Harry & Meghan 9: Pretending to Be Relevant

[FluffySnowball]

3 hours ago, SoSoNosy said:

Willem-Alexander adores Queen Elizabeth.  I used to follow him and his wife on another board that has gone away, and I loved him and his family.  With the Dutch firm feelings of loyalty, I can see W-A thinking that H&M hurt his beloved (I think she is maybe his godmother??) Elizabeth and not having anything to do with them beyond what is required by protocol.

Slight drift, but: All that is gold does not glitter, so to speak. The Dutch royals (mainly Willem-Alexander and Maxima) have also had their fair share of scandals and (deserved) criticism, but they aren’t as popular globally as the BRF so things don’t get publicised just as much. 

[tabitha2]

All of the reigning families have had criticism and controversy at one time or another some valid some not. It’s just part and parcel of living in the public eye. 

[Topaz]

3 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

Exactly. Elizabeth is either related to or held in huge esteem by European Royalty. Plus WA’s mother the former Queen Beatrix is close personal friends with her. Harry let alone his wife would not get more than basic politeness and courtesy if he tried to get in with them now for  whatever reason. 

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima and Princess Beatrix all attended the memorial service too. 

[Four is Enough]

Well, equal, I don't know. William is the heir, Harry the "spare". (hate that term) However, Harry could have been a huge support to William and vice versa.. they could have clung to each other much more than they have in recent years at least.

IMO, and I know I"ll get flack for it, Harry is a weak unit. They seem to proliferate in the BRF. Thank God for HMTQ.

[MomJeans]

The Windsors have always struggled on how to raise spares and boys, so being both does not have good odds. I agree that Harry was promised things as a child that didn't pan out.

It's been interesting watching the Invictus games coverage this weekend.  Of course media bias in the coverage is in play, but Harry's attitude and role are strikingly different to me than how it used to be.  I attended a few days of the Orlando games, and have kept up with the Invictus Games since the beginning.  Harry used to come off so modest in his role.  In Orlando, he just seemed so thrilled that so many people were there.  Yes he had bodyguards and security, but he came off as a such a normal person.  Now it feels so Hollywood.  Of course, this is only based on a few days of media coverage- it could be radically different in person. At the same time, this has been an incredible accomplishment for him, and I do appreciate that.

 

[tabitha2]

We will see if William George and Louis  break the long cycle of father son brother conflict and antagonism and frustration. Fathers and daughters have nearly always been much closer and warm in the British Royal family 

[FrumperedCat]

It seems there is an upcoming interview with Harry to be aired in the USA. Apparently he wanted to pop by and make sure she's got the right people supporting her. Good of you to finally seem to care, Harry. I just feel his attention is so selective. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61157345

Edited April 20, 2022 by FrumperedCat

[tabitha2]

Gotta drum up that attention and good PR ahead of the Netflix deals. Watch for another book supposedly written by Harry about The Invictus Games coming soon as well

[just_ordinary]

Why does he feel the need to talk about it with the public? I would have so much more respect and believe them to be sincere if they wouldn’t talk about this all the time. Why not be more private about your private life?

[tabitha2]

Because they crave attention and praise  for whatever cause they are on about this week and need good PR to finance their vanity projects and pseudo philanthropist lifestyle. 

 

[Four is Enough]

I would, were I the Queen, not rely on Harry to provide or oversee my security. He's pretty far out of the loop.

[louisa05]

2 minutes ago, Four is Enough said:

I would, were I the Queen, not rely on Harry to provide or oversee my security. He's pretty far out of the loop.

What an arrogant thing for him to say, too. As if his father, aunt and uncles are not seeing to that? Reminds me of when my idiot and completely intentionally absent aunt thanked me for caring for my parents while my dad had cancer "since I can't be here to do it". I wanted to slap her. And he suddenly cares that much? He didn't care much about her welfare while he was trashing her on international television as his grandfather was dying. A little late to pretend he does care. 

[prayawaythefundie]

Yup, he‘s lost all his credit for visiting granny with me in that interview. Disgusting. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by prayawaythefundie

[LilaMae]

Is he trying to suggest that the Queen is the victim of elder abuse, and that the rest of the family/the Firm is *forcing* her to do things? That's what it sounds like.

[Coconut Flan]

He's very arrogant.  He says they talk about things she can only talk to him about.  What might that possibly be.  Perhaps Invictis games because that's his thing, but surely she can talk about it with many other people.

[viii]

57 minutes ago, LilaMae said:

Is he trying to suggest that the Queen is the victim of elder abuse, and that the rest of the family/the Firm is *forcing* her to do things? That's what it sounds like.

I agree - that’s the impression I got that he was trying to insinuate. What a tool. 

[prayawaythefundie]

I mean, he might be talking about Andrew’s influence on the queen (which is indeed worrying) but how on earth would Harry think he‘s helping with that?

[tabitha2]

She has plenty of weary people infinitely more intelligent  more experienced and more devoted   Than the Ginger Flake eyeing and Guarding against anything Andrew might try and while she may have a way softer spot for Andrew than she should  no one  have ever accused QEII  of being an idiot. She can shut Andrew down when she wants if giving will harm the monarchy she has protected so long. 
 

