There are some smaller conversations happening about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and when they’ll return to England beyond their “last events” in March, before they’re officially not-royal anymore, even if it’s just for a few days here and there. We know that the Queen “ordered” them back for Commonwealth Day stuff, and there’s also an expectation that the Sussexes will likely attend Princess Beatrice’s wedding in May as well. Those two trips will likely be full of absolute horsesh-t from the press, but the trips will also be “tests” for whether Harry is still very upset with his family. According to Us Weekly, the Queen wants the family to put on an united front when Harry comes back:
Still a family. Queen Elizabeth II has high hopes for Prince Harry’s return to London, a source reveals exclusively in the new issue of Us Weekly.
“The Queen’s hoping everyone will put on a united front when Harry returns to London in March — even though there’s still tension behind closed doors,” the source says. “It’ll be interesting to watch their body language and see how they are together.”
While Harry is set to return to London soon, the insider told Us that he’s only spoken to William, 37, “a couple times” about “business matters” since he left the U.K. The source added that the brothers are dealing with their fallout in different ways.
Ugh, Meghan is supposed to come too, right? The story was that Harry AND Meghan were “ordered” to appear at the Commonwealth events next month. But clearly, the Queen (and the rest of the family) only care about Harry. Which is another reason why Harry left – they wanted to pretend that Meghan doesn’t exist, and they wanted to bully the Sussexes just enough to cause ONLY Meghan to leave.
Meanwhile, there’s still a conversation about how Zara Phillips acted as mediator between her brother Peter and his now-estranged wife Autumn. The Daily Mail’s Talk of the Town column said that Zara was so successful in encouraging Autumn to stay and not move to Canada, that Zara should now be tasked with the Sussexit mess:
If only the Queen had utilised the power of Prince Harry’s favourite cousin Zara Phillips during the Megxit negotiations. Following news that savvy Zara played a crucial role in mediating between her brother Peter and his estranged wife Autumn, aides have noted that she would make the perfect go-between for the Royal Family and the increasingly distant Sussexes.
Says my Royal insider: ‘Zara prevented Autumn from moving back to Canada to be closer to her family. If she had been involved in that Sandringham summit about Harry and Meghan, perhaps the outcome would have been different too. The feeling is that the Queen would be wise to make use of Zara as Harry adores her.’
Zara is the favorite cousin of both William and Harry – they both adore her and respect her deeply (she’s been the sister they never had), so IDK, maybe she would have made a difference. I tend to think that at the point where Sussexit was being negotiated at Sandringham, the point of no return was already long gone.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.
RE: Zara – sure, she and Harry may get along, but she would be a bad person to negotiate anything about Sussexit. ‘Harry don’t leave, stay here and remain a full time royal.” “But Zara….you aren’t a full time royal, you do what you want, make your money, and your life is a lot better.” “Yes, I know all that, OF COURSE, but still….you should stay?”
that would have been a huge success I’m sure.
Yeah what? Who’s saying Zara didn’t advise him…to leave.
After Zara’s behaviour at Harry’s wedding, I not sure Zara will be tasked with anything. I call bs on all of this.
Her “behaviour” you don’t like was being pregnant, clearly uncomfortable from the baby kicking, and at one point, saying quite clearly to her husband “I need to use the loo”. During a pregnancy following a miscarriage, which is not exactly an unstressful time.
I went to my sister’s wedding six months pregnant and yeah, I have plenty of sympathy for her.
She should’ve stayed at home if she was so uncomfortable.
I was never able to predict days my bebe would be doing some sort of salsa dance right on my bladder, but if Zara did have that magical ability then sure, she should have known and then we could read articles about how she snubbed the wedding with a pregnancy excuse, instead.
She rolled her eyes at the Reverend, sneered and snorted. Very déclassé behaviour but then the York girls and Kate Middleton did the same – shouldn’t expect manners from that ‘family’
@yanka – I think the behavior they are talking about is her sitting at church with her mouth gaping open while the service was going on.
@yanka, her ‘behaviour’ was being rude to the visiting Archbishop of the American Anglican church who was an invited guest of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
People like to sneer at all the ‘Hollywood’ people that were at the wedding but they knew how to behave. Too bad the Queen’s grand-daughter wasn’t raised as well as George Clooney.
I’ve said this before, being pregnant does not make one roll their eyes repeatedly
@Andrews Nemesis: I also rolled my eyes. It reminded me of why I stopped going to church. Being screamed at is not my idea of a loving, compassionate, uplifting sermon.
@BWayney – if you couldn’t have controlled your eyerolling at your cousin’s wedding on international TV, we would have called you names too. Way to be respectful of cultural differences. The Bishop certainly didn’t scream, he was exuberant – it was, in fact, a loving, compassionate, uplifting sermon.
For supposedly sophisticated people, many of them acted like uncultured buffoons in their reaction to the sermon. And they looked pretty damn racist too.
Nope. I’m with hk9. I recognise smirking when I see it. Bore off and troll somewhere else.
So you’re saying her pregnancy was keeping her from showing respect to the Archbishop of the Episcopal church during his sermon about love. The baby kicking was why she couldn’t stop blinking and gaping like a fish?
I guess Kate, Camilla, Beatrice & Eugenie were all pregnant, uncomfortable & in need of the loo at as well judging by their behavior.
Harry doesn’t need any advice from Zara or any of those women to be honest. They’ve shown their true nature long ago.
Can you remind us about what her behavior was? There were so many royal stories during that time that I must have forgotten this one.
Me too.
