Update by Celebitchy: The palace has issued a statement on behalf of The Queen. It’s pretty weak but I’ll wait for Kaiser to write about it. She’ll most likely cover it tomorrow! Of course they’re addressing this “privately.” Remember the big stink they made about investigating the alleged HR complaint against Meghan? Doesn’t this warrant at least as strong as a response? Here’s their statement:
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Again, as of this writing, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace have not responded officially to Oprah’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. I said on Twitter yesterday that I didn’t actually hate the strategy of the palace going silent for 24-48 hours. One way to look at it is that they understand how absolutely damaging the interview was and they’re taking their response seriously. Another way to look at it is that Harry and Meghan made it clear that they have receipts and they’re not afraid of burning bridges, so the palace HAS to be very careful about their response. So… the Times of London has a new story, “Queen demands more time to consider family’s response.” LOL. Should have thought about that before last week’s “Meghan is a bully” character assassination.
Buckingham Palace was thrown into turmoil yesterday as it struggled to deal with the fallout from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s dramatic allegations of racism in their US interview. The couple made a string of claims including that Meghan had felt suicidal but her pleas for help were ignored by courtiers. The duchess also claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family voiced concerns about the colour of their unborn baby’s skin.
Last night the Queen refused to sign off a prepared statement that officials had hoped would de-escalate tensions by highlighting the family’s love and concern for the couple. She was believed to want more time to consider her response.
The prime minister refused to be dragged into the row. Asked whether he believed the royal family was racist, Boris Johnson told a Downing Street press conference: “I really think that when it comes to matters to do with the royal family, the right thing for prime ministers to say is nothing and nothing is the thing that I propose to say today.” He added: “I have always had the highest admiration for the Queen and the unifying role that she plays.
However, Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park claimed that Harry was “blowing up his family” with the Winfrey interview. The minister for Pacific and the environment tweeted: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said that the allegations must be taken seriously. During a visit to a school in Dagenham, east London, he said: “It is really sad to see the family in turmoil like this. The issues that Meghan has raised of racism and mental health are serious issues.”
Wes Streeting, the shadow schools minister, told Times Radio that the allegation of racism “needs to be investigated” by Buckingham Palace.
“…The allegation of racism ‘needs to be investigated’ by Buckingham Palace…” What. I can’t believe in the year of our lord Beyonce 2021, we still believe that institutionally racist and sexist organizations have the ability to investigate themselves or self-correct or properly adjudicate their own behavior. What the monarchy has needed for some time is an independent audit, which can take many forms, and which (let’s be frank) will never happen.
As for this: “Last night the Queen refused to sign off a prepared statement that officials had hoped would de-escalate tensions by highlighting the family’s love and concern for the couple.” Um. That doesn’t bode well. That says to me that Liz set her phasers on “petty and vindictive.” This will probably get much worse before it gets better.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
Perhaps she will take this opportunity to do something daring and groundbreaking…but then again, this is the same person who has repeatedly protected Paedy Andy.
At her age, I do not expect anything daring or ground breaking.
Thank You!!
I also think we keep missing a MAJOR component in all of this and that would be PP. It is known he handled family matters and Liz handled the monarchy. With Phil gone, she can’t do that job – especially at her age. And well, Charles (if he is stepping into that role at all) has shown he can’t keep this family together. Which means this rile, when Willy is KoE may fall on Kate’s shoulders – and we all know that means Ma Middleton. which will be interesting to watch.
She doesn’t have to. But if she hits Charles and William with her handbag on BBC, I’ll watch that. In the background, Andrew is eating pizza and then old Liz says “You’re next!”
While Camila winks at the camera and raises her white wine!
I kind of like that she didn’t sign off on a prepared statement? Maybe she wants to make her own statement.
Note the queen old lizzy doesn’t have any photo of Harry and Meghan on her desk. That omission says a lot. Old racist biddy.
It hurts my heart to see her being so obviously cruel with no pics of Harry & family.
I believe we discussed it at Christmas. It was not a “slight”, but pics only of the *direct heir* line”: her father, her (and Philip), Charles (and wife), and William (and fam).
Of course it was a slight. Imagine if one of the members of your family left the CONTINENT you live on, and then you issued a statement about how they are “much loved”. It was a choice her people agreed on. Now it has come to roost. I don’t blame her, but her people? Sincerely, they had to know this was going to be a thing.
She could have pulled it off if she had the Queen Mum and Princess Margaret, anywhere. But no. Her aides are absolute morons. WE GET IT, royals. White men are your jam.
true, it was only pics of the direct line. however, whether or not that was a slight is unclear.
I read somewhere else that this was framed as Will or Charles giving her a statement to sign off on and she said no.
The institution once again proving how bad they are at their jobs! Although I doubt a statement prepared by CH or KP was as conciliatory as described so hopefully that is why the Queen is taking her time…..one can hope!
“Never complain never explain” is her mantra, and she relies only to her racist outdated courtries to have an opinion.
Except when her favourite son Pedo Andrew is involved.
On another news: if she has two options and one is totally wrong she will go along with that.
She’s probably waiting for a Tony Blair type to save her butt again
I was thinking along these same lines. She does not independently do anything. Never has.
That’s how understood it too. I guess I only skimmed the headline and synopsis yesterday, but it seemed like Charles, William, and the courtiers had a tough response and the Queen refused to sign that. I didn’t get the impression it had anything to do with love and concern for the couple.
I still think that may be the truth after Harry’s comments about his good relationship with her, the fact she sometimes gets “bad advice”, and the revelation the who\what\where\when of these things are very easy to swap around. It was everyone else in the crisis talks that really needed to hit back, not the Queen. But of course they wouldn’t want it to look like it came from them or that they had to bully the Queen into doing what they wanted.
Interesting. I wonder if the “can’t be of service if not royal” statement came from CH or KP. That might be why the Queen wants to consider before responding since that one wasn’t well received. She or somebody writes her speeches that come out as well thought out and non-controversial, so you would think someone could write a statement.
You’d think the great Sara Latham, now the Queen’s COMM Director could come out with something decent. She seems to really have gone over to the dark side since she stopped working for the Sussexes when they shut down their London office.
@TeamAwesome … That’s what I read as well, that the Queen refused to sign off on a statement about the interview during her meeting with Charles and William and instead demanded more time to reflect on a response. Perhaps she wants to avoid another knee-jerk reflex ‘Meghan bullied her staff!’ response.
The Sussexes took great pains in their interview to make clear their respect and fondness for the Queen and the fact that “If ‘A’ and ‘B’ had been addressed, we’d still be there, all in.” Liz probably asked some pointed questions in her meeting with Charles and William like, who in the bloody blazes asked a question about Archie’s skin color and if Meghan didn’t make Kate cry, why in the bloody blazes didn’t someone release a statement saying that story wasn’t true?
And they should just let that ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’ thing go because Kate went bunkers publicly over the Tatler story about the Duchess of Cambridge complaining she’s ‘overworked,’ and Wills lost it publicly over a story about his ‘Rose Bush.’
I also heard that the statement she was asked to sign was harsh and she refused. She’s 94 years old and I can’t see her wanting to go through another ‘Diana’ episode. Plus, I think she really loves Harry and likes Meghan. The Queen let herself be guided by Charles and William and now she’s in the shit. If she needs time to decide what she wants to do, she should take it.
She probably really appreciates that Andrew was never mentioned once in the interview. I wondered why Oprah didn’t go there, but then I figured neither of the Sussexes would comment and just asking the question would make the interview all about Andrew instead of about the Sussexes.
@LL, we don’t know Oprah didn’t go there about Andrew. She may have as much as two hours of additional tape as the full interview was supposedly well over three hours. But he was certainly extraneous to the narrative she was following for Sunday night. For that matter, so were Tom and sister Sam, which is why Oprah waited until the Monday morning CBS show to talk about them.
Though overall as far as we know, Andrew isn’t directly part of Harry and Meghan’s story, so I could equally see Oprah not asking, or Harry and Meghan not discussing him.
Kerwood, I think this could be true. The whole issue about Meghan being a bully and TQ’s response(s) was really myopic. It was like no one ever bothered to see the logical conclusion re former employees and other family members. I suspect TQ is being much more thoughtful about what she’ll say now. Yes, I do think that CP or KP is where the previous statement came from. If this is true, I’m glad to see that she exerts her power when it’s really needed. Maybe Latham is behind the present statement??
I have never seem such a limp smear campaign as the one from last week it was dead on arrival. It made them look so foolish, the Queen only reacts if she sees that she really has something to lose.
The pathetic smear campaign said more about them than Meghan. People brought out glorious receipts of far worse behaviour from other members of that family. They should be ashamed of themselves if they had any shame left.
Yup. I absolutely can’t wait to see what they come up with, seeing how tone-deaf and sloppy they’ve been so far. I can’t imagine what they can say. Sorry, we’ll investigate this right after our Meghan is a bully investigation?
Their smear campaign fed into exactly what Harry and Meghan had to say about their bullying and racism. No statement is going to undo the damage. The only way forward is for them to apologize and take responsibility for what they have done, which they will never do because they are racist bullies.
Smearing Meghan as a bully was a manifestation of the racism that permeates the institution. Meghan and Harry’s interview provided further proof of the racism that exists in the Royal Family.
