Meghan and Harry 2: Now with Archie

[just_ordinary]

16 hours ago, acheronbeach said:

This isn't going to stop the British media from publishing unsavoury opinions or articles with sexist and racist overtones because the law there allows them to do so.  For decades they've criticized the women of the RF - Camilla, Sarah, Catherine.  They're only filing this lawsuit because as far as I understand British law, copyright of personal letters is retained by the writer, not with the receiver.   It's the only published thing so far that's been actionable in law.  So, this is a copyright case, not a case about the actual content/opinions published about her.  The press are still free to write whatever they want and they absolutely will in the face of this lawsuit.  The pen is mightier than the sword.  Don't piss off the guy with the pen.  

I thought Harry's letter was a bad idea.  It's in stark contrast to prior BRF letters about media conduct (see, for instance, the incredibly well-reasoned letter about paparazzi behaviour toward Prince George).  These recent Princess Di references in the face of bad PR come across as cynical.  Meghan having mean things said about her on the internet is not like Diana's death.  Meghan has been treated like other women of the RF (I'd even say more gently, in many ways) but Harry doesn't compare her to her living relatives who struggle with similar media backlash, like Sarah, Camilla or Catherine. Meghan is always portrayed - here, and by her host of Celebrity Best Friends who share a PR firm - as the most bullied, most saddest, most victimized, most unique.  

It comes across as a bit ridiculous when you compare it to the awful things that have been published about the other women of the BRF and their family issues - I'm thinking of poor Sarah Ferguson in particular.  

Thanks for your explanation about British law. 

The biggest problems aren’t even the articles themselves because the real ugly stuff is in the comments. And people find a platform for their hate and nastiness. If it isn’t article comment sections, it’s gossip forums and blogs. Obviously the articles give them a public forum but in the end they only show what assholes many people are. 

I agree that most articles are the normal stuff all other female royals deal with. Not saying it’s ok but Meghan is not the most bullied in the crowd. I like to point back to Camilla, the most hated woman in the 90s, and Tampon gate. How she overcame those years is beyond me.

I will never get behind all this dramatic love and hate anyway. Surely any reasonable person must realise that it is crazy to be so invested in strangers.

[tabitha2]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/prince-harry-statement-palace-warning-084113969.html

 

Really? If this is true Someone needs to reign these two in like yesterday!  Who does Harry think he is? 

[Blahblah]

8 hours ago, just_ordinary said:

Surely any reasonable person must realise that it is crazy to be so invested in strangers.

Lol well there goes FJ then

[hoipolloi]

With this statement on the lawsuit, they really do seem to have almost completely wiped out any good will they've gained from the African tour. 

IMO, the UK media have dumped on Meghan nonstop since she joined up with Harry several years ago. Much of the coverage has been racist in intent & nature. It's been pretty disgusting and obvious all along the way. The UK media have also been only too happy to exploit the dysfunctional members of her family to fan the racist flames of their readerships.

OTOH, the sense of entitlement displayed by H & M is pretty incredible, if not disgusting in itself. In her case, it's the celebrity lifestyle to which she became accustomed, especially while hanging out with people like the Mulroneys  while she was in Canada. Harry was born to entitlement, of course, and except for his stint in the military, hasn't really emerged from the BRF bubble. Both of them need major doses of reality but it's not clear who will administer them.

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by hoipolloi
Clarity

[tabitha2]

That should be Queen and Charles and I am wondering what exactly what it’s going to take at this point. 

[just_ordinary]

While the Queen is an impressive woman and her dedication to her role is admirable, she is definitely NOT great in giving her children/relatives a reality check. Love them all you want as a mother but why not strip them of their titles or at least official roles if they do more harm than good. It’s complicated because if she reacts that is an open admission of guilt. But fading Andrew out of public roles would be a good and long overdue start. 

The BRF is not known to be a warm and welcoming bunch. They might be in private but their outward appearance will never openly show deep antipathy or love. That’s why I am vary to draw conclusions about rifts and such. People made up drama between Kate and Meghan because they aren’t Besties. Which is ridiculous- why should they be? They have not only their own circle of friends but they seem to be very different. Some people are obsessed with the idea that family members have to be best friends. Being loving siblings or in laws should definitely be enough. And if you don’t hit it off that’s fine too as long as everyone is nice and civil.

