Richard Kay: The Sussex smears were always about access to Archie anyway

Duke and Duchess os Sussex arrive in New Zealand!

The long Labor Day weekend here in America was already full of increasingly hysterical British media reports about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix deal. Then, on Monday, the Sussexes confirmed to the press that Prince Harry had “paid back” the renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, and so we’re dealing with two (connected) media tantrums at once. The two stories are clearly connected in many ways – while Harry has his own money (inheritance from his mother’s estate), I do think he likely used some of the Netflix money to “pay back” the Sovereign Grant. The stories are also connected because of the British media’s reaction to both: completely unhinged, utterly grasping to make some kind of negative, nasty argument about *anything*. So it is with Richard Kay, the depth of whose despair cannot be understated. Kay was practically crying when he wrote his column about how the Frogmore expenditures were merely a cudgel to beat Harry & Meghan and the real anger was about how the British people always felt like they owned Harry. Or something.

How Harry saw the criticism: For more than a year, it has been the millstone around Prince Harry’s neck, a gold‑plated slice of taxpayers’ largesse that reeked of privilege and entitlement. But to Harry and Meghan, the £2.4 million of public money — our money — that was lavished on renovating Frogmore Cottage, only for it to be shuttered and abandoned along with the rest of their royal lives, represented something far more intrinsic. He saw it as a chain that shackled them to the land of his birth, inhibiting their efforts to be truly free of the Royal Family and — crucially — of their media critics.

Kay accidentally tells the truth: In Harry’s eyes, the money was not a loan from a generous nation pleased to be helping this young royal couple find its feet after their joyful wedding, but rather a stick with which to beat them. So paying back every penny to the public purse, having previously offered to do so at the rate of £18,000 a month (a deal of such indulgence it would have taken them 11 years to repay the debt), is highly significant. In the short term, it is designed to silence the drumbeat of criticism to which they perceive they are subject. But will it really end what they complain of as unjustified ‘public interest’ in their new lives?

The Sussexes divorce from Britain is permanent: What it does do, however, is signal that their divorce from Britain is permanent, while removing any pretence that they might still have a future role in the Royal Family.

Was it really about Archie?? Harry could, of course, have avoided this whole sorry saga before it ever became an issue. With an estimated fortune of £20 million inherited from his mother’s estate and trust funds from the Queen Mother, he could have afforded to pay for the renovation himself. What he failed to understand then — and probably still doesn’t now — is not that there was public resentment at the cost of refurbishing Frogmore, but that the public felt cheated when Harry chose to keep secret details about son Archie’s birth and christening. ‘It sent the message that they were happy to take public money for granted, but not if it meant having to share things with the public they didn’t want to,’ says a courtier. ‘Ever since, it has become more and more toxic.’

“Questions remain”: For now, questions remain about how the money has been repaid and who knew about it. Royal aides suggested that, although the timing had come as a surprise, it was not entirely unexpected. Harry has been determined to emphasise his and Meghan’s lack of reliance on British taxpayer funds, by first meeting the cost of their substantial security bill and now by paying back the Sovereign Grant. They believe it will remove what they consider to be media intrusion into their lives.

[From The Daily Mail]

“…But rather a stick with which to beat them…” Harry felt that way because that’s exactly what the British media was doing: constantly nitpicking them about their expenditures while ignoring the money spent on other royals. As I said at the time… like, I found some of Harry & Meghan’s expenditures wasteful and excessive too. But compared to Prince William, Kate and Prince Andrew, the Sussexes were practically on a “modest” budget. Call me when we can talk about Andrew’s lease on the Royal Lodge and the shenanigans with his f–king Swiss chalet, you know?

But mostly, this is Richard Kay crying about how he, like seemingly all of the royal reporters, truly felt like they “owned” Harry and Meghan, that H&M were theirs to abuse and smear, that their lives and their child belonged to THEM, the reporters, the media and the nation. The thing about “why didn’t they just tell us about Archie’s christening” is so f–king ridiculous at this point, oh my f–king god.

I also find it bizarre that Kay, like, doesn’t believe that Harry paid back the full amount on renovations in one go? There was only a six-month window from Sussexit to Paid In Full and Kay is still bizarrely whining about a payment plan and how dare they even try to pay it off like a mortgage but how dare they pay it off in one go. Basically, it’s as I said: they’re just trying to cling to any petty criticism they can find.

New Zealand House Book of Condolence

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.

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142 Responses to “Richard Kay: The Sussex smears were always about access to Archie anyway”

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  1. Snuffles says:

    Translation- the money excuse was our justification for demanding endless access to the Sussex’s. Now you’ve taken that away from us too! 😭😭😭

    • Amy Bee says:

      Exactly.

    • Becks1 says:

      Yup. And that’s why they’re all so unhinged.

    • Zapp Brannigan says:

      Right, but also this “he could have afforded to pay for the renovation himself” and all the Harry paid headlines, notice for implication that Meghan has brought nothing to the table.

    • Olenna says:

      Thank you. Now, I’ll just stand-by to see what they come up with next. Archie doesn’t have a royal title and his parents don’t owe the racists, Brexiters and die-hard royalists access or photos. One could ask ‘what’s next’, but we all know these lunatics can pull the most ludicrous excuses for harassing this couple out of their very asses and run with them for months and years, even. Anything to sustain THAT HATE and not focus on their own fukked up problems.

  2. Watson says:

    Did the public feel cheated or did the tabloids feel cheated at not having access to Archie? Hmn…

    • Rae says:

      The latter, but they’re also able to whip up a storm in a tea cup.

    • Love says:

      Definitely the latter👀… Also, the smear took place long before Archie was born… but don’t let facts get in the way of a narrative 🙄

    • Mac says:

      Demanding access to a child is flat out disgusting. Children are not public entertainment.

