To be fair to the British and American tabloids, it takes a moment for them to change directions. Gossip is an unwieldy ship sometimes, and it can take some time to reverse course. So it is with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the smear campaign against Meghan. A lot of outlets were prepared to ride the “feud” between Meghan and Kate for months, if not years or decades. They were also gleefully looking forward to writing tons of stories about Duchess Difficult, the shady title they’ve given to Meghan. Meghan is ready for a new story though, which is why she did that surprise even yesterday, and why she seemed to be saying “let’s turn the page.” But, as I said, there are still outlets with all of these stories about how sad she is and how Harry is very disturbed. To be fair, those stories might be true too. I actually think this one is true:
Prince Harry can’t help but feel responsible for his pregnant wife Duchess Meghan’s unhappiness over a stream of negative stories and public criticism.
“Meghan made a huge sacrifice by moving across the pond, away from her mom and friends,” an insider reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “Marrying into the royal family isn’t anywhere near as glamorous as it seems, so in a lot of ways Harry feels responsible for Meghan being so miserable.”
A source close to the duchess adds that the 34-year-old prince “takes any attack on Meghan very personally. He’s wanted to publicly make a statement many times defending Meghan and addressing the false rumors. But was advised not to.”
I believe that. I believe Harry wants to be more proactive in how he and Meghan deal with all of the terrible (and racist) headlines and stories. But Kensington Palace communications people are telling him “no, you can’t.” Which is another reason why Meghan and Harry are getting their own dedicated staff too – they want to have a different kind of relationship with the press, and be able to react to some sh-t that crosses the line.
Meanwhile, regarding the “Duchess Difficult” moniker that palace staffers allegedly gave her (I think it was made up by British tabloids, but whatever), Elle Magazine ran a piece in which palace sources insisted that Meghan’s staffers actually “admire her drive” and she is “well liked” among palace staffers, who are ““excited by her ideas and enthusiasm.”
And finally, we’re going to get a lot of Meghan next week! Harry and Meghan will visit Birkhead for a day of activities on Monday. Then on Wednesday, Meghan will make a solo visit to one of her new patronages, The Mayhew, which will probably involve a photo-op with dogs and cats! Then later that day, Harry and Meghan will attend the premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s Totem, a premiere event which will benefit Sentebale. YAY.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Harry is going to veer into “Streisand effect” territory if he responds every time.
Heads down, just do the work, haters gonna hate.
Yeah, that approach won’t end well. Britain is not the US.
To you Amide – We know Britain is not US but do you know Britain is the least trusted press across Europe, it’s a shame if Britain’s medias tabloids continue to behave the way it does. Actually Britain press is a big shame in the World, no one envy this shame fame, right?
I think so, too. I understand there are certain things that maybe a reaction might help… but for the vast majority, it won’t. If he shows it’s gotten under his skin and lashes out at the press he’s just widening the target.
If a newlywed husband didn’t feel protective about his wife and her happiness less than a year into marriage, that would be a problem.
It was inevitable that Meghan would have difficulties adjusting to palace life, which as most people realize, is likely very little fun. Some bad press and criticism was also inevitable since Meghan was/is overexposed and the press was so over-the-top with the fairytale stuff for most of last year. Even Harry, supposedly, was concerned months ago about overexposure and backlash.
Keeping quiet and riding the storm with dignity is the way to go, even if it’s tough.
Fanny,
All that and his mom. In some ways, it’s probably more traumatizing for Harry. Meg is taking the hit, but she also enjoys the public eye, and may be more emotionally adept at taking the bad with the good.
Agree wholeheartedly. I also wish that they could just take stock in their happiness together during this joyous (starting a family together)time, and let that insulate them from the ugly people and their ugly comments in this world.
Fanny, exactly right!!!!
Exactly, and he knows this because he’s grown up in it, so I don’t know if I believe this source. M & H should just ignore the press, do their work, and enjoy their life. I think that over time, the press will eventually give up.
Go on Duchess.
How much more Meghan can there be? There are usually 2-3 posts about her a day on here already.
I like reading Meghan and Harry posts on here. You also cannot deny that she is big news and the tabloids are filled with news stories of her.
I’ll take articles about Meghan and Harry over anything! In these rotten times, they are one of the only things in the media world that make me happy. And seeing how they rise above the horribleness is a daily life lesson. More M&H please!
Amen, Dee! I’ll take all the RF stories over the dumpster fire aggravation all day! There are too many places that give the horror of the day! This is my “sweet spot” to come to to start the day, and enjoy.
