I do not recall a time in the past seven years where the Sussex team has been so quick to get so involved in the royal story of the day. There’s an eagerness to get the Sussexes’ side out through briefings which we simply haven’t seen from them before now. Speaking of, Team Sussex had a response to all of the British media’s inquiries about Uganda possibly pulling out of the Birmingham Invictus Games. You see, the Ugandan president’s son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, announced on Twitter that Uganda will not participate in any event without King Charles’ approval. He then told the Times of London: “I have factions in the Ministry of Defence that support that Harry-Meghan nonsense. I had to quash it straight away. I support the monarch. Period.” As I said in my coverage yesterday, it doesn’t even sound like a formal withdrawal from Invictus, it sounds like some random general is polishing his royalist-bootlicker medal. Well, Team Sussex spoke to ITV’s Chris Ship and it’s like they’re pouring gasoline on a fire.
Uganda has pulled it’s participation from Prince Harry’s Invictus Games – so is this week’s public letter from Buckingham Palace about Harry’s status to blame?
The question has come about following a tweet from the chief of Uganda’s defence forces. On X, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted that “Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games” because he did not want the country’s participation to be “construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere”. The general, who is also the son of Uganda’s president, said: “We shall not participate in anything that does not have His Majesty’s approval.”
Uganda is the most recent country to join the Invictus Games movement and a delegation from the country’s defence forces was personally welcomed by Prince Harry when he was in London in July.
Harry’s office was quick to link the decision by General Kainerugaba to the letter made public by Buckingham Palace about the status of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Monday. The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior courtier in the Royal Household, issued the guidance following the return to the UK of the Sussexes. The letter made it clear that any charitable work by Harry and Meghan is “a personal matter for them and undertaken in their private capacity.”
Whether or not that guidance influenced the Invictus decision by the Ugandans, we can’t be sure.
But a source close to Prince Harry said: “Intended or unintended, this is clearly a consequence of the Lord Chamberlain’s guidance regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that was rushed out without consultation on Monday.”
ITV News approached the Ugandan government and asked for clarification on the decision to withdraw its team from the Invictus Games. Government spokesperson, Alan Kasujja, said General Kainerugaba “speaks for the UPDF (Uganda People’s Defence Forces)”.
“There’s no higher authority in the military besides the president. Until he changes his position, consider it the position of the military,” Kasujja told ITV News.
However, the spokesperson did not know why the decision was made and if it was related to the Buckingham Palace letter. At the time, the palace said the letter was made public simply to clarify Harry and Meghan’s status in the UK for military and government departments. But Prince Harry’s office now believes the decision about Invictus by the Ugandans is directly linked to this week’s developments. It’s understood the Invictus Games Foundation has been told the palace letter has created some “confusion” within the Ugandan defence department.
There is no suggestion King Charles does not support the Invictus Games, which Prince Harry founded for wounded and sick military personnel and veterans. The King was at the inaugural Invictus Games in London in 2014 and is said to be very proud of his youngest son’s achievements. A senior royal source noted on Wednesday that the King supports all organisations which work to support wounded service personnel.
It’s clear that Harry is very upset about the palace’s status-clarification letter – Team Sussex went to the Telegraph to explain why the wording and the timing of the letter “rankled” them so much. And now this, blaming the letter (and the palace) for sowing division within the Invictus community. Harry is, in essence, trying to lay the blame at his father’s feet. Here’s the thing: I have no doubt that we don’t even know the half of what the Windsors are doing to hurt Invictus. I think it’s likely that Invictus is one of the biggest reasons for the Sussexes’ move, even if they refuse to say that out loud. But this particular case with blaming the palace for what sounds like a deeply eccentric Ugandan general… this is not the test case, you know? This is not the moment to point at the palace machinery and cry shenanigans. I’m coming across as the Goldilocks of comms advice, I know – I’ve wanted the Sussexes’ comms to be more proactive and vocal for years, and now that they are, I’m like “hm, maybe y’all should have waited a week to get all of the facts.”
