Now that Prince Harry is back in Montecito – he arrived in California on Tuesday – it seems we’re going to get more information about his trip from Sussex-approved sources, speaking to Sussex-approved outlets. The Daily Mail, the Times and the Sun might get weird leaks from Kensington Palace, but Meghan and Harry’s preferred outlets are People Mag, Harper’s Bazaar and CBS This Morning. While it was clear that Harry – or someone close to him – briefed Omid Scobie, it should definitely be noted that Meghan has used their communications office too. Her spokesperson issued a statement before Prince Philip’s funeral about how Meghan would be watching at home, and how she sent a note and organized a special wreath. Now sources close to Meghan have told People Mag that she spoke to the Queen before and after the funeral too.
While Meghan Markle couldn’t attend Prince Philip’s funeral last Saturday, she connected with her grandmother-in-law Queen Elizabeth ahead of the service.
“Meghan spoke with Harry before his grandfather’s funeral,” a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Meghan and Archie also spoke with the Queen earlier this week.”
In February, Harry said that the family of three had been doing video calls with the Queen and Prince Philip amid the pandemic. “Both my grandparents do Zoom,” Harry told James Corden. “They’ve seen Archie running around.”
Harry’s return to Britain for the funeral last week meant leaving Meghan and their nearly 2-year-old son Archie at home in California and quarantining for several days at Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor home he and Meghan shared before moving to the U.S. and which they still maintain as a U.K. base.
“Meghan and Harry have been in touch every day,” the source adds. “She knows the trip to England has been difficult for Harry. He didn’t want to leave Meghan and Archie alone. Meghan has insisted to him every day though that they are fine. She hasn’t wanted him to worry.”
After a tense year apart, Harry, who returned home to California on Tuesday, also reunited with his brother Prince William at the funeral. “It has been a very difficult time,” a well-connected royal insider tells PEOPLE of the past year. “The Duke was the head of the family, and if there were any time they were going to come together, it’s now.”
The brothers are unlikely to meet again before July, when they are due to unveil a statue in honor of their late mother, Princess Diana. “They’ve had massive input,” says a senior palace source. “It’s their project.”
Sure, I buy that Harry didn’t want to leave his pregnant wife and small child alone for more than a week while he dealt with the melodramatic clown show of the Windsor klan. I also think… Meghan wants to remind everyone that Harry is a good guy, that he’s not going to run back to the Windsors and play their game. Harry and Meghan both want to emphasize that they have no issue with the Queen in particular. Which only highlights the massive issues they have with Charles, William, the courtiers and the whole royal system.
Meanwhile, a source told Us Weekly that M&H have not chosen a name for Lil Montecito yet. They’re taking their time because they want Lil Montecito’s name “to have meaning.” But they do have “some top picks.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, WENN.
Notice how it switches to a “palace source”when they talked about Harry coming to the statue unveiling. They still have no idea if Harry is coming or not since he has yet to confirm.
I’m sure it’s going to be a game time decision but I still think he’s strongly leaning towards NO. I also thinks he’s loving being petty and leaving the BM desperately hoping and wondering.
Harry leaving them hanging in regards to his decision about the statute is smart because it prevents them from leaking. I also think it’s a flex. People only care about the unveiling because HE might be attending and not because of the Dumber Brother and Buttons. This is the funeral all over again. Harry’s holding all of the cards and it’s shows his power. Must upset Cain to know he’ll always be the afterthought.
Good catch! The palace is really hoping Harry returns for that.
The Fail’s headline for this story was “Meghan Markle and her son Archie” called the Queen. Like she’s a single mother with a kid (not goat) unconnected to the Royals that just happens to have the Queen’s phone number.
And the sub headline: “Meghan Markle made the Queen cry!”
Kidding, but the DM would print it.
Cue camilla tominey peeking in form the corner:
“mEghAn stiLl MaDe KaTe cRy!!!!”
It bothers me so much when the BM still refers to her as “Meghan Markle”, especially considering the way the source of that surname has treated her. Granted, I don’t know if she chose to keep her last name after getting married. (What would her married name be, anyway? Windsor? Sussex?)
