When the Duchess of Sussex gave birth to Archie in 2019, the royal press pack did not let up on her at all in the weeks and months following the birth. If anything, they were even nastier to her, and it was a daily – if not hourly – onslaught of unchecked smears, lies, racism, sexism and rage. Then they yelled at her even more when she cried a little about how she was treated during The African Journey documentary, months later. My point is that more than anything, I hope Meghan gets a redo on her “maternity leave” with baby Lilibet Diana. I hope she takes some serious time off and really enjoys being home with the baby. Harry too! On their Archewell site, Meghan and Harry noted that they are now, currently, “on parental leave,” and while they’re on leave, “Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site.” Omid Scobie said in an interview that he believes they’ll both take 20 weeks of leave:
Omid Scobie, a journalist favoured by Harry and Meghan, has revealed that the couple are now taking time off work together. He said: ‘We’re so used to seeing senior royals going back to work but Harry and Meghan are leading by example, they offer up to 20 weeks parental leave at Archewell – it’ll be several months off work for the pair of them’.
Asked if the tribute to Her Majesty could heal the wounds caused by the couple’s damaging transatlantic truth bombs in recent weeks, Mr Scobie added in an interview with Good Morning America: ‘I don’t know about an olive branch but it shows how close they’ve always been with the Queen’.
Harry also has a job as ‘chief impact officer’ at San Francisco-based mental wellness app BetterUp, dubbed life coaching Tinder for millennials. Employees are entitled to eights weeks paid leave to ‘bond with your new child’ – MailOnline has asked the Duke’s boss Alexi Robichaux if his royal employee is taking it.
Prince William took varying amounts of paternity leave with his three children, taking two to three weeks off duties for George and Charlotte but only two days when Louis was born. Kate took seven months for Louis, four months for Charlotte and only one month for George.
It would not surprise me if they both took the entire summer “off” but then in the fall, they rolled out some of the stuff they’ve been working on for the past year and a half. Like, I think it’s very possible we’ll get some updates on their Netflix projects and their Spotify podcast deal in the next three-to-four months. I would also guess that Meghan will probably announce plans for additional children’s books or more written works when The Bench is a success.
Scobie noted to GMA (the clip is below) that Harry taking a longer parental leave tends to go against what is “done” in royal circles, where new fathers are usually back at work in a matter of days. Harry was like that with Archie too – he was back at work pretty quickly, and he even traveled to The Netherlands when Archie was only a few weeks old. Which brings me to my gut-feeling… I think Harry *will* travel to the UK for that over-hyped, melodramatic, fakakta Diana-statue unveiling, scheduled for Diana’s birthday on July 1st. I think if Meghan had given birth in late June, Harry probably would have pulled out of the event. But now… I feel like he’ll probably travel for it. And I hope he only stays for 24 hours and he’s back on his leave right afterwards.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Kaiser – to clarify- Harry went to the Netherlands for the Invictus event when Archie was a few DAYS old. But he went there and back in one day.
Sigh. Harry can do what suits him. For him, paternity leave is a natural extension of who he is as a very hands-on father.
Sigh. I wasn’t criticizing. I was just clarifying an error in the story.
the invictus event was prescheduled and on the books long before the birth, and also archie was a little late past his due date so he had to go. anyway, as noted, he was back home in no time.
side note: notice the daily mail pointing that william *also* took paternity leave. like, damnit, ‘our royals are progressive too!’ lol
LOL Yup.
Theyre really leaning into that “other brother” moniker for bullyiam. Makes one think they either dont get the subordinate role theyve placed him in; or they do know and are passively-aggressively slagging him off for making them lose their cashcows.
William’s always on paternity leave – he leaves his paternal responsibilities to Kate.
I don’t know about 20 weeks though…. I think thats a bit long. I don’t think either of them can sit still for that long. Im going with 3 months max. But that is just a guess.
And kate took 7 months of with louis????
This is hilarious. Kate and William were MIA leading up to George’s birth and well after it.
William did not work. He had his ag cert bespoke program and was rumored to be living privately away from Kate around the same time there were whispers of his London mistress. Funny how that never took off like Rose did.
Thing is they just don’t work.
And wtf. Are the Royal Rota shaming maternity/paternity leave for private citizens of another country?
I remember Keen doing *one* boat launching, in some dotted or spotted, too short dress before George. I think she was 7, 7 1/2 mos. pregnant then…? Then she was outta there, not to be seen again till the Lido steps (in Diana cosplay blue and white polka dots, but the best, most natural she’s look post-birth for all three), and we didn’t see her again until that photo her father took of her, TOBB, and George in Kween CarolE’s Buckleshire Palace’s back garden.
Yeah, Kate’s maternity leave with Louis was kind of a hot button around here, because some people insisted that she deserved the leave and should take it, and some of us (raises hand) weren’t opposed to the idea of an extended leave for a royal, but with Kate it was more like……leave from what?
I’m all for maternity leave but i think 7 months is ridiculous especially when you have a live-in nanny and don’t even work full time. Because let’s be honest, going to an engagement is hardly work.
@Cecilia if I’m remembering correctly – I think it was announced she was going to take a 5 or 6 month mat leave and she did a few appearances here and there (things like Trooping the Colour) but that was pretty much it and it did extend to 7 months before she started working even semi-regularly again.
No shade about mat leave but Kate was mia for years!
Yup, Keen has been MIA for years, yet alone taking such long periods for maternity leave. She is on constant leave….
So many acted like Kate was returning to a regular 40 hour per week job when she at most works 40 hours in a year.
I get why they want it to seem like they are taking off that long, but I don’t think either will take that much time off. They have help in a lot of areas like cleaning/household maintenance. So, they don’t have the normal chores most parents have on top of a new baby. I agree that they will be bored after awhile. It’s good they are trying to normalize it though. Parents should get time to bond with their babies and most don’t get bored while on leave. So, I appreciate their taking that time off publicly even if they work behind the scenes.
@Becks1….leave from looking for her voice and time to find her feet?
Counting buttons…counting sheep?
My husband got a week but that was 19 years ago. Now his company gives mom and dads 4 months off.
Most mums in the UK and Ireland take 6 months to a year, dads get 2 weeks by law which they all take.
Maybe thats why it seems like a ridiculous long maternity leave to me because where I live moms get 3 months, dads get 2 weeks.
