Omid Scobie doesn’t believe the Sussexes will ever want to be working royals again

SWITZERLAND-DAVOS-WEF-U.S.-BIDEN

Finding Freedom was not an exercise in bridge-burning. I think Prince Harry (justly) feels raw about the British tabloid media and he’s still beyond pissed at his brother. But FF’s sources made it clear that Harry still wants any kind of close relationship with the Queen and Prince Charles. And despite all of the royal commentators crying about how Harry needs to dump Meghan and Archie and come back to them, it’s clear that in Harry’s mind, if he ever did come back, he would bring Meghan and Archie with him. I think that surprised me the most about FF – the fact that Harry wasn’t writing off the Windsors as a lost cause, and that he still wanted them to accept Meghan and help him protect his little family, even if they don’t move back to the UK. Omid Scobie says as much in a new interview with Royal Central, a site which has always aimed to be pretty objective about all royals and royal houses. Some highlights from the interview:

Whether he’s gotten “any signs or signals” that the Sussexes may return to the royal fold: “It’s always important to mention that the Queen made it clear to the couple that the door is open because it shows the continued support they receive from HM, even as non-working members of the Royal Family. However, it’s safe to say that this is a couple who are very much forward-focused and are clearly in a good place. The Sussexes are more engaged in the issues that matter to them than ever, the work on Archewell–their non-profit organisation–continues, and, as we have recently seen, they have established a permanent family base in California. The UK will always be important to them, but I don’t think we’ll ever see that happen again as working royals.

What the Sussexes brought to the table for royal fans: “Just like the Cambridges’ union ushered in a younger royal watcher, the Sussexes attracted a more diverse audience when it came to those that supported them or joined the crowds at engagements. Whether it was indigenous girls in New Zealand or students in Fiji, I was always excited to hear how inspired they were to see someone they felt better-represented them standing in the House of Windsor. That chapter as working royals may be over, but I can see Harry and Meghan always looking at new ways to engage with young people everywhere. The virtual summits they have been attending were a great start!

On the toxicity from royal fandoms: “The level of toxicity and bullying on social media, no matter who or what you support, is out of control. I’ve seen appalling language and comments made by accounts supposedly supporting the Sussexes and exactly the same from individuals who claim to support the Cambridges or other members of the Royal Family. I’ve also been on the receiving end of more than one’s average share and know how frustrating it can be to try and stop it. Unfortunately without a more vested interest from companies that own these platforms, little will change in preventing online trolling, negativity and harassment. It is up to the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr to create safer places for people to engage in healthy conversation. By doing nothing about it, and I also include media outlets who leave comment sections under articles largely unmoderated, these companies are not only enabling this dangerous and divisive behaviour but they are also shamelessly cashing in on it.

Whether Scobie thinks the Sussexes will return part-time to the UK at any point: “Harry and Meghan have made it clear that their work in the UK, including their royal patronages, will continue. While their base will be in the US, I think once travel restrictions ease we will see them moving around again and undertaking trips to the UK, both privately and professionally. After all, this is a couple that loves to get out there and be active in the field. Plus, a lot of the work they already started, including all four of Meghan’s patronages, are right here on British soil.

[From Royal Central]

Yeah. I don’t know what the future holds for the Sussexes and neither does Omid Scobie, and this is his best guess. He believes that the Sussexes will never “come back” to full-time royal work, but that they’ve left enough space for themselves to visit the UK and do some work with their remaining patronages. Once again, I do think that the pandemic just f–ked up all of the Sussexes’ plans and all of this would look so different this summer without the coronavirus. But we’ll see how H&M adapt long-term. I also like that Scobie called out those media outlets with un-moderated comment sections, which act as open invitations to foster hatred, racism and misogyny.

Royal baby

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

56 Responses to “Omid Scobie doesn’t believe the Sussexes will ever want to be working royals again”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Izzy says:

    The media and social media outlets may have unmoderated comments, but the users have the ability to moderate or delete comments if they choose to. The Fail and the Sun regularly delete anything negative about the Keenbridges but leave up every smear comment about the Sussexes and Meghan. So do the Twitter accounts for KP, BP, CH, etc. – the royal family themselves. So Omid is wrong to blame only the outlets, the users allow it to continue when they have clearly demonstrated they don’t have to, if they don’t want to.

