Harry & Meghan 9: Pretending to Be Relevant

[MamaJunebug]

2 hours ago, MomJeans said:

I believe it. I think the Netflix deal is in serious trouble. So their team is telling them to ramp up their royal credentials.

Netflix itself is in some degree of trouble, so it all makes sense. 
 

Q: What Are the chances H&M could re-up as senior working royals?  Even if Charlie wasn’t planning to trim the overhead, would a walkaway by a Prince/duke have been forgiven in earlier times?  

[viii]

I think if Harry wanted back in, they'd take him back. I'm not so sure about her. 

[tabitha2]

Harry is family and  They love him so if he was sincerely ready to be under the Royal system again and tow the line they would forgive him in time. They have absolutely no reason to soften to or forgive his wife though. 

[MomJeans]

Contrarian here.

I just don't see how they realistically can make Harry a working royal this decade.  He's privately employed now, and it would be hard to untangle him from his contracts.  He has shown that he has no filter when speaking publicly, which is the minimal expectation of royal work.  He has written two biographies that will certainly embarrass the family. and very likely, the much beloved wives of the next two kings.  And it's pretty obvious he isn't moving back.  

Forgive him- undoubtedly; at their core, they love him.  Talk with him/provide him with money for his kids' education- certainly.  But to bring him back as a public face of the monarchy- I personally think that door has been nailed shut and bricked over by Harry the past two years. 

And he is a package deal with Meghan, even if she doesn't do royal work.  He tells her everything. How could you give Meghan access to anything private if you are Royal?  You know she will blast it if it suits her agenda.  

If it were 50 years ago, Harry and Meghan could be offered a cushy fake job in a commonwealth country.  (Edward and Wallis in Bermuda). But those days are over now. 

[MamaJunebug]

Thank you for your insights!

My under-informed guess was that they’d say “no” to giving him his Senior royal job back, since it would be a Herculean task to prop him up with the British public after he more or less thumbed his nose at them. 
 

The forgiveness thing, yea, I can see that.  I chuckle at the thought that Pater and Brother might have to help pay for Lil & Arch’s educations. Gee whiz, if H&M can fritter away a Fortune as karge as theirs, the Kids ARE welk & truly skrooed in the lottery of life. 

[rosamundi]

9 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

 

Q: What Are the chances H&M could re-up as senior working royals?  Even if Charlie wasn’t planning to trim the overhead, would a walkaway by a Prince/duke have been forgiven in earlier times?

I think they'd have them back as family, but not as part of the Royal Family (Harry Windsor as brother of William Windsor, son of Charles Windsor and grandson of Elizabeth Windsor, but not as His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David, The Duke of Sussex). I think that bridge is well and truly burned. And I don't think Harry and Meghan are the type to come back and just be family and not Family.

I can't see them coming back permanently to the UK and carrying on their commercial ventures, equally I can't see them coming back and settling down at Frogmore Cottage, turning up to family events but otherwise not being part of the Royal Family, and I really can't see them coming back and taking up the role of full time working royals.

Honestly, I think it will shake down similarly to Edward VIII's later years, they will come over for family events and the big state occasions, if there is a state visit to the USA there will be time for a private family meeting and maybe invitations to some of the events, and otherwise they will carry on living as celebrities with their commercial ventures and so on.

[DalmatianCat]

16 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

Netflix itself is in some degree of trouble, so it all makes sense. 
 

Q: What Are the chances H&M could re-up as senior working royals?  Even if Charlie wasn’t planning to trim the overhead, would a walkaway by a Prince/duke have been forgiven in earlier times?  

I think a lot of it l depends on if (and then how long) Harry and Meghan stay married. If they stay married until their kids are in their late teens/young adults and safely launched, and then Harry and Meghan divorce, I can see Harry moving back to the UK and eventually being allowed to take up royal duties (if they would even need him at that point).

If they end up divorcing while the kids are still young and it’s an amicable divorce and they split custody, I think Harry will want to stay close and in the US during their formative years. But maybe he’ll start taking them on long vacations to England over the summer when he has custody.

If it’s a contentious divorce and Meghan has full custody, I see him moving back to England sooner rather than later, and making frequent trips to the US to see the kids. A positive for Harry (and the RF) if they got a divorce—the judge would probably grant a gag order forbidding Meghan from talking about the RF.

 

10 hours ago, MomJeans said:

And he is a package deal with Meghan, even if she doesn't do royal work.  He tells her everything. How could you give Meghan access to anything private if you are Royal?  You know she will blast it if it suits her agenda.  

I think this is the biggest reason the royal family currently wouldn’t want them back…and possibly why the RF has been slow to reconcile…it’s hard to get the process moving along when you don’t trust one party to not share everything with Oprah.

