With all of the nitpicking happening around the Cultural Reset Oprah interview, I wondered if the British papers would ever get around to trying to “fact check” two specific claims, one made by the Duchess of Sussex and one made by Prince Harry. The claim that Meghan made which I don’t even think Oprah believed was when Meghan spoke about how little she knew about the Windsors before the engagement, and she hadn’t even Googled Harry or read a book about the family or anything like that. If that was true… then it goes against the whole “Meghan the organized planner” vibe that is part of her celebrity brand. That also goes hand-in-hand with Harry’s claim that they “didn’t have a plan” when they exited the Windsor clan, and that their Netflix and Spotify deals were “never part of the plan…That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford… afford security for us.”
At no point do I begrudge Harry and Meghan their stellar breakaway year and all of the money and deals they’re making. But I do believe that they’re BOTH planners and they clearly understood that they could find clever ways to monetize their celebrity-royal brand. I understand that neither of them wants to look “scheming” or like their ultimate goal was making gobs of money. But… yeah, Harry specifically was massaging the truth. The Telegraph had a huge story about how Harry and Meghan were in talks in early 2019 for a development deal with Quibi, that struggling little short-video-content platform which failed miserably last year.
Any lingering hopes that Buckingham Palace really did intend to deal “privately” with the ongoing fallout from Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview have been shot to pieces, yet again, by an intensively briefed piece in The Telegraph slamming Meghan and Harry for having held talks with potential commercial partners, including a now-defunct streaming platform, well before their departure from the royal family.
The piece also alleges Meghan and Harry told palace functionaries “you can’t stop us from doing what we want,” when challenged about their commercial plans. “There was a constant dialogue from the couple along the lines of: ‘Why can’t we do this? You can’t stop us from doing what we want to do’,” a source told The Telegraph.
The Telegraph suggests this is hypocritical because they told Oprah that they had “no plans” to strike a deal with Netflix or Spotify before they left Britain and only did so out of financial necessity. Harry said he was “literally cut off financially.”
However, the Telegraph says the pair were in talks with Quibi, a now-defunct video streaming service, from early 2019 until after they quit as working royals last January. The Telegraph claimed Prince Harry returned from the so-called “Sandringham summit” to meet executives from the American company in London. The couple were negotiating to provide content in the shape of ten-minute videos on the platform but the app failed after the coronavirus pandemic struck. On reports the Duke was in talks with Quibi, a source told the Telegraph: ‘There were well-developed proposals in place with Quibi from early 2019.’
The newspaper also reported Meghan Markle continued to consult her US-based advisors, including her lawyer Rick Genow, business manager Andrew Meyer, talent agent Nick Collins and PR Keleigh Thomas Morgan, while she was a working royal. This frustrated aides in Britain found it difficult to keep track of commercial deals the couple were planning, it is claimed. In relation to these plans, royal source said: “A lot of it was orchestrated by Meghan’s people in America. It was a bit of a secret squirrel.”
[From The Daily Beast & The Daily Mirror]
Throughout Meghan’s entire time on Bitter Island, the palace aides were SO MAD that Meghan retained good relationships with her old managers, agents and business contacts. They were trying to isolate her and cut her off from her old life so they could “own” her and abuse her. I believe Meghan saw, very early on, how lazy and incompetent the palace system was and she kept her options open. Thank God she did. As for the Quibi drama… I mean, I actually see the point the palace is trying to make, which is that Harry and Meghan were already thinking about making these kinds of Quibi/Netflix/whatever deals as early as 2019. My point is: AND? They said that at the very start of the Sussexit, it was built into their Sussexit announcement, the fact that they wanted to be free to pursue commercial deals. Which is what made Harry’s little lie to Oprah notable, sure. But isn’t the larger story that… Harry and Meghan did NOT in fact make those deals while they were inside the royal system and their unhappiness with being blocked from making money was one part of why they left? This isn’t the “gotcha” that the Palace thinks it is. Also: I’m so glad they didn’t go with Quibi, that thing was a disaster.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
This to me just confirms the theory some folks had that Charles was actually never supporting them financially, save for security. They were probably having to spend their own money on clothes and things and wanted the revenue stream.