@Miranda
I could be wrong but I THINK her married name would be Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor?
Someone who knows more about the RF can correct me.
Eh, I still think of Duchess Catherine as Kate Middleton. She gets called that all the time. They do a lot worse to disparage Meghan in other ways in my opinion.
Meghan Markle is her chosen professional name. She built a career with that name, so it doesn’t bother me when she’s referred to that way. I can see that it might be deliberate on the part of the DM to not user her royal title, but the name itself isn’t an insult to her.
@Harper seriously? It just said “her son Archie?” That’s so fcking disgusting. And there are still people who wonder why Harry left.
@DameJudi don’t give them any ideas!!
I do wonder, harry AND meghan seem to have a really good relationship with the queen. And im sorry to say but it seems like meghan has a better relationship with Elizabeth than kate does. So why did the queen not lift a finger against the press harassment? We all seen how she treats her favorites *cough* Andrew *cough*.
Yeah, I think it’s mostly because she’s not really in charge?
This is what I think. I think she’s old, and tired, and not really running the show anymore. I think she’ll exert herself for her priorities (i.e. Andrew) but I think that takes a lot for her at this point. I also think she 100% thinks Andrew did nothing wrong and is being unfairly prosecuted by the press. For H&M, well, the press stories are unfortunate but that’s the tabloids for you, right? (that’s how I imagine she sees a lot of it.)
I think that’s what triggered a lot of the reaction to The Interview – Harry’s comment about how the Queen was controlled by the courtiers. We have speculated as much for a while now, but I think its a lot more true than we realized and I think because of that, Harry is able to give her a huge pass in all of this because she’s not involved.
ITA. She is 95 years old. I know a few 95 year olds, and not to say they are not still sharp for moments, but mainly they are content to let others do the heavy lifting and ferry them along because existing is just tiring at that age.
The Queen will obviously protect Andrew but let’s not make the mistake of forgetting that Andrew is a rich, privileged, portly white man with a title in the UK, so these courtiers will be salivating at the mouth to do what he wants. No one is trying to tell Andrew know, and I’m sure Charles has to put up some huge battles to get anything done when it comes to him.
In their eyes, Meghan is a gauche Black American who has no business trying to play at being royal or aristocratic like they are, so why would they even put forth the effort to protect her?
Let’s not forget the quote: “Why are they coming to me with their problems?”
She just doesn’t want to know… period. And if she does, as always, she will bury her head in the sand, hoping it passes before she HAS to be made to do *some*thing.
The queen was like this during the Diana years too. She just let Charles and Diana fight it out via the tabloids and did absolutely nothing. She didn’t even seem that bothered that her own son and heir’s reputation was going down the toilet.
@FebruaryPisces, I could have sworn that at some point I read that the Queen had a meeting with tabloid editors to tell them to back off when Diana was pregnant, and when I tried to find it, this was all I came up with. Obviously she was a lot younger and it’s not exactly the same situation, but we do know that if she is upset enough about something, she will intervene (you’re right that she let a lot of it go unchecked, but at least she spoke up this one time, which is more than she did for Meghan):
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1129623/queen-elizabeth-ii-news-princess-diana-prince-charles-royal-family-pictures-spt
@Cecilia, ITA. I agree with the others that she’s no longer really “in charge” on a daily basis and certainly doesn’t carry out all of the same duties that she used to — that Charles has taken over a lot of it — but at the end of the day, she’s still the Queen and she could have done *something* about Meghan’s abuse if she’d wanted to.
We know she gets the newspapers every morning. And as you said, we know Harry is able to speak to her. IMO it’s unforgivable that she didn’t do a single thing to intervene. She might not be as sharp as she once was, but she absolutely still knows what’s going on and as Becks said, if something is a priority for her, she’ll exert herself to do it. It simply wasn’t important enough to her — for whatever reason — to even attempt to shut down some of the worst treatment of Meghan.
She was both aware/lucid AND motivated enough to go out of her way to cover for Andrew, so there’s no excuse, imo, that she wouldn’t do the same for Harry and Meghan (who actually deserved her help, unlike Andrew).