She was making faces and rolling her eyes etc during the service. And no, it wasn’t about being pregnant, it was about the service being too long. I re-watched it on YouTube and it’s pretty apparent and she behaved badly.
I saw it too,she looked…uncomfortable or like she didn’t *get*the message from the reverend speaking,people on here mentioned it,and some said that the preaching he did was very different than what is typical for what is done in English church,and by that I mean the church services that the royals would attend…
Nevertheless,it was not polite behavior IMO
I feel like the royals are so uncomfortable with realness and real emotion. So there they were in the face of super lovey emotion–the bride and groom and the reverend expressing loving energy–and they reacted like teenagers. Real emotion can be super uncomfortable for some to witness–especially those trained not to express it, and to never express it in public.
The royals are at heart a dysfunctional family. How could they not be, I guess. Diana, Megan, Margaret, even Harry–all deemed “too much” or “unroyal” for their natural exuberance. There is misogyny and race tied here, of course.
Don’t get me started on Andrew and that sh*tshow…..
I guess they’re used to taking a nap during the sermon and this was a surprise.
I imagine a lot of the negative feelings started after H&M watched a video of their wedding. The upstanding royal family showed what absolute jerks they were with their smirking and face making throughout. Such a display of disresepct for, not only H&M, but Bishop Curry as well. These people have no class at all.
Zara and Beatrice were terrible. Camilla and Kate were bad.
Just watched a clip… William and Charles were also laughing and not nicely, and when Kate was, she was trying to connect w William and Camilla on it, like a bonding moment for them all, such nastiness…and in response to such heartfelt sweetness… wow
I’ve thought about this a lot. Imagine sitting down as a newlywed couple and watching your wedding video only to see your spouse’s family rolling their eyes, stifling giggles, and smirking. That has to have been painful. I think that and baby Archie being called a chimp and none of the family standing up for him were pivotal moments that led up to Sussexit
He probably would not have missed Camilla if she had not shown up. She is in no position to mock anything. She probably made those faces regarding Diana.
Was just going to say.
Common even Elton John looked shocked and that’s the most eccentric Brit alive. Don’t be so scandalized if other boots reacted the same duh. When in Rome match the room
@Stephanie Hawkins – are you suggesting that Bishop Curry, the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US – who was invited specifically by the archbishop of canterbury – should have tailored his sermon for the delicate sensibilities of the Brits? Seriously? How about they act like adults? It was a beautiful sermon. They really came off like a-holes – especially the royals.
Not everyone gives a sermon with a stick up their ass. Even catholic priests can give animated sermons depending on their personalities. Zara, Beatrice and Kate certainly acted like they aren’t familiar with what happens at a service.
Two things about the smirking relatives and the eye rolling really stuck out to me that day.
First, given all the royal tours to different cultures surely you would have learned how to behave even tho seeing/hearing something that was different from your culture ( isn’t that 90% of your job!)
Second they had to also know camera would cut away to them throughout the ceremony. There have certainly been enough royal weddings to know this…once again…even if you thought it —-why would you let it be caught on film?!
Which led to my final thought. Bunch of racist inbred jerks. Which they have done nothing whatsoever to change my mind since, only confirm it.
Being pregnant doesn’t make you act like a snob. The other not-pregnant royals displayed the same behavior.
Bingo. I have sympathy for the position shifting and not looking ecstatic, because she was probably incredibly uncomfortable, but the eye rolling and such was not because of the pregnancy.
I think you have it in one Jessica. However much certain members of the family may love Harry, they do not like or support his choice of wife. I think Harry has gotten a great education from his family, extended family, and many of his friends in just what institutionalized elitist racism is all about when he and Meghan got together. Yes, Kate and Mike and the York women’s men are also outside of this upper-Aristo world, but at least they are the right color — white. I really can’t find any excuse for their eye rolling, side eying, snickering behavior at the wedding. After all, it was Harry’s wedding too and it was disrespectful. These people are taught how to behave in public from birth and yet many of them could not contain themselves for a 90 minute ceremony.
@yanka
I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt (bc I only watched like 10 mins of the wedding, tbh, and saw none of this) so I went back and watched a “best reactions” video of their wedding. And you know what? That lady is a CU Next Tuesday! What an effing bitch! She just happened to be a pregnant, but definitely still a bitch. She legit looked like she was watching a street dog walk on its hind legs or something. It was a mixture of condescension, amusement and mild horror. She was the only one who beat out Will on the level of snobbery written across their face, bc that assface had such a judgmental smirk the whole time.
Holy sh!t that made me mad just watching it! I married into a wealthy family myself, with a different religious and cultural background to boot, and this is how I would get looked at constantly but on a lower, slightly more polite scale. And guess what? I f’kn pulled a Megan and stole away my prince too! LMAOOOOO
The Merry Wives of Windsor showed their true colours during Harry and Meghan’s wedding. They didn’t even bother to PRETEND to be polite. Perfect examples that money and ‘breeding’ doesn’t equal ‘class’.
Imagine Harry and Meghan sitting down to watch a video of their wedding and seeing how his sister-in-law and cousins behaved! He and Meghan must have been so hurt and insulted. A pap stroll at Christmas, a train ride with the Queen and even Prince Charles walking her down the aisle wasn’t Meghan being welcomed to the family. The behaviour of Keen Katie, the Yorks and Zara was Meghan’s TRUE welcome to the family and it was disgusting.
That’s when I knew absolutely that they were going to treat Meghan like trash. They were disgusting. I’m sure it was a big wake up call to Harry.