But honestly, the family is probably supportive or at least hasn’t even told them if they weren’t.

What I find incredible sad is the timing of the statement. The lawsuit was in the works for months- why not wait the 24h to issue when you are at home? Because now, that is what many will remember about the tour and it definitely took over the chatter that would normally occur after the tour.

[Blahblah]

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/meghan-markles-father-thomas-markle-speaks-out-about-hurtful-letter/news-story/2504c9aab3c1fb36e58764ef50f5fe34

There is no way this can end well.

[viii]

Oh lord, this is going to get ugly. 

However, it'll be interesting to see if Meghan is forced to admit in court that she has authorized People Mag to post stories about her, citing 'sources'. 

[louisa05]

1 hour ago, viii said:

Oh lord, this is going to get ugly. 

However, it'll be interesting to see if Meghan is forced to admit in court that she has authorized People Mag to post stories about her, citing 'sources'. 

The thing is that she can't have it both ways. If you are okay with your friends anonymously telling the world all about said letter, then you should have expected dad to fight back when being dragged through the mud yet again. 

She gushed about how he was the greatest father ever on her blog as late as while she was dating Harry. Then he abruptly became the villain in her life story. Say what you want about his interactions with the press, but that 180 degree turn from her had to be shocking and devastating for the man. What did she think was going to happen? And they could have headed the entire thing off if they had provided him with guidance and assistance for dealing with the press intrusion that was undoubtedly going to come on the announcement of their engagement. By every account, they did not do so at all. 

 

[acheronbeach]

1 hour ago, viii said:

Oh lord, this is going to get ugly. 

However, it'll be interesting to see if Meghan is forced to admit in court that she has authorized People Mag to post stories about her, citing 'sources'. 

That's one of the reasons - unless they're haemorrhaging money - that I think Daily Mail might try to fight this to the end.  Can you imagine what sort of information they might be able to cross-examine Meghan and Harry on?  Cross-examination has very few limits, as long as the lawyer can point to some relevance.  It often ends up a total, unmitigated disaster - the best example I can think of was when Trump was cross-examined in the lawsuit he filed against Timothy O'Brien.  

I think the odds are that H & M will ultimately settle for a token, then try to spin it as a PR victory.  You know the sort of announcement - Daily Mail today was forced to acknowledge the wrong they did to HRHTDDOS and paid a substantial settlement... without mentioning the "substantial settlement" was a few tens of thousands, less than costs.  It happens all the time.  

 

On a related note... there are rumblings that the BRF are isolating H & M.  Richard Palmer is a longtime royal reporter with the Express.  He has a lot of experience.  He does tend to be a bit high-strung/opinionated, though.  He posted this yesterday on his twitter: 

Quote

Nobody in the Royal Family or the Royal Household is supporting Harry and Meghan at the moment. Even the couple’s aides seem embarrassed by their actions. William, who dropped his brother like a ton of hot bricks earlier this year, and Charles have distanced themselves.

 

[adidas]

It’s seeming more and more like they’re both cutting off their nose to spite their face.

[just_ordinary]

10 hours ago, louisa05 said:

The thing is that she can't have it both ways. If you are okay with your friends anonymously telling the world all about said letter, then you should have expected dad to fight back when being dragged through the mud yet again. 

She gushed about how he was the greatest father ever on her blog as late as while she was dating Harry. Then he abruptly became the villain in her life story. Say what you want about his interactions with the press, but that 180 degree turn from her had to be shocking and devastating for the man. What did she think was going to happen? And they could have headed the entire thing off if they had provided him with guidance and assistance for dealing with the press intrusion that was undoubtedly going to come on the announcement of their engagement. By every account, they did not do so at all. 

 

It could also be possible that the post on the tig was one big lie. She used it to link to Father’s Day gifts. I don’t know if she was paid to promote them or used affiliate links or if she just wanted to recommend the pieces. So it could have been a story she completely made up or exaggerated because those gushy family stories work very well. Many social media influencers do this. 

10 hours ago, acheronbeach said:

[...]