The Queen and the institution running the Monarchy did not do anything for the beloved Princess Diana until the pubic outcry was “enough” but by it was out of control, and this was before social media and mobile phones with cameras .. even with her death she did nothing until the public outrage was loud enough that it forced a response. If you wait for her, her track record shows she speaks up after its to late. That right there was the reason for PH making his exit speech, the tabloids are making him relive his childhood nightmares on a grander scale with a racist hateful public and institution. (The Palaces are corrupt and if they refuse to see it, you know they will never fix it unless public outcry forces them to.. sadly I only see it getting worse.)
Pure speculation, but if she is as shielded from what’s going on as it appears, she may not know how bad it was. Harry has mentioned he’d been blocked from seeing the queen on multiple occasions and her private secretary is a man loyal to Charles, and we know Charles left Harry in the wind. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was getting curated “news” about what was happening during H&M’s hardest times. Remember this soft regency was already taking place before now, I think they are just formalizing it after Philip’s passing. When Harry announced he was leaving, he finally got the one on one time he was requesting.
I wholly believe she’s not in charge but as harry & meghan pointed out repeatedly, they have a direct line to her and have spoken to her multiple times. Plus harry had that sandringham summit with her willIiam and charles remember. I cannot imagine that he wasn’t up front and honest then. My point is, the queen not knowing whats going on with harry and meghan is pretty unthinkable at this point. And yet she will not lift a finger for them.
I am 100% convinced the Queen is being information controlled by the people around her. They probably only notify her when things get REALLY bad and they can’t hide it anymore. That’s why they constantly tried to keep Harry from her.
Do we think she’s really reading the tabloids daily? Certainly not online which is where the worst of it is. They probably still iron her papers in the morning for her so she can read them with her morning tea.
Cecilia didn’t Harry say he had spoken to the queen more this year than ever before? And wasn’t it briefed that when he wanted to talk about stepping back, the queen said he had to liaise Charles & that’s when he was told to put plan in writing?
Makes me wonder if she’s been more hands off on the business side when it comes to Harry (and other matters) & they had limited conversations of what was going on until too late in the day. Not that I give her a pass because she’s the firm’s CEO ultimately so buck stops with her.
But perhaps knowing her age etc Harry wasn’t burdening her with everything that was happening. And now he’s not a working royal they are speaking as grandma- grandson & not really about royal or press stuff. but she still gets (what he called bad advice) from the courtiers, other people around her in terms of how she handles things around the Sussexes eg removing patronages.
I also think compartmentalising the firm/family side with the queen is why Harry mentioned on Oprah hoping to work through relationship with Charles. Maybe he thinks they can just relate as father & son now Charles isn’t also his boss
I think the queens henchmen do tell her a different account of events. They probably show her the daily mail comments section are a like “see your majesty, the public hates Meghan, something must be done”, but she probably doesn’t realise they are just bots that they pay for.
She probably has no idea about the Sussex squad unless harry told her. A lot of people I know have no idea just how much support harry and Meghan actually have, because they mostly watch ITV or ready the daily mail. They don’t go beyond that and look on socials so they have no idea how much backlash the Keens have gotten, and still believe they’re great.
Yes, I definitely get the vibe that Meghan is closer to the queen than Kate. I wonder how much the queen actually know about Harry and Meghan situation it seems like she thinks it’s a press problem and only found out the institution part after the interview. How much Harry told her and how much her courtiers told her ? For Andrew it’s different the courtiers can’t afford to not tell her with the law involved.
I too am feeling more and more that the Queen is not getting the full story — that the courtiers are doing the most to make sure she only gets bits and pieces of the whole story. The woman is in her mid-90s and I think we can all almost guarantee she is not scouring social media or the internet for news. She can very easily be left in the dark on a lot of things if there was a concerted effort to keep her shielded. And in that instance, TQ cannot “protect” Meghan and Harry from what she doesn’t know about. Also, I can see Meghan, and to a lesser extent Harry, not giving her the full story of what they were/are dealing with either (or giving her a more sanitized top-level version) so as not to stress out an elderly woman who doesn’t really have the energy to tackle such a huge issue at this twilight stage of life.
