The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge went into hyperdrive in late 2018 with their smear campaign against Prince Harry and Meghan. William and Kate had (at least) the implicit permission of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, meaning Prince Charles and the Queen signed off on the smears at some level. I feel pretty comfortable claiming that, even if I think that the Queen and Charles probably didn’t think it would get as bad as it did. William and Kate were clearly trying to exile Harry and Meghan, to get them to leave the country and leave all of the keenness and glory to the Cambridges.
What continues to be HILARIOUS though is that as soon as W&K’s plan worked and the Sussexes’ exited the UK, suddenly William and Kate weren’t “enough” for anyone. Like, the second Harry and Meghan left, everyone in the palace and everyone in the media tried desperately to fill the void left by the Sussexes, because Will & Kate couldn’t fill that void. W&K are too lazy and dull. So the York princesses were pushed as replacements, or the Countess of Wessex, or somebody, anybody. Well, good news. Nine months after Harry & Meg adios’d, the Queen has finally come up with a “plan.”
The Queen has given the go ahead for a new version of ‘The Firm’ with eight senior members of the Royal Family attending events together from next year. The ‘New Firm’ were pictured together as a group for the first time this week, as they paid tribute to the nation’s coronavirus heroes at the end of Prince William and Kate’s whistle stop royal train tour of Britain.
The collective – which notably doesn’t include Prince Harry, his wife Meghan or Prince Andrew – will work together and help highlight each other’s causes as they aim to get back to full duties “as soon as possible”. The arrangement fits with Prince Charles’s long term vision of a slimmed down monarchy as well as the Queen’s mantra of “one must be seen to be believed”.
Her Majesty came up with the idea to have her family gathered on the steps of the Quadrangle at Windsor Castle, where she has been largely isolating for nine months. It was deemed to be the perfect show of support for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they brought their mini “thank you” tour of England, Scotland and Wales to a close on Tuesday evening.
Together with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie as well as Princess Anne, the family were pictured officially together as an eight for the first time. Courtiers are said to be “excited” about the prospect of arranging more dual events with the senior members of the royal family as they look to hit the ground running once again as soon as possible.
Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, who has become more prominent throughout the coronavirus crisis, appeared at joint video call engagements with the Queen and Duchess of Cambridge this summer. Royal sources insist the “dedicated and hard working” royal is “always busy” but has largely operated behind the scenes. Insiders dubbed her “the royal family’s secret weapon” during the coronavirus crisis, quietly steadying the ship after a tumultuous period for The Firm.
In the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quitting their royal roles to set up home in the United States earlier this year, the Queen appealed for calm and the return of a “back to basics” attitude among the family. Courtiers have been told to plan events for the eight senior members, unofficially dubbed the ‘New Firm’.
A royal source said: “The family are united in exploring the possibilities in working with each other to highlight the causes dear to their hearts, helping each other and the country at the same time. They are working on opportunities for next year and beyond already. As soon as they are able it will be all hands on deck to make up for lost time. The Queen has often said they ‘need to be seen to be believed’ – this is coming from the very top.”
Yeah, the “New Firm” is just “new branding” for an already staid, racist, colonialist institution which actively smeared and exiled the fresh, charismatic young royals they already had in their midst. If these eight royals represent the future of the Firm, then the Firm has BIG problems. The Princess Royal is 70 years old. Charles is 72. Edward is 56, Sophie is 55 and Will and Kate are both turning 40 soon enough (although they behave like a pair of 55-year-old Victorians). Besides, if Sophie tries to pull focus from Will and Kate too much, they’ll probably try to exile her too. This mess.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Honestly not much will change. Everyone will keep doing whatever is they currently do (or not do in some cases). I doubt anybody is going to be “supporting” anybody else beyond, again, what they currently do. Or at least long term wise, nothing will change.
Of course nothing will change. This is the usual method from the royal family: make big claims (or have mouthpieces make claims about you), have the newspapers carry the headlines, get instant praise, then wait as people move on to something else so they won’t notice you didn’t follow through. It’s “William wants to rejoin the air ambulance job to help out during the pandemic” all over again. He got people to claim he was going to do it, everyone praised him for wanting to help the country during a crisis after his evil brother abandoned the UK for “Hollywood”, then time passed and nobody really noticed that he never actually did anything. They live on a diet of quick fix, microwave PR. When the good will from one thing runs out, they start up another. This is more of the same.
The whole “royal” charade should be shut down. It’s a disgraceful waste of resources that otherwise could go directly to worthy causes. No need to keep these pampered poodles in luxury for ribbon cuttings.
Heh! This is petty Betty signaling to the Cambs who they can throw under the bus now. Anne, Edward and Sophie. Notably Andrew and his kids are not on the list as he is PBS fave. I’d like to see them try to throw Anne under the bus, think she would bring the fight if they tried…….
Dude, it’s don’t care who the “New Firm” is. Just keep Harry and Meghan’s name out of it. Do your own thing and stand on your own. Let’s see if the UK like it.
Honestly? I think they had to do something, land on something, and this positioning and packaging feels like a way forward.
Harry and Meghan have a great future ahead of them here in the US and I feel as if this stops dithering about their going back. It’s clear now that whatever repair and reunification will happen in years to come has some lines on the road.
As for Andrew, this is an elegant way to end speculation as to whether he is going to make a comeback. Firmly, no. It’s now on him to figure out what his next chapter is and what it is not is now very clear.
I love how they keep equating Prince Andrew with Harry and Meghan, as if their ‘crimes’ are equally egregious.
