very different (Lacey either really liked Geidt or Geidt was a major source for the book). He also makes clear that the Queen and Charles don’t have any hard feelings really towards H&M but that William took the exit very personally.
@Becks1 Oh, so pretty much what was displayed in the media. Yeah I imagine the Rachel Zane stuff would be annoying to read, especially because anyone who watched Suits knows Rachel is super kind and not hardcore like Jessica was. Smh
I’m kind of happy H&M got a clean break even if they “overplayed” their hand by wanting a half in half out model. Otherwise they’d have to constantly report back to the palace, and leaks would be ongoing
“Harry was no longer a dunce and that discomforted William.”
Harry never WAS a dunce. “Dunce,” “Hash Harry,” Good-times-but-not-too-bright Harry — those were all roles in which he was cast, not roles he sought out for himself. Meghan didn’t wave a magic wand and make him suddenly intelligent and aware. She just helped him realize and bring out his best self, something that’s entirely within the power of a loving and loyal spouse. I wonder if anyone in that weird, dysfunctional family understands or even recognizes what a good life partner can do for someone.
When a Harry set up sentebale and then later the invictus Games, it was obvious he had the ability to be more than the party boy the media wanted him to be. William still hasn’t done anything close to that, but he gets credit for slapping his name on things.
Exactly this. They were both heavy partiers in their younger years but as the heir, William got protected and Harry took the fall. But to anyone who paid even the slightest bit of attention, you could tell that the realities of their work weren’t reflected in the narrative. Harry had established two major initiatives by the time he was 25, yet to this day Williams still doesn’t have an initiative that he’s built from the ground up, he just flits from one thing to the next and tries to tack his name onto other people’s work. Charles has the Prince’s Trust, Harry has Sentebale & Invictus, what long running project does William have? Don’t say Heads Together because that’s just a name slapped onto the work of other organisations. The Cambridges biggest problem is that Harry stopped being their footstool, that his wife was smart & capable was just the final straw. Now they’ve got what they wished for but I don’t think it’s going to be what they actually wanted.
I think it’s very obvious William liked Harry being the runt of the litter and not the leader. Seeing him independant and uncontrollable really disturbed him.
It’s so disappointing – they could have been such an awesome united front of millennials showing how much they care about each other and care about the world. Instead we got this.
Weirdly, neither William nor Kate have ever struck me as millennials. They seem so fusty and musty, they give off an 1940’s vibe.
1950s vibe. Little woman at home, directing the dozen staff who do the work of the home. Welcoming her fate as the cheated on wife because she gets the name and position. Partying, lazy husband off with other women, claiming other peoples work as his own, and getting away with all of it.
That’s strange because when the Queen and Margaret were younger they acted more modern than Kate and William act now. Even looking at Charles and Andrew’s generation were modern and interesting. Will and Kate are just dull as dishwater
@Mooshe1 – I think you owe an apology to dishwater everywhere.
I believe the words are dumb and lazy. UK media PR only hides so much and paying attention a bit shows how shallow they both are with nothing of value to contribute.
Will is very haughty seeming and Kate is Stepford style, frozen in fear of saying the wrong thing with the wrong accent, she looks so tense, poor thing. Harry can be a family man of the world now, less pomp, now low key in Santa Barbara with those great trails to go hiking up by their house, the botanical gardens, the weather, etc.. Harry was smart to marry a woman that was capable of making her own money and had creative ideas she wanted to share. It would have gotten stifling in England by the sounds of it which is sad, I wanted them to last as long as the Queen, as the end of an era, but obviously things behind closed doors were not copacetic.
I think the Cams are too petty to show a united front. Remember the Christmas walk when Meghan got scarfed? Or the Commonwealth service where Kate and Sophie mean girled despite the world watching? They got the exit they wanted and it’s backfired spectacularly on the House of Windsor.
W&K cannot even show a united front as their own unit. The pap walk with Rose was for Rose’s benefit, not Kate’s. There’s too many years and examples of William vs. Middleton PR, which have increased in the past few years. Kate and Carole know William is tiring of the arrangement.
Kate and Meghan did put on a believable show at Christmas while the brothers ignored each other (the Christmas walk where Meghan put a hand on Kate’s back). I think they’re the better actors of the fab 4 LOL
Honestly I wish someone could just spill eeeeveryrhing. I’m tired of implied language. Someone with nothing to lose needs to say fk it, I’m telling everything!
That pap walk with Rose was the Sunday before Harry and Meghan dropped their bombshell that they wanted half-in half-out. Will knew that news was going to spill in a few days, and I think he staged that walk with Rose because he knew H&M’s news would overshadow EVERYTHING in the upcoming days. I thought the whole walk was very odd but we never got to really micro-analyze it because the Sussexit news took over
Harry and Meghan published their plan to leave only AFTER William sold them out to deflect attention from his Rose gardening. I think he was covering all bases, making it look like they’re all good friends – W&K and the Rocksavages. He had to deflect from the affair on multiple fronts.
Ross didn’t look thrilled doing that walk whereas W and K were grinning like Cheshire cats. I think the origins of the Tatler article stemmed from there with many toffs wanting to place those two in their place.
Yeah, I remember that a lot of the Cambridge sympathizers were insisting that the affair couldn’t have happened because of that walk…while ignoring the fact that similar stunts were pulled with Diana and Camilla. It was certainly good timing on Will’s part.
Rose is looking like, ‘Really, everyone knows, but if you want me to show up in my fur hat and pose, whatever darling, I’m over it’.
I don’t see Kate grinning like a cat in those church photos. I see her looking strained and OTT grinning, William looking like he’s in charge, and Kate needing her mummy around for support.
The intent of the walk was to try to humiliate Rose. I am sure she didn’t care, but even making her do that created a few more enemies for the Cambridges. The toffs know about Billy’s gardening and Cathy tolerating it. People spoke to Tatler to remind them that they know it all.
The intent was to make it look like all was well with the couples as a group. I don’t see embarrassing Rose in that walk; don’t think she, her husband, and William are embarrassed about gentry bed hopping. I see it embarrassing Kate, because she’s walking there with her cheating husband, playing the Stepford wife and accepting her participation ribbon. Knowing he’ll just cheat again soon, she’ll put up with it, and everyone will know.
That was the only time she initiated a breakup in all those years, when she felt he’d embarrassed her publicly with cheating. As long as it was unknown, she let it happen. Will caught partying with blonds got her Baby #3. Will sleeping with Rose got her the ribbon, but nothing else yet.
Great thread. My response is to NotASugarHere. I think Kate got something more than a ribbon for allowing William to garden…..she got the belittling and ousting of Meghan. For the Queen and Charles, I think the number one priority is the continuity of the monarchy. I think they are well aware that BOTH their reigns will be over in just a few years and that it must have a stable future in a traditional W&K to have the slimmest chance of continuing. William and Kate have the power to destabilize it with a messy divorce or infighting. So, everyone got on board with William’s incandescent rage and Kate’s vicious pettiness and supported the Cambridge’s desire to oust the Sussexes. The boat is rocking and the Cambridge’s have the power to sink it…..I think that’s the reality the Queen and Charles have lived with since the moment the world responded so positively to the Sussexes. I’m happy for the Sussexes that they got out of that horrific and toxic life. They are now free and on a world stage and the Cambridge’s are stuck in their tiny, rigid box of a life.
The public ignored the cheating by Phillip because the media helped hide it and by the time it got out there were decades of royal work done by both the queen and Phillip. Charles may have had a marriage that fell apart, but both he and Diana did the work and then Camilla stepped in as well.
Will and Kate are simply lazy and the cracks in their happy marriage facade have been there for a while. And with social media, there will not be a tight control on things leaking as existed forty years ago. Banking on the Cambridges image alone will not last. They do nothing and we can already see how many see the hypocrisy and it is showing up anywhere the British establishment media doesn’t have control.
Also will and Kate being petty and jealous bitches has turned off a large segment of the population. The commonwealth is already tired of it and it won’t stop at two countries.
All of this presumes that Harry and Meghan GAF about actually having a relationship with the Keenbridges at this point. Given everything we all now know about how involved they were with everything that happened to drive the Sussexes away, I wouldn’t blame them for never wanting to go back.
Harry seems a nice enough person that it would bother him to be at odds with W&K since they were close for so long. He supported them so it most likely hurts that they couldn’t be bothered to support his marriage and family. Hopefully, he is working this out with therapists still but it is hard to turn your back on family even when they are toxic.
The closeness has been exaggerated for years. Harry and William have lived apart longer than they were together. Harry didn’t even know Kate when the engagement was announced. Later he was away in the Army, working on his charities, while W&K were in Wales and Norfolk. They were together for work events only, where Harry was treated like the third wheel when he was doing the most work of any of the three of them.
Social media Cambridge stans say Harry was soooo happy be part of the fab three, always smiling. I find that so absurd, as if William could get married and Harry was not allowed to. Very strange.
His comments on the review are stupid. H&M are already out, they are the ones who wanted to leave. They are already ex-royals. Harry didn’t even want the review. The RF have absolutely no control over the decision and people need to stop framing it like it is theirs to decide. The comparisons to the windsors are stupid as well. The Sussex’s have a $150 million dollar deal with Netflix; they aren’t hurting for money and they aren’t going to languish like the others. And finally W&K are not enough to carry the monarchy; they never have been, which is why an entire country’s worth of media have to sell it like they are. They are too damn lazy, short-sighted, and dim to realize that they aren’t.
“W&K are not enough to carry the monarchy; they never have been”
What kills me is that they could’ve been! W&K killed their own spotlight before Harry even met Meghan. They didn’t want to work. They played middle class family in Norfolk for years. How Charles is not frustrated with them is beyond me. He had great assets in H&M and the 2 that sat on their asses for years only got up to push them out and now they’re STILL not doing as much work as they could. It’s just incredibly childish to me. They created that void and were PISSED when another couple inevitably filled it.
You’re exactly right. They had a good 7-8 years of the spotlight to carve out they’re plans and work to endear themselves to the public. People loved Diana partly because she was in their faces working all of them time. The had plenty of time to establish themselves but they wasted it and were mad the Meg slid right in there and filled the void. Global statesman my ass.
Exactly. Dear god-it’s not that difficult. They didn’t have to recreate the wheel. They could have just stepped into the ready made roles of visiting established charities, cutting ribbons, meeting with people. Done their 25 hours a week with smiles on their faces and that would have been just fine. Kate could have focused on sports and kids. They could still be living their aristocratic dream of vacations and shooting with friends on the side. The fact that they dithered and avoided for years and years-completely enabled by the Queen and Charles (who have never wanted to set off William’s “moods”) is ridiculous.
Spot on!
All of this.
Lacey mentions that void that was left when Harry moved away, too. And that’s so stupid and avoidable. Why on earth was a monarchy that has an active Queen, a prince of Wales, a second heir and his young and pretty wife relying on the sixth in line so heavily? There might be a problem with the FAMILY if the only Royal who was able to connect with and be liked by the public is the sixth in line.
