Meghan and Harry 5: Oprah, Racism, and Gossip! Oh My!

[viii]

Margot would be super cute, as would Margaret. I feel like they’d steer clear of Mila due to the actress and it’s similar to Mia (Zara’s daughter) 

[Xanariel]

2 hours ago, anjulibai said:

I kind of think Kate would want a fourth, but William wouldn't. 

The kids are super cute. 

I remember a little while back Kate was cooing over a baby at one of her events and admitted to the mother that she was feeling broody, but that William probably didn't feel the same, which I think is where the "Wills doesn't want a fourth" comes from. 

There had never, as far as I am aware, been any talk that William didn't want a third, and he's certainly been photographed and filmed lovingly interacting with Louis as much as with his older kids. 

I don't think any royal kids now are really conceived for the sake of a "spare". The British throne can trace a line of inheritance that nearly reaches the thousands, and the Queen had four children with grandchildren aplenty. It's not like the 1800s where you might expect to lose a bunch of kids before they hit their teens. 

Even back in the 1980s, where IRA attacks on the RF weren't outlandish, Harry seems to have been conceived more out of a desire for a second child than to secure the throne (Charles reportedly was desperate for a daughter and disappointed by a second son - Henry VIII no doubt did a few spins in the crypt over that one). 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Xanariel

[tabitha2]

1 hour ago, Xanariel said:

I remember a little while back Kate was cooing over a baby at one of her events and admitted to the mother that she was feeling broody, but that William probably didn't feel the same, which I think is where the "Wills doesn't want a fourth" comes from. 

There had never, as far as I am aware, been any talk that William didn't want a third, and he's certainly been photographed and filmed lovingly interacting with Louis as much as with his older kids. 

I don't think any royal kids now are really conceived for the sake of a "spare". The British throne can trace a line of inheritance that nearly reaches the thousands, and the Queen had four children with grandchildren aplenty. It's not like the 1800s where you might expect to lose a bunch of kids before they hit their teens. 

Even back in the 1980s, where IRA attacks on the RF weren't outlandish, Harry seems to have been conceived more out of a desire for a second child than to secure the throne (Charles reportedly was desperate for a daughter and disappointed by a second son - Henry VIII no doubt did a few spins in the crypt over that one). 

 

I don’t think I would go as far as to say he was desperate for a girl. It’s very common to think it would be really nice to have a sweet baby girl after you got your sweet baby boy:) 

Compare that to Mike Tindall who was pretty vocal about needing his boy now and going on about it.

 Now That’s desperate or verging on it 

[kachuu]

17 hours ago, Mama Mia said:

I just saw all the cute photos celebrating Prince Louis 3rd birthday, and a post saying he really completed the Cambridge family. It made me wonder if William and Kate considered how William and Harry lived and were treated with the whole “heir and a spare” mentality - and decided 3 was a much better number than two in this situation. George will always have a specific, heavier, more prominent emphasis on him, it can’t be helped. Charlotte and Louis having a more similar role - incredibly privileged and media driven - but still, much different and more relaxed expectations , might be beneficial to them individually, and the relationships of all three siblings. 

I really like how you articulated this statement. Being known as "the spare" is definitely hurtful, but the idea that there are two of them going through the same motions of figuring out your lives in the limelight, attached to royalty, without heading directly to the throne, is such a comforting image of the two younger children.

Surely, HM had conversations directly with William acknowledging her history with her own sister & how difficult that position is and trying to help Will find grace for Harry as he struggles to figure out his direction in life.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

15 hours ago, viii said:

Charlotte is pure Windsor to me. 

Charlotte reminds me of Diana, perhaps more in terms of facial expressions and body language than her actual looks.

[viii]

Yeah, I am just meaning physical feature. She strongly resembles William, Elizabeth and Sarah Chatto. 

[viii]

https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-childrens-book-fathers-day-poem-prince-harry/

Meghan Markle wrote a poem about Prince Harry and Archie for his first father's day, back in June 2019. She is now turning that poem into her first children's book called The Bench, and it's due to be released in June. 

Everything about this is kind of cringe. I want to root for them but they make it so damn hard sometimes. Maybe it'll be better than it sounds. 

Edited May 4, 2021 by viii

[DalmatianCat]

41 minutes ago, viii said:

 

Everything about this is kind of cringe. I want to root for them but they make it so damn hard sometimes. Maybe it'll be better than it sounds. 

Your comment made me laugh ? They do remind me of the person we all know who thinks they have the most original, earth-shattering insights on basically everything. 

