One of the things that’s been bugging me over the past few months in particular is that very little of the royal coverage in Britain and America really reflects what I’ve been feeling this whole time, which is that the Sussexit drama has underlined the massive fault lines in the British monarchy as a whole. We discussed it several times on the Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, how the British tabloids seem to want to make the story all about Meghan and Harry being the evil outliers to an otherwise unblemished institution. When really Sussexit came less than two months after the Queen had to “fire” Prince Andrew, and this has been the one-two punch which has irretrievably damaged the Crown. All of which to say, Vanity Fair finally hit pause on Katie Nicholl’s sugary, Cambridge-specific narrative to publish a piece which says all of my feelings explicitly: the Crown may never recover. You can read the full piece here. Here’s the part where they put Sussexit in context:
With two of The Firm’s glitteriest global superstars ostensibly opting out, the royal brand finds itself in shambles. Queen Elizabeth II and company traffic in the presumption of magic and majesty—an assurance that, divinely and by birth, they are superior. Commoners are supposed to clamor at their gates, not marry in and then make a U-turn for Canada.
The monarchy already feels drearier without Harry and Meghan, who infused the whole operation with Big Celebrity Energy. The Sussexes had an estimated 1.9 billion viewers in their thrall at their royal wedding: Harry bit his bearded lower lip and appeared to whisper, “You look amazing” in what became a much-memed moment. Meghan, the first biracial duchess in modern history, blinked back, glowing. The royal family was, but for a fleeting moment, both inclusive and…sexy? This historically white and musty institution needed the couple to appear modern and relevant to survive into the 21st century. And January’s shocking news, dropped via Instagram, struck a House of Windsor already in crisis.
Last November, someone else had quit the Firm, when Prince Andrew relinquished royal duties “for the foreseeable future” amid allegations he was an abuser in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring. (The prince denies these allegations.) In a disastrous BBC interview, the Duke of York minimized the late Epstein’s alleged child sexual abuse as merely “unbecoming.” And before even that unpleasant PR nightmare/disaster, there were the tabloid rumors swirling around Prince William, Kate, and their “Turnip Toffs” clique. It was only a year ago when 98-year-old Prince Philip tumped over in his Land Rover and that seemed like the worst kind of news coming out of BP.
“…There were the tabloid rumors swirling around Prince William, Kate, and their “Turnip Toffs” clique…” Yep. It’s all connected. I guess VF didn’t want to draw the line between the rise of the Rose Hanbury story and the way Prince William used smears on Meghan as a deflection. And here’s more, specifically about how the world watched as the first woman of color to join the royal family was smeared and harassed:
A gospel choir had heralded “Stand By Me” at their royal wedding; perhaps never in Windsor Castle had an African American preacher quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and waxed poetic about the power of love (assorted kings entombed therein may well have rolled over). But the belief that, just by marrying Harry, Meghan could blow the mothballs off the monarchy—in the midst of a sharply divided post-Brexiting Britain teeming with nativism—may have been the biggest fairy tale of all.
“As far as I’m concerned, the monarchy really lost out,” says Kali Nicole Gross, the Martin Luther King Jr. professor of history at Rutgers University, who specializes in black women’s experiences in U.S. history. “You push aside that pomp and circumstance and what’s underneath is not pretty.” But the brevity of Harry and Meghan’s time as senior royals begs the question: How inhospitable must the royal mantle be to a biracial self-identified feminist and her rebel-hearted husband that they said goodbye so soon?
“I don’t think it reflects well on the institution or its place in contemporary Britain,” Afua Hirsch, the Booker Prize-winning author of Brit(ish) & Equal to Everything, told V.F. “The big question when this engagement and this marriage was announced was whether a woman of color could thrive in the very specific context of the royal family.” Harry’s emotional statement that “there really was no other option” seems to provide a deflating answer.
There was what Harry called a “ruthless campaign” of “relentless propaganda” against her by the British tabloids, and bald gestures, like Princess Michael of Kent’s blackamoor brooch. “The royal family is ground zero for a history of white supremacy and imperialism that they’ve never acknowledged, let alone apologized for it,” Hirsch said. Buckingham Palace’s onetime silence on the press treatment of the Duchess of Sussex now feels like a missed opportunity to have protected the first biracial duchess it initially seemed so pleased to claim.
Yes yes yes and yes. What’s remarkable is how few outlets are truly framing the situation in this context, that instead of Sussexit reflecting poorly on Meghan and Harry, their exit was the only direction for them in the face of an ugly, damaged, petty, racist, nasty institution. More of this kind of analysis, please.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Kaiser, did you say it’s NOT authored by Katie Nicholls? In that case, I’ll head on over to read the article. For various reasons I’ve cancelled my subscription to the magazine and she was one of them. It’s really not the magazine it used to be.