Harry did say that she has bad advisors, or something to that effect. If they are only providing her with negative scenarios, she is likely choosing the least worst ones. I can easily picture her council telling her “You either have to fully strip Harry of all his titles or allow him to retain them, but not use the ‘HRH’ officially”…but take away the honorary military ones…and patronage…but he can keep Frogmore…just not the security”
I don’t doubt that the queen has bad advisors. I also don’t doubt that she isn’t in control of the whole institution. But the point im trying to make is that harry can inform her directly of how bad the press abuse (and online) is. And im pretty sure he did so at the sandringham summit last year too. And i doubt she wasn’t aware of meghans mental health during her time as a senior royal. If reporters knew about it, than the family mist have known. And yet Elizabeth does nothing.
@Cecilia:The Queen’s not in charge in anymore. She’s not reading the paper and she’s getting her news via her Private Secretary. Charles is running the show.
As others have said, she’s at the end of her reign and I don’t think she’s really doing too much on that front, but Elizabeth (based on the biographies and articles) has never been one to deal with family affairs. That was left to Phillip while she did queen things. So I don’t even know if, even in her prime, she would have the emotional and maternal skillset to put bitches in check.
Unless, of course, if it’s Andrew.
Harry pretty much confirmed that the Queen isn’t in charge and she gets bad advice.
She’s 94 I think she is being treated like she is in a geriatric facility, she gets told what to do, where to sign, who she should speak to during her engagements& meetings constantly.
We may never know to what degree TQ was lax about protecting Meghan, if TQ really ever had any say in the matter, but obviously she’s part of a longstanding racist institution that she hasn’t tried to update. Nevertheless, she’s 95. Unless TQ is actively being hurtful to H & M, it makes all the sense in the world for Harry to maintain a close relationship with his grandmother at this time in her life.
I’m starting to wonder if Queenie isn’t actually the one doing stuff to protect Andrew. What if it’s just the rest of the establishment doing it to protect the BRF’s reputation as a whole and saying that it’s what the Queen wants without her doing or saying anything about it at all?
I mean, we know that they’ll go to some great lengths to protect the heirs because they’re the future yadda yadda yadda, but if a child of the monarch is embroiled in something truly slimey (and god knows Andrew has some slimey ‘friends’) and it has the potential to implicate any other members of the family and/or high-ranking members of the establishment to some degree…how far they gonna go? Just invoking the Queen’s name isn’t anywhere near as far as they will gladly go, I think.
I guess I just feel like this whole Andrew thing is not just about Andrew, or maybe isn’t really about him at all so much as it is about the other people that surround him on a daily basis.
I’m rather surprised that the courtiers haven’t tried to block Meghan’s phone calls to the queen. And while it’s nice of M&H to say nice things about his grandmother, she’s the one who had the ultimate ability to stop the palace leaks and shut down the racist narrative but she didn’t so she doesn’t get a pass from me.
They must have backdoor access to the queen. Those courtiers are nosy as hell and if they knew H&M were calling as much as the are, they would block them like they’ve done before. Plus, they would want to know the substance of the conversations to leak to the tabloids. I’m curious to know how they are communicating with the queen too.
Well, it’s Kensington Palace and to s lesser extent, Clarence House that are leak city. Not so much Buckingham Palace.
she doesn’t get a pass from me either, but I highly suspect that she doesn’t know much about what’s going on about anything. The courtiers can’t really stop her from being a grandmother, but I believe they have all but stopped her from having much to do with the Firm. I think the Firm has basically put Old Liz out to pasture like a favored racehorse, keeping her fed and comfortable within her twilight. Ironically, that very fact might be the reason she can be a grandmother. A courtier can’t really say no if she says, “I want to speak to my grandson,” while a courtier could easily say no to “But my grandson’s wreath at the ceremony?” “Well, ma’am, protocol from 1745 dictates (bullshit bullshit lie le) and so I’m sorry.” “Oh…may I have a gin and tonic?” “Certainly ma’am. Let me mix it for you. Fine weather we’re having!”
I think that’s how things are going down with the Queen these days.
Tha
@Lanne this seems very plausible. And if it’s true, if I were British, I’d be very concerned about the fact that our head of state was not running things but in fact decisions were being made by random courtiers — essentially just employees, no matter how important they think they are — with their own agendas.