I remember watching their wedding and being so upset by how rude they were. Money does not buy you class.
Also, Kate put NO effort in her appearance. Her hair was down and had no curls. It looked flat and frizzy. She almost always has curls when she wears it down. Compare that to how she looked for Eugenie’s wedding , she looked like she didn’t care at all.
It was British, elitist racism at its worst. That lot are so entrenched and smug in their white superiority that they can’t even unbend and enjoy what I thought was a joyous, loving and open-hearted celebration of two people committing their love to each other. They behaved like bullies.
@marie and she wore a light dress that photographed white. She was out to pull rank and make her feelings known but it reinforced what a petty, pathetic little-minded woman she is.
I could overlook Kate’s hair and the near white dress, but her bitch face in the formal photos was unacceptable. At least it is forever captured for posterity. Considering she does perma grin at all other engagements, this was a passive aggressive bitch move. Even William managed to smile in the photo and he’s normally grumpy. Everyone else was smiling in the family photo but for Kate. She looked classless doing that for a photo that she knows will be used for ages.
Marie, she was barely 4 wks postpartum from Louis’ birth. I think she can get a pass on her hair not holding a curl.
But yeah, that whole family’s attitude was crap. Snobbish, crappy, and racist as hell.
Well when she did Lindo Wing for Louis her hair was curly and gorgeous. I just thought she could have put in a bit more effort for the wedding is all.
She was hilarious , thank god for Zara
That picture of Harry standing behind Zara’s husband, wow, what a hot guy, this Prince Harry! I used to think Will is the good looking one, but Harry actually gives strong “real man” vibes.
I think Harry looks especially hot in the picture of him walking down the steps with William. That picture so illustrates their looks/personas/charisma. William is holding his hand stupidly over his chest, making some kind of dopey face, whistling (???) with his lips, looking confused and addle-brained and generally giving off a “derp!” vibe, while Harry is striding confidently, looking masterful and sexy, with a facial expression that reads as deep, brooding, and thoughtful. It’s bizarre to think they came from the same event since William looks like a daydreaming 3rd grader without a care in the world or thought in his head just coming out of the bathroom after taking a good poo, whereas Harry is looking thoughtful, alert, like he’s projecting strength and just came from doing some kind of important work that challenged him mentally and affected him emotionally (in a good, thoughtful way).
@Amy Too, I agree with you. That picture is a perfect illustration of the two men. William is uptight and buttoned down. Harry looks a little disheveled but he also looks free. And the side eye he’s giving the cameras shows how he feels about the press.
Also is it me or are Will’s hands starting to look like his father’s? Maybe I’m reaching…
Well Harry’s gay so not sure about that . Just ask his longtime boyfriend Adam . It’s not exactly a secret
Last spring/summer, when the rumors and bullying were out of control, the Cambridge’s and the Tindall’s staged that photo op where the kids were riding on the shoulders and all was right in the world. At the time, I thought it was suspect, like they intentionally excluded H&M, then shoved it in their faces. I don’t doubt Mike and Zara and kids are fun people to be around and at one time, might have been the “favorite cousins”, but that ship has sailed. They publicly declared their side and scorched the Earth behind them.
Preach!!! I wouldn’t trust Zara with a 10 foot pole. I’ll never forget her making those ridiculous faces during H&M’s wedding.
You mean, being massively pregnant, uncomfortable, and needing to pee? Those faces?
@Sandy-c’mon now, it had nothing to do with her pregnancy. She sneered and jeered throughout that whole sermon.
I’m sure she had to pee,not judging her for nature,I’ve been in church services when I really want out,to you know,pee…she seemed a little more than physically uncomfortable,like she was over it and didn’t care who knew..but I wasn’t there so it’s just a guess 😉
Being pregnant and uncomfortable is no excuse for bad behaviour. Her gaping and laughing was disrespectful toward a visiting black bishop (terrible optics) and to Meghan and Harry. Zara needs to take a good look at her privilege and her racism and people need to stop defending her. She is an immature insensitive brat.
Is Sandy and Yanka the same person different names? This is confusing me, LOL. 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️😂 Same talking points and question and punctuation marks. I need coffee, 😁😁
@Babs – there have been several posts like that between yesterday and today. New names that are all lower-case, and the same talking points being reiterated among those new names. I assume they’re not all one person, but…..
@ Sandy, she wasn’t the only person in those pews that was rude and disrespectful but let’s not explain the shitty behavior on being pregnant. It was rude. I can tell you watching it with my extremely white British family, they were all gasping and giggling, trying to reconcile how on earth this black man can stand before the queen and her family and preach his sermon. I was incredibly offended by all of it TBH and I won’t candy coat their shitty behavior.
@BabsORIG, I’m thinking the same thing, LOL! Some of these trolls must have MPD.
Didn’t she also make comments to people at one of her horse trials along the lines of “nobody likes Meghan”?
I would be surprised if Harry still had the same relationship with Zara. He seems to have realized all of his friends and family are low-key racist, classist snobs.
Shaz, please, any sort of sourcing on that would be interesting. I’d honestly completely change my opinion of her if there was any substantial record of her telling people at horse trials “nobody likes Meghan”. Cheers.
It is a tumblr fiction, yanka, that’s why there’s no proof.