Says person who…….
Typed in website.
Saw all headlines.
Clicked on headline about Duchess.
Scrolled down to comment section.
Made comment that there are too many stories about said Duchess.
I mean, the nerve of this website not giving you to option of not clicking on this story.
The nerve.
@Tiffany – right??? I think there are too many stories about Brad and Angelina. So, I don’t click on most of them. It’s fine. My life goes on.
Most of the posts about royals garner a ton of comments, so its clearly something that many CB readers are interested in .
@Tiffany
Woah take a chill pill, it’s not that serious.
@Linda…..woah, Linda, take a chill pill….Tiffany was being funny. Maybe you lost your funny bone when you decluttered via the Marie method; does laughing not bring you joy? Because I laughed out loud when I read her….the nerve….!!!
HA!
I like reading stories about Meghan too but I just worry that over exposure of anyone fuels backlash.
I’m NOT suggesting she should do less work, she should absolutely go for her work full throttle. I just thought it was worth a conversation about consolidating some of her articles and looking at other celebs who may also have stuff going on.
I understand exactly what you mean Mara. All of these posts and our comments are evidence of the great interest and therefore demand for more articles. They’ll keep coming up with a slight variation on the same story because every time they print ‘Meghan’ we take notice. It’s what brought me here, as you can’t read the DM comments without having counselling afterwards. I can’t blame the website for posting stories and I am finding it hard to break the habit of reading…and I enjoy all of your comments.
@Rosie….I agree totally.
They are the most popular posts on this site with the highest amount of engagement. You don’t have to read them.
They only annoying thing about the amount of Megs related articles is that 8 out of 10 are based on DM stories.
Which apparently people totally don’t believe (as they shouldn’t) unless they’re positive about Megan in which case they’re gospel.
You could choose to skip over them. That’s what I do with the Brad/Angelina stories. I recognize that others enjoy them though so it’s no big deal to just scroll past them.
Better Meghan than Trump or cheap celebrities.
Working hard and making a good impression on her patronages is the only way she will “win” this one in the press.
I completely believe that Harry is distressed over her treatment in the press and wants to respond; we already saw that when they were dating. But staying silent is really the way to go. When KP issued that denial about the ONE incident between Kate and Meghan, it made many people say “then all the other stories must be true.” KP would have been better served to have just stayed quiet rather than discredit one story out of a dozen. so I think they are going to encourage all the royals to keep their heads down and just work right now.
+1. The monarchy has been around for centuries. They play the long game. It’s not about 24 hour media cycles.
KP has to get its own act together. They’ve allowed all kinds of negative comments about Meghan on their official social media, but delete any negative comments about William.
@nota I am SHOCKED at the comments they leave up about Meghan. I used to not read the comments but now I quickly look at them just to get a general impression of them and while some are over the top positive (I am a Meghan fan, but no she isn’t the greatest thing to ever happen to anyone anywhere, lol), some are just downright racist and nasty, and I’m really really surprised KP does not delete them. It would be simple enough to post a comment policy in their profile and then follow it. There are enough other places on Twitter, FB and IG to bash Meghan.
It was also weird that KP immediately responded when people were suggesting that Natasha Archer had quit because she was on the honours list, but they stayed stumm about all the rumors surrounding Megs.
Natasha Archer’s employment status is a more straightforward situation, all KP had to do was announce that Natasha has not left her job and that’s it. Regardless of who is at fault there may be some discontent relating to the Sussexes and some may think that it is better to stay mum rather than address what is being reported.
All the more reason for Harry and Meghan to have their own staff.
How do celebrities wear the heels they wear? Are there tricks I’m not aware of? lol
They often wear heels that are a half size too big to stop them from blisters etc.. that happen when the feet swell, they also use those gel pads to stop slippage – I used to work in fashion and picked up tips from stylists.
But that’s not how that works. If their shoes are too big, that means more movement and more blisters regardless of gel pads.
Good to know! Are the gel pads for the sole or the back of the heel? I tried the heel ones, and I couldn’t get them to stay in my shoe, but I did give up kind of easily. Ha!
I think weighing next to nothing as most celebs do compared to us mortals helps a lot as well. Props to Meghan for wearing them with her pregnant belly. I could hardly keep my balance in flats, let alone sky high heels.
So true!