Like she’s only really shown public emotion when she cried over her yacht.
Someone on the staff may have finally realised that they need to be careful with their statements because Harry and Meghan will push back against any lies and they have the receipts to do it.
Yup. I agree. Diana had some receipts but they were intercepted but thankfully we have her voice recording and the BBC interview. Thankfully H and M are better prepared and are surrounded by some very powerful friends.
The last four years have shown us no one on their staff has that kind of awareness. They must have brought in a crisis PR firm.
Personally I think a lot of their staff (not all) DO have that awareness but they can’t make the right decisions and don’t choose to push back because the Royals think that if they are God-appointed that means they know how to do PR, which of course is completely laughable.
The idea that the queen needs more time to consider her response is hilarious. The only way out of this without making them look even more like jackasses than they already do is NO response. Which will be bad enough given the racism that we know exists. But everything else is going to backfire. That’s why this interview was so good!
I’m glad Harry and Meghan put them on blast because now they actually have to sit down and really think about how they play this out in public. For once, they actually turned off their phones and not respond to RRs which they were quick to do before, without thinking about the optics. Harry said it best when he said the queen was being badly advised.
Silence for once is the best strategy. The Queen cares deeply about maintaining the Commonwealth with the Crown as its head. While I don’t think many countries will leave the Commonwealth, this is definitely not helping the Firm when 60-70% of the members are people of color. I could see where the Commonwealth continues to exist, but with the Crown no longer its head and England relegated to a lesser role.
Which palace is leaking against the Queen? The PR strategy continues to be so haphazard and amateurish. Going after the one who was damaged least in the interview will only serve to weaken the Crown as a whole even more.
You’re right. This is a leak putting the delayed response solely on the Queen… no shame on this family. I’m betting her advisors and family are also pissed she’s been in the loop for all this time.
By a few statements and Harry and meghans own words it sounds like the Queen actually likes Meghan a lot.
The royal train, sharing the blanket, saying she felt the young duchess was very well prepared. That’s the grandmother. The Queen is actually Charles and all those gold standard advisors.
Yeah its like, why are you going after the queen? She is the last person who should respond in all of this I men pr wise..
The advisors are really fumbling.
Nothing will happen. They are not ready for change. Why should they be? They will always be protected no matter what. The Sussexes have said SOME of their piece. The rest is being held back for insurance.
Yep. Betty after Diana, Charles and Camilla after Diana. They’re like cats, they’ll always land on their feet.
They did before the internet, lol. Charles/Camilla doesn’t count to me, since that was still relatively early in terms of social media. We’ll see if they will land just as well now.
Or she’s a terrible leader surrounded by sycophants? There’s no reason that I can see for the queen not to release a bland statement of love and affection, it doesn’t preclude her from being as petty as she likes behind the scenes.
I thought one of the subtlest blows of the interview was Harry said he admires his granny, but she is badly advised and he implied she may not be running things at the palace.
Apparently Oprah had three plus hours of footage, do you think they will dole it out all week? If that’s the case, perhaps not responding yet would be better – but they should have thought of that last week.
Truly the best response would be to do nothing OR do a statement saying they love the Sussexes and want to move forward as a family.
But since they won’t do the latter and they can’t help but talk, they’ll probably jump into another smear campaign
When she must STFU she talks, and when she has to talk silence.
They can’t hide from this. They were quick to say they were investigating bullying but nothing when accusations of racism have been made? Their silence would be damning. I don’t trust them to handle this situation well.
I think that kind of proves though that Charles (with an assist from William) is running the day to day stuff at BP, and he is making all the decisions and running the PR. “The Queen” was always really quick to respond to most crises and issues about Meghan and Harry the past year or two, and the fact that “the palace” had been leaking and responding and hitting back 24/7 instantly at absolutely anything and everything to do with the Sussexes, makes me think the actual Queen wasn’t the one signing off on or directing those statements and smears. It was Charles acting as “the Queen.”
THIS is something she has to deal with, she can’t let Charles and William do it anymore bc their way has obviously ruined things and put the monarchy in a crisis. So she’s taking her time, doing her thing where she waits it out and kind of ignores, or tries to delay and put things off so she can actually think about them. I think this response that she needs more time is genuinely from/about the real Queen. I think all the hasty responses and smears from the past 18 months-2 years was Charles acting as/on behalf of the Queen.
I don’t trust them to investigate themselves. Denying Meghan crisis mental health care, WHILE encouraging her stalkers/abusers in the media by using the courtiers against her? There are human rights violations here that frankly should be addressed outside of the UK. It was one thing when all the abuse was happening in the UK – but then it carried on when they removed to a Commonwealth country, and again ramped up when they left the Commonwealth/UK altogether to go to an independent nation.
They’re terrorizing her, across international borders. They denied her crisis mental health care while cutting her off from seeking it independently. This requires a court of human rights suit, imho. Paging Amal Clooney…
The smear campaign was rushed, ill thought out and it showed. They have a history of doubling down on their stupidity. This won’t be any different.
She is the only one of them who came out good in that interview. Of course she doesn’t want to get dragged into it. Self Interest.
The queen did come out very well in both interviews, like some serious positive endearing PR. I think Charles and William are running the show and the Queen is not going to let them drag her down too.
Charles cutting them off, William – space, the truth about kate with sugar on it. Kate took a huge kick, she’s the saint of all mothers and early years, 5 big questions and mental health, and she sat back and let a pregnant woman be led to the edge of suicide and did nothing but drop off some f*cking flowers!!! Karens a nice word for that bitch.
That institution will no doubt survive, the House of Lord’s will ensure that but I hope nobody is ever dumb enough to marry into it again. They will have to go back to breeding with each other and sucking each other’s blood.
This is all Charles. According to Sykes he has been regent in everything but name for 5 years. They are weaponizing the Queen against the Sussexes because that is what gets the public riled up.
Interesting stuff around her though. That account of how H&M were on their way to visit so they could talk, but then she said on the phone that she had to cancel because all kinds of things she hadn’t known about had mysteriously appeared in her diary. Manipulation and isolation, but who tampered with the diary?
She is the only one of them who came out good in that interview. Of course she doesn’t want to get dragged into it. Self Interest.
It’d be great if she didn’t know about the denial of mental health care & the convo of skin color happened & she knocks some heads together. I’m not holding my breath though.
Yup. Regardless if it’s true that she didn’t know, this is the only possible pr move that has even the slightest chance of working to help them save face – say you didn’t know, you’re appalled, fire a few courtiers and advisors, say that you love harry, meghan, and archie, are so thrilled for baby #2, and want to put in the work to heal your family and that healing will happen in private so please, tabloids, respect their privacy at this challenging time.
Of course, that will never ever happen so best get out the popcorn instead because whatever statement they end up putting out is sure to be an absolute disaster.
@Sunday, Perfect statement.
But that would save the Queen, specifically. It wouldn’t save “the monarchy” as an institution. She’s going to have to try to balance saving herself by saying she didn’t know and hasn’t been involved but also trying to convince people that the people that did know and were making the decisions and saying the racist stuff are still fit to rule and the monarchy, as run by those 2 jerk in line, is still somehow a good thing. What does she do? Does she take the blame and say that she takes full responsibility because she was the head of the family all along, and then try to make it seem like the next 2 will do better? That would contradict everything Harry and Meghan said, though, about her being personally supportive and her not being the person making the decisions and her not being the one with concerns about how dark the baby would be. Does she save herself and her personal legacy or does she save the institution? Can she somehow do both? Pushing it all onto advisors and courtiers would probably be the best way to save both, but will the courtiers and advisors fight back? Will they allow themselves to be sacrificed and fired for cause?
WELL, you called it!! That’s almost exactly what they just did.
I could buy that she didn’t know, was willfully blind, knew only partially, or some combo of all these. She seems to have shown genuine fondness for H&M in the past (or am I delusional?)… but I just come back to the fact that she’s in her 90s.
My grandmother was 89 when she passed away, and once she hit about 75 she was in true IDGAF mode. We had an issue? Here’s a tissue! She cared, but she was just tired and had been through so much already that she couldn’t get up the energy to get personally upset about our problems, or solve them for us.
She cared, but when I was complaining about something my grandmother would give me that look that said, “Oh honey, I lived through wars, food shortages, German occupation, communism, deaths of two siblings and many other family members, sickness, and everything in between. Yes your feelings are genuinely hurt but rub some dirt in it and move on.” I kind of think the Queen may be the same?
She’s been in regular communication with H&M, there’s no way she didn’t know.
She may be playing the sweet grandma act, but unless her attempts to intervene on Meghan’s behalf are documented, and proven to have been thwarted by the courtiers (under Charles’ direction as “shadow monarch”, for example), then her sweet grandma act is just an act.
This family is cold blooded, and The Palaces official stance to Meghan was to refuse any and all mental health crisis interventions. Worse, they actively prevented her seeking them herself by making sure she had no passport/driver’s license & keys. They held her hostage instead of providing help, *knowing* she was pregnant, *knowing she was suicidal*. That tells me they wanted her dead.
I have learnt to question everything from the British media and also realise that sometimes they print the opposite of what really happened.