    • MissMarierose says:

      You can’t delete replies on Twitter. A user can only block the responding account but that reply is still visible to others reading the replies to a tweet.

      • Becks1 says:

        But you can delete comments on IG, and the royal accounts all do that when they want to. And even on twitter – I don’t know if the Royal Family account is still doing this, but there was a period when they were blocking people for using the rose icon, for mentioning Andrew, etc. But H&M would be attacked and there never seemed to be any response from the accounts on Twitter or KP. Heck when they wished Meghan a happy birthday, there was so much vitriol in the comments – I replied to CH and told them they should be deleting some of those comments if they supported H&M as much as they say they do.

        But even without the royal accounts, just looking at the reporters – its not even about deleting comments. Richard Palmer, Dan Wootton, etc – they all actively engage with the trolls. RP has people in his replies who still insist the pregnancy was fake and HE TALKS TO THEM! he doesn’t tell them they are crazy. And he clearly doesn’t block them. “royal twitter” is a mess and its crazy.

        (I’m ranting but not at you lol @MissMarierose lol.)

      • ABritGuest says:

        There’s features to allow you to hide replies to tweets. I’ve seen users complain about being blocked from royal family twitter account for calling Andrew a paedophile but Meghan trolling is left unchecked. The royal family didn’t make any effort to comply with their social media guidelines.

        I’ve seen even moderate royal reporters engage with obvious anti Meghan trolls in a way they just wouldn’t concerning other royal family members especially as I’ve seen same reporters tell off people for being negative about other royal family members. Shows the reporters disliked her too.

        They have Frogmore and U.K. patronage’s plus Travalyst is based out of U.K. so imagine they will visit a lot but right now doesn’t seem any incentives to return to royal duties.

  2. Edna says:

    Harry and Meghan will visit the U.K. again, just not as working Royals. And they’re not burning bridges with the Queen and Prince Charles. Everyone else can kick rocks. They’ll want Archie to know both his American and British heritages.

  3. Digital Unicorn says:

    No sh!t Sherlock – thats a bridge that has been well and truly burned and the ashes buried on the moon. Of course they won’t abandon the patronages that they were ‘allowed’ to keep.

    Their future is going to be bright – I look forward to seeing what they do.

  4. Snuffles says:

    They’ll visit the U.K. as just FAMILY visiting relatives but not to work for them anymore. The most they will get is an occasional appearance at an event. They will also continue to support their patronage’s.

    But I can’t see them ever WORKING for The Firm EVER again. Freedom tastes too sweet. They are already thriving and taking advantage of opportunities they would never have had if they still had to play by The Firm’s rules.

    Nope. That ship had sailed!!

  5. MarcelMarcel says:

    I really appreciated his thoughts about moderating comments too. You can’t host an online platform where people anonymously comment and absolve yourself of responsibility when there’s rampant bigoted vitriol in the comments. These are multi billion companies that can afford to hire moderators to enforce community standards. But they’d prefer to silently to profit off hate speech instead.
    The unchecked misogynoir publicly thrown at Meghan is in harmful and unnecessary. I think it enables & encourages hate speech towards mixed race & black womxn in general.

    • Becks1 says:

      That’s one of the things I appreciate here about the comments being moderated. For the most part, Celebitchy and Kaiser etc are pretty on top of anything racist, inflammatory, etc. If they can do, how can these larger companies not?

      • MarcelMarcel says:

        Agreed! This is one of the few digital spaces I comment on because it’s moderated. I don’t want to allow unchecked racism, misogyny, transphobia, biphobia etc… in my life. So I avoid most comment sections. I really appreciate that trolls are shut out of this site.

    • Zazu says:

      I didn’t realize you could hire moderators. Wow that’s a worse indictment of the royals than simply ignoring the media abuse of Meghan. To enable social media abuse to flourish is so gross.

