For years now, I’ve believed that Prince William is the Wales brother who hates the press more. William’s tangles with the press are no secret – he actively tries to “stick it to them” whenever possible, and I tend to believe the week-long wait for Prince Louis’s name was part of his prickly-with-the-media campaign. But it’s past time for me to acknowledge that Prince Harry has the same kinds of feelings, and that he absolutely loathes the media too. I thought/hoped that Meghan Markle’s entrance into the royal fold would help matters: she’s an actress, she understands the give-and-take of being a celebrity/public figure, she knows how to give an interview. But I think Meghan’s entrance has actually made Harry more reticent towards the press, because he hates the way the British press treats Meghan.
So… no surprise, Kensington Palace announced this week that media outlets would be very restricted in their access close to and within St. George’s Chapel for Meghan and Harry’s wedding. One reporter – ONE! – will be allowed inside the chapel. Four photojournalists will get positions just outside the chapel. The rest will have to take positions along the route. Which has led to the NY Times writing an article about how Harry has been giving the media the “cold royal shoulder” ahead of the wedding:
For decades, when not effervescing over royal weddings and births, the tabloids have castigated the royals as lazy, frumpy, dissipated or self-indulgent. The royals have used all the means at their disposal to curtail access to their personal lives. https://t.co/ZgZLcfPIYx
— Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) May 2, 2018
Some highlights, via International Business Times:
Harry’s relationship with the British media has changed over the years, says Arthur Edwards, a photographer for The Sun. During a recent interview with The New York Times, Edwards said that Prince Harry has become withdrawn because he is generally upset with them. The photographer said that he initially thought Prince Harry would be in a forgiving mood on his wedding day, but it seems this won’t be the case.
On Tuesday, the Kensington Palace confirmed that only one reporter will be allowed to enter St. George’s Chapel to cover the royal wedding. Four photojournalists will be given coveted spots outside the chapel. A rep for the palace said the place is small and Prince Harry and Markle’s wedding is not a state occasion.
Edwards told the publication that he thinks it was Prince Harry who made the decision regarding the media.
“I can’t imagine the press officer advising that to the prince. He and Meghan have seen what’s been written and said, ‘We don’t want anyone near the wedding.’ That’s a clear message, yeah,” he said. Markle has not been treated well by the media. Ever since it was revealed that she and Prince Harry were dating, some publications criticized her for being a biracial American who is also divorced. Multiple news companies have also released interviews with Markle’s family members.
But the feud between Prince Harry and the British media started even before he started dating Markle. In fact, the royal family has been at odds with the media throughout the past couple of years. A senior journalist said, “They actually hate the British press. That’s probably a fair summary.” More specifically, the unnamed journalist said Princes William and Harry are more affected by the British media because they are thin-skinned compared to other members of the royal family.
One former palace aide defended the royal family and said the media has been releasing controversial stories as revenge for reduced access.
“It’s like a graph of a share price: up and down, and up and down. What the media doesn’t like is a plateau,” the palace aide said.
Harry and William are, according to that unnamed journalist, “thin-skinned in a way that other members of the royal family are not.” True or false? I’m not sure I would describe it as thin-skinned in Harry’s case. William is thin-skinned, absolutely. But Harry? With Harry, it feels like something else. I think Harry is genuinely appalled at how badly the British tabloids have treated Meghan, but obviously, there’s a lot of other stuff there. I’ve always felt like Charles and the Windsors encouraged William and Harry’s hatred of the media, and encouraged Harry and William to blame the media for Diana’s death. That way, Charles and the royal establishment wouldn’t have to acknowledge their own roles in Diana’s death. It’s all very Shakespearean, honestly.
Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry have announced which carriage they’ll be using on their wedding day:
Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have selected the Ascot Landau carriage for their procession through Windsor Town after their wedding on May 19th. pic.twitter.com/uR9bKgqmiX
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 2, 2018
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News, Backgrid & WENN.
I suppose the best way to really stick it to the British Press would be to invite in press from other countries, versus no press at all …
It’s also a handy way to limit access to any outlet that might “hire” Meghan’s family members as “correspondents”
Brilliant!
Oh good call Enny, had not thought of that. I am sure that one of the rags would send in her sister to “report” on the day.
Absolutely this.
Plus, the press have been little pot-stirring racist pissers to her on the whole, so their foot stamping at this point amuses me. I would normally say, hey, people! Not this time. In my opinion, they have earned the cold shoulder.
Big mistake to piss off the press. We know what happened when’s Diana wanted some space from the same press she had courted before – they became relentless and turned against her.
They’re still being pissy. Today KP issued a statement that since we “just saw Charlotte” when William took the kids to the hospital to meet Louis, there will not be a picture issued today, on her birthday; that he public will likely get a “family pic” when one is released of the baby (like when George was “holding” Charlotte after her birth), and at HM’s wedding, and Trooping of the Colour.
Like, WTF???! Does the child have only so many pictures in her lifetime, and she’s already used up the allotted amount up till now?? How excruciatingly petty to not release one of her today? It truly is a giant FU…flipping the bird at everyone.
@imgrious2 I don’t think that’s true. I follow them on Instagram and there was a picture of Charlotte for her birthday as noted in the caption in a cute little burgundy jacket and little mary janes. To be honest, I’d be pissy when it came to my kids too. Exactly how many pictures of a kid that’s not your own does a person need?
That photo was taken on her first day of preschool earlier this year… so it’s not a new photo.
Well, to be fair to Kate, and I rarely take her side, she may be busy with a brand new baby and getting kids to bond, versus doing a photo shoot. Even with Mother Middleton and nannies, she is likely distracted.
Liberty, they could have done a photo shoot anytime in the last month before the new baby arrived.
It is a TERRIBLE idea to piss off the press. Who said to not make enemies with someone who buys ink by the barrel?? It’s very good advice.
Pissing off the press will unleash them against Meghan more than Harry. Harry is certainly Dim.
Yeah as if sucking up to them has worked so far? It doesn’t matter, they will still be snide with their passive aggressive racism. It won’t stop just because they are nice, in fact, it can have the opposite effect. The press will see niceness as weakness and go after them even more because they can get away with it.
Better to put up firm boundaries. Oh and they don’t have as much power anymore since social media and people getting wiser to their tricks.
Btw, I have posted nice comments on the dailyfail about harry and meg and they got deleted. Wrong move because it makes people side with harry and meg, especially if you were neutral before. Wrong strategy on the dailyfails part.
Harry has NEVER sucked up the press, nor has William. Diana did and got great press for a very long time. And if they want boundaries, then harry needs to take himself out of the line of succession.
You can’t have it both ways, sorry. It is like me telling my boss I want my paycheck, but I don’t want to come in and work for it. Even the royals can’t get away with such entitlement.
Why should he take himself out of the line of succession, Diana wasn’t an HRH and the press didn’t leave her alone.
@Veronica T
Hater gonna hate
Why are Americans demanding Harry take himself out of the United Kingdom line of succession?
Didn’t it turn out it was mostly people from the US signing the government petition to try to deny Meghan Markle a title upon marriage too?
Well I think that DM is presently trying to clean up its act. I made a comment about the latest nonsense open letter from the male half sibling and naturally I got lots of negative responses, but today I noticed that all the negative responses have been removed from it. Also the top comment is a positive one for a change. DM is trying to be nice….too late mate!
If Harry wants privacy, just like you all are always saying about William, he should remove himself. Amazing, the tap dancing that goes on to excuse Harry. I’m consistent – if you don’t want fame, quit what brings you fame.
Not hateful. Logical.
And I have seen no evidence that the negative comments on H&M are from Americans. More wishful thinking.
So many calls from non-UK posters demanding Harry remove himself from the succession.
Many of the negative DM comments are people who choose to say they are from the US in their user names. The petition to deny a married title to Meghan Markle was proven to have mostly US names on it. Feel free to look that up.
Harry and Meghan haven’t gone the Zara route and refused to have cameras at the wedding. They aren’t refusing to film but selling their wedding pictures to Hello like Peter and Autumn did. They’re doing what Edward and Sophie did. They are having the entire wedding live streamed, filmed, and broadcast. Members of the public have been invited, members of the public are also invited via lottery to be in the grounds on Windsor.
I don’t dislike Harry but this hating the press gets up my nose. They will still take the welfare checks and get their “apartments” refurbished on the tax payer’s dime. Gauche.