So based on that and Harry’s revelation that he speaks to his grandparents, Meghan having a direct line to the Queen and their comments in the interview maybe the Queen is refusing to sign because the statement is not really a descalation.
William has not really seemed like the type to pull back, more likely to regroup and plan an attack.
Yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘statement of care’ was actually condescending and gaslight-y and showed us how clearly the royal family don’t understand or support mental health.
I think this is exactly it. They clearly still have a good relationship with her so maybe she’s not the petty one, but rather the “men in grey” she’s listened to all her life. Maybe she’s finally stepping up and saying “OK, you have all led me astray, and this entire situation has been mishandled, which I’m not going to allow anymore. I’m not letting you mismanage my grandson and his family anymore.”
We can only hope!
M&H tried to not drag their old greatgrandmother into it, and keep her out of it out of respect and care also because her husband is in the hospital.
Why would the BP try their damndest to drsg her in? Is that Charles? If so that is really low.. he doesn’t stoop an anything it seems.
That’s what I think too. She’s, what, 94? Here’s my guess as to what’s been happening all along:
Courtier: Ma’am, just rewriting some policy here. If someone in your family publicly rejected you in a terribly rude manner, would you still let them (lay a wreath, have a patronage, whatever) in your name?
Queen: Hmm? I dunno, probably not.
Courtier: OK cool, thanks. (Takes a bow, walks out backward.)
Tabloids: QUEEN STRIPS HARRY AND MEGAN OF EVERYTHING BECAUSE THEY ARE DISGUSTING AND RUDE!!
Lionel, about her being 94. I want to know if she’s the type of old person who gets better and more liberal with age, like as she gets closer to the end of her life she realizes that being such a hard ass and holding so strictly to conservative protocol type stuff is silly and has kind of ruined her personal life and family relations, so now she’s just like “yeah, we can have a back woman marry in if that’s who my grandson loves, yes I’ll gladly accept and pose with my biracial great grandson, no I don’t really hate Harry or think it’s a huge betrayal that he feels like he needs more freedom, and sure I’ll go out of my way to try to be kind to and accept his wife.” Or is she the type of old person that gets more conservative, more crotchety, more racist, more scared of the future and change?
I’m getting that she’s the former. As she’s aged and stepped back more and more from making all the decisions and feeling like it’s on her, personally, to protect the monarchy forever and ever, that she’s getting softer and gentler personally. Being more grandma and less HRH Her Majesty the Queen. Realizing what’s really important to her vs what isn’t, and realizing that her son and heir is in his 70s now and he has to sink or swim on his own and if he ruins the monarchy, it’s not on her.
I think that is part of it. The Queen is a figurehead of an archaic institution steeped in rituals and protocols that makes a hell of a lot of money. She has been a talking head all of her life and knows no differently. Charles, however, for all of his outward goofiness is a deep thinker also steeped in this culture and William who may not think at all at this point is just walking the yellow brick road laid before him. Harry said his father and brother were “trapped.” I think Charles and WIlliam are frustrated, angry, emotionally stunted males being spoon fed by sycophants to believe that this is their God-given right to rule, when in fact everything they have is from generations of grifters and murderers that bled the world for what they have.
It really makes me hope that the crown actually does the Harry and Megan season because this would be a really good redemption arc for the Queen’s character
I agree, I think it’s entirely possible she had no idea her idiotic heirs and their courtiers were waging an incredibly ill-thought out and ineffective smear campaign last week. She definitely watched the interview, though.
To be a fly on the wall in the palace right now… I’m sure the machinations going on are effing HILARIOUS right now.
Well, all we have to do is wait and one of them will leak what’s going on in this crisis management meeting. That’s the problem, all 3 of those palaces (BP, CH, and KP) leak like sieves.
I can’t believe this. It’s not like she wouldn’t know of the papers, or what’s on the news. While I can believe she knows NOTHING about social media, I can’t believe she’s kept off all medium, doesn’t see a paper, hear a news show on tv OR radio… I realize she is cocooned, but she is not in a *completely* soundproofed bubble.
Even during the Diana years, she *heard* what was going on, she just didn’t think she needed to do anything about it until forced.
If they come out swinging it will backfire wildly and they will be richly deserving when the world is “utterly aghast” at their mindless stupidity.
The only decent response is to take responsibility for a toxic environment and to extend an olive branch to the couple. The only thing that should be up for discussion is the degree to which they do this, but it must be done. But I suppose they have shown repeatedly that they have a stunning ability to undermine themselves so anything is possible.
I await their self-destructive declaration with crackers and tea!
I have a slightly different take on the the queen came out best – she did, but the left-unsaid part is that she has no mind of her own and relies entirely on her advisers. Which was also the underlying message of a the crown. This is a deeply sheltered woman who had no formal schooling, had 3 years of informal lectures crammed into her when she became heir to the throne. The fact that for 70 years the institution has been designed to cocoon her and surround her with sycophantic advisers telling her she’s the best reminds me of potty training a child.
The petty doesn’t fall far from the tree. Since Diana, we’ve seen just how cruel and petty chucky can be. I believe he has much to do with this whole debacle. If something doesn’t suit him, or doesn’t go his way, he goes all out to derail things. I think it’s chuck who is pushing mommy’s buttons to tear everything away from his son and DIL. It seems he gets everything he wants, and is teaching wee willy to be the same way.
For right now, honestly, staying silent is the smart move. I wouldnt be mad if they just stayed silent about this for a long time. But of course eventually she is going to have to say something.
I think the queen is probably worried about any kind of statement that might seem to give credibility to what H&M said. The RRs have spent the past 48 hours now (or almost) insisting that Meghan and Harry are full of lies and that Meghan deserves an Oscar for her interview. Anything that is supportive would be seen as saying they were right.
Also, the idea that Buckingham Palace is going to investigate itself for racism is hilarious. But I do feel like sending them some educational books on racism. Hell I feel like sending them to every reporter over there. Racism isn’t just about using racial slurs or saying “I dont like the black woman.” It is usually much more….subtle….for lack of a better word…than that. It’s “I find her intimidating” or “I dont think she seems approachable.”
That said, in this case apparently it was as blatant as “we dont want the mixed race baby to have a title.”
Everything you’ve said – 100%.
They need to find a way that appeals to their monarchist base but also makes them look good to everyone else. If they say Meghan is a liar then they’ll be called out by non-monarchists and the wider world. If they say she isn’t a liar, monarchists will be mad and like you said, could imply that she was telling the truth to the monarchists.
But they (the firm) can also spin a compassionate response as “see! look how generous and lovely the queen is!”
Exactly. This is the kind of situation that calls for a serious PR team – someone who is going to know exactly how to word the statement. the usual palace PR isn’t going to cut it IMO. Look at how they bungled the statement about their patronages, with that line about “public service” that H&M immediately pushed back on (there was a quote in one of the stories on here about that, from one of the RRs – maybe Eden? I cant remember – about how that was clearly drafted by the courtiers and Harry knew that, which is why he fired back, bc he wouldnt talk that way to the Queen. After the interview, I think that’s exactly the case.)
Anyway so they’re going to need to tread carefully here. If they handle this appropriately, they may end up saving face. But if they bungle it, like they bungled the smear campaign last week, they’re going to have a big problem.
“They need to find a way that appeals to their monarchist base but also makes them look good to everyone else.”
In my arrogant opinion, this is impossible as they have burnt large bridges with The Commonwealth of Nations that I doubt can be rebuilt.
I agree that letting the dust settle a bit before making a statement is likely the best most at the moment as any knee jerk reaction will only inflame the press, esp if it’s true that William or Chuck is trying to dictate the response. There is also legal considerations with the racist comments – so the lawyers will be all over any statement.
Neither Chuck or William come out well from this and am sure they are desperate for TQ to protect them.
Amazing isn’t it? How — according to 🐀Rota —- a minor actress, just gave an, off-the-cuff, unscripted, Oscar winning performance.
Sources in Europe say that Liz refused to watch and said that she would be “informed” of what it was about. Not sure if that is true, but that’s the problem – her relying on others to form her opinion. I wonder why she dos that.
Because she is a very old woman who is becoming more and more submissive to the wishes of the men in her family as she ages, especially when those wishes are expressed robustly. She has always been known for burying her head in the sand in times of family conflict and if she refused to watch the Oprah show I find it deeply troubling. The Queen is the Head of State yet she seems to let others – her husband and now her eldest son, that son’s elder son, and her senior courtiers – make all the decisions about matters related to her family and tell her what to do, under the guise of “advising” her. And often those family matters have a much wider ambit affecting her role as Queen, as they did with Diana. If she is not willing and/or able to make decisions on her own she should not have such a responsible job and she is not best serving the people she swore to serve for life. IMO this scenario is providing excellent ammunition for republicans as it shows the hereditary head of state is not capable of performing the job as her actions seem directed to protecting her own family and their continuing hold on the role of head of state and all the privileges that go with that job in the UK.
They will respond. I think William will do an interview.
If Potato Head PWT really has the cojones to sit down for a rebuttal interview, I’ll put in my order for a second popcorn maker.
It’s a very bad idea (for his already broken relationship with his brother and for the RF in general) but my oh my, would it be entertaining to watch him bob, twitch, and lie, lie, lie.
I hope William or Charles sits down with Piers Morgan. Now there would be a match made in hell.