You just have to get used to them. All through my 20’s and 30’s I wore really high heels, I was more comfortable in those than flat shoes. I could run in heels if I had to. Then I changed jobs and didn’t have to be dressed up all the time and stopped wearing them so often. Then eventually stopped wearing them altogether. Now when I do try and wear them I fall over. LOL
This is my story, as well. Loved all my heels, preferred heels to flats, could run if I had to. Did the heels from age 25 to 48! Then I was changed to work for home last year, and the office I do visit once a week is casual. Now anything that’s not a flat is a PITA! LOL, indeed!
In all my life, I never mastered anything over 2.5 inches!
It is interesting to see big media outlets in the US detail point-by-point the racist and ridiculous treatment of Meghan in the UK tabloids. Will that stop them? Who knows.
I dunno, I think the only way the UK tabs will stop if H&M sue or complain to the press watchdog and I hope they do. I would love to see the Fail get punished for their dog whistle coverage and Morgan called out for his racism as well.
It’s the only part of this mess that I’ve enjoyed! Seeing “royal correspondents” on twitter get super defensive has been amazing.
They can dish it out, but they sure can’t take it!
I am hoping that eventually cyber bullying laws will be introduced and that will force rags like DM to start serious moderation of comments. Amazing how James Middleton’s article, which could have been moderated is not allowing any comments at all, and yet all Meghan articles go totally unmoderated.
It’s got to be so hard to see the person you love being trashed endlessly in the media and tabloids and want to respond. But it will only backfire unfortunately. It did when he put out that statement when they were dating, though I think that might have been because maybe Doria was also getting harassed? If he puts out a statement, then they’ll just have a field day with “Harry is so sensitive he cannot stand any criticism of Meghan” and they’ll even be more ruthless. It’s a no win situation.
I think it was a misstep for Meghan to present the award to C.W, because the speech seemed about her, not the designer. Also most citizens will never be able to afford that type of luxury fashion.
Both Kate and Meghan should demonstrate they are being sensible about their fashion spending.
I think her attendance at the award show was in line with what all the other royals do in support of the British fashion industry. The Queen was front row – right next to Anna Wintour – at a runway show during British fashion week last year. And I’m pretty sure that Kate and Sophie Wessex hosted a fashion event at Kensington Palace recently.
That speech tho
Yes but the Queen didn’t get up and talk about herself while rubbing her body.
@Elena – I don’t really agree but ymmv, obviously.
@Flowers – Yeah, Meghan didn’t do that either.
I genuinely believe the Elle story that her staffers are inspired by her drive and enjoy working for someone who is competent and enthusiastic. I changed jobs a few months ago (which was insanely tough at five months postpartum but it was when the opportunity presented itself, so…). One of the biggest draws was the woman who would be my boss. She’s driven, smart, enjoys what she does, and cares about helping us grow and be successful. It makes work so much more enjoyable. The times in my life when I’ve felt the most professionally fulfilled have been times when I’ve worked for smart, strong women who don’t just pay lip service to sisterhood.
I can imagine that Meghan has some of those qualities, and that her staffers enjoy working with her.
I agree. I don’t know if this is who Meghan is, but these women really do exist. My last boss was a card-toting liberal feminist who couldn’t give me the time of day (I worked directly under her, so this wasn’t a food-chain situation). She gave me wonderful year-end bonuses, but the other 364 days of the year she couldn’t bring herself to ever say anything nice about me or my work to my face, never said thank you for my work, and wouldn’t answer my emails/texts 75% of the time. She was just a really ungrateful, insecure woman who had a hard time with other people being great at what they do, even though my talents and skills directly benefited her. And she clearly chaffed at the idea of us being equals, which is why I believe she would never build camaraderie with me. My current boss is also a woman and she couldn’t be more polar opposite. She is cheerful, with a wonderful disposition who always has a supportive comment to make, and genuinely likes me as a person. We have great non-work-related chats and are getting to know each other as people — not just boss/employee — every day. I believe it has greatly enhanced both our lives as we move forward towards the same work goals.
How long does it take them to sepperate their courts? Haven’t they already been planning this for month when we heard about it half a year ago?
Harry and Megs really need a media strategy that is different from most of the other royals – but will that marry well with their status as full time royals?
Pearlime, that could be quite dangerous, they need to tow the party line. It’s one thing having your own press office making sure you get accurate and timely representation but it’s another if they adopt a different strategy. They will be like branch of a big company, independent in some ways but still having to follow corporate rules.
Yes, thats what I meant. If they weren’t bound by his status, they should be going for, dare I say, a more celebrity type of PR where they have more freedom to choose what to release.
