I had been lowkey waiting to see if Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair would have any kind of behind-the-scenes scoop on the most recent Sussexit developments, what with the Queen’s bitchy statement about duty and the Sussexes’ “service is universal” clapback. Nicholl did coverage of that stuff as it happened, but usually she’ll wait a day or two to reveal what her (mostly Cambridge) sources are telling her. That has not happened in Vanity Fair (yet). I guess Nicholl was saving her big scoop for Entertainment Tonight. That scoop? That she read the same Times of London article which everyone already discussed, about how Prince William thought the Sussexes’ “service is universal” clapback was “insulting, disrespectful and petulant” and that William is furious, saddened and shocked by the Sussexes’ whole deal. Let’s see what fun new twist Nicholl can put on it:
Nicholl on Harry & Meghan losing their patronages: “I think Harry was both surprised and very disappointed to have had all of his military titles and the royal patronages taken away from him. This was the end result after many days of discussion and my understanding of the Sussexes’ camp is that both the couple were hoping they would be able to retain those royal patronages. Behind the scenes they tried very hard to convince Palace courtiers that even though they are living private lives out of the royal family that they are still committed philanthropists, who remained committed to the charities and the patronages that they’ve represented for the past couple of years.”
How William felt about the Sussexes’ clapback: “He feels that this statement that the Sussexes put out just moments after Buckingham Palace made the announcement was disrespectful. Certainly the feeling at the Palace is that the tone of the email was disrespectful to the monarch. It’s very unusual to hear anyone answer back to the queen, which is essentially, I suppose, what the Sussexes did in that responsive email.”
And to do it all as Philip was in the hospital: “I think also the fact that the queen is very preoccupied at the moment with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, unwell in hospital, suddenly Prince William was feeling very protective.”
I enjoy the fact that no one can really elucidate why, exactly, everyone on Salty White Folk Isle is super-mad that the Sussexes merely released a statement, which happened to be a statement of fact. “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.” It was a simple, factual statement which directly contradicted the Queen’s attempt to slime her grandson as lazy and rejecting his duty: “The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.” The Palace made their play: divorce The American and come back to live a life where your duty is to be your brother’s doormat. And Harry responded swiftly and emphatically. That’s it. Anyway, yeah, I’m starting to think that none of these white folks are actually salty about the fact that Harry and Meghan released a statement after the Queen! *clutches royal pearls*
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
“I think also the fact that the queen is very preoccupied at the moment with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, unwell in hospital, suddenly Prince William was feeling very protective.”
She wasn’t preoccupied enough to not yank patronages away and put out a statement!
For real. Philip was on his deathbed and the queen was so concerned she released a statement taking away the patronages as he lay dying. She wasn’t concerned about Philip, who probably doesn’t know what the hell is going on, so why should H&M? Will is redirecting because he was getting dragged on Twitter and the palace is mad because H&M’s statement got more coverage. So many blue checks were talking about service and what it means.
The Queen and Phillip are in their 90s. They’ve seen the majority of their peers and friends die at this point. Not saying that the Queen doesn’t care her husband is in ill health, but I imagine it’s more of a sense of sad resignation than hair-pulling, sobbing grief.
@L84TEA EXACTLY what I was about to say. Their statements are so blatantly hypocritical yet none of the gold standard advisers seem to notice this or care how ridiculous it looks.
The Queen doesn’t GAF about Phil. If she did she’d visit him if he was supposedly on his death bed. She’s too busy being petty.
I totally agree. They’re playing on public perception but these people don’t even live together (or didn’t before Covid).
She could have waited until 31 March to release her statement, but she decided to do while Phillip was in hospital. If she doesn’t care, why should Harry? Why should anyone? She had enough time on her hand to write a snarky, ill-though statement on public service. William is always angry. One shouldn’t care anymore about his reasons for being angry. He’s angry everyday.
Thank you! My thoughts exactly. I love how concerned everyone is about how all this is affecting the queen while Philip is in the hospital… but she’s doing all of it while he’s in the hospital. Plus, do they even like each other?? I seriously doubt she’s at all worried over his health.