They’ll respond but I doubt that William will do an interview. If he wants to say something, he’ll just leak it to the tabloids.
Yeah I think William will come out swinging, given that more and more people think it was him that made that skin colour comment – twit thinks he’s a press genius.
Oh I really hope so! It’ll be so bad
I don’t think so. I think they are trying to see what the best road to take is WITHOUT this dragging out with evidence being pulled out. The couple have receipts and this will not bode well for Wills to go to the media for interview. He will be annihilated and Rome will completely burn. The smoke has started. Let’s see if they fan it to turn it into the fire.
William doing an interview? What he’s gonna say? He was at Pizza Express while everything was going on and it’s not his fault?
yeah–a william interview will go down just as well as the Andy interview, and he’ll be too stupid to realize it
Oh ALEXANDRIA, that was hysterical!
God, I hope so. Can you imagine? He’d be even more incompetent on camera than Pedo Andy.
Seems like the royal aides care more about their reputation than that of the actual royals or even the monarchy
So someone ran to the papers to snitch that they wrote a nice statement but Liz is refusing to sign off on it?
Her own courtiers are sabotaging her.
Can’t make this amateurish circus up.
Now they are throwing Liz under the bus. I very much doubt that the statement was designed to de-escalate the situation.
Of course they are, Harry and Meghan portrayed her as kind and sympathetic to them. This is them circling the wagons to show they are Team Assholes United. I think Harry should know he is on his own from now on, they’ve cut him off.
All of this.
Is the Queen even aware of what’s going on? Did she see the interview? Were some things revealed to HER that she did not previously know? In any case, I’m reluctant to even believe any stories coming from the RF as it sounds like Charles is running the show and maybe the Queen is not comfortable signing anything that has been dictated by him and his courtiers. They are in this mess because of him and she’s now the face of it.
Lainey had a similar take on the situation. She basically theorizes that it is Charles running the show, hiding behind the queen in order to stay invisible. Since the queen is so infallible, he’s been sure to pepper “her” sources with statements in the paper that H&M are attacking the monarch, thus making sure they will be attacked even more. Nobody is going to defend them if they are going so hard on the queen. It’s why CH has been “silent” throughout it all; he’s been smearing through BP. Coupled with the fact that he pulled security and financing and it looks like Charles is behind some of the pettiest decisions. Harry took great pains to speak warmly of Betty and I think he was subtly saying she isn’t actually in charge. It explains H&M’s “terse” statements to BP, they knew who was behind it all and I’m willing to bet Charles removed Meghan’s name from her BC. The queen and Philip were the only ones to come out unscathed, so any talk of the queen being worried is probably Charles and William. It all kind of makes sense now.
Agree.
Agree, and the fact that Kenn came out as remorseful for her utter disgusting display during the week of Meghans wedding and that she understood how awful it was for Keen to see the scathing articles about Waity Keen, was the epitome of class and maturity. Now don’t get me wrong, I know that Keen happily planted smears against Meghan. Again, Meghan again showed us, and The Firm, TQ, Insufferable Chuck, and PWT, how forgiving and wonderful Meghan is on those that have wronged her unintentionally. But make no mistake, Meghan is an incredible woman of intelligence, strength, self reliance and grit but she will remember any one who has encouraged/participated on this continuous smear campaign and those who were/are behind it.
@JT, +1
Just wrote a long piece myself, what you’ve said in much more concise fashion! That Charles is pulling the strings, and hiding behind TQ. I agree, petty vindictive actions like refusing to let Harry’s wreath be laid match up with Charles pulling H&M’s money and security and refusing his phone calls, not to mention, a plan to make sure Archie never has a title. Meanwhile, both H&M took pains three times – Corden piece, Oprah interview, post interview Oprah statement – to emphasize their good relationship with TQ (plus Harry remarked she was being badly advised). Hard to believe that would be true if she were behind a lot of what we’ve heard about their life the last few years.
It’s quite breathtakingly devious of Charles (though I do wonder if there are implications if he’s effectively acting as undeclared regent), never mind the nastiness, pettiness, and complete lack of compassion that’s exposed.
In any event, from now on when I hear a statement “TQ did”, I won’t take it at face value.
this all makes sense to me, but i wonder then: what of TQ’s dandling of Andrew? Charles hates Andrew, and He wouldn’t have signed off on TQ taking car rides to church with Andrew. You’d think Charles, if he is really pulling the strings, would have taken away Andrew’s security too when he ‘stepped back.’ right?
I think the broader truth that Charles is throwing his weight around, whether himself or through courtiers, holds. But I’m not sure he’s, like 100% in charge, because surely he would have kicked Andrew to the ground even more, no? How to be so petty & vindictive to your son’s family but let your younger brother, who don’t like, get off relatively easy?
He definitely isn’t acting effectively as regent, as he has been making the queen look ridiculous. Everyone keeps saying the queen should do something, but now we no that Charles has essentially been keeping information from her. Harry planned to meet up with the queen several times, but then meetings were canceled or rearranged. Charles ousting Geidt was a power grab on his part and he’s filtering certain information to her, trying to damage her views of Harry it seems.
Charles also doesn’t seem to have the temperament to reign in the family and keep everyone together. He’s just as prone to jealousy and anger as William is, only with smoother PR and duchy money. He’s putting the monarchy in danger and damaging the queen’s reputation (Andrew is a whole other can of worms) by hiding behind her. It looks like Charles and Will were trying to force her to make a cruel statement and she put her foot down finally. They are the ones who brought all of this mess onto the queen, which does not bode well for Charles’ reign the way he is acting now.
@Naomi, Charles needed Andrew to oust the queen’s private secretary, Christopher Geidt, from his role to replace him with somebody loyal to Charles. Remember at the time it was reported that Andrew and Charles worked together to do it. They succeeded, and Charles used his new found influence to bench Andrew
I also to seem to recall that Charles actually went to church with Andrew before the Christmas walk after the interview. If I’m wrong somebody let me know. So it seems that Charles is still looking out for him in a way and just sidelined him for the good of the crown. At this point I don’t believe Charles even cares what the hell Andrew was doing Epstein, he only cares about the optics of it all.
My guess is that while Charles isnt 100% in charge, the Queen might let him be in charge of his boys. So whether or not Archie got HRH was up to Charles, but whether or not Andrew gets security is still up to the Queen.
So Charles is the one who was opposed to the half-in/half-out, not the Queen, possibly. Which is weird bc we have heard for the past year that Charles was okay with it, William was not.
What this tells me is that Charles knows exactly how his actions look so he’s trying to cover for himself in the press, so its clear there is some self-awareness there in terms of how awful he is, but he still wants the good press too. So for example, we were hearing that Charles was still supporting them, as late as April, maybe even May? I cant remember when the Sussexes issued a statement saying they were not getting any funding from him, but it was in response to stories about Charles still paying for them. So that says to me that Charles KNOWS how awful it was to cut them off completely in such a sudden way, so he’s going to cover for himself in the press.
That sounds overly complicated but its what makes sense to me.
I could see a defacto agreement between Charles and Andrew, where Andy gets to keep his titles and privileges as long as he stays out of Charles’ way. That makes TQ happy; it would have been damaging to the institution to ever consider making him available to the FBI, and it’s way too late for that anyway. Charles may not like Andrew, but he’s a pragmatist and does what he needs to.
TQ is 94, which means most if not all of the people she trusted and relied on over the years, are gone. Her husband, who also advised her, is even older, has been out of the loop for years, and he’s reportedly the one that dealt with the family side of things. Charles and Andrew got rid of Geldt. One person we know is still with her is her long time dresser, Angela Kelly (alias AK47), who almost certainly conspired with someone (Will/Kate) to set up Meghan about the tiara (the tiara story at least, whether or not there was an actual tiara in question) and Saudi sourced earrings. Meanwhile, because of the pandemic, TQ has been pretty much isolated, unable to pursue many of her usual external activities. If as Harry says, she’s getting bad advice, one can see how that might come about.
And Charles’ relationship with his parents has always been problematic. I’m thinking, since Phillip retired, Charles has been really emboldened to take control and probably feels pretty ok with throwing his mother under the bus whenever he has to to cover his moves. Charles, the puppet master. I’ll bet he has moved a lot of hand picked personnel into BP staff since he and Andrew got rid of Geldt. Staff that are more loyal to the future king then the current Queen. However, I think the Apple did not fall far from the tree with William and he is also as major — and sometimes adversarial — player in all this with Charles. I think in some ways they are tag teaming their take down of the Sussexes.
“What Meghan wants, Meghan gets”? Except for help and compassion while going through a serious mental health crisis, apparently.
Sickening is a good word for it.
It turns my stomach to see the hoops this monstrous band of Loyalists will jump through to ignore and diminish the hell the RF and BM put this couple through.
#AbolishTheMonarchy
“BM” is such a fitting abbreviation for those vultures, isn’t it?
It’s sickening to listen to all these people still brown-nosing the Queen and the RF after everything we know now.
(That was the second half of my comment that I accidentally erased while trying to edit my punctuation.)
If ever there was a time for BP to stick its mantra of never explain, never complain it’s right now. Making any sort of statement would only makes things worst.
That is what they did after Diana. That was NOT the right call then, and it’s not the right call now.
