The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a relatively quiet Labor Day weekend, and yes, I know Labor Day isn’t a thing in the UK. But Meghan is American and I feel like she’s attuned to American news/gossip cycles and she knows when not to announce things or break news. This is a big month for the Sussexes – Meghan will officially come off her maternity leave, she and Harry will take baby Archie on his first royal tour, and there’s still time for the Sussexes to make a brief appearance at Balmoral. So here are some of the stories which were percolating this weekend:
The trip to South Africa. The Sussexes will set off to South Africa (the first leg of their tour) later this month. To do some advanced hype for the trip, this message was posted on the SussexRoyal IG Stories: “In just a few weeks our family will be taking its first official tour to Africa, a region of the world that over the past two decades has been a second home to me,. Our team has helped create a meaningful programme that we’re so excited to share with you. On a personal note. I can’t wait to introduce my wife and son to South Africa! We’ll see all of you very soon. The Duke.” I love Harry’s sign-off as “the Duke.” I wonder if Meghan calls him that?
The trip to Balmoral. It feels like the Sussexes will probably be on their way to Balmoral sometime this week. The Daily Mail said that it will be happening this week and that it will be Meghan’s “first trip” to Balmoral. I’m pretty sure she and Harry went to Scotland last summer, but maybe they just spent time at Castle Mey with Prince Charles and Camilla. The DM also noted that the Sussexes managed to avoid seeing the Cambridges in Scotland, which… I mean, obviously.
Will the Sussexes eventually move away from England? The DM had another story about whether the Sussexes are unhappy in Windsor and whether they might move. Sources claim that Meghan is homesick and that she wants to buy a place in Malibu, which… probably not. It sounds like the fakest of fake news. Interestingly enough, the same DM story claims that the Sussexes “snubbed Prince Charles’s plans to take on an estate in Herefordshire, which had been set aside for Harry as part of a scheme by the Prince of Wales to create an estate near the Welsh Borders.” That would have been interesting, for the Sussexes to basically be exiled on the Welsh border. Prince William just perked up at the thought of that.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN and Avalon Red.
Wales is lovely. If PC wants to give me an estate there, I’ll take it 😊
Seriously though, I can’t see Harry and Meghan doing that. That’s Wills’ territory soon (as a new PoW). That’d go over really well.
Yeah and you can’t really be exiled to anywhere in the UK. Highgrove is only about an hour from the Welsh border.
Genuinely curious… are the Sussexes “allowed” to move out of the UK? Like it is not done because it’s frowned up but there are no official rules? Or is there some kind of rule about that?
Harry is a Counsellor of State and is required to live in the UK.
Don’t believe the story about California. Not sure about Herefordshire. Sounds recycled from the early days of the Cambridge marriage. I’m excited about South Africa. Can’t wait to see what their schedule looks like.
Yes, they’re so desperate they’re recycling a story about W&K from 2007. Charles had the Duchy purchase Harewood Park as an estate for W&K. William had yet another freakout, dumped Kate again, and the estate is now leased out.
Charles let rumors swirl that he was building a new estate house for William, but the folly that was erected at Harewood makes it clear William was just an excuse to spend $10 million on a hobby project.
That silly house came many years after the purchase and fix-up of the main Harewood buildings for W&K (house, artist studio, stables). When did his design finally get approval, last year?
Why Charles thinks he’s an architect I’ll never know. Who would ever want to live in that box he designed vs. staying in gorgeous Highgrove House?
How could she be homesick for Malibu when she lived in Toronto for the past ten years?
Well, that. And why in the name of Dog would Harry ever want to live in the States????
Diana always said she wanted to, after the divorce.
those were very different times, when Diana wanted to live in the US.
Did she live there full time? I assumed she only really lived in TO when she was filming and had it as a sort of second home base.
I believe that the cast all lived there 9 months out of the year during filming. That’s pretty full time. And when she was on hiatus she seemed to have travelled often instead of just going back home to California.
I’m pretty sure she was in TO filming for 8-9 months out of the year. Pretty close to full time.
That makes sense. I was just thinking that it’s still possible to be missing a place even if you only spent part of the year there or the last x amount of years. But like everything else, it’s just another way for the media to put out the ‘Meghan is soooo hollywood like that she misses California’.
Torontonian here. Meghan was very ensconced in her life in Toronto. It was her primary residence for several years. Many of her closest friendships are with Torontonians (e.g. maid of honour Jessica Mulroney, Markus Anderson) and she seriously dated a Toronto chef up until shortly before she got together with Harry. She adopted a dog here. And she was definitely a “scenester” with a certain group of old money Canadians and would make appearances at events like TIFF and various charity functions.
Apparently she lived in Hancock Park when she lived with Trevor prior to marrying him (and sporadically after Suits). That’s a very monied area, close to downtown LA. Then when she got Suits she moved to Toronto. She never lived close to Malibu.