    • Ginger says:

      I thought how they handled the birth and christening was lovely. I think from now on the RF should do it that way.

    • one of the Marys says:

      the delusion, saying all this is because they didn’t share enough about Archie’s birth and christening, what a load of crap and lies

    • LRobb says:

      ding ding ding

    • Belli says:

      Literally no one is crying about not knowing details of the christening apart from…

      (1) the people in the media who saw £££ go down the drain from not being able to do endless articles diving deep into Archie’s godparents’ lives.

      (2) People who were concinced by the people in (1) whining that they should care.

      • Tealie says:

        I saw one creepy woman on I think it was Jeremy Vine, or maybe it was ‘Loose Women’ or one of those stupid morning shows the year of, and she was literally saying how she owns Meghan‘s vagina because they’re ‘paying‘ for her existence and his so she ‘deserved’ to see him straight away, and felt ‘affronted’. It was so scary and disgusting, I actually felt frightened. I don’t know how do you think you can they came to a woman’s body like that because you pay 60p a year. I am SO glad they left, so Meghan can I have a wonderful PRIVATE pregnancy this time.

    • HeyJude says:

      If you’re including us as public, I’d actually prefer we don’t see Archie until the lad’s old enough to decide he wants us to or not, or just blanket, of legal adult age. Cause it’s what’s best for him.

      But I admit this might not be a common opinion. I’m not a Royalist and people who are probably think they “deserve” to see him grow up because they kind of view the family as their national property.

    • Tealie says:

      The public that she did initially but I think they let go apart from a very small set of psychos and royalists. But the press felt the most cheated and in turn convicted the public they were cheated because Royal baby pictures, especially exclusives and wedding pictures are some of the biggest money makers in the royal reporter and press calendar, concerning the royals drawing in even international attention. And considering Archie is the most popular and ‘hunted’ (sadly) royal baby, AND the amount of creepy voyeuristic attention because of his skin colour (which was truly disgusting. I remember people placing bets on how dark he would be, talking about it on the bus and hearing whole radio and tv discussions about it) as the first ‘MiXeD RaCe’ royal, it would’ve been A LOT. I can understand why Meghan opted out just on that basis. We already saw how many views that ‘Save The Children’ video got. Apparently their own historical record.

  3. Ariel says:

    I’m beginning to believe that while the british royal press is obviously racist and gross in their racism and seeming lack of awareness of same; they are also profoundly mentally ill.
    This is just starting to read like QAnon crazy.

    • Sid says:

      Ariel, the word “unhinged” keeps popping into my head any time I come across one of their rants. I would honestly be embarassed at this point if I were one of them.

      • Mei says:

        Words can’t describe how sad I feel that this is what people think of my country, but I’m not surprised tbh given that we’ve literally never done anything in our history that isn’t at least partially (or totally) unhinged, racist, greedy or despicable. Sigh.

        I promise there are some decent people here!! We’re just overshadowed by all the a$$holes -_-

    • Darla says:

      This is how I feel and it’s a real turn off to the country as a whole.

      • lanne says:

        I agree–I’ve spent a lot of time in the UK over my lifetime, but I doubt I’ll ever go back–between this and Brexit, the UK is showing the world that it isn’t a safe place to be a POC (and yes, I know the USA is a shithole right now, too–not sure how long I’ll stay here, either!). But the RF and the BM now, together, risk damaging the royal brand beyond repair. If the choice is between working with the Sussexes or working with the Cambridges, what will celebrities choose? What will be best for their image? The Trumps, who were the biggest starfuckers on planet earth, have completely damaged their brand so that no celebrity wants to go near them. If the RF becomes the domain of Tories and Brexiteers only, then their brand will be poison on the international marketplace. They have a short window of time to fix this. If I were William, I would be panicking. He needs to get his nose out of the rose bush and get his ass to work!

      • paranormalgirl says:

        @Ianne: come to the Bahamas. You can stay with us!

      • Tealie says:

        @lanne. That is true, they have not only alienate themselves from other celebrities with influence, but they have also alienate themselves from the younger generation who are able to see and Are generally disgusted by their blatant racism.

    • Myra says:

      They are really out here saying the quiet parts out loud. A lot of them are lacking self-awareness and are becoming very entitled.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      Does Richard Kay really believe what he is writing or is he just writing what the Daily Fail is paying to write? I really do wonder.

      • Tealie says:

        @baytampa I think that he is a rotten tooth psycho that it’s his job but he also has some weird vendetta against the Sussex is and types that stuff on his keyboard well vindictively laughing, but the thing is he’s just alienating more plc. The damage to the monkey if there was any concerning the Sussex is was actually done by the press Who created and orchestrated this whole grand affair and have out of the Royals utter lack of professionalism in the lakes and bitter jealous gossip not by them. To the ordinary mentally balanced person they look insane.

  4. Levans says:

    I do believe there is truth to the smears being linked to Master Archie. The smears went into overdrive while Duchess Meghan was pregnant, although I also believe that racism played a major role in the idea of a child with “mixed” blood.

    The reporters act put out that they didn’t get a hospital picture, but I’d venture that most women were on Meg’s side. Those photo ops are so performative and put additional pressure on all moms.

    In short, they coulda had a bad b….and now they are stuck with boring Cain and Unable

  5. S808 says:

    Ahh so we’ve circled back to the christening. They had no right to archie’s birth or his christening! The photos for both occasions were much better anyway imo. I really hope they keep Archie’s public appearances in the UK to a minimum. As in 0, cause the media is very creepy about him and his parents. This sense of ownership they feel that they have over the royals is sick. They don’t want them spending money but don’t want them financially independent. What do they want?

    • WigletWatcher says:

      This argument will blow up in their faces. Speaking like they were entitled to exploit another person’s child. Not respecting the parents choices to keep their infant son away from the cameras and only to be photographed on their terms.