Plus, I think they knew the writing was on the wall. They were quietly preparing to leave. For good reason.
That’s if these “talks” really happened, which…
There are a lot of things suggesting that Meghan’s wardrobe was privately funded by Harry and Meghan with designers wanting to loan Meghan stuff and the RF throwing a hissy fit about freebies. They make me sick.
When Harry said they didn’t have a plan I took it as they weren’t ready to do anything. I think they weren’t planning to do anything in the one year review. And just taking the time that year to focus on their family. Charles cutting them off so soon put a stop into that.
Yeah, that’s how I took it. I thought he meant “planning” in the generic sense. Like, “I’m planning on making chicken for dinner tonight.” In that sentence, one is thinking about doing something without having taken concrete steps.
I thought Harry was saying that they had not yet taken concrete steps to have a high level income in place because they thought Charles was still going to pay for their security.
Well, their dream plan was a ‘half-in, half-out’ deal that would allow them to make their own money in order to become financially free of any Royal Family money so it doesn’t surprise me that they had scouted out financial possibilities. Because whoever they negotiated with would want to know how they intended to finance themselves.
Meg and Harry: discussed planning something in early 2019 which never planned out.
British Media: You lied when you said you had no plans in early 2020!
These reporters are gonna need back surgery from all the reaching.
I thought ET Canada reported Katzenberg asked to meet with Harry and Meghan and they did out of courtesy, not interest. And that this was all first reported on like over 6 months ago (in Vanity Fair?) and is a rehash of events by UK media to stir things up.
I can buy she didn’t know much about Harry and possibly didn’t google him cause Harry jas said many times for years that most of the stories about him in the press are lies / fallacies.
Yup. ET Canada reported that it was Quibi who asked to meet with them. Whatever it is that Quibi proposed, they clearly didn’t accept. Which makes sense because they were still “working” royals and also wtf is a Quibi? The only deals that they have is the one they made post-Sussexit. BP/CH/KP is going to have to work harder if that is the best that they have to sling.
I’m.just amazed at how much the BRF and thier minions the BM are fixation on all the fluff in the Oprah interview and purposely refuse to address the most important issues raised in same interview: mainly that the BRF and thier entire firm and the BM are racists who clouded in subjecting Meghan and her son to racism and also that the BRF and the firm actively pushed Meghan to commit suicide in attempts to get rid of her and her unborn child thus subsequently ridding the BRF of the stain they perceived her “colored” child would leave on the monarchy. Just amazing that even POC invited on TV give no pushback whatsoever but just continue to discuss “Meghan said they had private viws prior to wedding ” or “Meghan didn’t Google Harry” or “Harry said he wasn’t prepared” etc. Its really frustrating for me , that people are letting these folks get away with it. By engaging them in these discussions, its giving oxygen to these fluffy issues staying in circulation for muchonger than they should. So then, the issues of racism in the BRF and the BM and stigmatizing people with mental health are not given any discussion and they will slow fade away because the choice is made not to address them at all. Im so disappointed.
Someone made a good point about the Google thing, on a podcast that generally doesn’t cover them. Why Google him if you already knew his cousin, Eugenie and had mutual friends, which Meghan did? These people were telling her directly about him. What exactly was she supposed to be Googling? The history of the monarchy, just to go on one date that might not lead to anything? We already know that headlines can distort things, for example if you Googled Meghan to find out about her, we know what came up wouldn’t be very favorable. As for the Quibi thing, it’s seems this was already reported on, and they rejected it. Anyone could see from a mile away that was a nonstarter. We already knew Meghan still kept in touch with her people in the US and her business manager, this was also widely reported on. I think there were talks to make the Sussexes part time or self funded for a while hence the exile to Africa stories. What seems to have come to a head is when they were completely out, no one in royal circles expected them to go so large scale with their independence and the deals they made, and no one expected the interview.
That’s a good point, L4frimaire. If she knew people who knew him (and she obviously did), she’d trust what she heard from them about him being a good guy over what she’d find by Googling him.
Go back and listen to the Oprah interview. It was suggested to Harry that Meghan keep working to help pay for their costs. Interview was nearly 2 hours a lot of content, not just the baby color and exchange of vows 3 days before wedding.