Nah. Sorry Harry not with you on this one.
Completely agree.
The difference in the way the press treated Kate and Chelsea davy tells it all. I mean Chelsea graduated with a law degree and they made her look like a drunk. While Kate was a drunk who graduated with an Mrs degree and they made her look like a saint.
I mean he has to go into protective mode and i don’t blame him. I read an article a week ago in the times where they basically called Meghan a prostitute. I don’t blame him at all.
What formerly known as Amy said.
I’ll add that Chelsy studied for 2 degrees before she took her law conversion course, but she was made out to be a drunk mess complete with a derogatory nickname about her looks – Miss Piggy.
I agree with formerly known as Amy and LAK.
In addition, I would say That when the press behave like little cruel vipers, then gasp in astonishment when not invited in, I can only shake my head.
The press is not always pure of motive, and saying “better not piss them off” suggests they are bullies to be obeyed, which also, at thus time in our world…well.
Totally agree Louise. Happy enough for the plebs to pay for the security etc for your wedding, but sorry no photos. It’s so self important and clueless, but not surprising.
Even more frustrating is that they (and HArry especially) are perfectly happy to use the media to play up their ‘every-man’ image. Harry has done loads of interviews in recent years, as long as he is shown in a positive light.
Pathetic.
You can watch the whole thing on TV it’s not like Harry’s saying no press at all. Video>>>>pictures
Thanks for the tip Pretty, but I have no desire to watch it. It seems you have completely missed my point.
It is interesting that the very same people who are saying that they do not care about Harry and Meghan’s wedding are the same people complaining that there will be limited access for journalists. On the day of the wedding I bet my bottom dollar that all the people saying that they won’t be watching will be the first to make comments.
Nope, Clare, read it again — they are having limited press in for all that, just not a gaggle of press vipers. The NYT is just jelly and thus, throwing shade.
@Louise – ITA. You can’t make statements like you think the world “still needs the magic” of royalty (sorry, not buyin’ that one, either, Harry) and then not play ball. The royal family (and not just this one) has always had an ambivalent relationship with the media, and I think that reached new levels with Diana.
I also think that the press here, from what I’ve read, has treated Meghan for the most part nicely. It’s only the DM (and, like, consider the source, they did the same thing to Kate and Harry’s other GFs) and a few moron blogs who seem to have picked up some bored members from the Sophie Hunter Is the Devil cabal. It’s not as if HELLO, or the TIMES, or The Independent, or respectable papers have written nastily about her. It’s the dregs, like it always has been. And even the DM is being careful in what it says, itself – it has let the friends/family do its dirty work for it and yeah, it sells, what else is new? But its own articles are all carefully couched in sugary articles about her wonderful fashion every time she steps out in something new.
Sometimes Harry seems really petulant and spoiled and unaware of just how much he was given unearned, in exchange for a few annoying bits. Harry should be more careful – those threats he issued before the engagement were, looking back, unwise. I don’t think the media will forget about that, and will bide its time until it can unsheath its claws when it thinks it has a good enough case to get away with it.
All that said, this venue isn’t Westminster Abbey or St. Paul’s, so I’m wondering if the cut-down of press presence goes along with a general sense I’m getting that this wedding is intended to be Royal Wedding Lite.
“But its own articles are all carefully couched in sugary articles about her wonderful fashion every time she steps out in something new.” The DM is also responsible for it’s incredibly foul and racist comment section, which is among the worst of all websites. They aren’t off the hook because they write sugary article about her clothes. That ignorant site might as well call themselves the Hate Meghan Markle website.
Yes, Lady D. The DM allows the racist comments to flow freely about her, with no attempt to moderate or shut down users with multiple names.
@Lady D – yes, I agree re the comments stuff. But the DM is the major culprit; the Telegraph is always putting up gushing columns about her and her clothes and how wonderful she will be for the monarchy – it’s the DM and they are the known quantity. No one expects anything different from them. “The press” however includes all the other outlets (I admit I haven’t read the Sun or Mirror – I tried and I can’t even figure out their front pages), the respectable papers, haven’t been anything but nice.
But I agree with Rhys above – it’s dangerous to piss the press as a whole off. They may have been reined in recently but they’re far from powerless, and the royals need them to beef up their images of duty, hard work, etc. I still think Harry has a highly exaggerated sense of how important he is, how much power he has, and how little he really needs them. After the Queen is raptured (meaning no disrespect) the monarchy I think is going to be viewed very differently. Harry should be careful, is all I’m saying.
@ violet media is changing, the “magic of royalty” can be communicated to the people without the media maybe even more effectively. They need each other but the balance of power btwn the media and royalty is changing and we have to wait and see where this goes.
I read the DM comments sometimes and while they are 90% against Meghan, very very rarely does anyone mention race. They mention her age, her career, the grilling video, the divorce, (there is a large contingent that believe she had an annulment, too) the naked video that got out about her recently, that she has left people and things behind, etc. etc. Now you can argue it is about race, but people don’t mention it. I think it is more about her being American, an actress who did work scantily clad, and her divorce.
And the cost of the wedding to the taxpayers, which I have to agree with, for 6th in line to the throne marrying a woman married before. Seems excessive.
And the comments in the Guardian were no better, although most of them focused on the cost to taxpayers of the wedding.
@Louise, that my first reaction too. They want the perks, but they don’t want to pay the price.
I would imagine, that if at age 12, your Mother was killed in a car accident while being relentlessy pursued by the paparazzi you might have some residual dislike of the press……a trauma like that is going to mark you for life.
Can you imagine what it must be like to have cameras in your face all the time? I’m going to give him a pass on this.
But harry and William are perfectly happy to play along with the press when it suits their agenda. They’re royals, public figures, it’s part of the job. They want only the perks.
Members of the royal family are entitled to a reasonable degree of privacy and do not deserve to be hounded. We are not entitled to know every single detail about their existence.
Diana died because she got in a car with a drunk driver and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. She died because she was pursued by the very same paparazzi she had played with and encouraged for years. William and Kate did the same thing, encouraging the Press to chase them upon exiting nightclubs. Diana played with fire and it ended badly for her – it was a culmination of events. The Press are blameable, but to blame them we also must blame Diana and her decisions and her driver. No one forced that lifestyle on her and whilst I can understand why William and Harry feel the way they do the simple fact is it was a wholly avoidable and meaningless accident caused in no small part by Diana herself. I appreciate many of you won’t agree but that’s what happened.
@PrincessK
So, was Harry hounded for those 16 months he was wooing Meghan? Harry is not a victim and it seems to me he very much has a private life.
Yeah, no – given the racism and general grossness I’ve seen from the British press, I think his “hate” is completely warranted. Might not be the most strategic way to play it, but it makes a whole lot of sense.
@lobbit – but it hasn’t been “the British press” – it’s almost all been the DM. I haven’t seen anything like that in the TIMES, Telegraph, Independent, Standard – and HELLO falls all over Meghan (although it must be said that HELLO doesn’t criticize anyone – no matter what Beatrice or Eugenie wear, they pay it a compliment). Kate was jeered at by the DM and the tabs for years – “Waity Katie” was not a compliment. “British Press” takes in a lot territory, and only one sector of it has been mean. Even the right-wing Spectator has an article up about why “Why Britain Is Lucky to Have Meghan Markle”. (I can’t read it because it has a paywall and I don’t subscribe.)
I think Harry’s initial letter wasn’t to address something that was really happening across the board, but to issue an early warning to the British press that he wanted only nice things said about the woman he clearly already intended to marry. I think it was mistake, and I think it will bear dismaying fruit at a later time when all the rosy stuff of the wedding has dimmed. That’s just my opinion.
No…it’s definitely been the “British Press.” As I said down thread, there was the DM’s “niggling” worries about Meghan Markle and their discussion of her “rich and exotic” DNA and their linking her to “crime-ridden” Compton, LA – never mind that she’s never actually lived there. And there was the BBC linking Harry’s attraction for Meghan to his love for holidays in Africa. There was the, as you said, right wing Spectator stating outright that it would make more sense for Meghan to be Harry’s mistress than his wife (in two, separate articles, I believe). There was the Tatler celebrating Harry’s engagement with an article about American women snagging British dudes with oral sex. I mean, I could go on but I’m sure you get the point.