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- The Duke of Sussex, watches the track and field finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex (centre) kisses Davey Martinez of Team US on the head as he presents medals during the wheelchair rugby finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Davey Martinez Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during day 2 of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex, during the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany. Featuring: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 12 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex during day 4 of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan Markle Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 13 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Closing ceremony of the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the Invictus Games. Featuring: President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
I mean, it seems pretty clear to me. The general specifically referenced that “Harry-Meghan” stuff in his order. There was no Harry-Meghan stuff back in July when Uganda first announced their participation— the only thing to change is that letter, followed immediately by their withdrawal.
Also, we know the palace has tried to interfere with the Sussexes relationship with other countries in the past, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were also talking shit behind the scenes.
As a Ugandan, I’ll say this: 1) I was very side eyeing this Uganda involvement in IG right from day one. Reason is because Uganda has been ruled by a murderous dictator, Yoweri Museveni, for 40 years now and I didn’t see any reason why and how this horrendous man would let the Ugandan army anywhere near IG, well other than the fact that maybe someone thought that there was potential opportunities of stealing IG allocated funds etc, etc.
2) Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni’s first son, is a murderer, and a rap!$t, a man that has killed, r@p3d and maimed millions of Ugandans. He has zero allegiance to Charles. He probably thought it was cute to pull this stunt and in the process of doing so, embarrass and/or humiliate the Sussexes etc, that’s what this man gets off of. Remember this is the man that, a few weeks ago, posted on twitter that he was going to do harm to Jay-Z so he can take and do despicable things to Beyonce.
3) There are rumors circulating for years that The British govt has banned Uganda from receiving any funding from them because of millions of pounds that were embezzled by Ugandan officials. It is rumored that the Brits will not give the Ugandans even a penny until they first repay the embezzled millions. Maybe Muhoozi in his pigeon brain thinks if he batters Charles this ban will be lifted?
Anyways, if I were the Sussexes, I would give this Muhoozi zero oxygen, he deserves none of their attention and is a big attention seeking buffoon.
Thank you for that clarification Lawrenceville! Facts matter!
Harry needs to be more selective with the teams he admits to IG. I’m sorry Uganda is such a mess.
Everything you said is public knowledge but unfortunately Invictus, led by Harry, still accepted Uganda into the event. The actions of Ugandan political leaders are reprehensible but that shouldn’t prevent athletes from participating in IG anymore than using Trump’s crimes as a reason to ban American veterans.
@Donety, you are comparing apples and oranges but..okay, I guess.
Absolutely it’s linked. I saw this comment on r/RoyaltyTea and totally agree:
“Chucky, Benyon and Rycroft keep digging a bigger hole to bury the House of Windsor 🕳️
Keep treating this war veteran worse than the PDF file…go on…keep at it…💅”
This is all becoming so tedious. And it has been what, 2 weeks?
It’s absolutely because of that letter, lol. that doesn’t mean the general isn’t otherwise problematic or hasn’t said other BSC things online, but the timing of this announcement is absolutely because of that letter. Maybe its just because of the insane press coverage over the past few weeks as well, but the Sussex coverage has always been unhinged.
How embarrassing that the press now has to clarify that charles ” supports all organisations which work to support wounded service personnel.”
The KP bots are back in action talking about how William and Kate actually created Invictus and then gave it to harry to keep him busy. So that just convinces me even more that William was behind the letter on monday and that he really is out to destroy invictus any way he can.
Yeah, I’m looking at it in the same way. The letter made Charles look bad. Like he doesn’t support the veterans and now they’re having to put out fires and say oh no Charles really does support the veterans and invictus. It’s very embarrassing for the King to have to go back and say yes he supports veterans. All bc he had to sloppily quick rush a letter out about the sussexes. Nah, that’s not a good look at all. In my mind, Harry just had to sit back and watch as the Windsors fumbled bc of their own pettiness.
Yet where’s the evidence that Charles supports veterans?
He’s never used official comms to affirmatively support veterans at Invictus events from any of the nations he’s the Head of State for.
No briefings to the papers, no social media posts.