This. The suggestion that they had never been approached while still fully in makes no sense given the amount of commercials the Tindalls are in and the sheer existence of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Of course people approached them. And it looks like they said no. Also if the palace suggested Meghan keep working – this sounds like that. Next.
i am very shocked that little detail wasnt discussed more. Why would they not have any money for Meghan,she would be part of the streamlined royal family. How can they suggest someone part of the royal family to keep acting. Maybe they truly disnt see her sticking around and said anything to run her off.
If you keep repeating lies it becomes truth. I downloaded the interview because of all the misinformation. It was suggested to Harry that Meghan resume acting.
The Fail had a story last year that they had been given the option for her to keep her acting career& for them to live without titles that sounded like BS. Especially as they always said Harry was part of Charles’ vision for the slimmed down monarchy. But Harry saying that some suggested she keep acting as there wasn’t the budget for her suggests that was true.
The best acting opportunities would have been in US for her & being part of the RF probably meant she couldn’t do certain parts. So that suggestion was probably a way to get her frustrated but also put distance between them to put strain on the marriage. some in the firm really didn’t want Meghan from day 1..
Wasn’t it claimed last year that Charles had helped with expenses for Frogmore & treated as an example of the Sussexes being ungrateful. I wonder if that is true now. the press also claimed that Charles was helping them financially when they stepped down & even with their mortgage. From Oprah this isn’t true & you can see why they kept pushing back on the point that Charles had helped with funds for buying their house& making clear that they had been independent since March 2020 etc.
Also you have to wonder what was the point of the one year review given it was pitched at giving them time to transition, see if they could secure financial independence & sort out security etc. However Oprah now suggests security was yanked straight away & they weren’t given the financial support from the firm unlike what was reported.
Absolutely this. Meghan and Harry did what the Palace told them to do: they kept their options open for paid work since it looked like no one would protect their son. Only when it became clear that they would never be allowed to do WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO DO did Sussexit become a necessity, not just a possibility.
LOL, I mean we all know how long the interview was and we have discussed it at great length on this site for the past month.
I do think its unfortunate that the part about the palace wanting Meghan to keep working has gotten lost in the overall coverage of the interview, but I think the reason for that is very clear – the press does not want that to get coverage because they dont want people asking too many questions about it. They prefer the narrative that Meghan lied about when she got married. But we have discussed that on here.
but I also dont think that Quiby or Quibi or whatever lol was about Harry and Meghan trying to make their own money, it was clearly tied to one of their charity initiatives.
I’ve read that Quibi reached out to them to discus Travalyst, and had it gone ahead, it would have been no different from other royal + media collabs. It was written up a couple of times, last time in September 2020
Did Kaiser or other CB-ers read Camilla Tominey’s “my truth versus Meghan and Harry”? I didn’t but saw screen grabs. The insanity of this woman elevating herself as a specific Sussex nemesis. Anyway I think she “broke” this original story, with that same gotcha angle. I think she wants to be the next Piers. She’s taking Meghan debunking the tears over flower girls dresses story very personally. Take it up with KP, you nut.
On Meghan not googling – I’m 50:50, I can see her choosing not to be super-prepared and googled in her love life, leaving that space to unfold naturally, especially given how skewed media narrative about royals can be (Harry in particular!).
I do agree that I don’t think Meghan intensely googled Harry specifically. I think she had to have known some of the tabloid stories about him, but I don’t think she was searching his favorite foods, colors and sports teams type of deal. That way, the relationship happens “like in the movies,” but naturally. I think that was planned on Meghan’s end, for sure, but not in the way the tabloids are making it out to be.
For me, they had a plan. They are planners. They also have immense opportunity and plenty of capital to cash in when needed. So while our plans may take YEARS to realize, their plans take months with longer-term plans in the works.
Yeah, I mean, would she want to be googled before a date? She’s an actress, she knows the press is full of shit. They were set up by friends, so obviously she had people around her with insider knowledge. Why trust lies on the internet when you can just ask your friend?