Sorry Pearl, I should learn to read!!
It was announced that they would be splitting within the next year last October. More recently though, KP made a very clear statement that Harry and Meghan’s office will be at KP. They might just be hiring more staff that will specifically work with one or the other, but social media stays combined and such. I don’t think they necessarily need a different approach. I think KP needs more experienced people and has for a long time. I’m not sure why KP is even being allowed to handle this on it’s own. BP stepped in just before the wedding and got everything under control just in time. That’s why Meghan’s nephew or whatever suddenly lost their tv gig commenting live during the wedding and the press behaved themselves for a bit.
Going separately would be tricky for both Sussexes and Cambridges because W&K are not as popular, and if H&M went too far with engagements the Palace machinery would start working against them even more.
I get the sense that the Fab Four are making renewed efforts to get along. I also think that the Cambridges have been told that they just have to accept the fact that Meghan, unlike many royals really wants to work and take her role seriously, and Kate will never be able to compete or keep up with her.
Next week is going to be very interesting in terms of coverage as all four of them will be out and about, and there will be the inevitable comparisons between the two Duchesses. But I am rather alarmed at the way the Middleton’s are really increasing their own media exposure and I wonder where all this will lead to.
The smear campaign has already died down now because it’s clear a majority of the stories were just completely false so making a statement now wouldn’t be wise. Keep your head down, work and focus on your new arrival this Spring.
I too enjoy all the coverage of the royals and I don’t go anywhere else to get it so multiple articles works for me. a couple of questions.
Do organizations apply to get a royal patron? Smart works will be getting their first royal patron having applied some years previously for example?
also I saw somewhere a reference to the “public backlash” against Meghan. Is there actually a public backlash or only continued reports of a backlash, if you see what I’m getting at.
since I don’t read much of any other gossip media it’s hard for me to get a handle on what’s happening in the real world versus in the pages of the media
Mary, we’re all to wound up with Brexit for there to be a backlash against Meghan. There is a small group of far right extremists (EDL) who have latched onto Brexit and are using that for their own racist agenda. They have protesters outside Parliament threatening MPs and brandishing placards threatening civil war if Brexit doesn’t go ahead. Our 2 main political parties look ready to break apart. There is also a reorganisation of the welfare system which is leaving an awful lot of people worse off.
This is why it’s important that all the members of the RF are careful with their current spending. It’s ok having old things, inherited assets and formal clothes but if they look like they’re having fun buying luxury items from our money it doesn’t go down well. I don’t begrudge Meghan having a good wardrobe which takes a bit of investment but she needs to watch how much she spends. The clothes need to fit, the majority of them need to be fairly timeless, she needs more British labels and she needs to think about colour.
You mean you want colour in her clothes. She does think about colour and she chooses the ones she likes, just like every other woman does.
Yes I and many other people would like to see more colour in her clothes. The important thing is she’s not ‘every other woman’, she’s a royal. Black or navy is just so dull and looks like office wear. It was appropriate for yesterdays event but at some events she’s looked like she’s just popped out of the office and pulled a coat on. Princess Anne probably would choose to wear an Berghaus jacket to most engagements but she plays the game.
Yeah, it’s also really important that she be very brand Royal right now. Part of the job is to be a symbol of stability when the government is busy being a mess. That’s why I’ve always thought Kate’s dressing like the Queen mother/the Queen very appropriate. It’s very “The Royals never change. You can always count on them and their British values.” It doesn’t work as well as it used to, but that’s hardly the point. The point is things like wearing British clothing shows support for Britain and stability.
Rosie, the fangirls, especially the american fangirls, just don’t understand the role of the royals. They think it’s good for Meghan to be Kardashian-like, with very expensive custom clothes and act showy and fame hungry.
Meghan doesn’t seem to get that either.
Yes. There is a backlash, but, it did not seem so intense until she returned from the very successful Australian Tour. Unhinged Piers Morgan and thousands of people on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc are saying very vile nasty things about Meghan, for example she is a D list actress, that she is a tranny, that she is not good enough for Harry, that she was a yacht prostitute, that she’s had 5 abortions, that she is jealous of Kate and actually wants William or even Prince Charles, that she is a dangerous Narcissist out to take the royal family down, that they wish she and harry would divorce, that the royal bloodline shouldn’t have a black baby in it, etc. The odd thing is that the majority of these accounts seem to belong to women!
I think that there are now lots of posters discounting these ideas and fighting back in the social media posts and I am happy to see that. My concern was that a nutjob would take these things seriously and try to harm Meghan and Harry or Polo Sussex.