Edited May 7, 2022 by DalmatianCat
More thoughts

[WiseGirl]

Yes, it is The Express, but interesting comments include "star power is fading" and "not the investment they thought they were." Who would of thought intrest in a couple whose only interesting feature was royalty would fade away after they stepped back from being "royal?"

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1606740/Meghan-Markle-fading-megxit-netflix-pearl-humiliation-latest-vn

[louisa05]

At this point, they are exceedingly unpopular in the UK which would make it extremely hard for Harry to return to doing royal appearances. He would not be wanted by organizations and communities. 

[LilaMae]

17 hours ago, MomJeans said:

Contrarian here.

I just don't see how they realistically can make Harry a working royal this decade.  He's privately employed now, and it would be hard to untangle him from his contracts.  He has shown that he has no filter when speaking publicly, which is the minimal expectation of royal work.  He has written two biographies that will certainly embarrass the family. and very likely, the much beloved wives of the next two kings.  And it's pretty obvious he isn't moving back.  

Forgive him- undoubtedly; at their core, they love him.  Talk with him/provide him with money for his kids' education- certainly.  But to bring him back as a public face of the monarchy- I personally think that door has been nailed shut and bricked over by Harry the past two years. 

And he is a package deal with Meghan, even if she doesn't do royal work.  He tells her everything. How could you give Meghan access to anything private if you are Royal?  You know she will blast it if it suits her agenda.  

If it were 50 years ago, Harry and Meghan could be offered a cushy fake job in a commonwealth country.  (Edward and Wallis in Bermuda). But those days are over now. 

Agreed. I think that bringing Harry back in might have been the original hope as they were talking about having a "review" after a year. But after the Oprah interview? I can't see how he could ever be trusted again.

[viii]

Since when does the BRF care about the general public opinion? There was an outcry about Andrew for years before anything was done. Look at how much Fergie sold out the monarchy for her own gain and they still associate with her. If she was married to Andrew still, I bet she would have been a working Royal up until he got removed. 

I think if Harry asked, they’d find a place for him. (They being Lizzie or Charles. Once William is king it’s all over for Harry.)

[Four is Enough]

11 hours ago, viii said:

. Once William is king it’s all over for Harry.)

Is there really that much ill feeling between them? I always thought they were close.

[viii]

I don’t think they’ve been close for years. Plus, William tends to hold grudges and he’s not quick to forgive from what’s been reported. 

[tabitha2]

IMO William is pure Windsor and prepared to be King by his grandmother. He will do his duty, what he has to do to preserve the institution  and if he can help It not allow the likes of Andrew and Harry or whoever else comes along to upset the Shiny happy down to earth perfect family  for a modern monarchy image he intends to sell the public.
 

Right now he can’t do much but add his two sense and disapproval when/if gran and dad are getting soft, sympathetic or conciliatory to his uncle and brother. But I am sure he is already planning for the future of more than a few of his family. 
 

 

[EmCatlyn]

On 5/6/2022 at 9:13 AM, rosamundi said:

Harry, Meghan and Andrew will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony during jubilee celebrations. This has been reserved for those royals carrying out royal duties, and their children.

That solved the problem of Andrew very neatly.   I don’t think this decision was primarily about Harry and Meghan, though it may have been part of it.

[EmCatlyn]

On 5/6/2022 at 5:02 PM, tabitha2 said:

Harry is family and  They love him so if he was sincerely ready to be under the Royal system again and tow the line they would forgive him in time. They have absolutely no reason to soften to or forgive his wife though. 

As things are now, I very much doubt Harry would want/accept anything that didn’t include Meghan.  

However, should the marriage break down it is possible that (say 5 or 6 years from now) Harry will return to the UK at least part-time and he might be given part-time royal status so long as he doesn’t have contracts that would constitute a conflict of interest.  A lot would depend, however, on how far he has gone with his tell-all stuff.

If he doesn’t succeed in antagonizing everyone past forgiveness, and he is “free” of Meghan (neither of which seems likely at the moment), Charles might give Harry back a couple of his military titles and patronages and he could do the sort of thing Edward and Sophie do now.  (It is all very well to talk of downsizing but people seem to want the royals to show up to open hospitals and so forth.) 

Anyway, this is all hypothetical because it is unlikely Meghan would want a place as a royal even if it was an option, and the relationship with Meghan is still central to Harry’s life right now.

On 5/6/2022 at 7:47 PM, MomJeans said:

[snipped]

If it were 50 years ago, Harry and Meghan could be offered a cushy fake job in a commonwealth country.  (Edward and Wallis in Bermuda). But those days are over now. 

I mostly agree with your post, but, about the above, the Bermuda job was a way to get Edward and Wallis (Nazi-sympathizers) away from Europe.  There was no effort there to give them a “cushy” job.  It was exile.  They pretty much hated it, didn’t find it “cushy” at all.