He was invited to the Anniversary Service at St. Paul’s in London, and decided to throw a fakakta garden party instead, corralling as many members of the BRF as possible to make Harry feel isolated from the BRF. Charles ended up seething with egg on his face publicly when the Spencers showed up in force.
The ONLY time Charles has shown any public support for Harry’s IG charity, was 2014. Years before Harry met Meghan.
The point is the misogynoir with this family and always has been.
oh, I don’t think Charles supports IG – well, I’m not sure he’s against it, per se, I just think he’s against Harry so that’s part of it. but in general, as commander in chief, its a bad look for someone to actually have to ask “does charles ACTUALLY support wounded veterans or nah?” and for the palace to have to assure people “yes, yes he does care.”
but honestly IMO the press should have been asking that ages ago, at least at the time of the anniversary service as you pointed out.
Dearly Beloveds, I bought a Texting dictionary. I do my utmost to keep up. BSC??? Google says it’s bachelor of Science. My texting dictionary doesn’t have it.
What are you saying??? It’s so very frustrating when letters are used to replace actual phrases.
Please explain. Thank you ~
LOL it means “bat shit crazy.”
Bachelor of science would just be B.S.
@Becks BSc is Bachelor of Science in the UK. 🙂
@LauraD oh that’s interesting! Did not know that. learn something new every day!
It’s clear that letter gave permission for the Ugandan general and son of the president to say this.
It is becoming more and more obvious that a play was being made for Invictus and Eden has openly said Harry should step down as patron.
Harry obviously knows more than what we do and so preventing another sentebale is clearly a factor in why they returned to the UK.
Of course Charles could end a lot of this by expressing open support for Invictus. It’s up to him.
Exactly @Nic919 I chucked at this because to get out of this, KC simply announces that he Will be attending IG alongside his son, Harry!
“There is no suggestion King Charles does not support the Invictus Games” — totally sounds to me like that “clarification letter”, regardless of who was behind it (Chuck,Willy, or gray guys) absolutely suggests Chuck is not supportive of Invictus Games or Harry’s involvement with IGF. My personal prediction is that Chuck will allow this to get all screwed up, just like ‘no room for Harry at the Buckingham Inn’ then will hurry up and try to fix it with a command meeting. “Working royal” is such an idiotic phrase, especially when the ceremonial royals in question have to glom onto charities to appear more valuable to the country.
If Charles wanted to, he could squash this immediately by “clarifying” (since he loves that word) that he, as the head of state, looks forward to seeing the Invictus athletes compete in Birmingham. It would show his support for veterans and reassure countries where he is still the nominal head of state.
He simply doesn’t want to do that. He likes it when William and Harry are fighting each other for scraps and he always has.
I’m just a bystander but I find this exhausting. I truly hope that whatever brought them back here is worth it that it eclipses dealing with the brf’s malignant and malicious intent towards them and their family.
I think team Sussex was right to speak out here. From the ITV article it appears that Invictus has spoken to their contacts in the Ugandan military and they have been told the letter is indeed what sparked confusion.
Also Muhoozi is not some random general. He is the President’s son and is expected to be the next president. He is a Trump like dictator figure who has threatened to invade Kenya and threatened violence towards his father’s political rival. He might be a lunatic and he might tweet nonsense but he has a lot of political power. His decision has hurt veterans.
It has caused some backtracking from BP, who are now saying via Richard Palmer that the king does support Invictus!
I had questioned when The Invictus Games accepted Uganda under this regime. This is a blessing in disguise for the Invictus Games. The Invictus Games was being used by this current Uganda regime to sanitized their reputation. Getting your top military position from daddy says a lot this person’s qualifications.
The Invictus Games/ foundation should celebrate. They just escaped a hella of chaos.
That’s a great point, but Harry speaking up shows how much he cares about the soldiers actually being able to participate. He is thinking about the veterans who might now be prevented from going, and what that devastatingly means to them. That care for the athletes is why I respect him.
You’re probably right this is a blessing in disguise. Uganda is nominally democratic, but the president has been president like forever. It’s only their first year at IG, so it’s not a huge loss for them to pull out now.