Correct, Nicholl had no involvement in this piece
Finally! And about time.
Hope the tide is turning.
Finally, a well written, thoughtful piece of writing by a journalistic as opposed to a tabloid Cambridge groupie. I cancelled my subscription to Vanity Fair over a year ago because the quality of their articles was so disappointing. They need to fire ‘writers’ like Nicoll — let the Cambridge’s put her on their payroll as she’s already working for them. Did anyone else notice this option at the very bottom of the article to subscribe to VF Royal Watch? Comes right out and tells you they’re for House Keen!
Copied from VF: “Royal Watch: Get the latest chatter, from Kensington Palace and beyond, straight to your inbox.”
“If she’s white, put her in the spotlight. If she’s black, put her in the back.”
Can we really say it’s a history when the current royal family members are currently racist AF? I’m just not sure why VF even used the word ‘history’.
Surprised this came from VF, I would like more analysis like this too.
@mk – This is the type of story Vanity Fair did for years under the editorship of Tina Brown then Graydon Carter.
Vanity Fair has gone straight downhill since Si Newhouse, Sr. (the owner of Conde Nast Publications) died and Graydon Carter left.
I no longer had a subscription to Vanity Fair to drop but I have stopped visiting their site as well as buying the magazine at the newsstand. I have been so angry at VF for publishing the negative propaganda pieces by Katie Nicholl. I was hoping that at least some of the celebrities that VF depends upon would refuse to be in their magazine.
The British Royal Family really blew it. Such a glamorous, exciting opportunity to remain relevant into the 21st century—this gorgeous, incredibly well-spoken and yes, multiracial couple embodying romantic fairy tale love while continuing Diana’s legacy of caring and compassionate work…talk about a golden opportunity! QE2, William & Catherine were idiots not to play nice. Harry and Meghan are the future.
Im sure many will be reflective in the coming weeks, maybe not, but I’m sure the Royal Rota is going to be extremely sad because the only royals with actual substance and bring results hate their guts and wants nothing to do with them. They see those checks and money going away and it’s not a pretty sight.
Well the Rota better stop being sad and start getting mad. They are agents of the Firm and have been receiving instruction from someone to do this hit job. If this causes them to lose $$ in the long run they have to point fingers at their handlers.
You know, TeamMeg, that gets me thinking. So yes, Meghan was a one-woman publicity machine for them (she got me – a barely interested bystander – with the cookbook and all the roast chicken stories). But if you (as The Crown) are not willing to change the underlying dysfunctional structures, the institutional racism (@ Brits does anyone know how many PoC work for BP, KP oder CH? I reckon “not many”) etc. your institution will always have to rely on extremely charismatic personnel to generate interest. Otherwise you’re a relic, superfluous spongers, a tourist attraction at best.
I think there’s this negative feedback loop of sorts in that they more or less actively seek “entertainers” but when they actually get them feel threatend and ostracise them. Any spotlight on a Diana / a Meghan / a Harry lays the system’s shorcomings bare. Diana showed the world how they just don’t care. Meghan showed the world how they just don’t evolve. I think Harry will show the world in the near future how they just aren’t able to make peace.
Disclaimer – by “they” I mostly mean these vicious courtiers, because I’m still convinced they run the show.
So true. Huge loss to the RF and to our country. She is perfect for the role which she was carrying out flawlessly. Simply by fully accepting and supporting Meghan and Harry, they could have earned themselves another 100 years. Now, who knows? And it wasn’t even a question of protecting M as an individual, which they claim they don’t do for anybody, but making a principled stand against *racism and bullying*. That was the missed opportunity. They should have used this to reform the Royal Rota system. It makes me think that the tabloids must have some seriously damaging information on members of the RF – more than rumours of an affair, I mean.
I don’t understand why they considered them such a threat, and were so hell bent on smearing Meghan. They’ve created this villain like persona that just does not match the actual person, who had a track record for years before meeting Harry. It’s not like they were in contention for the throne, and they probably thought being 6th in line would give them more independence. Instead, it brought out resentment and racism. It’s not like them leaving are going to transform William’s or Charle’s personalities, or Kate’s going to advocate for women’s equality. That’s not what they’re there for and their public don’t like that in Royals, hence the situation we have now.They can’t be what they never were, and quite frankly never aspired to, and chasing off the Sussexes will never change that.