Do you know, this is the worst thing about this. Why are Andrew and H&M spoken of in the same breath? How is associating with paedophiles and probably having sex with a teenager as a middle aged man the same as being ‘ a bit Californian ( and a bit black) ? ‘ Its not. Nothing m& H have done will come close to that. The worst thing is that M&H are being used as a distraction technique to protect Andrew. Apparently the Cambridges told the press circle that they would refuse access to the children if they went too hard on Andrew.
Seriously? I can see them saying that for their own press, but for Andrew? I wonder if those were marching orders from the Queen.
Someone in the media needs to go public with this. It is disgusting to leverage your own children to protect a sex trafficker of underage children. They deserve to be publicly crucified for this.
Yes, it really makes my blood boil.
@Dolly I absolutely believe you, but do you remember the source of the claim about withholding access to the kids in exchange for going easy on Andrew? I hadn’t heard that, and…just, wow. I shouldn’t still be surprised at anything the Cambridges do because they’ve shown us exactly who they are, but this is a new low even for them.
If that is true, it is beyond abhorrent. The BRF is a remnant of colonialism, their fortunes built on the backs of slaves. Disgusting.
Yeah, I caught that too. They continue to use M&H as a human shield for Andrew, the Sex Pest/criminal. (I know it’s a lot more serious than being a sex pest. I just love that phrase.)
Well with the Brexit sh!tshow, incoming recession, worst COVID death rates in Europe and an increasingly unhappy Scotland, they’ve got their work cut out for them.
And it couldn’t happen to more deserving people.🍾🍾
(Esp. as they’ve tied their masts so conspicuously to the Johnson government t – “I mean you Walmart & Kmart Cambridge”).
“Walmart & Kmart Cambridge”
My vote for “Comment of the week”!
I second that. It’s hilarious!
LOLOL! This is right up there with Tweedlebald & Tweedlebuttons, Cain & Unable, and Cannot & Willnot! The hits just keep on coming.
The firm the UK media deserves. Boring, uncharismatic, and nothing newsworthy. Love to see it.
Good grief. Well, if the Cambridge kidlets (George, Charlotte, and Louis) don’t bring the charisma going forward, the BRF is toast.
I don’t think the children can bring any charisma, I also think they should not be trotted out a lot. If William “trains” him to be future King and puts him ahead of the other children very obviously (this already has happened), that family will be dysfunctional especially when they become teenagers. I wonder what they will tell those children about their Uncle and Aunt. Nothing good IMO.
I feel so sorry for those poor kids. Especially George— I saw a photo of him the other day and for some reason it made me so sad. Those children don’t have a chance at any sort of normal life to begin with, and to compound that, they’re stuck with W&K as parents and will someday read all about how they treated Harry, Meghan, and Archie. They’ll all end up crucified by the press at one point or another. Such an awful life to be born into.
So, I guess this means the Royal Family has finally got the message that Harry and Meghan will not be coming back after the one year review. Plus, if this is new Firm does that mean that the Queen’s cousins who are working royals will be sent into retirement as well? I hope this means that the Royal Family will stop trying to undermine Harry and Meghan in the press. It also think it means that the “royal” patronages that Harry and Meghan have will be shared up between the new firm in April.
“I guess this means the Royal Family has finally got the message that Harry and Meghan will not be coming back after the one year review.”
I think it’s reverse.
With that wreath snub and the courtiers deliberately leaking it to humiliate Harry, they’ve made it clear the door is shut.
Though, I 100% believe they’ll welcome Harry back.
And as their media nodding dogs – Penny Juror, Arthur Edwards, Richard Kay e.t.c have made clear – only Harry.
I think Harry has already told them that’s he not coming back. That’s why “the door is shut”. Remember Harry never wanted the one year review. He’s paid back the money for Frogmore and he’s essentially given it to Eugenie. I think the Family knows it’s over. The wreath snub was probably the palace lashing out against that decision.
@Amy Bee … I don’t think Harry has given Frogmore to Eugenie. I think it’s more that he wanted someone to occupy the home so the Queen wouldn’t use a lack of occupancy to give it to someone else. I think Harry and Meghan still intend to use Frogmore as their England home.
I know fairness isn’t an issue with this family, but I think it would be beyond unfair for the Queen to ‘re-gift’ Frogmore due to the fact that Harry and Meghan are the only family members to ever repay renovation costs.
A picture is worth a thousand words:
The Petty queen looks like: here we go again, more damage control after a messed up year.
Charles is happy because his streamlined plan worked and telling Cams
Cams is looking into the camera thinking, if I smile this will be over and I can drink to numb myself from the stupidity of this family.
Wills is wondering – well who really knows what he is thinking.
And Kate looks concerned or distressed……Does this mean there will be more appearances?!?!?!
I wonder if this “team” approach is to force the lesser keens into more appearances. Like, they can’t cancel or show up for 15 minutes and leave if there is another Royal there with them. And, given how many appointments Anne and Charles carry out, teaming with W & K basically forces them into higher numbers as well. It’s like the teacher assigning the best and worst students in the class to be partners; maybe the habits of the best pupil will rub off on the lesser?
That’s what I was thinking. Only I think it will end with W&K stealing credit for things that the others put in the work on.
Noodle, I’d say it’s more bluntly- that William & Kate are such incorrigible slackers they need babysitters.
The writing was pretty much on the wall that this is how The Firm would reformat itself, after seeing Edward & Sophie publicly snub Harry & Meghan at their last Commonwealth Service, followed by Sophie leaning in to ingratiate herself with Workshy & Wiglets.
Petty Betty wants a team committed to racist colonialism. That’s their brand. That’s all they’ve got. What an utter poopshow.