That’s my question as well. Seems like Invictus would be better off without Uganda which at the moment appears to be governed by fascistic lunatics. But then, so are we in the US so maybe I shouldn’t talk.
I mean it’s clear that Charles doesn’t support Invictus.
Well if it wasn’t clear that the BRF and the media’s intention was and is to destroy them it should be clear after these last two weeks.
This general is just an idiot. Proclaiming fealty to a colonialist relic is not the flex he thinks it is. And as to Charles, he could so so easily just issue a statement saying something to the effect of “I have always supported the Invictus Games and the role they play in the wellbeing of our veterans and I fully support and comment my son’s hard work in this worthwhile cause.” Period. It’s not complicated or hard.
But this dithering insecure man child won’t do even that. It’s ridiculous and frankly Harry needs to close the door on this bunch (I know – easier said than done but after all this time they’ve shown who they are over and over and over again…)
And trying to link it to the letter is… a bad call as it mixes multiple issues and just makes them look petulant. What a mess.
It sounds like Invictus was told that it was the letter that caused the confusion by their Ugandan contacts. The team was right to put it out there. This will blow over. The Ugandan military is not credible nor Muhoozi. This is not really a big deal, except for the Ugandan veterans!
I agree that Uganda’s leaders lack credibility (as someone noted above re human rights abuses & dictatorship) and that the main people hurt are the Ugandan veterans.
But I don’t agree it’s not a big deal. Its one piece of a very concerted effort puzzle. It’s like the death of a thousand cuts against H and M – accelerated now that they’ve gone back to England with no clear explanation why. Its a constant stream of drip-drip-drip negative news about them that buries itself in the general public’s mind until it seems true. The average Joe or Jill who doesn’t follow them like we do here will shrug and say “oh more trouble for those two…nothing they touch ever goes right…”
As an aside, Invictus never should have been in England.
He doesn’t realize this is basically daring them to take Invictus away.
Harry and Meghan’s basic goodness js what is best about them, but watching them be so clueless about the nest of vipers he grew up in is hard.
No it’s not. This is really not a big deal! Stop obsessing over silly media narratives. This will not affect Invictus.
It may not seem a big deal at the moment but, this is the second time the IGs has had bad publicity from a Commonwealth country. First Australia threatening to take away funding and now this “confusion”. It’s very easy to dismiss them both as isolated cases but, what happens when there’s another isolated case, and another? The sponsors are happy to to donate huge sums of money to help support the games and associate their brands with the goodwill the games attracts. However, when these murky stories start framing negative narratives in the media, brands will start looking at whether or not they want to be associated with all the bad publicity.
It has been said time and time again that the BRF (William in particular) will go for the IGs and this is quite possibly the thin end of the wedge. No-one thought Sentebale would fall as easily as it did, yet here we are. The IGs may be bigger but, with its HQ based in the UK and a CEO who has/had close ties with William (Owen was instrumental in securing William’s support as a Patron for the St Giles Trust) it’s doesn’t take much imagination to see how easily manipulating chaos behind the scenes can cause an organisation to unravel.
Hopefully, Harry has learnt his lesson with Sentebale and this is the reason why he felt that a rebuttal to the king’s letter had to be made ASAP. This time Harry was fortunate that as there was a public backlash. Next time he might not be so lucky.
@Laurad Australia did not threaten to take funding away from the Invictus Games or the Invictus Foundation. The. Australian government cut funding for veterans causes as part of budget cuts and Invictus Australia was among the charities affected. Invictus Australia is a separate charity to the Invictus Foundation. The funding cut was nothing too do with the organisation or Harry, who not involved with it. It was purely financial. The funding was restored after public backlash. It is important to get facts correct because only a few right wing outlets incorrectly tied this to Harry, and the Invictus foundation. Most people were not even aware of this story and it had no impact on Invictus’s reputation!
Sentebale was a tiny charity with poor governance. It can’t be compared to Invictus!