And it bugs me so much that will and Kate could’ve built up so much goodwill and a legacy in the time before Harry married Meghan but they just didn’t. Their own laziness and petulant ways, their refusal to work and connect with people, is what forced this whole Duchess v Duchess, Duke v Duke feud thing in the first place. The Cambridge’s didn’t start working “full time” until Harry and Meghan came on the scene, so they forced the issue of both couples being in the exact same, directly comparable place in their careers at the same time, fighting for the same fans and popularity at the same time. This would’ve worked out much better for them if they were already established royals with their own projects and their own fans that they had accrued over the last 8 years. But no. They wanted to stay home and be petulant and spurn their duties so that they and Harry and Meghan were all in direct competition for the same press, the same people to be their fans, the same projects, etc. And it’s all their fault! And they could have avoided it.
I have always felt that Will & Kate really resented Harry & Meghan because Harry & Meghan forced them to get off their duffs and actually work.
They still weren’t working more, Bay. W&K kept trying to take credit for the work Harry and Meghan were doing, from the funds for Hubb to trying to take full credit for SHOUT.
@Amy Too W&K still aren’t “full time” when compared to the number of events and patronages other royals have. Going by the court circular in 2019, Kate only outworked Meghan (who was on maternity leave), and senior citizens Phil, the Duchess of Gloucester and Alexandra. I do wonder about some of their totals though because supposedly Meghan wasn’t listed as doing things at times during her pregnancy when she had things appearing on Instagram.
@equality – the numbers on the CC are definitely fudged. Kate meets with Jason and it gets put on there. I am not sure Meghan had anything relating to Vogue on there, but could be wrong about that. But if she did, it was only a few events, when we know she was working steadily on the issue. The SmartWorks launch was listed, but none of the stuff she was doing behind the scenes for SmartWorks, etc. I honestly just think that was because Meghan didn’t care about the numbers, she cared about the work and the projects, and for Kate her numbers are so pathetic that she has to build them anyway she can.
Those comments in Tatler about Kate feeling thrown under the bus and not getting to do the school run because H&M left didn’t come out of left field.
MaryContrary, 25 hours a week? That would cut too far into Rose gardening and hair appointments. Their plan from the beginning was to refuse to do those bread-and-butter engagements – because they don’t want to work that much.
Just because we don’t hear about it, doesn’t mean Charles is happy with William. Charles and William have to be careful how they approach one another. Their need for each other is primary – even if they personally hate each other.
I don’t think Charles ever thinks he’s gonna be king or for a substantial enough time and I think he has reconciled this from his previous desire so what happens to the monarchy or not doesn’t concern him
@MaryContrary: I, too, think the way they’ve catered to William is just bizarre. I can only guess that he’s threatened to go Duke of Windsor on their ashes, and maybe that still gets the Queen in a huff? If he wants to go, let the fool go! He will be forgotten about because he doesn’t do much now. A Royal succession with William and Kate and heirs is fine by me.
@Betsy, Willie may threaten to abdicate, but let’s get real, he would never give up the lifestyle he was born into and has become accustomed to. So they could call his bluff, but I don’t see him going anywhere.
They’re not ex-royals. They retain both the HRHs and the Sussex title, and they’ll keep those regardless of whether or not they are working royals.
Responding to JT’s opening thread above (number 5): Totally agree with everything you’ve said. The monarchy is trying to staunch the flow of what could be a mortal wound. Times they are a changin and W&K are not the life blood that they think they are. I can’t wait for the ‘review meeting’ where the Queen, Charles, and William meet to discuss H&M without H&M. What a joke! Who cares if you shut the barn door……when your prize horse has already moved on to greener pastures.
I won’t be buying the book but I’ll give him the fact that he actually had the balls to point at at least 1 giant elephant in the room: W&K were jealous.
“……it’s definitely not the dunce, bottom-of-the-class Harry, any longer, and I think this is another aspect that has discomforted his elder brother.”
Did not think anyone in the royal sphere would ever admit this. William was only comfortable with Harry as long as he was above him, in every way. It wasn’t enough to be the heir, he had to be a better man, had to have the better family, the better everything.
As for them stepping into Harry (& Meghan’s) shoes….it’ll never be completely successful cause they hate the work and aren’t genuine about it, ever. They don’t generate much of any interest, even among “fans”. They’ll step into their shoes superficially though. We’re already seeing it fashion wise with Kate and William is trying with all his might to be relatable.
@s808 they are still coping Harry now. The royal foundation updated their site with a neutral beige tone just like H&M’s Archewell. W&K’s site used to be gray and it seems that they changed it as soon as Archewell went live. They are still riding Harry’s coattails, thinking that merely copying him will endear them to the public and not hard work and follow through. Charisma can’t be bought or copied.
NO. omg. did they really? I have never been to the website so unsure of how it might have changed.
@becks the Sussex squad have side by side comparisons of what the royal foundation site used to look like (gray) and after Archewell (beige) on Twitter and instagram. They also have the obligatory black child featured prominently on the page speaking with W&K. They are fully leaning in to SWF territory it seems.
Nah, the Royal Foundation updated their website weeks ago. It used to purple and they changed their logo to reflect William and Kate. Yes they compete against Harry and Meghan but not on this. They changed their website before Archewell launched on Tuesday.
I just looked at their instagram (will/kate) & my goodness, they do copy Harry & Meghan.
Jamaica thinking of and Barbados bouncing just gives me joy. It really does.
I so agree. They realize that the BRF is using them. After seeing how they treated Harry and Meghan, I would bounce too. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Odd isn’t it that the Cambridges have never done a tour in that part of the world? They do love going to the Caribbean but only for vacations rather than to work with the people there.
The Bahamas has apparently been thinking about it, too.
::fingers crossed:: oh please canada – now’s our time to bow out, too!!!
There is a website created to make Canada a republic. It doesn’t sound like we’re going to be successful for awhile. Apparently, feelings for the queen run strong in this country.
@Anners, @Lady D, it’s more complicated than just that. I have to say that Canada’s attitude towards the monarchy is similar to Britain’s–no one really cares or thinks much about them, until they have to.
With that being said though, becoming a republic in Canada’s case is not easy or simple. Canada is a country that was created on land borrowed from the First Nations, under false pretenses. The treaties that the First Nations people signed, which allowed settlers use of the land, its resources, and the gave them the permission to establish themselves on it were signed with the Crown, aka the British monarchy. Not the Canadian government.
This is why the Queen is our head of state. It’s not because we like Britain or particularly like the Queen. It’s a constitutional matter, and it’s a massive legal matter. Those treaties that the First Nations people signed with the British Crown are still in effect today. They are used all the time–decisions regarding treaty and status rights for First Nations peoples are made by the courts in Canada on the basis of those treaties.
Most recently, there is a situation happening in Nova Scotia, where white settlers are angry about being denied commercial fishing permits by the govt, and are taking their anger out on the Mi’kmaq First Nations people who live there, who, per the treaty they signed with the British Crown, have the right to fish and hunt on what is actually their land, for personal sustenance ONLY (not for commercial purposes). The decision and the treaty affirmed that this was their land, and by their understanding, they were only sharing it with the settlers–not giving it to them wholesale, which is a key distinction that most people still seem to not really grasp.
If Canada were to become a republic, what would be the status of those treaties? First Nations people have actually been some of the loudest opponents of any efforts to abolish the monarch as the head of state for this exact reason. It’s not out of any particular love for the Queen or her heirs. Those treaties are a guarantour of the rights of First Nations people, in the face of a govt that has repeatedly violated the rights of First Nations people and generally shown itself to be untrustworthy.
As radical as it sounds, I can’t see any real way to abolish the monarchy in Canada without a wholesale restructuring of the govt itself, in a way that would go far beyond just another election. First Nations people would have to be empowered and would have to have their rights over the land firmly established in a way that simply can’t be disputed, before the monarchy could be abandoned.
Ah Tiffany (number 7 above), well said. And ….the Queen gets to see her actions have consequences. From everything I’ve read the Commonwealth and holding it together is extremely important to the Queen. Even she now gets to see that how you treat others matters. I truly believe she has destabilized the Commonwealth coalition by the forcing out from her own family her biracial grand-daughter-in-law and great-grandchild. What kind of message did she and her little grey men think this would send to Commonwealth countries with large black populations? The Queen lives her life like a Privileged, foolish, ostrich with her head in the sand.
I am sure the feeling is mutual. It’s not a surprise that they don’t want the Sussexes back, they did everything they could to get rid of them. Charles and the Queen probably don’t feel the same way, but who is going to say anything to the petulant FFK who is always enraged about one thing or another. Now he is angry he doesn’t have more powers to change government policies. The UK will need lots of luck after Charles passes away.
I doubt Cannot and Unable do want them back. Too much competition. But also, they have to know he won’t be back at this point so they want to look like it is their idea.
I think this all sounds… pretty true? Harry and Meghan are the rockstars of the Royal family. William and Kate are competitive and jealous. The Queen was petty – I still don’t think she was behind the worst of their treatment, but just petty, petty, petty.
The least accurate thing in this is the suggestion that William and Kate are stepping into the void. They’ve done barely anything.
They tried to build up Sophie as filling their position for a while but that doesn’t seem to be working.
That didn’t work because the only people who even semi-care about Sophie as a working royal are royal fans/followers, and anyone who is enough of a follower to care about Sophie knows that she has outworked Kate and William for years. So there’s nothing for her to “step up to” since she’s already working harder than the FFK and FFQC.
(if that makes sense, my wording feels off, lol.)
Makes sense to me.
Total 100% complete sense!
Honestly, I never understood why the BRF/royal reporters thought she could “fill the gap”. 1) She already does 300 engagements a year or something which is W&K’s combined numbers most of the time and 2) she’s been in the family for 21 years now. If she could be a “shining star” she would have been one already and 3) again, she’s been in the BRF for so long and seems comfortable with what she’s doing. What was she going to do that was soooo different?
@Becks1-yes, I don’t see what else she is supposed to do. She’s been out there the whole time despite difficult pregnancies, deliveries, having small children. Ahem.
The Christmas comments are probably not that big a thing although a little more warmth would have been nice. Other great-grands haven’t gotten the big recognition that George did at birth, not even Charlotte and Louis. It’s the RF again trying to make the direct heirs the stars of the show.
I don’t think Harry had a “back-up role” with W&K; I think he was the star who got them more attention by default. Harry was the most popular royal after the Queen. Anything he does still gets far more attention than anything Will does. They were using his popularity and are irked that they can’t anymore without also accepting Meghan.
I don’t think Harry was ever a “dunce” either. I think that was just propaganda to make Will look better. If he really had issues with school, he should have had a tutor and help. That is a parental failure. I wonder if he has ADHD. He seems to have issues with sitting still. Counselling probably helped with that some and I think Meghan takes the lead sometimes to keep him focused.
And, again, with the stupid Windsor comparison? Does Lacey think Harry will be exiled and not allowed to return for any royal functions like the Windsors were? Why could he not be compared to his cousins who have some royal things they do, but mostly work at their own jobs. If they were to shut him out, I think it would be a big mistake and a very bad look for the monarchy. Charles is surely intelligent enough to realize that even if William isn’t.
Harry is dyslexic, but didn’t know until he was (almost?) out of school. Another example of great parenting by Chuck. Counseling must have helped him enormously. After he (reportedly) got help, the trajectory of his life changed.
The Windsor comparison is so insulting. They were actual Nazi supporters who couldn’t be trusted and never did anything of note work-wise. Harry wants to work hard and not have his wife and son destroyed by his family.