I agree, Seraphina…..THIS picture is worth a thousand words. I said yesterday, when Kaiser posted it that I thought we were looking at the current lineup of Working Senior Royals. Reading the article above and looking at the photos for this roll out of “ retreads”, I have to wonder this: If — 2 years ago — the Queen had released a similar statement and similar photo-op with the Sussexes instead of the Wexesses would it have made a difference in how it all played out? I think it would have. If the Queen and Charles had stood up and released statements of support, joint photo-ops, and joint engagements which included the Sussexes it would have sent a very clear message that the Queen had their back. This didn’t happen and the Sussexes were left dangling and fighting back at the horrible behavior of his own brother and the weaponizing by this family of the British press. Just total proof to me that the family has blood on its hands when it comes to the Sussexes and they know it. Charles should get down on his knees in thanks that The Crown is not going to cover the treatment of Meghan and the ejection of the Sussexes.
On the other hand, I think the Sussexes are content with their current life and will live their best lives going forward. The tragedy is that Harry has probably had to really re-examine his personal relationships with each of his family members and come to terms with how viciously they each behaved towards himself, Meghan, and Archie.
Regarding your last paragraph, I think Harry was pretty much clued in as to how awful his family was. Think back back to him saying that Meghan was meeting the “family she never had” … no one has a family as horrific as this one.
I don’t understand the line about royal sources insisting Sophie is always busy. We know she’s busy. I think she has outworked Kate every year since Kate joined the firm, I feel like sometimes she has doubled Kate’s engagements. We can have opinions on her personality, but you cant really deny that she works. Kate could NEVER pull off some of the solo international tours that Sophie does.
As for this whole story – I mean, its laughable, right? “the new firm” just means “the same senior working royals we’ve had for the past 2 decades and you all are stuck with them now.” Also, I don’t see Anne or Edward or Sophie or heck even really Charles/Camilla rushing to do joint events with Kate and William. Anne, especially, doesn’t seem to me like she’s going to let herself be used to bolster their numbers, which is what it would be.
Anne does not like doing joint events with anyone and has said as much in a round about way in many interviews. Anne may only work three days a week but she does anywhere from 5-7 engagements in a 16 hour day.
I can see why Anne would say that – who wants to deal with others messing up an appearance and having to deal with others who don’t understand the importance (in their minds) of the appearances.
Anne isn’t going to want to do events with Kate – can you see Anne standing around while Kate poses and does her fake manic grin for the cameras? That’s definitely not going to happen, LOL. Or Kate would do one event with Anne and after 15 minutes be like, “okay so can we go now?” and Anne would be like, “no we are here for another hour and then we have 10 more visits today.” Kate could never keep up, LOL.
Becks1, EXACTLY.
Becks, now I’m just imagining Anne “accidentally” walking in between Kate and the cameras constantly, with a disapproving look on her face. Basically photobombing Kate all the time, looking sour and exasperated in the background or foreground of all pictures.
The problem with all of this is that at the end of the day, it all boils down to press coverage, and the media is only interested in the younger royals— W&K and H&M. This is the way it’s always been and always will be. Anne works hard and her work is valuable, but she will simply never garner a fraction of the interest the public has in Meghan. Even Charles— I doubt we’ll ever see him on the cover of People magazine until he either becomes king or dies. And absolutely no one cares about Camilla or the Wessexes except maybe a small core group of staunch royalists, most of whom are nearing elderly at this point.
The BRF depends entirely on PR so even though it’s not fair, it basically doesn’t matter (except to the people directly benefiting) how hard Anne and the Wessexes work. Meghan could sneeze and that would make international news even if Sophie was on an amazing solo tour. It’s sort of like that saying, “if a tree falls down in the forest but no one is there to hear it…”
That’s why they’re trying so desperately to make W&K seem glamorous and exciting and why they still shoehorn Harry or Meghan into almost every story somehow; the family and the press know that’s the only thing people are interested in and will click on.
It will be interesting to see how the next year or so goes. They’re only going to get more desperate. The longer Harry and Meghan have been gone, the more ridiculous it will be for the British press to continue talking about them on a daily basis, so…I don’t know. I guess we’ll see, but I can’t imagine this whole “New Firm” announcement stirred up much excitement. If H&M release a holiday card with a photo of Archie, it will generate a million times more coverage than this, and it will be covered internationally, not just by these trashy British tabloids.
Gerts Royal on Twitter reported early this year that the Wessex hasn’t done any fundraisers in 3 years. They made less then 800 for their charities. Their expenses were over 150,000.00. These people are con artists!
First – Gerts Royal is pretty racist and anti-Sussex, and not really a royal expert. She just plays one on Twitter.
Second – yes, the Wessex’s foundation didn’t raise any money, the thinking when that came out was that they were winding down their foundation because they are going to take over the Duke of Edinburgh’s foundation.
Third – they are all con artists, of course, the Cambridges being no exception. But that doesn’t mean that Sophie doesn’t routinely do significantly more engagements than Kate on a regular basis and more solo international tours.
Sophie has with young children done around 300 or more engagements per year. That is more than double than Kate has ever done. While we can be critical about the general grift of the Royal family, Sophie is at least pulling her weight and playing by the rules set out by the rest of the family. She has given speeches and has done several solo tours but she doesn’t get the same coverage as buttons. The only married in who remains incredibly lazy is the youngest remaining adult royal, Kate. She and William are in line for the top job but have yet to do a fraction of the engagements done by their aunts and uncles and elderly grandmother.
I think if Queen had it her way, William would have married someone like Sophie. And I say this about looks, Sophie has a natural english rose coloring that they’re into, but also her sense of serving the community. You have to twist Kate’s arm to do everything.