Typical US maternity leave is a joke. You maybe get 3 months, unpaid. At the company I used to work for, the owner would regularly pressure new moms to come back before that 3 months was up. Yes, the owner was a woman. Also yes, they loved phony empowerment talk.
That sounds amazing. I got three months off but as I worked for a non-profit I had to “earn” it by working extra hours in the months before I had my first baby. My husband was back to work in a week. With my brother and his wife, he works for the city of New York so he got three months paid leave whereas his wife had to go back after two weeks, since she works in the private sector.
Parental leave has gotten much better in the US over the past thirty years but it’s still not great.
@ Haylie, I got six weeks unpaid leave when I had my daughter, so I literally worked until the day she was born, and she was five days late.
In Canada, mums can take 12 months and collect unemployment insurance, and an extra six months without insurance. Paternity leave is factored into the mother’s leave, If a father wants three months, then the mother gets nine months, and both can collect insurance.
Need to correct above. In Canada if you want the 18 months then you let the government know once the maternity leave portion is done and they prorate the remaining months so that you don’t end up getting nothing the last six months.
Obviously royal or not, I think parents deserve parental leave. So if Kate takes a few months off or more, it’s not going to bother me.
And as someone said above, 6 months – 1 year is common but I figure Kate took a longer leave compared to her other kids was because apparently her pregnancy with Louis was a bit more medically serious compared to the other 2.
Or she just wanted to take it!
Kate may have officially taken 7 months, but we all know she (and William) put an enormous effort into harassing and undermining Meghan and Harry. Given the results, I think we could all call that a full-time job. Too bad for Kate, she couldn’t add it to her royal calendar tally.
Her numbers would’ve overtaken Charles’ and Anne’s that year if she could’ve done that!
The rest of the world takes a good amount of time off for babies. As an American, I applaud them for it – even Kate. Good grief it is not healthy for an infant to go to a nanny all day at 8 or 12 weeks. I had to send mine and it was so sad. One of the best things to come out of the pandemic: daycares closed by me and I got almost a year with my second baby – it almost killed me to work at the same time but I’m so grateful I got to give that time to my child.
@Escondista – I’m in the US, giving birth soon, and fortunate that both my husband and I are alotted 12 weeks parental leave – me through the state we reside in and him through his employer. We will be splitting time to keep our baby at home as long as possible. However, my employee handbook still has two separate sections. The one for Maternity Leave says I may not have a job to come back to and the one for Parental leave says I get 12 weeks and will not be discriminated against. I’m still waiting for an answer from my boss on why there are these two conflicting sections, one which clearly discriminates against mothers. It’s an extra source of stress that is so not needed right now.
In Canada, parents can take up to a year off and split it between both parents. It’s downright unconscionable that the US does not have mandated maternity/parental leave after a baby is born.
My daughter lives there and had a year. She said she was climbing the walls after six months and will only take six months if she has another! I’m so grateful she had the chance to find that out.
Oh I actually think parents here can split the mat leave up too (only know this as my pal in work took 6 months off after his wife took the first 6 months). I think my place of work gives 5 months of 90% pay, and after that it goes onto government statutory pay.
Every parent should have the ability to bond with their baby; and support their partner in recovery from giving birth.
Royal expectations have always pulled parents away from their children. Look at how that affected Prince Charles! This pat leave move is a clear sign he’s walking the walk to break the dysfunctional bonds in his family.
Also post partum depression is up 30 % during this pandemic so to be able to support his partner during this fragile time is vital. He’s doing everything right.
These two seem incapable of not doing something even during maternity leave. I wouldn’t be surprised if they launched all sorts of projects when this leave period is over because they’re just that proactive about what they want to do and support. But at least the pressure will be off for a little while.
Eh… leading by example suggests that other fathers are not doing so because they are just used to the status quo. They just need more examples of fathers taking paternal leave… This doesn’t sit well with me. Most people in the US men, and women, have zero choice in the matter. They have to return to work or lose their jobs. The laws suck here for women who give birth.
@Esma: MTE. It’s not right, but that’s the way it is. So this comes across as a bit tone-deaf, imo. It’s great that Harry is able to do it, but it’s not the reality for most people, and I can see how this headline might rub people the wrong way.
Omid just could have worded it a little differently, imo.
Not sure why people think Omid has this great insight on their parental leave plans outside of what they said on their website. He’s speculating just like all the royal reporters/ experts do so no point getting irked with Harry on what omid is saying. Omid didn’t know Meghan had given birth until their team announced, didn’t know she was working on a children’s book, didn’t have heads up on Netflix or Spotify deals. I think he was one of those talking about the brothers reconnecting on zoom last year which from the Oprah interview sounds unlikely.
Anyway hope the family are well and Archie & the dogs aren’t like who is this strange creature too much with Lili lol
That is definitely true in many situations, but I do know workplaces that offer extended leave to fathers and they don’t take it because they dont think they “need it” – either its in their psyche that its not necessary, they are worried about job security/promotional opportunities/etc, or something else – but I think the more examples we have of high profile men taking parental leave the better. I also think it normalizes the idea of paternity leave which may serve as incentive to more companies to offer it.
I agree Becks1! If we see it normalized in high profile people, hopefully the rest of the country will step up to the plate. We do offer maternity leave but we are a small employer. We do offer several weeks off, but more than that would crush us. But should the person want to take an extended period off, we do try to hold their position for them, but within a reasonable time period, like a month. Otherwise, we would be in dire straights if someone took more than a month then we would be left in a critical position. My husband is a physician and we need every hand on deck.
Thank you. In Croatia it’s 6 months for each parent. But even though it’s the law, many risk their jobs if they embrace it fully.
Leading by example *for their company*. They offer parental leave at their company, and as the executives of that company, actually taking the full leave will normalize it for the other staff. Imagine you worked at a company where a 5 month parental leave was offered but the two top executives were back in the office less than a month after having a child. Would you feel like you could take your own leave without repercussions? I think that’s what they’re referring to. There are a lot of people who have all kinds of allowances and leaves baked into their contracts but are terrified of actually taking them because “nobody does it”. It’s actually a good thing, and may actually push more businesses who don’t currently offer (especially paternal) leave into doing so.