I don’t think Charles is heartless enough to shut his son out, but once Charles is gone, Billy will do his best to make being “in the family” untenable. This really is the best time for H&M to get out and build their own future. Trying to live and work in the UK under king bill’s reign would be impossible.
“Billy will do his best to make being “in the family” untenable.”
Which is why the Sussexes will never fully come back if they come back at all to work for the BRF.
I think the Christmas comments are mostly just about how tone-deaf the Queen is, and either didn’t realize or didn’t care about what a big deal it was for so many people that she had a mixed-race great grandchild. She should have had “that” picture of her and Phillip with Archie, Doria, Meghan and Harry on her desk. Instead it was all about the heirs. I don’t really think the pictures were chosen specifically to say “eff you Harry, no one cares about you”, I think its more just a matter of being completely tone deaf. A picture of Archie on that desk, or even just mentioning his name, would have been a big deal to many people in the UK and the commonwealth. The fact that the queen and her advisors failed to realize that says a lot, IMO.
Let’s remember that the Queen doesn’t write her speech and she doesn’t arrange her desk. That’s done by the courtiers. BBC had the foresight to insert the picture with Doria when she mentioned her eight grandchild but I think the courtiers’ aim was to send a message to Harry. That message was received loud and clear and was pushed by the media after the speech.
The Queen has control over what pictures she chooses to put on her desk. The courtiers do not get to be blamed for the choices she has made, everything from fumbling Harry and Meghan to protecting her child-raping son.
I’d be surprised if he didn’t have it. It would track with all the descriptions of him as a child and young man, and his actions now seem like those of an adult who has figured out how to harness it when it’s helpful and work around it when it isn’t.
I have it myself and it’s a mixed blessing. We’re passionate people for sure, but we desperately need a sense of purpose. With a sense of purpose we can accomplish amazing things. Without it we can be quite self-destructive, because that’s the easiest way to keep one’s life “interesting”.
It isn’t ADHD, it is dyslexia as written above. It has never been publicly admitted by the Palace, although Beatrice has admitted hers. Harry’s was outed by Jeremy of Top Gear but never confirmed officially.
Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear/ The Grand Tour???
Harry talked about his dyslexia in at least one interview. He just hasn’t been as open about it as Beatrice. I think it’s probably because of how late it was diagnosed. He was in the army when it was diagnosed. It really shines a light on how many people failed Harry as a child. His parents, nannies and top schools all failed to pick up on it. I’m pretty sure he’s been asked not to talk too much about it. It.
I don’t recall any interview of him admitting it, Ainsley7. He was diagnosed at 17/18, just as he was leaving Eton. If you have a link to the interview, I’d appreciate it.
Yes, Bay, that Jeremy. They were on vacation in the same place, ended up talking. In a later interview, Clarkson admitted what Harry had told him about being dyslexic.
Equality, about Harry being the charismatic one who brought energy and popularity to Will and Kate’s stuff when he went out with them: I’m wondering if when it was just Harry with Will and Kate, and everyone likes Harry, if William saw that Harry-love as being reflected directly back onto him. Like people liked Harry and since Harry was his brother and connected to him closely, that meant that people would associate their love of Harry with William. But then when Meghan came along, she was the new most popular that everyone loved and was interested in and since she was more closely related to Harry than to William, her shine reflected onto Harry, and not onto William, and that made him angry/jealous and he couldn’t deal with that. It was okay when people liked Harry because it also uplifted him by association, but people liking Meghan didn’t uplift William as he wasn’t so closely associated with her. Meghan-love uplifted Harry even further.
ADHD?? No I don’t think so, but anxiety & PTSD probably. Which is why he is so fiddly and sometime seems nervous, my partner has it.
Harry actually served in Afghanistan and PTSD is very common in veterans who served in combat.
This interview is probably his most interesting one yet. William is jealous of Harry, Kate is jealous of Meghan, the (working) royal family wasn’t big enough for the four of them, “Woke” is here to stay, and the very pointed part about driving away two mixed-race members of the family and the impact that’s having on the commonwealth. Here Lacey is really painting a picture of how badly the Windsors screwed up.
I agree. Out of all his interviews, this genuinely seems to be the most “open” and even hints at the racism
Yeah, the bit about them driving away the two mixed-race members of the family is very pointed. Lacey is barely pulling his punches here, and it’s a bad look for the Windsors.
That is made even worse by so called royal experts openly say only harry is welcomed back, alone. These people have no idea how bad they made themselves look.
Oh just SAY it! The only way they want Harry back is minus his wife and child and agreeing to be completely subservient to them. I’m 100% convinced that they believed Harry would suffer and flounder outside the Royal system and come crawling back.
But that ship has sailed and Harry and Meghan are clearly thriving and carving out a new life for themselves.
Bless Harry. He’s the good son and brother who is probably holding onto hope that William will come around and finally respect him as an independent man and be happy for him. I think he’ll be waiting a LONG time and it may never happen.
On a funny note, have any of you guys seen that Twitter video going around of a little girl’s birthday party whose sister swoops in a ruins it by blowing out her birthday cake candle and looks on with smug satisfaction in ruining her sister’s moment? That pretty much sums up
William and Harry to me. William can’t stand not being the center of attention or the number one in everything.
https://twitter.com/itstimhell/status/1318323838153904129?s=21
Love it! 😂😂😂😂😂
That is an extremely interesting video. The older sister was very pleased with herself and didn’t seem to mind getting her hair pulled as it was worth a bit of discomfort. The younger sister looked like she would have physically done some damage to her sister if she wasn’t pulled away. Interesting dynamics.
I agree with Kalana and think this is opening the discussion for more real talk. How sad what he said about Petty Betty ( I refuse to use Queen because there is nothing regal about her behavior) and of Wills being envious of how great and broad minded Harry is. I really think this is the crumbling of the monarchy – which had slowly begun any how. I just hate to think people will pin it on Meghan. When in fact, the toxic, narrow minded and backward thinking did this. As is the case with all fallen monarchies and monarchs.
It’s partly the fault of the queen who refuses to step down and let royalty take its natural course. Charles should have been king for the last 15-20 years at the least. The palace would be a little more forward in their thinking with Charles at the helm of the family.
The Queen retiring wouldn’t make William a better man. Charles was capable of taking on the Duchy, of rising to the occasion at 28 with the Prince’s Trust. If William had been POW and Duke of Cornwall at 20? He would have bankrupted the Duchy by now.
I don’t think it would have made any difference except William would not be shy issuing via the media articles about the benefits of kings being able to retire and even issuing reports of what he’d like his coronation to be like.
The deep uncomfortable truth is that the Queen has run her family like a racehorse stable: encouraging constant competition and backstabbing among the individual members and among their seperate palacehouseholds in stead of stimulating cooperation and growth within the institution.
We know the Queen is a passionate horsebreeder and owner. She’s earned millions of pounds with horseracing over the years.
Deep down she has the cold calculating mindset of a gambler behind the mask of the motherly matriarch. She enjoys the game of divide and rule! It’s the way her reign has weathered storms and survived for so long.
This perspective explains the fundamental dysfunction we have seen within the royal family and the firm during her entire reign. The bucket stops with her. She’s the ruling heir.
Let’s just say she has been very lucky so far.
I doubt she’s put as much effort into machinations as she has her stables. She put Philip in charge of the family part of the family firm anyway.
She is the center and everything revolves around her ego. Similar to Trump, the Queen loves dysfunctional aggressive people like Andrew and Angela Kelly as long they’re nice to her.
The Queen has gotten away with so much due to her longevity.
Harry isn’t motivated by jealousy, and neither is Meghan. So Harry doesn’t feel the need to build himself up by dissing William to a reporter. Will and Kate act out with jealousy as their motivator, copying H&M’s style, delivering subtle digs at them in interviews, buying Instagram followers to stay ahead of SussexRoyal, chartering a commercial jet to look like commoners with the goal to one-up H&M. William doesn’t speak graciously about his brother or Meghan. Lacey is right to point that out. One wonders what a little kindness on Will’s part–the supposed statesman–could have accomplished. Sins of omission are just as harmful.
Harry is probably the only senior royal who is not afraid of Will’s temper, who stands up to him, and dishes out consequences to William for his actions. Leaving was one such consequence.
@Harper This! 100% agreed!
And grass is green.
Has anyone asked Harry and Meghan how many fuks they have to give.
Again notice how Lacey has to capitalize on the Sussex’s to draw attention to the Cambridge’s (whom have never spawned this much interest).
At some point the RR’s will need to figure out another way to make money.
When they are unable to make money on the feud, they’ll start writing about Willleaks. That’s where the next cash cow is because he’s lived a scandalously privileged life of the backs of others. Once Charles reaches the throne, I can see some of the older RRs who have no f’s to give writing that story.
Harry created the Invictus Games. This is hardly something a “dunce” would be able to do. William hasn’t created anything nearly as meaningful and impactful. I believe this sticks in his unwoke craw.
The threat of the BRF and their lawyers is going to prevent almost every UK publisher/author from writing too badly about the BRF. If someone really wants to write a book and showcasing the “real” personalities of the BRF, they’re going to have to go through the US (which is what Charles and Diana’s former housekeeper did when she wanted to publish a book about them) or some other European country.
I find the power of the BRF to shut down negative stories about themselves to be really…..worrisome, I guess. And unnerving. I can understand they don’t want the press reporting on every little fight they have, but the fact that the BRF makes a magazine like Tatler remove a reference to Rose Hanbury, and then remove all negative comments about Kate – its just such an overreach. They are supported by taxpayers, why isn’t there more of a pushback about this?
I think Rose and Rocksavage got the parts about William’s closeness with Rose removed, not William.
@nota – maybe, but most of the other really snarky comments were removed too. And we see that with other stories/comments on twitter, etc. KP acts fast to protect the Cambridges, and its a little disconcerting.
Does anyone remember why lawyers threatened Emily Andrews so she deleted a tweet? I cant remember what the tweet was about.
I’m not saying the royals aren’t controlling and threatening the media, they definitely are. William has taken to that part of the job with relish, threatening anyone he dislikes. But the Rose part I think was removed by the legal threats from the Rocksavages, after William giving them free PR help via the courtiers and royal lawyers.
Emily Andrews was threatened because she had an article saying Kate accepted free gifts. That was when she worked at the Sun. Someone suggested she was threatened again recently, but I am not sure why. Perhaps the jewelry from a fan article but that’s just a guess.
I totally agree @Becks1. It’s actually quite disturbing how easily the royals can suppress coverage of anything that’s not to their liking. The way the RRs immediately shut down discussion of Lacey’s book once they realized that William wasn’t coming off well was ridiculous. Even with the Andrew situation, the British press tiptoes around the issue. I have issues with the press in my country (US) but that nothing compared to how the UK media operate.
I *think* the issue with Emily Andrews was about Kate receiving a freebie from some fashion or jewelry company? I remember she said that she was pregnant at the time and didn’t want to deal with the drama so she deleted it.
@nic – oh I think you are right. It was definitely about Kate accepting free gifts, but I only saw the screenshot of her tweet (and didn’t see the deleted tweet), and didn’t double check the date. She mentioned being on maternity leave and that would fit with her being at the Sun (and that was why she deleted it because she just didn’t feel like dealing with KP lawyers while on mat leave, which makes sense to me). So it wasn’t about the recent slew of articles about the free necklace etc.