[viii]

I do like them overall and I try to defend them when I can, but they definitely strike me as people who think they're very deep and insightful, which just makes them more pretentious. I'm all for Meghan writing a children's book, but saying it's based off this poem she wrote for her husband for his first father's day while desiring privacy... I dunno, I feel like she could have just said she was writing a book without having to give so much specifics about it. 

 

[Xanariel]

It's a little cringe, but to me mainly because it echoes Fergie's various book series. I'd have thought that they might want to avoid any parallels to her (but they obviously get on well with the whole York clan, so maybe not). 

Otherwise, the pictures look nice, and I'm sure it'll sell very well. It's not surprising that they'd sprinkle in some personal detail, because their personal lives and the public's interests in it is one of their biggest selling points. They just have to keep striking the balance between what to use and what to keep for themselves. 

[SweetJuly]

The illustrations are very nice, but the poem is quite mediocre. It's so simplistic and has such a bad flow, it could have been written by me. I am also unsure what her target audience is - subject matter and style are unlikely to spark interest in children, but the poetry is also not sophisticated enough to truly appeal to adults.

It's a very sweet sentiment to write a poem for your partner about your life together, and I am sure Harry adored the gift, but I don't think it's such a masterpiece that it needed to be made accessible to the public.

[tabitha2]

There is a small but dependable part of the American population who will believe any lies and buy any bit of sentimental mediocre pap of the Sussex’s because of they are gullible  and Harry is the Diana’s son amongst other reasons . The couple know it and That’s what they depend on. 

[viii]

I don't think it's just Americans - there is a group of people regardless of where they live where they are fanatic supporters of Harry/Meghan and will purchase the book simply because Meghan wrote it. It's the same for any celebrity - attach their name to something and more often than not, you'll find people willing to buy it. 

[anjulibai]

I don't find this cringe. *shrug*

[viii]

https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-wins-copyright-claim-against-u-k-tabloid/

Meghan wins the last copyright claim against the UK tabloids that published her latter to her father. ?

[MaryOrMartha]

On 5/5/2021 at 3:23 AM, viii said:

I do like them overall and I try to defend them when I can, but they definitely strike me as people who think they're very deep and insightful, which just makes them more pretentious. I'm all for Meghan writing a children's book, but saying it's based off this poem she wrote for her husband for his first father's day while desiring privacy... I dunno, I feel like she could have just said she was writing a book without having to give so much specifics about it. 

 

Ahhhh, the royal Jinger & Jeremy.

[Grandma D]

Can they make money off their royal titles? She doesn't like the monarchy but is using her title to sell this book that is not written for children at all? 

[Xanariel]

13 hours ago, Grandma D said:

Can they make money off their royal titles? She doesn't like the monarchy but is using her title to sell this book that is not written for children at all? 

It's tricky. 

Basically, Harry and Meghan have heavily skirted the line on commercialising their titles for a very long time. Long before they ever left the BRF, Meghan had hired an American PR firm and was in talks with firms like Quibi, which they were very keen to hide from royal staff, as well as pitching themselves at the Lion King premiere. 

This is worth remembering when considering the tantrum they threw about being denied a half-in/half-out status and claiming other royals were able to make money - they genuinely couldn't see a difference between a non-working royal having a job at an art gallery and Meghan slapping "HRH the Duchess of Sussex" on a TV show while drawing on taxpayer funds for that same title. 

Notably, Meghan was rumoured to have been approached about publishing a children's book while still a working royal and was said to be mulling it over, so a few royal reporters are now claiming vindication over that one. 

However, I don't think this specific book is much of an issue or would have been if she stayed in the BRF - Charles published a children's book himself years ago. It might have raised eyebrows about her claiming privacy while selling a poem based on her family, but it's not massively out of line. 

[just_ordinary]

While it looks pretty hypocritical that they call out the institution publicly but love to emphasise that they are actually totally entitled to use HRH (just refrain from doing so) and love to put the title of Duke and Duchess on everything their name shows up (I mean the monarch is bad but we still want to be called by our titles.... is pretty much cherry picking) their biggest problem is definitely that her books just sits in line with Fergie’s books. And Fergie is definitely NOT a role model she should look up to. 
I think the RF has to find a new set of rules about handing out titles and taking them back/stop people from using them after they are out or divorced. 
Apart from that I think the book is definitely aimed at adults who are fans of them. The illustrations are cute and she might very well had help to create the additional texts. That’s normal business in cases like hers. With all their big announcements about massive deals, many are tied to delivering stuff, which they have to pay for first (People actually filming, writing, acting, doing postproduction want to be payed, the guests on their podcast probably got payed too). So writing a book and Harry’s job are the only real income apart from investments to fund their lifestyle (and if he really used up a big chunk of his inheritance for a multi-million villa they probably don’t make the wisest decisions regarding money).

