Meghan and Harry 4: Working for Netflix

[omilona]

1 hour ago, viii said:

No, what you said isn’t racist nor vile. However, let’s not pretend comments like this is all that’s said about Meghan. I never said it was you specifically, so if you feel targeted, perhaps you should do some soul searching. 

There is a Harry/Meghan section on the board that I was a part of, but it’s now OT and new discussion isn’t allowed regarding the pair. You mentioned a separate part of the board which no, I do not have access to. However, assuming from the comments they made “publicly”, I can only imagine what is said in private where they have no one to judge or offer a contrary position. 

Again, by your own admission, you have not actually seen any posts on the MM/H board at Royal Dish as they,as a couple, have been  OT on the open board for nearly a year. There are ZERO  current posts that you have seen on the open board and you do not have access to the actual discussion regarding MM/H. So everything you have posted on the subject is pure speculation and you have  absolutely no knowledge of what is being discussed on RD about them.

Edited December 22, 2020 by omilona

[viii]

surejan.gif 

[omilona]

Yeah. I'm going to take that to mean, "Correct, I have not actually read anything on Royal Dish on the MM/H board. I'm just speculating."

[adidas]

I have never heard of the other board you are both talking about, but pretty please with a cherry on top, can the bickering happen over there?

Every time I see a new post here I get excited thinking there is some Royal family news (I’m hoping for Christmas Archie photos). 

[louisa05]

12 hours ago, adidas said:

I have never heard of the other board you are both talking about, but pretty please with a cherry on top, can the bickering happen over there?

Every time I see a new post here I get excited thinking there is some Royal family news (I’m hoping for Christmas Archie photos). 

It’s a weird drawing in which Archie is blurry looking so you can’t tell what he looks like. And he picked it out or some such story that brings us back to the story of a 6 month old baby gasping in awe of the scenery. 

[Karma]

Yep. Not too many details being given in this photo. 

[adidas]

The filter is a strange choice but I guess it means they tick two boxes - the expectation that they release a family Christmas photo, but at the same time the compromise is that Archie isn’t very identifiable.

To me, Archie looks like a red headed Prince George in that picture. Cute.

[nausicaa]

Their choices are just so...odd.

I'm not even annoyed with them these days so much as just left scratching my head. 

I have the same attitude toward them as I did Sarah Palin circa 2009/2010. What exactly do they want? And do they even know?

[Botkinetti]

Sometimes I think of them like actors who played a huge part on a tv show and leave thinking that because they were a big deal in one area they will conquer the world. The lack of massive interest must be confusing to them.

I know covid must have derailed their plans for 2020 but I believe they thought the attention paid to the royal family as a whole would be focused solely on them. 

[tabitha2]

They desperately want to be seen as The modern, relatable and woke  “Royals” in contrast to all those British conservative dull out of touch Fuddie duddies.  Simply publishing a  nice warm family photo With beaming parents ,charming tots and Christmas greetings like Just every other Royal or Royal adjacent house has  done Simply won’t do!   We got to make them understand how very DIFFERENT! WE! ARE!

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by tabitha2

[viii]

It’s very artsy and pretentious. Privacy and attention all at the same time. I wonder if covid had never happened what their 2020 plans would have looked like. 

[anjulibai]

I liked the card, but I like artsy stuff like that. Don't see how it's pretentious. I also don't see why doing things differently is a bad thing or somehow a slight against the rest of the Royal Family. It's just different. They are doing their own thing, and I don't see why that is wrong, especially as they are providing for themselves.

BTW, they announced one of the first projects they are doing with their foundation. It's a partnership with World Central Kitchen to create community centers in a few different countries to help bring feed in during crises. I thought that was a pretty cool idea, and it kind of reminded me of what Meghan did with the Grenville community kitchen. 

[viii]

Pretentious might be the wrong word. It’s something she would have posted on The Tig. It fits her style, much like for Mother’s Day she posted his feet cupped in her hand. Maintaining privacy while still generating a discussion. It’s a smart move, because they clearly still want the attention, just on their terms. 

I don’t fault them for doing things differently than the rest of the royal family. I was so excited for them when it was first announced they were leaving. Harry has expressed an interest to distance himself from the family for a while now, and it was clear that Meghan was not settling in. However, a lot of their choices since they’ve left have made me raise an eyebrow. 

It comes across like they want the privilege, wealth and attention without any of the obligation and work. I hope I’m wrong but that’s the image they portray sometimes. Perhaps once covid dies down, we will be able to see their true intentions. 

Overall, I’m still rooting for them. 

Edited December 26, 2020 by viii

[nokidsmom]

On 12/24/2020 at 10:46 PM, nausicaa said:

Their choices are just so...odd.