I agree that it’s all gonna get worse, but for the sake of accuracy, I feel like I should point out that Harry’s statement was (quite literally) a plea to stop harassing his new lady friend – stop smearing her name (by linking her to a porn site, which is what happened right before he issued the statement). Stop stalking her and her mom and friends and co-workers. Stop it with the racism and sexism. To say that he was commanding the press to “only say nice things” about Meghan is a misrepresentation. Maybe that was the tenor of the statement but that’s not at all what was said. That’s just the facts.
I know. The royals are completely dependent on the largesse and good will of the taxpayers. They want the money from the loser plebes, but don’t want to give them any access to their lives at all.
The wedding is being televised isn’t that enough, do you want cameras inside their house big brother style. When is it good enough for you
Did you know that the king and queen used to have their marriage consummation witnessed by a large group of courtiers?? No one wants that, of course!! But these people’s lives are not private, regardless of what they wish, because they live off the largesse of the taxpayer. I think since the taxpayers are paying the bill for a huge part of it, it should be public with reporters allowed. The royals are brats. William isn’t releasing a picture of Charlotte on her 3rd birthday. After a while, who will care about them anymore?
And if you don’t think the press is angry, go see the to story on the DM, and the National Enquirer story that just happened to come out now (shocked!!) about Meghan’s first annulled marriage.
The gloves have come off.
@Veronica T, even if the entire BRF give in to the passive aggressive bullying from the tabs and their supporters, nothing will change. The haters will continue to put out hit pieces about the BRF regardless. I guess folks think the more and more bullying will force Harry to change his mind, hahaha, not happening. It just makes me so happy that prince Harry is giving all haters the ultimate “flipping the bird” ever. No tabloids at their wedding 😘😘. The whinning can continue till kingdom come but that’s final. Go Harry and Meghan, enjoy yr day, and let those interested in yr love story watch the live coverage (I’ll be glued to my TV come May 19). I’m thrilled for them and I wish them all the best on their big day and a bright future.
You’re giving credence to the National Enquirer now? SMH
NOTA, you misunderstood my point. I said that while it might feel good to give the press the middle finger while stans here cheer, it leads to stories like the one the Natl Enquirer just ran to come out. That was surely blowback for how Harry has been treating the press.
Any PR person with a pulse would tell Harry to make his peace w the press. William too. Or they will make his life and his family’s life miserable.
Surely you aren’t suggesting they kiss up to places like National Enquirer and Woman’s Day, who constantly make things up out of thin air? The tabloids are going to publish whatever they want, regardless of what these two do.
They are live streaming and having full televised access to the wedding. They’re not banning the press; they’re just not giving the hundreds of members of the press better/more access than the general public.
Yeah, harry is a jerk just like Bill when it comes to the press.
LOL, my first thought this morning when I woke up to the Kensington Palace Tweets: HORSES
And can they please tell us the bridal party already? I CAN’T TAKE THE WAITING ANYMORE.
The Horse on the Kensington Palace Insta is the best! Horse snuggles for the win!
I am also here for the horses!
I don’t’ blame Harry one bit. Good for him.
👍🏻
lol W&H are both thin-skinned freeloaders.
Charles is hosting a big post-wedding shindig or knees up as the British say.
I wonder how much they’re dinging the taxpayer on that one?
From what was published, Charles is paying for the evening party, and the Queen is paying for the luncheon after the wedding. And before someone starts yelling, yes, I *know* that their income is/was derived from “the people” initially.
Exactly.
I just assume the Princes have distain for the press because they blame them for their mother’s death.
Uh they seem to have no issue with the media when its being used to further THEIR narrative…so no, that excuse doesn’t really fly.
But that’s literally the point of PR. Every single public figure is okay with the press when it works with the narrative that they wish to push. 🤷🏾♀️
I mean…what Starryfish said. Of course they have no problem using the press to their advantage. What good is the press to a public figure/institution otherwise?
I assume they hate the media even before she died because they did hound her..she was at the time the most photographed woman in the world.
Yes, yes I know she courted it sometimes but they did hound her non stop. And her children saw it first hand….as for Charles making them feel this way I don’t buy that. They obviously have grave feelings toward him because of their mother to this day so I doubt anything his says /said would of made a difference.
I don’t think it’s all about Diana’s death. Controlling media coverage also means less transparency.
And more chances to hop on private planes to Norway, or Mustique, or Africa, or Germany to go hunting, and more chances to Dad dance with pals and flirt with blondes, and more chances to live off of the people and have none of the ignorant plebes know any better.
I can’t imagine having to pay for the security for Ivanka trump’s wedding, or Chelsea Clinton’s wedding because they want to drive around in a carriage and wave to the peasants for good photo-ops. I think most Americans would flip out about this. Harry has very little function in his life. He does some charities, cuts some ribbons, but at what he and his brother cost the taxpayers, they should be out every day, all day, like Ann and Charles, earning their keep.
And if the press wants to annoy Harry back, just don’t show up. Boycott.
But we do pay for the security… unless you think the secret service and police are volunteers?
The taxpayers are paying a lot for the security for this event. It seems like they want to live a certain way but they also want to dictate what is written about them. That might sound harsh but it is the reality of the situation.
The taxpayer pay for security for the FA cup but i don’t hear anyone whinging about it.
Is the FA cup blocking access to the event? Blocking the press from coming? No?
Apples and oranges.
We don’t get every detail of the FA cup and behind the scenes. What is the difference here?
Formerly known as Amy — exactly.
From what I understand, Diana was a pro at inviting press into her life when it suited her purpose. She also made the decision to get into a vehicle with an impaired driver going way too fast and not wear a seatbelt. There’s a lot you can blame Charles or the RF for, but I don’t think her death is one of them.
If anything, I think this snub is down to how the press continues to treat Meghan. She went to private schools and had a solid middle class upbringing, but the press loves to make out she social-climbed her way out of the ghetto. Disgusting.
I’ve always kind of felt this way, and maybe I’m just missing details??
But Diana had a very complicated relationship with the press, and she used them A LOT.
I am not a conspiracy person, and I always think why did they drive so fast to get away from some motorcycle paparazzi? What is scandalous about sitting in the back seat of a car with your boyfriend? Just let them take those boring ass pictures and get there safely.
It wasn’t the press that killed her – just some really bad luck following some poor decisions about personal safety. I guess we always look to blame someone, and it hurts to blame the person you lost.
I think that if I am looking at it from the standpoint of Diana’s sons, I understand them seeing it as if the paparazzi was not there in large numbers trying to take a picture and using aggressive means to do so, then their mother would not have been killed in the effort to evade them.
From my standpoint, I definitely see the other factors at play, like the driver being drunk, botched orders from incompetent Dodi and Diana creating the circus environment when she tipped off the paps to get pictures of her canoodling with Dodi.
AAA, Harry also mentioned that ‘instead of trying to help Diana, the press was focused on taking pictures of her in the back of that car’…That comment in my opinion speaks very loudly & clearly…
I had a wealthy uncle in London back when Diana was a divorcee. The rumor was she enjoyed racing around London with the paparazzi running after her. She would slow down at lights like she was going to stop and then punch the gas when the light turned red. It was a game to her that backfired terribly in Paris. IMHO the boys have made their deceased mother a saint in their minds that she wasn’t in real life. She was a flawed woman. Buy a Rolls Royce with dark windows and a privacy screen between yourself and the driver so the paparazzi can’t see you. Diana had the money but she wanted her little game. Too bad the Princes can’t see their mother clearly.
Fergie didn’t court the press and as we know they’ve been so kind to her and her children. It’s Diana’s fault and nothing to do with nasty fleet street.
(sarcasm)
@FormerlyknownasAmy Tell’em. I love yr sarcasm😋😋😋
And Chelsey Davy did not court the press either and ooohh see how respectful of her privacy they were! (More sarcasm)
I’m not surprised. I read somewhere that Harry has lodged more complaints with IPSO and the predecessor than William. But William gets more criticism for it.
Thank you for pointing this out. I know when I have seen IPSO complaints listed that Harry’s name is listed far more than any other royal.
When Harry issued the statement in 2016 confirming his relationship with Meghan, my first thought was that this action was being taken so that complaints can be filed or other actions can be taken by Meghan or on her behalf.
The press has been more brutal to Harry because he’s the spare so that makes total sense.