Wow Noodle, I remember that photo op because I had the exact same reaction to it as you did. Meghan was either heavily pregnant or had just given birth at that time and the bullying was extremely intense. There was much made in the press that few family members had been by Frogmore to visit. I also remember a big deal was made of the fact that the Cambridge’s allowed the photos and the question raised by all those who knew how protective they were of allowing their children to be photographed wondered why suddenly it was ok and why now. On a gut level, I truly believed that it was about sending a rather nasty message to Meghan that she was not part of their “happy families together narrative” and never would be. I think the message to Harry was more subtle, but just as nasty: I think it was, “you need to choose.”
I really think the royal family just doesn’t like Meghan. It was appalling they stood by and let her get trashed by the press but they were being petty. I think Meghan came in wanting to work and maybe try to change things. These people clearly don’t want to change or outside forces trying to change them. The whole situation around Andrew makes it glaringly obvious.
I really think Meghan just asked questions and that set off the Windsors.
I think so too, they just never warmed up to her. They were probably fine tolerating her if she acted all submissive and kept quiet, but she dared to stay herself and not change her personality for anyone.
She was enthusiastic. (Very unBritish, should have displayed the languor that is the mark of the upper classes – except when they’re planning to get trollied (drunk) She wanted to hit the ground running. (Presumptuous, she should have awaited instructions and ‘known her place’) She had charisma. (Disastrous, she outshone the Gruesome Twosome and had to be Punished) She is beautiful (See above) She got results (See above) She empowered minorities (see above, and the Royal Family has no business caring about such piffle: unless they’re waving a flag, practising birth control or being subjugated, people of colour in particular are of no interest to them) She displays a social conscience (Wrong: the Head of the Church of England, cosy mummy to PaedoAndy, is the last arbiter on what a conscience should consist) She’s American, makes her own money, and didn’t take nearly a decade to copy five questions out of a DevPsych101 text (insert Daily Wail commentary here)
@AndrewsNemesis, you hit the nail on the head. Perfection.
Andrew’s nemesis – exactly. I read a little of Kate’s survey and wondered why she needed people to tell her which direction she should take? She’s been researching this for years, just pick a direction and go. Just get in there and do some work.
@Andrew’s Nemesis, very well said. Meghan came in as a fully formed, professional women. She didn’t need to be ‘groomed’ by the royal family. They hated her for that and did their best to drive her out. They’re still trying.
All very true, but another factor – Harry changed. He found the piece missing from his life, his future path became clear, and he started to be the person he had worked on becoming. An adult, focused on doing useful things in the world. Not the frat boy partier of early years, not the third wheel to his brother and wife. And his eyes were opened to what he hadn’t already understood about what went on in the family he grew up with. Their attitudes, their true beliefs.
And this changed the whole dynamic of the family’s relationship with him. The new element is Meghan, so of course it must be her fault, for any one of the reasons above, or for no reason at all, except that she’s there (hence, no way for her to win no matter what she does). If she were gone, Harry would be the same old Harry. Welcome to a toxic family, where the member who stops playing by the “rules”, who strives for their own mental health and best self, is pressured to rejoin the fold, or else is cast out.
I’m not convinced Charles deserves to be lumped in with the rest of them. He certainly didn’t take much of a stand to support Meghan. Don’t know if that’s lack of backbone, or something else; he’s caught between a rock and two hard places over more major issues. The rock is mama, TQ; the two hard places are Andrew and Will. Charles has little real control over any of them. I don’t believe Charles approved (at least most of) the many things undoubtedly leaked by Willam. He has his faults (I’m not convinced his need for attention is what is was 30 years ago, that’s another conversation). But Charles is no fool about work. Hope may spring eternal about Will ever getting off his butt and pulling his weight, but Charles has to know what he has/had with Harry and Meghan – heck, his team gave her business advice for the cookbook, he’s adopting her capsule collection idea. He needed them to be working members during his reign. The heir though, is William, and the monarchy must be preserved, so here we are.
I’m curious about something Becks1 mentioned – whether the one-year review is about Charles hoping to set the stage for Harry and Meghan to return as part-time senior royals, as they originally requested.
We’ll see what happens next.
@Andrew’s Nemesis, excellent points bravo!
Just my gut feeling but I think Charles wants the Sussexes back as full-time senior royals but would take them back as part-time senior royals if the choice was 100% his alone and it will be his choice alone when QEII goes to the big jewelry box in the sky.
Meghan never said she wanted to change anything. That’s the press narrative they created for her.
When her crest design was revealed it had a bird on it with its mouth open. It was described as her using her voice. The description of the crest was approved by M&H. Not only that her vogue issue was called, “Forces for change.” She clearly pushed the idea of change and modernization in society.
@snap happy – “She clearly pushed the idea of change and modernization in society.” As Prince Charles has tried to do his entire adult life. Why is it a problem now?
Guestwho – I never said this was a problem for me. This was a problem for the royal family, I’m assuming, because she was an outsider. I’m sure Prince Charles butted heads with people inside his family but he was heir to the throne. They were always going to protect him.
@Guestwho, Prince Charles isn’t an African-American woman. That makes ALL the difference.
@kerwood. Yup.
I think it needs to be mentioned that Prince Charles did date one or two women of color in his younger days. i think one of these women was the lead singer for the 1970’s pop group The Three Degrees.
Did he now. How exotic!
More recently than that, however, at a party he told an English woman of Indian descent that she didn’t look English.
Disappointing.
What a sinful mistake it was for Meghan to be self-confident, smart, and willing to work, right? I guess she was supposed to act shy, frightened, and generally unsure of herself. I remember seeing a British headline that declared how brash she was. Oh no, brash!