Exactly. Brenda is only preoccupied when it benefits her PR.
The first five words of the article title would suffice.
@AGuest: seriously, does one day go by without Bill being incredibly angry at someone or something? What a miserable existence. He brought it on himself and absolutely deserves it, but what a way to live. I hope Kate has plenty of Xanax.
It’s funny bc while that statement was definitely a clapback, it wasnt really that bad and wasnt rude or anything.
Its like when Harry made those comments about being against hate speech this past fall/summer and the Trump campaign immediately assumed he was talking about Trump.
Here, Harry and Meghan say that “service is universal” and the rota and royals lose their damn mind in a total HOW DARE THEY!!?!!>!! kind of way.
See also: Biden called out white supremacists and republicans claimed they were targeted.
Only a hit dog hollers…
I love that phrase.
@Becks I think they’re so mad because deep down they *know* how true and accurate it is, and if it is true, it threatens their entire worldview, so they need to lash out and pretend to be outraged (or let their actual outrage show).
IMO so many people wouldn’t get SO publicly angry if they really thought the Sussexes’ statement was nonsense. Clearly, it hit a nerve.
It’s just ridiculous! The queen’s statement claims they cant do PUBLIC service, and H&M issued a statement they could live a life of service. The word public wasn’t mentioned in their statement, but ALL the RR howls about how H&M don’t understand what public service means. They let BP issue a statement, and then they clarified they couldn’t be official patrons anymore, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stop supporting the charities. ALL this shitshow could be avoided if the BP stated right away that H&M would still support the charities in a privat capasity. But of course, that would make it seem like the queen and BP are friendly towards H&M. It would seem like they’re not punished and still considered well liked members of the family. And the most important; the RR couldn’t make 100 stories trashing H&M, and that seems to be the main point for the courtiers.
@Couch Potato, imo that shows just how desperate they are to keep churning out anti-Sussex content: they had to focus on that ONE word, “public,” not the entirety of the statement, in order to turn it into Harry and Meghan being wrong. They’re grasping at straws and looking more pathetic by the day.
I still don’t buy that Harry and Meghan were shocked at losing the patronages. Maybe disappointed but this was going on for a year. I would think this was discussed when they left and knew it likely would happen.
Me neither. I think they were prepared for the possibility but they hoped they could work something out. Maybe Harry told the Queen to get the patronages opinions on what they want and thought it could it could change her mind. But they obviously not only did not consult the patronages they left them completely out of the loop and gave them no warning.
I think they were prepared for the possibility based on Harry’s chat with the rugby guys in the summer. But it was reported last January that his military associations had been stripped but they were keeping their royal patronages so the position shifted over the year.
The firm had started to brief the press about the Sussexes losing their patronages whilst Philip was in hospital so can’t have been that bothered about ‘timing’.
The palace has to say that H&M were surprised so it looks like a punishment. The Duke and Duchess of Montecito didn’t want the review and were already prepared to lose everything. As you’ve all mentioned, Harry said as much in his conversation with his rugby patronage. The queen just wants to look like she was in control, when we damn well no she wasn’t.
@JT ITA. At this point it’s just pure desperation coming from the Palace. They’re still reeling at how things went so differently from their expectations (that the Sussexes would immediately fail after leaving the Firm) that their only move now to try and retain even the shred of dignity they might have left is to criticize Harry and Meghan every chance they get.
How anyone thinks this is a winning strategy, long-term, for the BRF is a mystery to me, but here we are.
Yeah, I agree. Let’s not forget that the Queen prohibited the laying wreath on Harry’s behalf for Remembrance Day. Harry knew being stripped of their patronages was likely. He hinted to that when he did the Zoom call with the Rugby League last year. Of course, he and Meghan would be disappointed but it wasn’t a shock, they know the Queen and the Palace are vindictive.
