Harry & Meghan 10: Even Less Relevant to the BRF

[Coconut Flan]

They weren't in a good situation for sure.  The thing they did that stood out to me though was not being in their proper place walking in and making four people stand up so they could get to their seats.  

[viii]

Yeah, I think that was their last ditch effort at being seen. It was definitely deliberate but I don’t think it’s the end of the world. She’s a former actress and he’s a prince - of course they’re going to want all eyes on them. I think majority of members in the royal family struggle with trying to balance wanting attention and needing privacy. It’s a fine line. 

[MomJeans]

If the Sussexes were in a no win situation at the Jubilee, it was a result of their own actions.  Harry telling the media months before that they may not attend out of fear for their safety, and insinuating  that his grandmother was surrounded people with bad intentions, ensured that the Sussex’s every move would be dissected. They did that to themselves. 
 

And allegedly Harry balked when he was ushered to his seat at the Service and told his cousins to move over.  Unfortunately the broadcast pulls away and you can’t quite see what he’s saying.  Beatrice appears to be disagreeing with something that was said.

[viii]

I agree and disagree. I do think a lot of it is their own fault but I also think a huge portion of blame goes to the royal family. The entire basis of their family is importance depending on birth order. Harry has been raised his entire life as the “spare”, above all save three. I mean, no wonder he came to the Jubilee and was mad he was told where to sit and that his lesser cousins wouldn’t move for him. The entire idea of a monarchy is flawed and I'm not sure Harry can be blamed 100% for thinking he’s more important than he actually is. It’s a direct result of his upbringing. 

[LilaMae]

12 minutes ago, viii said:

I agree and disagree. I do think a lot of it is their own fault but I also think a huge portion of blame goes to the royal family. The entire basis of their family is importance depending on birth order. Harry has been raised his entire life as the “spare”, above all save three. I mean, no wonder he came to the Jubilee and was mad he was told where to sit and that his lesser cousins wouldn’t move for him. The entire idea of a monarchy is flawed and I'm not sure Harry can be blamed 100% for thinking he’s more important than he actually is. It’s a direct result of his upbringing. 

Eh, I don't know. He's also been raised to know that as soon as William has children, they take precedence in the line of succession. He has his aunt and uncles as an example of how it works when a new generation is born. Personally, I think he's just not used to being told "no" by his family (or perhaps just his grandmother). 

[viii]

I think he’s aware that the Cambridge children come first in the line of succession but I still maintain that they botched William and Harry as adults. They should have always been raised separately, rather than together like they were. (I obviously don’t mean physically but in the royalty sense.) Harry is clearly not the brightest crayon in the box and I think the abrupt adjustment has been rough on him. He should have never had a joint office with William, for one thing. I think his importance was blown up bigger than it should have been, and in turn, Harry doesn’t know how to fade into the background and gracefully step back. They had the same issue with Andrew when he was younger. Second sons are tricky and the way they currently raise them doesn’t work imo. I’m hoping things go better for Charlotte and Louis. 

[LilaMae]

Just now, viii said:

I think he’s aware that the Cambridge children come first in the line of succession but I still maintain that they botched William and Harry as adults. They should have always been raised separately, rather than together like they were. (I obviously don’t mean physically but in the royalty sense.) Harry is clearly not the brightest crayon in the box and I think the abrupt adjustment has been rough on him. He should have never had a joint office with William, for one thing. I think his importance was blown up bigger than it should have been, and in turn, Harry doesn’t know how to fade into the background and gracefully step back. They had the same issue with Andrew when he was younger. Second sons are tricky and the way they currently raise them doesn’t work imo. I’m hoping things go better for Charlotte and Louis. 

I agree with that, yes. I've heard that Diana insisted that the boys were treated as equal, which probably didn't do them any favours. I'm glad William and Kate had three children, I think that's an easier dynamic than two. Hopefully, the second and third children will start being pushed into non-royal jobs rather than this halfway house kind of deal.

[Coconut Flan]

Harry's a bit or more than a bit spoiled, looked after all his life, rich lifestyle, and no more plan than going around to "events" as needed.  Some adapt to it and others not.  I think depending on who he married, Harry could have made a go of it especially figuring out his own charities to support.  

Meghan, however, is ambitious yet not very tolerant, does not adapt well, and is not very forgiving.  She's a grievance collector.  She's also a dominant personality and Harry apparently fell in love with her and she with some aspect of him and I'm interested in seeing how this plays out in five to ten years.  Personality-wise they seem mismatched to me.