@Emily – Thanks for the clarification but, the sad thing was that it was linked to Harry. I know that I sound like a Conspiracy Theorist who wears a tin foil tiara behind my keyboard but, I do worry about the negative stories that are continually linked to Harry and the IGS. As others have said having the games in the UK is looking like a huge mistake. There are few positive stories around the games at the moment it’s all about Harry and his father. They are even reviving the Mike Tindall should replace Harry stories.
Here in the UK, the Whistler games were reduced to an hour highlights show on ITV whereas previous games have had their own outdoor broadcast on BBC iPlayer with regular evening updates on the One Show. As a result of ITV’s lack of coverage and minuscule promotion few people realised the games were on and even fewer watched it. It’s naïve at best, and complacent at worst to believe that because Invictus is a large organisation it will prevent William and his cohorts from trying to bring it down.
How low can the RF n British press go? This move is about IG. Throughout the year we’ve heard Harry should step down. Camilla would NEVER abuse her children. This return ain’t gonna work. It’s only been a week and Charles submits this letter, Uganda drops out and Harry is now considered William “Hit Man.” Talk about crocodile tears; child no way could I tolerate the LIONS DEN!
I don’t know what facts are needed to see what is obvious? I thought the letter was unnecessary from the palace and it was the last portion where they make it clear that they were mainly directing their response to other countries and governments and as a result this move by Uganda is in response to the letter. I think that Uganda is one of the countries that had questions for the palace and it’s clear that they joined Invictus because of an allegence to Charles. I don’t know what they thought joining now would do for them with Charles and the Invictus Games being in Birmingham next year, but the letter made it clear to them that Charles isn’t involved with Invictus in Birmingham. It should have been obvious to them from the start because he has never really been a supportive father or king for Harry and any of his accomplishments. This reminds me of how the palaces tried to pressure other countries from providing security for the Sussexes when they travel. Charles is an evil man. It always gives me goosebumps when I am reminded that he’s the one the royals sent to Paris to take Diana back to the UK after her death. The palace, Uganda and Charles look bad for not putting wounded soldiers above their pettiness.
It’s very obvious. I was on a group chat with friends from the uk yesterday, talking about a completely different topic, and they saw the news and said how bad this was for Charles. That Charles is having to go back and clarify that he does support the vets and invictus. That letter was a fumble. If Charles is having to go back and clarify, yeah, that’s a fumble.
I’m so glad that’s how it’s being perceived, Jais.
Well, my friend is Nigerian and now lives in the uk so I can’t say everyone perceives it that way. But no, it was an instant recognition that if Charles had to come back around and say he does care about Invictus and the veterans, there was a reason. And it’s bc he was looking bad.
Yeah of all the things to say something about, I wouldn’t have said this. And why in the world would Harry even go there and not just let the Invictus people who he hired do some reach out and ensure clarification about things. Good lord. What a mess. And I do wonder if this is them worrying this will cause other countries to pull out. Never should have even had the UK in the conversation about where to hold this upcoming game.
Other countries are not going to pull out. This is not really a big deal. Muhoozi is not credible and Other nations do not take him seriously! This is Charles’s mess because it’s obvious his letter caused it. Harry was right to get that on the public record if that is what Invictus is being told by their contacts.
Last week somebody on SM suggested that this could be a move by the royal house to destroy Harry’s IG legacy. That person cited the Australian govt not awarding funds to the AUS IG (they have rescinded their decision since). At that time, I believed it was a coincidence.
However, given that Australia and Uganda are two prone monarchy countries and the Harry-Meghan nonsense comment, I’m seriously questioning how filthy the king is to achieve this goal.
I’m truly happy this back-lashed in is face.
I can kind of see why they are speaking up about this, though. Uganda probably did withdraw in response to the letter. The timing is sus. And while the government might not be a big loss, it’s not about that. It’s about the veterans. By drawing attention to the situation and calling it what it is, the Sussexes are actually sending a warning shot? Like, don’t let the Palace dictate whether or not your veterans get to participate in this event. Don’t let them mess with your heads.
Maybe it’s the wrong move, but I can see why they didn’t just let it go.
Harry isn’t doing Invictus as a royal. He’s doing it as a veteran.