      Wtf…

    • TheOriginalMia says:

      They don’t want them to succeed at all. They want them broken and cowed, begging to return to the UK and the BRF. They want them to agree to having the RR/BM in their lives for favorable press. Harry wasn’t going to play that game, so they set out to destroy them.

    • February-Pisces says:

      Those same people who are mad about archies ‘secret’ christening are the same ones who were praising Beatrice’s secret wedding, whilst taking digs at meghans huge wedding costing a fortune. Also the public don’t see the christening, it’s just a walk into the church, they posted a picture afterwards.

      • Chris says:

        I believe they were caught by surprise about Beatrice wedding. Before it was announced, the press was already starting a funny narrative about Beatrice. It would be great for the British Spirit to have a big Royal wedding after the Pandemic. They were trying, but Bea got married over night. The press is a bit mad because it was the last royal wedding, the next one will be in about 20 years! I am so glad it did not happen, cause they would have pressured the Sussexes to bring Archie blah blah So glad they have left this toxic island,

      • Lady D says:

        The queen’s youngest granddaughter Lady Louise will be 17 on her next birthday, it might not be 20 years. It could also be longer because no one wants to marry into that family.

    • Lemons says:

      I can’t understand…They got Instagram photos…What else do they need? Kate takes her own personal photos of her kids, but no one has a problem with that. If Kate did the same thing, they would now be lauding her as a protector of her children’s privacy and wellbeing.

    • Tealie says:

      @Ladyd tbh hose two are completely irrelevant and will become more so over time when the Queen dies and the ‘slimmed down’ monarchy takes place. Nobody really knows she is or they even exist, I mean I didn’t until recently and I followed the rules for awhile especially because of their awkward age between all the great grandchildren and other grandchildren like Harry, if you were to ask someone on the street who ‘lady Louise’ as they have no clue. They will just be known as cousins not granddaughter or grandson of ‘The Queen’ and Edward is the irrelevant last son, so its highly unlikely that they will even be granted a ‘royal wedding’ of sorts.

  6. Lauren says:

    Oh man, first it was a problem that they hadn’t paid back, now it’s a problem that they have. Could they be anymore obvious?

    • ravynrobyn says:

      @ LAUREN-I read your last sentence in Chandler Bing’s voice, “Can they BE any more obvious?” LOL.

      • NatureLover says:

        @ ravynrobynm, thank you, I desperately needed that laugh! I am so tired of the hatred and racism, not only with the hell that Meghan has been experiencing for 2 soiled years, it’s also the hatred and racism here. I saw the Proud Boys, aka The P#ssies attacking a skateboarder in Portland on the news this morning, as he is minding his own business, and my heart sank. I am so heartbroken over the direction of this country that I am willing to flee if Drumpf is re-elected. I am thinking of relocating to MA until this is over as I am in Texas. My husband told me last week that when I had Hillary and Sanders signs in the front yard 4 years ago, his patients were unhappy with my outrageous display! He had been dragging his feet over my BLM, climate change and other expressive signs. Come to find out, they not only were unhappy, they were downright nasty, disgusting and verbally abusive to him and my daughter. I now have 9 signs that I can’t display for fear of vandalism or physical attacks. What has this country become? Why all the hatred, not just here but also across the pond? Are we repeating history of the monsters that once beat, mutilated, burned, tortured, killed and hung?

  7. Hope says:

    “Why won’t you let us love you? We hurt you because we love you so much!”

    Does that sound crazy? Well, that’s because it is crazy.

    The press played chicken with the Sussexes and the Sussexes won. Meghan has had a lot of experience dealing with narcissism and setting boundaries with narcissists. It was probably a real eye-opener for Harry who thought the Windsors would be the family Meghan had never had.

    • kelleybelle says:

      It sounds like a typical controlling abuser, right?

    • lanne says:

      The irony is that Meghan likely looked at these fools and said “yep, you look familiar.” They’re doing something called grey rock, which is the only way to deal with narcissists. Her experience with Bad Dad gave them the tools they need to deal with the dysfunctional royals.

      • Nyro says:

        Ianne,

        I hadn’t realized that what H&M doing had a name. It’s clear that they are not giving the royals any interesting personal or professional info. And they’re cutting financial ties one by one. I’m glad that they know exactly what they’re dealing with here and are moving accordingly. The royals aim to make it so that Harry, Meghan, and Archie never know peace. Truly evil. They stupidly thought Harry was a selfish little posh boy like the rest of them men in his family.

      • Tealie says:

        @ ditto, I have a feeling they might have been in Canada and maybe in in Tyler Perry’s house, but after that and the leaks over there it was the final straw for them.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      Agree with all these points. We’re witnessing tantrums from multiple abusers due to Harry setting unprecedented boundaries. He told the RR he wasn’t willing to continue the abusive, co-dependent relationship they’ve had with the BRF for decades. And he meant it. He told his family that he wanted his work to be his work & his family to be his family–a boundary no Windsor has ever been able to set or maintain. There’s a reason Kay used the term “divorce.” This probably feels like an earthquake to the RR, the Windsors & the courtiers.

      I love to see some good boundary work. Keep it up, Harry & Meghan!

    • Original Jenns says:

      When I first saw Hamilton, King George’s “You’ll Be Back” song seemed to me to be the song of an abusive partner – a demented love song when their victim escapes. And I thought that was clever and enjoyable for the play. And now, is it not the Royal Family/media’s mantra to Harry and Meghan???

      • CC says:

        The lyrics are so so so appropriate for this situation. It’s honestly a little creepy how accurate it is.