The thing is, I get the impression Edward is a reasonably nice person for a Royal (I might be wrong – obviously I don’t know him). He is the youngest son and grew up knowing he had no chance of being King as well as being overshadowed by Mummy’s favourite Andrew. Most ‘suitable’ wives wouldn’t touch William with a barge pole but I think Edward may have had more choice. Edward and Sophie never came across as the love match of the century (although again, I have no idea what they are like in private) but in public they seem to get on well and actually like each other.
You can’t necessarily say the same for W &K but I think William married the only woman who would put up with his behaviour. He didn’t want someone who would work because he would then have to do the same or be shown up by his wife. Kate isn’t unintelligent she just comes across that way because she’s channelled all her intellectual development into being the ‘Duchess of Cambridge’ that William wants and nothing into developing Kate as a person. I think it’s quite sad but she walked into it with her eyes open – they at least learned that lesson from Diana.
Back when Sophie was introduced to the public, she had a hairstyle that was a copy of Diana’s. I think there’s an interview or gossip floating around from that time period where Diana described running into Sophie and noting that this “clone” was meant to take her place.
They Royal PR has been trying to make Sophie happen for decades now. She seems to be putting in some hard work but it is just not happening. She doesn’t have the “it” factor and that’s that. Nice try though, petty Betty.
Yes the royal family is definitely constantly trying to make Sophie happen – I think as we said back in the spring* that if she hadn’t happened by this point, she was never going to happen. That said, at this point in time, she is sort of the ideal married-in – she does her work, she doesn’t try to steal the spotlight overly much, she went out of her way to ingratiate herself with the Queen, etc. So I do think the Queen would have preferred that William married someone like her. (for the record, I don’t think the Queen had any issues with Meghan either. She didn’t stand up for her and that was a major problem, but I think the issues were from the courtiers. Meghan wanted to work and I think the queen respected that.)
*remember when she gave the interview that was shady towards the Cambridges – they asked her about stepping up and she was like “well I don’t really know how to more than I’m already doing” which I thought was a clear dig at Will and Kate who CAN do more.
ETA to be clear bc my goodness I am coming across like a Sophie defender here lol – without knowing what happened behind the scenes, at the very least her behavior at the commonwealth service did not indicate that she is a particularly nice person so i’m not really making a point about that. I’m just saying the idea that she works “behind the scenes” is funny bc she has always worked consistently .
I viewed her behaviour at the CW service as knowing exactly where her bread is going to be buttered and acting accordingly. I don’t think she cares about Meghan one way or the other, it didn’t impact her life, but when it comes to choosing sides, she went with the person in charge in the future.
Sophie Wessex is in her 50s and was forced by the RF to give up her business years ago as ‘not suitable for a member of the RF’. She and Edward have no real independent source of income (although I assume E has some sort of trust fund). They have two children to support. We’ve seen what the RF do to people who rebel (Diana, Harry and Megan) and Sophie is well aware she and Edward don’t have the star power to get a $150 million Netflix deal.
I think she wasn’t and isn’t close to either Harry or William (or their wives) and chose to publicly support the nephew who will be controlling the purse strings for her and her children in due course rather than the nephew planning on leaving the country for good. That may not be the moral choice but I’m not sure I can blame her for making it. I don’t think she was behind any of the smearing of H &M.
She works hard, keeps her head down and there have been no stories about her marriage. As long as she keeps in with the heirs, she will be fine. If William turns against her she could have an unpleasant time of things. After what he did to the baby brother he is supposed to love and be close to, any other member of the family will be under no illusions about how he could behave towards them or the support they (won’t) get from the rest of the RF.
The Wessexes want to work because they need the money.
Yes, what the public is clamoring for is more appearances by Anne and Edward. This would be slightly more believable if this “family” didn’t choose to live hours and hours away from each other at different ends of the country and oh, if they had literally ever done this even once in their lives.
the funniest thing tho is that these outdated imbeciles really believe that they help the country. This is beyond.
IMPO, the only current working that have really “helped” in a long term way are Charles and Anne.
I agree. Even though he’s weak and selfish Charles does work. He, Anne, and the Queen are the only ones who do something substantial. Edward and Sophie seem to do good work. I saw video of one of Edward’s visits and he seemed knowledgeable and down to earth. I know he and Anne are the only ones who had real public conversations with Meghan. Meghan and Anne talked a lot at Eugenie’s wedding just like Edward did at the commonwealth service
Does anyone think that Harry has already told the Queen that he’s not coming back hence the announcement of the “new firm”?
Yes. I totally believe he has informed Granny that he and his family are out.
I think this whole photo op is not only about sending a message but also saving face. Good luck to them because this plan seems poorly thought out. *Shrug*
Lots of nice outwear in that photo. Love Camilla’s jacket. That is about the only nice thing I can say about this picture or this plan.
I think the RF know he’s not coming back. He didn’t even want the review in the first place. You don’t sign a $150 million deal with Netflix to go back to cutting ribbons. I think they are trying break it to the press easy because the BM is getting antsy. They were hyping up Meghan’s trial for ages, just for the judge to postpone it for a year. I think this is a message to the RR that this “new firm” is what you’re getting. We’ll see how that goes down.
From what I heard the press lost it when it was announced H&M were stepping back. They were begging the RF to get them back
(In particular Harry) They are not happy at all.
I do! I do!
Yup. Between the new house, the Netflix deal, paying off Frogmore and essentially giving it to
Eugenie, they’ve made it crystal clear they’re not coming back. And the trial was put off too.
The hope/expectation that Harry and Meghan (or just Harry) would come crawling back has been completely destroyed.
The British Media were literally banking on it as evidenced by these cartoons they commissioned in anticipation of it:
https://twitter.com/pagantrelawney/status/1336633046360092674?s=21
Now the family and the press are stuck with aging dullards.