      • MarcelMarcel says:

        @Zazu some influencers hire moderators for their social media platforms. I didn’t really think about it until Omid’s comment. But agreed, there are so many behind the scenes supportive actions the BRF could have taken. They chose not to.
        The Queen continues to publicly support a known rapist with ties to human trafficking aka Andrew. Which tells me everything I need to know about that institution.

  6. Alexandria says:

    How do you go back to a toxic workplace that you resigned from? They’re done as working royals.

    • Brit says:

      Yep it’s over and when they bought that house, it let everyone know that it’s over. That’s why the usual suspects are trying to backtrack.

  7. bluemoonhorse says:

    I’m beginning to think I could have written this book. It’s pretty simple. And no, H&M are never coming back. QE will be dead in about 10 years, Charles close behind her, if Covid doesn’t make it sooner. And William will be very close to the throne. Why would H&M put themselves back in that viper’s nest? Would make no sense at all.

    • notasugarhere says:

      I don’t think it was written for royal watchers, who have seen the games and abuse from the Palaces for years. It was written for the general public who might be interested, but is unaware of courtiers, dueling Palaces, and the Royal Rota.

      • bluemoonhorse says:

        I’m just saying it’s a snooze-fest. 😉 And that his predictions are anything someone with a lick of sense could state.

        H&M not going back? Hm wow! what fresh news! What logical sense would it make to return to where an aging matriarch and a future patriarch that never stood with them? Yes, this is some earth-shattering news. *eyeroll*

    • PrincessK says:

      Most of the things in the book are what we knew. The only new stuff for me was the fact that the news that Harry was dating came from a York member of staff. Meghan had already spent time at Nott Cott before flying to Botswana with Harry, people made out that Botswana was like the third meeting. I didn’t know that Diana died two weeks before Charles had intended to launch Camilla. I didn’t know that palace courtiers had admonished Meghan from wearing a M and H necklace, accusing her of attention seeking.

      Omid mentioned the avocado nonsense that Meghan was the cause of environmental devastation but l wish that he had mentioned how she was accused of exploiting Indian sweat shop workers because of a shawl she wrapped Archie in. I am glad he mentioned the blackamoor brooch, and l would have gone further to say that Princess Michael of Kent, a frequent attendee at Wimbledon had named two pigs she had, Venus and Serena.

      I don’t think Omid went further enough with the abominable harassment that Meghan received throughout her pregnancy which was the last straw for me. It was utterly horrendous.

      Omid did not sufficiently describe the Church scene at Easter when Harry deliberately stood apart from William and Kate whilst waiting for the Queen, instead of lining up according to his position in the pecking order.

      He should have also analysed the fact that the palace had been plotting to banish the Sussexes to Africa. The jealousy over their popularity was underplayed in the book.

      I think Omid purposefully glossed over the fact the Sussexes had already made up their minds to leave when they left for their ‘extended holiday’…the biggest clue was that they took the dogs with them!

      Of course there were many things that could not be put in the book, which includes the role of the Middleton family, the only hint was the mention that Carole and Pippa were gripped with fear that the appearance of Meghan at the wedding would overshadow everything.

  8. ABritGuest says:

    Any of us can speculate the same. It could have been good if they could have done like the Michaels and just represent the Queen abroad with Harry’s role as commonwealth ambassador. Might have avoided the ‘stealing the limelight’ issues. But think things have moved on now plus they’ve commented on things like black lives matter which the royal family have steered clear so doubt they can represent her now.

    From that statement on their website they weren’t thrilled with the one year review, then there was the snubbing at the CW day service and the Sussexes cutting off some of the main royal rota papers. Hard to see how they could go back as working royals. If they were still high profile the rota press would be furious if they aren’t allowed access to their events. And courtiers and family continue to snipe so can’t see that relationships will improve enough to have better working conditions to attract them back. It’s a real shame

  9. ib says:

    Twirl on them haters. Good for then

  10. Becks1 says:

    I think its 99.9% likely they will never go back to being working royals. I’m keeping that .1% in there as a possibility just because “never say never” and in January I was insisting they would never leave the UK and live in Canada, and then that day they announced they were stepping down as senior royals, so clearly I’m wrong a lot, lol.