That’s how it is I think. In law firms too. You are technically allowed the leave but you lose momentum and sometimes even good will from co-workers, who feel like they have to work harder because you chose to have a kid and be home with it. That’s just how it is.
I don’t know if it can be lead by example when Harry and Meghan can afford to easily take the time off and pay the exorbitant bills that come with even a normal, complications free delivery. if Harry wants to lead by example then he’d be better served if he lobbied for legislation on parental leave and pre-natal/neo-natal care in the US so all parents can afford to take time off, their jobs would be protected and they can still afford to get the care they need both for mother and baby. The fact that this isn’t already in place in one of the most developed countries in the world is an absolute disgrace.
But again this is in relation to ARCHEWELL – Archewell offers paid parental leave for 20 weeks, so Harry and Meghan are encouraging employees who have babies to take advantage of that. I’m assuming they also offer health insurance, and if its decent enough there won’t be exorbitant bills (I find that companies that have generous leave policies also tend to have excellent health insurance, but that’s just been my experience.)
It feels like people are putting a lot on Harry for taking this leave. Now it’s his job to fix family leave policies in the US?
Becks, ITA
@Penguin, leading by example means his company is offering the parental leave. Its an example for other companies to follow. I believe my employer offers 6-8 weeks paid leave and then you get additional weeks of unpaid leave under FMLA. But the max you can be off work combined is 12 weeks. Its fine to lobby for legislation but that can take years to go through.
Yeah, Harry lobbying for law changes in the US would go over real well.
Or… how about the legislators we pay and vote for lobby for these changes? Why does Harry need to fix broken parental leave policies in the US? Remember the fit people pitched when Meghan and Harry told people to vote? How about the phony outrage re: the 1st Amendment a few weeks ago?
Sure would be nice if Americans stopped waiting for a whole foreign prince to do what we’ve been too complacent to do with our dollars, voices and vote.
I think of it as an example for other companies to follow. Prince Harry lobbying for legislative changes in the US might not go down well with many.
Many companies offer short-term disability insurance, which covers maternity leave. The 20 weeks of leave probably allows employees to max out that benefit.
I think this is the fundamental problem with the American mindset. That somehow companies are responsible to lead by example and affect change by providing something that should be given as a standard. No, it’s not his job to change archaic and capitalistic laws in the US, but from what I understand he has taken it upon himself to affect positive change. Four months of parental leave is truly abysmal anywhere else in the world, but Americans have been conditioned to think that this is somehow a generosity. Besides, their company isn’t the type that would employ the most deprived/vulnerable members of society anyway. In any case, I found this comment quite tone-deaf.
@Penguin,
I was coming to write the same thing. And it may not be on Harry, but rather on Omid, but yeah, “leading by example” in taking time off is not something to praise royals (or, for that matter, politicians and other rich people) for, don’t most royals take summers off anyway, baby or no baby? How many mere mortals can do it every summer?
And yes, if we’re talking about his company, 20 weeks is better than many places in the US, but not nearly as good as most places in Europe, so, again, not sure it’s as praiseworthy as Omid seems to think.
Well that’s interesting you bring up the royals summer schedule – they do that because there is an example in place of the royal family going to Balmoral and taking an extended break over the summer. Maybe if a different example had been set, they wouldn’t hightail it to Scotland for months every summer (in the case of the queen.)
And again – its not the sheer fact that they are taking time off. Do you all think we are going to hear every time they take a sick day or go on vacation? no. They are specifically saying that they are taking time off to be with their daughter, which DOES help to normalize extended paternity leaves in this country. Companies can have all the policies they want, but if people are afraid to utilize those policies, then what’s the point?
I can’t figure out what people are upset about – that Harry is taking time off (there’s definitely a big undercurrent here that Harry doesnt “deserve” the time off because he doesnt “work”), that Omid made the “lead by example” comment (which I do think is important but that’s what Omid said, not Harry), that Harry is rich, what?
Larissa, But Harry isn’t a working British royal anymore. He’s not taking leave from royal duties. Royals taking long parental leave is a different conversation I think. And I think that conversation should be less along the lines of “royals shouldn’t take long leave when their jobs are so pitiful and easy,” but “we shouldn’t have royals so that we don’t have to pay literal princesses to stay home in their mansion with their servants to raise literal princes and princesses.” Harry and Meghan are both working people in America. They have actual top ceo jobs (lol, unlike keen), but they do actually work at/for real, professional companies (Archewell, Better Up, the speaking service, Netflix, Spotify, whatever book publisher published Meghan’s book, and isn’t there one more thing that Harry sits on the board of that came out around the same time as better up?) where they are paid for their work and services. Royals are not working for an actual company. They’re paid with taxpayer money. They have zero contractual obligations in order to keep their money and jobs. And even if they didn’t work as royals and get paid by taxpayers, they’re an enormously privately wealthy family. Harry and Meghan are wealthy by most standards, but they’re wealthy because of the money they’re being paid for working. He said he had some money from his mom, and I bet they went through a lot of that money, since he was super thankful for it after his dad and the royals cut him off. They still had to get a mortgage on the CA home. They have to work for money, so it’s good that they’re showing, as working people, they’re going to take advantage of the leave at their various companies.
Part of the issue with Kate was that she always attended Wimbledon whether or not she was on mat leave but she couldn’t be bothered to attend other non fun engagements. No one was suggesting that she do engagements immediately after giving birth, but she could have done a few things here and there. Or do background prep work that didn’t require a visit. She just doesn’t though.
Sorry I don’t really understand. Harry is trying to set an example and lead change to normalize paternity leave. He is also instituting the same with Archewell. I have no doubt maternity and paternity leaves contribute to better mental health which is already their cause. Other countries are already allowing or fighting for paternity leave while maternity leave is already long accepted as the norm. Why would these 2 encourage American companies to retain the US outlier attitude on maternity and paternity leaves, by NOT taking them so as not to appear ‘tone deaf’? And those are Omid’s words not Harry’s.
@Esma and @Lorelei, leading by example is not necessarily in reference to the US only. A lot of countries, Canada included, gives good amounts of paternity leaves. And I’ve heard in the US that there are some states that have such leaves, so I’m not sure why Harry is “tone deaf”.