Exactly. Also, it was a blind date, so she didn’t even know to google him before. And after, their intense first conversation probably revealed Harry’s frustration with media coverage of him and his family, so I can see a thoughtful person like Meghan saying “you know, I’ll go with what I learn from him and our mutual friends.” Maybe we’re projecting our royal family interest onto Meghan, and that’s why it’s so unbelievable at times that she didn’t google.
What in the world is she going to learn about this family that her friends and Harry cannot tell her? The only things I know about this family are from what people comment here and on Twitter. Half of these won’t come up easily in a google search, especially if you don’t know what the hell you’re supposed to search for. Maybe she should have done her own security clearance on this family. Hired some of those ex-MI5 people. Now I don’t believe that Meghan is super naive (I hope for her sake she isn’t) but I don’t think she is a super schemer. She is just a person who fell in love with a prince. A nice California girl who loved to travel and drink wine. People project too much onto her.
Way too much. Heck, I probably project a lot of positive things onto her based on who she is in my head. But, I’m curious about the choice to project so much negativity onto her. When I don’t like a celeb I ignore them and keep it moving. For example, I only get William and Kate news in the context of Meghan and Harry, I don’t follow them on their own anymore. I guess it’s what someone else says – Meghan and Harry have fans, William and Kate have Meghan-haters.
Still doesn’t derail what Harry and Meghan’s story in the interview. Thank you, next.
I think I believe still that they had no proper plan in place. Palace aides were suggesting that Meghan got back into acting and the whole smear campaign was going strong, Meghan wasn’t doing well and they had a newborn, I can see Harry and Meg being too stressed out to think about a plan besides getting out. It was probably while they took that time off in 2019 that they managed to sort of put something into writing about how to move forward, but still so many things against them were happening and Chuck wasn’t taking calls anymore and that’s why they moved forward so fast with the Sussexit announcement. I believe Harry saying that there wasn’t any well-thought-out plan, maybe there was an idea, but they couldn’t carry it out until things settled down. The Quibi thing was orchestrated by Quibi, they approached the Sussexes. Even the rags had to admit that. Behind the paywall naturally with the headline suggesting otherwise.
If they were looking at stepping back in Royal duties, why wouldn’t they look at or consider options from companies that approach them? It isn’t a crime and it means nothing except this company was courting the Sussex’s.
I can imagine that someone looking at the Quibi financial plans told the Sussexes that that venture wasn’t worth it. Quibi was one big question mark when it came out, they were spending too much on hiring famous people and not enough on a sound, sustainable expansion plan.
Didn’t the Mail or Page Six have some stories about how Harry and Meghan were going around “pitching” ideas to executives in the industry? This was before they announced the Netflix deal. So if the Quibi plan was in place, there was no need to “pitch”. Whatever they talked about with Quibi didn’t work out so they had to find something else. And there were rumors about Quibi being questionable long before it folded. I’m guessing Meg’s advisors probably warned them away from it.
“The piece also alleges Meghan and Harry told palace functionaries ‘you can’t stop us from doing what we want,’ when challenged about their commercial plans. ‘There was a constant dialogue from the couple along the lines of: ‘Why can’t we do this? You can’t stop us from doing what we want to do’,’ a source told The Telegraph.
And this is the crux of all the saltiness. The palace functionaries and royal reporters are mad they couldn’t stop Meg and Harry from doing what they wanted.
And H&M asking “Why can’t we do this?” Was probably followed by “other royals are doing similar.”
And again: why are “functionaries” telling a blood prince what he can and can’t do? He and Meg were their bosses.
It’s no wonder the whole place is in shambles if the employees are bullying the bosses. These idiots keep saying Meg didn’t know her place, when it sounds like they didn’t.
Even Fergie said that, about how she was constantly being told “No you can’t”. So yeah, that would drive anyone with any ambition over the wall. Plus wasn’t there a story last week or earlier about how Harry was frustrated that many of his projects couldn’t get funded because of something William had going on? Small wonder they started looking for other ways to get stuff done. The Sussexes wanted to live in the modern age and the royals didn’t. I can see advantages to both views, the royals are worried about being tied to controversy though they dropped the ball with Epstein. But I guess that hey figured Harry would invite more scrutiny.