2 minutes ago, LilaMae said:

I agree with that, yes. I've heard that Diana insisted that the boys were treated as equal, which probably didn't do them any favours. I'm glad William and Kate had three children, I think that's an easier dynamic than two. Hopefully, the second and third children will start being pushed into non-royal jobs rather than this halfway house kind of deal.

So far it looks like the Cambridges don't mind differentiating with the children while treating them all with parity for their ages.  Charlotte has a completely different personality than Harry which I think will do her well.  She has backbone and spunk and seems to chart her own path.  George is the one wearing a suit and being taken to events separately part of the time at the moment.  How much that will continue, we'll see but it may be a workable plan to have him adjust to be more seen and the others have less public attention.  They aren't doing the children as a group like "WilliamandHarry" was more of a single identity as least not so far.  I think Kate is a far more deliberate mother than Diana was ever capable of being.  She also came from a more stable home, had more education, and was more mature at marriage.  None of that hurts.

Each generation has tried to modernize the child rearing and improve on the old style and maybe they're getting closer to healthier for the children this round.  

[MomJeans]

Harry is an adult.  He willingly served in the Army; it’s not like he’s against rank.To think that he should be justified in being upset over being sat between his own cousins, whom he supposedly is friends with, maybe treats him like a child. It’s exactly the kind of behavior I *would* expect a 5 year old to exhibit at a wedding.  And he should know from his upbringing that seating is assigned at these events and followed. If Andrew did the same action everyone would be skewering him - I doubt there would be any defense of it.
 

There have been numerous European royal events all summer, attended by siblings of monarchs and future monarchs, and I would be equally shocked if anyone complained about their seat assignments at those events.  
 

I cannot imagine attending any type of formal function, not even royal, and my husband causing a ruckus over where we were seated. Because we are adults and we behave like it. 

[tabitha2]

Diana was a loving mother no doubt but she was raised in aristocratic traditions of Nanny does the day to day rearing and disciplining and Mother has the days out with the kids and fun and goes about her Social life.She may not have understood how to be a disciplinarian , esp to her Harry whom she had the soft spot for .Plus her emotional issues, wanting to be the modern mom and one upping her husband(?) and Firing/being Jealous of the Nannies… Well. Kids pick up on everything and take In. 

[Jackie3]

8 hours ago, LilaMae said:

He's also been raised to know that as soon as William has children, they take precedence in the line of succession.

All the evidence indicates he does NOT want to be king. I don't understand the assumption that he must want this. Being King of England is comes with many restrictions on your freedom. I think Harry pities Wills, if anything.

I think Harry would've abdicated if he'd been offered the monarchy. He'd rather walk the Santa Barbara beach with his kids. 

It's just like these news reports about Pippa and Kate. Reportedly, Kate is jealous that Pippa has fun of being a rich aristocrat, without rules that Kate must follow (or feels she must follow).  I can certainly see that! Pippa is pretty carefree, can hop in her car and take her kids out to lunch. Kate can't do that. 

For the same reason, I pity the little Cambridges. Their lives are so restricted. Charlotte, for example, can't have anything close to a normal playdate.

If she was invited to a friend's house, AND the visit was approved, Charlotte would arrive accompanied by security and bodyguards. Neighbors would stand on the sidewalk to watch her walk into the house. Her friend's dad would have found a reason to work from home that day. The mom would be hanging around,  trying to find a way to get a pic with Charlotte. The kids couldn't play a game in peace with the grownups hovering. Snack wouldn't be Pirate Booty or sliced apples--there'd be a large spread with cupcakes, a fruit platter, a wide choice of drinks. Everyone would watch Charlotte to see what she ate and drank.

Poor kid! So different from other seven-year olds, who can run in and out of the backyard, or ride bikes in the cul-de-sac.

8 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

  Charlotte has a completely different personality than Harry which I think will do her well.  She has backbone and spunk and seems to chart her own path. 

Just as Harry's personality was not fully formed at 7, neither is Charlotte's. Also, I wouldn't pretend to know the personality of someone I had never met. You are basing this on pictures of a little girl standing on a balcony? Or news reports from the Daily Mail? You know nothing about that child.

On 7/25/2022 at 5:38 PM, viii said:

There’s no proof that Kate wasn’t wearing underwear. She could have been wearing a thong. 