What’s also not helping is the BM either. In an attempt to bully for access and extort, they’ve effectively chased out the Worlds most popular Prince from their own country. All because the Royals are scared of the media and have secrets to hide from the public. It’s absolutely toxic like Afua said, it won’t last because eventually Kate and Williams dullness and blandness won’t satisfy that toxic media. No one cares for Charles at all. There’s absolutely no humility in the RF or BM for them to even see that they’re stopping their own bags. I truly admire Harry and Meghan for walking away and the closer it gets to March 31, the coverage is going to get even more bitter. All they are doing is proving Harry and Meghan’s point and I’ve seen more people on their side more than anything than against them.
Brit, I agree completely. The press are going to pull out all of the stops with their hateful coverage.
Someone last year had an old tweet from Robert Palmer that said Harry better get a girlfriend soon because it was boring covering the Cambridge’s. I think less than a year later he met Meghan.
Wealthy royal racist white people aren’t different from ordinary racist white people. Period. And the money and fantasy help hide deviant behavior (Andrew).
Harry and Meghan and Archie are better off, and they will be fine. The Brexiters are the ones buying the Daily Mail and the crappy stories about Meghan, so they aren’t going to look at their white fragility, especially with the monarchy’s example of constantly absolving itself of responsibility about their self made problems. Good for VF finally getting their collective head out of their ass.
Agreed that violent racists (and anyone who upholds/espouses white supremacy is a violent racist) will not self-reflect and/or question themselves or their systems and institutions. They will only ever blame and play the victim and then call you names. But it is still important that we call it out wherever and whenever we see it & that we call it by its name.
It says a lot about this institution ( I just can’t call them a family) that they will fall into the stereotype that leaving your black wife and bi racial son to be completely destroyed, possibly destitute, and then forgotten is totally okay.
They underestimated Harry, big time. He married Meghan, he was at the aisle looking so damn proud of the woman he was marrying. Yeah, he is in this to the very end.
And they definitely underestimated Meghan. If the pomp and circumstance was all she was after, she would still be there. But nope, she has her husbands back and then some and has a plan for everything to look out for her family. I am not surprised a story has not come out that they tried to give her a check to go away and leave Harry alone. Who am I kidding, like they would part with any of their money and give it to any woman, let alone one of color.
Agree, especially with your last paragraph. I see so many comments about how Meghan’s just all about the money and status etc and I’m like…..if she was, she would still be in the UK.
I imagine that exactly this happend before the wedding. She was not offered but given a check and she was threatened, maybe just by the courtiers, maybe by William himself. When Harry found out, of course he did, that was the breaking point between him and William. That would be very big and they would be desparate to hide it.
Damn, this is a good theory. This is a very good theory.
When I saw this photo https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ee/2a/50/ee2a5018367577d9e6cbe4dac2c31a41.jpg which is from almost a year ago, I did not only think of Geidt definitely crossing a line by forcing a kiss on Meghan, I also thought it was a Judas kiss.
This makes a lot of sense.
I believe if Meghan wanted to leave Harry because of the abuse of the family/media, the British Royal Family would NOT try to take Archie away from her. I think they would pay her handsomely to take Archie back to Canada or America or wherever and have full custody of him, so Harry could remake his life with an acceptable dull white English woman and have acceptable dull white English children. Archie could, of course, always visit Harry (much like Prince Albert of Monaco’s biracial son joins him on occasion) but he would never be included in the larger British Royal Family.
For all of the talk of the crown having custody of the royal children, Archie (and any siblings) would be the children the British Royal Family would NOT fight to keep.
The queen does not have legal custody over her grandchildren–no one can take Archie away from Harry and Meghan. The difference between Prince Albert’s son and Archie is that Albert’s son is not in the line of succession, whereas Archie sits at #7. I don’t think it’s possible to remove him from the line of succession. He’s there by reason of his birth as a legitimate heir.
Ooh, I bet that is it. Meghan was approached either by William or his surrogates to break off the engagement. She refused, but didn’t tell Harry until after the wedding. The timing would fit for the breakdown of Harry’s relationship with William. That would explain the growing frostiness between them. Like the bribery didn’t go over well and Harry was mad, but forgiving, then came the rest and he shot past mad and was livid and disgusted by the lengths his family was going to to hurt and demean Meghan.
Just for some more background on the british royal family and the slave trade… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_African_Company. And yes I think meghan, the wedding, and esp the idea of Archie, kicked the racism into high gear… awful people…
Strange how it was ok for that company to have Royal in the title and that there has never been an apology for that. Methinks the firm has not evolved much since the 1600’s
The British Royal Family really blew it with Meghan. They had such an amazing opportunity to win over many people. The thing is, for all the talk about racism and white supremacy, many supposedly liberal or left-leaning people were ready to embrace the BRF because of Meghan joining the family, forgetting that oppression is still oppression even if one of the its face is browner than usual.