“because they are thin-skinned compared to other members of the royal family”
If my mother had died in a card accident caused by paparazzi, I would be slightly thin-skinned towards invasive tabloid journalists too.
Adding on to that having your phones tapped.
But don’t you think it’s important to separate tabloid journalists from more trusted, mainstream ones? The BRF has a long and strong relationship with some very good journalists. Why not just work with THOSE and reject all others?
I agree, but the thing is that British tabloid journalism is the mainstream in Britain. The top papers there are the Sun and the Daily Mail – definitely tabloid journalism. The more serious newspapers like the Guardian and the Independent seem to be staunch anti-monarchists. The best the royals could do would be to find allies within different news organizations, and I think they’ve done that to some degree.
Plus paparazzi continuing to take pictures of your mother while she’s bleeding to death instead of helping her. Yes I would be very angry.
But be angry with those particular cameramen, and other paparazzi maybe, but not with every journalist and photographer in the world. Denying photographers access is denying the public – the people on whose goodwill you rely in order to maintain your privileged position in society – access.
Diana’s decisions on that night to get into a car that night and race around Paris, when she and Dodi didn’t need to leave the hotel at all, and to not wear a seatbelt while the driver was driving at speed, and to not insist the driver slow down, are just as responsible for her death that night as the paps who pursued the verhicle, if not more so.
The British press and royals have a symbiotic relationship and Harry and William don’t understand that they need public approval for their taxpayer ride to continue. The paps who took pictures of their mother in the car crash were in France and not British paparazzi and so punishing all of them for something a few did in 1997 is childish.
Oh c’mon, the British tabloids are not these meek innocent people that they’re being portrayed to be here. They all are as nasty as the French tabloids. The British tabloids have been putting out hatchet job after hatchet job about Harry for ever. Funny how now Harry is the bad guy!! Where was the outcry when Chelsey was being dubbed Miss Piggy? Where was all the outcry when Meghan was being tarred and feathered by the British tabloids? Harry is just gone into self protective and preservation mode for himself and for Meghan and I say good for him. The British tabloids take every opportunity to take digs at Harry, always reminding him of mistakes he made 20+ years ago, keeping them fresh in the papers every day, where is the outcry and the demand for forgiveness for Harry?. The British tabloids never miss a chance of reminding Meghan how she is a POC, a divorcee, an actress yadda yadda yadda. Many British tabloids have put out hatchet job after hatchet job on Meghan spewing untruths about her and painting the ugly picture that they want out there in comparison to the English flower! Meghan can never measure up as far as the British tabloids are concerned, where is the outcry on Meghan’s behalf? Nothing in these papers bears any truth as to who Meghan is as a person. Should Harry let them run her off as they have done the other 2 in the past? Hell no, and I say good on him for standing up for himself and for the woman he loves.
Charles and the royal establishment had a role in Diana’s death? That’s a leap of logic, if I recall the driver of the car Diana was riding in was seen by witnesses drink large amounts of alcohol before getting behind the wheel of the car. So was Charles the bartender?
Please provide proof, that the inquiry did not find.
Furthermore it was Dodi who insisted on leaving the Ritz to drive to his apartment after dinner even though they had booked the Imperial Suite and Henri Paul had been visibly drinking pretty much all day. It was Dodi who was exhorting him to drive faster and faster to try and outrun the papps on motorbikes. So in essence it’s entirely Dodi’s fault that he chose to make the drive and Henri Paul’s fault for getting behind the wheel of a car intoxicated.
Alcohol, speed, lack of seatbelt, and possible tipping off of the paparazi by the driver. So I’m not all that sure how they could blame the royals for any direct hand in her death.
On the night of 31 August 1997, Paul was under the influence of alcohol and tried to elude paparazzi photographers at high speed—estimated at over double the 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) speed limit—when the Mercedes S280 he was driving crashed into a column supporting the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Paul’s blood alcohol content level was subsequently found to be between 1.73 g/L and 1.75 g/L (~>0.17% mass/vol.), a figure more than three times the threshold for drunk driving as defined under French law. Paul’s parents dispute the authenticity and the accuracy of the test results, as does Dodi’s father, Mohamed Al Fayed.
At the British inquest in February 2008, Stevens denied “deliberately misleading” Paul’s parents and explained the apparent contradiction in his statements by saying that Paul did not meet the standard definition of being drunk which is dependent on observable physical behaviour. He was though clearly “under the influence” of alcohol and unfit to drive.
In previously publicly unknown CCTV footage, which was shown to the British inquest jury on 4 October 2007, Henri Paul is seen on the night of the accident waving to photographers. Inspector Paul Carpenter who was giving evidence confirmed to the court that Paul had waved at the photographers within minutes of the couple’s departure. He said that one of the photographers, sitting in his car close to where the couple would later exit the hotel, was in contact with other paparazzi. Inspector Carpenter earlier explained to the jury: “You will see Henri Paul exit into Rue Cambon [at the back of the hotel] and when you watch this sequence you will see him raise his hand as if waving to the paparazzi across the road. If you look at the paparazzi across the road you will see one of them raises his camera . . . Jacques Langevin.” The images claim to cast doubt on the long-held belief that the group of paparazzi waiting outside the hotel had been acting without any help from inside the hotel
Diana insisted on giving up her RPOs and this all happened in France. But, yeah, blame it on the Brits.
I think it could be the family problems from MM’s side. And her father doesn’t like the spotlight at all it seems.
They want a more private wedding, as much as possible, they’ll get a more private wedding.
I don’t get the thing about a more private wedding – when we almost everyday get a piece of new information about guest, best man, carriage, flowers etc. They (the royal press staf) are using the wedding for publicity – which is totally okay – but not private.
That type of information would be released regardless, and is much less than what we got from W&K and their “private, semi-state, made up category” wedding. More private in being smaller, much less expensive to secure vs. Westminster, holding it at Windsor where the family weddings take place (Peter and Autumn, Sophie and Edward, Lady Helen Windsor/Taylor).
Well, all the bits about the invitations and cake and what not have been conveyed directly to the public via social media. I think they want to be inclusive of the public, but they don’t want to embrace the news media – that’s their version of “private,” imo.
Since KP didn’t have social media in 2011, this info was put out in press releases. Press and public had equal access to them. There were also multiple official articles, ex cake designer interview, published in the media done with the participation of the royal press department.
Well if Harry and William wear full military uniform on the day and the calvary come out on full force , it can hardly be called a private wedding.
For years William have gotten crap from the hardcore Harry stans about his attitude towards the press and his family. I am thoroughly enjoying the tap dancing going on now to justify Harry’s actions.
Harry is now showing his true colours. He reeks as much of entitlement as his brother and is as much a jobless slacker.
10 yrs in military full time and started invictus after that. Show me any other royal with his record.
Formerly, harry isn’t doing the hard work of Invictus. Logically, he doesn’t have the training and doesn’t put in the time to organize an event of this scope. He does swoop in for the photo-ops, though.
Harry is JUST like Wills, but with a bit more charisma.
You never pick up a fight with the cook
Wise words! 😀
Could it be because of what happened to his mother?
You will have video of the wedding and the official wedding photos stop being dramatic.
Harry is as thin skinned as his brother. He’s William with more charisma and empathy.
ITA. I don’t get the disappointment over the number of reporters allowed in the church and outside. The tabloids will be watching and printing bullsh*t while the live video is streaming and the reporters’ media companies will be selling their photos to other outlets (i.e. tabloids) as soon as they can process the digital copies. The tabloids, in turn, are going to print the same disparaging articles about Meghan they were running before the wedding. Just because the Fail and it’s ilk don’t get first to release rights doesn’t mean their readers won’t get the typical rapid trash reporting they’re grown accustomed to over the past year. The status quo will prevail.
+1
Agreed. I don’t get the vitriol. There will be tons of videos and photos and a flipping livestream. Everyone who wants to see this wedding will see this wedding. The only ones who lose out in this is the trashy tabloids and I say, good. The tabloids have been vicious, racist, and misogynistic towards Meghan since the beginning and they provided the vehicle for her so-called friends and family to sell her out. They would have stayed in the woodwork if the tabs weren’t paying, so good. Don’t reward bad behavior.
I’m torn on this one.
On the one hand, the press have acted absolutely appallingly when it comes to Meghan, worse than any other royal bride, and I don’t blame Harry for refusing to put up with it. He called them out in his statement over a year ago and if anything they’ve got worse since. And that’s without Harry’s history with the press. He’s always been portrayed as worse than William by them, so up until now it’s been surprising that it’s been William with the bigger grudge.