This is a one year old story. It is not breaking news as the telegraph is projecting. The company asked for the meeting and the couple obliged, then ultimately declined to paticipate. No one refuses a meeting with a potential Silicon Valley giant. But a discussion does not equal PLANS. My friend is about to start discussions for an opening as C exec at another company here in the valley. He has no plans to leave current also C exec role but you always hear them out. It’s just prudent.
So not sure I agree with this take.
The discussions with Quibi had to do with Travalyst in the same vein that William was allegedly trying to get a deal with Netflix for his environmental work. He ended up on ITV instead. However I think the larger issue in this entire saga is that Harry and Meghan was most likely not getting that much funding from Charles to begin with. Meghan was told that she continue working as an actress because there was no money for her and it was reported that Harry had difficulty getting money from Charles to fund his projects. I think Harry was always aware that he would struggle for money in the royal family and always wanted to financially independent.
If these talks were in relation to Travalyst, then it makes a lot more sense. So the article was incomplete and didn’t give the full context. Everyone wanted a piece of Harry and Meghan while they were senior royals and wanted to partner with them, hence all the jealousy. I think Quibi’s platform were short programs, under 15 minutes, so that might have worked with travel segments but the programming and rollout of that platform seemed poorly executed. I actually was surprised in the interview how they were not completely prepared for all the changes that happened, and sometimes, they do things that aren’t completely well thought out or spur of the moment. They can be both strategic and have to pivot or at the last minute. I still think they are not completely aware of how big an impact and reaction even the smallest things they say or reveal have, and how much everything they do is picked over from all angles. Remember all the speculation when they first left how they were going to be endorsing dodgy commercial products and cheapening their brand, or being Kardashians. That wasn’t just snark, I think that was a way of the palace saying, but not saying they had no funds and would have to scramble, hence the hostility from the UK from them making such huge prestigious deals and partnering with heavy hitters.
I think it’s impossible for them to curate what they say & anticipate all angles though because the press& haters they are dealing with are so unhinged. I mean they got in trouble for birthday wishes to the Cambridge kids on SM FGS. Then you have a tabloid saying if Meghan goes to trooping it’s to overshadow the Queen. If she misses it, it’s a snub. It’s too crazy
The most important thing about that mountain out of a molehill report is the supposed timing. Early 2019 was when Meghan was pregnant and suffering from isolation, harrassment, suicidal ideation and depression (all while still editing a Vogue issue and designing a Smartworks capsule collection, both of which were released soon after her leave ended-amazing strength). Even if they did not initiate the Quibi meeting, what sensible couple would not, having been spurned by the institution and family from getting help or work accommodation, try to map out a healthy alternative to save their family. I do believe Harry when he said they didn’t have a plan yet because if he had, he would not have been blindsided by the abrupt removal of his security. I do believe that thankfully they were exploring options for months before the Canada break because they could see the family weren’t going to change. Researching options is not the same as making a decision on a plan.
Well, this is a situation where I can see a couple different things being true. First, Quiby was getting any and all celebrities it could to do….whatever it was that Quiby was supposed to be doing. I can see them approaching Harry and Meghan, even when they were still FT working royals, to do something that would be charity related (maybe related to Travalyst or Invictus?) and the money would be donated to one of their causes – a lot like what Meghan did with Elephant for Disney. So that wasn’t necessarily about financial support, but charity support.
I also do think that Harry and Meghan didn’t have a goal of Netflix and Spotify deals – I think while there was more of a plan than they let on, I genuinely think they thought the palace would accept the half-in half-out deal, which would have given them some breathing room, since they said in their exit statement that there would be a one or two year timeframe where they worked to become financially independent. They knew it wasn’t going to happen overnight and that it would take some time. Then, when not only was the half-in half-out deal rejected, but Charles ended up cutting them off pretty suddenly from financial support including security, they had to act faster than they might have done otherwise. They might have still ended up with Netflix and Spotify deals, but I don’t think that was the original plan, at least not as it has ended up. So maybe Netflix was being discussed, but my guess is the scope of what they wanted to do with Netflix changed significantly once they left the royals.