  8. Sofia says:

    I don’t understand how people are thinking “we paid for your house renovations which means we want to see your son whenever we say so” even as a British citizen. It should be “we paid for your house renovations therefore we expect and want you to work for the country in being ambassadors and doing charity work” (which they were doing anyways). Royals should be expected to work in return for taxpayer funding not show pictures of their kid.

    If nobody in the country wants to abolish the monarchy, then I certainly hope we get an overhaul of it, including the royal rota

    • S808 says:

      It is insane, I cannot believe there are people who think this is reasonable. All the royals should be expected to do is work and represent Britain in an appropriate fashion when overseas. If they’re not the heir, access to minor children, (especially when the child is barely in the top 10 for the throne) should not be allowed and should be frowned upon. These children did not ask to be born into that “family” and should allowed to grow up in as much peace as possible, (especially when the kid will never be a working royal).

    • Sarah says:

      I agree entirely. If we’re going to fund the royals it has nothing to do with access to children. That’s the media wanting to make £££. As a country we pay for them so that they can work for us, doing good and representing the nation abroad. Minus the Sussexes and giving Charles and Anne a pass I currently feel we are getting extremely poor value for money. I know the Queen used to do a lot (as did Phillip) but age has limited their ability to work in that way.

      Sussexit is showing the Emerald City for what it really is.

    • Tealie says:

      It’s truly insane like it’s INSANE, I actually can’t belive it tbh.

  9. Queen Meghan's Hand says:

    Isn’t Kay exhausted? Aren’t they all exhausted?

  10. Lori says:

    So whats the real concern though? That The Cambridges will see all the money and decide to bail too?

    • L4frimaire says:

      They’ll never do that because this is money that has to be worked for and has to produce results. All these reporters seem to forget in this deal is that the money isn’t free. It has to be used to produce content and programming. What comes in, a lot will go back out funding productions.

    • Tealie says:

      Now the Cambridge was would never do that because they don’t want to work for money and they wouldn’t get away with the skirting and skiving they do with the Royals in a real-world settings. Plus no one is going to be paying them the money past maybe the first initial five interviews otherwise what paper already sent the president with the ‘pips tips’ book that tanked AND that abominable test shoot she did for CBS she did where they were considering giving her a spot as a presenter after the wedding, that they didn’t even want to air 💀. I don’t anyone will be taking chances with a member of the Middleton brood past little Briton and the Norfolk shores again, honestly not even charities.

  11. lunchcoma says:

    Yes, I think the only thing they could have done to appease the press was to let them have regular access to Archie and be quiet whenever they decided to make up a negative story about Meghan. How shocking that Harry, who grew up under the same spotlight, wants something different for his family.

    • Babz says:

      They keep forgetting Harry’s statement: “I’m not going to play the game that killed my mum.” The BM need to wake up and realize this is Harry not playing the game. He told them he wasn’t going to, and he’s not. They got the memo, they just refuse to believe he meant what he said. No one has ever really stood up to them before and they simply can’t wrap their heads around the idea that someone is doing it.

    • Ariel says:

      Megan is a woman of mixed race. Her mother is black. There is no way she could ever make the Royal reporters happy.
      They are grossly racist.
      Always moving the goalposts.

      • Deering24 says:

        Yep, the press wanted to shape Archie’s media persona and control his story from birth. And given how racist they are, his every frown and burp would have meant a lifetime of invidious comparisons to Kate’s perfect kids—and lots of subtle hints about how he was “street” like his mom.

      • Tealie says:

        @Deering24 Yes Deering! What you said to a TEA! We already got a taster off what they had planned with that ‘Archie is gonna be a spoilt brat because of Megxit’ article, I can’t believe they wrote that about a child who can’t even speak it’s truly disgusting.

  12. Lady D says:

    The media just can’t grasp the fact that they are not entitled to every aspect of H&M’s life, but why? Where did this ‘we have the right to know every move you make and a duty to criticize you for it’ sense of ownership come from? According to the media, it’s your job to exist, and it’s our job to make that existence just as miserable as possible for you.

    • Amy Too says:

      It’s the way that this stupid family works and sets up their PR. For a long time Harry was third in line and treated as such. He was meant to be fawned over and interested in. He was close to the throne! The heir’s child! A huge part of the heir’s, and the RF’s PR. But now he’s sixth in line, and will only keep moving down. And his son is even further down the line, not anywhere near being an heir or a spare for the monarch. The RF and Harry know that he’s no longer the heir’s spare, and that Archie will never be near the throne, so they want to move all the PR over to William and his kids because they’re the heir’s heir’s family! But you can’t ask the public and the press to just turn their obsession and interest on/off like a switch. They spent nearly 30 years pushing Harry forward as the third in line, a BIG part of the allure of the heir and his family. And now they’re like “nevermind, step back, direct all your interest to William’s kids! These are your new heir’s heir’s children! These are the new spares! Pay lots of attention to them for 30 years!”

      And then they’re going to expect that attention for Charlotte and Louis to just turn off when George has kids. It doesn’t work like that. Fame, interest, obsession, attention can’t be directed on someone for 30 years and then just easily turned off. This family has got to stop pushing their spares forward. But how do you do that when their siblings? Can you really just publish “family photos” of Will Kate and George and pretend that the other kids don’t exist? Would it be better to not publish any pictures or stories about the kids until they’re adults? Because right now the press and public are being conditioned to obsess over Charlotte and Louis and that obsession is going to ruin their lives later and cause jealousy and family conflict when George is old enough to care about the fact that he’s the heir, he’s the special one. The entire system is flawed. It’s set up to cause family dysfunction and jealousy and media obsession. Maybe they should just shut the whole show down.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        No one is really interested in PWT, Kate, George, Charlotte, Louis, Edward. Sophie, Louise and James for the simple reason that they are just not that really interesting.

        When it comes to real interest, my personal opinion is that Anne, Zara and Mike come next behind the Sussexes when it comes to be really interesting.