On the other, members of the press who weren’t involved in the vitriol have been swept up in this. Photographers mostly. And whilst I by no means think that Harry should stand back and smile while the media get their digs in, he and Meghan are at the start of their long career as a married couple and anything they do now to get the press on their side will help them in the long run.
I agree Beluga, H&M need to think long term about this. I’d like to see what would happen if the press just decided, en masse, to not cover their engagements any longer. KP twitter can only do so much, it’s the press that provides all the details about their charities and causes.
It’s rather sad that Arthur Edwards won’t be close to the action, I always thought he and Harry had a nice working relationship.
Edwards was the one who first outed W&K as a couple with legally-taken photographs of them together on a ski slope. He was frozen out by the royals for quite some time after that. But as someone else wrote, it was his paper that was making noises about Markle being a porn star. Did he expect to get a great photo op placement on the wedding day working for a tabloid like that?
Harry can be charming. “Charm is deceptive; (and beauty is fleeting)”.
Unsurprising. Harry and William are a hell lot more similar than you think.
I don’t blame either of them for being protective of their wives/children. Part of loving someone is wanting them to be secure emotionally and physically. Now neither Prince can dictate what the press writes but they can protect them to some degree during public events by allowing less access. As Harry’s wedding will be televised I don’t see this as being unreasonable. The people that really are looking forward to the wedding will get to see it and we don’t need the press to tell us what to think.
If William can’t even release a photo of his daughter, supported by the taxpayers, on her 3rd birthday, then he needs to abdicate. This family!!! Entitled, spoiled, lazy, and then try to hide all of the advantages they get from the taxpayers!!! The Queen may have been like this, but she was smart enough to not announce it, as Dim harry did. Sheesh. He is a fool.
The Swedish royal family handles all of this so much better. They make their kids available for some pictures and then the press respects their space. I don’t think Wills and Harry have it in them to be so mature, and watch…the press is going to get more and more brutal to them every year. And they basically caused a lot of it.
I am so over entitled rich white males. They have no clue.
Amen! We seem to be drowning in them. All crybabies, too.
I don’t blame harry one bit. Since meghan came onto the scene the press hasn’t given her any room. I like how the nyt article mentions dailymail by name. The dailymail is the main one ever since their “almost straight out of Compton” article and their from “cotton slaves to royalty” article. They track down old family members that haven’t even seen her in years and let them say what they want. Then they don’t moderate their comment section which is ten times worse then their articles.
I feel for arthur Edwards.but his own publication had to issue a statement for the whole pornhub thing. The press has pushed and pushed and looked what happened she got hit with a hate crime with the anthrax scare.
The press has gone after them, especially her, almost in retribution for being yanked around by W&K so much in the last 8 years. They refuse to hold W&K accountable, cannot seem to break through the games those two pay. So they are going off the deep end the other direction with Meghan and Harry, especially in failing to moderate comment sections.
Really? It’s William and Kate’s fault again?
I like how some are saying this typical heir vs sparrow coverage. This is beyond that. Meghan has had a lot more come with her then the other female members that married into the family. Mainly because the press can use and has used her race as an issue. The dailymail is probably the most guilty of this. I don’t blame harry at all but sadly its only going to get worse. Especially when they have kids, because their is a chance those kids will not be pale white like their cousins. If they come out darker watch the press start again and watch those comment sections light up over it.
OMG really? The racism and elitism is all Will and Kate’s fault? How about NO. The virulent racism in the comment sections of the Daily Mail is a reflection of British society – that it has gone unchecked by the editors speaks to their own racism.
Guest: This is exactly how the heir vs spare thing works. It extends to their significant others. It feels extra because MM is mixed race and people are in tune with racial abuse, but if you followed Chelsy during their relationship, the media was equally horrible sans the racism.
She was hounded to the point of paps getting into her back garden, at the library during study sessions, running her off the road and when in London, calling her derogatory names to her race to provoke a reaction -things like asking about her sex life with Harry, and not in a nice polite way.
Chelsy’s nickname was Miss Piggy. She was routinely and deliberately photographed looking like a mess or drunk even if she was not. The fact she studied and gained 2 degrees from very good universities, and after that gained a place at a magic circle law firm was never mentioned.
Yes, I think W&K’s behavior for the last 8 years has negatively-impacted how the tabloids are now treating Harry’s choice. It was always going to be heir vs. spare, but W&K’s behavior, and the press’s inability to figure out how to push back against their games, has meant they’ve gone after Markle even harder than expected.
This is ridiculous. Will and Kate have nothing to do with Harry’s relationship with the media. He is an adult. As an adult he has chosen to lodge more complaints against the media than Will has. As an adult he chose this wedding and the media access. They went after Meghan Markle because they are racist, sexist, and petty.
The press has always taken it out on Harry (and his girlfriends) when because of the Golden Child vs. spare mentality. See the treatment of Chelsy vs. Kate. The press were spoiling for a fight after the 6 years of W&K games, so all stops pulled out in the mistreatment of Harry + Meghan.
Wouldn’t the phrasing be “royal cold shoulder” and not “cold royal shoulder?” There is no royal shoulder.
How many reporters and photographers would be the “right” number?
lol
LOL I don’t get it at all. The ceremony will be broadcast all over the world – is that not enough?
The press machines don’t get to make as much money without their close-up exclusives of the couple, that’s why they’re whining.
I do not like the carriage at all. There is nothing special about it. Giving the cold shoulder to British press will bite them in their royal asses.
Lose, lose situation. The press already showed they don’t give a sht about writing racist articles against Meghan since day one.
I expect her to wear an empire waisted gown and a ribboned bonnet.
They aren’t giving them the cold shoulders. They’ve limited how many will get the money shot of them leaving the chapel. There will be no exclusives. Everyone will have access to the live feed. I’m sorry Mr Edwards isn’t getting the access he assumed he’d get, but whiny like an entitled twit about isn’t professional either.
So true…Mr. Edwards & the others are whingeing- so “un-British”…
I don’t see why there should be even one journalist inside. If there will be one filming crew with video streams anyone can access, no problem. There doesn’t need to be a press pen inside the church for goodness sake.
They can have a private wedding as long as they pay for it.
They are…the taxpayers are paying for the security. Security which they pay for everyday for the BRF, etc.
Way to minimise the monumental cost of protection at an event of this size. All paid for by people who have no say about their spendthrift ways.
They do have a say. They can join RepublicUK and not give up until the monarchy is gone. Demand changes in FOI requests to put HM and Charles back on the line for having to account for the money spent. The people are not powerless. If they choose to complain but fail to act? That is their choice.
NAS,
Because the truth is out there, right? You and I know that the last thing the royals want is transparency. People are fed such twaddle as it only costs less than a pound per person for the royals’ upkeep and oh, the royals work so hard. You know they are greedy, venal and secretive at every turn and that their allegiance is to the wellbeing and gross feeding of the family.
To that end, the public is fed a steady diet of bread and circuses. Without truth, how are the plebs to know to complain or to act? There’s a massive propaganda campaign by the palaces, and W and H are taking it to a new level. So methinks it’s rather disingenuous to claim taxpayers have a choice (outside this little internet bubble), especially when the BRF lies at every turn, and is enabled by TPTB in society even as far as not declaring much of their income and expenditures.. Consent needs to be informed.
And lookie here…Harry is raring to go and take that prestidigitation to a higher level with his new wife on a grand campaign to “bring the magic” to the masses throughout the exotic realms. That’s right, baffle them with bs and keep the lights down (romantically) low. Keep them amused, ignorant, and stuck inside the royal matrix.
Remains a public choice to keep the royal circus going. The public allowing the info to go private, to not push back when HM and Charles are granted freedom from ROI, when they allow their elected officials to vote hundreds of millions in taxpayer money for BP renovations and don’t question where all the money went for years that was supposed to be for that?
The public are capable of finding out facts, of questioning, and getting answers. For the most part, they choose not to. Plenty of examples among the posters here of people who see through the games and bring the facts.
The British public had a fit and demanded heads when some MPs spent money on duck islands and the like. If they really wanted to, they could protest the fact that the finances for the royal family remain secretive and they are unaccountable for their crazy expenses.