Yes, organisations apply to have a royal patron. They can ask specific royals directly if there is an existing relationship, or write to Buckingham Palace and ask generally if anyone is interested. The royals decide if they are interested, meet with the organisation a number of times, and if they agree then there is a new patron.
There is no real ‘public backlash’ against Meghan. It is all orchestrated and manipulated by the tabloid media and other media because they want to make money out of her. Meghan is very popular that is why they keep running stories her.
I can’t fathom how anyone could actually BELIEVE that she’s a pain to work for. I mean, it’s been pretty obvious from the jump that she’s delightful, so I’m not surprised that the gossip is changing course. At a point, if you want a narrative to sell it has to be at least somewhat believable, right?
Years ago I worked for a woman who was lovely, warm and personable to her clients, who adored her, but was an absolute nightmare to work for. It wasn’t because she was rude or mean, but because she was so relentlessly over-demanding.
She made big promises and expected her staff to fulfill them. She worked very hard herself (and reaped the financial rewards) but expected her staff to work the same long hours without the financial benefit or credit. It’s terrible to be in that position as a staff member.
That’s why I can believe that as warm as Meghan comes across, working for her might not be fun. There are plenty of overtly nice people who aren’t good bosses.
@Fanny, my first post-college boss was exactly like yours. My butt was there at 8:30 every morning. However, my boss (the owner’s wife) breezed in at 4:30 or 5, just as my day should have been winding down. She’d stay until at least 8:30, and always expected me to do the same. I got a lot of experience, but I was making peanut and it burned me out. Even thinking about it now makes me furious. I can’t believe I allowed anyone to treat me like that.
Yes I know the type you speak of too. I looked up ‘signs to look for’ when interviewing so as not to repeat this, and they say to ask if your boss has to work through lunches, sometimes it can’t be avoided, but can be a sign that they don’t understand boundaries/norms like eating/resting.
You would have to experience for yourself the duplicity a person can be capable of. If you’re truly having a hard time imagining Meghan this way, it’s probably because you’ve never had a long-time exposure to someone who puts on a genuine warm, caring face for some people and are incredibly hard to people “under” them. Both sides of this person are genuine — but it is two very different sides to their personality which they expose according to group they’re dealing with in the moment. I’ve experienced it and I know what it looks like. I have no trouble believing this about Meghan Markle.
“Marrying into the royal family isn’t anywhere near as glamorous as it seems…”
Sorry, I have a hard time believing this. Between the travel, homes, clothes, diamonds, access, experiences etc plus not having to pay out of pocket for any of it, paired with staff to handle everything for you.. and the “working” is really only a few hours a week…. this IS glamorous. This is the most glamorous lifestyle anyone could possibly imagine. Sure, it comes with the downside of media attention and public scrutiny at times, but it’s got to be a small price to pay for everything their lifestyle provides to them and their future offspring.
Very true, however the behind-the-scenes documentary on the royal family that came out 4 or 5 years ago really demonstrated to me how depressing royal “work” is. Buckingham Palace is creepy and quiet. William had to shake hands with some little group of people and that was his “event” for the day. It was all so incredibly dull and superficial.
I think that’s why all of these people who marry into the various European royal families all start out enthusiastic about the incredible things they will do, and then 5 years later the enthusiasm is gone and all they really want to do is vacation.
That’s why I’ll be watching with interest what happens to Meghan over the next 5-6 years. She seems to be coming into it with more drive than most, but I don’t know that she will be immune to the stifling nature of it.
Life in the RF is glamorous on the surface but it isn’t underneath. There is a lot of falseness and William and Harry do try very hard to live ‘normal’ lives in private. I think that Kate is actually struggling to cope with the public and private side to all of this. Heaven knows how Meghan will cope going forward but she is tough.
For whatever reason I don’t trust USW anymore. Shoddy reporting and sources. I do in general trust MH news from US more than anything from UK but not USW. I’m not totally believing this story. Harry knows better than to complain more than he did the one time about bad reporting. Also, I don’t believe USWs original story that Meghan is stressed over bad press. The biggest issue with the smear campaign is I don’t think it was conducted properly. It was too many stories all at once. Avalanche of news to distort reality and change perceptions bc I’ll say, as many people were swayed by all that negativity, it also became apparent there was a concerted effort to smear her name vs stories coming out over 2-3yrs and not all in 3mos. So what’s happening now is Meghan gained defenders she would’ve never had if the press hadn’t went on a rampage against her. As many detractors the media won with the smearing, she gained lots more support. If you look outside DM comments.