I understand Giddy. Those things aren’t bad in my opinion, I just think the Royal family didn’t appreciate it. They clearly like women like Kate who can be subservient to their husband and the institution.
@Snap Happy, what exactly did Meghan try to change? I only heard this from the RR and BM that Meghan came in and wanted to change things but when you ask what she tried to change, no one has any definitive answer. Can you tell us what those things are than Meghan tried to change, which resulted in them hating her? Other than the change she made by falling in love with and marrying a white guy member of the BRF, (which in and of itself was a change from their normal default white people never marrying outside of their race); what else did she change or even tried to?
I don’t necessarily think Meghan was trying to change anything in the royal family itself (except maybe how the Kensington foundation was run…..) but she certainly wanted to “effect change” in society as a whole. That’s not a bad thing and Snap Happy has been a supporter of Meghan so people need to stand down a bit.
Meghan literally edited a magazine highlighting “Forces for change.” Of course Meghan wanted to change “things” (for the better.)
@BabsORIG – She wants equality in society, among sexes and among minorities. She printed her beliefs in her Vogue issue. She consistently supported organizations that empowered women, such as luminary bakery. She wrote messages of support on bananas. She raised the voices, specifically, of the women of the Greenfell tower.
The truth is her position in the royal family was always at odds with her social conscious because at the heart of it having a royal family is inherently unequal. People in that family are held above everyone else. To truly have an equal society would mean the end of the royal family. Yes, others have championed causes by attending dinners or shaking hands but no one, in my opinion, was more vocal than Meghan by her words and actions.
@Becks1 – aw, thanks for the support!
Goodness @Becks1 please calm down. when you say “people need to stand down a bit” I hope you not implying that my post was rude to anyone. I asked for clarification, which I’m glad @Snap Happy provided. Whether they are Meghan supporters or not was not at all relevant to what I asked so I don’t get why you feel you needed to reprimand me to “stand down a bit”.
@babs – my comment was aimed at everyone jumping all over Snap for implying Meghan wanted to change things. You can see your comment was one more that seemed to come at Snap for comment when I dont think she meant anything malicious about it, so I wasn’t just talking to you. But, I will apologize for being a bit snappish, I just think people sometimes get geared to automatically assume someone is criticizing Meghan and people get defensive.
I agree Andrew’sNemisis and WindyRiver and Becks1, etc. Well said. The only thing I would take issue with is about Charles. He has been shown to willingly throw his son’s under the bus and to have an extremely jealous nature. I think as Meghan (and Harry) began to really shine on the world stage and the family’s unwelcome behavior towards Meghan solidified, hardened, and took an active role in bad mouthing her — Charles’ worst traits came in to play and he stepped back and let it happen. I do not give him a pass in any of this. He, Diana, and Camilla played hardball for years with the misuse of the press and he knew exactly what was going down towards the Sussexes. I also think he became an active player as well.
I do not think he was an active player in this mess. He had NOTHING to gain by the Sussexes leaving the firm. The two that all to gain were William Keen having the spotlight to himself and Pedo Andrew getting royal jobs for his daughters.
I just do not see Charles as an active participant. I see him as putting his head in the sand with hope it would all go away as he really did not know how to deal with the William-Harry rift and is powerless to banish Pedo & Fergie to Switzerland until he is Charles III.
However, I may be wrong. Cannot wait for Tina Brown’s book so the real truth can be see the light of day and be told.
@JA, I understand why you think so, and can’t say you’re wrong. A lot of what you say was certainly true over the years. Whether those traits are still as valid for Charles at age 70 as they were at ages 40 or 50 is my question.
At this point, Charles legacy (Prince’s Trust, the Duchy, Dumfries House, environmental projects) is substantial, and recognized. He has a wife who knows how to handle his ego. He lost a lot of the spotlight when Will and Harry hit their late teens, and must be used to that by now, even if he played games along the way. He’s (finally) a short step from the throne. TQ can go at any time. His focus must be making plans for his reign. Actively undercutting Harry and Meghan wouldn’t serve his larger purpose.
I agree with @BTB, Charles didn’t know how to deal with the William-Harry rift, etc., so stuck his head in the sand. I think he also knows jealous, vindictive Will is up to his ears in dishing negative PR, but Will has secrets that need hiding, so Charles is leaving things alone.
I wonder though if very early on, Charles just did not get what was happening, and missed an effective moment to address it? Didn’t get the media’s underlying racist agenda, didn’t understand the reach/influence of social media. Was used to the nasty press, to never explain, to wait things out. Thought walking Meghan down the aisle and TQ’s train trip was enough of a positive welcome to the family signal. And by the time he realized there was a serious problem, the RF looked bad, there was no simple solution. So he helped pay to split Harry and Will’s offices, and hoped that was enough.
Freely admit this is all just theories though! Also waiting for the book…
@ Bay
Why is Charles suddenly getting a pass? He was savvy enough to ride in on his white horse and walk her down the aisle and suck up all of the good PR from that, but was too buried in the sand to ignore the blatant racism flowing on a daily basis?
Frankly, if Charlie has so little control over Willy now, might as well skip over him and go straight to Willy so we can end this farce of the Monarchy once and for all.
Good points on your response WindyRiver. I just noticed that Charles’ authorized biographer started leaking stories bad mouthing Meghan about the time she and Harry returned from their first tour and many of us felt Charles had to ok what the biographer was leaking. Perhaps it was more head in the sand then anything, he is a dithered by all accounts.
I think every one of these stories about side royals is coming directly from their camps. There’s an opening at the top … these look like job applications through the media.