Responding to Sofia (number 19 above): I found the housekeeper’s book an interesting read. She lays out how spoiled William was, as well as his constant temper tantrums. She also takes a hard look at Diana’s use of the staff emotionally when it suited her and how she would cut them of freeze them out when it suited her. She takes Charles to task as well. I was amazed at how much she was allowed to reveal. Realizing now —- as per your comment —- she got to say it because it was published via a non-British publisher.
One of the BRF IG fan accounts that I follow featured a bunch of videos yesterday of when Harry would make appearances with the Cambridges. It’s actually a bit disturbing looking back on it now. He was their little third wheel. Always trailing along. And it’s not like he was still a kid and William was taking care of him. This was a grown ass man who had been to war. It was a very odd threesome looking back on it.
Makes it all the weirder that William would be so incensed that his 30 something brother decided to get married and live with his wife.
Harry did that to himself. He did not have to place himself in the third wheel role but he did although he was clearly unhappy.
He was clearly unhappy but this is victim blaming. He was doing what his family told him to do for his entire life.
I’m seeing a lot of ‘blame Harry for everything’ victim blaming in this thread.
I think family pressure and family dynamics shouldn’t be underestimated. Many, many people aimless or not have given in to family pressure and/or family dynamics for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes, for them is easier to go along to get along.
Regardless of if Harry placed himself there or not, that is the vibe these old videos and photos give off. Little Harry following around big brother and his pretty wife. 🤷♀️
What those photos show is Harry doing his job, looking incredibly uncomfortable while 1) William ignores Kate and 2) Kate responds by trying to flirt up Harry.
I don’t think he minded or cared either way. He was never desperate to have all the attention to himself unlike Willie and Kate. I think William hated that harry was the ‘lovable rogue’ but having him alongside him and his wife, made harry look like the desperate single one, who was looking for a kate of his own.
Long before Meghan, William always made sure he looked superior to harry in some way, and back then it was him being the ‘happily married family man’ to single harry was it.
I think the only thing that bothered harry was kate trying to flirt with him during these engagements. Awkward
Harry was the one doing all the work, with W&K tagging along to try to take some of his shine. Harry wasn’t going to sit back and let them take credit for what he did, which resulted in those awkward engagements. Made more strange by Kate’s open obsession with her brother-in-law.
But if he had left or formed his own foundation, he wouldn’t be in the position of having Will and Kate tagging along and taking credit for his work. If he noticed that he was the main one bringing projects and ideas to the foundation and yet his brother kept taking credit for Harry’s ideas, and he didn’t want that to happen, then why would he keep bringing projects and ideas to the joint foundation? You’re making it seem like he couldn’t leave or skip the joint engagements because then will and Kate would take credit for his work, but if he did split from KP, he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. Maybe will and Kate would insist on keeping the work he had already did, but it would become obvious what was going on when once Harry left and started his own foundation will and Kate suddenly stopped having initiatives and projects with their foundation and Harry continued to have projects and initiatives with his new one. He could have done that.
I just don’t think he cared that much. I don’t think it bugged him super a lot, or maybe it did but the idea of confronting will and Kate and insisting on change seemed like too big of a hassle, so he just let them keep tagging along and taking credit for his work. He seems like the type of guy who just wants the work to be done and the conversations to be had, and he doesn’t really care if he gets sole credit for his own ideas.
But his hesitancy to assert himself and carve out his own path within the family before Meghan got there, made it very difficult for Meghan when she did get there and was faced with this weird incestuous, mismanaged, power-imbalanced structure that she was expected to work within.
But she expected to get credit for her own work and Harry also wanted her to get credit for her own work, and he didn’t want her to have to deal with the weird sibling dynamic that he had been grudgingly dealing with. Like what he had dealt with up till then was okay for him, but he wanted better for Meghan and for himself once Meghan came along. And that made it seem like Meghan was the problem, like she was the one who just couldn’t work well with others. When really Harry has been unhappy working that way the whole time but seemed to be apathetic about actually changing anything until Meghan came along. So she was put in a pretty awkward situation of having to work in that weird way for awhile, and then being blamed for the change, and then also having to shepherd and oversee the entire making of a new office/foundation, when if Harry had just done it before, she could have walked into a normal, calmer, more conflict free working environment.
Harry did carve out his own role. He created Sentebale at 19 with Prince Seeiso, not William. He did WellChild solo. He did Endeavour Fund solo. He did Invictus Games solo. The Queen and Geidt handed him the presidency of the QCT in spring 2016 (before he’d even met Meghan) to try to convince him to stick around.
The Foundation started out as the foundation for both William and Harry. A convenient way to accept donations, that was pretty much it. When Kate came along, the Foundation should have been split then. Harry may have thought, ‘When I find someone to marry, then I’ll fight that battle’. He kept doing his own thing, keeping his charities as separate as he could without causing a ruckus. Biding his time.
Harry was trotted out as part of the trio by the courtiers, because W&K’s PR was incredibly bad. They all knew Harry was the draw so they tagged along. As long as Harry had his own projects, most of which were outside the control of the Foundation, he’d bide his time, play along, show up for a photo op and leave immediately after. He even admitted it himself once, when RRs asked him how pregnant Kate was doing. He admitted he hadn’t seen her in a while, had heard she was doing fine.
There is no way this was ever going to be a ‘normal, calmer, more conflict free working environment’. Whether or not Harry had split entirely from them in 2011. The Palace, courtiers, brother and sister-in-law were always going to be on one side with Harry and spouse on the other.
I’m talking specifically about the foundation and that he was sharing with Will and Kate. I’m saying that if he had formed his own foundation, or even just left their joint foundation and had all of his projects be under his BP office (which is where I think he should’ve moved once will and Kate married), or even structured all of his projects like Invictus and Sentebale (separate from the RF, his thing only), then it would have been easier for Meghan. That’s the “calmer” work environment I’m talking about. It would have been calmer and better run and less creepily incestuous and influenced by Will and his rage, because she wouldn’t have been working at KP in the joint foundation. There would be no Will and Kate (and their advisors) taking credit for or micromanaging her work or stealing the funding and proceeds from her projects because her work would not be done at KP, in Will and Kate’s foundation.
I still think they’d have the regular funding issues, competing for money for projects, and the kind of jealousy issues they had. I’m sure the press would still write articles about how Meghan’s cookbook was somehow inspired by Kate’s love of cooking, and stuff like that, but it would have at least provided more distance and separation between Meghan and Harry’s work and will and Kate’s work. Things did get seem to get better and easier for M and H once they split from KP and the joint foundation. They at least had their own office and team that they felt like they could trust and there weren’t as many direct leaks about their projects and there was no tagalong W and K on their project roll outs. They were also able to have their own IG where they publicized their own projects and charities how they wanted to. They were able to structure their roll outs and visits how they wanted (without the press there, more “surprise” or “unannounced” visits where they took their own photographer and released their own pictures on SM later).
I’m thinking that if Harry had done that years ago, before Meghan, it would have been so much easier and accepted as the natural thing for the brothers to do now that one was married, and there would have been less push back because everyone loved and supported Harry back then and the press wouldn’t have turned the separation of offices into some kind of brotherly feud that was all Meghan’s fault (because she wouldn’t have even been around then). The inciting incident would have been Will getting married, not Meghan being unhappy, and there wouldn’t have been as much twisting and smearing in the press about it. The longer he stayed and worked with both will and Kate after their marriage, the more “normal” and “natural” that arrangement seemed to everyone.
I think Harry just didn’t mind that much that he was stuck with Will and Kate, or he he just didn’t care enough to take the difficult first step of distancing himself because he didn’t want to deal with Will’s rage, or maybe he even thought he’d be leaving the family soon anyways (since we know he always wanted to) so he didn’t think it made sense to set up his whole own office if he thought he might be leaving it eventually anyways.
This all would have worked out better and taken the pressure off Harry if his family, the firm, had decided for him to separate the brothers once Will got married. That’s what most firms and families would do, I assume. They would proactively decide from the top that from the top to make a change rather than just waiting around for the person with the least amount of power in the situation to suggest that he no longer felt like he should be third wheeling it with his married brother when they were all in their thirties. But we know the BRF doesn’t do anything proactively. They wait for stupid, avoidable problems to become absolutely untenable and blow up in their faces, causing the most damage possible, and then they scramble to deal with the aftermath. Rather than making a pretty easy and what should be routine change for one of their most popular members in order to facilitate his work and keep him happy, they wait until he (and now his wife) are on the verge of quitting the whole firm, make him demand the change he and everyone else knows he needs, and then they drag their feet about it all while smearing that person in the press for “forcing them” to make this simple and natural accommodation.
I think what’s being left out of the conversation about Harry’s dissatisfaction with his role as a royal is leaving the army at the end of 2015. I think being in the Army helped to keep him the Royal fold for as long as it did and leaving impacted his relationship with the family and William. He took a subordinate role in the trio because he had the Army to fall back on. I think the whole Mental Health campaign was a means to keep him energised and committed to the royal cause but meeting Meghan further convinced him that Royal life wasn’t for him. If he had not met Meghan he would probably be in the Royal Family today but I still think he would have left at some point.
When the Queen and Geidt created the QCT in spring 2016, they made a big role for Harry in it. They already knew he was frustrated and looking to get out. William is probably ‘incandescent with rage’ and jealous over that too. When you think on it, it doesn’t make any sense that that plumb assignment was created for Harry. Something like that would have been expected to be handed to the heir-to-the-heir.
Adding, Harry was the one who started the work with mental health. It was only AFTER Harry got good PR for the work that W&K jumped on his bandwagon.
Question for any legal eagles out there: if after the one-year review the royal family decides the Sussexes are officially, totally out, does that mean that they would then be considered private citizens instead of public figures? And, if so, does that mean that they would have additional privacy protections and legal options in terms of tabloid coverage and libel suits?
Interesting question. I think they are already technically private citizens. They aren’t taking any money from the family or using taxpayer money anymore. They paid back the Frogmore renovations just to hammer that point in further.
They have completely removed themselves from the Royal Rota system and are operating completely independently. I believe they are still on the official royal family website but that’s it. I don’t think Harry and Meghan would care one bit if they are removed from the site.
The only thing left is to formally renounce their titles, Duke and Duchess of Sussex and for Harry to formally remove himself from the line of succession. Which we all would know open up a HUGE can of worms. Because if they do that to Harry, the public will demand they do it to Prince Andrew too.
ETA: I think they have always been free to sue, but they were frequently discouraged to do so as to not rock the boat.
“Which we all would know open up a HUGE can of worms.”
Which is why they don’t won’t push for it (I mean I don’t want to say never say never because god knows but still). It’ll turn into not just a parliamentary decision and a Commonwealth decision. It’ll spiral into something that extends beyond the BRF and the Tories
What i dont get is that the Duke and Duchess titles aren’t technically royal titles. There are non royal dukes out there and the title doesn’t imply representing the UK. So stripping the titles would only be a petty move! I can imagine the official stripping of HRH but that’s a dumb can of worms because this means that no HRHs can use it besides the working royals. Watch those people push back.
I’m pretty sure they’re already considered private citizens. They haven’t taken any taxpayer money since the end of March so they’re now in the same league/status (I guess) as Beatrice and Eugenie – titled but take no taxpayer funding.
I doubt it would make any difference. They are no longer government-funded working royals, but they remain high-profile people of interest around the world. They’re public figures.