Exactly. I think H&M planned on a one year review initially because they thought BP and CH would work with them in good faith on a half in/half out relationship. But they were told ‘nope’ and financial support (security) was cut off, which both accelerated their plans and caused them to revise them. The Firm kept the one year review in place because they honestly thought H&M would fall on their face. They thought Harry would come back with his tail tucked between his legs, and if Meghan came back with him, well, they had another scapegoat…and if she stayed behind, all the better in their tiny little minds. The whole immediately cutting off financial assistance and its impact on security costs backs that up (they probably hoped that in and off itself would cause Harry to change his mind).
TigerMcQueen, I agree. I think Harry believed that Chuck would continue financial support for awhile, maybe for the 12 months? That would have given H&M plenty of time to plan their future. When Chuck cut off the money and security, they had no choice but to come up with a plan for the short term. Tyler Perry was literally a godsend–he really did save them. It gave them the space they needed to come up with a plan and put it into action.
I wonder what would have happened if the money and security hadn’t been stopped? Would they have stayed in Canada? Would they ultimately been allowed the half in half out? Who knows? I believe that having a life completely separate from the brf and UK is the best thing that could ever happen to them. I bet they thank God every day for the life they lead.
Also, I have never understood the disbelief about googling Harry. If you are personal friends with Misha Nonoo and Princess Eugenie and Brian Mulroney, why in heavens name would you need to google Harry? They could all tell her whatever she wanted to know.
Exactly, I never quite understood that either. She was basically in the same social circle as him. Why Google him if you can directly just ask ?
For real. She could just ask his damn cousin for info. And what would she even expect to find by googling him? That doesn’t tell you who a person is.
I think people are just very different on the google thing. Full disclosure: I periodically google myself, my family members and my husband. It’s always wise (IMO) to know what could possibly be out there…but like I said it’s my opinion. Some people think I’m crazy paranoid.
I guess I’m old school but I generally don’t Google people I meet in person. Part of it is laziness and forgetfulness. If they give off a weird vibe or we don’t click, then I might look them up after the first meeting.
Yeah, I would never google anyone I actually know. 90% of it’s gonna be nasty bullshit anyway, if they’re even there. Meghan’s old enough to have been brought up in the era when we knew the internet was filled with lies — I’m scared by how thoroughly younger people believe what they see on random twitter threads and such. I did run into something my husband said on a message board over 20 years ago when looking for the answer to something unrelated, and that was fun, especially because he was the only person being nice and helpful in the thread.
The same article said that the talk with Quibi was in relation to a sustainable tourism show for Travalyst and nothing came of it. This article is rehashing something that Vanity Fair published in 2019 and the Fail last year. The aim is to suggest that their departure was all part of a big plan. The media & royals want to excuse their part in it despite the Times & people like Piers Morgan telling Meghan to leave. And some in the firm clearly wanted Meghan gone & worked with the press for that result. They are only upset that Harry went too.
Their website said their proposal was half in half out. They probably started thinking what they could do for income if that proposal was accepted. at same time they had contacts & people like the Netflix head saying at a press conference after their step back was announced, that Netflix would work with them so I imagine getting a plan together can take shape quite quickly after that when you have companies wanting to court you.
Didnt Meghan’s ex agent say that she didn’t want to hear negativity when she tried to speak about downsides of her new relationship? I can believe that. Isn’t knowing the reality of how the royal family works what put people closer to those circles off marrying Will? And she said her British friends warned her about the tabloids but she probably thought once she married in she would be protected. However, if she had researched even how Harry was treated as a spare she might have known that wouldn’t be the case.
At the same time not sure there’s much that could have prepared her for the toxic climate in Britain post EU referendum & her becoming this symbol of a culture war. Or the palace’s role in a smear campaign which seems fairly unprecedented in modern royal history
I disagree that they lied about looking for deals with Netflix, etc. I think they had an outline but nothing concrete. They left just as the pandemic was taking hold and shut down the World. They were probably thinking doing speaking tours, charities, and the like but none of that would be possible. So they went back to the drawing board. I also disagree that Meghan stalked TRF. Maybe looking at Wikipedia for background but the hardcore research being claimed I don’t believe.