The Elle story I just read, yes that sounds more like Meghan and was less about the press and more about her current life inside RF and reality she faces. Yes, she’s had some ruffles with getting started but mainly bc they move slow but nothing dramatic and no real ruffle with Kate. They’re fine but not besties. She’s getting on fine and doesn’t read tabloids but is told what’s up. It’s painfully clear Meghan is use to working- and working hard constantly. If anything, I think she’s gotta adjust her pace. She’s worked her whole life and not working or working at a slower pace probably makes her antsy.
Y’all I’m just so excited about the baby!
Omid Scobie said a few weeks ago that Meghan is well liked by the Kensington Palace staff and has not heard a bad word about her from that group. I can’t remember if he said it directly or if it was implied, but my takeaway is that the courtiers who have a problem with Meghan and are the source of negative stories about her are from Buckingham Palace and/or Clarence House.
it’s interesting, too, b/c if she was as difficult as they say how come this stuff wasn’t talked about before the wedding. She’s been in the business for over a decade and if she was difficult people would talk. Conveniently, all these stories came out AFTER they had an epic trip in Australia.
I don’t think that it has as much to do with the tour as it has to do with a book that came out about Charles that had gossipy stuff about Harry, Meghan and other royals.
Yeah, the smears came from BP/CH. I don’t think it’s from the younger staff at KP.
I buy that he feels responsible for everything and it upsets him but I don’t think he wants to respond back though he’s been a royal all his life he knows how things go with the media. I think she the good outweighs the bad type. Bad headlines and trashy relatives cashing in on her aside she got the marry the man she loves and continue doing the charity work she was already doing just on a bigger stage.
I hope the Duchess of Sussex makes like the Queen Betty and the Queen Bey. Never explain…
Meanwhile Sussex has a posture to envy… even whole sitting and pregnant. 👏👏She could teach Duchess slouch a thing or two about good posture.
I noticed her posture too. Meghan is very aware.
I think they need pr people who have their back ie. deleting inappropriate tweets about Meghan. Also agree they need to play the long game, keep their chins up and work hard. They have protection officers to keep the crazies at bay but little good would come of responding to every negative story. I find it interesting to watch how the narrative is shifting now regarding “Duchess difficult” and “feuding with Kate.” Perhaps it was a smear campaign instigated by someone (I suspect Cambridge/Middleton) and it backfired too much. I dunno…
Thanks for posting these lovely pictures of Meghan Kaiser.
Prince Harry won’t be King, so he can’t abdicate his role, right?
But if this keeps up — given what happened to his mother — it wouldn’t surprise me to see Harry and Meghan step way into the shadows and lead private lives, with no public role.
There’s no doubt Meghan enjoys the spotlight (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing), but Harry and his brother have always fetishized being “normal” — even if they have a skewed perception of what that is.
Harry and Meghan has to ride this out. Respond to one means respond to all. The excuse garnered from the bitter comments(UK) are always that they pay for the royals. Meanwhile the account person who makes the public disclosure of the royals’ finances/expenses used a calculation to demonstrate that the institution cost each UK taxpayer 69 pence in 2017.
How does 69 pence justify the torrent of abuse? It does not.
I have rewatched the engagement interview and another on CBC where he outlined his future role and his honourable motivation(s) and has pretty much did (along with Royal Meghan)as he indicated.
But he is aware of the life she lived in Toronto; a good life without the fishbowl existence. She chose love. She chose him.
The comments on Daily Fail reveal more about their cowardly writers than Meghan. (via projection) Some have had lots of blotched plastic surgery and over-processed hair; had lots of sexual transactions; dislike their bodies; are poor consumers; also terrible parents/liars with/and abusive and dishonest personalities. The kicker is those who are bitter because they are under the illusion that they should have been a duchess.
There are more people who are happy for them than the others. Think serenity prayer.
I agree the two Duchesses attract the same type of unhinged, bitter people. But I have to correct you and say the 69p thing is wrong.
Exactly! That 69p is rubbish, and only ignorant people would believe that. The facts from the movement for a republic are totally different!!
Btw, I think the guy they call ‘dimwit’ is an idiot. He thinks his statements would make a difference. LOL I think he should go live overseas and get a job, like everybody else.