      • Tealie says:

        You say this, but no one ever asks to hear the personal lives of Kate and William nor do they ever enquire into that of Charlotte, George and god, I always forgot his name it’s that bad ‘Louis‘. Nor do they ever enquire into the personal life of the Queen they clearly didn’t Andrew or Charles this whole We give you 60p a year you give us your first born child thing has only ever applied to the Sussex’s

    • kerwood says:

      Did the press really think that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were going to give them access to their child? The people who Harry believes killed his mother? Harry and Meghan had already heard the dog whistles about her from the press. Why would they expose their BABY to that kind of abuse? He was compared to a chimp when he was THREE DAYS OLD!

      I’m surprised they held out for so long. After that chimp bullshit, I would have peaced-out of that country and NEVER looked back. And I wouldn’t have paid back a single penny. Harry and Meghan are better people than I am.

      • BayTampaBay says:

        Archie has also been called “the spawn of Satan” many times by the commentariat of the Daily Fail/ Daily Heil.

      • Tealie says:

        @BayTampaBay and what’s so funny is it’s the ‘spawn of Satan‘ that they so desperately want to see, no one asked where Louis was when he was ‘missing’ for a year and a half. It’s the ‘if I can’t have you no one can’ attitude. The Daily Mail comments section is truly in the pits of hell.

    • Jane's Wasted Talent says:

      ‘Where did this ‘we have the right to know every move you make and a duty to criticize you for it’ sense of ownership come from?’

      More than that, since facts don’t stop them nor shape their narratives. It does seem like they are seriously trying to force them/Meghan into a role of permanent of scapegoat- forever abused, attacked, and despised. I’m beginning to think Ariel and other posters are right- this is becoming concerning.

  13. EK says:

    I couldn’t wait to see Kaiser’s take on this news. Richard Kay is so dumb and predictable. “They need to pay back that money!” “Oh no, they paid back the money in the wrong way!” No acknowledgement of expenses from other royals, no mention of William being able to pay for 1A renovations himself. Puhleeeeze!

    • sassafras says:

      What do they want? That dry royal photo with everyone in the drawing room and Archie in the long frilly gown that great aunt Princess Matilda wore at the coronation of Lord Albert-Francis-Cocoapuffs? That’s all that William and Kate gave them for Louis, right? And a short video of them walking into and out of the church? WTF do they want from the Sussexes? If the British press had been respectful and professional, and if the Palace Insiders had been compassionate and professional, they would still have Harry and Meghan in England and every six months they could have had a sweet glimpse of Archie – JUST LIKE THEY DO WITH the CAMBRIDGE KIDS. But oh, no. They had to be judgy, racist a$$holes, completely unaware that they are the bad people who are now suffering the consequences of their own actions.

      Harry & Meghan are FINE. They’re in California, bitches, soaking up the sea and the sunshine and enjoying their baby and changing the world on their terms. And the salty crustaceans in the British press/ palaces are crying into their weak gin and stale crisps at the same tired old pub with the dusty portrait of Lord Albert-Francis-Cocoapuffs who was a proper English Lord who dutifully served the crown in the proper racist way by colonizing and pillaging and ignoring his children. Or something.

      • Zapp Brannigan says:

        In defence of Lord Albert-Francis-Cocoapuffs he was the first lord of the realm to scale Mt Everest without a winter coat, and all while 79th in line to the throne. He also married a very lovely Percheron, adding some much needed variety to the royal line, “exotic” blood if you will.

      • sassafras says:

        @ Zapp Brannigan Oh wow. I did not realize the extent of Lord Albert-Francis-Cocoapuffs’ accomplishments. Going all that way, without a winter coat? I’m sure his indigenous sherpas thought him a right hero as they carried him up and down on his toasty palanquin. Thank you for correcting me.

      • Nic919 says:

        I want to nominate these last two comments as co comment of the week.

      • Jane's Wasted Talent says:

        Seconded. This mini-thread is hilarious! Sassafras, you’re on fire.

        Zapp Branigan- Well, they did like their society ‘fillies’ big boned back then (I love that you specified a Percheron).

      • Sid says:

        Sassafras and Zapp, thank you for that. I am sitting here cackling! LMAO!

      • Tealie says:

        Yeah they really fucked up in the long term the amount of money that they are going to lose is hilarious there’s only so long they can recycle the images of the Sussex is engagements almost a year ago.

    • BayTampaBay says:

      “Richard Kay is so dumb and predictable.”

      I agree that Richard Kay is predictable but I am not sure he is dumb.

      Is Richard Kay writing his own opinion or is he being paid to put forth the editorial opinion of another entity?

      • Melissa says:

        @sassafrass They want to know who the godparents are so they can get another weeks’ worth of clickbait ad revenue by smearing them too.

  14. Amy Bee says:

    The British media’s obsession with Archie is just weird and I can see Harry being freaked out by that. I remember when they announced the tour to Southern Africa, the first thing most of the rota talked about was when they were going to see Archie. Furthermore, how can the press treat Meghan like garbage throughout her whole pregnancy and then demand to see her baby? It’s clear to me that for the press, their anger with Harry and Meghan centred around access to Archie and they used the money spent of Frogmore as means to punish them for not allowing them to profit off of Archie.

    • Chelsea says:

      I still remember that crazy in the article in the NYTimes called something like :British Press to Harry and Meghan: Show Us Your Baby!” where British reporters pretty much openly threatened Meghan if they didnt get access to Archie. It is any wonder that soon after that Harry allegedly asked courtiers about how to get around dealing the Royal Rota and that after he was told he’d need to fit the bill for everything he decided to be financially independent?

      This article is so bizarre from Richard Kay because he is acting like Harry doesn’t know that a lot of this crap about funding was just used a means to get Archie; he very obviously knew! It’s why he left!