There's lots of proof. It just can't be posted here. It's the kind of proof that will make George, Charlotte and Louis burn with shame in ten years.

 

The book's been out four days and it's already discounted by 55%! Doing well, Mr. Bower! 

Somehow,I don't think Harry's book will be discounted 55% after four days. It will sell well.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Jackie3

[tabitha2]

Because Harry’s book will be bought by Sussex groupies and Markle worshippers like you probably in bulk. That really counts for nothing in terms of popularity  if a relatively small Group of fanatics are obsessed with you and read your book.  
 

You are very imaginative and completely ridiculous. The Cambridges go to regular if expensive school that makes a point to specifically encourage friendship and treat the Royal children on par with the others and they have gone to birthday Pizza parties with school friends. And when and on what planet are fruit trays and cupcakes bad??  That’s a normal children party! 
 

Now. A child’s basic personality is set by about 5. We have seen her talk to photogs, correct her little brother and be silly in public . All signs of a confident outgoing child and William has said she is handful. 

Most likely friends would come to her home to avoid a lot of hassle and all the examples you throw out. Problem solved. 
 

Thank you for admitting Harry is a man boy with a tendency  to run away from responsibilities and work to do fun stuff. Why work on behalf of British Charities and concerns and like deal with like,  boooring people when you can play on the beach? But Oh! Let’s go give a sub par speech on to 30 people! That’s helpful to the world! 

Edited July 27, 2022 by tabitha2

[Jackie3]

28 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

Because Harry’s book will be bought by Sussex groupies and Markle worshippers like you probably in bulk. That really counts for nothing in terms of popularity  if a relatively small Group of fanatics are obsessed with you and read your book.  

Either way, the book is done! Everyone who was worried about Harry's finances can relax. He finished it well within the deadline, long before the end of 2022. 

Even if he hadn't, they wouldn't have starved.

Meghan made $40,000 an episode in Suits. There were 114 episodes total. That means she made 4.5 million before even counting the residuals! And she makes a lot in residuals --Suits is hugely popular on Netflix.

Some people say she made $50,000 an episode, which would be 5.7 million. Plus residuals. Successful actors like Meghan do pretty well!

Meghan brought her own money to the marriage, money she earned from honest labor. She's a  self-made millionaire, several times over.  A strong woman who brought her own money to the table. Very different from Kate, who mooched off her family, her husband and the British taxpayer.

8 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

Harry's a bit or more than a bit spoiled, looked after all his life, rich lifestyle, and no more plan than going around to "events" as needed.  Some adapt to it and others not.  I think depending on who he married, Harry could have made a go of it especially figuring out his own charities to support.  

 

LOL, he's living a far more genuine and useful life where he is. Not everyone feels fulfilled going to a charity event and saying a few words, particularly when you have to live off the backs of the British taxpayer to do so.

 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Jackie3

[tabitha2]

5 million or so is really pathetically little for the socialite and HollyWood set. Keeping up with those people and all the trappings plus bills, taxes, traveling Etc would have used most of that up soonish rather than later. We also don’t know if she saved any as it’s none of our business. 
 

But Meghan had stayed  would have been “Mooching” along with her husband as well… no problem with that in her mind evidently! 

 

Begs the Question why did she have  her husband whine to dad for money if she was so flush with money? Shouldn’t such a strong independent woman want to take care of her self and her children without seeing her her man beg? 
 

Kate was fortunate enough to be born To parents who started a business from the ground up to become very very wealthy and as She did not steal beg or sleep her way to money she has done absolutely nothing wrong. 
 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by tabitha2

[viii]

1 hour ago, Jackie3 said:

Also, I wouldn't pretend to know the personality of someone I had never met. 

But yet you’re pretending to know how an imaginary play date would go? Guuuuuuurl. 

[EmCatlyn]

9 hours ago, viii said:

I agree and disagree. I do think a lot of it is their own fault but I also think a huge portion of blame goes to the royal family. The entire basis of their family is importance depending on birth order. Harry has been raised his entire life as the “spare”, above all save three. I mean, no wonder he came to the Jubilee and was mad he was told where to sit and that his lesser cousins wouldn’t move for him. The entire idea of a monarchy is flawed and I'm not sure Harry can be blamed 100% for thinking he’s more important than he actually is. It’s a direct result of his upbringing. 