The Royal Family gets about Pounds 40 Mio per year and the security costs do easily double that sum.
you could easily finance much-needed doctors and nurses and teachers for that sum. Their work does benefit the people without doubt.
while the “work” of the royal family is hard to evaluate and apparently is evaluated only by number of appearances. Imagine you would “evaluate” a nurse’s /doctor’s / teacher’s work only by his attendance record in hospital / class. it would be laughable.
It is often argued that the Royal Family makes British people feel good about Britain or that they “unite” Britain by being there. Well, imagine you would evaluate a nurse’s / doctor’s / teacher’s work by figuring out if they made their patients / students “feel good”. That wouldn’t be a good evaluation, would it be?
Also the Royal Family’s private investments are unknown. Which means they might have profited from recent British war participation in the Near and Middle East. Nobody knows.
Again. That 69p figure only includes the pre-increase amount (15% of the income of the Crown Estates) of the Sovereign Grant. It does not include the other 10% of the income from the Crown Estates given to the Queen last year, ostensibly for the repairs to Buckingham Palace (which she should have been paying for all along) and which percentage I am quite sure will never go down. It does not include security (£100m+ every year, which is paid directly by the taxpayers). And it does not include the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster. The real cost of the royals is hundreds of millions of pounds per year. That’s a drop in the bucket of the overall UK budget. But the royals are not cheap.
The UK budget in 2017 was Pounds 744 billion.
And yes, several million Pounds are huge issues in the UK budget. If you spend it on Royals you can’t spend it on science or health (NHS) or education or police or rehabilitation of prisoners or similar.
How can anybody seriously claim that the costs for the Royal Family were neglectable when it is several million pounds and likely more than hundred million pounds?
You are preaching to the converted here. But it’s not as simple as taking the money away from the royals and giving it to the Treasury, at least not with respect to the Duchies. No one in the UK is particularly interested in getting rid of the royals right now. We have much bigger things to worry about.
@ Tina
I agree. Brexit is much bigger and much more important right now. And the Royals know that. It is partly what they rely on to stay where they are: that there are always more important things in the news that require and deserve more attention.
I would just like to point out how useless the Royals are during these times. No actions and no statements and no support of whatever kind from them regarding Brexit.
Nevertheless it shouldn’t be said that spending hundred million Pounds on the Royals is a pittance. That is a rhethoric trick or a smoke screen to divert attention.
Why on earth does it matter how much Royal outfits cost? As Brits, we know Royal spending is something that just happens, and it’s out of our control. No one can tell the Royals to spend a certain amount, so why bother complaining/criticising? Why does it matter if they are visiting a low-income charity/ organization? For example, Duchess Kate stepped out in McQueen to meet flood victims, I thought she was appropriately dressed because the Queen Mother always said, wear your best, the people expect you to be dressed nicely! I didn’t understand the criticism then and I don’t understand it now. Technically, it’s not taxpayer money…
Prince Charles receives money from the Duchy of Cornwall. How much he receives is up to the British government.
The Duchy is owned by the British state/taxpayer. Therefore the taxpayer does have a say how much money Charles gets from the Duchy.
Both William and Harry and their wives get money from Prince Charles. So yes, Meghan’s and Kate’s spending on clothes is paid for by the taxpayer and the taxpayer could cut their clothes’s bills.
Why not? Make it mandatory to recycle each outfit 10 times and each pair of shoes 30 times and each clutch 40 times? The Queen has each outfit marked: when was it worn last time and such.
Why not? Put a spending cap on items?
Why not? Force them to wear a certain amount of average clothes because everybody does. Why does it always have to be at least high-end designer stuff which most people couldn’t afford?
Why not? Mandate that all the clothes Meghan and Kate buy for official outings do belong to the taxpayer and they have to be handed back in good condition if they are no longer worn. And second-hand sales then?
I mean do Meghan and Kate really need a complete new outfit when they visit some new kids charity for homework dinner support and play and such? And can’t they start combining things like normal people do? That costumes skirt with a new blouse or a different mohair pullover, please. that suit’s trousers with a different blazer… the kids won’t mind.
Exactly RK. It’s not taxpayers’ money so why do people feel entitled to scold her on her apparel choices or dictate she wear something cheaper. People treat her like she is a doll they own.
It IS the taxpayer’s money. See 1st paragraph of my post above.
The Royals work for the British Nation and are paid by the British taxpayer and that is why the British taxpayer has a say.
It is not, the Dutchy of Cornwall earns its own money and pays taxes. It is not coming from your pocket.