I’ve never understood who the Firm could encourage Meghan to continue acting but discourage Harry and Meghan from pursuing commercial ventures. I mean, how was she going to be a full-time royal and continue acting? And wouldn’t the palace have wanted to vet all her acting work to make sure that it didn’t embarrass the royal family? I’m guessing that they were hoping that she would be back in Canada making endless Hallmark Channel movies while Harry stayed in England as the third wheel to his brother and sister-in-law. I don’t think they ever expected that she would really give up acting and that she and Harry would start a family right away. Or that those two were deeply in love and committed to working as a team.
Re: Quibi, Netflix, Spotify, etc.
I believe that Harry and Meghan were constantly approached for deals but were either cock blocked by The Firm or forced to say no. I mean, Meghan couldn’t even have a conversation with Oprah without being heavily monitored the whole time. That’s also why the projects she did eventually get done were done outside of The Firm’s purview and by using her own connections.
And considering all the shenanigans Kensington Palace were doing – taking away her passport, car keys, monitoring her calls, not letting her LEAVE 👏🏽 THE 👏🏽 EFFING 👏🏽 HOUSE 👏🏽 to spend quality time with her friends and family that could lift her spirits. Who can blame her for keeping her businesses connections. They were probably some of the few things they couldn’t take away from her.
I feel like, those business opportunities were always on the table but initially, The Firm blocked them from taking advantage of them. Then after they left, I’m betting their first priority was to just get settled and get Archewell up and running. I bet you Charles promised to let them keep their security until they could get themselves settled but cruelly yanked it away from them. Which forced Harry and Meghan to push up their timeline and start making deals so they had money to support themselves and keep themselves protected.
As far as leaving the fold, I agree that they started discussing that the moment Meghan got pregnant. That’s when shit went nuclear on all fronts and Harry foresaw a lifetime of being under The Firm’s thumb and their whims. First Charles and eventually William who would guaranteed be a thousand times worse. I think the prospect of his child being abused his entire life like he was is what shook Harry out of his Stockholm Syndrome type trance.
Re: Meghan and the Windsors
No one is saying she knew absolutely NOTHING. I’m sure she was familiar with his tabloid reputation but they had mutual friends who I’m sure were painting a different picture of Harry. Also, a lifetime of being in the entertainment business probably told her not to rely on tabloids for information on famous people- good or bad. I’m sure she was inclined to find out for herself.
As for knowing what she was getting into, shit NO ONE would! Even Diana who grew up in the same circles was shocked over what she had gotten herself into. Not one woman on earth would be prepared for that!
The actual article written by Tominey admits that the Quibi talks were related to Travalyst. She just buried it in the article. As the carnival of clowns always do she made a lot of insinuations but didn’t actually say that the Quibi thing directly tied to them leaving. Also, Quibi reached out to them which means they went through palace channels which means staff was privy to all talks. Remember in the interview Meghan said she could not speak to Oprah alone to discuss an interview prior to the wedding. Also, the Apple TV thing was negotiated while he was a royal and Meghan did the thing with Disney. None of that was part of a plan to leave. I don’t think Harry was massaging the truth at all. When he talked about not having a plan he said that in relation to his security being pulled abruptly. You could see how upset he was about that. People have always made the argument that if Diana had kept her Met police security that she would be alive because they wouldn’t have driven recklessly. Because of that and the risk I don’t think Harry thought that they would actually endanger his life by removing security at a moments notice. Harry’s security risk is high not just because he is royal but because he was specifically targeted as a result of his military service and he was target by racist extremist groups for marrying Meghan. The kind of security he needs/they need is not your run of the mill “celebrity” security. They both also mentioned the Pandemic which clearly changed what was immediately possible for them. No one could have planned for that.
I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe she didn’t google him or the BRF. They were set up on a blind date. She knew someone who knew him and her well enough to think they would like each other. No doubt she would have had some understanding of the fact that the media version of him wasn’t exactly who he was as a person. Meghan also revealed that she knew Eugenie before Harry so that’s even more reason she might not seek out the media version of someone as opposed to just getting to know them. Remember because of her work with OYW and the UN Meghan had met former and current heads of state so it’s not like she would have been so starstruck by the notion of meeting a prince that she would have felt the need to run to google.