I never said he was tone deaf. I said the title leading by example didn’t sit well with me because currently, in the US the sad fact of the matter is that most people have zero choice in when they return to work. They either return or lose their jobs. Not to mention, most people can’t even take the 3 months off because it is unpaid leave! Not everyone can afford to not get paid for 3 months. So the title should’ve reflected that Harry is setting as example with his company’s progressive policies. The way it is right now, it makes it seem like Harry is showing other fathers that they should also take longer leaves (when they cannot even if they wanted to)
So it’s not the companies that should offer the paid leave, it’s the government.
In the context of what Omid said I think he means leading by example at their own companies. Harry and Meghan are the founders of Archewell which houses their foundation and production companies and Harry is a CSuite exec at a tech startup called BetterUp both of which offer parental leave. It is good for people in all levels of management in companies to encourage their staffers to take leave and to lead by example. His friend Alexis Ohanion, aka Serena Williams’ husband, is a huge advocate for universal parental leave legislation so I’m sure he knows not everyone is alotted that and the official statement on their site did not use the “lead by example” language; it just said they were taking leave.
^^This. IMO this is unbelievably tone deaf and privileged to the point of being elitist. I laughed when I saw this, but not pleasantly.
As others have pointed out, he’s probably saying leading by example because this is the employment policy of their foundation and they’re encouraging employees to take this time.
“Probably” since Omid is not their mouthpiece and it’s not a given he even said that phrase.
I agree. Paternity/maternal leave has practical, political, and legal implications that hardly apply to the lifestyles of Harry and Meghan. I don’t know of any other celebrities that describe their breaks like this.
Well, they aren’t just “celebrities.” They are running a nonprofit that includes their production company and audio production company and I’m assuming there are several projects in the works. I don’t know why people are all of a sudden like “do harry and meghan really even work though?” We know they work constantly, we’ve seen the results, and now they are saying they’re stepping back for a few months.
ITA Becks.
I totally agree. Of course he can take this time. He’s rich AF.
But IMO, this is just another example at the huge wealth and privilege gap that exists in this country.
Archewell offers PAID leave for up to 20 weeks for new parents. Now it doesn’t say if that’s paid at your full salary, but assuming it is – then why does being rich have anything to do with it? If I’m working a job and earning X money, and they tell me to take 5 months off after my child is born and I’ll still earn X money for that time – I’m taking it.
I think the “leading by example” part refers specifically to Archewell. As in, he’s one of the top bosses there and he wants to show that they really mean it when they say you can take the entire paternity leave.
LOL This take is so on-brand for you.
I’m glad they are setting the example for their company (20 weeks paid parental leave is awesome for a US company!) and even if Harry “only” takes the 8 weeks leave for BetterUp – he’s still going to have a nice stretch home with the family.
I think parental leave for the royals is a tricky thing, because…..going back to “work” for them is not like going back to work for most of us. I remember when Kate “ended” her maternity leave with George, she did an event in Wales with William (starting off some sort of game day or something), she went to a gala one night, and then she went quiet again for a few weeks. so yes she was back “working” but she wasn’t back to a 40 hours a week job.
And we know Meghan took “leave” after Archie but then we also know she was working the whole time on Vogue and the Smart Set, just behind the scenes. I just mainly remember now how the tabloids continued to shred her on a daily basis – and now that we know what she was going through mentally – I wonder if someone like Elton John had an idea of how bad it was, and that was why he sent his private plane for them – and they were destroyed for it. and then William, knowing how bad things were for Meghan…..staged the FlyBe stunt.
omg it enrages me just thinking about it. I hope she spends the next few months floating in the pool with Archie, going for walks with Archie while wearing Lili, spending time with her mother and friends, etc. I hope it can make up for some of the ugliness from before.
That’s exactly what i want for her: peace of mind. But the detractors in the UK are determined not to let her have any of it. And it doesn’t help that US networks keep inviting these hacks.
Yes, agree that the fact that Archewell offers 20 weeks of leave for new parents — that is unheard of in the US. We have an AWFUL track record here when it comes to parental leave. Good on them for putting their money where their mouths are in regards to their employees. I’m sure they are terrific to work for, for many reasons. I also think they’ll both just take the summer and be back to it come September.
@BECKS
i dont think you should argue with these trolls here.
They are already set to undermined and dumbly pretend to argue about everything H&M did.
Go off and lick willie and waity ar%e at the DM you trolls.
I think they will lay low the entire summer just to get settled into their new routine. I predict they’ll resurface in September.
I think trying to normalize extended maternity/paternity leave is great. People in their position spend their time as they like as a matter of course, so I appreciate the Sussex effort to make it happen for everyone. I had a three month maternity leave, and every day felt like a gift.
I feel like Meghan & Harry have a number of projects stockpiled for ongoing rollout. We’ll see. Wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.
I actually do think Harry will take a proper leave maybe not a full 20 weeks but 6 ot 8 weeks because things are very different this time. He’s no longer working for the Firm but in most instances working for himself. And while i dont buy that the Mail knows the exact length of BetterUp’s paternity leave policy i think he will adhere closely to whatever that is to set a good example. I work at a tech startup that like BetterUp talks a lot about employees takibg care od themselves ans giving back to the community and our CEO took PTO vacation time and broadcast it on a call to encourage the rest of the staff to do the same.
And I feel like if they knew he was 100% going for this unveiling they’d be talking about it more but it feels like the last few weeks it’s all about the Jubilee.
Also this might shock you but the Mail took Omid’s comment out of context. The question he was actually asked on GMA was whether he bought into the hype that the name was an olive branch to which he responded that he saw it as not an olive branch but symbol of how close Harry is to his grandmother which he has always maintained. They are very desperate over there to think Harry regretted the Oprah interview and to ignore the reason for the rift coming from the mistreatment of him and Meghan no matter how many times he says otherwise. It’s because theyve finally realized they need Harry more than he needs them but they’re too damn stubborn and racist to ever properly apologize and stop abusing Meghan.
Let the rota rats squeal all they want. Harry can take as much as he is allowed on maternity.
I am sorry, but this is that occasion when they seem out of touch and a bit attention thirsty. Taking time off, off from what exactly? Is he one of those fathers who have to work and provide for his kids on day by day basis? is he working some serious office hours or is he a doctor, committed to his patients as much as his family? This whole message, presupposes that all the fathers are not taking time off just because they are men. All around me are men who have no choice but work (just like mothers) and then this decision is way more complicated than sitting in some palace in the Hills and doing occasional charity thing. Overall, the Sussexes and Cambridges are willing and participant in the PR game of who presents them selves best to the media/peasants. Is that so seductive not to participate at all?