I get your broader question re: privacy protections, and I do think they will have greater protections now especially concerning Archie. The Sussexes themselves are still “public figures,” even without getting taxpayer money, so there is still going to be a public interest in them so that will be a defense by some in the press.
There are strict laws in California protecting children’s privacy, especially in protecting celebrity children from paparazzi. That was probably a big factor in Meghan and Harry moving there. That’s what all the ignorant social media users who want to spout about them moving to a paparazzi zone don’t seem to get; it was likely to protect Archie.
Lacey is only being more direct because he’s speaking to a US outlet. It’s kind of interesting how shielded the royals are in the UK even in really silly things.
That Shipman Times article seems to have laid out so much of the issues& motivations in this saga but has been largely downplayed. Tom Sykes also said at the time of the Oceana tour that jealously over the crowds that met the Sussexes could be an issue. Tom Bradby mentioned jealousy issues when the step back was announced. So i find it interesting that hardly any of the reporting since January has touched on this despite the NY times insta article.
The Times article said it would suit William to have the Sussexes abroad & Meghan as far away as possible so not surprised they don’t want them back. That’s why Omid’s claims that William was hurt by the exit didn’t really make sense to me at least. I think the “Harry come back” stories are more driven by the press, CH& BP
So I think the issue is that it does suit William to have the Sussexes out of the country, but they’re not supposed to be out of the country and STILL be insanely popular. I think William really believed their popularity was based on their royal status (after all, that’s the only thing about HIM that makes him important in anyone else’s eyes) and I think he thought once “banished,” the Sussexes would be like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and just sort of stay on the outskirts for the next few decades. Haha, William, nice try, you were wrong about that one.
@ABritGuest the “Harry come back” articles are all about humiliating Meghan and making the BRF look good in the eyes of the gammons.
The BRF are just horrible, they don’t realise how horrible that line makes them sound. The idea that Archie is so without value that Harry should just turn his back on him. Just shocking the way they treat the Sussex’s
So glad he pointed out that Harry is the bigger man. He has had to be his whole life. No one did William any favors by letting him get away with his behavior his whole life. Clearly the stories about him are leaking and they will continue. Does anyone like William or Kate in their circle? Probably everyone has been on the receiving end of his rage and her petty jealousy and they are dying to get the word out in Tatler and this book.
IMO the Tatler article showed that at best, Will and Kate are tolerated in their social circles (maybe this applies to Kate more since she’s the outsider). Even if they DO like Will, they don’t seem to think too highly of him, judging by those embarrassing comments about him apparently being so needy and dependent on the Middletons.
I know most of the Windsors start looking middle aged in their mid to late 20s or so, but what happened to the woman William married? She is looking tired and her choice of outfits do not help – sort of looks like what the Queen Mother wore when she was approaching 100.
These are photos in which the inner Kate is revealed.
she luckily seems to have ditched the matronly coat dresses over the last year or so. and she looks much more youthful as a result. thx meghan.
It ain’t the coats that make her look like a stand-in for Nurse Ratched.
She just wore another brand new £2300 matronly coat the other day. To go with her dozen other matronly red coats.
LMAO, Merricat.
I stand by Robert Lacey. He is telling us all the truth as he discovered it. I’ve heard he is VERY unhappy with the final copy of the book and A LOT was edited out. Harry and Meghan weren’t perfect by a long shot and they made errors along the way and no one can expect Harry was a ray of sunshine after 14 months of pure vitriol spewed in the media and being bullied by his brother. I think Harry was desperate for an out and knew going against the Queen was the quickest out for him. So I see any errors or misbehavior on Harry’s part as a result of the pressure Sussex was put under but we can’t sweep it under the rug completely. What we can acknowledge is that rest of them have no excuse for their behavior and the loss of Barbados and Jamaica is only the earliest consequence. The commonwealth will not last long when Elizabeth is gone.
I think until the Netflix deal the Queen and Charles were trying to entice Harry and Meghan back and create better circumstances. Even after, I think there were attempts to acquiesce to a part time deal and keep them in the fold. The Netflix deal changed everything and the realization set in on his birthday that Harry is genuinely happy outside the royal family, will be fine, and can in fact be someone without the assistance of royalty. He is more popular than the royal family. William can whine all he wants but his brother doesn’t need the family to succeed.
Let’s face reality: The decision has already been made. Harry will be ex royal turned film producer and director (at some point). However, unlike Edward, I think we’ll see compassion and support for these projects from Charles, especially when he ascends. Charles has no problem spinning Harry’s departure and putting the blame on William (After reading the book, I REALLY think Lacey got his sources from Clarence) and I think a lot of information will come out about William at that time. I think the Queen and Charles will never admit it publicly but are proud of Harry and hate being stuck with William and Kate. I think the most compassionate thing to do is to release Harry of what he never asked for and never wanted which is being a royal. He was never truly cut out for royal life because he has too much heart. I also think they both know the monarchy is done and even if Charles squeaks by with a 10-25 year reign, the more that comes out about William, the more that the monarchy is toast. Besides, an aging monarchy where everyone is 60+ when they ascend is not a good look for them.
The blame is on William, with the Queen and Charles not knowing how to deal with William. Charles doesn’t want Harry and Meghan gone, William does.
Harry and Meghan were forced to put their cards on the table, with a week’s warning, after William and his staff sold them out to Wootten. What were they supposed to do? Sit back and let their abusers run a PR offensive against them while they tried to play defense? No, Harry and Meghan went on offense immediately and won.
The age of people when they ascend isn’t the problem. Denmark seems to be doing all right. Norway too, with the exception of Martha Louise and her Shady Shaman. Charles is far more forward-thinking and capable than William, regardless of age. Right now the Queen and William are the main problems, not Charles.
Agreed. I don’t think that was the way Harry and Meghan wanted it to go down either but their hand was forced because of William. I don’t know what William expected would happen. Did he think they would back down.
As for Charles and the Queen, their problem is that they didn’t take Harry’s desire to change seriously. They just NEVER expected that he would pull the trigger and thought the best way to deal with him was to keep putting him off until he “calmed down”.
This whole mess could have been avoided if they took Harry seriously in the first place. But they didn’t, so it got messy.
“The blame is on William, with the Queen and Charles not knowing how to deal with William.”
William did Henry & Meghan a BIG favor pushing them out as he did. I am sure William fears every day of the complete truth coming out about his role in Sussexit.
The problem is the queen. She doesn’t lead. She refuses to lead. She leaves everything up to the courtiers to run the monarchy and acts likes she’s just the current placeholder PR face of the BRF. I think she sees herself as a puppet almost. Like she is under complete control of “the monarchy” which is not actually ruled by the monarch but instead survives and is ruled by a strange web of courtiers, press adulation, “protocol” and traditions, and some kind of fairy tale myth spell that keeps the people enthralled and supportive. I don’t think the Queen sees herself as someone with actual real power to assert her will or change anything. It’s like she thinks she’s not actually suited to her role so she’s just going to sit here ignoring things and letting the Monarchy run itself, until the next monarch takes over.
I think this is one of the main reasons why the BRF is in tatters. They don’t have a strong leader. And the person who could be a strong and compassionate leader (Charles) isn’t in charge yet. And I think William is so out of control because he thinks the only person he really needs to answer to is the monarch, and she’s not slapping him down enough. She seems to think that Charles should be able to deal with William and Harry because he’s their father, but William thinks “current reigning monarch” trumps father, so he doesn’t GAF what Charles says/wants.
And I think Charles just keeps waiting until he’s King, thinking then he’ll have the power and the respect needed to change and/or fix everything, but the Queen is living forever. So he’s still waiting to take on the leadership role and isn’t going to do anything until then, and while he’s waiting, bigger and more irreparable damage is being done.
And William has noticed that there’s this huge power/leadership vacuum and has just decided that he’s going to step into it since no one else is. And no one is challenging him. And he lacks heart, compassion, leadership skills, smarts, any forethought, the ability to value anyone and anything other than himself…. so he’s doing terrible things.
I agree BTB–someone’s going to spill the beans about William’s role in Sussexit–and William’s role in leaking information as well. If it’s not published in the UK, it will be published elsewhere. Too many people know about it, just like too many people likely know the truth about his infidelity. Of course, Harry and Meghan could talk at any time, even though they likely won’t.
But his idiocy in pushing them out is a great benefit to Harry and Meghan. A half in half out system would have been completely untenable–the royals would have been able to say no to anything the Sussexes did. Now, they have zero power over Harry and Meghan, and William’s probably only realizing that just now.
William didn’t want them gone in this way. Remember how he fought against a separate foundation in Oct 2018? How he fought against the separate Household, only first saying OK when it was still going to be under his control? And the infamous banish them to Africa idea?
William wanted them 1) in the UK where he could take credit for all their work while using the RRs and tabloids against them for his own PR or 2) cut off completely, hidden away in ‘Africa’ where his colonialist little mind thought they’d be forgotten forever.
His worst nightmare is what is happening. Harry and Meghan free, successful, and global public figures.
Nota, the reason Amalienborg is fine is that Daisy adapts and is approachable. We know her, we love her, she loves us. Most of us call her Queen Daisy informally. Freddie loves us. Henrik didn’t and Joachim inherited his father’s temperament but is mostly harmless. They are one of us and understand that theirs is a position of privilege. They calm crises and create few. Can that be said of the UK? No. People don’t want to deal with a monarchy that will inconvenience them. Age will be used against them. “The monarchy is old.” “Old” is only acceptable when you are flexible, adaptable, and listen to people younger than you.
That was my point. Age isn’t what matters, what matters in the ability to adapt, change, be pro-active, think. Charles can do that, William cannot. If QEII had left 20 years ago, the UK would be in even worse shape regarding the monarchy than it is now.
And the good work Charles has done, with The Duchy, The Prince’s Trust, Dumfries House? None of that could have happened if he had been king for the last twenty years. Right now he’s already shutting things down, moving them under a new Foundation run by his nephew. Because he cannot continue those projects when he’s king, and William has refused to take them on.
I 100% agree. It was their responsibility to reign in William and include Harry, which they did but it wasn’t what Harry wanted. Harry wanted out. William clearly had and still has no desire to actually do anything of substance. William could have easily been told no POW if you can’t make nice with your brother.
I don’t think Elizabeth cares anymore is a big part of the problem. I think she’s given up on all of it. I think it’s her aides are the one that’s petty, not her. It’s all the more reason she needs to abdicate. The animals are running the circus and she allowed it to happen. I think the abdication will happen next year and she can say she has given her entire life up and no one will blame her for stepping down That is why Charles is shutting everything down. I think William is in for a reckoning when that happens. The next year should be interesting.
They didn’t reign in William and they didn’t protect Harry (and subsequently Meghan). One of the few signs of the Queen and Charles recognizing William was the problem? Co-funding a new Household for Harry and Meghan, under BP, out of William’s control. Otherwise, QEII has her head in the sand and Charles has no idea how to handle William.
Charles may yet withhold the POW title as it isn’t automatic. William automatically becomes Duke of Cornwall when Charles is king, but POW has to be granted. Ultimately, this might be where Charles and William end up agreeing. They’ll agree to withhold that title until after William has divorced Kate. Neither Charles nor William want two Princesses of Wales out there. If William gets rid of Kate in the next few years, she’ll keep the Cambridge title but the new wife would be Princess of Wales.