Look at how positive stories about Charles and The Queen were on this very website, after Charles walked Meghan down the aisle and The Queen did a royal engagement with Meghan!
But the BRF is so racist they could not even fake it for a year.
Bah… their loss, and our win.
They absolutely fumbled that opportunity because when she and Harry tried to talk about the ideals that many people especially young people identified with, they were accused of being political and woke. It’s like the Media and RF didn’t realize that they were screwing themselves over. Not only are papers in decline but the the Royal family need the younger generation and I’m sorry Kate and Will don’t have any experience or passion in that area. There was a culture war in Britain with Brexit and Meghan was basically a scapegoat and was truly unprotected. It was truly horrifying.
good point… For a moment I really liked Charles, was charmed by him walking Meghan down the aisle, now oof…they all just look petty, immature, and mean…
I really started to like Charles as well until I saw this little clip in a Diana Docu on TV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI9n1h94lTU
Eyfalia…yup, the jealousy started early didn’t it.
Wow, that was great. I’m going to head over to read the whole thing in a minute, but i’m glad someone is finally coming out and saying it – especially the part about “how bad must it have been that they are leaving so soon” and the history of racism and imperialism that they have never apologized for – and in fact, still seem to celebrate, with their jewels and art etc.
When all the dust settles, and people look back at this period for the royal family – H&M aren’t going to be the ones who look bad.
And while Harry was looking for his own way to leave a print on this world, he was also in a way proud to have Meghan in the fold. With all the crap that went down with her Markle side of the family Harry really thought that he was not going to bring her into that with his own family.
To completely and totally drag the woman you love for not other reason than skin color is a horrible bubble to burst. He is salty and I do not blame him.
Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren articulated that Meghan was “a fantastic addition to the royal family,” She said further Meghan was “charming, did everything right, was gracious, was sweet natured, and didn’t seem to be neurotic.” She thinks Meghan opting out of the RF “ is a loss in a way, but at the same time I think their instincts are absolutely correct. It will sort itself out, and the tabloid pearl-clutchers will get over their trauma at not having someone to attack all the time.” She sees through the lies and racism. Thank you, Helen, for putting in a good word for Meghan . We need more people like you.
Btw, I notice the family wedding picture above where Kate appeared to be repelled by the close distance she had with Meghan’s mother. Seems like she’s motioning herself to back away. Duh…
Her statement about the tabloids were spot on. They are angry because they’re money maker is leaving and still has the lawsuits against them. They are so used to making the royals play their game and blackmailing them that I think they aren’t used to being ignored by the object of their obsession and standing up to them.
The BRF was more than willing to take credit for their openness in accepting Meghan. It cost them nothing.
They were not willing to work to help her. They were unwilling to dismantle their entrenched relationships with the racist media. They were unwilling to admit that racism is deeply entrenched in both their own family (see: the Blackamoor brooch) and in British society in general.
They thought that they could lean on their privilege and everything would be okay.
Everything is not okay. Not for Meghan, and not for themselves. They can’t “privilege” their way out of the mess they’ve made, allowed, and encouraged.
The next generation of people on the UK are racially diverse. The next generation doesn’t remember what the Queen may have done during WWII.
The BRF had a chance to bring the monarchy into the 21st Century. They’ve chosen not to and they’re soon to suffer for it. Not a moment too soon.
Lovely choice of photo of them heading to their wedding reception: So much “buh-bye!”
Finally a decent article from VF. A lot of people see the cultural context in relation to Brexit and the nationalist/ anti- foreigners slant of democratic governments. Look at recent legislation passed regarding immigrants and the deportations that just happened. Britain was a very unwelcome place for Meghan, there is a lot of backlash and pushback against not just foreigners and POC, but also feminists, ambition, and outspoken women. She symbolized too much of what right wing and those longing for “ the good old days” were against. This has been brought up by the Daily podcast and many blogs, but finally some mainstream outlets are starting to turn over the rocks that have been thrown at Meghan. And the tabloids and Royal family still don’t get it, they really don’t.
What a total shame the RF is. If they were a corporation and the Queen a CEO, she would be fired for incompetence, as would the COO (Charles) and the Vice President who does nothing but has a fancy title because he’s the Chief Officers son William. The Sussexes could have helped usher the next 50 years of goodwill toward the RF. Whenever people questioned the idea of royalty as anachronism, the family could have held up the Sussexes as proof that they were truly a modern institution.