Daily Fail really knows no limits…. that first one, my god. Ok now I feel like Platrow occupied my mind and I can’t form a sentence but I thought they couldn’t go lower.
WOOOOW. This is beyond foul.
Definitely. If not in words, then obviously in action.
Wow-the excitement is palpable.
Right? I can hardly contain the yawns!
Edward has game. He has emerged from a controversial youth to be one of the pillars of the monarchy. Andrew and Charles self destructed. Anne keeps doing what she’s always been doing, but she’s not image focused. Sly Edward is pushing Sophie into the spotlight, reaping all benefits. Once the older members retire, Edward’s children will be in a much better position, compared to the York girls, to keep being “minor royals” in the New Firm. Good game.
The only problem is whether Edward can trust Charles and William to not screw them over. I think they will use the Wessexs whenever they can and discard them once they’re done.
February-Pisces, but isn’t that the case with everyone in the family? They use anyone they can, regardless – unless they are the heir and the monarch.
I tend to credit Sophie for all that, rather than Edward. He was never very bright or willing to put in the work (remember him quitting the armed forces?). Sophie, on the other hand, worked in the real world and started her own business. She was also smart enough to suck up to the Queen early on.
Well, he quit the armed forces because it just wasn’t his thing. Royals are expected to ‘serve’ in the forces and its rather difficult if you have totally not the personality for it.
I don’t see that as negative. There’s many who could not cope in the military- especially if you have a more creative temperament, which Edward seems to lean towards. His niche is representing the BRF’s obligations at European royal events which indicates a broader experience and worldview than most others in the family to me. I see both those things as leading him to be more appreciative of Meghan, which we saw at the Commonwealth Service. His pleasure in talking to Meghan appeared genuine.
If the QUeen does name Edward Duke of Edinburgh, down the road, he may have more influence But I don’t think Charles would give Louise and James even part time royal duties. I am not so sure that Charles would give Edward the title when he becomes King.
I think it’s been announced he’ll succeed to the title. That’s why he’s already assuming the DOE foundation. I don’t think Charles would go against it. I don’t think they’re super close given the age difference but Charles has always seemed fond of him in a way he clearly wasn’t with Andrew.
Kate is looking old standing next to the senior royals. I like how Harry and Meghan have stayed quiet bidding their time, this family is digging it’s own grave. That’s what I noticed about these types of people, just leave them to their own devices eventually they self destruct. The headlines are losing it’s momentum every year, and most of the time when some mental person shows their love for this family someone asks “Are you really that stupid!” and puts them in their place.
Diana is the exception to the rule. This family was there for hundreds of years before a Diana, they don’t need her and this is what William’s informers are telling him: keep a low profile, go out in public doing typical safe things, remind Brits of security and Make Britain Great Again, smuggle your millions under the radar. The only problem is people don’t want to go back because things weren’t so “great” (as a collective we were dumber than, and as they say ignorance is bliss). People are losing their patience. There’s a shift in the collective where we’re questioning what we do, what we’ve been doing, where our money is going, who we give power to, who deserves this power. At this point WIlliam can be Mother Theresa and his subjects will still be unhappy, particularly the commonwealth. The next generation is looking for a new government that reflects our conciousness and these people aren’t it.
Too bad they didn’t come up with this plan 3 years ago. If the family had supported Harry and Meghan, took advantage of their popularity and worked with them instead of against them just think of how high they could have flown. The whole family and institution would have benefited greatly and insured their continuation for years and years to come. But in the end fragile egos just couldn’t see the bigger picture and now we have years and years of these stupid embiggening stories to look forward to. Big sigh…
It will be interesting to see if this actually works because all these people have massive egos and are prone to bouts of jealousy. That’s why they couldn’t work with Harry and Meghan.
I don’t think there will be anything new coming from this “big plan.” It’s basically same old (literally.)
Does the new plan involve fashion? You know, recycling more outfits? Or Windsor Castle and BP becoming business casual so William can keep wearing desert boots for all his waking hours for the rest of his life.
Well, they are supposed to be supporting each other’s initiatives so they will all have to wear Charles’ new sustainable fashion line. They will all have to eat Duchy labeled produce and serve the Queen’s gin.
The way Kate stans go on it makes it seem she has one small closet and buys cheap clothes at Walmart. They want her to be “relatable.” When she’s not.
The “New Firm” of old English princes and their wives and old Princess Anne without her husband…Soooo nothing new.
Sophie has done some great work, essentially taking up all the things that Kate should have been doing.
But seeing that New Firm photo just emphasizes how old and unexciting the institution is. There’s nothing vibrant about the photo even though the Queen tried in her Christmas reds. Sophie and Edward just look sad in their khakis.
I find Anne’s husband quite attractive. He has a job and no interest in being a royal though.
Interesting…. The other women are in jewel tones, more “vibrant” if you will… and there are the Wessexes… dull and colorless. Wonder if it’s on purpose; if they were TOLD what to wear…?
Overall they all look fed up, the Queen is just trying to look festive.
This plan will only last as long as it took to take this picture. Not with W&K’s FFKQ nonsense and Charles regency articles. They aren’t a team and have never operated that way, unless you’re an alleged pedophile then they will circle the wagons to protect you. This new firm idea doesn’t even make the writer of this article excited with how hard they have to sell it. They will keep chugging along just fine though which is the best they can hope for.
Don’t forgot it was the teamwork of BP, Clarence House and KP that got Harry and Meghan to leave. It’s teamwork for good, they’re not capable of doing.
The funny thing is, the royals aren’t better off. They didn’t plan for this. At the time of Sussexit, it was said that it was a surprise and nobody expected them, mostly Harry, to leave. They didn’t work together to exile them, they just wanted them to heal; they worked to put Harry and Morgan in their place. William was incandescent because Harry left, not because he was happy that H&M kicked rocks off to California.