The Duchy of Cornwall is OWNED by the taxpayer. Therefore all its profits are owned by the taxpayer, too. The taxpayer just allows that some of the Duchy’s profits are given to Prince Charles.
The Royals like to not talk about that because they don’t want to point out how much money they actually suck out of the taxpayer.
Check wikipedia.
Thomas Jr, was arrested for drunk driving a few days ago.
Thomas sr, said he needs help, maybe if Sr. was not so focus on Meghan, he could help Jr. and Fixated Samantha.
I’ve honestly never actually believed that her staff had problems with her. I believed that some of her staff certainly did, and they were definitely more vocal and open to talking about it, but that didn’t extend to all of them in any capacity. The fact that this story has relatively fizzled out is a testament to that. If Meghan were a nightmare boss in any capacity (think even 1/10th of how Princess Margaret was), the stories would be endless and would have followed her for the rest of her life at a low simmer.
And poor Harry. He should stop taking this type of thing so personally. I know it sucks for him, it’s hard to watch the person you love go through so much pain, and to feel responsible for that. But it’s truly not his fault, and he’d only be making it worse for himself if he were to be public in his statements against the press. But I’m glad he’s there to provide her with support, it would be worse if she didn’t even have her husband in her corner tbh.
Kate went through a similar period in the first year(s) of her marriage. She was criticised for spending too much and for not giving speeches and for wearing nude high heels and more. Now it is Meghan’s turn. The public has to get used to another useless highly expensive Royal addition to the Royal Family, I guess.
I truly hope they get the type of staff and spokespeople that have their best interest at heart. Meghan and Harry need their own publicist, spokesperson, and aide/aides to help them with their patronage work and other activities. They will answer to only these two people. I think Harry knew this was going to be the case when he was dating Meg. I also think they should keep quiet for now and keep doing their work for the monarchy.
Not every criticism of Meghan is racism.
Vanity Fair, which is often mentioned here, apparently quoted ‘reliable palace sources’ who said a few unflattering things about MM in this regard, notably that she is ‘not a person with whom you could be friends’ (or something to that effect). Maybe that article was discussed here before, but it does seem a tad odd that it’s not mentioned in this context.
Are the Royals needed and are they expensive? I compare the British Royals to the German Bundespräsident. He has no real power, only a representative funciton. They are supposed to stay in that position for 5 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Germany When they retire they get honour salary, an office, security, an office manager, secretary, car plus driver, travel costs as long as they live. So you have about 5 or 6 former Bundespräsidents and they get paid. The honour salary is about 250.000,- Euro per year and Präsident plus for each office costs of 385.000,- Euro per Year. Some of them only go to this office on 2-3 days a month.
As far as the Royals are concerned, I don’t know if it was LAK or notasugarhere, but one of them said that it was never the intention to finance the whole family of the Monarch. Only the Monarch and the Prince of Wales are supposed to be financed by the taxpayer. The rest of the family have to look and work for a living. And since they did not live so long as they do now, they were not so expensive in the old days.
The Royals are door openers, everybody around the globe would like to meet them and they have the economy in the wake of their state visits and that is really what this is all about. Contracts between states and companies.
The German Bundespräsidents are door-openers as well AND he writes his speeches by himself and he can say whatever he thinks he should say (unlike the Queen). 😉
The German Bundespräsident has one important power: he can refuse to sign a law.
And I would like to see an evaluation who does it better: British Royals vs German Bundespräsident. I doubt the Queen does it that much better.
The summed up costs for the current and the former Bundespräsidents including security are about Euros 15 Mio per year. The costs for the Royal Family are Pounds 40 Million per year PLUS security costs (= Pounds 60-80 Mio). The costs for security for the Royal Family is quite high because there is many of them including the children and they all live in different accomodations and they all travel / do duties and therefore they all have their security detail with them.
It’s pretentious and condescending to show up in designer clothing. Who cares who paid for it! I think this is a great patronage for her and it’s the first time I thought she was well put together. But get a grip! These women deserve better. I like designer clothing so I don’t begrudge her but this wasn’t the time or place to waltz in wearing 5 grand worth of designer clothing.
Do you think that the women who Meghan spoke to and helped mentor were offended by her designer clothes. No, they were not. Also Smart Works relies on attracting designer clothing, my daughter volunteers with them, so of course Meghan was going to show up wearing designer gear.
I think a lot of people are just jealous. I am not fixated on clothing like some people so it does not bother me. The royals raise far far more money for good causes than they spend on designer clothes , so what really is the problem?