      Harry said with his whole chest that he wouldn’t “play the game that killed” his mum. He also said that his son would have no titles and that he felt it was his job to honor and protect his wife. He warned these mfs multiple times and somehow they STILL dont get it.

      • Tealie says:

        Exactly. I’m pretty sure if these whole attacks were just for them and didn’t continue when Meghan was pregnant and there was no Archie, they wouldn’t have left. They are very clearly moved to protect their son first and foremost especially when he gets older and understands what’s going on.

  15. whateveryousay says:

    Well people yesterday were arguing that they could not be sure it was repaid unless they saw a damn bill. The RP put out something that was like nope paid in full and now people are acting like they want to see how they came up with that money. Jesus.

  16. Beech says:

    And Meghan’s slap in the face to Brenda when she chose her own medical team over Brenda’s own doctors. Omg, the wailing because godparents’ names were not revealed.

    • RoyalBlue says:

      hmm, coming to think about it, why hasn’t willieleaks leaked the names of the god parents? he was at the christening, surely he knows who they are.

      • Becks1 says:

        I am surprised that the names have not leaked, to be honest. Enough people know (everyone who was at the christening presumably), including William – I wonder if he is holding it in his back pocket for when another affair story breaks? Or, maybe because the only people who know are the ones who attended the christening, it would be too obvious that the leak had come from within the family.

      • BnLurkN4eva says:

        Maybe because if it leaked Harry would absolutely know who did it since only a few people were present. Actually, William wouldn’t care if Harry knew so you are right, it’s really surprising that it hasn’t been leaked, or maybe they are saving that information for a special occasion. An emergency of William in which he would need to give up something the press wants in order to keep something shady under wraps.

      • Harper says:

        If the godparents were Meghan’s friends does anyone think Wills even paid two seconds of attention to who they were or what their names were? He is probably kicking himself for not collecting that info for Wooten but he did not think ahead on that one, otherwise we’d have pics and names already. Nope, I’m sure Wills has no idea who those Americans were that he shook hands with once and then ignored for the rest of the day.

      • kerwood says:

        Harry probably has a lot of tea on Willieleaks that he would be ready to spill if Willie messed with his kids. Abusing his wife was enough to get Harry out of the royal family. Fucking with his kids would be an act of war.

        Harry has the advantage over his brother because the world knows practically everything about him. We’ve seen him with his dick in his hands! But Willie has LOTS of secrets (Rose who?), so I’m sure Willie understands that Archie is untouchable.

      • RoyalBlue says:

        interesting take ladies. IF he spills it, everyone will know it’s him. Thus far he has managed to keep his hands relatively clean letting his bulldogs do the barking for him and fingers can’t definitively be pointed at him. Willie is holding it for sure as a personal get out jail free card from the press. And at the same time Harry is holding some very important information that Willileaks doesn’t want to get out.

  17. Michelle says:

    Can we please go one day without a report on Meghan & Harry? They supposedly came here to get away from the paparazzi and yet they cannot do anything without it being reported in a dozen different ways. We are no better off than the DM or the other rags in the UK talking about them. Move on to something else. And yes, I do scroll through and do not comment but it’s gotten to be too much.

    • BabsORIG says:

      @Michelle, you know you can choose to not click on any Sussex related story, right? Why choose to click (when you know you can choose to not) and then whine about it?

    • sassafras says:

      Then don’t click on them? There are lots of stories I don’t click on here.

    • BnLurkN4eva says:

      I think it’s important that there be a few sites that are positive towards them and report on them as constantly as the BM. They are written about anyway and they are spoken of negatively in so many places that there needs to be a counter narrative and for the most part this place offers a more balance reporting on them. I go through periods where I ignore the posts about them and other times when I don’t. Lately, I’ve been responding a lot because I am sick of the BM’s sick and negative reporting now that H/M have left.

    • Lady D says:

      “We are no better off than the DM.”
      I beg to differ. Are you really comparing the DM to CB? CB lacks the racist columnists, and ignorant racist posters the DM has. Do you honestly think the same hardcore misogynistic vein runs through all these stories about them, just like the DM?

      • Michelle says:

        @BabsORIG, you are correct. I don’t click on them and I do chose not too but when every other post is about them, it gets to be a little much. There are other things to gossip about.

      • Michelle says:

        @Lady D, the only comparison is that there is too much coverage on them when there are other things going on.

    • Nyro says:

      No. This is literally one of a mere handful of forums online where Meghan is not talked about like an animal or a monster.

  18. BlueSky says:

    I don’t understand this. They are public figures who are also entitled to privacy. Wasn’t there a big kerfuffle years ago about photographers following Prince George? The obsession with these two is really disturbing, considering they are “irrelevant”
    They are mad because they no longer have access and refused to keep playing this game. It’s one thing to be critical of spending it’s another to spread lies and be racially abusive under the guise of just regular criticism of public figures. You were racially abusing his wife and called his son a monkey. He’s done with you abusive a$$holes.

  19. Snuffles says:

    https://youtu.be/eKFN-aqPJH8

    🎶You say
    The price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay
    You cry
    In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by
    Why so sad?
    Remember we made an arrangement when you went away
    Now you’re making me mad
    Remember, despite our estrangement, I’m your man
    You’ll be back, soon you’ll see
    You’ll remember you belong to me
    You’ll be back, time will tell
    You’ll remember that I served you well
    Oceans rise, empires fall
    We have seen each other through it all
    And when push comes to shove
    I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da
    Da da dat dat da ya da!
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da
    Da da dat dat da
    You say our love is draining and you can’t go on
    You’ll be the one complaining when I am gone
    And no, don’t change the subject
    ‘Cause you’re my favorite subject
    My sweet, submissive subject
    My loyal, royal subject
    Forever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever
    You’ll be back like before
    I will fight the fight and win the war
    For your love, for your praise
    And I’ll love you ’til my dying days
    When you’re gone, I’ll go mad
    So don’t throw away this thing we had
    ‘Cause when push comes to shove
    I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da
    Da da dat dat da ya da!
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da
    Da da dat-
    Everybody!
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da
    Da da dat dat da ya da!
    Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da, da da da
    Dat dat da ya da!🎶🎶

    • Babz says:

      Thank you! This was in my head while reading this article! It’s precisely the attitude of the RR and so many of their readers. Who knew Lin Manuel Miranda was so prescient??