    I do think they will go back to the UK a few times a year, I can see them going for a month in the summer with Archie – spending time in London, spending time in Scotland, etc. And I think both H&M will go back a few times for other events – maybe the Trooping, Commonwealth service, significant military anniversaries, along with their general work.

    But they are going to be based in the US from hereon out.

    • Mimi says:

      I am not sure why anyone would’ve thought they would never leave the UK. Meghan had no lasting ties there other than Harry, so no incentive to stay and put up with the abuse when she knew she and her child deserved better. Harry was always going where she went and had made it clear for years that he wanted out.

      I do not think they will participate in many royal events outside of funerals, though they will work with their patronages still. I highly doubt they will be spending any significant time with the BRF moving forward.

      • Becks1 says:

        Because I thought they were going to stay in as FT royals, right up until the moment they dropped their announcement lol. (and if they stayed as FT royals, staying in the UK was going to make the most sense.) I remember being on this site, when the Sun ran that story about their move to Canada, and insisting it was nonsense. (I’m not going back, but I actually think what I said was that I could see them spending some extended time each year in the US or Canada – a month in California with Doria each year or something) – but no, I never thought they would completely move out.

        But I dont think my stance was that weird, considering her “lasting tie” to the UK is the son of the future king….

    • windyriver says:

      I didn’t think they’d leave altogether because of Harry’s position as Counsellor of State – my understanding is he stood between Andrew and any potential regency for George should anything happen to Charles and William. I believe Harry wouldn’t have to live full time in England to maintain his position, but would have to spend enough time there to be considered “domiciled” there. I think nota pointed out several weeks ago that it was a big deal for Harry to remove himself from this position and leave Andrew as the potential regent, so things in the RF environment must have been very bad indeed.

      Omid said Harry and family are doing zoom calls with Charles and Camilla. If his relationship is good with Charles, I could see him doing some work for him during his reign, say, commonwealth related, but from his CA base. Would probably depend whether Will and/or the RR would be jackasses about it, and whether Harry is considered “too political” for the RF with the work he’s starting to do.

      Do not see him/them living for any substantial amount of time in the UK for a very long time, if ever again, and don’t expect Meghan to be any kind of working royal ever again.

  11. Brit says:

    Of course not and that’s why everyone is either backtracking or doubling down because they’re upset about that fact and they see the money train coming to a screeching halt. Harry and Meghan were right choice by leaving that family and the ones that will regret that are the RF and media because they’re losing out because did this.

    • Mimi says:

      This is so true. You see some of the royal reporters starting with the mild mea culpas, esp. once Meghan and Harry took out that mortgage.

  12. Jenn says:

    I attended undergrad with Meghan Markle, who was a year ahead of me. I wasn’t a theater major, but I was Hamlet in Hamlet, so I knew my away around. Northwestern has a fabulous theater department, btw. But you don’t apply to be a theater major there; you have to be bright and a hard worker, and a good test-taker, to even get in, and at that point you can *decide* to major in theater. Only a couple of us could even remember Meghan: Apparently she was very private, kept her head down. (Doesn’t that seem like a terrific quality for an American Royal? Or maybe she’s just a thirsty opportunist none of us can remember, I guess.)

    I had a small group of friends in Meghan’s class. One became a professor at Tisch (he was “the mandolin player” in the Geico commercial with two guys), one now works with Steppenwolf, and the third friend randomly became a neuroscientist at Columbia. I mention all of this ONLY because I strongly feel that any remarks about Meghan being “trashy” MIGHT be race-related.

    Nepotism wasn’t common at Northwestern, but we did have Mamie Gummer. Lots of people cast her in their plays because they hoped Meryl would come — and Meryl Streep would, because she was a cool mom. I had friends who befriended Mamie just to hang out with Meryl. If you were a young woman at Northwestern, you had to compete against Mamie for parts.

    So when people depict Megan Markle as a self-aggrandizing ladder-climber, I roll my eyes, because… well, any of us would’ve known about her in undergrad, then, because that attitude gets you Known Fast. Y’know? So, while I don’t know her personally, I find the way she is depicted in tabloids to be impossibly insulting. (To even live in a residential college at Northwestern, you HAVE to do philanthropic work, or else you’ll actually lose your “place”!)