This!!
I agree Katie. I also think they are trying out the popularity of the other royals. With M&H gone they have a dearth of workers and people who can represent the Queen.
@Katie – I wish I could upvote your comment.
If they add anyone, it has to be the York girls. They are next in line and that’s how this institution works. I doubt they will add anyone anyway. The only reason that the Queen’s cousins stepped up is because she was a woman. They weren’t working while her father was alive. It was all just sexism. Her son Edward was never supposed to be a working Royal. They only made him one when he/Sophie were seen as cashing in on their titles and that’s when parliament got stricter about how they are allowed to use them. It’s still too many people right now. Charles is likely to just allow Anne, Edward and Sophie to continue to work rather cutting them off. If William feels he needs to bring in the York girls when he’s king, then fine, but they won’t be needed until then. If the rest of the European monarchies can do it then then surely the British can too.
Ainsley, agreed. also, let’s keep in mind that if Charles lives 25 or 30 more years, then George will be early/mid 30s, and Charlotte not far behind, and they’ll certainly be able to be FT royals at that point, if there is deemed a need for more. but like you said, other European houses get by without a plethora of working royals, the British can figure it out too.
To all of us Celebitchies —- Can we stop calling them the York girls? Surely, they are women at this stage of their lives.
@JA LowcountryLady – How about the York Princesses?
I think the Yorkies has a certain ring to it.
I vote for Yorkies —
Also to the ‘extra work,’ I just don’t see it. H&M weren’t on the scene as ‘senior royals’ for 20 years and now there are hundreds of ribbons that need cutting and not a single Royal on hand with scissors.
They did the usual walks to the big family appearances, otherwise she was putting out projects like the cookbook and smartset which were not at all the usual Royal stuff. (That was a compliment for clarification)
My point being – it’s not like there is a huge gap in appearances that require a Royal and therefore require a Yorkie to be pressed into service. Yea, by the time the oldies die out or retire, but by then Charlie will have the slimmed down version he always wanted.
I vote the Yorkies,Feeshalori 😂 and YaGotMe —- I can just see the royal horde bearing down on a ribbon with a pair of scissors. Thanks guys. I needed that. 👏🏼👏🏼
1. “Harry’s return” Yeah, they don’t want Meghan to come back. That 12 months review is really starting to sound like a deadline for Harry to ditch his wife and child.
2. What commentary could Zara possibly add to H&M’s exit?? She’s in a completely different situation.
Yep, they want him back, her out, that’s obvious. Not sure if they want the kid, though.
That twelve month review thing really does seem like they’re saying *Give it a year,it’ll end and he’ll be back *Always thought that.
Agreed S808. I think the family is truly hoping that Harry will see the light and his relationship with Meghan will implode. They’ve given it a year at the most, then — just like Andrew— Harry can re-enter the fold and “keep calm and carry on.” Disgusting.
“United front” sounds ominously like a united front against the Sussexes.
Yes, it does!
Against Meghan – “keeping the riff raff out” – and remind Harry he’s “one of us”
Exactly how I read it!!
Does a ‘united front’ consist of circling the wagons around PaedoAndy while pretending Meghan doesn’t exist?
God, I’m so tired of this appalling, amoral family
No one in this family can be trusted. They thrive on personal agendas and tattling. Meghan’s comment to the press was, “My British friends told me.” H&M rely on friends, legal, financial and networking. I think it more than likely legal counsel has been present in negotiations. H&M have leverage. I recall Harry being told, “Get everything in writing.”
I feel so sorry for Meghan. I once dated a wonderful man whose family did not like me. They thought I was beneath him and wanted him to date someone from their social set. I always dreaded family outings, which were unbearable. I can not imagine dealing with that on such a public level.
Yes Alisha. I’m already feeling bad for Meghan that she has to re-enter this toxic mess. I can only imagine the side eying and bad behavior she is going to have to put up with. My belief is that Meghan has overcome enough adversity in her life and is such a strong, intelligent woman that she will meet them on her own terms with her head high. I hope that Harry will also keep his eyes wide open and see his family’s actual behavior towards he and Meghan. I don’t see how just the last 2 months apart has changed anything no matter what the Queen wishes for. Other than her official statements, not one of the others has indicated in any public forum any support or understanding of the Sussexes. Instead we are still getting the nasty, leaking tear down comments. Anyone of them — and I’m mainly looking at William and Charles — but any one of them could have found at least a subtle way of publicly indicating their support. They have not and their collective silence speaks very loudly.
Alisha, she’s also been dealing with a lot of BS from her own family which makes her situation with the BRF and BM even more difficult. Imagine having to deal with her disgusting dad and half-siblings and their messy need for attention, spreading lies and selling her out in the British press. I admire her taking on the haters by living her own life and still staying focused on her little family and her work with only her hubby, Mom and friends for support. I don’t know if I could handle her situation with the grace she’s shown. Sussex’s forever! LOL.
I’m so sick of the press of referring to “Megxit” and then only talking about how Prince Harry left, Prince Harry might come back, what stuff did Prince Harry lose, what will Prince Harry be called, what is Prince Harry doing/saying/thinking, how is the family dealing with the loss of Prince Harry, who will take Prince Harry’s place? They want to act like Meghan doesn’t exist and everyone is just so sad about Prince Harry leaving, he’s the only one that matters, they only care that he left, and yet they keep calling it Megxit.
This old bag. Learn what united means.
For her, it means the majestic plural, notihing more.