I think they just wanted Meghan gone. They definitely wanted Harry to stay. He is the only one that makes them look good.
Dull, dull, dull: that’s all I got.
And how is that the 95 year old Queen has better posture than Kate?
Hard agree! Dullathon.
They prob spend a hundred thousand pounds (or more ) to get that train, all the staff & security to prepare a covid- ignoring old-person royal photo and all it says is that Queenie gets the White Christmas just like she always wants…
She’s cos-playing Queen of Hearts too, lol
the future’s so white…i am thrilled the Sussexes got out of dodge when they had the chance. what new firm? i see the same old crusty faces. these people are delusional.
That was my thought yesterday too… Looking at list… white, white, white, white, Qwhite, white, white, white – check! But, their blandness plan has worked for awhile, so I can see why she sticks with it. If I were being a tourist, I’d still do the touristy things without a monarchy present.
The Queen looks so cold! No boots or a longer coat for her?
Big yawn on the rest.
Wills and Kate already looking miserable and side eyeing Sophie the new spare I don’t think they saw this coming . Good luck Sophie lol
I’m waiting for the articles to bash Sophie as well. She makes Kate look bad as well because she isn’t a lazy incompetent buffoon, but she wasn’t getting the press coverage to make buttons feel insecure, but that will only last so long. Already we have Sophie going to food banks during the pandemic “on her own time” because god forbid that she outshines the princess of Anmer Hall.
This is the royal “Brand.” And that’s fine, I suppose, but it’s still really short-sighted. the brand currently works because of the Queen’s nostalgia factor. But what happens to this brand when the Queen is gone? These people are incapable of working together toward a common goal, and that will ultimately lead to the demise of all. If this plan is the best thing the courtiers can come up with, then this shows how utterly useless and out of touch they are. Like it or not, Harry and Meghan will be seen as a “rival court”–that’s not what they are, but that’s how they’ll be reported. These dull folks will have their every move eclipsed by the Sussexes, especially after things open up. Their absense will be a part of every royal discussion going forward–even the Covid choo choo had Sussex talk from the rota rats. They cant discuss the Cambridges without hating on Harry and Meghan at the same time. Harry and Meghan can escape the royals in the US. No one here will be constantly comparing them to Will and Kate. But in the UK, Harry and Meghan will linger over everything the Sussexes do. Harry and Meghan got the better deal. And the royals still face the possibility of a Panorama style “burn it all down” video from Harry and Meghan. It might be worth a shot to issue an ultimatum: Leave us alone, stop talking about us, or we’ll tell the world the truth about how we were treated. Coming from Harry, that would be some powerful stuff, especially after how his mother was treated. The Crown still has Diana’s death to cover, which means the funeral and the funeral walk.
Harry and Meghan are smart, they’re playing the long game. They won’t say anything, the ending of the monarchy is near, and Harry and Meghan is nowhere in sight to take blame. William and Kate will be put down in the history books as having single-handledly lost the monarchy due to their massive egos and unpopularity. William too spoiled and selfish, Kate is too clingy and desperate.
If Camilla would come out and say- i was a fun, free spirited and somewhat mean spirited young woman, i regret that we played with a teenage girl like a puppet, and i regret the pain we caused her. I would like her.
And she has more charisma than everyone else in the *current* working royal family combined.
She is great fun.
But she knows she can’t outshine he dull husband and spoiled, useless stepson.
I don’t think Camilla regrets a thing. She is not the least bit sorry. I don’t see this woman as remotely “fun.” In that group, the only ones I have any positive feelings about are Princess Anne and the Wessexes even though I am not all that enthusiastic. Charles was totally clueless not to appreciate his first wife and need to run to Camilla. It was time for him to have grown up, I don’t think Camilla outshines anybody. People do have long memories. Charles work ethic is light years better than William’s. Camilla may decide to retire and enjoy life, since she has reduced times of tours and so forth. I think Anne would be able to put Will and Kate in their places and get away with it.
After seeing how H&M were treated and having their own lives in order with jobs and husbands, Beatrice and Eugenie likely said no thanks if positions were even offered. The problem with bringing them in would be mention of Andrew every time they were covered in the media.
How boring and charmless and unsexy. Sweden has CP Victoria and Daniel, who although older than the Cambridges, are 10000% hotter. They even have CP and Sofia. Spain’s Felipe and Letizia are sexy as hell. Queen Maxima has charisma out of the wazoo.
The Brits are hovering around Luxembourg level nowadays.
What I find interesting is that Victoria and Daniel have positioned themselves as the hard working slightly staid Queen and Consort to be and let Carl Philip and Sofia take the ‘glamorous (but equally hard working) young Royals’ slot.
It just goes to show that with an heir who is not a lazy egomaniac, there’s room for another Royal couple to get attention without damaging the public perception of the heir.
Very good point, @Talia! I know the culture in the BRF is terrible, but I wish they’d see that there’s room for all and everyone can play different roles. A rising tide lifts all boats!
Luxembourg level 🤣🤣🤣 just made my day. Omg can’t syop laughing. Many Europeans will get its meaning. I might use it now for many things. Hahahh thanks for the laugh
Yawn. That is a boring looking family. I have so little patience for them after seeing them unmasked in all of their petty racist glory.
i just see a pack of weirdos with no life in them, no spice and no excitement!
dull dull dull
Watch your back, Sophie. If Kate were to think you are trying to score points with your work ethic, you are toast.
There will be leaks to the media that Sophie does not follow PROTOCOL or she scared Louis or something of that nature.