@AmyBee I realize that the Sussexes know better than anyone how cruel and petty the people they’re dealing with are, but I can also believe that the wreath incident really might have been a bit of a shock to Harry. It was SO publicly cruel, petty, and unnecessary. All it did was offend and anger veterans, and it made the BRF look awful.
But then I remember how they refused to let Meghan attend that memorial service for Diana and am reminded that nothing, absolutely nothing, is too low for these people, especially when it comes to Harry.
This
The palace just wants H&M to be as shocked and blindsided as they are but as we’ve seen, Harry and Meghan are always prepared.
Katie Nicholl is such a loser. Cannot believe that Vanity Fair is scooping the bottom of the barrel for Royal coverage..
Cannot express how much I miss the writing of Dominic Dunn and Tina Brown for Vanity Fair.
Agreed. I cannot stand that such a talentless hack is being paid to sell her insipid fan fiction as reality. The grift is remarkable to me.
I know. Radhika Jones has sucked the life out of VF. I was a subscriber for 15 years and I let my subscription lapse because the magazine is just AWFUL now. so boring, such terrible layout, visually sad, every article is woke porn. I hate it.
@bros – I almost cancelled my subscription to Vanity Fair but decided to keep it to have access to the online archive. I did let my Vogue subscription lapse when Anna Wintour put Kim & Kanye West on the cover. Vogue is in worse shape than Vanity Fair.
@Bay OMFG I miss Dominick Dunne so, so much. There have been so many times since his death that I found myself wondering what his take would have been on a given issue. I swear I probably think about him at least once a week. That was such a loss.
Every time my new edition of Vanity Fair arrives in the mail, I think about Tina Brown and I think about the lovely memories I have of reading everything Dominic Dunn wrote.
I was just thinking of him yesterday when I read Tavi G.’s article in NYmag about Brittany and the commodification of famous young women. It mentioned Dunne’s daughter.
@Coffee I hadn’t seen that but I’m going to go look for it now — thank you for mentioning it!
I loved reading Dominic Dunne’s pieces in VF. VF now is really a shadow of its former self. I wasn’t a Graydon Carter fan by any means but I have to admit, he put out a good magazine. The current VF regime is extraordinarily weak.
Seems that courtiers are salty that they can no longer take cheap shots at House Sussex with impunity. Nowadays you take a swipe in the queen’s name, get backhanded by the ‘wellness coach,’ and diminish your queen in doing so. Oopsies. 😂
ding ding ding
this is it I think…it’s more about how dare they respond back to our statement and stand up for themselves.
@Athyrmose, YES! They can’t believe that the Sussexes actually have the audacity to issue a response defending themselves.
At the same time, these salty statements are the only thing they have left to slam H&M with, so some part of them must be grateful to have this fodder so they have something to write and bitch about. A real Sophie’s Choice type situation for these pathetic “experts.”
Yes, the Queen was so preoccupied with Phillip’s hospitalization, she managed to yank their patronages and send out a statement. Sure, sure, sure. So ridiculous.
The Queen knew Phillip was sick and that didn’t stop her from yanking the patronages. She could have waited until he was out of the hospital. She could have notified the patronages before she yanked them. Her timing is suspect. She did everything she did to punish Harry because he chose his family over the monarchy. She got clapped back because she & her courtiers were short-sighted and tone deaf. William is an idiot. He caused all of this so he can stay incandescently mad and pressed and wandering because Harry & Meghan don’t give af.
Can you imagine how unhappy CamFed is right now? Having Harry & Meghan generated loads of support. Now they either will have no official patron, or will get stuck with some Royal who feels public duty is clapping & short zoom calls. No lives changed for the better. Just photo ops with brown people.
They werent patrons of CamFed, they just worked with them, which I’m sure they’ll continue to do.
I guess it would be hard for me to understand to if I was a pissy jerk and had deluded myself into thinking we live in a dictatorship not a democracy where I could bully who I want. Thoughts and prayers to Willy wonkas ego 🥰❤️
Mrs queenie was the one who didn’t care that her cousin was in the hospital when she took their patronages away and made that condescending statement about her and her family being the only ones who can serve.