[tabitha2]

1 hour ago, EmCatlyn said:

That solved the problem of Andrew very neatly.   I don’t think this decision was primarily about Harry and Meghan, though it may have been part of it.

 
Difference is Andrew will probably be at any private family after events they hold. H&M only really pal with Eugenie so if the Queen and Charles insist on inviting them  the uncomfortableness and tension would be a real buzz kill on such a happy occasion. 
 

On A totally different note I wonder what the Wessex family feels when they look at Andrew…having a  teenage daughter themselves would give them a whole different perspective than the rest And what Lady Louise herself feels about her uncle. We will never know because they don’t blab though.

 

 

 

 

 

[MomJeans]

2 hours ago, EmCatlyn said:

 

I mostly agree with your post, but, about the above, the Bermuda job was a way to get Edward and Wallis (Nazi-sympathizers) away from Europe.  There was no effort there to give them a “cushy” job.  It was exile.  They pretty much hated it, didn’t find it “cushy” at all.

As to whether Edward and Wallis enjoyed their time in Bermuda-  Edward should have been in prison for treason. I hope they hated every moment of it.  Doesn't mean Bermuda is a bad place to live.  Or that they weren't given an amazing deal, even if for the wrong reasons, and they were ingrates.

Personally, I can't imagine anyone looking at what Wallis and Edward were given in Bermuda and saying "oh that wasn't cushy."  But I admit that I love Bermuda.

Edited May 8, 2022 by MomJeans
Typo

[LilaMae]

On 5/6/2022 at 3:29 PM, viii said:

Yet apparently they're still going to attend. Interesting. 

Kind of a silly time to take the kids to meet their great-grandmother and the other family members. The schedule for the Jubilee weekend will surely be packed and there's going to be a ton of extended family/staff members milling about, and some events Harry and Meghan won't be invited to/won't be with other members of the family. Hopefully they will go a few days before when things are a bit calmer so they can introduce properly?

[viii]

“Family reunions” tend to be the best time because while it’s busy, it’s an easy opportunity to have everyone gathered in one place. 

[prayawaythefundie]

14 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

Is there really that much ill feeling between them? I always thought they were close.

They used to be but Harry very publicly put an end to it. I‘m not entirely sure that William will never forgive him but it won‘t be easy. 

[hoipolloi]

On 5/1/2022 at 1:23 PM, kpmom said:

She wrote that he enjoyed military life, and things maybe would have worked out better for him if he could have continued.

I think thatʻs likely true for Harry. Considering he had no education or aptitude for suitable professions for a Spare like business or CEO of a charity or something, a military career would have been a good fit. OTOH, I canʻt see Meghan as a latter-day Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. If she thinks the BRF sucks, life as an officerʻs wife in the British Army would NOT be better.

Re: Jubilee. I hope that this new BBC documentary on QEII before her reign is available in the US. Sounds quite interesting since the Beeb was allowed to go through Her Majestyʻs archive of family home movies & photographs to make the production.

Edited May 9, 2022 by hoipolloi
Clarity

[EmCatlyn]

11 hours ago, MomJeans said:

As to whether Edward and Wallis enjoyed their time in Bermuda-  Edward should have been in prison for treason. I hope they hated every moment of it.  Doesn't mean Bermuda is a bad place to live.  Or that they weren't given an amazing deal, even if for the wrong reasons, and they were ingrates.

Personally, I can't imagine anyone looking at what Wallis and Edward were given in Bermuda and saying "oh that wasn't cushy."  But I admit that I love Bermuda.

I meant that they didn’t regard it as cushy but as a punishment.  They had to do some work and they didn’t want to be there.   I did not mean that Bermuda isn’t a great place.  
 

[EmCatlyn]

12 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

 
Difference is Andrew will probably be at any private family after events they hold. H&M only really pal with Eugenie so if the Queen and Charles insist on inviting them  the uncomfortableness and tension would be a real buzz kill on such a happy occasion. 

If Harry and Meghan go to the UK for the Jubilee, I assume they will attend family parties, and I am sure there will be some awkwardness, but my guess is even family parties will be fairly structured, so any awkwardness will be under control.

The real question is whether Harry and Meghan plan to do any filming.  Obviously they can’t film themselves in “private family gatherings” but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did a documentary about returning as outsider, the pain of not being on the balcony or whatever.

[kpmom]

5 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

I think thatʻs likely true for Harry. Considering he had no education or aptitude for suitable professions for a Spare like business or CEO of a charity or something, a military career would have been a good fit. OTOH, I canʻt see Meghan as a latter-day Mrs. Tim of the Regiment. If she thinks the BRF sucks, life as an officerʻs wife in the British Army would NOT be better.

 

I agree.  I doubt he and Meghan would be married today if Harry continued in the military. 

According to Tina Brown's book, Harry was at such loose ends after the military he saw Meghan as sort of his savior.