I think the odds are that H & M will ultimately settle for a token, then try to spin it as a PR victory.  You know the sort of announcement - Daily Mail today was forced to acknowledge the wrong they did to HRHTDDOS and paid a substantial settlement... without mentioning the "substantial settlement" was a few tens of thousands, less than costs.  It happens all the time.  

[...]

That’s is the most probable outcome in my opinion. 

Harry suing over the phone hacking- has there been a new instance or does this go back to the Murdoch drama? If it’s a new one- I think he should be supported to sue or not- whatever he thinks fit. But if it’s the old case, it looks bad. He could have sued years ago. 

Edited October 9, 2019 by just_ordinary

[louisa05]

On 10/8/2019 at 11:43 PM, just_ordinary said:

It could also be possible that the post on the tig was one big lie. She used it to link to Father’s Day gifts. I don’t know if she was paid to promote them or used affiliate links or if she just wanted to recommend the pieces. So it could have been a story she completely made up or exaggerated because those gushy family stories work very well. Many social media influencers do this. 

That’s is the most probable outcome in my opinion. 

Harry suing over the phone hacking- has there been a new instance or does this go back to the Murdoch drama? If it’s a new one- I think he should be supported to sue or not- whatever he thinks fit. But if it’s the old case, it looks bad. He could have sued years ago. 

It’s the old case. ?

[acheronbeach]

Has anyone else seen this video? Look at 1 min 30.  Meghan looks like she's helping Harry as he stumbles into the stage.  It's small but peculiar, like he's hung over, sick or high or something.  

[adidas]

@acheronbeach I saw that on the news and thought exactly the same. I genuinely hope he is okay - he looked really unwell when he went backwards a little and uprighted himself with a visible exhale. 

[FluffySnowball]

@acheronbeach Thanks for posting, I just had a look at the clip you were referring to and it seems strange to me, too. It looks like Harry’s problem was only momentary so drugs are (maybe) unlikely (absolutely no expert here so who knows) but hopefully it isn’t as serious as it potentially looks. 

[tabitha2]

Inherited mental and Physical illness causing erratic behaviors is hereditary in both the Spencer and Windsor families going back many hundreds of years.Something to think about at least. 

[FluffySnowball]

3 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

Inherited mental and Physical illness causing erratic behaviors is hereditary in both the Spencer and Windsor families going back many hundreds of years.Something to think about at least. 

That’s interesting. Quite a few royal families, the Romanovs being the most famous probably, have some hereditary issues. 

How Harry behaved seemed odd but now I’m wondering whether he just stumbled. I recently walked into a glass window of a supermarket. No drugs involved though, I promise. All that being said, maybe it was nothing, Jetlag, Archie keeping him up at night.... or something far more serious. 

[just_ordinary]

I think he looks as if he suffered from a sharp back pain. He grabs his back immediately afterwards. 

[viii]

I would have never noticed anything if I wasn’t watching for it. 

[Imaginary_Wonderland]

Yeah, I read that moment as a pain reaction too. Earlier in the video when he is  shaking hands with people, his posture is awkward, leaning forward with his hand placed on his lower back/ hip. There is another video from the tour showing him getting out of a car, and both elbows are bent with his hands placed in same position on his lower back. 

[tabitha2]

I wonder if he had been playing polo or soccer  and took a bad fall. 

[FluffySnowball]

1 hour ago, tabitha2 said:

I wonder if he had been playing polo or soccer  and took a bad fall. 

Good thought. I sometimes think I’m really happy people don’t film me all the time. I’m not especially clumsy but there are lots of instances when I stumble, I have a sneeze-freeze, I look annoyed or confused and if the press were after me, they could make up stories I don’t even want to imagine. So maybe there’s a simple and easy explanation for Harry’s behavior. I’m sure if it’s something serious, we’ll know sooner or later. 

Edited October 12, 2019 by FluffySnowball

[Screamapillar]

Looked to me like an inside joke moment between Meghan and Harry. The little exhale thing and back grabbing looked like he was acting weird on purpose. Meghan appeared more amused than concerned. 

[Blahblah]

Looks like he has a sore back and is having difficulty stepping up (I was going to say that he was walking very gingerly but I would have had to slap myself).

His hand goes straight to his back as soon as he is in position.