Right? The uk govt bid on hosting the IG, did it not? So that letter being perceived as causing a country to drop out, is an issue. It’s putting Charles at odds with the govt and the military.
I’m sorry I find Harry exhausting.
Yes, it’s exhausting to believe in something (the mental, physical, and spiritual health of veterans) and try to use the gifts you were blessed with (position, money, presence) to do something about it. If you’re exhausted, imagine how Harry feels.
Today is Invictus’s 12th anniversary.
And Willy has launched a mental health project reg. sports, named “On your side”, today.
And Kitty is out and about with him on its launch day.
Make of all of these (coincidences/timing) as you will.
Ahhhhh, is today the 12th anniversary of Invictus? NOW Willian’s gesture makes sense! 😀
And the invisible one is out with him today? No doubt because they expect both Harry and Meghan to make an appearance somewhere to mark the anniversary.
What a mess! I didn’t understand when the “clarification” letter was released what the big deal was, but it seems that Harry did. I was like “It’s obvious that the Sussexes aren’t trying to rejoin as senior royals, duh!” but I think it was less about the actual facts and more about symbolism, that Harry would be fair game, not to be protected by the crown. .
It’s basically William ( through Charles) shining a spotlight on his brother’s family and saying “Go ahead, take a shot at these upstarts, won’t you?” Through that lens, what I saw as a Sussex overreaction to the letter makes more sense.
Just imagine if William spent one tenth of this energy on something less malevolent.
Charles was at the inaugural games in 2014, and we’re supposed to take that as evidence of his support for wounded veterans? LOL. That was more than a decade ago.
That petty diva was fine supporting his son in a fledgling effort, but now he’s likely miffed that his son has grown IG into a huge global force, outside of the RF. Charles isn’t that different from William really.
Charles last seen supporting IG before Meghan entered Harry’s life.
It’s still about the BRF’s misogynoir.
Just wondering if the “comments” are coming from the Sussexes UK based office or the head of sussexes communication team?
Neither. More than likely the comments are coming from the reporter’s head. The Sussexes’ communications teams tend to speak on the record with their full chests. That is why I have been side-eyeing all the pearl clutching and claims that the Sussexes are “briefing” even their sworn enemies that they have sued about their thoughts and hopes and feelings and dreams.
The reporters NEED continued drama to sell their dwindling papers, and they have always manufactured outrage to do this. They have been writing nonstop about the Sussexes yet we have received only ONE on the record statement/confirmation from them and have seen Harry, briefly, only once. Despite this, there have been hundreds of think pieces and irrational (hysterical) rants and reports about them – driven, in large part I’d say, because Harry and Meghan are giving them NOTHING. UK reporters really did think that they would be able to get some sort of access now that they are back and they are realising that it will pretty much be business as usual, except for a temporary change of address. They’re throwing everything to the wall in the hopes that the Sussexes make on-the-record comments for them to dissect for months. And that’s not happening. So the ones who received a brief reprieve from the breadline are realising that they will still be heading in that direction, and are lashing out. Replace “sources close to the Sussexes” with “sources close to William” for the most part and “sources close to Charles” and you will get a better picture of what’s really going on.
This line – “UK reporters really did think that they would be able to get some sort of access now that they are back and they are realising that it will pretty much be business as usual, except for a temporary change of address. ” I agree with 100%. The RRs and tabloid press in general were so excited about the Sussexes moving back. Now they could feast again.
Except h&M are still pretty much starving them and they are not coping well.
I remember when a “royal reporter/expert” said what was going on with Sentebale (when all the confusion first started) that it wouldn’t be going on if Harry was still under the umbrella of the institution.
I said it a few days ago – Harry is back to protect Invictus from “The Firm/KP” invaders. There’s no question they are trying desperately to undermine Harry’s prized achievements.
Agreed.
I said a couple of days ago that the letter was to put the Establishment, media, Armed Forces etc. on notice that Harry and Meghan are 100% out and not to be even considered royal adjacent. It was to undermine everything they do, especially Invictus. Charles, William and the institution hate the global attention and access that Harry receives where the Games is concerned and he must be well aware of it.