Why would Zara be needed? The Queen and/or Charles could have also said, during the Sandringham Summit, “I’m so sorry for the shit the two of you have been going through. I’m sorry that I didn’t do more. Please PLEASE PLEASE stay. I promise that I’ll keep William’s ego in check better than I have currently. We need you. I need you. I want you to stay.” (I’ve been reading a lot of romance novels lately. Excuse the flowery language. Haaa!)
I never got the impression that anyone made any real effort to get Harry and Meghan to stay. Right away it was people being “blindsided” and “incandescent with rage.” Where were the stories of them being so very sad about Harry and Meghan and Archie leaving and how they would miss them so much and there’d be a Sussex-sized void in their life? The Queen could have agreed to them leaving…in a year (rather than them leaving now and reviewing things in a year.)
Truth is, they want Meghan gone and, unfortunately for them, Harry is going with her. Their hope is that shit happens in the next 12 months and then they can “review” everything by welcoming a single Harry back. That’s what they want.
Ha’! That was funny. I agree I also thought the Queen kind of gave a backhanded compliment in her statement how she was, “particularly proud of Meghan for becoming part of the family so fast.” Clearly you don’t consider her family because you let her get trashed and how about praising her work? What she accomplished?
She can’t praise her for what she’s accomplished because it would make it too obvious what others haven’t accomplished.
So many new names in the comments….
My heart hurts for Meghan. She must be dreading the next few weeks, when she’s going to be surrounded by people trying to convince her husband to leave her and their child. Even the most confident and secure woman would feel a tiny twinge under such horrible circumstances.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the royal family will try and trap her in some sort of photo op with the Queen’s sex offender son in an attempt to make Meghan look bad.
I hope Harry and Meghan show the monsters he’s related to what a REAL united front looks like. What REAL love and healthy marriage look like. The Windsors haven’t experienced either.
@snapnappy I don’t think Meghan was talking about anything that others in the royal family haven’t in terms of progressive issues. Prince Harry talked about gender equality since at least 2013 at Beyonce’s chime for change concert, Sophie and Anne have been talking about importance of women leading in business, Sophie on gender equality particularly in commonwealth countries she’s been visiting, Camilla on importance of justice for girls and women. Even Kate in Pakistan was highlighting importance of girls getting a good education. William was on cover of Attitude speaking out against homophobic bullying. So if it wasn’t a problem for these royals why was it a problem with Meghan?
She hasn’t been like Prince Charles who has actually called for legislative change eg calling for a green tax just two weeks ago, changes to agriculture policy when he edited country life. He has form of speaking to MPs& ministers directly on his concerns via his infamous spider memos.
Exactly. I think they are betting that Meghan will not want to come back to the U.K. after being away from this mess and Harry will “come to his senses” and ditch her. They are truly terrible people.
ETA: this was a reply to a different comment but somehow ended up here, lol! Anyway, I just wanted to say I agree with the others that the one year “review” is just another attempt to break up the marriage.
Do these people think they’re doing themselves any favors with these awful articles. Trying to welcome Harry only, as though Meghan and Archie doesn’t exist does not make the Royal family look good, or united, or functional. With two divorces underway already in the royal family, they need to stop interfering in Harry’s marriage. As for Zara Philips Tindall, no one asked for her input.
The poison stems from the top. Lizzie commands all of it. Period point blank.
You know that episode from The Crown, where Charles says his family meant well and Wallis no they don’t? While that conversation probably never happened, I always think of that when I read these posts because that statement rings true to me.
This phrase has been in my head since it was previewed. It’s haunting cause it’s true and we’re seeing it over and over again. Charles caved but I HIGHLY doubt Harry is letting go of Meghan or Archie. Honestly, this one reason I’m so shocked that Charles has just stood by and let this happen. I know TV isn’t real life and the situations are a bit different but once upon a time he had to choose between love and duty. you’d think he’d sympathize but then again he did cave.
Ding ding ding!!! It was nearly prescient and super eerie for the timing of this. But I too cannot help but think of it every time I see or hear anything about the royals now. It’s sad and tragic if true but all the more reason for Harry and Meghan to shove off the royal coils.
The relationship between the queen and Margaret in the crown is also very telling. The queen did surpress Margaret’s star power, mostly with all kinds of excuses about how having ‘character’ was bad for the monarchy. In reality it was jealousy because she didn’t shine as much as her sister. Pretty much the same thing that’s going on between William and Harry.
Why does Britain still have a monarchy? In a modern society, does anyone still think “God” anoints monarchs? Or that people are deserving to be head of state because of happenstance of birth, regardless of any lack of education/intelligence/competence? Or that titles they bestow on themselves means “lesser” people have to bow and scrape to them, again because of birth? Or that taxpayers need to spend billions of dollars on an institution that is a facade of glitz and jewels, again because of birth? That they can be as racist as they want and taxpayers still have to support them for life, again because of birth? Do they know the monarchy makes Britain look dumb/racist/out-of-touch with the modern world? I’m an American, so maybe that’s why I don’t understand this.
MRS KRABAPPLE Unfortunately there are a lot of people black and white who love and respect the queen. They think she is a strong and stable symbol of our country and steers it well, they also admire how seriously she takes her duty to the UK and Commonwealth.
On a morning show the other day all the panellists were gushing about how she is the most amazing woman and applauded her for being very stern about what Harry and Meghan can and can’t do. She is like the head mother/granny to some here. This is why there is a monarchy, a contestant for the leadership for the Labour party stated that she would abolish the monarchy if she were to be Prime Minister and most of the country were up in arms in regards to her remarks.