I did not understand it to be homesick for Malibu. Just she is homesick and considering a place in Malibu.
I do believe the homesick part. Her mum and all of her close friends are in North America. She had a real life there, had much more freedom. Britain is very different and not particulary welcoming her. It must be difficult.
So it continues. The British Media is stuck on crazy so nothing new. I’m excited about the Royal Tour to Africa. IMO, this is the reason for all the crazy stories. The biggest fear of the British Media and members of the RF is another successful tour by the Sussex’s.
I agree with you that there is fear for a hugely popular tour. After seeing the idiotic H&M “headlines” in the DM this weekend, and so little on Prince Andrew, I have to think this is a diversion tactic. And it seems to be working to some extent.
Exiled how? They’d still be in the country (England), and Wales is a part of the UK (for now). They are only three hours from the capital by car. But I can see why they would have chosen Windsor, in that it’s closer to the capital (and shops, I guess). But Herefordshire is a pretty part of the world, very rolling and green.
Malibu story is entirely made up. Meghan doesn’t want to go there I am quite sure.
The Daily Fail is also making up some story that she hired a NYC-LA PR firm (Sunshine Sachs??? never heard of them, Why hire an NYC PR Firm) to “rehabilitate” her image. The Daily Fail is worse than the Enquirer and InTouch put together when it comes to making up shit and fan finction!
Apparently BP has clarified that the firm was hired for the American arm of their foundation. Atleast that’s what I have seen on twitter.
BP confirmed the Foundation hired Sunshine Sachs to help with launching the Foundation in the US.
Wooten is trying to make it into something it isn’t, to foam up the tumblr and Daily Fail crowd.
Sunshine Sachs is a very well known PR firm in the US with offices in LA and NYC. I’ve worked with them. Extremely competent and professional – a good choice.
I know nothing about Herefordshire, other than it being in Pride and Prejudice, but COUNT ME IN!
Pride and Prejudice is set in Hertfordshire, which is fairly close to London and not in Wales or near the Welsh border.
@ Molly You are getting your Herefordshire and Hertfordshires mixed up
Haha! Jeez, Molly how did you manage that?! 😂
(Side note: I love in western New York state and will never forget explaining to a truck driver who was confused that Oswego was a different town than Owego. It’s a different world with GPS for sure.
Quite frankly with all the shit that is about to go down in the UK this next week, I doubt Balmoral visits will be a priority.
In fact might be tone deaf considering how the Royal Family is seen right now.
Protesters were marching on Buckingham Palace last weekend.
As someone with a good family history in Wales, I’d be more than happy to create an estate for Charles in exchange for a little cottage! If it’s true they turned down the offer, I doubt it was a snub or taken as such. More just not in line with their future plans, but thank you just the same. Perhaps they recognize another house would invite even more scrutiny and complaints. Maybe they’ll reconsider if Archie grows up and loves the area. Or maybe it’s all lies, just a regular weekend.
The article I read on the subject said that Charles, Diana, and the palace were formulating this plan, shortly before Harry was born. The idea was that he would marry a girl of good breeding and country stock who would enjoy an idyllic lifestyle in the country, a la turnip toffs. The DM is now formulating this story as the Sussex”s snubbing Charles and BP.
Diana hated the country, she never saw it as idyllic. Also Diana led Charles into thinking she was expecting a girl, ergo they wouldn’t have been planning an estate for a son.
Now RRs are reaching, lying about it, and implying Harry is denying one of Diana’s wishes? Charles had the Duchy buy the property, Harewood Park, in 2007 for W&K. It is like these RRs think every royal watcher is brand new.
I’m sorry, but I need to take a moment (while as ever, acknowledging the bullshittery of the media towards H&M) to call out the Sussex Instagram feed. The #inspo Mandela and Tutu quotes are killing me. Meg clearly misses The Tig and having her own Goopy platform for this sort of thing…
It’s very Instagram-now and I would side eye it more if they didn’t highlight the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Misogyny is pretty much alive on this planet. So what is Meghan’s goal here, to show women can be outstanding too or what?
I hope the papers have something to report new on Andrew while the Sussexes are in Balmoral because a) this story must not die down and b) I am curious whether Harry and Megs will let themselves be dragged into a PR church ride with Granny to lessen the attention on the pedo-prince.
I don’t want to diss them, but with the next balcony appearance still so far away, I want a hint as to who sides with who.
Another day, another nasty hit piece. Fake or true, Not one other member of the family is undergoing as much scrutiny as the Sussexes. Not one. If I were Harry I would have taken the land and built an eco playground for kids complete with treehouses, log benches and swings.
Kate could have designed it.
LOL
‘Exiled’ to the Welsh border? Are the Cambridges ‘in exile’ when they’re in Norfolk? Having somewhere to stay outside of London isn’t being exiled.