This PR obssesed family are too preoccupied with how they look to the public. It looks like they are almost afraid that, the tax payers would find out , the gig is up, and that, it’s all smoke and mirrors. They are trying too hard to appear hardworking
This so-called tour showed the Cambridge’s are no where near ready. Not even close. What not being said is that the royals really want attention, Sussex level attention w/o Sussex level criticism, but at the same time want to pretend that it’s all about duty and they don’t care about the spotlight. Except for Charles, none of them have any real defined role, not even William, which is why they stumble from one project to the next, or roll out various members to take over various appearances when no one was interested in the others before.
Oh yes, let’s get Willileaks and Edward joint appearances and photo ops together. The sex appeal will be out of this world. Maybe a terrific trio of Anne, Sophie, and Camilla has some branding potential–The Merry Old/Middle-aged Wives of Windsor touring company. They can coordinate their coat game and watch the tabloids go nuts reporting on their fashions.
As for Kate, she’s going to be assigned to Charles, and he will run her ragged. Top CEO won’t be doing the school run for a long time and Charles will forbid any guffawing in public. The strain will most likely break her.
I would watch the Anne/Sophie/Camilla show!
Anne is my favorite, then Sophie but I don’t care for Camilla.
Charles doesn’t have the patience for Kate. He will foist her off on Camilla as fast as he can.
Does anyone believe for one second that this “New Firm” will be a united front working together cohesively? They’re temperamentally incapable of that. If William gets enough good press, Charles will start sabotaging that. If Charles gets enough good press, William will start sabotaging that. And if Sophie gets enough good press or even attention, Kate and/or William and/or Charles will start sabotaging THAT. I mean, we know these people. This is an utter farce.
The Princess Royal is the only decent one. She can stay.
She’s never said a word of support for Harry or Meghan even though no one will chastise her for it. They’re all the same.
Yes, so true. Like many, with the relentless revision of history over the years, I bought into the oh whatever with C&C. I figured if Diana’s sons felt comfortable with it, then let them have peace. Plus, Charles walked Meghan down the aisle. That’s when I really got a soft spot for many of them, including seeing Anne have a nice, smiley chat with Meghan. But, all the fakery and the bare veneer is so clear now, over the surface of racism and every rat for themselves. Anne did nothing along with the rest. I know this is what others have said more eloquently, but the picture proof is the culmination and I had to vent a bit. Plus I can cheer the prison break. Someone made it out!
The thing is Charles used the walking of Meghan down the aisle for his PR not hers. He soon turned his back on her. And even ignored the comparison of Archie to a monkey.
The only way people will actually care is if they do their events “The Masked Royal” style.
Who’s under that costume? Petty Betty? Wandering willy? Tune in folks!
If the “New firm” needs a name I suggest: Heirheads Together!
Ah, 2Cents! That’s a perfect and clever name for them. Brilliant!
What a dull bunch they look. Sophie does put the work in. But as said above, her and Anne have always done more and better work than the Cambridges but under the radar. I dont think Will and Kate will be too happy that they are being given a more prominent role to show them up. Maybe HM wants to push them into doing more.
In further explaining this new arrangement, Russell Myers, tweeted that “it’s an agreement to have a much more streamlined approach, and an agreement to work together on upcoming projects.”
This is not shedding any new light on the decision but I really think it’s a response to Harry telling them that he’s not coming back. I think it’s the Royal Family’s first signal that Harry’s gone for good. I expect that next year when the one year review comes up, the courtiers will push the narrative that Harry abandoned the family and he and Meghan will be stripped of their HRH titles and royal patronages. I suspect Harry and Meghan have already made their decision to sever ties with the Royal Family and a big clue was giving Eugenie Frogmore Cottage.
Hmmm. I read that as “its an agreement that everything goes through Clarence House.” Remember how there was some gossip in Finding Freedom (or Battle of the Brothers) about how Harry was frustrated because he was told he couldn’t do an event on a certain day or whatever because Charles or William was doing something? I wonder if this attempt at “streamlining” (again) is meant to ensure that Charles and William always come first.
I had read somewhere that there’s a plan to join all royal households so that everyone is operating under BP& not siloed with BP, CH& KP having competing comms. Maybe this ‘new firm’ & idea of joint royal projects is a step towards that
The Royals are really getting desperate to keep the public interested , I think the children will be rolled out soon.
Yup, which means the others will always get thrown under the bus. I Don’t think Anne will stand for herself or her kids being thrown under the bus, although there were warning shots earlier this year with Zara and Peter.
I think it would be difficult for HM to remove titles. Even the DUke of Windsor got to keep his HRH. And then it would be questioned as to why Andrew and his daughters have titles. Then the cousins and so on.
For me, that comment by Myers only begs the question of why weren’t they “working together” in the first place? Why on earth weren’t they supporting each other all along? This is some huge new thing worthy of a rollout? These people are so clueless as to how this looks to the rest of the world.
What is this? This is not slimmed down. With Brexit and this so called new firm, maybe this is what the UK really wants. They’re not going away and nobody influential is questioning their existence and how much they cost. I’m glad Harry got out early.
These folks don’t have what it takes to make a splash on a global level. Ten years and still no one has been able to make Kate happen. No one knows her because quite frankly, there’s nothing to know about her. Whether it’s out of fear of William’s fury at being upstaged, or because there’s just nothing in her head at all, she’s a lost cause.