 

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

5 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

He's very arrogant.  He says they talk about things she can only talk to him about.  What might that possibly be.  Perhaps Invictis games because that's his thing, but surely she can talk about it with many other people.

Well if there's some deep dark secret that the Queen is keeping from everyone but Harry then I don't think that Harry is doing her any favors by dropping hints at interviews.

[tabitha2]

I am sure there are more than few things she is keeping from Harry because they are, in fact, none of his business and plus she knows he and/or Meghan are snitches. Love them and welcome them but never fully trust them IMO

[WiseGirl]

4 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

The Ginger Flake 

Only he can talk about some things with the Queen? Way to make yourself seem important. On the other hand wouldn't it be lovely if the Queen was talking to him about what an ass he's been?

[MomJeans]

Unless the Queen is in fact mentally incompetent, I find it disgusting for Harry to insinuate that there are mental concerns.  As a caretaker for a parent with dementia, it's not a joke or a barb to throw out for attention.  It's extremely draining.

By all accounts, though she is no longer able to walk, the Queen remains as sharp as a tack.  I doubt any real cognitive decline could be kept under wraps for long.

All in all, the interview just reeked of self-importance and an attempt to keep up appearances as a "needed" royal when he himself chose to step away.

As much as Harry seemed to be implying that he won't go to the Jubilee, I would bet the price of his Netflix contract that if Netflix drops his contract, suddenly he and Meghan would feel safe enough to be on that balcony when the time comes.

[EmCatlyn]

On 4/16/2022 at 11:01 AM, AmazonGrace said:

They were who I was thinking about re: Individual temperaments.

Of course it's not fool proof and not going to affect everyone similarly. The parents  may be able to help their chiidren or make it worse.

But the birth order influences children in very normal families too so to me it makes sense it would change things even more so  in families in which the firstborn gets cast into a certain rigid role.

I think that, individual personalities aside, the second-born child will tend to develop as a contrast to the older.  So if the elder is very responsible and dutiful, the second child will be less so.  Now “responsible” and “not responsible” may be expressed differently by different kids according to personality, but the taking on of the “opposite” role from the elder by the younger is pretty usual, in my experience.

Most first-born kids are “more responsible” because they get more pressure and praise for it.  If they also have a personality that helps them take on responsibility, and they are not spoiled and entitled, the eldest is usually the one that takes more responsibility.

On the other hand, when the older one fails to take responsibility, the younger one will often step in, especially if he (or she) has the more dutiful temperament.   This, I think, is what happened with Edward and George.

With Elizabeth and Margaret, as with William and Harry, the elder was probably the more responsible one by temperament, but I bet Margaret would have been less wild and more “responsible” if Elizabeth hadn’t been so outstandingly responsible.

From what I have observed, by the way, Charles resembles his grandfather George a lot.  In many ways, George benefitted by growing up a “spare” rather than an heir, and was probably a better king for it.  Temperamentally, Anne might have been better for the throne than either Charles or Andrew (she seems focused, no-nonsense, and to have presence of mind). Her being the second child and a girl took pressure off her.  It was Andrew, with his more hedonistic temperament that developed, in the end, into a really bad spare.

Nature, birth-order, sex, and nurture all play a part.

[EmCatlyn]

12 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

He's very arrogant.  He says they talk about things she can only talk to him about.  What might that possibly be.  Perhaps Invictis games because that's his thing, but surely she can talk about it with many other people.

If he isn’t just making it up, I would guess they have some private jokes about people they know, and this is the sort of thing “she can only talk to him about.”

Seriously, I could see them chuckling about some aristocrat’s mishaps on the hunting field, for example, or a visitor who pretended to love the corgis but clearly secretly hated them, or even the current prime minister’s hair.

[DalmatianCat]

21 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

I would, were I the Queen, not rely on Harry to provide or oversee my security. He's pretty far out of the loop.

Especially since Harry can’t seem to manage his own security well…

 

18 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

She has plenty of weary people infinitely more intelligent  more experienced and more devoted   Than the Ginger Flake eyeing and Guarding against anything Andrew might try…

If he’s that concerned about people taking advantage you think he would have tried to visit and check in on her sooner.

 

18 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

I mean, he might be talking about Andrew’s influence on the queen (which is indeed worrying) but how on earth would Harry think he‘s helping with that?

I doubt he’s worried about Andrew…out of all the bandwagons Harry and Meghan have jumped on, condemning Andrew hasn’t been one (and it’s a pretty obvious easy one to join that would get them a lot of praise). Instead they’ve been strangely silent on their thoughts about Andrew. Out of all the popular causes to join, #metoo is the one they (strangely) seem to avoid.

The real question is are Charles and William rolling their eyes or seething after Harry’s latest comments? They probably at least feel adjusted for keeping Harry at arms length.

Next thing you know Harry will probably start weighing in on whether the teachers at George’s school are really the best teachers for him 🙄

Edited April 21, 2022 by DalmatianCat
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