@Amy&OG: IMO there’s only one statement they could make to shine a not-totally-negative light on themselves. It goes something like:
“We are deeply and sincerely sorry for the many mistakes we’ve made. We are old and set in the ways we were taught, and we are only now realizing how outdated and discriminatory those ways are. That’s on us. Nevertheless, we are ready to listen, to learn, and to change. Please be patient with us as we take the following first steps …”
And then they’d have to remain accountable for all of the steps. They’ll never do it though.
I wonder if part of this is about pushing back on the idea that there’s a big difference between the queen (who Harry and Meghan say they have a warm relationship with) and the institution of the monarchy (which H&M say are driving the wedge, preventing them from seeing her when they were in the UK, and doing all the bad stuff). I could be off base since I’m not British, but it sounds like at least some people feel affection for the queen, and that affection is part of what keeps the monarchy in place. If the interview is painted as an attack on the queen herself, and if the institution is portrayed as actually trying to coax the pissed off queen towards reconciliation rather than causing the discord, then that strengthens the institution in the long run because it can draw on whatever affection people have for the queen herself. IDK, just a thought I had.
Is queen Elizabeth even in charge ? Harry implied that she might not be. I always thought that she was seeing the way prince Andrew was protected. She might have some power but she’s not the one calling all the shots. Or maybe she is busy with her husband being in the hospital. Anyway the best statement right now would be to apologize for everything, for the lack of support etc…. i don’t think they will dare throwing Meghan under the bus again now that social media is standing with her right now after everything she revealed in the itw.
How much is the Queen involved in the running of this circus? This is something I’ve been wondering since Harry’s implication that Liz is surrounded by a cadre of ill intentioned (and plainly STOOPID) advisers. The courtiers, the Men in Grey, the “loyal” ear-whisperers…the same evil men Diana spoke about. Machiavellian machinations have always surrounded the various English courts and now we see though the centuries change, their modus operandi remain the same.
It’s grotesque that instead of providing full-on family support of this star couple for their hard work and true commitment to the Commonwealth, they were treated so horribly by a dysfunctional, Racist family in cahoots with the racist tabloid press.
Is it Charles who has been pulling the levers with the gleeful assistance of his jealous son, PWT? Is it truly the Queen who is planning the chess moves on the advice of her PR flunkies? The only thing we know for sure is that H & M had a target WILLfully placed on their backs for being so successful (and Black) at their job. That they managed to escape the toxic vipers nest of the Palaces with their precious son intact is cause for celebration. The rest of them can rot in Incandescent Rage forevermore.
Don’t forget the Kelly woman who seems to rule over the jewels.
And remember Machine Gun Kelly teamed up with William to keep Meg from the jewels. I guess those stories of William and Charles getting along we’re somewhat true; they were united in smearing H&M.
Reminds me of the time last year when The Times wrote that article that William was bullying Harry and William rushed out a statement saying he was not a bully and then he bullied Harry into signing it or signed it for Harry. I wonder if Will and Charles wanted her to issue a statement after only being informed of the show’s main points, and Granny said to back off, she had her popcorn ready and was planning to watch the whole show on Monday night with the rest of the country.
BS “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.” Meghan wants security for her son. Did she get it?
Well maybe they thought she was gonna want a new hat or lots of bling!
So we know that M+H have a relationship with the Queen (and to some extent, Phillip). She absolutely knew about this interview, and thus should have understood what the response/reaction/fallout would be. I mean it’s possible that now they’ve done it and how the RF is being perceived is NOT a good look, she’s now decided to be upset and cut them off. But somehow I don’t think so. My guess is that the courtiers prepared a knee-jerk, craptastic statement that no one would believe, (or Charles/William) and she chose not to cosign it. Then it was spun as though she refuses to extend any support or grace to the couple. And this 95-year-old woman continues to be pushed in the public the way the courtiers and likely her son see fit. I am NOT absolving her and she’s done SO many things wrong, but the fact that Harry and Meghan have repeatedly said that they HAVE a relationship with the queen, and that they speak consistently to her, it just seems fishy to me that now it’s seeming as though she’s in a rage at them and refuses to even speak their names or reference them in a statement. All of this stinks to high heaven.
In a normal setting I would understand. You hear some information that is surprising to you for the first time and you want to sleep on it and give yourself a day or three to get your thoughts together. But this ain’t it and this ain’t new. It just blows my mind that with all the blows that have happened in the last four years, this woman never once took a minute to realize the call was coming from inside the house and cleaned house. After all, this is her reputation that she loves and holds so close to area where her heart is suppose to be.
And if Boris Johnson can put out a statement that reads of common sense, you really need to re evaluate things.
If the Queen is no longer in charge, maybe that’s why she doesn’t want to sign off because this time she disagrees with the content. Maybe the statement is an attack instead of helping to defuse the situation. HM for some reason, spoke fondly of her and they chat often but somehow she is not controlling everything. I think something is broken, Britain. There’s something sinister and deep state going on with the Palaces. Racism has always been there because of the people but their organisation is …for lack of a better word, messy and worse, people now know how messy it is. And since there are fundamental problems, ethical problems and lack of transparency, nothing will come out of their so called investigations. This institution needs to be abolished. It has outlived its usefulness, is giving men in grey salaries and questionable power, is powering yellow and lazy journalism, is harbouring an FBI suspect and overall, is bordering on being some weird umbrella corporation with waving human faces.
Also I wonder what version of the show she would be given to watch.
It’s possibly the lawyers who are urging caution. There appears to be clear evidence of racism towards Archie. According to news reports Charles plans to deny Archie the HRH status he would automatically receive when Charles becomes King.
The same rules would have given HRH status to George at birth but not Charlotte or Louis. The younger children would have had to wait until their grandfather was King. However the Queen made an exception by Letters Patent giving HRH status to the younger children. She refused to do this for Archie. Charles’ apparent plan when he is King is to issue Letters Patent depriving Archie, and his sister, of the HRH status they are legally entitled to receive. Police protection applies to HRH children throughout their education but it ends when formal education ends unless they join the ‘Firm’ as royals with official public duties. This is what happened with Andrew’s children. Edward’s children are legally HRH and have police protection.
It isn’t just the question of police protection, it amounts to a denial that Harry’s children are Charles’ legitimate grandchildren. It is as if by marrying a woman of black heritage Harry has ceased to be a son of the Prince of Wales and his children will not be recognised as grandchildren of a reigning monarch. If Harry had married a white woman then removing HRH status from his children could be justified as modernising the monarchy. However Archie and his sister have a black grandmother and it therefore amounts to treating mixed race children less favourably than white children. This is racial discrimination and it is illegal.
That’s something that I really think the palace needs to clear up. If the plan was, all along, to remove HRH from Harry’s children, they should have indicated that at the time they changed the letters patent for George et al. Of course it would have been a bad look – “we’re making these kids HRH but the other ones wont be” but Meghan wasnt in the picture then so while it would have been petty, it def could have worked as “streamlining the monarchy.” Now it screams racism.
Thank you. To be clear, so Beatrice and Eugenie had security until they turned adults? Now their security is paid for privately? Edward’s kids will lose their security once they turn into adults too?
And by privately, we all *know* it’s Old Brenda, because SHE is the only real source of Pedo’s income.
Yes, that’s the case. In the past it was meant to ensure that high profile royal children would be able to complete their education in privacy. There was also the assumption that most royals with HRH status would have an official role with public duties. In Archie’s case he will have a high public profile despite his parents having stood down from public duties. He will probably attract more attention than the Cambridge children.
If Charles is the person who expressed concern about skin colour then his proposed removal of future HRH status from Archie is inevitably linked and it would mean treating Archie less favourably than his white cousins. Charles might argue that his intention is just to streamline the monarchy but that doesn’t alter the fact of less favourable treatment for mixed race grandchildren.
Peter and Zara are grandchildren of the monarch but have never been HRH. So do they (or did they in youth) have security protection? Do their children have protection? This HRH = protection business is all new to me.
Where this all fits in the streamlined monarchy is what I’m trying to figure out. Charles only has two sons, so his plan required Harry. Did it all hinge on jealousy? You’re willing to throw away your popular son and his hard-working, highly competent wife because they glow too much? What you’re left with is the “Magnificent 7”. A lot less PR, for much higher maintenance fees….
I think denying Archie HRH and Prince title was something that William, Kate, Carole, and Charles, plus advisors came up with because all of them, but probably William and Kate first, suggested that THEIR children shouldn’t have to share the same title with a mixed race baby born of a divorced, American actress who would likely be gone soon anyways, raising said baby in Hollywood. Like it would “cheapen” the title for William’s white, fully British children being raised in the “real royal way” to have this “black sheep” child, who might be “dark/dirty looking,” who might wear dreadlocks or an Afro one day, who is so obviously inferior and “not quite right” carrying the same title of Prince. How would they be able to differentiate that George, Charlotte, and Louis are the special, important, deserving ones, and the epitome of royal “goodness” (the Cambridges are “surrounded by goodness”) if “just anyone” can be HRH Prince?