    I have NEVER followed Royal News, but as a classmate of Meghan’s, I can only say, the faster she and Harry can fully disengage, the better. That family sounds malevolent, and a toxic family is a toxic family. Run.

    • Becks1 says:

      Thanks for the information! I agree with your assessment that if she was such a ladder-climber, people would have known about it before she married into the royal family.

      Finding Freedom has some details about her undergrad experience, and it seems she worked really hard – between work study and I think she babysat for a few families etc.

    • TheOriginalMia says:

      Thanks for this refreshing and honest depiction of Meghan and Northwestern.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      See that’s the impression I have of her from just reading about and watching her since she first came to my notice. I took the time to go through the available information out there about her prior to becoming royal and it was all consistently good. She conducted herself in a professional way work wise and she has been kind and compassionate in her philanthropic endeavors. You don’t make a 180 turn upon getting involved in one of the most watched family in the world. It’s just not how human nature works and it’s insulting that the BM keeps insisting on suggesting this about Meghan. It’s like they had a pre-written narrative before she even arrived and have just doggedly continue to push it no matter what they’ve observed to the contrary.

    • Izzy says:

      Thank you for saying this. It confirms what many already understand – if she was even half the diva the media made her out to be, there would have been more than a few comments about it in the industry. That the people who work with her speak so highly of her, regularly, speaks volumes itself.

  13. Nelly says:

    Meghan would be out of her mind to go back to being a working royal even if it’s part time under Charles. No one has been fired no one has been disciplined everything is still the same. Charles has proven he will not step in to help them.

    • L84Tea says:

      If I were M&H, the only way I would ever even consider coming back was if they agreed to completely clean house of all those ancient courtiers still stuck in the 1940’s, ditched the royal rota, pushed back on smearing stories in the press to show support, and would not be under William’s juristiction. But of course, none of that will ever happen.

    • L4frimaire says:

      Why would they go back to that? Why stifle yourself and the work you want to do? The amount of press abuse against her was so incredibly cruel and out of control, it made the royals and the country look so bad and backwards. Why should she endure that and have every decision, every thing she did or wore, questioned constantly, and have people screaming that they own you and are entitled to your child? Then to top it off, they seemed to want them to shoulder much of the burden of keeping the monarchy relevant, but not do any impactful work, especially if it “ overshadowed “ the others. They were in an impossible and untenable position.

    • VS says:

      If they do, I will question their sanity! nothing has changed in the rf; no one was fired or disciplined. It is the same thing over and over again why subject themselves to that trash? or have their son be used to cover for others? let the piranhas eat themselves

  14. Amy Bee says:

    Nah they’re never going to be working royals again. They’re definitely visit and do what with their patronages but they won’t back as they were before.

    • L84Tea says:

      It’s petty of me, but I can’t help but be gleeful over the fact that when they do swoop in and occasionally visit or appear at an event, all eyes will be on them. W&K will never, ever be able to escape the fact that the Sussexes have the star power, and that they are out there free, living their best lives. No matter what tiara Kate puts on, nobody will care as long as Meghan is around.

      • Lady D says:

        Plus, Meghan doesn’t have to dowdy down her outfits so as to not outshine the FFQC. She’s going to look like a million bucks each time she returns. I hope they keep their return dates quiet too. Let William and the CEO scramble for an event or project in a desperate and futile attempt to outshine royalty that does understand noblesse oblige.

      • PrincessK says:

        They don’t even need to swoop in. Wherever they are the Sussexes will always be more in demand and steal the headlines from the Cambridge’s, even if they do nothing.

        The Cambridge’s have made a huge mistake in freezing them out, they have made things worst for themselves because they will never be centre stage, interest in the monarchy is only being kept alive by the Sussexes.

  15. TheOriginalMia says:

    They’ll never be working royals again. That ship has sailed. They’ll visit because Harry does love his dad and grandparents, but he’ll never put Meghan through that again. William and Kate will either step up or the monarchy will wilt on the vine until it’s dead.