Also Wilson is always angry at something, and it’s time he seeks help
William needs to get over himself. he’s just big mad he’s the uglier brother.. he has the duller wife, he’s dumber and really the only thing he has going for him is that he has cute kids. Also he is the heir presumptive and not the heir apparent. Charles is the named heir so he is the heir apparent . When Charles becomes king Willnot becomes Heir apparent.,…if the monarchy survives that long. It is falling apart in front of our eyes and I am here for it.
It really is unraveling, isn’t it? Over . . . Harry’s wife? I’d never believe any of it was real, except that we’ve come to a point in history where everyone in the western world has to make a decision as to whether they’re clinging to old hierarchies and racial privilege or joining the new era. It’s been a bizarre confluence of events the last few years watching Britain and the U.S. (among other western nations) struggle with this newly vocal population of white supremecists and somehow Meghan just came along at the same time and became a one woman representation of that within the RF.
oh for sure.. she came in at the right time … just pulled off the rose tinted glasses and the shroud of glamour the BRF had… you could see the mask slip when princess Michael of Kent wore that horrible broach and it all went down from there… they need to go.
@AliBeeBee this is one of the most accurate comments I’ve ever seen on this site. You summed it up perfectly. At least, for us, it is extremely entertaining to watch. William has deserved a comeuppance for a long time and maybe this will be it.
@BettyRose I also agree with your comment — I hadn’t thought about it that way, but you’re right, and it’s interesting (well, and a lot of other things, unfortunately) to witness. And ITA that Meghan’s timing made her a lightning rod for so many of the issues you mentioned.
William was not being protective of the Queenie or anything; he rages every time Harry or Meghan do anything. Prince Philip was sitting in his own wing at Windsor Castle when the statements were released and walked into the hospital the next day. Please get your facts straight Ms. Nicholl because it appears you are again twisting the narrative.
How are they all so BAD AT THIS ????!!!!
It’s a stunning public relations failure, honestly. They’ve backed themselves into a corner where they’ve exposed their internal racism and unearned privilege to the public. Their actions will not reflect well on them and may even further tarnish the legacy of the BRF.
“After us, the deluge” – indeed!
“It’s a stunning public relations failure, honestly.”
YES !!!!
Like. Damn.
They are being paid to spew the words DM readers want to see.
@Tiffany, right? It’s absolutely unbelievable to see over and over again how spectacularly incompetent they are, considering they have the resources (and the prestige, at least up until very recently) to hire the best of the best of PR professionals in *the world.*
How is there not ONE person BtS (hello Charles?) who can see this situation clearly for what it is and clean house immediately? I will be forever baffled at how long this sh!tshow was allowed to continue.
Do they honestly not see how much irreparable damage has been done to the worldwide reputation of the BRF over the past few years?
The accuracy of your comment Lorelei. In this, Our Lord Beyonce 2021, this is happening.
I use to laugh, but now I am just embarrassed for them. How many times you gonna fall on your face when you realize you have to tie your shoe.
Charles has no freaking clue how PR works and never did. He married the embodiment of fan-f–king-tastic PR and could not see or understand what she could do for him, how she could have helped burnish his image and made him shine as a beloved prince and future monarch. And after H&M’s wedding, that biography of Charles (done with his approval and quotes) only portrayed him as beleaguered by his sons’ bickering and as the only mature person in his famiy. Charles is an arrogant, egotistical manchild in many, many, many ways and always has been.
Charles and Andrew worked together to remove the Queen’s previous secretary. That guy actually really liked Meghan and was with her on one of her engagements. I think the current guy doesn’t like Meghan.
According to a recent biography (the one about the battling brothers, I think), the Queen’s current Private Secretary REALLY REALLY dislikes Meghan!
@Kalana – His name is Christopher Geidt.
Christopher Edward Wollaston MacKenzie Geidt, Baron Geidt, GCB, GCVO, OBE, QSO, PC is a member of the House of Lords and Chair of King’s College London. He was Private Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 2007 to 2017.