Edited May 6, 2021 by just_ordinary

[viii]

Archie turns 2 today and I thought it was nice the official Royal Family account wished him a happy birthday. Bit of an olive branch, perhaps. 

[Xanariel]

8 minutes ago, viii said:

Archie turns 2 today and I thought it was nice the official Royal Family account wished him a happy birthday. Bit of an olive branch, perhaps. 

I think it definitely was an olive branch, or at least designed to keep any fans off their backs - they don't do public birthday wishes for Lady Louise or Zara's kids. Not sure if they'll keep doing it though; neither side looks ready to reconcile any time soon and it'd be awkward posting baby photos to wish Archie a happy fourth birthday for instance. 

[viii]

William and Kate also issued a happy birthday statement to him. I'm sure a lot of it is appearance - if they hadn't said anything, rumours would run like wild fire that there's more issues between them. 

I do hope that either next year they don't do it or perhaps are given a photo to be used with permission from Harry and Meghan. Otherwise you're right - it will get very silly. 

[kachuu]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:36 PM, viii said:

https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-childrens-book-fathers-day-poem-prince-harry/

Meghan Markle wrote a poem about Prince Harry and Archie for his first father's day, back in June 2019. She is now turning that poem into her first children's book called The Bench, and it's due to be released in June. 

Everything about this is kind of cringe. I want to root for them but they make it so damn hard sometimes. Maybe it'll be better than it sounds. 

To be totally honest, I'm not in love with it. However, I'm over-thinking about their father relationships that are playing out dramatically in the public eye for them, and this just isn't favorable. Charles vs Harry; Meghan vs BigMouth; we could even through in Philip and how he probably wasn't happy with their Oprah interview too.

I'm tired of hearing about them changing the world when IMO the world just wants more royal tea. Stop selling us shit, tell us if Granny had a side lover back in the day.

(I mean, I get it, I came to this thread to read about them too.  ?)

[Xanariel]

21 hours ago, kachuu said:

To be totally honest, I'm not in love with it. However, I'm over-thinking about their father relationships that are playing out dramatically in the public eye for them, and this just isn't favorable. Charles vs Harry; Meghan vs BigMouth; we could even through in Philip and how he probably wasn't happy with their Oprah interview too.

I'm tired of hearing about them changing the world when IMO the world just wants more royal tea. Stop selling us shit, tell us if Granny had a side lover back in the day.

(I mean, I get it, I came to this thread to read about them too.  ?)

I think Harry and Meghan's aim (sensibly, considering their mortgage) is to increase their income, and in that case, this book is a pretty safe bet. Meghan's got a ton of fans and there's the glimpse inside her personal life with a poem about her husband and son. I'm sure it'll sell like hot cakes. 

Their relationship with their own dads does add an awkward dimension, but so did Meghan slamming her father for selling her out (as she and Harry gave a tell-all interview about his family). It's not likely to affect public opinion of her in America, so it's fine. 

Unfortunately, I think that we're unlikely to get any fun tea out of them. They're always very keen to portray themselves as the injured parties, driven by philanthropy and safety rather than fame - hence Harry claiming that they only took the Spotify/Netflix deals after Charles callously 'cut off' his late-30s son, when we know they were actually exploring commercial deals at least a year before they left. 

You can get away with sorrowfully discussing how your brother is trapped and your sister-in-law made you cry in the name of clearing the air, but dishing on that time Granny disappeared for three hours with her hottest footman is probably a lot more difficult to spin, more's the pity. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Xanariel

[HerNameIsBuffy]

On 5/5/2021 at 5:00 AM, tabitha2 said:

There is a small but dependable part of the American population who will believe any lies and buy any bit of sentimental mediocre pap of the Sussex’s because of they are gullible  and Harry is the Diana’s son amongst other reasons . The couple know it and That’s what they depend on. 

Yeah, but there is a small but dependable part of the American population that will buy crap with the Kardashian's name on it.  I don't get it, but some people will buy anything a celebrity they like slaps their name on.  (and why yes I do own a bottle of KISS wine, why do you ask?  )

I feel bad for anyone who lose a parent, especially as a kid, and I do understand how he would still have issues with the loss all these years later.  I lost both my parents not too long before Diana died and even though I was a young adult, not a kid, it took me a long time to come to terms with things.  But all the empathy in the world for the loss wouldn't make me buy their merchandise.  It will be interesting to see how long interest in them lasts outside of it spiking when the BRF is in the news (like Charles' and William's future coronations, etc.)