All of the above is true but the palace PR machine has Brits convinced that:
(a) the royals work so very hard;
(b) it costs each taxpayer just a few pence to keep the royals;
(c) that the royals add billions of pounds via tourism and therefore are good for the UK;
(d) that the royals actually own the Duchies.
But none of the above is true.
How does the average Brit break through that wall of constantly reinforced lies to uncover the truth, let alone en masse demand transparency? It will only come about when a few things align:
(a) the royals overstep a boundary, exposing their massive graft; could have happened with the Paradise Papers but was hushed up;
(b) Murdoch unleashes the dogs once the Queen dies. He’s not royalist and has the dirt on them all;
(c) a political party decides to put a full case re. the monarchy to the people via a referendum;
(d) full costs, expenditure and extent of royal work are released.
At the moment, it’s the saturation of lies that bedevils people – the ‘choice’ is rather empty in this case. I agree that the public needs to be more alert but they have been thoroughly brainwashed by the royal machine. Note that in Commonwealth countries where there is huge physical distance from the UK and absolutely NO palace PR at work, there is curiosity about the BRF (entertainment value) but definitely no illusion that this dullard family are anything but freaks.
And as I wrote, Addie, there are examples of Brits who have broken through that and detailed the lies piece-by-piece on here (waves at LAK). They can do it if they try.
Another great one was Herazeus on the now defunct Kate Middleton Review and Love Lola Heart sites. I hope she makes her way over here eventually.
I think that Harry’s relationship with the media is complicated, contradictory and layered.
Not just Harry and William, the British Royal Family has always wanted to be covered by the media on their terms.
I think that Harry and William come about their distaste with the media honestly, especially the media circus around their mother, their mother’s death where the paparazzi played a role and also the fact that phones were tapped in order to get tidbits about Harry and William. However I do think that while there is a level of blame that can be directed at certain elements of the media, I still think that the royals tend to amplify the blame towards the media rather than look at other parties, for example Diana tipping off the media, or Charles’ staffers planting stories.
I think that Harry is his mother’s son. I have read more than once that, like Diana, Harry is very invested in his media coverage and scours his press clippings. He seems to be the most invested of the young royals. When it suits him he is very interactive and friendly with the media, both on and off the record, however he also lashes out at the media and uses his position and resources to control the media, arbitrarily at times, and to put the media in check. For the record I think that the media has been excessive towards Harry, other royals and royal adjacents, and I don’t fault them for not being sanguine about it, but I do think that the relationship is dysfunctional, and the royals play a role in the dysfunction.
They don’t want transparency. Period. They want to go about their obscenely profligate ways on the taxpayers’ dime. To that end they employ a massive PR juggernaut to spread the “magic”, aka, lies. Heaven forbid that some upstart journalist ever question their movements or their behaviour is captured and exposed for what it really is.
I don’t think this is about a general dislike of the press, I think this is pretty specifically about the all out assault that the tabloid press has waged on Meghan, and the fact that a lot of outlets were planning to bring various estranged family members of hers to Windsor. He fired a very clear warning shot when he released that letter, and they decided to go even more negative, now he’s drawn the line and decided they won’t have the opportunity to drag them on their day. The public will still get to see all of the wedding content they can handle, but the tabloids won’t be given the prime access that they normally have and the chance to stir up trouble until they start giving Meghan a fair shot at doing this job & meeting the British public. Often times the media think they are synonymous with the public, and Harry seems to be gambling on declaring that they aren’t; as long as they don’t shut out the public it could possibly work.
100% agree.
Well said.
Yes, well said. Everyone gets the same live feed, comment all you want on your own media channel, but media doesn’t not equal the public.
So many of the “royal media’ treat W&K with kid gloves. It is like they decided to go after Meghan even harder (harder than I expected even with the heir vs. spare mentality), to make up for it.
Good points.
How many people see the royals’ Instragram or twitter feed? How many see their pictures in the papers online and in print?? Twitter and IG are minute compared to the newspapers.
Even Trump really really wants the press to pay attention to him. Harry’s letter, stuff like this revenge on the media?? Completely and totally stupid. Harry is a dolt and his PR people are too. He is playing into their narrative of the entitled Queen and King Harry, who are too good for the regular folks to see.
It may feel good for them now, but it is a terrible long term strategy. And by long term, I mean like 6 months long term. They are going to be Fergie-level crucified.
Standing up for the woman he loves against the blatant racism of the press makes him stupid in your world? SMH
NOTA, you need to change your name. You are the biggest Harry and Meghan sugar on this site, down to insulting every single thing I say!
I suggest as your new name I AM a sugar! MUch more accurate. 🙂
And yes, from a PR point of view, Harry has been amazingly stupid, like a toddler stamping his little feet.
Your opinion of that letter is your opinion, mine is mine. For months what I’ve been writing against is the blatant, racist, misogynistic attacks on Meghan Markle. Most coming from whiny teenagers who wanted Harry for themselves.
Now she’s official? I’m still not seeing anything concerning here, in either of their behavior. They aren’t banning public or press access to the wedding, they’re filming and streaming it live. They just aren’t giving prime access to the racist press that has been attacking them for two years. Time will tell what happens in the future, if they continue to work more or devolve into sloths like W&K.
“Prince Harry has become withdrawn because he is generally upset with them. The photographer said that he initially thought Prince Harry would be in a forgiving mood on his wedding day, but it seems this won’t be the case.”
Wtf, the photographers tabloid insinuated his fiancé is a pornstar and he thought Harry would just brush it off…lmao.
If this wedding happens, after the wedding Harry is doomed. Do not bite the hands that feeds you. I’m
Lol the wedding is happening. Also Harry’s is in a lose lose situation. The press already wrote racist articles about her, articles that show she’s controlling and manipulating. Pretty much called her a porn star for being an actress. They already had her former friend sell her out, family members trash her etc. The media has had it out for her since day one.
“calling someone controlling and manipulative is just that calling them controlling and manipulative – that isn’t racist” right. Buts that’s not what I was talking about.
You are correct, Tally: technically the “Meghan Markle the Controlling and Manipulative Harpy” narrative is misogynistic and elitist.
@Kitty – you cannot be serious. Of course the wedding is happening – why wouldn’t it?! (Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.)
And, I have to help staff a charity event on Friday the 18th and I’m planning on not even going to bed afterward, because by the time I get home with my back and feet and face aching (the latter from smiling at rich people that I really want to smack), there won’t be a point going to bed, as the Chapel doors will be opening given the time difference between EDT and GMT. I’m just throwing the LBD on the floor, locking myself in the den, turning on the tv, getting myself a huge sticky gooey hot 800 calorie cinnamon bun, and going to the wedding. And I’ll be damned if anyone is going to deprive me of this.
Marriages are complicated things and there are no fairy tales. If Harry ends up unhappy, he won’t be the only man or woman in the world who found out marriage is hard and there are no guarantees. And how do you know it won’t be Meghan who doesn’t end up unhappy?
@Kitty…lol! I think that you have got it round the wrong way, the press should not bite the hand that feeds them. Media outlets are going to make a lot of money from this wedding. Trashy news outlets like DM have invested thousands and thousands in obtaining “Meghan stories” for click bait which make s them an enormous amount of money. I notice they are reusing the stories over and over again. Meghan is going to be a big cash cow for them for a long time whether or not they write good or bad stories.
If the media turn on Harry, you won’t see nice pics of Harry and Meghan all dressed up for charity events. The media will still get their pictures, but they will be pictures of them sneaking onto private planes for yet another vacation, taking helicopters instead of a 90 minute drive, of Harry out dancing and drinking with his pals, pics of Meghan getting massages on the taxpayers’ dime, the cost of every single outfit Meghan wears that the Duchy buys, and every other bad thing the rich and entitled royals do that the press doesn’t necessarily trumpet now.
Don’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel. H&M can get good press, or they can get bad press, depending on how they play it. But they WILL get press.
Harry is a condemned and now a doomed man…😂😂
Harry has been getting bad press, he’s the spare. Nothing new here, icing out the press is a gamble worth taking for him.
“With Harry, it feels like something else. I think Harry is genuinely appalled at how badly the British tabloids have treated Meghan, but obviously, there’s a lot of other stuff there. ”
^ This.
He doesn’t have anything to lose the press was always going to drag him, his wife and kids that is what they do to the spare. Once she’s married in its going to be worse.