The concept of paternity leave is not taking time off from work so much as it is taking time for your newborn child. My maternity leave was paid, and so should be for paternity leave. This is what Archewell offers. How is that thirsty?
Yes, taking time off from running his nonprofit, which I think entails more than the “occasional charity thing”.
Plus once again, for his company, this sets an example. A company may have a generous leave policy but people watch the higher-ups do. If your company offers 8 weeks parental leave (BetterUp) or 20 weeks (archewell) and none of the executives or bosses ever take it – that’s setting an example. Harry is making a point of setting a different kind of example.
The idea that he doesn’t deserve the leave because he’s not a doctor or something……this post is getting kind of bizarre.
Agreed again, Becks.
Becks1, I agree also!
Becks, thank you for bringing the much needed sense to this post’s comments.
Not to be rude: but did you read this post? It’s pretty clear what they’re taking time off from: their roles at Archewell at both its foundations and production companies and additionally in Harry’s case his role at BetterUp. Given that the entire stated point of BetterUp is to help build healthier workforces it makes sense for a CSuite exc there to take parental leave as the entire company is offered parental leave as is all of the staff at Archewell. Have you seriously never heard of an exec at a company announcing theyre taking leave before? It’s not like they’re inventing the wheel here.
Wealthy, privileged or not — the fact remains that they are new parents, and taking the time to nurture and bond with your child is imperative regardless. So because they are rich and successful they don’t deserve to take the time to get to know and love on their new baby?!? Give me a break.
I can see you were chomping at the bit to criticise the Sussexes and by tossing in the cambs tou thought you were being clever…harry can do whatever he damn well pleases for his family….
“All around me are men who have no choice but work (just like mothers) and then this decision is way more complicated than sitting in some palace in the Hills and doing occasional charity thing.”
There is much truth in your comment. The problem for me is that the situation Harry & Meghan are in is not like like the situation that 99% of the rest of the planet’s population is in. Therefore, you cannot compare Harry to the average working Emergency Room surgeon or long-haul truck driver. Trying to compare Harry to other father’s is like comparing apples, oranges and bananas. The comparison just does not work.
This is what it says on their website: “While the Duke and Duchess are on parental leave, Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site. We look forward to seeing you!” Everything else in this article is speculation by various “royal experts”. No mention of length of time planned or anything else. You are raving about speculations.
In all fairness we rave about speculation daily.
@SM Wow, you really don’t know anything about the Sussexes do you? Otherwise you wouldn’t think all they do is sit around on the Hills (what the heck there? that’s not where they live??) only doing occasional charity things. They’re not like the other royals. They actually have business and real jobs they need to do to earn their living. The Duchy of Cornwall and the Sovereign Grant doesn’t pay for them.
Also THEY DIDN’T say they were leading by example, just that they were taking leave in their statement. That’s a reporter saying the “lead by example” so blaming them for what a reporter made up is kind of crazy.
Yeah I cant figure out why people are so upset over the “leading by example” comment when that’s not what they said, that’s just what Omid said.
As others have said, he does have a job, and he has other institutions going, like Invictus and Sentebale. He has surely been doing work and meetings for those. They have not sat idle all this time, she has other ventures and has participated in other people’s projects, on top on writing and going on on publishing her book. Really we have no idea what they do, especially now, as they like to present their projects already done, not announcing them for years on them without coming to fruition.
They do not follow a regular schedule, but even online meetings take preparation and consume time. I don’t begrudge them on enjoying this time with their children. Good for them.
Some folks must think the Sussexes have a money tree planted in their garden in Montecito. Everybody has to grind in some fashion to keep the lights on.
@SM – it seem you think Harry doesn’t really work. He does, he works hard. He’s not a lazy royal like his idiot brother so your point is moot. He’s working on Sentebale, Invictus, producing stuff for Netflix and Spotify, his jobs with BetterUp and The Aspen Institute, and whatever else he may be up to. Their first time around as parents was nearly destroyed by the pack of tabloid wolves and rota rats, Meghan’s depression, racist threats, etc. etc. They deserve to have a peaceful bonding opportunity with Lili.
So loud. So wrong.
Hope you can access the care you need.
Whew. That’s harsh.
I can’t speak for the US, but in the UK, the difference in the amount of time mothers take off work compared to fathers is a big problem. While many women take 6-12 months off, men take a month or less. I know 6-12 months is going to seem amazing to many folks, but it is problematic that it perpetuates the man as the money earner and stalls women’s careers. It’s a cycle, men are more likely to earn more money so if one parent goes on leave, it would be the lower earner (usually the woman in a man-woman couple), but by going on long leaves from work, women have different career paths than men. It also reinforces the notion that women are responsible for the bulk of the childcare and housework. And it reinforces the notion that a mother’s nurturing is more important than a father’s. And the whole heteronormative idea of “family”… Just so many frickin issues by creating a distinct separation of men and women. I think it’s great what Harry and Meghan are doing — even the difference in their language “parental” leave versus the Daily Mail’s “paternity” leave is a breath of fresh air.
I can certainly see how that would be a problem — the discrepancy in leave basically pigeonholes women in that they essentially give up their careers, or at least derail their trajectory when that is not expected of men. It’s awesome that in Europe it is commonplace to take that time to care for and nurture your child, as well as giving the mother a chance to properly heal (it takes the body about as long as it did to gestate the baby to fully heal after giving birth!). But from a career standpoint, I see how it’s a double-edged sword as well for women.
I took maternity leave (12 months off but only 3 months paid in full and then £135 a week up to 39 weeks). Returned to work and was made redundant after a month. I went from earning more than my husband to earning peanuts in comparison. That was 5 years ago and my salary as never returned to what I was earning. I’m £1000 a month short 5 years on.
Now I’m on maternity leave again and will be returning to work in September and was only offered 2 days of work when I returned. Last week I was interviewing for a full time job that I can do with flexibility. So from September, I will be doing 1.5 jobs squeezed into 5-6 days so that I can get back close to my initial pre-kids salary.