I know why Andrew could not stand him but I do not remember the riff or details of the riff with Charles.
Tiffany—when people think they are better/smarter than everyone/the serfs, they. Are. Never. Wrong. Ever.
It’s both, but I personally like the stories. I’ve always been interested in the royals, but even more so now because of Meghan. The undoing of the RF over this woman of color has also been a fascinating parallel to Brexit and the rise of white nationalism stateside, yet somehow more palatable to discuss.
ETA: The post I was responding to is gone.
@bettyrose I think you’re right. Meghan and Brexit really hit some nerves for British white supremacists. Meghan is everything they hate and Brexit is everything they love. They wanted Meghan gone and Brexit to become law. They got everything they wanted. But they’re still freaking mad and so resentful (b/c the world is changing, no matter how hard they cling to their racism). And Britain is getting smaller and smaller and smaller as a result of Sussexit and Brexit.
Dee Kay –
Well, that’s the problem with progress, isn’t it? People will always find it terrifying but it can’t actually be stopped. Humanity has horrible examples of wars, slavery, genocide . . . and yet progress marched on.
I remember the press and BP didn’t like it when Harry and Meghan put a statement following the announcement that were prohibited from using Sussex Royal and that there would be one year review. I guess BP, William and the press will have to get used to fact that no one speaks for Meghan and Harry except themselves and if BP puts out a statement that seeks to demean or undermine them, that Harry and Meghan will respond. It’s also important to remember that the Queen decided that it was necessary to put out a statement about Meghan and Harry at the same time that Phillip was in the hospital. She could have waited until he was discharged but I’m guessing she wanted to get a jump on the Oprah interview.
William was trying to suck up the Queen and the Establishment and he bungled it. It’s Flybe all over again. And he outed himself as a sneaky little B who leaks to the press. Omid’s tweet gave me life.
Which Tweet?
“Omid used the phrase “incandescent with rage”
“Outrage over a TV interview only to follow up by briefing private family details and innermost thoughts via anonymous source quotes to the national press. Please make it make sense.” –Feb 21
The Queen just doesn’t understand that apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. For such family to sit on the throne, their ancestors have always been ruthless. Harry is from this family. He carries the family traits.
Does anyone think that Charles could change this decision once the queen retires or dies? Harry is his son after all.
I don’t want to give Charles too much credit, but I think it’s possible? Diana once said in an interview that while Charles was disappointed Harry wasn’t a girl, they actually became close…….closer than Charles and William.
Billy seems most afraid about pots of tea being spilled on him. The queen is doing her worst to protect the Crown at all costs.
RAGING Biiiill
Billy should spend more time doing actual service instead of leaking his rage to the press.
Billy should just go back to his hobby of gardening and servicing Rose bushes.
I think the royals got used to them being able to slander about Meghan and Harry without any response by them . Now Meghan and Harry can and will response when they are being Disrespected and belittle and lie about to make the royals look like their in control . William just mad that you lied about the Sussex’s or slandered them anymore because they will response back and most people will agree with them . It’s no longer a one sided storyline which benefits only William and kate now there three sides to the story .
I love the description of William’s supposed reactions to his brother as “furious, saddened and shocked.” I call bullshit on all these spurious adjectives. Just say as the stock response, “William is incandescent with rage.” Whatever. This family really sucks.
Prince William is a spoiled brat even as an adult.
He is really overly impressed with himself, and for a guy with only one sibling, could he be more unforgiving? Weeping Jayzus! Your kid brother got married and moved = not a murderer, or a pedo like your Uncle.
Plenty of people have in-laws they don’t really enjoy spending time with. We are reasonably polite, smile, go over to visit on holidays and shut up about it.
Personally I spent 8 years eating thanksgiving dinner and being polite with the in-laws, where’s my crown? lol
The entire human race is under a pandemic, your kid brother quitting the family biz does not actually matter to one person other than you, your Pa, and Grandma.
We’re roughly the dame age so I was there to experience it, but I still can’t get over the fact that PWT was a teen idol!