The RF is a modern cautionary tale that shows the importance of diversity. Or another way of saying this: the Firm’s stupidity demonstrates the consequences of not having diversity in a global age. I’m sure every member of the Firm with any authority is an old, white aristocratic Tory. They can’t imagine the world that currently exists because their own world view is so myopic and small. Diversity isn’t about pictures of POCs in a brochure. It’s not about individual, performative actions (1 train ride with the queen for Meghan does not equal support!). It’s about recognizing that the global area in which you’re trying to operate has many different perspectives, and it’s BAD FOR BUSINESS to ignore that.
If the RF is to represent the UK as it exists now and not 70 years ago, the firm needs to have a global perspective. To have that perspective, it needs POCs in its ranks. The firm is too dumb to realize that this inane war against the Sussexes harms its own survival. When Brexit happens, and the British economy tanks, how many people will want to pay for the RF, especially a RF they don’t see (Cambridge laziness)?
The Sussexes were the RF’s best shot of engagement with the world. I’ve said before that they could have been roving global ambassadors, spending lots of time outside the UK while the Cambridges reigned in the UK. A successful company operates from a position of strength–using its assets in a way that best furthers the mission of the brand. The Firm is operating from weakness: petty jealousy and myopia. The Sussexes could have been engaged to do the work that the Cambridges don’t even WANT to do themselves. Kate’s not going to go around the world giving speeches on important issues. William can’t connect with people the way Harry can. The Cambridges could have been the “English” couple, giving the UK the “Downton Abbey” experience of tradition and security. Their “glamour” could have come from hosting the State dinners and the celebrations, while the Sussexes did the “glamour” events outside the UK. That’s a clear delineation of duties that allows visibility to both couples, and allows each couple to play to its own strength. That’s how the FAB FOUR could have been cast, even if they all actually hated each other. Each couple couple have had its own sphere, and I think they could have cultivated a sense of pride and togetherness for the UK that could have been a balm for the uncertainty of Brexit: Look at our awesome, forward thinking royals! We’re unified, and we’re a symbol of unity for the UK! There still would have been stories to write for the Royal Rota and for the tabloids.
No one in the firm thought of this? So much for the white “superiority” they represent. Has anybody else ever noticed that white superiority is just code for inertia and incompetence? (note that I’m talking about white supremacists here, not white people in general–I know that most of the white people who post here are horrified at white supremacy too).
Also, I think what makes the Queen and her minions so angry is that the Sussexes have rejected the highest level of British society. The Royal Family is supposed to be the epitome of social aspiration, something people would do “anything” to attain. The implication is that Meghan and Kate and all married in women are LUCKY to be there and have NOTHING to complain about–they need to EARN the privilege of being in this rarefied company. While Kate and Sophie may have bought that crap, Meghan says, “Nah.” That has to burn, especially coming from a WOC they didn’t want there to begin with.
There is no scientific proof that the colour of your skin makes you more intelligent, more healthy and so on, than to those with other coloured skins.
Racism was invented by politics, to enable one group to exploit, denigrade, enslave and even kill another group.
“That’s a clear delineation of duties that allows visibility to both couples, and allows each couple to play to its own strength. That’s how the FAB FOUR could have been cast, even if they all actually hated each other. Each couple couple have had its own sphere, and I think they could have cultivated a sense of pride and togetherness for the UK that could have been a balm for the uncertainty of Brexit”
@Ianne, i continue to believe your theory above is what Charles III had planned or a variation of what Charles III had planned. I believe that Charles III could not execute his plan because William had the ear of Betty Petty and the courtiers HATED Megan for many reason. No doubt the main reason was because she was a biracial WOC but there were many many other reason too which as just as disgusting
And rather than handle the situation like a king, Charles pulled a Betty and stuck his head in the sand.
@lanne, you said pretty much almost everything I would have said.
I said recently on twitter that the whole narrative about Meghan not having any friends was really about her not having any Aristo-Set friends. Word is, Will & Kate blocked that set from befriending Meghan.
What they, along with the RRs and hater-trolls, never took into account was that – for all their talk about Meghan being a “social climber” – she *never* cared about being “in” with the Aristo-Set. She never saw them as a big deal, not only because she’s American, not only because she still had all her friends and friendship circle from before she met Harry, but because Meghan’s world view was so much wider and more globally focused. You can see it when it came to the charity events she was interested in before she met Harry and her involvement with the UN before she met Harry.
The Aristo-Set world is so insular and myopic and the RRs are so dug into that world, the always misread Meghan and he interests and, most importantly, how inconsequential she viewed that whole set and the world – the insular bubble – they have built up around themselves. Harry, having traveled the world much more than William, including being in an active war zone for 10 years, clearly broke out of that insular bubble and grew his world view that, by the time he met Meghan, both their outlooks matched up.