None of what they said is contrary to the idea that they are both planners. Clearly they both so their homework and deep dive into info when it comes to their professional/philanthropic but dealing with circumstances in your personal life are different.
All of these tantrums in the press about whether H&M did this or that before leaving — whether Meghan Googled Harry, whether they spoke with Quibi reps, whether they married in secret, etc., etc. — is beginning to remind me of how rape survivors are treated. Did she encourage his advances, what was she wearing, was she walking in an unsafe area, and on and on. And if she’s not the “perfect victim,” whatever the hell that is, then she got what she deserved. H&M are being held to an insane standard.
As for whether things transpired EXACTLY as H&M say they did: Of course there are inconsistencies in H&M’s recollections and descriptions of how events transpired. Not because they’re lying, but because they’re HUMAN. Very few people have perfect recall, and that recall may become blurred when one is recalling traumatic events. But how is it that BP is allowed to suggest that people may recall things differently, while H&M’s memories and accounts of how things happened must be letter-perfect, or they’re lying? Classic gaslighting at its finest.
BOOBOOCITA Thank you for pointing this out. They told their side of the story and now RRs are looking for even minimal discrepancies in their story because apparently this means all is a lie.
Either you are perfect or we don’t believe a word you say/deserved what happened.
Meghan looks soooo good in those colors. I’d forgotten about that outfit, but my goodness it’s lovely.
All this is to distract from the real issues not confronted by the Palace and the press: racism, mental health and the insidious relationship between the press and the royal family.
Why doesn’t anyone ask Harry if he had googled Meghan or if he watched suits? -Yes, I know he didn’t watch suits before he dated Meghan, but I mean after dating or maybe marriage- did he watch it or not? why didn’t Oprah ask him about this?
We know they didn’t have a plan when leaving. If they had, Willileaks would have plastered it all over the press.
I believe Meghan didn’t google Harry. She knew who he was. She also didn’t seem to understand how awful the rest of the family and bm is.
I think the confusion surrounding whether or not they “had a plan” is based solely on them actually being successful over the last year. I seriously doubt there would be any questions if they had set backs one after another.
But since these two charismatic people (who were ALREADY generating buzz, etc) keep going from success to success, DESPITE the best efforts of British tabloids and members of both their families, then the goalposts get moved. Now we’re at the part where it’s now claimed they “planned this all along”.
What if it’s a situation where they had people around them who could see the forest, and told them they could model their future like other successful people (The Obama’s). When you have the CEO of Netflix stating publicly that he’d like to work with you in the days AFTER you announce you’re stepping back from royal duties, then it should tell us that these people were sought after. All they had to do was chose where they’d land.
But even in choosing, they STILL had to come to the table with something marketable beyond themselves. Those companies don’t throw money on people just because.
This might actually where the bullying claims come from. Not the Quibi thing but I bet this wasn’t the first time they told staffers that they intended to do what they wanted. At some point M&H gave up and decided that they were not going to do what palace staff wanted to do, whatever it was at any given moment. The courtiers just did not know how to deal with that. Lol.
They support two huge charities Inviticus and the one in Africa.. They could have been talking to them regarding their charities. Or one of their other non profit projects. Much like what Meghan did with Disney on their elephant project. What is shows is two grown people suffocated in palace courtiers demanding to know everything they did and monitoring them every second. This ongoing smear campaign is going to end badly because the only real way to counter it is with a book deal with receipts. Stop palace while you still have time. Declare a truce. You are winning the petty battles but loosing the war. That monolouge on SNS should give you a good idea of what the Commonwealth believes on this matter.
So they are ALL incandescent with rage because * checks notes * Harry and Meghan got jobs.
They were planning to leave since at least January 2018, as per Harry’s statement in the interview that they did not blindside the Queen, they were talking about leaving for 2 years before they actually left.
I think you mean January 2019, because they were not even married yet in January 2018
I think they were definitely looking at options for any worst case scenarios, but I also think they hoped the BRF would do the right thing.
I kind of think Charles led them on for a bit while they were in Canada, before cutting them off financially. I could be wrong, of course.