Harry is like his brother, always has been, always will be. He’s just as entitled and has just as contradictory a relationship with the press as William… and their mother : they live for and love the perks of their privileged position and adore the media attention when it is positive (and they do everything to court it with all the subtlety of a toddler on a sugar high) but the moment it turns negative, they cower away and play victims. Why did anyone expect better from Harry ?
On a side note, the idea that the coverage Meghan has received so far is uniquely appalling is downright laughable. It is the same blend of over-the-top flattering drivel (Meghan only became an actress so she could work as a humanitarian -say what?- and she is going to rock the BRF because she is so unique and special) and mindblowingly disgusting bashing (Meghan is a shameful and opportunistic foreign “jezebel” with a trailer trash family) Kate got. It is just paced differently. Because Kate was on the royal radar for years prior to becoming a Windsor, she received her dose of attacks before her engagement (Waity Katy with no spine, Kate the Mattress, etc.) and all the fluff after it (Kate is a modern princess who will revolutionise the BRF with her middle class magical powers !). Pre-engagement Meghan was not really spotlighted in any meaningful way so she ends up getting all of the attention, both negative and positive, before her wedding.
Do I feel sorry for Meghan and Kate ? To a degree, yes, for the negative stuff is truly vile and reprehensible. However, both these women were of age when they chose to marry into that family. They are adults and agreed to become royal princesses, knowing the kind of attention and focus that would imply. They made their bed.
Do I feel sorry for William and Harry ? Hell no. If they don’t like it, they can abdicate, renounce their titles and become regular citizens no one will pay attention to. But they never will. Because they love the freebies.
Most sensible comment here. The timeline between the two (a year vs almost 10) makes it seem more intense. But it wasn’t.
And harry and will are the same except more people will make excuses for harry.
I understand the desire to side with Harry. We all like an underdog and, since he’s the spare, we all know what will happen to him.
As the eventual monarch (William) gets more coverage as the time for succession approaches, as the other heirs (George, Charlotte, Louis) grow into their role, the institutional irrelevance of the spare, Harry (along with Meghan and their children), will get increasingly blinding. And with it will come over-the-top negative coverage. It happened to all the spares before him and neither he nor anyone else will upset the trend. He will go down in history like another Andrew/Margaret.
That’s the way it goes and it is, to an extent, unfair. So there’s a natural desire to stand by and defend Harry from the incoming disaster. But just because the spare always ends up getting sh*fted doesn’t mean they’re without fault. Margaret truly was an indolent and stupendously neurotic idiot, Andrew is truly monstrously entitled and disconnected from any discernible reality and Harry truly is like his brother in every meaningful way.
Furthermore, the heir v. spare policy hasn’t nearly got into effect yet. Harry and Meghan’s coverage so far has not been overly critical at all. Eventually, it will become so but this is not the case yet. Not by a mile. The media attention on them has, so far, been perfectly similar to its William and Kate counterpart.
@Nicole – what you said . . .
Harry and will are a lot alike. But articles about meghan vs articles about kate aren’t alike. When the press brings race into it then it becomes a bigger problem vs the typical royal gf.
The press brought xenophobia to the table but not race. That’s on the comment sections. Especially the Daily Mail’s.
Infamously, the Fail allows everything in its comment section : racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, etc. The DM is a beacon for all the deplorables, wherever they are and all shapes, forms and sizes of bigots are given a friendly space to vomit their bile.
Is it nauseating ? Yep. Is it technically part of Meghan’s media coverage ? Nope because comment sections do not count as official media content.
So did you miss the whole “Meghan is Straight outta Compton” headlines? Or the DM’s “niggling” worries about Meghan Markle or their discussion of her “rich and exotic” DNA ? How about the BBC linking Harry’s attraction to Meghan with his lifelong penchant for…vacationing in Africa? I would say that all that counts as official media content, wouldn’t you?
No, in fact, I wouldn’t. Because I put it in the context of something that has always been a cornerstone of the British press : xenophobia. The British media cannot help but point out, isolate and caricature the “other”, but the “other” is not the melanin rich or the differently pigmented, it’s the non-British. Foreign = bad.
It’s no better than racism, mind you. But it’s a significant difference. A quick glance at the way the British media discusses Ireland and its people will demonstrate fairly easily how that works, and I doubt it could be because the Irish are not white enough. Everything in the way Wallis Simpson and Prince Philip, who both are about as white as sheets and therefore cannot be thought of as being targets of racism, have been covered for decades (the implications, the tone, the allusions) is similar, not to say downright identical, to what Meghan is on the receiving of now. Why ? Because she was American and he’s German / Greek.
The treatment of Kate vs. Meghan has been nowhere near the same. Waity Katie is nothing compared to “straight outta Compton” “exotic” etc. that keep being published.
It was always going to be bad, as it was with Diana vs. Fergie. I wasn’t expecting it to be this bad or this blatant from the press. Some of it is related to the rise in social media, where much of that barely existed most of the time W&K were dating. Now it is full-on chaos with the tabloids encouraging racist and hateful language in their own articles and comment sections.
This man has had cameras shoved in his face for every major life event since birth, including his mother’s funeral. He has been the tabloid’s whipping boy for every embarrassing thing he did in his younger days, from pot smoking to clubbing, to naked parties in Vegas etc. His tour in Afghanistan was ruined by the press…and they thought he would be forgiving on his wedding day? After all of the coverage of Meg from her sex tape scandal to her horrible half siblings? I bet he doesn’t even want to have a wedding. I bet he would be happy to just live common law with Meg and have a bunch of kids out-of-wedlock and move away from London, but this is simply not an option for them. He knows the wedding coverage is already written, the tabloids are just waiting to slap a photo on the story to have it online within minutes of the event. There really is no point in having multiple reporters there. I can even predict the next three weeks of headlines with my crystal ball: ” Meg gets cold feet.” “Harry has a wild stag party.” “Meg’s father disapproves of Harry” “Meg opts for quiet night in instead of lavish hen party” “Meg & Harry have huge fight right before wedding!”
You are so right with the eventual Harry turns into Andrew/Margaret as a writer above has already told us. I support Harry’s fight to write his own story and not to be stuck in some idea that newspapers think the plebs want to see.
Yes! And thank you! They have to put up with things we know nothing about. Remember when some of you complained that Meghan was often wearing dark clothes? Guess why? Dark clothes was a security issue. I bet it felt really nice to step out into the street, greeting strangers, smiling and joking and having received death threats beforehand and not knowing if somebody was watching you through a sniper scope.
When they tour other countries they are door openers for the economy who follow them around. They bring people together for busniess. The riches and famous love to be among Kings and Queens. Best example is Donald Trump. They all come when invited. The Obamas, Jolie-Pitts and so on.
All love being in the mist of Royalty. 😀
Harry’s not a victim, nor without power. He could have had a smaller wedding, to begin with. All he needs to do is act maturely and all that requires. But no, he has to be petulant and whiny and abuse his power. Meanwhile what has he done for the UK lately? He’s certainly happy to take the money.
Harry needs to grow up. That’s the real issue.
They are having a smaller wedding. Plenty of people are complaining that this wedding isn’t in London, not at Westminster, no balcony appearance, etc. They have already gone much smaller and less expensive by choosing Windsor.
The Cambridges decided not to post a new photo of Charlotte today for her 3rd birthday. I guess the public seeing her last Monday was more than enough.
When the press and by extension the public, cease to be interested, then the Royals will cease to be relevant. The film Quatermass with John Mills was prescient: Prince Charles as a doddering, totally irrelevant old king in a decaying Britain….very sad. In a couple of years, Harry will get all the privacy he craves, especially as the younger set grow up.
When JFK Jr. was married, no one knew about it until afterward and there was one photo released to the public. His family didn’t/doesn’t care much for the press either, yet engages with them when necessary if it involves a social cause which they support. I feel like you guys are being too harsh on these people. WTF?! So they want to have some privacy, to control their narrative — what’s the big deal? Their mother was murdered by paparazzi. You don’t just let that go.
JFK Jr was a private citizen whose entire lifestyle wasn’t sponsored by his “subjects”.