“William has refused to take them on.”
How truly lazy and truly disrespectful can one get?
“Right now he’s already shutting things down, moving them under a new Foundation run by his nephew.”
Did you mean his cousin, Lord Snowdon?
“If William gets rid of Kate in the next few years, she’ll keep the Cambridge title but the new wife would be Princess of Wales.”
Who in their right mind would want to marry into that family let alone marry the PWT?
Oh, lord, yes, meant David formerly-Linley. Charles has made a new umbrella Foundation and is moving things under that, with Linley as VP.
William doesn’t want to take over anything his father has done, because we’re told he wants to ‘do his own thing, make his own mark’. In other words, he knows he 1) will never accomplish as much as Charles 2) doesn’t want the comparison and 3) knows they’d be seen as Charles’s accomplishments not his own.
Who knows? Rose and plenty of others have been willing to bed William, married or unmarried. Camilla never wanted to marry Charles but did eventually under pressure. Could William find someone who would marry him? Hell, Cressida wanted into the family bad but was turned away by Harry. There may be others like her running around, willing to put up with the BRF. Once the Queen is gone, if Charles and William can make peace? A second wife may have a pretty easy row to hoe.
-if William did divorce Kate (I don’t think he will btw), he’d probably marry some Canadian or Australian blond. And then demand that she be treated like gold, if only to “prove” that it was Meghan’s fault that she didn’t fit in. I’ll bet there are plenty of wealthy American women who still believe in that Disney shit who would marry a free William–even if no British aristos want to. But I don’t think he would divorce and remarry, as there would be the “scandal” attached to that. He’s supposed to be the steady one after all, and I don’t believe he would even consider divorcing Kate while Meghan and Harry stay married–I think he cares too much about “winning,” and by getting a divorce, Harry would be “winning” over him. He can’t take that. He and Kate are stuck with each other–like the Queen and prince phillip. They may live separate lives after a time, if they aren’t already doing so, but the Cambridges are here to stay.
Yes, David Armstrong-Jones. Charles is very close with his cousin. I think he sees him more as a “little brother” than Andrew. David makes wonderful furniture but is also a businessman. He is thought to have helped Charles turn Cornwall around. His father, The 1st Lord Snowden (Anthony) is thought to have been a lot of the influence regarding Charles’ environmental activism.
Also I’ve heard that Camilla is advocating for her son Tom to play a role.
There was talk that part of William’s fury at Harry and Meghan? It meant he couldn’t get rid of Kate, not right away. He’s been pulling away for years, never meant to get caught with the blonds (skiing) or with Rose.
William can ‘win’ in the divorce if 1) he shows how the Middletons attacked Meghan 2) how he was manipulated by the Middletons when he was vulnerable after Diana’s death. He picks either the ‘Middletons are racist, drove out my beloved brother and his wife’ card or the ‘my poor mental health, they took advantage of me’ card.
If he wants to divorce her, he will, and the BRF machine will go all-in against the Middletons. No one likes them, Kate has not endeared herself to the people. It would not be difficult to remove Kate or the Midds.
@nota is there any evidence William wants to dump Kate? He appears contented to stay in that relationship even if they don’t look happy. He gets to do what he wants and she doesn’t make a fuss.
He had to be dragged to the altar. He has been clenching his fists and rolling his eyes at her for years. His ego reigns supreme here and he hates to be embarrassed. It has been clear for a long time, Kate is incapable of improvement. Through laziness or just sheer dimness, who knows. The more she embarrasses him, the more she is a professional liability, the more William wants her gone.
LOL Calling her a professional liability implies either of them plan on working.
True, true but she’s a liability to his poseur self. He cannot become a ‘global leader’ with Kate at his side.
The British media did what they could to pretend that Kate was a suitable future Queen consort but the continued inability to speak properly and with substance has become more and obvious as they approach a decade post marriage. She’s going to be 40 next year and she lacks in substance quite noticeably compared to other royal married in women, much less any woman on the street. Her laziness also adds to her unsuitability.
Royalists could pretend there was no major glaring issue with Kate but once Meghan arrived and quickly outshone Kate in terms of ability and passion, it became obvious that Kate is sub par and William knows this. He’s never proud of her in public like Harry is of Meghan. In fact he’s always grimacing when she speaks because she’s so awful. At least if English was her second language she would have an excuse, but she doesn’t. And she’s delivered the heir and spares so she’s really not needed for that purpose anymore either. If William finds someone else he cares about and who wants the job, he will dump Kate like a hot potato.
She obviously wasn’t his first or second choice but they’re both lazy and bad at their jobs. I would imagine him too lazy to bother. And it would be a blow to him personally dumping the mother of his kids. Midds would go into pr overdrive.
TQ really puzzles me. It comes across that she really is Petty Betty. Stripping Harry of military posts /honors (can’t think of the exact name). So I’m not convinced she cares. Charles does want them back, I believe that. But if Charles leaks on William he’s deliberately sinking the monarchy after he’s gone, would he do that?
I think Charles wants to be remembered as the last King of England. As I said above, the animals are running the circus now. The Queen no longer has control. It is unreasonable to expect her at 95 to be able to handle these kinds of crises. She needs to do the UK a favor and abdicate while she’s still alive.
Abdicating now achieves nothing. All her abdicating would do would give William the chance to mess up the Duchy faster. Plus it sets up a greater chance that William would play more games against Charles. Try to get the press to force him to abdicate and hand the show to William. William as king at 40 is a MUCH worse proposition than Charles as king at 72. William would be a Tory puppet of a king.
That’s a very solid point, Nota. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I do think that Charles intends to be the Last King of England and I think part of the reason is that he knows Wills cannot be king. I think Charles would rather it end with him.
Well said, NotSoSimpleTaylor.
I think Lacey is spot on here but I still dislike the fact he openly plays both sides, depending on who he is talking to.
I actually wonder whether the RF believe they have the power to “make a decision” at this year end review. From where I am sat, H&M aren’t coming back regardless. Watch this space, an announcement will be made to look like discussions actually took place, and it was the RFs decision etc, when in fact they just recognise Harry has no intention of returning.
“I think Lacey is spot on here but I still dislike the fact he openly plays both sides, depending on who he is talking to.”
Two opposing narratives can be true at the same time.
They absolutely can, but it’s very apparent that Robert Lacey is tailoring his responses based on what the audience is, probably to get the most publicity for his book. That’s the problem. I get that he’s on a press tour and trying to sell copies, but the thing is that this just makes him look incredibly disingenuous, and it hurts his cause.
Would he go on Piers Morgan and say exactly the same thing? He should. But would be?
I don’t really think Lacey is playing both sides. I think he answers questions as they are presented and the British media are naturally trying to blame Harry but if you read the book there is no love for Charles in it, only sympathy for William regarding their lack of guidance and upbringing and nothing but an abundance of sympathy for Harry. Lacey seems more relaxed in his interviews outside the UK and apparently is NOT happy at all with the final release of the book. The full book apparently had a lot more damaging information and named names (apparently Andrew is the mutual hate relationship).
The “mutual hate relationship”?
Very curious how you don’t mention how he writes about Meghan. That is important bc it parrot a toxic, racist narrative reflective of the tone deafness of the tabloids. Harry gets sympathy, sure, but only in terms of being abandoned b his family, does Meghan ever get any ? I don’t think so. A big part of Harries hurt is how astoundingly his family has treated or allowed his wife to be treated. Seems like we’ve read(ing ) different books bc, while this book takes on the dynamic between Harry and his brother, and also his family, it is Meghan who is still framed as not a hero for having given her husband the love and support he’s never gotten from his own flesh and blood since his mother, but that she’s villainous to the royal family and turned H against all he knew and was raised to hold dear, and not apparently human. 😒
It’s pretty clear the royal family feels exactly towards Meghan the way he described. Does that make Robert racist? You can be the judge. I think to cancel Robert Lacey is to cancel the overall xenophobic UK and Western European culture which has been ripped open for all to see in the last 20 years. I saw the same thing happen in Denmark when Joachim married Alexandra.
I largely ignored what Robert has to say about Meghan beause he lacks the context to describe her behavior and gives in to what I will call “typical European racism.” Besides, I felt he was largely fair to the overall situation but no he was not fair to Meghan but I didn’t read this book for her. It’s also important to rememberthat being ambitious is not acceptable in the society she married into. That is just fact. What Meghan experienced is not untypical in the UK and in many parts of Europe. These are communities who deal with goalposts being moved day in and day out. Your mistake is thinking Meghan would be treated differently just because she’s royal or that she is some kind of special case of racism. It sounds callous but as cruel as the Windsors were to her, she got off easy.
I feel in America it’s easier to cancel and write off people who are racist because it is so blatant. In Europe, Robert Lacey is a prime example of an acceptable racist attitude, the creator of Harry Potter (yes I know her name screw her, her name no longer needs to spoken) is another example and it is entirely acceptable in the UK to question someone else’s existence for fun. How do you change a system like that? Not by cancelling that’s how you wind up with the Hitlers and 45th presidents of the world.
Yes, being racist is a moral failing and one I hope Robert reflects on. However, instead of focusing on his racism and using his prejudices to just constantly bash Meghan, stalk her or do what the rest of foolish royal reporters have done, he gave us an even more thorough story about William and Harry’s relationship breakdown. So yes in the absence of true royal reporters who can put their personal views aside.
I found a lot of his writing about Meghan to reflect how the royal family probably felt about her. At one point he even mentions how Americans are welcoming the Sussexes with open arms for the same reasons that the royal family and upper class brits are turning against them. But i didn’t get the vibe he was anti-Meghan. I do think he makes clear that leaving was Harry’s idea.
@Nyro – in one interview he said something about how there was someone at “the palace” who could not stand Meghan and the feeling was mutual.
The person who hated Meghan was Prince Andrew not surprised
I will say it again . One of Harry’s biggest mistakes in his life is that he allowed himself to be the third wheel for w&k . when I see old pictures of Harry with w&k oh goodness I feel so embarrassed.. I have never seen any adult man in my life share the same foundation and social media with his brother and sister in law, I think Harry was comfortable with that days if he not then why he didn’t separate the foundation and social media with them before he married to Meghan..?? I think if baldy was a good brother, Harry and Meghan would still now sharing the same foundation and social media accounts with them.. ohh nooo
Harry’s mistake was being a reluctant third wheel. I wish he took more control of his life after Bill married or at least after George was born. Harry should have been moved to BP right after the Cambridge wedding.
As I wrote above, Harry was the one doing all the work. In essence, it was mostly W&K tagging along in his projects. Was he supposed to step back and let them take all the credit, be the face when he was the work? Mental Health? Harry was doing that for years before W&K noticed the good PR and joined in.
I honestly can’t blame him too much for that because that’s what’s been instilled in his mind since early childhood. Diana had to complain about the treatment he received (especially from the Queen Mother), and when she died there really wasn’t anyone to advocate for him. He clearly wasn’t happy or healthy in his third wheel role, but he didn’t know much else at that point. I think Meghan helped him realize that he actually could do his own thing without needing to dull himself or tip toe around the egos of his brother and his father.
Diana was the cause of a lot of his self-treatment, as she projected her own issues with her brother onto Harry. She told Harry that William’s job was harder, that he always had to support William. Harry took the abuse for years, because he thought he was doing what his late mother wanted him to do.