As a mother, you take maternity at the risk of your career in the U.K.
In Canada the parents can split parental leave between either parent once the initial six weeks of maternity leave is done. It can also be extended to 18 months, although EI is prorated if that happens. There is more of a movement to encourage fathers to take parental leave, but many places still discourage it socially even if it is offered.
Paternity leave is one of Alexis Ohanian’s causes. He has talked extensively about the fact that fathers need that time off, but don’t take it because it’s not offered or not the norm. Kudos to both of them for leading by example. Also, Meghan deserves this. The way she was continuously hounded by the press & KP with no regard whatsoever for her emotional well-being was a tragedy in the making.
I still don’t see him going to the UK for the statue unveiling, but I’m not going to judge him if he does.
THIS! We as a society need to make paternity leave the norm. Men need to bond with their children and help their partners parent!
It’s a weird thing to begrudge people taking time off for parental leave. The US has a lot of catching up to do in terms of parental leave, other benefits and vacation time, compared to Canada and Europe. In Canada parents can get a year or more off as paid leave. That time with your children is invaluable.
You can see why we’re behind.
Some of you are being a bit ridiculous. So Harry has to start lobbying the US government for fair parental leave in order to have credibility? It’s tone deaf to take full advantage of leave at your own company? 🙄 Come on. All of the hand wringing over their parental leave is ridiculous and I haven’t seen anything from their own statements that can somehow make average parents offended for not being able to take leave. The commenters, like Omid, are adding their two cents and some of you are taking it as H&M’s own words.
He apparently can’t take the leave because he’s rich and barely works anyway, he’s just a celebrity and no other celebrity does this, he needs to lobby the government for better leave policies before he can take any leave, he’s not setting an example he’s just elitist and tone deaf and thirsty…..
these responses are kind of bizarre.
The comments are not only crazy but people act like H&M have been sitting on their asses all year being keen. Between Netflix, Spotify, Vaxlive, the Proctor and gamble partnership, and all of the work Archewell has done, they deserve a break. They’ve also had a miscarriage too.
Jealousy maybe? Like I tell people on Twitter, if you are truly so concerned about these issues, take that energy and start petitions, find like-minded people and lobby for yourselves. Otherwise, all you are doing is spreading hate because you are resentful someone else has something you don’t. There is nothing productive in that. Nobody benefits.
Isn’t it curious that no matter what Harry & Meghan do (or don’t do), there’s a slew of criticism? They’re supposed to be lobbyists, all of a sudden, but mentioning voting is too political. The name for *their child* is rude to the Queen for being personal, but also rude to Doria for not being personal. Harry shouldn’t take the paid leave he offers others at Archewell for…reasons. Could someone remind me how many bathrooms he has? I’ll be prepared to clutch my pearls.
Trolls gotta a troll I guess. They like to yap about people being attention seeking and “thirsty” when that’s all their nonsensical comments are. Being contrary for the sake of being contrary is attention seeking imo.
Omid knows as much as I do about what the Sussexes are doing. Unfortunately Harry will attend the statue unveiling but he will leave soon after so he can get back to Meghan and the children.
The only people who care about the Sussexes leave are the rota who write about it. We should not engage. They are disputable. Let’s examine the Cambridges work history and see how soon this story disappears. They disgust me
I do see the criticisms being discussed here and yes Harry can take as much time off work as he wants without any major financial implications which is sadly not true for most people (unless their company offers a generous policy) so I can see why some people are upset. That’s valid and again, I see where people are coming from.
But I also believe that royal or not, parents should be entitled to parental leave even if they do 0 engagements a year. The time needed to bond with your child surpasses any social and economic barriers and is applicable to everybody. That not as wild spread as it should be but that isn’t Harry’s fault. Him saying he’s taking advantage of his companies policies isn’t him being tone deaf or elitist. Now if he takes more time off than the paid one, then sure, I’ll see the tone deaf side of the comments.
And a British royal lobbying for law changes and legislation? Yeah that’ll go down well. (sarcasm)
Yeah I think that’s part of the disconnect. They say they’re taking parental leave and we know that their own company offers 20 weeks and BetterUp offers 8 weeks – so we can discuss elitism in terms of which companies actually offer paternity leave (my husband got none, neither did either of my brothers) and if Harry were taking time off outside of those leave policies, that’s obviously something he can afford to do and many people cannot. But we should encourage people to take full advantage of company policies like this. Too many companies have “generous leave policies” but the employees are afraid to ever take a day off.
You’re right in that there’s definitely a discussion to be had about the lack of wide spread parental leave in the US but it’s not Harry’s fault his non-profit and company have one and it’s not his fault he’s taking it. And I’m not saying that you’re saying this, I’m just speaking generally.
And as for “leading by example” phrase that seems to be annoying people, the Sussexes never said that. Omid did and while he does have an “in” at the Sussex press office, he’s gotten things wrong before so I wouldn’t take his word as gospel.
@Sofia no I get what you’re saying, I think we’re on the same page. Harry is using a benefit his company provides. It would be great if more companies offer this benefit and more people could take this kind of leave. I think people are putting a lot of other stuff onto this issue when IMO that’s basically what it boils down to.
Why should we “see why [some people] are upset?” What business it is of others to be upset about what another person does in his/her life, such that they feel the need to take to SM and sh*t themselves? The gall! The utter gall! The barefaced presumption!
I was looking at posts criticizing them for their leave, when everyone, including the trolls know that these two cannot sit still even when they are at home, they are active and she is creative. He has a job, and she is apparently a SAHM , and poof, a book appears, like the Greenfell book that no-one knew about did. They have other ventures, like the veggie milk, and preparing for video appearances, etc. It is work. I am teaching from home, and just thinking of going online makes me want a vacay.
Children don’t arrive everyday, good for them for enjoying that time and easing their older kiddo into a new stage o life.
People are judging the Sussexes because of what Omid said. That’s not fair. Their website said said they were taking parental leave but that Archwell’s work would continue. They did not specify a length of time nor did they make any declaration about setting an example. That was Omid embellishing to look like he had some insider info.
I don’t know about that statue unveiling. Wouldn’t Harry still need to quarantine 10 days in the UK before the event? He only got out after 5 days in April because it was for a funeral.
Full disclosure, I don’t want him to benefit the British press by attending.