Meghan made it clear in the interview that she/they have the Queen’s direct number (cell phone?). Might be harder for them to convince her to give that over to them for control.
I just spit out my coffee thinking of Liz trying to answer a mobile phone. 10-1 she still has a flip phone LOL! Thanks for the laugh!
Harry is not going to that unveiling. He’ll have a new baby and I’m sure seeing his family for the funeral reminded him of why he bounced in the first place.
I’m glad H&M are in a position to correct the narratives against them. Im sure after Harry did the Corden interview, the royal roaches had to delete a number of stories about how ‘Harry has freezed out his poor beloveds grandparents’
I think meghan is due somewhere early june but all this speculating about whether he’s going or not has me thinking it could also be closer to july.
Meghan did say the baby was due in the summer. And TECHNICALLY, the first day of summer is June 20th. If she was being that specific (instead of just thinking June = summer) then the baby isn’t due until the LAST week of June at the earliest.
I think she’s due late June/early July. I don’t think Harry will be going to the statue unveiling.
For the most part, Memorial Day weekend is the “kickoff” for summer here. I can see Li’l Montecito being born in early June. Either way, I can’t see Harry leaving a newborn with his wife, jetting off (and having to quarantine going and coming); that’d be almost 3 wks at least away from his family.
I can see him sending a video out to press about it, or Zooming live.
Yes! The visit was probably a strong reminder of why he hates hanging with the Windsors.
Yeah I don’t believe it…People just made some fan fiction from that interview when they said that they were calling her and Philip…and ‘Meghan and Harry have been in touch everyday’,lol do they really need to say that? Why say so obvious things?I mean it’s her husband,I hope they were in touch everyday,that’s what spouses do when they travel …
Both Harry and Megan seem to take pains to make it known they have a good relationship with the queen. They both seem to still be heavily invested in the idea of the royal institution. Or is it just the Queen? I wish they would just cut ties. But I suppose they would be heavily criticized for that as well.
Harper’s Bazaar had an interesting article about them a few days ago. It seemed like it was coming either directly from them or from sources close to them correcting the record and it said that he would be going back- presuming a delivery wasn’t soon.
I don’t understand the cutting ties part. Cutting ties would mean give up the title, the place in the succession and still it wouldn’t be enough, Harry would still be a son and a brother of a future king.
Making it clear that they still have a good relationship with the Queen makes it harder for the press to hide behind her and cry about them “disresepcting the poor elderly Queen who is like a grandmother to the nation”. Granted the RRs still try and there are many in Britain who fall for it but most outside of that island don’t. It also helps with the narrative about Harry being at odds with the entire family that he still has good relationships with his cousins and grandparents. It makes it clearer who the actual problem is
If the baby is at least almost a month, I think they’ll go as a family so that she can be Christened and then they can update Archie’s brith Certificate, and then bounce back to America. H has a job now, but is he’s going to be on Paternity leave during this time, this gives him a chance for the Queen to meet the New great-grand baby and maybe attend her christening this time around, though I have no idea since the pandemic will still be going on…however, I think things are to start to relax during the summer months.
I can’t see traveling with a 1 month old and a 2 yr old, on a 13 hour flight (even private!) DURING A PANDEMIC (with even more dangerous and contagious variants out there!), having to quarantine getting there, and then doing the same thing on the way home.
I think you’d have to be insane to subject your family to that if you had a choice (ie: not a life/death situation).
(The OG) Jan90067 , these are people who are used to world travel. The pandemic is probably the only reason Baby Archie has not traveled more. He was very young when he took his first flight. Whatever they do or don’t do this summer will be picked apart like a turkey at thanksgiving either way. They have still have Frogmore Cottage for a reason, PH is still British citizen and in 6th inline for the throne, I believe that will make his children in the line of succession also. It is a birthright not a decision made by a popularity vote. They would have to completely rewrite the rules.. leaving PH and his children out because PW has 3 kids sets up a dim future for PrincessC and PrinceL once Prince George has a child they are out.