I'm not even annoyed with them these days so much as just left scratching my head. 

I have the same attitude toward them as I did Sarah Palin circa 2009/2010. What exactly do they want? And do they even know?

Yeah I have thought the same thing.   They don't seem to know what they want, just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.

 

[anjulibai]

But they are working. They are doing lots of things, like the community centers I just posted about. And a lot of stuff they've done since Covid began has been quiet and only posted by the groups they worked with. They volunteered with a few groups that have been distributing food and they aren't making a bid deal about it. The pics coming from these things were taken by other participants. 

For the most part I feel like they have been pretty quiet, other than their announcements, some zoom calls and Meghan's essay. I don't think it's wrong for them to try to control their image and want to control it - it's no different than any celebrity, including the other members of the BRF, many of whom you could easily say want the privilege, wealth and attention without the work.

Wanting privacy on their terms is absolutely their right, just as it is for anyone. I think it's nice that we haven't seen much of Archie besides small, controlled peaks, and they don't trot him out constantly for good press. It's absolutely in keeping with what they've said they wanted. 

I guess I don't understand what some people want from them. They don't want to do things exactly like the BRF, which is why they left.

Edited December 26, 2020 by anjulibai

[viii]

I’m reserving judgment until I see their choices once covid is over and they’re able to really hit their stride. 

[louisa05]

10 hours ago, anjulibai said:

But they are working. They are doing lots of things, like the community centers I just posted about. And a lot of stuff they've done since Covid began has been quiet and only posted by the groups they worked with. They volunteered with a few groups that have been distributing food and they aren't making a bid deal about it. The pics coming from these things were taken by other participants. 

For the most part I feel like they have been pretty quiet, other than their announcements, some zoom calls and Meghan's essay. I don't think it's wrong for them to try to control their image and want to control it - it's no different than any celebrity, including the other members of the BRF, many of whom you could easily say want the privilege, wealth and attention without the work.

Wanting privacy on their terms is absolutely their right, just as it is for anyone. I think it's nice that we haven't seen much of Archie besides small, controlled peaks, and they don't trot him out constantly for good press. It's absolutely in keeping with what they've said they wanted. 

I guess I don't understand what some people want from them. They don't want to do things exactly like the BRF, which is why they left.

Lots of the pics were taken by photographers they brought along.  The food delivery thing was done at a time when the program wasn’t accepting new volunteers. Others were turned away. One charity reported that they were literally there for about ten minutes to get their photos. 
The Grenville kitchen project was established well before Meghan turned up. And “her” cookbook said on the publication page that the proceeds went to the Royal Foundation not to the Hub. No one knows if those women got a penny. And that’s on Will & Kate as much as H& M as the foundation was all four at the time. 
 Then there was their Armistice Day awkward photo opp. Looking forward to their balcony appearance for fake Trooping the Colour in June.  

[just_ordinary]

I think the card is so very cringe. That style is neither artsy nor creative. Maybe if you are a ten year old realising there are filters on your phone. Whoever thought it was good decision needs to stop making creative decisions. It’s pretty obvious to me that this was also not a candid shot, but a little family photo session (nothing wrong with that) and the filter was only chosen to hide his face.

I have always applauded their decision to keep Archie away from the public eye. Many fans and not-fans and haters are obsessed with the poor lad. Just because they are highly interested in his parents. So, when they announced to provide him with the opportunity to live a private life I was all for it. But please, for the love of god, just do it. There no need to put him on a public Christmas card- if you don’t want to actually show him. That’s fine. People need to be ok with it and accept boundaries. The few times we saw him, some vile people wrote really horrendous things about him. I have no problem to say he didn’t look cute (the spitting image of his father- also a rather unfortunate looking baby) but some people overstepped the line BIG time. I wouldn’t give a glimpse ever again. Or find a way to include him without showing his face (his hand touching an ornament or whatever).

*I will not disregard the possibility that Harry is behind it and Meghan just goes along. The signs of him going ballistic with his own children have been debated ever since Prince George was born eight years ago.

I do like that they gave Mayhew the opportunity to raise awareness for themselves with being the first to drop the card. This year it feels humanitarian causes are much more dominant and therefore it’s nice to give other causes this push. It is also fantastic that Meghan is indeed still actively supporting her patronages. The text is highly irritating though. „While thinking of you- we actually gave money to others (instead of you)” left me scratching my head. I would be pissed. But using the people’s anticipation for Archie to create a hype and attention to Mayhew was very clever. Well played.