I think this originated with William, Kate, and probably Carole, and they brought their “concerns” to Charles who agreed with them about the “optics” of having a dark skinned, American baby with a divorced, former actress, likely run-away mother being held up as just as royal and deserving of respect/admiration and special as “the real” royal Princes and Princesses, and decided to act and deny Archie his titles now and in the future. And then just to be cruel, and hammer home how much less royal and less deserving he was, he denied security as well.
Part of me thinks they also denied security because they honestly do believe with all their hearts that anyone in the royal family is popular ONLY BECAUSE they give them a title and that HRH. So if Archie isn’t titled, people won’t care about him enough to think about him enough for him to be popular enough to need security. They’re constantly going on about how Harry and Meghan are only popular and talked about and thriving financially because they’re HRHs, Prince Harry and royal Duchess Meghan, titled members of the royal family. Like I bet they honestly regret titling Meghan because they think if she weren’t titled no one would have paid attention to her or cared about her or showed up to her events. This is probably how they think about Archie: if we don’t claim him as one of ours and give him a title then no one will even bother to think about him and he won’t even need security—he’ll be a nothing-burger when it comes to public interest.
Ooo! Yes! Get them legally on this. Oh, that would be so good.
Both Harry and Meghan only had glowing things to say about the queen. I think it’s quite clear this 95 year old biddy is not in control of anything, and simply does and says whatever her staff says without really comprehending anything. Charles is the one running the show.
She was in crisis meetings with Charles and William yesterday. This is the problem, ask Harry to quarantine then invite him to the meeting. Do not rush to make a statement. What does Harry want from all of this? It seems for his family to recognize how badly he and Meghan were treated in the tabloids and to make some statement about it. Why would that be hard to do now? Meet, talk it out and make a statement that covers the bases and is positive for everyone.
I think the only thing Harry wants right now is for Meghan to be left in peace, for the palace to call off their tabloid attack dogs and let her rest and enjoy the rest of her pregnancy. He’s in touch with the family members he wants to be in touch with, they have a zillion projects they’re working on, and they’re financially set enough to pay for security for the rest of their lives. If anything, he’d want those in the family to apologize (privately) for their part, to stop using press about Meghan to distract from their own bad behavior, and for them to put in the work to better their understanding of racism and misogynoir so they have a chance at real healing in the future.
I think what they want is for the palace (and KP and CH) to stop using them as fodder to keep the tabloids happy. The fact that employees of the palace actually worked with the Mail against Meghan re her lawsuit is so outrageous it defies belief. I’m amazed that they thought Harry and Meghan would never hit back.
I think he just wants them to stop leaking BS to the press that harms his wife because they don’t want stories about them in the press.
I honestly don’t think she’s leading at this point. She’s the figurehead but other people are running the show using her as a front. This is just about buying them some time.
Harry and Meghan were discreet about the Queen probably because her press, as others have said, is more eulogistic than anything at this point.
But there is one thing that tells me that the idea that she is not running things is not all true – Charles would be happy to have Andrew not subsidized, and yet, he still is. Because of her.
@Maria – You make an excellent point. The theory of QEII not being in charge makes total sense until Andrew is brought into the picture. The treatment of Andrew throws the “QEII is not calling the shots” theory out the window.
I disagree, I think that Charles recognizes that they can’t strip Andrew of his titles and protection and financial support because to do so would be an admittance of his wrongdoing, which then opens him up for criminal prosecution. Once you start prosecuting members of the royal family that’s a real dangerous slope that Charles definitely doesn’t want to go down due to all of their shady finances, meddling in legislation, and who knows what else.
I think it’s fair to ask whether the queen has even been made aware of the Epstein-Andrew connections and implications. If she’s really not running the show anymore (which I fully believe), then it’d be just as easy for them to arrange for Andrew to join her at church without telling her that it’s damage control. Obviously she would know he’s been absent from events, but they could’ve told her anything. The one thing we know for certain is that for them, the truth is inconsequential.
I never said anything about prosecuting him. Of course Charles doesn’t want that. But the money is where it’s at for him and he’s been wanting to strip Andrew and his family of that for years. And since the public funding has already been taken away, it would be very easy to strip him of income – Charles could even lie about it, as he himself lied that he was still supporting Harry and Meghan while having cut them off.
The Queen has made sure that has not happened.
She approved of that interview until the backlash to it occurred. She knows what’s going on. Don’t fall for the “little old lady doesn’t know what sex abuse is” smokescreen that some are trying to push.
Good point. To stop subsidizing him is to an extent an admission of guilt which opens things up for prosecution.
Maybe Andrew has the goods on Charles and blackmails for protection.
Charles is trash but I highly doubt he has more skeletons in his closet than Andrew. And that’s saying something.
But Andrew has already been basically outed and doesn’t have the top position coming his way so he has less to lose.
Why would Charles lose anything? He’s the Prince of Wales, he’s untouchable in any real sense, if not untouchable in terms of PR.
I don’t think Andrew has been outed. He retains almost all of his privileges beyond the few he was given the chance to renounce for PR. And if Charles doesn’t want the press protecting him they won’t, when he becomes king.
Money is what Andrew lives for, and going scorched earth won’t help that unless he wants to sell his story, but then the authorities are going to want that story too, lol, and if he’s gone scorched earth that Palace protection might be gone too.
I’ll repeat that Andrew’s skeletons are, I imagine, far worse than Charles’s. And I think that the question of whether he has the top position to lose is sort of moot considering that losing royal money is not the worst thing that could happen to him if he chose to challenge Charles. He could go to prison (whether he actually would or not is up for debate, but the risk of something like that is far worse than anything Charles would be facing).
Maybe the deal with Charles is, Queen gets to at least keep protecting Andrew, and Charles gets to run everything else.
Well the response to the interview so far is for Charles & Camilla to go to a predominantly black church in London to check out its vaccine programme lol. May be a coincidence but funny as hell.
They need to balance the monarchist/Brexit types with the firm’s international reputation especially when Liz had to hustle for Charles to succeed in head of CW role. I mean when you have likes of Stephen Miller, Ben Shapiro stanning you it’s not great when you are trying to deny institutional racism.
More attacks on Meghan could be seen as beyond the pale now she’s said how distressed she was during last pregnancy. Plus likes of Hillary Clinton & WH press Secretary said it was good for them to speak up. It’s interesting to see how they play it 🍿
Would have loved to see the expressions on the faces of the congregants and pastor during that trip! These people are unreal.
That’s the problem the RF face right now. The people speaking up for them are avowed racists. The people speaking up for Meghan and Harry are world leaders, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the women MPs of Parliament, global statespersons, major celebs, etc
Bingo Lanne. Even Bojo stayed neutral.
Is she even making decisions anymore? H&M made it seem like she was not. They also only had good things to say about her, so this sounds like Charles and/or William feeling the need to speak out.
Yep, but neither one of them are brave enough to put their name on anything. They love hiding behind the queens skirts like the cowards they are.
Harry was incredibly deferential to his grandmother through the entire interview. She is so old- I really got the impression that she’s a true figurehead at this point and it’s Charles calling the shots. She never wanted Charles to ascend because of his past, maybe this is the compromise- she doesn’t step down in public, but he runs the day to day issues. I like to think she is losing her s*#% at Charles and William for their Royal disaster and won’t sign off on any of their idiotic statements. I’m really interested to see who they thrust forth to be the scapegoat for the racist remarks.
I think in the last few years Charles realized how much better it is to be the invisible puppeteer behind the throne. More power with less accountability is right up his alley and happens to perfectly align with TQ’s resolve to never abdicate. Whether she wants Charles to ascend is besides the point, it’s how the monarchy works and above all, Elizabeth prizes the continuation of the monarchy.
I love the visual of her emphasizing a grumpy frown at Charles/William with a whoomping from her handbag or at least tossing the pen back in their faces after reading their proposed statement.
There may have been a statement but I don’t believe it was conciliatory. At this point, why should we believe anything that comes out of the palace?
Betty has done herself no favors staying in public control for so long. I am blessed to know a few still very with it and independent people in their 90s. They are amazing, fascinating and inspiring but their life view is more looking backwards than forwards because they know how little time they have left. They are also more susceptible to taking bad advice because their decision making is based on how things used to be over how things are now. And don’t get me started on how they are more prone to manipulation than they were in their prime.
I don’t believe that she is fully in control or even aware of all that is happening and I am positive that she doesn’t understand things like social media. These are no longer the days when everything was centered in the palace with one set of actors and her at the top. Instead, multiple courts are working in the background (i.e. Kensington and Clarence House) and I’m inclined to believe they are all trying to use her as a puppet. Particularly her SOB oldest son.
Is it just me or does “the right thing for prime ministers to say is nothing and nothing is the thing that I propose to say today” sound exactly like something Perd Hapley would say? (Seriously, try saying that in a Perd Hapley voice and it is spot on.)
@Kelly:
Perd Hapley!!!
🤣🤣🤣👏👏👏
OMG that is spot on. 😂
😆..I don’t know who perd hapley is, but boris johnson….🤣🤣🤣🤣.
I think Queen Elizabeth knew way more about this interview than she is letting on. She will not fix the mess that her idiot son Charles and his idiot son William created. She will punish them by doing what she’s always done – nothing!
I agree. Its quite clear to me that the Queen and Sussexes are communicating in ways that aren’t known to the courtiers, tabloids and probably Charles/William, because none of them knew the Queen had a zoom call with them, asked for what to get Archie and got a waffle maker for the boy.