I really think omid talks too much especially about things he doesn’t actually know, he can sometimes be a lot like Katie Nichols.
(Response to deleted comment)
Hahaha ok ok ok is he aware that people can’t afford that irl??? 😂
Yes, that would be why his foundation offers these policies and that is why he is following them, to encourage their employees to do so.
Hahaha ok ok ok did you read the story and get that the ‘lead by example’ was said by Omid, not Harry, and that it’s in relation to Archwell, which give employees 20 weeks paid time off irl??? 😂
@KS There are people who are not wealthy who can afford it and their company or country also chips in with some paid leave. So this is a gross generalization that isn’t true. So nobody should take leave if everyone in the world can’t?
Do you think they might all go over for the statue unveiling and do Lilli’s baptism there whilst the Queen is still alive?
Who is taking a two week old baby and a toddler on an eleven hour plane ride? They would have to leave next week if they still are required to quarantine. And the queen didn’t change her plans so she could go to Archie’s christening when they all lived in the same country, lol. I’m of the opinion that Harry is not going for the statue unveiling, at least not if its in July. There was some talk of pushing it to September which would be somewhat more reasonable. I think a better shot would be the jubilee next year.
The amount of misinformation and the lack of critical thinking in this story and these comments here are WILD!
This is what it says on the Archewell website in the statement after Lili’s birth:
“While the Duke and Duchess are on parental leave, Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site. We look forward to seeing you!”
Nowhere in that statement, nor anywhere else on their website, does it say that parental leave at Archewell is 20 weeks long nor does it say anything about Harry “leading the way”. Like all royal reporters, Omid likes to embellish the facts so that he can provide interesting commentary to whichever TV show he’s booked on. It is astonishing that his word on these matters are taken as gospel – and used to criticise Harry – when the same affordances would not be made for someone like Camilla Tominey (for example). Please do not fall into the British media assumption that because Omid’s commentary is mostly fair that this somehow suggests he is getting it straight from the horse’s mouth — he’s not (see ABritGuest’s comment above).
Also, it’s not Harry’s fault parental leave policies in the US are crap and it is also not his responsibility to lobby for change in the law around this. If you have an issue with this, write to your elected officials. And finally, Omid needs to be more careful about giving (stupid) takes like this because he knows (or should know) that his commentary on the Sussexes are given much more credibility than other royal reporters and will be circulated, and accepted as fact, regardless of their veracity.
END OF RANT
I completely agree with this.
How is Omid’s take stupid? Its the trolls that find fault with everything the Sussexes do. If it wasn’t this it would be something else. And the trolls are not stopping Harry, Meghan or anybody else from doing one g-d thing. I doubt that Omid would pull information like this out of his hat and Archewell has a communication team which I’m sure he’s spoken with.
In terms of pulling things out of his hat, omid & carolyns book did have stuff that Meghan gave a witness statement about being completely wrong eg describing a joint trip to LA to meet Doria when Meghan said the first time they were there together was when they moved to Tyler Perry’s. I think all royal reporters embellish or speculate to some degree.
I agree with all you say. If youre on twitter (I’m not at the moment) you should DM him.
Its possible tho, that he called the company (or I believe he has contact info for their press sec’y) to find out the company’s policy on parental leave.
Yes, thank you. The site doesn’t say how long their parental leave will be, either – or whether Harry will take as much time off as Meghan. And it’s not even clear what they mean by “parental leave” – they don’t have regular office jobs – so we can’t compare them to what happens in the regular workforce.
I know the Sussex’s didn’t say it, but I am here for “leading by example.” My boss started offering mental health leave after going to a panel on mental health related to the industry I’m in. My boss started researching creating a paid parental leave policy after reading an unrelated book & discussions within her book club. My boss would never think of offering parental leave for fathers on her own, but I guarantee she will see this story & the idea will percolate in her head in a way it wouldn’t when talked about as a general policy. If she sees it enough, it will become normal enough that she will feel it’s something she “has to offer,” rather than something she “wishes she could do.”
Leading by example is helpful to normalize the idea, both for the employees of the company & for our culture as a whole. Miss me with that petty “must be nice to be rich” bullshit.
Of course, H&M will take some time off, but there’s no way they’ll be shutting down their laptops and putting their phones on Do Not Disturb for 5 months. They not only have Archewell, they have Spotify and Netflix and Better Up and who knows what else on their plates.
This is great! I am so glad they are leading on big issues of our time, not the bs hateful content on the news everyday. They are building a more peaceful society. Having both parents at home, with paid leave, nurturing “the early years” (cough, by addressing the actual issue, cough) is so important.
What’s the big deal? I’m about to turn fifty and child free so I have no dog in this fight. What’s wrong with encouraging companies to grant meaningful time off to parents to bond with their newborns? Happier employees, less burnt out, spending precious time with their children. Emotionally happy employees with an appropriate work life balance make for loyal employees. Everyone wins!
Carole Middleton has entered the chat, y’all.
ETA: the comment I was replying to was deleted. Can I just say, thanks to the moderators for your work. some of these posts really bring out the trolls.
So the statue thing… I really think that it’s important to Harry to be there- Maybe even more so with everything that has transpired in the last two years. I never imagined that he wouldn’t go and I think they knew that Lili would be here long before July. I do think it’ll be a lightening fast visit though. As in, Statue unveiling, see the Queen, bounce.
If he still has to quarantine, how fast will it be? And why can’t we give a new dad a break? Is the statue going to get up and walk away? And it not just the statue, its the endless articles, talk shows, body language experts, the “rift” speculation, Keen peacemakers and on and on. The Sussexes said they are taking a break so let them! Sorry for the rant.
“Long before July?” It’s June. July is less than a month away. You really expect either Harry to leave his newborn daughter, post partum wife and new oldest child(who has adjustments of his own to make, not being an only child anymore) for two weeks? Or do you expect them to bring two unvaccinated children on a transatlantic flight, with a baby less than a month old at the time?
Or do Meghan and Harry leave the kids with Grandma or a nanny and jet off to see a statue unveiled?
Priorities change.