For me, a huge red flag was the omission of any acknowledgement that the Sussexes are still part of the family, just non working members. That difference from the late Queen’s statement from 2020 was a clear indicator to those who deal in palace speak that they’re persona non grata and shouldn’t really be considered royal at all. There are many who will fall in line and I’m expecting Harry to experience what his late mother came up against after the divorce, with access suddenly blocked and things that came easy suddenly becoming much more difficult. It’s also a heads up to RAVEC as well – as if we didn’t know that.
Harry will rue the day he made the decision to relocate here and giving Charles the opportunity to release that statement in the first place.
I’m expecting Charles to issue Letters Patent to remove the Prince and Princess status; I thought it would be down to William but forgot what a monster Charles really is. He doesn’t care about the Sussexes at all.
The letter was pretty clearly an order to shun H&M. What remains to be seen is how many government orgs and charities care. There have been examples in the last 6 years of the foreign office and military working with Harry.
I’m by no means an expert on politics in Uganda and would defer to readers with local knowledge here, but my superficial impression is that this may have more to do with local politics and someone reaffirming his authority over whatever part of government is dissenting / he feels needs a show of force. I’m not sure the letter has much to do with it, sounds like an excuse to clamp down on an internal opponent. In which case, I think Prince Harry needs to be more selective in his fights.
Uganda is problematic and should have been vetted more but Harry was right to lay this at the palaces feet. That letter implied this. They are trying to meddle in his business and out a hand on the scale. I have no problem with him being vocal about this. We can’t say they don’t say enough about trivialities like tv shows roles then complain when they speak up on something that is important and crucial to him. I think Invictus should formally disinvite Uganda or relegate them to observer status. This military guy is erratic and despotic. Charles was willing to implode Invictus and wreck the hopes of many veterans to spite Harry and put him in his place. They should have consulted the Sussexes before releasing it and they can’t use the press to mediate their grievances. This is rift, Harry needs to get his house in order and be vigilant with his interests.
I absolutely support Team Sussex pushing back. They have nothing to lose whatsoever and I think they should be down there with the pigs in the mud. I’m happy… do not let any story take lead get down there with them and the monarch is gonna come across very stupid . Harry and Meghan are already looking mad even if they aren’t
What Harry should be worrying about is, that his father used the so-called clarification letter to sleazy slip in two major live-changes aspects that will influence how he and Meghan could operate and move while they are in the UK, going forward:
1. Basically letting the military, govt and any (charitable) organisations know that PB/the King doesn’t want them to partner with, or do any projects with Harry and/or Meghan. The letter is a guideline to isolate them while they are in the UK.
2. Blatantly lying to the public and all the monarch’s stakeholders that he/the palace has nothing to do with Harry and his family’s security, so he’s putting all the responsibility in the hand of the govt and the police authorities. No, Charles you, and you and William’s courtiers are very much still part of Ravec’s board and decision-making process.
Figure how you’re gonna work around these things, Harry. Take it up with your father, don’t just blame the palace courtiers.
Lord what’s his face was only doing wjat chuck ordered him to do. Harry you should call your father out by name . Plus the way Charles acts towards you is not new so stop being surprised when he does bad shit to you . Take the blinders off and face facts, the father you created in your head as one who cares about you and your family doesn’t exist. He never has
The only people who really get hurt here are the Ugandan veterans who were hoping to take part in Invictus which is too bad. IG should have vetted Uganda more, especially considering their erratic government/dictator (I’ll be honest I didn’t know too much about their form of government until this whole kerfuffle). But it sounds like it’ll be less stressful without having a Ugandan delegation there so this is probably a blessing in disguise.
As for the clarifying letter, it wasn’t necessary IMO. If Buckingham Palace was truly being hounded by the media about the “status” of Harry and Meghan, they could have just put out a short statement saying “refer to the 2020 agreement and leave us alone” after running it past Harry and Meghan instead of the stupid statement they put out. While I support Harry and Meghan, their comms doesn’t have the best track record either.