None of them have ever shown any restraint in leaking news about the Sussexes to the media, so the fact it never leaked means they didnt know. The Queen kept it to herself. So what else does she not make known to them? The interview, the actual details, their deals, pregnancy etc?
Basically when you read the Queen was blindsided in the papers, it means no one told William or Charles shit.
Exactly. Meghan did say (in portion of interview in chicken pen) that when they heard Phillip was in the hospital she direct called the Queen to find out how he was. So, at least for personal family matters, both Meghan and Harry can directly call the Queen.
What I do not understand is why people keep mentioning Meghan only, when Harry said a lot of stuff as well. It feeds into the narrative that the outsider is the only one bringing the receipts, while Harry, the insider, is doing it as well if not more.
Yeah, if you read Lainey’s post, she thinks Harry’s hour of interview was much more damaging then Meghan’s because he was speaking as someone who truly was a born in part of the inner circle of that family.
Lainey’s post is amazing
That post was really good.
They are going to ignore all of it. What can they say? Yeah, we’re racist and sexist institution?
They don’t care what happens to Meghan since they initiated most if not all of it. The firm can’t come out against the media since they enlisted the media to destroy Meghan. They only concern will be how to respond to Harry. the PR will be how the firm is trying to repair they rift with Harry and Harry only.
If the palace was smart it would be asking several people to submit their resignations. They clearly have major problems behind the scenes. Jason Knauf has been toxic since day 1. When Simon Case arrived on scene it escalated. One is gone but is bringing his toxic behavior to #10. The other needs to go. As does Edward Young. When Charles and Andrew put in motion for him to be the Queen’s PS things went off the rails. William’s new PS seems to be cut from the same cloth. When you work in a vacuum there is little opportunity for growth. As much as Charles portends to back different cultures/religions, his staff does not reflect this. None of their staffs do. The only high profile POC was the Queens equerry which all the papers are at pains to point out. The problem is that this was a temp assignment and he has now been replaced. If the token POC is only ever in a temp position, what does that say about the Firm.
Americans need to consider that the British people do not see racism through the same lens as an American. They actually believe they are not a racist culture while being completely racist in the process. America isn’t perfect but at least there is a significant amount of us that can admit it exist. A good way to look at this is think of the British People attitude of racism the way Fox News sees racism. Hopefully that’s helpful
Man, H&M took a lighted bomb and tossed it at the Royal Family and said catch….let’s see what you can do with it😂😂
BINGO Edna! Not Harry’s job to tell the world who was talking dumb stuff… GOD decides what a person shall look like.
The most epic game of Hot Potato ever….!!!
See This is the Big problem with the BRF. Who said this? No one knows so we do not know if its true or not. Stop the anonymous sources in the media…
BRF needs an official Spokesperson not thousands of unknown sources. But maybe they like it that way then no one knows their stance..
I guess it may not be allowed to post outside links (at least I don’t see my comment anywhere), but there is a great article over on HuffPost detailing Piers’ takedown (on his OWN show, no less) by a co-presenter by the name of Alex Beresford. Piers got READ so badly, he walked off set. I can’t stop laughing and I’ve never heard of Beresford before today, but I think I love him.
there’s a post elsewhere on CB about that!
BRF sre like the GOP. After losing the presidency and the Senate they are doubling on rasicm.
If the queen is half as smart as people think she is, she will wait a few days and say something like, ‘the royal family is like every other family. While perfection is something we all strive for, as with all families, when a new members joins, there are growing pains,. Obviously, many of the pains expressed by Meghan and Harry disappoint and sadden me, but it does not mean that they are not much loved and dispite the hurt and pain, i do feel we can come together, sought out over differences and come out from the other sides clearer, more focused and ready to do the work if need be. Life is a constant mode of growth and this is no is difference. At some point, when we are all calmer H & M and the family will meet and talk. I believe there is nothing so great that love and understanding cannot heal.” THAT should be her comment. It admits nothing and it promises nothing. But she wont. She will take the advice of the racist grey men and trash them. Sad.
i love your response!!!
I wish Meghan and Harry had addressed the phrase “what Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
I think they are trying to get her to sign the letter but she has not yet seen the interview. Poor lady, they are trying to control her every move too.
The easiest thing for the royals is to exile Meghan and Harry. From now on they will not be welcome at Commonwealth, visits to Balmoral etc. It’s the only card the Windsors haven’t drawn yet. It will be the wreath ceremony, gone nuclear.
Do you honestly think Harry and Meghan give two shits about that? If they did they would have stuck around and let themselves continue to be abused. They are not going to be like Fergie, hanging around the royal gate hoping for crumbs to drop.
You mean Meghan and Harry won’t be welcome at the Commonwealth Ceremony in the UK, I assume. Because if you think these feckless inbreds have any say on who Canada, India, New Zealand, etc., allow to visit, you’re out of your mind.
And imagine how it would look if the couple paid a widely-reported visit to Ireland or France to great acclaim, all while the UK looked limply on?
Has anyone EVER seen Charles at a Black Church…I mean E V E R?
The optics are terrible. Please, stick up for me! I’m not a racist. I wouldn’t mind have a dar-colored grandson. You know that!
It’s statement time! It’s just been released by Buckingham Palace and it’s weak as f*ck.
We are gonna look at our racism problem privately. Translation we will play hide and seek with our racism issues. Mostly we will hide them
Their statement is really awful but I think it’s also clear they don’t want to find out if MM will drop the proof either. The “recollections vary” part is probably about things Harry said. MM was clear she had receipts.
Those people are just awful.
Breaking news from CBC in Canada:
Queen Elizabeth and her family said on Tuesday that they were saddened to learn of the experiences of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, saying they would address issues around race that were raised by the couple in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.
“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Notice nothing was said about the godawful way she was treated by various family members/senior courtiers who wouldn’t even allow her to have lunch with friends or get some treatment for her suicidal thoughts…
Did anyone really expect that family to own anything? They are literally protecting a pedophile. What I would say to Meghan/Harry move forward and on to better things. They now have credibility outside of the U.K. that the RF know longer has. Who could believe William about mental health? What POC will look at Charles/William without some level of suspicion. The damage done is huge. TQ realized that if she said anything more she surely would be only adding additional nails to the coffin of the RF. There is know doubt that the RF will continue as an institution in Great Britain. Outside the boundaries of that Island they have lost respect.
The statement released is a whole load of nothing let’s be real. The “recollections may vary” was put in to stoke their monarchist base but it’s not a strong denial like “members of the family do not recall such conversations ever taking place”.
But they were better off saying nothing.
That statement is absolutely diabolical. “Saddened to learn” is a whole new level of gaslighting. They were the ones who were perpetuating this racist abuse towards Meghan and they can’t even pluck up an ounce of sympathy. Get rid of this horrid institution #AbolishTheMonarchy.
Their statement is weak and pathetic, but at the same time its better than I had expected? I thought it would be a lot angrier than that.
The “recollections may vary” part is obviously a nice way of saying “that’s not what happened” but I think they know they cant deny anything in the interview, there are receipts.
The part about dealing with it privately – basically saying to the press, back off, we’re not discussing this anymore with you. I sort of expected that.
Agreed. I was expecting a lot more aggression but maybe that’ll come out “unofficially” through the rota and palace sources
One good thing that could follow from this statement would be if someone would at least temporarily signal the loose lips at the various palaces to shut up for a while. After the ridiculous barrage of articles the previous weeks, it would be a smart move to stay quiet and not provide more evidence of what Meghan has talked about. Won’t keep my fingers crossed, but we can hope.
They’ll embarrass Meghan and publicly announce an HR investigation but of course any of the allegations she brought up need to be dealt with privately.
It’s amateur hour over there but like I said the BRF will try to kill this story ASAP. I’m thinking they will begin a shadow campaign of rumors of crazy behavior at Kensington and Frogmore.
I think that investigation results will remain ‘private’ becuase it’s bound to turn up load on andrew.
Yeah, the same HR as one of the parties that couldn’t help her in her time of need and crisis. Because their findings will carry soooo much weight and authority, I’m sure! There should be an external firm conducting any investigation, but of course that’ll never happen because, oops, you know, Andrew….
“While some recollections may vary” – classic gaslighting tactic 101 right there.
Allegations of racism = private matter but hey allegations of bullying against the same person = now lets drag that out in public. Why am I not surprised this came from Buck Palace via Charles
That part – urgh. So ugly and I’m glad M&H kept mentioning items in writing. They’ll really try and hide the things said in person, but the written things will give a clear, full picture, even if the RF attempt to say: “I don’t remember it that way,” or “one does not recall,” or “the gold piano was playing so loudly, how can one recall what was said exactly?”
“Much loved family members” who we will cut off from security and leave at risk! Whatever Betty. Lets see what the Rota clowns are sent out to say in the coming weeks. That will tell you how they really feel.
When Charles showed up to a Black Church (how many times have we seen that trick) I pretty much knew what was next….Black Church was a PROP
Under the circumstances, that response is really the only thing they can say quickly that won’t make things worse for them. How they handle it going forward will likely determine whether the monarchy continues or falls.
Now, the palace wants to do everything privately; while publicly humiliating Harry/Meghan; & publicly airing lies & mistruths against Harry/Meghan through the media.