PC will be king and Camilla will be whatever title she would receive, the major issue is their long lifespans(not to be disrespectful or morbid). Most people look to retire in their 70’s PC is looking to start his birthright.
Slightly random but TQ always seemed to like Meghan, unlike Keen who seemed barely tolerated even after 10+ years. Says a lot. I don’t think TQ is causing this drama
It was clear, at least to me, from the time she took the overnight train and did that engagement with the Queen so early on that TQ held respect for Meghan. They were smiling, laughing, and engaged that whole time. We have not seen the Queen interact with a married in like that aside from Sophie. I firmly believe H&M when they say they hold no issue with the Queen and have a good relationship with her. And as I said in my comment above, I even think they themselves may have been shielding her from the ugliest parts of what was being done to them as they didn’t want to stress her out, and probably felt they could handle it themselves….until they just couldn’t anymore and peaced out.
Yup, I agree. the pictures from that engagement, even looking back now – the Queen looks delighted to be around Meghan. I think the Queen probably appreciated that Meghan had a work ethic, that Meghan hadn’t spent the last 10-15 years of her life waiting for someone to propose, etc. And I’m sure Meghan was very respectful around her. Even looking at the picture of the Queen and Philip with Archie and Meghan and Doria – the Queen and Philip look so happy, and I don’t think its just because “aw cute baby.” I really think they both genuinely liked Meghan.
She flat out ignored Kate in December, so we know what that relationship isnt the best.
And remember the wedding, when Guy was photographed in the Queen’s car with her? To me, THAT was a big signal that the Queen is close with Harry and Meghan. She dogsat for them.
@ShazBot, good point! I never heard anything about QEII dog-sitting W&K’s dog Lupo.
Harry and Meghan hinted in the interview that the Queen courtiers are sometimes advising her bad. And I have a feeling that Harry and Meghan don’t want to put more pressure on a 95 years old woman. After all they, Charles, William and their courtiers are grown ups…
Idk… I feel like she let them do whatever, bcz she can’t interviene publicly and show that she is in favour of somebody especially that’s not the heir. But on the other hand it’s her grandson and family. Gosh…i have mixed feelings about TQ role in all this.
I do too. We know she was a not a terribly warm or hands on mother or grandmother and we also know that the courtiers information (even for her!).
I really, really wonder why they have done the absolute maximum to keep William happy and placated. I get that he’s the heir, but they have for decades thrown Harry to the wolves and really go out of their way (the “they” being some blob conglomeration of Charles and the Queen and the courtiers) to keep William happy no matter what and no matter what’s asked. They basically abused Harry to keep William happy.
I wonder what Harry told Megan about what their role within the family would be for the next 20 years? Did Harry level with her and tell her they would be thrown under the bus to protect Charles, William and Kate? Meghan seems to have been completely sucker punched.
I don’t think Harry even halfway realized the extent of how bad it would get. He knew what he himself experienced, but he also didn’t at that time have the clarity and distance from it that he now has. You don’t know what you don’t know.
Hmm…I’m not sure about these sources. I mean I could tell People that Harry didn’t want to leave Meghan and Archie alone and that she reassured him that she would be alright. The other two come from the palace and just repeated what was said earlier in the week. As for them speaking to the Queen, they said that they do in the Oprah and Corden interviews so it doesn’t have to be a source telling People this.
I saw the articles about her and Archie talking with the Queen, immediately followed by such hate and nastiness. This is just sad, I don’t care for Kate but being that cruel to anyone just astonishes me.
I am glad that they are now in control of what’s released. I also like that she calls the queen, I think that really pisses the public that trash her off, the American Duchess speaks to their queen.. how dare she be allowed. What they don’t get is she is family through marriage and children. She has access the majority will never obtain.
Meghan is the next big Royal event (working Royal or not) with the baby girl.. perfect way to get attention is detract from her pregnancy by rumors of yours (true or not) photographers will be searching for that tell tale “bump”.. they seem to follow in the Sussex’s steps.
Any headlines about Harry not sticking around in the U.K. and skipping grandma’s birthday can have a seat. If Meg is too pregnant to fly then she’s due soon and any decent husband would be right back home ASAP.