    • L4frimaire says:

      This song is so accurate. Whenever I see the unhinged media report of the Sussexes, I’m reminded of either Hamilton or the Handmaid’s tale.

    • Jane's Wasted Talent says:

      The Sussex Squad should just post that link whenever an RR begins their tiresome opining about the Sussexes. Right on their comments.

  20. sara says:

    it is so deranged – they saw photos of the christening! the only thing they missed was a short piece of video footage, but only if you compare them to will and kate. neither zara or autumn did a photocall nonsense thing with their children. but anyways. the racism just has given the british media all brain worms.

    • Snuffles says:

      Let’s be real, they wanted to see if Archie came out tan and with an Afro.

      • L84Tea says:

        That’s exactly what it was. They can spin it however they want, but they were waiting on pins and needles to see how black he looked–and we all know it.

      • Deering24 says:

        Snuffles—exactly. They were prepping for a lifetime of showing how “unsuitable” Archie was because of his race.

    • sassafras says:

      When Louis was christened, I remember talk that the church wouldn’t allow video of the ceremony.

    • MsIam says:

      This is about money, period. The RR thought they could make money off of Archie pictures and stories but now that has been cut off. Sucks to be a RR I guess, too bad, so sad.

  21. khaveman says:

    No wonder they bailed on the tabloid circus. I’d also want to run fast from all that smearing/racism.

  22. KellyRyan says:

    I’ve said before my patriarchal family left England in 1632 for America during the great migration. They could no longer live with the, “social and political,” oppression. Nothing appears to have changed. 🙂 No matter how much the tabloid writers squeal they will never have power, nor does the UK and BRF over American Law. Harry, Meghan and Archie are safe here and will never be safe in the UK.

    • Lady D says:

      My family left 60 years later for pretty much the same reason. (The ones that didn’t arrive from that giant penal colony, Australia) The only problem was they kept going right to Canada. For whatever stupid reason they decided that life in the freezing cold and 5-6 feet of snow was a desirable way to live. Fast forward almost 300 years and I’m kind of glad I’m not American right now. It almost makes me cry to think that twelve years ago at this time, I was sending money to Obama’s election campaign and hoping I wasn’t breaking the law. I still have the email I got in return.

      • KellyRyan says:

        Thank you for sharing your history. My family peppered the eastern seaboard over time with one generation moving to Canada. Many Americans feel a true affinity with our Canadian neighbors. I am one.

  23. Zen says:

    Remember all the tabloid cries about “who are the godparents?” after the christening? And how dare they keep it private. And speculation they were Oprah and George Cloooey. Then, a few months ago when some of the godparents were revealed (a red-haired former attendant to Harry when he was a kid and a woman who was a long-time, non famous friend of Meghan) nothing more was said by the tabloids. They were dying to know but when the reveal happened, crickets because it wasn’t scandalous. Proving the royal rota didn’t care in the first place, just wanted something, anything to harass H&M with.

  24. Mina_Esq says:

    He considers 11 years to pay back millions on a home an “indulgence”? Hahaha Maybe mortgages are different in the UK, who knows. I fully intend to take the full 25 years to pay mine back, unless interest rates increase and start to exceed investment returns.

  25. Elizabeth says:

    How mendacious to write “the drumbeat of criticism to which they perceive they are subject” — as he literally writes an entire column subjecting them to more pointless criticism. The irony, the lack of self-awareness, and the hypocritical posturing. Does he write screeds like this about Zara and Peter? I’m guessing he doesn’t.

  26. aquarius64 says:

    It’s just a matter of time a rotten Rota slips up and admit in print the Markles (particularly Bad Dad) are thought of as useful idiots to be deployed to trash Meghan and Harry to force them to cooperate with the UK press. We know that TT doesn’t like being portrayed as a joke.

  27. Elizabeth Kerri Mahon says:

    The thing that gets me is that Frogmore cottage was always going to be renovated, but it was initially offices, so extra work needed to be done to turn it into a family home. And because it was a crown property, money from the Sovereign Grant needed to be use for all the external renovations. Anything on the inside, I heard was paid for by Meghan & Harry. And Frogmore cottage is tiny compared to the properties the other Royals live in. Prince Edward lives in a 150 room mansion, and RR were salty about a 7 bedroom house. The Queen had to pay off Andrew and Fergie’s debt on that Swiss Chalet but the RR’s would rather spend their time haranguing Meghan and Harry for existing.

  28. Lizzie says:

    How does paying off the reno of Frogmore translate to a divorce and they will never return? Harry has said he would have been back already if not for the pandemic. They will go back and they will stay at Frogmore.

    • Tealie says:

      Yeah I don’t think they believed that they were expecting them to come running back not to plant very deep roots through purchasing a house and paying off and cutting every string to Little Britain. Remember they were boasting about how the Sussex ‘NEED’ them and would ‘FAIL’ and be ‘irrelevant’ without them lololol they have been buying into their own delusion 💀

  29. ennie says:

    It wasn’t the general public, it as the RRota and their malignant coverage, interfering with their lives in the Cotswolds, “critics” piling on a pregnant woman who did not do anything who had not been done before.
    Add to that the orchestrated trolling and threats. These reporters are putting what they did on “the public”

    • MsIam says:

      Exactly. I’m in the US and even from over here we could see that this was from the press and not the people. Look at the cheers that greeted them when they came back in March. I did not see a single pitchfork or flaming torch.