This man is just saying what everyone has said about Bill over the years. Bill is a jealous, mean-spirited, insecure, power hunger, bully. Harry was placed in the court jester, loser, bumbling fool role and grew irritated and resentful by the limitations. However, the RF does not need Harry to return. All they want is a reconciliation to show that Bill is kind and peaceful brother. Nothing more, nothing less. The reconciliation will be all for show to improve Bill’s image and try to further damage Harry’s.
I wonder how long they’re going to feel this way. Since March, the attention they have garnered from both social and traditional (international) media has waned significantly, and despite the fashion stunts and endorsements from notable public figures, the only time they really make a splash is when they bring out the children. And even that ploy has kind of lost its spark.
The Harry/Meghan saga completely revived their image, but without H&M there as a foil, they don’t seem to have the goods to continue taking up their current space, nonetheless fill the void left by H&M. At what point are they dissatisfied again?
W&K image has not been revived by their abuse, belittling, and leaking against Harry and Meghan. The only winners here are Harry and Meghan. W&K continue to wallow in their unhappy marriage, their laziness, their inability to draw attention, and their seething jealousy.
I’m quite curious to see how this plays out too. It seems that with each PR attempt they make, there’s always some controversy, backlash, or other issue that makes their attempt fall flat. Will in particular seems to be constantly misfiring with every step he takes. I also think the stunt of bringing the children out has lost its shine, even with little Louis still being in his adorable toddler stage. Obligatory praise and hype from the British media isn’t going to be enough, and I wonder when that is truly going to start grating on their egos.
It’s gotten to the point where they drag those poor kids out practically every two weeks. They’ve even got them speaking and promoting a Netflix documentary. Their desperation for relevancy during the pandemic has caused them to completely overplay the “cute Cambridge kids” card. It’s harsh but the kids aren’t even interesting anymore.
If they want H&M to come back into the family fold, not even as working royals just as family members, in the real world Billy would owe H&M an ENORMOUS apology for backstabbing them. If that is never acknowledged, why would either one of them want to speak to the weasel again? So that is never, ever going to happen because Cain would never humble himself to admit he was wrong to try to drive his SIL and nephew away, and that he colluded with the press to try to destroy Meghan (and then Harry when plan A didn’t work). These two men will never be close because of Billy the bashers actions and because he will never see his actions as wrong. He will continue to think he was doing the right thing for the crown (read his own ego), and Harry will likely continue to see his brother as someone who can’t be trusted aroud his family.
As for being working royals again…that’s a joke. What in the world would ever convince H&M that they should give up what they have? Laughable.
Were William and Kate jealous and competitive? Without a doubt.
Were Harry and Meghan jealous and competitive? Without a doubt.
Both couples had a hand in destroying “what could have been”.
More tumblr tropes?
Harry and Meghan aren’t jealous, they have no reasons to be. Harry doesn’t want to be king, never has wanted it. William doesn’t want to be king either, but he’s stuck.
Harry and Meghan are in an openly happy, passionate marriage vs. the strained arrangement and constant cheating of W&K.
Harry and Meghan were doing all the heavy lifting, while W&K wanted all the PR. So Harry and Meghan left that abusive situation and are happy. The only jealous ones here are W&K.
@Cat Ca – I do not see what Harry and Meghan could possibly be jealous of? Please explain or give examples.
don’t feed the troll. This is just the idotic “There are good people on both sides” crap
What were Harry and Meghan competing against? A couple who never bothered working and always scrambled to send out keen press releases whenever their competition crossed another finish line?
The only reason to be jealous was because W&K were getting lavished with praise from racists while H&M were getting pummelled by the BM and courtiers for doing good works and living their lives without scandal.
I’m laughing at the delusion.
Here we go with the “both sides” mess that you guys always resort to when H&M are clearly winning and your precious royals and their disgusting behavior is exposed. No, Meghan and Harry are not jealous of those other two.
Nope. This is 100% on William and Kate. They blew it. If they were welcoming and willing to work with Meghan, each couple could have carved out their own niche’s with everyone shining. Harry and Meghan were willing to try, William and Kate weren’t.
Instead they wanted the money that Meghan’s work/cookbook with the Hubb kitchen made for the victims of Grenfell.
LOL. I love when Cambridge fans or supposedly “both sides” folks try to drag in the Sussexes when confronting the Cambridges’ clear jealousy and resentment. Harry and Meghan knew and understood their place in the hierarchy. It’s not Harry’s fault that he’s more charismatic, personable, and appealing to the public than William. He put in the work and it’s clear he cares. When has William ever done the same? It’s also not Meghan’s fault that she’s hardworking, engaging, charismatic, and attractive while Kate is the exact opposite. Even while toning down her appearance/fashion, Meghan still regularly received more attention than Kate. It is what it is but the Cambridges clearly couldn’t handle that. They tried to utilize their position to outshine the Sussexes, but that only works if you actually have something else to bring to the table. Will and Kate very obviously don’t.
Both sides can have faults, we’re all human and have them. But the Sussexes’ faults were laid bare and they were made to be humiliated for all the world to see. One side leaked lies to the media, assisted in racially bullying and abuse of a pregnant woman. The other side didn’t do that, hasn’t done anything of the sort. That side is moving on with their lives in the classiest way possible. But it was the behavior and toxic attitudes of the Cambridges that made that situation what it is and they are the ones being rewarded for what many people should rightly assume is racism and bullying.
Yes, I’m sure Harry and Meghan worked very hard to compete with the Keenbridges for “most miserable marriage.”
What even are you smoking?
Self-actualization is a MF for the folks who depended and depend on the self-actualizer’s inferiority complex, selfless giving and easy forgiveness. I’m glad that Harry has really stepped into becoming his own man. Sometimes people just need a strong and supportive partner for that to happen.
Harry has been his own man for years. Falling for Meghan was the final piece, seeing how his family wasn’t going to change, wasn’t going to treat her as she deserved.
A lot of comments seem to point to Harry not coming into his own until Megan. I think that’s from the Cambridge’s pr. They always made Harry look like the younger third wheel who needed them.
He accomplished so much years prior to marriage and that gets greatly overlooked.
It’s always ideal to know how to love yourself before you love another. IMO that’s why they both seem so in love with each other.
I don’t think it’s fair to blame Harry for not splitting off sooner prior to Meghan because he seemed to have thought his brother was looking out for him at one point. I don’t think he expected just how much he would be betrayed by his only sibling. He also sincerely feels duty toward his grandmother and leaving right as W and K get married wouldn’t have looked good. He was always trying to find ways to make things work within the BRF parameters, especially when he left the Army. Eventually he realized that William was never going to appreciate him and it probably took being with Meghan, someone who supported him 100% before anyone else, when Harry realized he needed to change things. Meghan wasn’t tied to being a royal so she didn’t push for him to stay even if it was harmful for him. She is the opposite of Kate, who based her entire adult life on chasing a title and nothing will get in the way of that, even how her non heir children are treated.
While there is a lot to criticize Lacey for, I think it is very interesting that he is publicly stating how jealous William is and how Harry left basically because of him. The non stop anger and jealous temper and not good qualities for a future monarch and it’s probably the first time that someone has put that in writing.
Didn’t Wills & Harry split from Charles office & form separate KP office because Charles was doing his PR thing & throwing his sons under the bus? With hindsight probably better Harry had gone back under BP when Cambridges got married but then the Cambridges weren’t full time royals until 2017 so probably hard to have known issues would have blown up this badly.
Actually William may feel (wrongly or not due to his own alleged actions) his own sense of loss/betrayal with Harry because sometimes it’s been them v the Firm’s machinations & then when Meghan arrived they are on opposing sides. Same way Harry might feel because they were united with wanting boundaries with the press & suddenly William’s all cosy with editors
I Think it’s wishful thinking on the Cambridge’s and their stans that Meghan and Harry are secretly jealous of them William and Kate desperately wanted what Meghan and Harry have . The Cambridge’s are the ones who are jealous and petty who spend three years working with the press to destroy Harry and Meghan reputation and marriage the only thing the accomplishment was driving the Sussex’s out of the country but the press are more obsessed with Meghan and Harry than before . And now Meghan and Harry are able to accomplish way more without the royals they have a globally stage and they don’t have to deal with the royal reporters anymore while kate and William have to continually to deal with them for the rest of their life’s they will have to do whatever the royal reporters say so they can continually to get good press .
Agreed @Vanessa. They attempt to rewrite history because it’s becoming more obvious that the Cambridges were the main culprits behind the Sussexes leaving. If Harry and Meghan were truly jealous of the Cambridges, I think we would’ve seen them leave much sooner. I doubt Meghan would’ve worked so hard to fit in and constantly try to fulfill the courtiers’ ever-changing standards of what was “right” (and she was never going to be “right” in their eyes). The one thing Will and Kate’s fans constantly cling to is the “future king and queen” narrative. It’s the only thing those two have going for them, and that’s IF the monarchy remains stable long enough for them to get to that stage.
They don’t even really have fans. Their “fans” mostly glommed on to them in response to the Sussexes–their fandom is really just hatred of Harry and Meghan. The Cambridges run the risk of becoming the faces of right wing Brexit England. It’s probably in line with what those 2 actually believe, but it’s not going to play well outside of England. William looks down on “woke,” but he still wants to hang with the cool “woke” kids. Look how happy he was to hobnob with the Obamas, and how squicked out they seemed next to the Trumps. They are too chicken to just come out and embrace the Trumps because they are afraid of what the world would think of them. Even though the beliefs of the Trumps are likely up their alley.
Royal watching is a dead pastime. Both the Royal and their 18 fans online were stupid not to embrace Meghan. She made them relevant with the global general public for the first time since the days of Diana. Their handful if fans were as in welcoming of Meghan fans as the royals were of Meghan. Now the royal fans are deeply jealous of the Sussexsquad and it’s hilarious.😂😂
@lanne — exactly; if they really had fans, broken-britain survey would haven’t struggled to get people to fill it; the whatever William is doing wouldn’t struggle for views……..just compared how they struggle to get attention with H&M Time100 attendance! everything H&M signed up for get hundred and hundred of media attention! W&K will die for just a fraction of that! Remember haters only have one currency….hate
The cherry on the cake, Meghan’s vogue vs Kate’s and Meg wasn’t even on the cover…LOL; that got to hurt
W&K and Kate&Carole. Carole has had a big part in the attacks on Meghan, to embiggen Kate in the face of William’s affair.
The Windsors couldn’t handle Harry and Meghan getting the spotlight and global attention anymore than the Markles could deal with Meghan’s new prominence. They were all seething with jealousy, except the royals had the means and the tabloids to do their dirty work. After that Australian tour, it was so obvious. I think the Sussexes thought the work they did genuinely was part of team Royal family, especially their Commonwealth roles. The way they worked with their charities was to benefit the organizations, as well as Meghan bringing g her own activist experience and enthusiasm. The royals only saw it as Harry and Meghan eclipsing them and doing it their way and for themselves. They were so jealous,even with hall the negative press thrown Meghan’s way. The royals created their own beast.
I have never understood why they keep using the word modern. Back in the day they said the same about Diana and Fergie. Aren’t we all more modern than our parents? If they mean modernize the institution that is clearly not true, not for Diana and not for Meghan and Harry. The queen and heirs all love to be able to be as rotten as they wish and blame tradition.