To me, they always send mixed signs (starting with the birth and christening confusion). And jump from one cause to another. They should focus on less things to establish themselves first. What exactly is their concern? Social justice/equality? The fight against racism? The fight against hunger, poverty and homelessness? Education? Gender equality? Most charities have one focus point- for good reason. Otherwise things get just confusing. To me they look like headless chickens running around bouncing of the topic that is popular atm. Hunger and homelessness are prime topics around Christmas. That doesn’t mean they have no impact but it looks like a drop on the hot stone because they are too busy instead of really focusing (public powerful long term involvement is something the BRF desperately needs to work on too).

I miss more in-depth information in how they actually do things. Archwell isn’t finally set up legally as far as we know. How is it (as a legal entity) signing contracts? How is it financing things? Maybe the USA are different but here every lawyer would put the brakes on. For me, they are mixing what they do privately and what his done through Archwell. They have a tendency to come out publicly with step 5 while not having completed step 1-4. 
1. Get a concept of Archwell

2. Get a logo and trademark 

3. Get it legally set up

—— all while in the background finding partners and deals——

4. Built a website with about us page and masthead and pages for the collaborations already finalised.

5. Go public with your website and ideally with at least one project starting now (Netflix- 1st series/film starting sometime between now and +3months).

Same with stepping back as senior royals. They dropped the bomb with a long essay on how it would be BEFORE the rest realised they would leave for real (I can imagine a good deal of denial on the BRF side) and they agreed on the terms. And no, it doesn’t matter a tabloid was about to report anything. Everyone could have fallen back in the “no comment” phrase till things were finalised. The tabloids talking about it didn’t have to influence this. But they needed to be the firsts to bring it up. (Even though rumours of them living outside Britain for a while where already out there for weeks.) I believe their deal with the BRF would have been much better in that case.

They also have lots of empty promises on their side at the moment (maybe they just change their mind every ten seconds). Deals but no products yet, didn’t they want to provide honest information about the pandemic at one point? It’s an annoying pattern. “We give you a information about how we give you (little) information and even this might look different than what we say to you now...”  Less is definitely more sometimes. 

@viii I thought so too, but honestly- they could have set up those basics easily this year. No one would have been surprised if they would have taken the time. Starting at point zero with their foundation, COVID, settling in a new country, spending time with their baby.... I certainly wouldn’t have blamed them. They could have announced the deals when there is actually something to see/listen.

They have potential but to me they look premature with a massive chip on their shoulder. 
The BRF also needs to reevaluate their way of working (and a lovely couple needs to finally start working like they mean it- different topic though) and I have lots of  criticism and suggestions for improvement (they probably would think me, coming from a cosy mo-fr 9-5 job, too radical) but they are not the point here.

Edited December 27, 2020 by just_ordinary

[viii]

14 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Looking forward to their balcony appearance for fake Trooping the Colour in June.  

You really think they’ll go back in June for Trooping? I don’t see them appearing at any events for a while. 

[louisa05]

24 minutes ago, viii said:

You really think they’ll go back in June for Trooping? I don’t see them appearing at any events for a while. 

No. I suspect they'll engineer a competing photo opp the way they did for Armistice Day. 

[adidas]

I don’t think Harry will go home specifically for Trooping the Colour (scheduled for June 12, 2021), but I think he will make an enormous effort to be there for the unveiling of the statute he and William commissioned for his Mum’s 60th birthday. It has been delayed by Covid but is set to be placed in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace on July 1.

[viii]

I read an article saying they want to return for the queens birthday and the statue unveiling. 

They also had this agreement in place for a year - which will expire soon. So it will be interesting to see what comes next. 

[viii]

https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-and-prince-harrys-holiday-podcast-just-dropped-hear-archie-talk-for-the-first-time/

Archie’s little laugh is adorable. He sounds cute and his parents sound completely enamoured with him. 

[just_ordinary]

It’s great, that they already got something out. And I really like their guest list. The format itself was a bit bland. I thought there would be more interaction between everyone or at least the hosts the guests. I was especially disappointed in Rachel Cargle. She is normally such a powerful voice and can be delightful uncomfortable. Meghan and Harry have a massive white following, lots of not US based fans. They could have learned a great deal from listening to her.
The Times had a great critique. Sadly, I found it pretty lame most of the time. And while Archie sounded cute (and I absolutely get the proud parent over nothing moment) I wish they would stop involving him in their business ventures. It’s definitely blurring lines again. They should make very rigid and clear choices to manage expectations. Otherwise they will forever have to deal with unreasonable demands (from fans and critics) about access to him.

It will get interesting how they are going to built the firmst further along.

[WiseGirl]

They have a 2021 letter up on their site.

"I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex write..."

https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-share-childhood-photos-and-a-letter-for-2021-on-their-new-website/