  16. Vanessa says:

    I don’t think they will be working royals again either They now have completely freedom to pick what charities they wanted . They don’t have to deal with the royal reporters anymore.

  17. BnLurkN4eva says:

    I don’t think they’ll ever go back. I think Meghan gave it her best and both she and Harry now knows that they are better on their own. The BRF will not change anytime soon, not while the queen is in charge and I have seen nothing yet to suggest that Charles has the gumption to make the necessary changes to fit the modern world. I think he will do just enough to keep himself king. William doesn’t care and probably only wants to be king long enough to secure his fortune. They will not change and therefore, there’s no reason for Harry and Meghan to ever return to the fold. They will visit and see to their patronages and attend special events when unavoidable, but they are out.

  18. Suzy Webster says:

    If they were working royals they wouldn’t be able to sit at home and preach to everyone about whatever new topic they like. That’s no fun!

    • GuestWho says:

      lol – because the other royals aren’t doing the same thing? The big difference – there is only one couple in the royal family that owns their own home. Continue to seethe.

      Troll

    • Becks1 says:

      That’s basically what the working royals do now…

    • L84Tea says:

      Troll

    • Nic919 says:

      Royal Dish misses you.

    • HeyJude says:

      Um, yeah we have a pandemic in America right now, literally everyone is sitting home.

      This is a tremendous self own on your part, though!

    • Sid says:

      Sis, we are pretty much all sitting at home preaching to whomever right now, including the so-called “working” royals you apparently admire so much. Take it easy there.

  19. Lizzie says:

    I think it would take a WHOLE lot to tempt anyone who left a bad job and created their own successful business to go back. Never say never and everyone has a price but this price would have to be spectacular. Notice that Harry and Meghan have not burned any bridges with liz or chuck.

    • Kalana says:

      They still want their inheritance.

      Will and Kate did too much too quickly. They should have kept up a better show of faux friendliness and kept Meghan and Harry close if they wanted at least a decade more of peace from the press. That’s what Diana did to Fergie. How dumb to be so over the top about competing. Meghan was smart about it though. She didn’t settle for Kate’s scraps of friendship.

  20. jennplamb says:

    At this point, why would they even want to be remotely associated with an institution that brushed pedophilia and sex trafficking under the rug?

  21. Thirtynine says:

    I wouldn’t mind if they continued involvement with the Commonwealth. And Head of Commonwealth is not by rights always the queen or heir- she had to lobby for Charles to be accepted. There’s smaller nations in the Commonwealth without a strong international presence particularly in the Pacific, who are under threat from climate change quite dramatically, among other things, and to have Harry and or Meghan and the spotlight that follows them around focus more awareness on the urgent issues they face and support them, well, I think that might be helpful. I’m not saying they need a saviour because they are helpless or incompetent, but its easy for others to drown out smaller voices if they want to, and Harry and Meghan only have to breathe for it to be amplified around the world. It would also fit so well with their chosen fields, and they would easily be able to do that from anywhere and everywhere. If they have any continued role with ties to the RF then I wish that this would be it.

    • PrincessK says:

      I wonder if Kate and William would dare in the near future tour Africa or the Caribbean…or even the USA.

  22. Mariane says:

    You dont have to be an expert to come to that conclusion. The firm really shot themselves on the foot on that one. I honestly doubt they’d even bother with trooping the colour or other useless ceremonies. They are now a global commodity and need to look after their new brand. Their team will probably advise them to stay away from andrew and others. I think we’ll only hear about them visiting lizzy occasionally in Windsor

  23. Flint says:

    why would they when they’ve had a taste of freedom and also the celebrity life in LA? Nothing about being a Royal ever fit with what they both wanted. Being able to do humanitarian work but also be their own person is the goal. And being rid of those chains is a good thing, but I think they’ll find it hard to find the balance of celebrity/privacy and being an advocate. You can’t have the celebrity and privacy at the same time. They’re not Bill Gates/Melinda Gates or even the Obamas, they need that celebrity platform to drive their work. And with that comes the cost of fame for everyone, which is some loss of privacy.