“However, Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park claimed that Harry was “blowing up his family” with the Winfrey interview. The minister for Pacific and the environment tweeted: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Jesus! The royal family are exposed as unfeeling, performative assholes in regards to mental health and racism. They are in cahoots with the press to smear, gaslight, and destroy a young family (their own blood), in exchange for positive press because of their own misdeeds and unhinged jealousy of the couple. But Harry is the one blowing up the family?
Is this guy seriously saying that Meghan wanted to be isolated and smeared in the press for four years? That she enjoyed the smears and racism aimed at her and enjoyed feeling suicidal? These courtiers and aides and the royals refused her when she asked for help! He may as well come right out and say she was asking for all of it. And after all the shit they threw at this young family, they are blaming Meghan by using the “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets,” line because her husband outed the lot of them.
Lord asshat needs to STFU and STFD.
The guy who you’re talking about is Zac Goldsmith. He’s an through and through aristo. So his views aren’t surprising.
Remember that she is not “good enough” to be there and should have been “more grateful for the privilege.” That’s what they are saying without saying it. Lord Goldsmith just showed his raggedy old racist ass to the world, that’s all. He’s speaking for the Nazi loving aristo class and telling the world who he, and they, are.
As Sofia said, that is Zac Goldsmith, who is brother of Jemima Khan, Princess Diana’s friend. His family had known Diana for a long time. But guess what, his aristo ass is now showing with that comment.
Zac goldsmith may even be harrys biological uncle, wasn’t there rumours of Diana’s real father being James goldsmith? She does look a lot like them, and Diana’s mother did have an affair with him. Anyway zac is a disgusting Tory prick.
Lame and gaslighting statement. I’m starting to think they don’t have souls yikes. Anyways Meghan and Harry single-handledly got the monarchy, Piers Morgan and the Daily Mail to behave…. Their impact 🙂
Looked at like that it was a damn fine day!
I wonder if this is the same statement that she wouldn’t sign yesterday.
I will know if she is sincere if she invites Harry’s family to quarentine then come to UK and join with the family in the ‘private investigation’. They need to talk with Harry and Meghan and not about them.
Also, is it a coincidence that piers morgan was investigated and allowed to quit on the same day? Could the rf be trying to call off the dogs?
Does Queenie usually sign her statements? Because I saw the statement and there was no signature or anything. This “recollections may vary” really makes me angry. That’s Charles and William insisting that Harry is exaggerating and the conversations didn’t happen that way. I wonder if the first statement that Queenie wouldn’t sign was a total denial of what Meghan and Harry claimed and this language is a compromise?
Meanwhile, there’s now a photo floating around of Will driving a car, looking teary-eyed. Man, you cannot make this stuff up.
So is he going to say Meghan made him cry?
I believe sign in this case means to literally sign the final copy for approval and release.
The gold standard advisors must have been on their annual leave these last two weeks because we all know the corgis put this weak statement out.
They basically admitted guilt. Idiots. An apology would have been better than this bs.
Meghan said keep my name out your mouth or I’ll reveal the “damaging” identity. They got owned!
This…👆👆
I firmly believe that this interview was Harry and Meghan’s shot across bow.
You wanted us gone ..we left
You don’t support us.
You have taken our royal patronages.
Leave us in peace and let us live our lives.
If you continue feeding the press information..like the birth certificate fiasco you know that we can say a lot more and we won’t hold back in the second interview.
Harry, Meghan, Archie and Montecito baby Sussex I wish you all joy and happiness and peace. They will not completely go away but I expect that the temperature in the room is going to be much lower going forward.
And by not knowing the identity of the racist-in-chief, the world will always speculate between Charles and William.
They are done. They’ll be revered in the UK and nowhere else.
As a south african, I’m calling for Charles to resign as head of commonwealth.
I feel like their PR game is so terrible someone will say, ‘Oh, was poor dear Meghan trying to tell us she was suicidal? We thought she was saying she wanted to go to a tide pool. Bless her, we could never really understand her accent.’
I think there will be a big backlash if W&K do anymore zooms to ‘check in ‘ on anyones mental health and self care.
Their last Zoom was with someone who had dealt with being suicidal. What is wrong with them?
They are meeting privately to choose who will be the sacrificial lamb for this mess. The colorism had to come from either Charles or William.
Well this will be unpopular but I wish the queen would take this opportunity to agree that the tabloids have been atrocious to Meghan and bring them in part time with roles that will encompass racial diversity and mental health – in some capacity. And restore Harry’s security. This seems to be what Harry and Meghan want.
If the Queen truly gave a damn, she would order some housecleaning among the courtiers in the Firm who were part of this and call the guilty members of the family onto the carpet for their role in it. But she won’t do zip beyond some passive aggressive slap at her grandson’s family.
Max Foster was on Jake Tapper’s show and said all the side briefings from the Palace on Meghan have suddenly stopped. I think they’re calling off the attack dogs, for now at least.
I expect Jason Knauf to be one scapegoat for this mess.
Interesting. Just said above it would be smart if they reined it in for a while. Harry and Meghan (and Oprah) really got to them. Let’s see how long it lasts.
They have nothing else to offer, certainly not Andrew. The royal most likely to be pushed under the bus would be Kate. Even then, Harry and Meghan are saving Kate here because it is clear from their interview they did not leave because of Kate. At best, Kate might relent to keep her position or ask for more money or a fourth kid.
So I reckon they will have staff resign but in exchange for something else, behind the scenes.
There will be *no* further press briefings on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and no further leaks. They just made everyone very afraid. William’s PR genius is no longer needed or wanted.
Does this mean he is confirming there have been side briefings about Meghan from the palace all along?
Lizzie yes. And I suspect Jason will be blamed but they will make it up to him behind the scenes.
I wish cnn had been reporting that all along.
@Lizzie. That’s the impression I’m getting. Confirmation of this fact is more upsetting than I expected. What vile people.
I’ve been thinking that the palaces want to come out swinging tomorrow, but literally where could they even start? they were charging full tilt on preemptive offense so blindly that they turned right around and scored multiple own goals. any denials or attempts to turn the story around back on M&H will be coming under the scrutiny of the whole world now. this Washington Post article is a great, pointed reminder that the British empire was built on the backs of enslaved and oppressed people. it’s racism all the way down.
There will be no swinging. This story will be buried.
Notice how it’s been radio silent from William? Somebody’s in trouble…
There will be no further leaks out of *ANY* of the palaces. The faucet has been fixed unless we truly want to know who had that racist convo with Harry. Warning shot seen and acknowledged.
Has anyone seen TQ’s Commonwealth Day speech? It was likely recorded earlier, but the tons of images of happy POC across the CW was…hypocritical at best. POC make up a huge portion of the CW, but the RF people clearly don’t give a crap about them – no need to look farther than how they treated someone in their own family. Unbelievable.
I’m from a Commonwealth country. No.
I’m Gen Y but I doubt even a Boomer from my country watched it or is aware of Commonwealth Day. We are more aware of Commonwealth Games because it involves sports.
I’m from a Commonwealth country too (Australia), and I did not watch it. No way would I have watched it as it is not on my radar. I haven’t taken any interest in Commonwealth Day since the date was moved from the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June some decades ago. If something’s not a public holiday here or come with some treat like a big sporting event or being able to let off fireworks, Aussies aren’t much interested. Originally it was Empire Day, on the 24th May and we had a half day off school and fireworks that night, but the name was changed to Commonwealth Day in about 1959 but we still called it Empire Day. Then the date it was celebrated was moved to the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, but we could still have fireworks. The fireworks were the most important part of the celebration for children. Then sometime in the late 60s or 70s the date was moved to March and we could no longer let off fireworks at home on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, either, but it was still a long weekend. Once Commonwealth Day was detached from the long weekend and fireworks there was nothing left to hold our attention. Most Aussies’ only interest in the Commonwealth is the Commonwealth Games.
Yeah, I just happened to remember the shittiness of the “But the Queen is speaking on Commonwealth Day and can not be eclipsed!” nonsense, and watched it out of curiousity. It was ridiculous. They really used to call it Empire Day? Egad.
Also Commonwealth. Nope.
So basically the RF admitted someone asked Harry about Archie’s skin tone it’s just that Harry recalls the discussion differently….ok sure Jan
What in the ever loving eff is the point of the institution of a monarch if it can’t actually exercise power over…tabloids?? TABLOIDS?? Here’s a thought: cut them off. Cut them off decisively, and start suing. They’ll all go out of business. Meghan’s just shown that’s entirely possible. So what is wrong with these cowardly wealthy people with ALL the resources and certainly ALL the influence behind-the-scenes?
As always, the photos you choose to accompany one your articles is spot on. I don’t even need to give my personal opinion, the photos Liz chose to show during her Christmas Day 2020 speech tell the rest of the story.
ETA: Camilla must be over the moon. She is now tied with Anne and Edward, for being the least noteworthy. I feel like i should toast her, she really, REALLY earned it.
William doesn’t want to be compared to Harry
Kate doesn’t want to be compared to Meghan
William doesn’t want George to be compared to Archie
…..and now a daughter. Seriously they will do everything in their power to keep the Sussexs as far away from the RF as possible.