As the saying goes, if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. There happens to be a very easy way out of the royal kitchen and it’s called abdication. If Harry wants to be given the same privacy as a private citizen like JFK Jr could claim, all he has to do is renounce his titles. No one’ll care for Mr. Henry Windsor if he’s not 4th in line for the British throne. Now that would also mean depriving himself of all the perks and privileges that come with being a royal but Harry is such a great guy who doesn’t care about these things that he wouldn’t mind, surely…
There’s nothing wrong with Harry wanting to control his narrative, it’s called PR and it’s fine. But intelligent PR also includes a handbook on how to handle “uncontrolled”, possibly negative, narratives without ending up looking like a petulant toddler who fails to grasp that every position in life comes with its own set of upsides and downsides.
@42istheanswer
That’s the problem with the British media and some citizens. They think because they “sponsor” the royal family, they have the right to say anything about them (No matter how disgusting it might be) and expect whatever of them. They are still people and no one deserves to be treated like a punching bag all in the name of “receiving tax payer dollars”.
I don’t even think Harry wants a crazy amount of privacy. he just wants boundaries respected and most of all, respect for his bride. That’s not something the media extended to his mother when she was alive and it lead, sadly, to her death.
Why would he sit back and allow for that kind of potential tragedy to strike again?
Meghan has taken all of this in stride but there comes a time where enough is just enough. No one should have to put up with this shit for the rest of their lives. This is supposed to be a happy time and they won’t even allow them to have that. The honeymoon period with the media has been nonexistent for this couple. They’ll never get it sadly.
It is pure naivete to believe that you can live in the public eye and not get dragged by someone somewhere. Grow up and grow a spine, then, or give up being in the public eye- and that means your easy money. Instead, Harry and William continue to try to bend reality to their will. Why? Because they think they can. and because they think they’re entitled to it.
They want to control a *false* narrative. That’s what’s galling to them, that sometimes the nasty truth gives way without their consent.
We in the US didn’t support JFK Jr. And we in the US didn’t pay $30 million in security for his wedding.
Apples and oranges.
@veronica T
You in the US don’t support Harry either, yet here you are whinging about how much access press should have
formerly, just like the majority of people signing anti Meghan Markle petitions turned out to be from the US…
Formerly, I’m fascinated watching the PR mistakes people make, since I’ve done it as s career and go it part time now.
And NOTA, where did you get that info from?
Go look up the news stories about the government response to the petition.
I’m not shocked or upset about this. The media has been dogging Meghan since day one. There were even whispers about them inviting estranged family member to be at the wedding outside. In what world is that okay and not just a cruel attempt to humiliate her and ruin her wonderful day?
Harry was right to put his foot down. The press has truly learned nothing from their Diana days. They hounded her and hounded her and now they’ve decided to do the same with Meghan. Negative press comes with the role but no one in their right minds can claim Meghan is just getting standard treatment. They’ve set out to do nothing but attack her and even the smallest compliment is back handed.
You can’t treat the bride that way and expect her groom to welcome you with open arms.
I don’t think Harry is expecting privacy but just respect. They’ve never shown Meghan an ounce of it. No one has the right to treat people like that. They made Diana’s life a living hell up until the moment she died and even then, everyone wanted their picture and exclusive. I would imagine Harry is terrified to even think of Meghan going down that path.
These are boys who I’m sure heard and comforted their mom many times when she was upset over the media. Now Harry probably has to do the same with his wife to be. They are foolish to think he would respond any other way.
Diana loved the press. She courted the press and used the press to put out her narrative. That it backfired on her in the long run is not the fault of the press. She had a huge part in it.
@Veronica T – This. I thought Diana fascinating and unique but hardly a saint – I think the spotlight played to her narcissism issues and she fell right in. I was always fascinated by the life of Sylvia Plath, and sometimes in an odd way they remind me of each other: so beautiful, so gifted if in different ways, so many advantages . . . but something inside made it go bad. Does that sound lame?
It’s a very dangerous game they are playing in making the press angry. The populace who keeps the royals as royals reads the press and the press will begin to release more and more unfavorable articles about all of them, especially after the Queen and Philip die. They can crucify this family and it won’t be pretty. They should make a group of reporters they trust and use that to their advantage. I think Charles will be the last “king” and William will never make it to the throne. I think William knows that too and that’s a big part of why he behaves like he just doesn’t GAF.
Wow. Very well said.
@CamoTime – I don’t say it’s inevitable, but I do think your scenario is plausible. And everyone forgets how the press dogged Diana from Day One, Fergie from Day One, Kate from Day One, why would anyone be surprised that they are dogging Meghan from Day One? It’s what they do with the high profile types. I don’t think it’s reasonable to choose an American actress who breaks a lot of molds as the bride to the next King but one’s brother and expect low-key coverage. This is how media sells. Harry risks looking spoiled and petulant. And bringing up Diana is a double-edged thing because she learned fast how to manipulate the press and didn’t hesitate to do so.
The last thing Harry should be doing is opening another battle with the press just as he gets married to a high-profile bride. It’s a bit hypocritical to insult them at the wedding and then want all the attention the press can give as they set out on their “work” which they will want glorified for the public.
Go see the story about Meghan’s brother’s open letter to Harry top story on the DM site now. The dogs are unleashed.
@Veronica T – well, I did and went to the DM. Yowzah! DM must have paid big for this one.
I can’t help wondering if this is payback for Harry’s threats to the press the year before.
Veronica, is that the same half brother who said that his father had met Harry in Toronto??? The same brother who urged Harry to “hurry up & ask his sister for her hand in marriage?” The same person who has been accused of drunkenness, drug usage, physical & verbal abuse, threatening at least two girlfriends with a gun??? The same person who has no relationship with his sons, father, full sister, etc.
…Last time I checked he has gleefully ran to the media from day 1…Firstly proclaiming Meghan’s virtues & after she refused to give him money to buy land…he has attacked her…
Did you read Vonnie’s message of support for Meghan & condemnation of her brother???… she sent that out this afternoon…
Veronica, these half siblings switch their stories/ support/attack every month or so…& as long as yellow journalism pay- they will continue. So this “payback” has been going on since day 1.
lol remember the backlash over Harry saying that he and his were like the family Meghan had never had? At the time I thought it was a throwaway line, now I see it was more like a Freudian slip. Meghan’s brother and sister aren’t just dysfunctional – they are legitimately awful people.
Why should there be reporters in the chapel, unless they are guests? TV cameras will do the job
She’s must be mortified by her family and their loose lips. I have a feeling this whole thing is going to be a train wreck.
Claire, why should she be mortified by those people? Those people should feel mortified by their behaviour- the last time I checked both Thomas Jr. & Vonnie are in their fifties (old enough to know better & do better).
if Meghan did care, she would’ve given in to their blackmail.
They’ve been out of Meghan’s life for years, the last time he saw her was their Grandmother’s funeral.
The reporters are laughing at the half-siblings, because they can pay them to say
anything, that’s how desperate they are.
Writing to Kensington Palace for help with the tabloids, just shut your mouth.
They better get all the money they can now, because the gravy train is coming to an end, because the tabloids know they can’t even reach Meghan before the wedding, so chances are nothing is going to change, how many times can you show baby and pre-teen pictures.
Megan has nothing to be mortified about her half siblings should be ashamed of themselves they haven’t seen or spoke to megan in years . Their behavior has nothing to do with Megan she shouldn’t be held a accountable for the actions of her siblings their behavior is their own they think if keep going negative on her she will relent and give they what they want they haven’t been apart of life for years . They shown their true self every time they open their mouths
What I think is bad about this (not just the brother’s heinous “open letter” but all the stuff before it) is not that it’s going to stop the wedding (the idea is beyond stupid) or wreck the marriage (that’s on the two people involved), but it really takes up another notch the Royals As Celebrity Soap Opera image. This got taken up several notches with the Charles Diana Andy Fergie Show, then quieted down for awhile (Kate’s blandness does have its advantages I see now), and now with the Harry Meghan Show is picking up again. Once royalty is no different from celebrity, I think it’s a matter of time before it goes down. I really believe now that after the Queen goes the Windsors are going to be on increasingly creaky floors. And Harry hasn’t helped this with his recent gestures of hostility to the media – they’ll be sugary enough about the wedding and any kids that arrive, but they’ll be watching for any opportunity to stick it to the couple now, and that will not be good for the monarchy. I’m beginning to wonder if Harry just should have taken himself out, married Meghan, moved to Canada or America, and lived a happy life watching his relatives struggle to keep the game going, bored witless half the time, and annoyed the other half.