If I am just missing something please let me know because I cannot understand why they go on so much about being modern.
Kate and William aren’t modern though. They are regressive throwbacks who are more traditional than their parents.
In some ways yes, others no. Kate and William are progressive when it suits them (living together before marriage, clubbing, championing causes that are more liberal for their image like lgbt and climate change), but you don’t really get the sense that they’re actually liberals politically/socially because they genuinely don’t come across as people who care about *change*.
CC
But do they champion those causes?
I think you might be referring to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way charity that William (not gaga despite what KP published) wanted under his Royal Foundation. It’s all lip service for themselves. That’s why it comes off insincere.
William and Kate are like Ivanka and Jared. They will take advantage of being rich and do surface level promotion of class that they think will make them look good. But they don’t actually care about anything but money and how to live the most extravagant lifestyle possible. Religion and morality mean nothing to either as it is all a show.
The Cambs can’t compete where they can’t compare and yet they keep trying to make fetch happen. It must be exhausting for those courtiers to keep blowing smoke up their bums to reassure them they actually have a fighting chance to be as relevant.
Do we really think that Netflix would have signed a $150 million deal with Kant and PWT if they left the BRF? Of course not, Netflix would have passed on wiglet and baldy.
The Cambridges know this, as do the Middletons, and it is eating them alive just like it is eating alive all the Cambridge stans aka the commentariat of The Daily Fail
Of course not, Netflix isn’t going to sign this wasteful, lazy, talentless couple. And undoubtedly the Keenbridges know that they could never achieve such a deal. They cannot compete and they know it.
Nobody is suprised about this. Why would the people who sanctioned and possibly orchestrated the smear campaign to make them leave then want them back?? They got what they wanted (probably were hoping it would result in a divorce and that harry would stay).
I for one am not buying this book. The guy is changing his tone now after writing nasty anti Meghan columns in British tabloids. That tells me he’s fake “expert” who has an plan to make a living from vilifying Meghan now that the crown series is ending
He may be very crafty. On Good Morning America he was decidedly Anti William (to appeal to US viewers perhaps) but at the same time he was less sympathetic to Harry when he talked to Piers.
Side note: looking at these old pics of Kate make me think she’s gotten some very subtle, very good facial work done recently. These pics are like from 1.5 years ago and she had puffy bags under her eyes that are now gone. Plus her skin now looks better than before. I think she dipped into the filler/Botox bag of tricks
She’s definitely done minor work over the years, and was touched up recently,to the point where she looked really different after disappearing for a few weeks. I also think she tweaked her nose, but a long time ago, probably before the wedding.
She’s definitely gotten work done on her eyes as they were puffier when she was younger. That said the botox does a lot. There are pictures of her at the gardening centre this past summer where she looked much older and less tight.
She got fillers and not long ago threading. You can see a drastic difference from her red prairie dress to her NPG black suit video.
They’re 2 different women.
If you look further back to her uni days her eyes have since been lifted. It’s all good work so far, but it’s beginning to look unnatural.
I think William is also probably jealous of H & Ms love itself and not just their celebrity. It’s pretty obvious he was never madly in love with Kate and thought he could do better. Then when he realized he couldn’t he settled for Kate because she just never went away. Whereas I have no doubt Harry is madly in love with Meg. That probably drives Will a little nuts. He’ll never feel like that about Kate but he’ll never leave her. I’d feel a bit sorry for him if he wasn’t such a douche.
All of this blathering on about Harry & Meghan’s split from the BRF is all interesting gossip today, but in a year, when (hopefully) the COVID-19 vaccine has been widely distributed and people can freely travel and congregate again, I’ll no longer have any reason to check in on the BRF except to wonder if Prince Andrew has been imprisoned yet. Once H&M can do public appearances, I will be following them and their speeches and causes. H&M will effectively be the new royal family — the *world’s* royals — a year from now. None of us who aren’t British ever need bother with the BRF ever again. H&M will become the main and only branch of the family that we follow.
@Dee Kay, I’ll happily join you on this particular couch!! We’ll drink wine and eat chocolates, while watching Meghan and Harry set the world on fire 🔥. BRF who??
Regarding the top photo, I’d really like to know what the medals, sash, lanyards and badges signify. Because it’s making me ragey knowing how Harry served and earned his badges while the lazy one, who should be sporting one medal at most for his fake stint at piloting, gets to lord it over him in a uniform. Even at the Sussexes wedding, William’s uniform seemed to outrank Harry’s.
I understand that Harry had to come back from his military service, among other things, because he would become captain (or something like this) and that would make him the same as William or even potentially superior. So, he had to leave.
Someone had alert a reporter about harry location when he is in the military and it will endangered him.
Who might that be? Harry cant finish his tour.
Harry’s earned rank is Captain. He served for 10 years in genuine military roles. William’s earned rank is lower than Harry. He’s had fewer years in the military and much of it was the kind of pick and mix ‘experiences’ deemed necessary for his future role. Harry probably left when he did because any future role would have been a desk job.
Harry left because TQ asked him to. It’s a testament to his sense of duty and service that he continued working with the military and veterans in meaningful ways.
why when in uniform, does it look like william outranks him? i don’t understand this nonsense. Willieleaks’ medals must mostly be honorary appointments.
Royal Blue
There’s ranks Given by the BRF. Andrew is also littered with medals.
William as the FFK gets these shiny medals to make himself look official. William has barely kept his wings as he flew so infrequently. But special perks and all…
Harry left because the press leaked his location and because he never would’ve been able to outrank William.
William got the aide de camp regalia prior to Harry, but it was given to Harry after the wedding.
But in terms of actual earned honours, Harry outranks William. And I am sure that rankles. If William really wanted to serve like Harry he could have pushed for it but he barely did the royal level training at the RAF and Charles had to intervene because he missed so much time.
@kelleybelle, that’s not why he left the military. He left because his career advancement was a question mark, and he had to choose between being a royal or between choosing to be in the military full time.
The leaks in the press were about his specific location in Afghanistan when he was deployed to the front lines. That was a major security issue because he was a high profile individual, and therefore a huge potential target for the enemy. He was about two weeks from finishing up his tour of service when that happened.
@A, now I wonder in whose interest it was to leak his location. Willikeaks perhaps?
In any case, I also heard they called him back to start his official royal duties and become the third wheel to W&K. I wish he had said no, and risen to the highest rank while W&K figured out their future.
A and Royal blue
It was always assumed the leak came from 1 of the palaces. Not his mates. They truly kept his involvement secret and no one knew until it came down to the final stretch of his deployment.
While he did return it disrupted a lot and compromised everyone’s safety. Harry did the absolute most honorable thing by leaving and then returning privately.
When you listen to William and Harry in their interviews, Harry comes off as the more intelligent and insightful brother. His views are more deep and meaningful. He’s very perceptive.
And once again, Robert Lacey speaks out of both sides of the mouth. He says a version of the same thing, but puts the emphasis on a different detail in the story, depending on who he’s talking to.
Going off of what he says here, I think we can safely assume that he still doesn’t think racism is a real problem, that Britian is not a racist country today, and that Meghan did not have any hardships in Britain due to racism. He also thinks that Meghan and Harry are too full of themselves for their own good, and shouldn’t be preaching to others, because he personally finds all of this advocacy work to be insincere and unnecessary, no matter who it comes from.
But I agree that he does speak on some things with nuance. I think he understands the situation with William in particular, but I’m guessing that he doesn’t see it as his job to criticize or pass judgement on William for any of these things, while not reserving the same sort of grace for Harry, because?? ????? ???? Anyway. I wonder if this is maybe just an issue of access, as in he had more access to William’s people who were probably the sources for this book, but I can’t blame Harry for not wanting to spill the ugly details to someone who thinks racism in Britain is a myth.
And his comments about “woke”ness are just… I’m having a hard time unraveling it. Some parts of it sound reasonable, but he’s not expressing it properly and it’s confusing to muddle through. So far, what he’s said about the BRF needing to be “woke” has been about how it’s a necessity for them to maintain popularity and remain relevant to society in this day and age. While I don’t agree with him fully, I do think that he is on to something here.
I think a lot of people are rightfully cynical about how useful the royals are, how much they cost, and the undeserved adulation they get, the visibility that comes with their position gives them a cultural currency that can’t be denied. That’s really their real power in society today. A member of the royal family showing up and reaching out a hand to say, “Wow that’s tough, I hope you’re okay,”–that is still a huge deal.
We live in a world where visibility is equated with power. Someone in that position, taking the time to focus and *see* someone who would otherwise be invisible and therefore unimportant? To share in their emotions, and their struggles, even if it’s only for a moment? The emotional impact of that can’t be understated.
And it’s what Meghan and Harry are doing very successfully right now. Not only are they sincere about the issues they’re advocating, they are using their positions and making a difference. And it’s getting them a great deal of popularity and support, at least among the people whose heads aren’t poisoned with hatred and misery. So I agree with Robert Lacey’s assessment that the royal family made a huge mistake in how they dealt with Meghan and Harry and everything else. It did effectively alienate so many people who would otherwise have looked on them with more affection, and refusing to engage with this stuff is just bad form and it’s ignorant too.
Where I disagree with him is how necessary and important these conversations and advocacy work are in society today. I think Robert Lacey is someone who rolls his eyes and scoffs at the idea of “being woke”, because he sees it as overly emotional and overwrought, all for a problem that he doesn’t really think is a problem. But his assertion that the BRF should have at least tried to appear like they were board with these ideas, or at least supportive of these ideas, isn’t wrong. Not fully anyway. It’s just that it’s hard as fuck to figure out just what exactly he’s saying on a good day.
Great comment, A. Well said. I mostly agree with you except I think we need to consider Lacey in his cultural context.
England has a xenophobia problem to the max. When you just settle and accept Robert Lacey’s comments in context of the xenophobic culture in the UK, Lacey’s comments make sense. This is not to say that xenophobia is okay or should be accepted but the problem is bigger than Lacey. All of England needs a cultural tweak on the ear or to just give them what they want and treat them as the world treated Japan for 300 years.
I agree with you 100% on the cultural context. He is speaking as a cog in the larger machine, after all. It’s not quite as objectionable as, say, some of the shit Lady Colin Campbell comes out with.
It’s just that I think he is tailoring his opinion with a degree of self-awareness. He knows what plays with what audiences and what doesn’t. He doesn’t strike me as *ignorant* if that makes sense. It seems to me like he’s studied this “wokeness” stuff rather carefully, but still came to the conclusion that these issues are not worth talking about or drawing attention to. The xenophobia is par for the course, I’m just trying to figure out his particular shade of it, because he’s not a boorish, authoritarian xenophobe of the Piers Morgan/Boris Johnson variety. In some ways, that makes him far more dangerous.
Lacey is a white man with immense privledge, he will never acknowledge, unless forced to, to speak about the vicious racism directed at Meghan
The Sussex don’t need the royals. The Sussex shouldn’t loose any sleep worrying about the Cambridge’s and none of the rest of them. The Sussex will continue to do the work they are passionate about. The royals need a scapegoat for William that’s why they want Harry and Meghan back. Backstabbing Will and company Need Harry (Meghan)more than he needs the royals. They need to keep the BM, RR and fans happy. Don’t hold your breath