I don’t understand stand why Omid saying “lead by example” is triggering some folks. I think overall its what the Sussexes try to do. They contribute their own money to causes as well as ask for donations. Meghan invested her own money in a female lead business as well as talking about how important it is to invest. In Harry’s special he talked about his own journey with mental health instead of just mentioning how important therapy was like Camel Toe and others thought he should do. And if a tiny company like Archewell is offering that much paid leave then what is the excuse for these big multinational, multibillion dollar companies not doing it too?
Omid’s a decent guy and he tries to be reasonable. But he’s been wrong about lots of things. I’m sure they are taking some time off. But I don’t think they are taking months off. They work from home and in all likely hood they have help. So I’m not buying this. I agree about the Statue thing. He’s probably going since the baby was born in early June.
Tell me you live in the USA without telling me you live in the USA: My husband got three days off work(unpaid), and then I was left with a 20 month-old, infant and a vagina full of stitches. It was so stressful and the amount of tears I cried in those first couple months could fill in ocean. I really hope someday do US gets better at this.
I live and work in the USA. It depends on the company. Mine gives both men and women the same leave. They just call it “family leave” so can be used for major events like birth or adoption.
Interesting that women usually take the full amount but many men I work with don’t, especially the older fathers. And I actually know one of them who lied to his wife about having to go back to work sooner (blamed his poor boss). A-hole.
goofpuff, my ex-husband did that. We worked for the same company and got the same leave and he insisted he couldn’t take it.
The thing is they can set their own schedule and don’t have any royal schedule to adhere to. It’s also summer so they can take the time. They are private citizens now. Some clown on Twitter was freaking out that Meghan wasn’t doing some huge publicity tour for her children’s book and wasn’t getting her famous friends to promote it for her. Like they just had a baby and leave them alone. I don’t think they’ll be knee deep in diapers the whole time but they’ll put out things on their own time.
I know which twitter clown you are referring to. She would complain if Meghan did just one interview. She wants Meghan out because the ones she “stans” are boring and dull. Her whole twitter account is Meghan and Harry.
I have a hard time believing Harry and Meghan told anyone they were taking 7 months off for parental leave. The number is oddly specific for two people who don’t have regular jobs where you have to show up a certain number of days\hours a week. I’d guess it’s been inferred from some other metric rather than a statement by either of them. If they did say it and authorized Omid to report on the exact number of months it’s rather tone-deaf, especially in the US where mothers often only get 6 weeks of short-term disability. They may not be doing something specific for 7 months, but I don’t believe for a second they won’t be doing anything.
It’s 20 weeks not 7 months. the 7 months was in reference to Kate’s extended leave with Louis. The 20 weeks is what Archewell offers to new parents.
Why is it tone deaf if all Archewell employees get the same amount of parental leave? There is no government mandated parental leave in this country and each company decides. Some states mandate but not sure if that’s paid, and 12weeks seems to be the unwritten norm ( paid or not). Just because they do something doesn’t mean it has to become part of the national conversation and public policy.
I’m kind of with Kaiser in that I think he’s going to go to the statue unveiling. I don’t think he’s confirmed it yet bc he doesn’t want that to leak and to start a month’s worth of hype articles, but I think he’s going. The interesting thing to me is that his job is no longer working royal, he’s not taking parental leave from royal stuff. He’s taking it from his actual jobs. Royal stuff is now just family stuff for him. He’s not getting paid for it, it doesn’t count as a “work duty” for him on the court circular. It’s purely stuff he does separately in addition to his real job. When the royals take leave, they take it from stuff like statue unveilings and boat christenings, and celebrations held in their own honor. Because that’s what “work” is for them. But it’s not like that for Harry anymore. The Diana statue is purely a family, non-work occasion for him. So he wouldn’t really be “breaking his paternity leave” to attend. Which makes me think he might feel like he has to go and can’t specifically claim he’s on paternity leave from “work” as a reason not to go. Bc the statue unveiling isn’t work for him. He could obviously still just say he doesn’t want to/can’t come because he just had a baby, but paternity leave doesn’t really give him that extra cover if that’s what he decides.
So it’s relatively late and I haven’t read the comments yet, but why are they shining skimming Kate’s leave time? She always started her leave almost at conception bc her hyperemisis gravidarum was so bad. She would only do a handful of events throughout her pregnancy. Then only a handful for the following year after the birth. We’ve been saying on this site for years how she uses her pregnancies to get out of work for years at a time.
Nice if you can afford to.
Since his company offers it as paid leave to every employee, yes, yes it is nice. It’s a nice perk of working for Archewell.
Didn’t Meghan work on the capsule collection during her maternity leave? And Vogue?
Also since Harry and Meghan are no longer working Royals why is this even covered in the news. How much parental leave did Mike and Zara take or Jack and Eugenie?.
I hope they are true to this parental leave and not come out of it with podcasts and a Netflix production which would imply that they were working. I’m sure Archwell site will let us know when they’re out of maternity leave. I can’t see either of them not working for that long.
I’m pro-maternity leave and agree it should be longer than It is, particularly in the US. That got me thinking about royal engagements like what is the actual ROI on anything the Cambridge’s do? Like yes of course they bring attention/ cameras wherever they go and their foundation gives out money but when you think about how much it costs UK taxpayers to fund their gold and diamond encrusted lifestyle, it hardly seems like a good return especially if that same money was used not for them but directly donated. I’m very curious and have been following the discussion on the future of the monarchy. QE2 is very popular but Charles? William? Nowhere near the appeal. I’ll be curious to see what happens over the next few decades but I could really see it being abolished particularly as inequality grows worldwide.
Once again, we have no definitive information about how long this couple will cocoon or nest as a family. However, it does not cost us anything because they are private citizens and entrepreneurs. The length of maternity/paternity leave depends on where you work. I visit this site because it is a quick and dirty way to read tabloid articles, but now the articles are so unhinged I feel like a virus has attacked my brain
Kate Middleton took 7 months maternity leave after the birth of Louis
Once more I am shocked at how bad the US labor system is and how the very people being treated unfairly by this system seem to agree with it.
Paid parental leave should be a right, not a privilege and 5 months is nothing. In Romania (a rather poor, former communist east European country) we have 2 year paid leave with the protection of your job during this time. You can’t be fired for taking the full time as it’s against the law.
The same way that you can’t be fired without a valid reason, just because the boss feels like it, which I’ve seen is possible in several US states. Where are the laws protecting employees’ rights?