Insular world views just do not work in a global interconnected world. RRs and others were warned that the whole world was watching, in real time, what was being done to Meghan. But their insular world views made them unable to see anything that didn’t fit into that insulation.
The UK as it exists now is 80%+ white and then the next largest minority is asian. Meghan doesn’t make them represent the UK.
Good to see that Vanity Fair is finally doing better on its royals reporting. Because yeah, it’s not just celebrity gossip – this is about the whole country in a way.
Agree. This is becoming history, part of a certain time and place in a culture. Too many other thing s happening for this to be regarded in a vacuum.
There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come, Victor Hugo. Freedom, supersedes tradition. China, India, et al, have opted for freedom against British Rule. I’m hoping the Commonwealth dissolves next, the monarchy to follow.
H&M have good friends, strong following and competent advisors.
Again, I don’t think this can be stressed enough: A lot of the British tabs coverage came courtesy of William and his courtiers. Sure, the buck stops with Her Majesty, but William is in the reverse Lion King (aka/Hamlet) role of Mustafa in this scenario. His racism and pure jealousy were the cudgel that cleaved those brothers into warring factions.
Yep, I think William would have attacked and smeared any woman Harry married because his issues and insecurities lie with his brother. He got lucky that harry married an attractive biracial woman because it made his smear campaign so much easier for him. But why does the queen and Charles let William run rampant? They seem to sit back and let him run that place into the ground. Are they even aware how they look? I wonder if William is aware of how much the Sussex Squad have caught on to his petty behaviour and how he’s basically destroying his own image.
I have heard that Charles is actually very frightened of William and his incandescent rages and thus handles him with kid gloves. Plus, I’m sure both sons played the “poor me Diana” card on Charles many a time.
I think Charles needs William to remain ‘popuar’ only to secure his own position on the throne. People still seem to be mad at Charles over Diana, and are only ok with him getting the crown because his term will be short, and because William was going to be after him. But that was before we realised how petty William is, if his popularity dies too, then might as well scrap the whole thing after the queen.
But I wonder what William says and does behind the scenes for charles to be scared of? I’m guessing maybe some sort of extortion.
I think what William has done in the past (probably not very recent past) is threaten to walk away…which would be a huge deal. So they handle him with kidd gloves and put up with his incandesent rages. Maybe it’s just habit to treat him that way now.
I’m sure he threatens to walk every other day but he’s still there. I bet he’s even more mad at harry for actually having the balls to leave. I think they should call his bluff, cos he’s too much of a p*ssy to actually do it. He couldn’t even properly break up with Kate. I think he has some dirt on them that he hanging over them, hence why they seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
William couldn’t walk away.
He derives all of his narcissistic supply from being “the future king”.
One reason I think they let William be William is that the Queen is 93, Charles is 71(?), and George is a little boy —- so maybe another 10-15 years max between the two of them and quite awhile for George. William is where they are really focusing because I think age is a big issue here.
Before Meghan came on the scene, I always suspected that they were grooming harry for the top job. I don’t know how it would work so don’t come at me with the line of succession nonsense, but I just had a feeling that they all wanted him in the top job and that William was basically a ‘non starter’. William is a stubborn prick who lashes out and makes decisions entirely on his emotions. He is exactly what they don’t want for a king. He’s destructive and they know it. Eventually they will have to deal with him like they did Edward VIII. Babying him to make him happy hasn’t worked and they can’t keep doing it forever.
I’m reminded of an article Omid wrote after Tim Shipmans article of William wanting to exile Harry and Meghan. Harry and Meghan said that any of their future plans are to be made with the Queen and Charles only. Interesting that William was at the summit when he has no say in their future plans. Harry probably brought all of the receipts at the meeting. Oh to be a fly on the wall…I would have loved to seen it.
Wow, “Mustafa”! What a 4 alarm burn. I can feel the heat all the way on the other side of the world. I salute you!
The racism, bullying, dog-whistling, leaking, lies, covering up, the protecting of a Prince who has committed sexual crimes against young women and the assorted financial shenanigans is so clear it boggles the mind. Good grief, Helen Keller could have seen through it all. We in the Commonwealth were aware of the cracks in the carefully controlled facade, especially after Diana’s death, and prior to that the Queen being forced to pay income tax. Not to mention the break-up of Charles’s and Andrew’s marriages with the attendant stain of adultery. But the last couple of years have been a tsunami of exposure the likes of which has never been seen and it’s about f*cking time. The BRF, its courtiers, minions, Grey Men, Rota, and the tabloid press cannot protect itself any longer. Two more broken marriages plus a Prince, his wife and baby forced out to escape the evils that lurk within. Let’s hope the walls come crashing down on this sick, moribund and useless monarchy.