We may have to wait for a lot of the baby boomers to die out before any talk of ending the monarchy. 😔
It must be a British boomer thing because my canadian boomer parents hate the monarchy and resented having to use god save the Queen as their anthem until we started using O Canada in the late 60s. They think that Meghan was poorly treated by uptight British tight asses and that she and Harry did the smart thing by getting away from that messed up family.
Thank you for a British view. I’m not necessarily saying the Queen is bad at her job (I can look to my own President for that), but it’s a cr@p shoot, isn’t it, when you rely on birth right? It just seems there should be a better way to select a head of state in the modern era, rather than crossing fingers and hoping the first born is not a disaster. Plus, whatever it is the monarchs do for the country doesn’t seem (to me) to justify the billions of dollars spent on them.
“Steers the country” seems like a huge overstatment.
She is a figurehead, at best.
Parliament steers the country. Even monarchists acknowledge that .
Not buying it.
This all sounds like they’re hoping the marriage will implode and dear Harrykins will come crawling back to the family. My extended family in Tennessee acts the same way towards “outsiders.” Nobody ever leaves their small town and if they do, the family works as a unit to convince them to come back. One of my cousins joined the Navy and married a bi-racial woman, and it wasn’t 4 years before the family had gotten to him and he went back home alone to mommy and daddy. It’s disgusting.
Hopefully Harry can see what taking his family back would do to his son. No child should have to deal with that lot.
They are still sticking to plan A- break harry and Meghan up!. They didn’t think that she would leave with him, and now they want him back, but are going about it all wrong. They think if they keep up the smear campaign they will eventually break up, but they have both been smeared TOGETHER, and are this going through this hell together so it probably has brought them even closer. They are desperate for them to divorce so harry looks like a failure, he can then ‘come to his senses’ and marry and ‘English rose’ who’s even more dull than Kate. Not to mention if harry and Meghan divorce it opens up that divorce crack a little more for William (I don’t think he mentions that part of his evil plan to kate though). If harry and Meghan ever do split up, harry is still NEVER going back EVER!
You know next year will mark 3 years of marriage for H&M. Remember that story about how some “senior royal” called Meghan “The Degree Wife”? Somebody on here said it takes 3 years to earn a degree in the UK. Coincidence that next year they will “review the arrangement”? I truly hope that H&M don’t go back there. Let them keep Frogmore and give it to one of the cousins and just talk to them by Skype from now on.
2 years of marriage but more than 3 coupled up.
@MsIam apologies! Today I have neither reading comprehension or simple math down. 🙁
I think the family member referred to her as ‘Third Degree’ because it takes 3 years in Britain. The nastiness being that within 3 years, Harry would become smart enough to graduate from Meghan. Really nasty and I always thought it was something Andrew, Anne, or Zara would say. I remember Charles started referring to Anne’s first husband, Mark Phillips, as Fog (because he was so dim) and supposedly other members always called him that behind his back. Really welcoming family aren’t they!
Zara the Mediator? GTFO. That bish? Is this another embiggening from the press? She is a piece of work and if I were Meghan, I’d side eye the hell out of her.
Agree. Her behavior at the wedding was inexcusable, and she’s another one who allegedly has taken more sh*t from her spouse than is reasonable and right, but has “continued on”, so to speak, like everything’s peaches and cream.
Pretty sure if my in-laws were one of the most powerful families in the world and they did absolutely nothing when my newborn child was compared to a chimp- I would be out the fecking door and there would be nothing they could do to stop me.
Agreed, that was giant red flag regarding how Archie was viewed by this so called family.
Especially when they put out statements denying Kate’s obvious hair extensions, because that is soooo much more insulting to the royal family than calling a part-black child a chimp? When the issue of whether a white woman’s hair is 100% natural is deemed more important than a racist attack of a part-black child, THAT itself is racism. Good for Harry and Meghan for taking their baby and getting the hell out of there.
That was the lowest of the low when no one, not a single one of those mediocre cretins said anything. William if no one else. Archie is your mums grandchild. How sad a person are you that you are so jealous of H&M and/or scared of running foul of the shit media you have in your country they you chose to turn your back on your brother and his first darling child.
Class and prestige? Sorry totally not terms I would use in respect of anything to do with the royal family.
Request. Could people stop using caps for royal and queen. So you think they deserve caps?
The Queen could not even put a picture of herself with Archie and his parents at the Christening on the table for that speech. And it was not just the direct heirs because Charlotte and Louis were also in the photos.
The Windsors and their advisers are basically stupid. The only entity benefiting from “United Front BS” and all the online stories it is generating in The Daily Wail-n-Fail.
Currently ongoing over at The Daily Fail is a feeding frenzy not seen since the last days of disco at Studio 54.
If QEII really wanted a “United Front” she would have made every effort to rein in the press until 31 March 2020.
She did not and she does not.
Where was her “united front” during Christmas speech and there was no photo of them?
The fish rots from the head. And Andrew’s Nemesis, you told it EXACTLY as it is. Great job.
The Sussexes should go to the Commonwealth services with their heads held high. They did nothing wrong. The Cambridges ditched the Commonwealth services in 2017 and William was busted in Verbier dad dancing and cuddling randoms and humiliating Kate. That also gives credence to the Rose story. End the final engagements with a bang.
The Sussexes are so over this family they probably won’t live there for any serious time. I hope they tell them to keep their old noisy Frogmore, change their mind and don’t pay back the upgrades and stay at the Savoy when they visit.