  30. L4frimaire says:

    It’s interesting how he just conveniently forgets some basic facts. The cottage belongs to the Queen. Were they expected to pay rent and do they? So if the Sussexes were expected to ay for the renovations themselves, does that mean the other royals have to going forward? Also he neglects to mention that they paid for all of the interior fittings and decor themselves with their own money. So if H& M said we don’t want to use taxpayer funding to renovate and will just buy a move-in ready house, there would be an uproar over how they snubbed the Queen’s gift. Also, the resentment about Archie’s birth and christening lacks any context. He refuses to acknowledge how abusive they were toward Meghan during her pregnancy, especially during the last few months, and the slurs directed at Archie few days after birth. It was disturbing how they wouldn’t even acknowledge her pregnancy other than to denigrate her, and call it an attention stunt. Instead of acknowledging their role in driving this couple out because him and his ilk refused to be remotely decent, now he accuses them of abandoning Britain. This man and his argument are both trash.

  31. Joy says:

    So they’re mad that H & M had a grant to fix that raggedy cottage and now they’re mad because *checks notes* that grant was repaid to the people. Got it.

  32. HK9 says:

    The tabloids have been a dumpster fire of racism and general harassment towards H & M for ages. What sane human being would want to work with them to have access to their child?? Last time I checked you need to be professional & friendly to keep a good relationship going, which was something the tabloids clearly didn’t think they had to do. They cut off their nose to spite their face-now they have to live with it.

  33. Jaxonmeh says:

    I decided I wanted to see how unhinged these Daily Mail comments are. Its disturbing. Some of the commenters really need to be evaluated by mental health professionals and/or put on a watch list.

    They crazies have to realize at some point they are never coming back in a formal capacity. Make do with the royals who you have left. They actually want your attention and in some cases are actually doing the things you’re accusing the Sussexes.

  34. Original Jenns says:

    “…having previously offered to do so at the rate of £18,000 a month (a deal of such indulgence it would have taken them 11 years to repay the debt)”. Did this entitled, overstuffed pincushion really sneer at an 11 year mortgage? I wish our home would be owned and clear in 11 years!

    • MsIam says:

      Well at least you would own it. And to call it a debt! Harry did not borrow the money, that house is Crown property, they were responsible for fixing it up and paying for it.

  35. Mariane says:

    Suprised to see richard come out and practically admit that they were bullying them for access. I always said that these people were stupid to attack Meghan who wouldve treated them better as she’s experienced in handling press in professional capacity. She wouldve cooperated if they wanted a professional relationship not to control her by dangling good press or threat of a negative one.

    • Tealie says:

      And what’s funny is Meghan is so nice and sweet she probably would’ve let them even hold Archie a play with him for free, like with Desmond Tutu, had acted with grace and actually human dignity and compassionbhappy acted with grace and actually human dignity and compassion.

  36. Chelsea says:

    Richard Kay is unhinged. How do you sneer at someone for claiming press intrusion and then a few sentences later cry about not knowing everything about their baby? Also; it’s not like they never saw him. They did a photocall within a couple days of his birth and released Christening photos. Why wasn’t that enough? These people sound psychotic.

    I still remember that crazy in the article in the NYTimes called something like “British Press to Harry and Meghan: Show Us Your Baby!” where British reporters pretty much openly threatened Meghan if they didnt get access to Archie. Is it any wonder that soon after that Harry allegedly asked courtiers about how to get around dealing the Royal Rota and that after he was told he’d need to fit the bill for everything to get around them he decided to be financially independent?

    This article is so bizarre from Richard Kay because he is acting like Harry doesn’t know that a lot of this crap about funding was just used a means to get Archie; he very obviously knew! It’s why he left!

    Harry said with his whole chest that he wouldn’t “play the game that killed” his mum. He also said that his son would have no titles and that he felt it was his job to honor and protect his wife. He warned these mfs multiple times and somehow they STILL dont get it.

    • Nyro says:

      They really can’t understand that he actually loves and adores his wife. Royal men usually aren’t like that. Wives are for having babies, not love and romance. Meghan was supposed to be the exotic longtime side piece. And then when he’s in his late 50s, and all the kids are grown, he could quietly move into a country estate lovenest with her and only see his aristocratic wife on holidays and summer vacations. You know, like Prince Philip. That’s what was supposed to become of him and Meghan. So they just can’t understand it. And the British press all saw how unprotected he was by his own father, so they also can’t understand why he’s fighting so hard for Archie’s privacy and humanity. All of this leaves them confused and extremely angry.

  37. Keira Lee says:

    Kay’s words are hilarious and ridiculous: he literally confirms the pettiness and utter lack of reason on the part of his colleagues (British media) while using very negative words that aim to belittle H&M. It’s a cognitive dissonance from beginning to end.

  38. Shirley Gail says:

    I read this as : ‘They all sound like they really need a crap’…..then read ‘and a diaper change, and now I’m giggling. Thanks to my beloved Celebitches!!

  39. 809Matriarch says:

    Hmm. Smears were about access to Archie? Actually, if they would be honest over there, the smears were the reasons WHY access to Archie was not given. If Meghan had been allowed to at least have her pregnancy in peace, who knows how things would have played out. But the press, Piers in particular, started attacking her before the ink was dry in St. George’s chapel. Piers had Papa Smurf on GMB lying about Meghan almost every other day. That half siblings were encouraged to bad mouth her and smear her character and she was gagged by the palace. There is no way they can justify the way they treated that woman.