The family has never acknowledged the gift that Diana gave them, which was global prominence in a changing media era. The dull stodgy queen was fine enough when television was a “newfangled” thing, but the global interest in Diana gave the RF a global platform that they would not have otherwise had. If not for Diana, people around the world would not be able to name a member of the RF other than the queen–even Charles would likely be as well known globally as, say, the heir to Belgium (meaning not really at all aside from dedicated royal watchers.) I’m not negating the good work Charles has done as Prince of Wales, but would his work be known globally minus Diana? They have been riding Diana’s coat tails since then, benefiting from the exposure as the world waited for her sons to grow up. Without Harry and Meghan, there’s no reason for the world to pay attention to them–they have nothing to offer outside their own borders–no more than the grand duke of Luxemburg or the Prince of lichtenstein (or is the other way around??.
Maybe their best hope of survival is to diminish along with the UK. That would be fine–let them be the royals of England in a diminished post Brexit world. They can be reported on in the UK, do their thing in the UK. The problem is, they want global exposure, and they think they’re OWED global exposure. That’s why the “we’re public servants and not celebrities” is such BS. They want to keep their place on the world stage, but they forget that they have it because of Diana, and that it can really only be sustained through the Sussexes. You can’t keep a place on the world stage if you don’t offer anything to the world in terms of charisma. Will and Kate desperately want the acclaim and the attention that Harry and Meghan have, and they think it’s owed to them by birthright. And since they don’t have it on their own,, they don’t want Harry and Meghan to have it either. They really thought that getting rid of Harry and Meghan meant the Sussexes would disappear. The appeal of the Sussexes does not come from their place in the succession–it comes from their personalities and their actions. No Meghan cosplay by Kate will change that. No incandescent rage by William will change that. And they have zero control over Harry now. That’s what probably burns them the most.
This is an excellent comment and I agree completely.
And I am all for this. Let Liz be the queen of England alone. Enough of this hegemony over other countries.
Very well said Lanne. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
@Lanne you make so many excellent points!! 👏👏
I literally can’t believe none of them are wearing masks. Wow.
It seems very arrogant of them.
I have no problem with their plan for the way forward. But they can’t work together behind the scenes so there will be problems.
Unfortunately I believe that this plan also involves targetting Harry and Meghan every chance they get.
They rightly believe that every project and event by Harry and Meghan will overshadow the members of the royal family.
So it is their intention to smear and discredit the couple through leaks to the tabloid media.
They can’t see how it makes them look to people not invested in the monarchy.
that approach will likely backfire, especially if Harry and Meghan maintain the high road and don’t respond to the critiques. People will inevitably ask, “why do they keep putting down their son/brother/grandson when he and his family are doing their own thing?” That might play well in the UK, where the royal rats have committed to poisoning the atmosphere for the Sussexes so they can never come back. But will it play globally? How will it look to the Commonwealth? Do they really want to be known as the petty jealous racists they are?
The problem with having heads of state by birthright is that they have never achieved anything of note apart from being born. They dont do work in the real sense of it. They turn up to things, chat to people, watch sports events and go home. They have nothing to occupy their brains, so all they have is petty jealousy of others in their own family. At least Charles set up the Princes Trust and Phil set up the DoE scheme, both of which have been going for years and have done good work. Will whatever William does be going in 5 or 10 years? He has no ideas. The Invictus games was a genius idea fronted by Harry, yet they have thrown away all the good publicity from that because they treated Harry so badly.
Quite a turn of events! The New firm is the same as the Old firm. Okay, got it.
Too bad none of them look happy. Do you think that any of the people reading these tabloids ever stop to think that H&M, or ‘insiders’, never make personal comments about the firm? I guess that just goes over their heads.
So…the new firm is just the old firm minus the ACTUAL stars of the firm. Insert giant yawn.
Harry & Meghan are happy not being part of the Firm and the Firm seems happy not having Harry & Meghan be a part of it. Both will continue to do what they do & less drama and heartache for either party in the coming year. Sounds like a win win to me.
I don’t think they would they keep dragging Harry and Meghan into every single freaking conversation they or the media have if they were happy with the current situation?They aren’t going to be happy until no one is reporting on the Sussex’s.
I don’t believe The Firm are dragging the Sussexes into conversations just like I don’t believe the Sussexes are dragging the Firm into conversations. The media do what they do to get clicks and sell papers. I say peace & luck to all, they are better off not being in each others’ lives
The sooner this all brings an end to this monarchy the better.
I didn’t use to feel that way, but after what they did to Harry and Meghan and how W &K are running around as though they won some great victory, I can’t stand them anymore.
Yawn and lame.
Standing next to each other, Kate and Sophie almost look like they are the same age. You wouldn’t think there is almost two decades between them.
William looks so pissed off in these pictures. He even look like he’s going to snap at the Queen. I wonder what happened in that train!
He always looks sheepish to me, but I guess when you live off the state but you’re fully capable of providing for yourself you tend o look that way, lol.
Based on the video in the DM, by the time William bade goodbye to the Queen, Kate followed suit and lingered a bit hoping to make small talk with the Queen. But the Queen didn’t even look at her. She was more excited to make conversation with Sophie and Edward. Kate was glaringly snubbed by Her Majesty. But the Royal Rota won’t report this. If it were Meghan, it will be run by all newspapers nonstop.
Being dull and charisma free is how the royals survive in this modern age. Be boring enough that people can forget you exist most of the time, because when they remember they start thinking things like ‘what is even the point of these people’ and ‘why on earth are we subsidising them’.
I feel like the Americans here really don’t get how people in the UK see the royal family. They don’t survive because people like them or love them or are interested in them, they survive because they’re just…there, and getting rid of them isn’t a priority. It’s not a coincidence that anti monarchist sentiment was at its height back when Diana was at her height of popularity as a princess. People loved her, but her popularity was a constant reminder of the institution she belonged to, and when people can’t easily ignore that institution they lean heavily towards not wanting it to exist.