@cecilie @lanne
The Queen has always been of the mindset that the bad news will pass and they would move onto something else eventually. It’s very well documented that her move of choice is to do nothing and suck it up until it’s over.
I just don’t think she’s fully aware of how enormously relentless it can be online and on social media. The need to feed the beast 24/7 makes media outlets a million times more vicious and desperate. And these days their pay is based largely on their click rate. And evil people use it to manipulate public opinion and behavior.
She never had to deal with that in her prime. I truly think she just doesn’t get it. Even Meghan didn’t fully understand what was happening to her and why until recently. She said after reading Safiya Noble’s “Algorithms of Oppression” did it click for her.
@Snuffles, I said in a comment above that I thought it was unforgivable that she didn’t lift a finger to intervene re: Meghan — but that’s a really good point about social media that you made. I hadn’t really thought about the fact that even if she reads every newspaper every day, she still wouldn’t have a clue as to just how brutal and constant the abuse is online. I’m rethinking my original comment!
So true. Imagine those hateful online things being read aloud to TQ. On and on…. for her to actually hear it.
Even though I don’t really give her a pass on not supporting H and M, I think it would be shocking for her to truly understand the vile depths of what they (and mainly M) were subjected to.
For some reason this has made some of the RRs very mad. Im not sure why when Harry and Meghan have reiterated multiple times that theyve kept a good relationship with his grandparents and Harry said in the Oprah interview that he’s talked more to his grandmother more in the last year than he ever has before. He also said, in a clip that didnt make the primetimw interview but was aired on cbs’ morning show, that the Queen had invited them to visit on their return from Canada in Jan 20 but the courtiers at the last minute put a wrench in it and suddenly her calendar was full.
I think the RRs are mad because the Sussexes silence while everyone else was running major PR campaigns lulled them into a false sense of security that H&M wouldn’t respond to any of the inaccurate stories; but even these couple PR dumps from People and Omid are so much more muted and tactful than what the RF did last week. There’s no weird hyperventilating trying to push the idea that Harry and Meghan are the Queens only support and are holding her and the nation together like there was with Sophie, William, Kate, and Charles this past week. Just a normal ‘grandkids called and visited with grieving grandmother’ which is harder to attack but good knows they will try.
I love to hate and hate to love that “straightjacket” dress Meghan wore, so I love when you feature it! Is the shape chic or restrictive? Is the color flattering or stripping? Would I like it more or less with a longer or shorter “shoulder cage”? I love the dichotomy.
Yes! It’s chic and all, but also makes me claustrophobic just to look at it.
“Phillip was the head of the family.” Huh. Based on recent headlines I thought Kate the Great was basically carrying the weight of the commonwealth on her impeccably mannered shoulders.
Not just the Commonwealth, but the world. I’m surprised that she hasn’t had herself portrayed as Atlas.
OMG, I can’t wait until she cosplays Atlas.
Of course Meghan contacted QE2. Because she’s a lovely, warm and empathetic person, and she wouldn’t have tried to pull focus by overdoing the eyeliner and padding the tabloids with puff pieces.
Oh, fellow Britons: what a tremendous loss we have suffered, that so many of you pinheaded racists actively forced on us! Look at whom we have left! Weepworthy.
#weepworthy
I’ve said it somewhere else but the Sussexes know when the queen does something and when “the queen” does something. Hence why they’re not really upset with her
The more I mull over why it seems that M&H have a good relationship with the queen (and Philip ) but were treated so badly by the palace, the more it feels like y’all are on to something. 1. There’s a soft regency. 2. The queen is shielded from the countless toxic stories in the tabloids so she doesn’t know how things are being leaked by her own courtiers and son and grandson 3. Harry and Meghan love her and want to shield her from the drama.
I can relate on some level. My brothers and I had a falling out amongst our families a few years ago. My mom had passed years before and my dad wasn’t really involved. We were all very close to my grandma though. I kept the details of what my brothers were doing to me as far as a legal battle, from my grandma until it actually affected her because I knew it would break her heart. When she did find out, it really hurt her and that emotional pin and stress lasted until she passed away.
This is projecting – I think the BRF operates much different than a regular family. But this scenario makes more and more sense to me.