“Good grief, Helen Keller could have seen through it all. ”
This sentence just made my day. Thank you Jaded.
In other well known every day news..water is wet.
Carry on.
Such a profound relief to read this piece. The RRs have been desperately obfuscating the reason why Meghan and Harry left: prejudice. Engrained, automatic, inherent prejudice. A prejudice so deeply woven into the fabric of the Royals’ existence that the mere presence of a woman of colour caused unreasoning anger; that that woman of colour became a global star within mere months angered them even more. Nothing can upset the ‘order’. The Family clings to the notion that their existence must be perpetuated and is all that matters. Andrew’s sordid, vicious actions are seen as a ‘bump’ in the road. There is no sense of accountability in those who believe their position is ordained by God and pleases Him.
Monarchy has no place in 21st century life. The fact that Meghan and Harry were brave and strong enough to escape it demonstrates how antiquated and narcissistic it is. These are the people who, lacking in jobs or any meaningful purpose, spend their time plotting, conniving, playing off one another in the press and indulging in infantile games. Their weaponisation of colour has finally come to bite them on the arse. Demolish the rotten institution, send Andrew TO an institution, and let us have leadership with accountability. Let us speak truth to power. Let Meghan and Harry soar.
Love that the writer described them as “musty”. They were dull in the years since Diana and they are dull now. Meghan was like a breath of fresh air and they blew it because being racist and petty was more important. A severely damaged family in a country that I feel bad for. I wouldn’t want a bunch of gravel faced pedophiles lording it over me and hoarding all the land.
This will all blow over if they keep taking pictures with black people though right?
Racism runs long and strong in that family. What I don’t get is why someone like Kate gets praised for being so “supportive” of the monarchy. Because, that is a BAD thing. The monarchy should be abolished, not supported. Anyone who supports that outdated, racist institution is hindering progressiveness and enlightenment.
I, for one, really do not care about the BRF anymore since this happened. I have been a royal watcher for 22 years. I was there for the Waity Katy Years, the smearing of Chelsy, etc. I also remember Tampon Gate.
Everyone in this family is dour, sour, lazy and boring. They manage to produce ONE person with enough charisma to carry the institution, and they frightened him, and his even more charismatic wife, out of the country.
Watch this space: Harry and Meghan will completely eclipse the BRF. No one will give two figs about the Cambridges, Charles, and The Queen of Pettyville. I’ll not even find it surprising if Commonwealth countries decide to tap out, too.
It’s obvious Kate Nicholls didn’t write this piece. Was she fired?
She should have been fired after saying the Prime Minister of South Africa wouldn’t be there to greet Harry and Meghan on their tour. South Africa hasn’t had a Prime Minister since 1984. It highlighted the level of (non)education/research/writing skills of Ms. Nichols, and reflected very badly on Vanity Fair.
They have no shame!
The article is great! Finally, finally, FINALLY!
Aww look at Harry in his wedding photo — look at how big his smile is. He is SO happy. What a damn shame his family couldn’t be happy for him, too. A-holes! The lot of them!
About 2 weeks ago, there was an article on a Portuguese magazine, calling out Prince William and the rest of the royal family , and it’s not the only one… Actually, there’s an article about whether racism only or racism and sexim, classism and so on… The “rags” are criticized for using sexism against Diana, classicism against Kate and are now using racism against Meghan,,,,And that the treatment against Meghan is far worse than all the other women who married into the Firm… She’s a woman (sexism), no blue blood (classism) and she’s of mixed-race (racism)…
Wowzer. Imagine how many subscriptions Vanity Fair had to lose (including mine) to finally put the brakes on Katie Nicholls’ BS and publish this instead.
I’ve given up on a Vanity Fair. Haven’t renewed my subscription and stopped visiting their social media, except to see this article. It was a fairly good article, but barely scratched the surface. The monarchy will be fine if they get their emotions and rivalries under control, and Harry and Meghan will be as well if the monarchy can stop meddling and leaking to the tabloids.
VF: ‘The royal family is ground zero for a history of white supremacy & imperialism’.
This! Totally agree! Finally some contextualizing in the longer, terrible imperial history of the royal family.
Between this article the NYT about KP vs. SR instagrams it’s not looking cute for BRF. While it’s not even a 10th of what M&H have been subjected to, it’s refreshing to read all the same.