In thinking on it, I think Harry leaking discussions with his father and brother the way he has is Harry’s way of saying he doesn’t wish to reconcile. I think both Charles and William know that too but need to seem as if they are the ones in control and making that choice. There will never be a reconciliation. I think Harry is preparing to let the family go entirely when his grandmother is gone. I think he will make some feeble attempts at reconcilation for the sake of his grandmother but I think that ship sailed when Harry quit the military. I have always believed that was the moment relationships began to truly fracture.
Why do you believe Harry quitting the military was the defining moment of fracture?
There was something very personal about the way that military thing was done. There was the leak of where he was in Afghanistan. There was the absolute fight from Harry to try and stay in this role by learning to fly military planes. Meanwhile William is doing is very best to pretend to be working in that rescue helicopter thing. Harry’s forced out of the army and starts Invictus which gets international acclaim. And then when he leaves the family, remember all the stories about William getting all his honorary titles and things. And then the wreath story – it just made so little sense unless you take the view that someone was trying to punish/hurt Harry for leaving. Like why would you bring all that negative press down on yourself? It’s insane. Harry had publicly committed himself to this cause and it’s like someone knew this was the way to really hurt him and they used it.
True, there was an article written by Newsweek in 2017, here’s the link:
https://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/30/prince-harry-depression-diana-death-why-world-needs-magic-627833.html
I think it gives you more of an idea that Harry just wanted to be an ordinary person. The Army gave him a purpose and the ability to be Harry and not a Prince. When he was (forced) to leave the military, I think the writing was on the wall. I really believe he would have left the royals at some point. I know he said in the interview that he wouldn’t have if hadn’t met Meghan, but I read articles like the above and I’m not buying it. I think at the very least, when George became a working royal and Harry was delegated to a background roll, he would have debunked–if he could have waited that long.
@Saucy&Sassy thank you so much for that link! It was such an interesting article (as is the fact that Angela Levin wrote it!).
I didn’t understand why everyone lost their minds when Harry made the comment about Charles and William being “trapped,” because I could have *sworn* he’d already said at some point that no one wants the job. And I didn’t remember there being any huge backlash when he said it then. The quote was actually in that article you posted:
“One of the many things Harry is eager to “get on with” is an overhaul of the British monarchy—he, William and Kate appear determined to drag it into the 21st century. “The monarchy is a force for good,” he says, “and we want to carry on the positive atmosphere that the queen has achieved for over 60 years, but we won’t be trying to fill her boots.”
William, second in line to the throne, will likely follow Prince Charles as King, and while William is popular, Harry’s charm and energy have been particularly helpful in the younger generation’s revival of a brand that after Diana’s death—and several other misfortunes that befell the royal family around the same time—seemed almost fatally damaged. “We are involved in modernizing the British monarchy. We are not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people…. Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so, but we will carry out our duties at the right time.”
I’m glad I’m not insane and that he did in fact say that. Granted, using the word “trapped” makes it sound worse, and the entire dynamic between Harry and the family is so different now, so I’m not shocked that they got all outraged about it. But the fact that he’d basically said the same exact thing a few years ago and no one blinked an eye…interesting. At this point they’re going to attack him for *anything* he says.
S&S I don’t think Harry would have left – it’s all he’s known and his family is there – but had he married an aristocrat or remained single I do think he would have become embittered and crusty due to his resentment of the institution and media and he never would have a real opportunity to thrive in life. It simply would have been a different but familiar set of problems down the line – ala Margaret.
Also I meant this post for the article about Prince Charles believing things are calmer without the Sussexes.
Lorelei , I’m sure if we want to look back further we will find other articles, too. Harry being really dissatisfied with royal life has been a fact and well before he met Meghan. The BM and brf just likes to create their own reality.
NSSTaylor, well, that’s something I never thought about, but I think you’re right. If Harry was already kicking at the traces, we can only imagine what his reality would have been in 10, 20, 30 years. It would have been truly awful.
Thank you!
I am glad the Sussexes can push back on these stupid stories from the BM and the Windsors. These idiots fear their power.
They fear it because The Sussexes just proved the monarchy is in fact irrelevant.