I was curious what the NYT had said, so looked it up. The article was interesting, and I’m very curious where the idea to compare the numbers of instagram followers came from! But the comments were very depressing. A lot were negative towards H&M (and/or admired W&K), and a number of those had quite a lot of likes. Not that different from the DM, really, except bigger words, better grammar, and marginally more polite…
Hey S808. I read that New York Times piece today too, comparing the Instagram accounts of Sussex and Cambridge. Fascinating reading and the receipts they presented were very thought provoking. There’s also a great article on Stylist.com (an online UK publication) that nails the whole ‘using Meghan’ as a tabloid target. The Stylist consistently has well thought out pieces on Meghan. Maybe the tide is beginning to turn just a tiny bit. 🌈
Are some of these publications finally waking up and seeing it was a smear campaign of lies?Have the RF and BM finally overplayed their hand?
I think the best thing to come out of Megan marrying Harry is that it has exposed the BRF for what they really are: frauds.
If you think back on their history, which really wasn’t long ago – just over 100 years ago, they ordered the invasion of Australia, the theft of land from Indigenous Australians, and the brutal torture and abuse of Indigenous Australians, the effects of which are still felt today – and when you consider that they have done this in basically every Commonwealth country… The only reason we are “OK” with the BRF today is because we are disconnected from the past. We think of it as something that was done so long ago, and we presume that today things are different, (despite people of colour repeatedly telling us that the legacy of racism continues).
What Megan has exposed is that no, underneath the facade the BRF are still the same type of people as before, they’re just hiding it because open and out racism has become unacceptable to most people. If the BRF are to be seen as legitimate, then it’s in their interest to hide their racism, but since most racists aren’t particularly bright, they were unable to hide it fully when a bi racial woman came along to marry one of their ilk.
What Megan has also exposed is that the BRF use the media as a weapon. Now if they aren’t above weaponizing the media against each other, what makes you think they won’t weaponize it against you and me, and the rest of the masses? The question is, how have they used the media to influence us? We need to start being more critical of the media, because they aren’t the unbiased reporters of facts they were thought to be. The phrase ‘divide and conquer’ comes to mind. Anything that makes you suspicious of another societal group (men, women, whites, blacks, poor, rich etc) should be scrutinized.
The idea that the BRF is “royal” “superior” “appointed by God” is absolutely bogus. For them to even claim they’ve been appointed by God is blasphemous. And do you really think that God would be A-OK with the raping and pillaging that has been done over the course of history by the BRF? No.
So why do we continue to allow them to claim royal status?
Thank you @L As someone who grew up in a formerly British colony, I can say that it’s been eyes wide open for me since day one, and I have no patience for British superiority b.s., monarchy or otherwise. It’s an infection that’s part of the culture.
I’m a staunch anti-monarchist Brit. The comments about the monarchy as being at the helm of the British Empire – and the invasion, killing, cultural destruction and jingoistic supremacism- are all true. Our Royal family exists here because of the concept of The Divine Rights of Kings, the idea that they are God’s representatives on earth, which is just so obviously the biggest load of self – serving bollock ever. However, Harry and Meghan are also self-serving, entitled elitists who now expect low income British workers to foot an annual £20 million security bill for them whilst they travel around the world earning obscene amounts of money simply for gracing social conventions with their presences. Cuts to our police force mean people in high crime areas lack protection. Whilst these two exceptionally wealthy one percenters leach off ordinary UK tax payers, they can hardly be deemed to have any kind of moral upper hand.
Good point.
You pay for security of a lot of public figures, and where do those numbers come from. Do you honestly think it costs that much? Do you think the government is going to put that money to fund crime prevention in poor areas. It will end up as tax cuts for the wealthy or go toward something that won’t benefit you. So they shouldn’t earn money, and have said they’ll no longer accept tax funding, but it bothers you that they may make a lot of money? Your press have created a very dangerous situation for them, where they receive daily threats, demand access to their child, reveal their locations, but sure, that’s all on them. Why not just put a $20 million bounty on their head to recoup your security costs. That will fix everything for you. Will you sleep better then? Roll out the fatwa.
Actually Megan is NOT the first biracial in the royal family…..Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz aka sophie Charlotte. Megan is actually the 2nd, but the first one officially recognized publically. But the BRF dropped the ball when it came to taking a stance on racism and prejudice. They allowed her to be run under the bus and did nothing, which costs them H&M and more down the road.
Yes they are, and without an admission of the truth and sincere attempt at reconciliation it will remain an open sore.
Yeah, I really don’t get why H&M would still want any connections to the RF at this point. Better to give up the HRH and Duchy and move towards true freedom.
I honestly don’t think they will ever go back to that den of vipers. There is nothing for them to go back for.
The webs are slowly unraveling! With the nypost’s article about buying bots, I feel like we’ll soon get a big report about the palace and courtiers bullying Harry and Meghan out of the country. They cant control the press like they do in UK so I’m looking forward to seeing them crushed/paying for their backstabbing.
The british people don’t mind funding the royals, so as long it’s the white royals.