It is not just monarchy but aristocracy that practices primogeniture, and while I agree that a lot of the problems Harry and some other “spares” have had in the past come from the inherent inequality of hierarchical systems, a lot of it also comes from the families involved not being very good at supplying their “spare” children with the ability to be satisfied with “supporting” roles.

This is true not only of families that practice primogeniture but families where (for one reason or another) one child is going to have more attention or applause than the other. (For example, child A is a musical prodigy, child B is okay musically but nothing to compare with A.  So offer B something where s/he can succeed and call his/her own.) 

Diana always said she saw Harry as William’s “wing man” but that is not a future that will satisfy most men.  The military was supposed to be a career Harry could pursue, but he quit to become a “full-time royal.”  In that role, he would always be second to William.  If he didn’t want to be second to William, he should not have become a full-time royal.

Most of us on this earth don’t get exactly the life we feel we should have. This doesn’t make most of us victims.

[EmCatlyn]

9 hours ago, MomJeans said:

Harry is an adult.  He willingly served in the Army; it’s not like he’s against rank.To think that he should be justified in being upset over being sat between his own cousins, whom he supposedly is friends with, maybe treats him like a child. It’s exactly the kind of behavior I *would* expect a 5 year old to exhibit at a wedding.  And he should know from his upbringing that seating is assigned at these events and followed. If Andrew did the same action everyone would be skewering him - I doubt there would be any defense of it.

There have been numerous European royal events all summer, attended by siblings of monarchs and future monarchs, and I would be equally shocked if anyone complained about their seat assignments at those events.  

I cannot imagine attending any type of formal function, not even royal, and my husband causing a ruckus over where we were seated. Because we are adults and we behave like it. 

I am not sure that Harry complained about being seated between or next to his cousins.

 Wasn’t the story that they arrived late and Harry suggested that his cousins could just slide down a few seats and let him and Meghan have the aisle seats instead of standing up to let him and Meghan get to their assigned seats? It wasn’t about not sitting next to his cousins.

It sounded to me like he wanted the aisle seats and hoped everyone would go along with his wish. And  I agree, he was acting pretty entitled.  That’s why I loved the ushers reply.

 

[prayawaythefundie]

3 hours ago, Jackie3 said:

Meghan made $40,000 an episode in Suits. There were 114 episodes total. That means she made 4.5 million before even counting the residuals! And she makes a lot in residuals --Suits is hugely popular on Netflix.

😄 You brag about her like a bratty little girl who got the new doll all her friends hoped for but didn‘t get and wants to make them even more jealous. 

The thing is, most people on this board never wanted your doll to begin with. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Jackie3]

20 minutes ago, prayawaythefundie said:

😄 You brag about her like a bratty little girl who got the new doll all her friends hoped for but didn‘t get and wants to make them even more jealous. 

The thing is, most people on this board never wanted your doll to begin with. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Meghan's pretty rich, that's for sure.

 

2 hours ago, EmCatlyn said:

Diana always said she saw Harry as William’s “wing man” but that is not a future that will satisfy most men.

Don't think Harry had any desire to be King. If he enjoyed being a royal, would he have rushed off to California?

Wills' job is the one that is emasculating. Living off the public dole, jumping when the Queen says jump, cutting ribbons. .. .a real man would have too much self-respect for a job like that. He'd have too much pride. The men I know want to earn their own living, not hold out their hand for money that others have earned.

I read once that most royals get up at 11 am. Who'd be comfortable lounging about in bed, while the working people of Britain rise at 7 to pay for their laziness?

Edited July 27, 2022 by Jackie3

[Jackie3]

3 hours ago, tabitha2 said:

Kate was fortunate enough to be born To parents who started a business from the ground up to become very very wealthy and as She did not steal beg or sleep her way to money she has done absolutely nothing wrong. 

That's nice you believe that.

Kate's family has been wealthy for many generations. Her father has ties to the aristocracy and comes from great wealth in Yorkshire. Kate benefited from a trust fund that paid for her entire fancy, expensive education.

Mooching off your parents when you are a healthy, educated adult woman IS something to be ashamed of. It's a sign of laziness and entitlement. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by Jackie3

[prayawaythefundie]

23 minutes ago, Jackie3 said:

a real man would have too much self-respect for a job like that. He'd have too much pride. 

Now we get told about „real men“. Sure, fits right in with the misogyny. Are you as old as your words make you look?

[LilaMae]

Kate met William at university and after she got her first job, was hounded by the press at work. They used to wait for her outside her place of work to get photos. I can imagine it became quite unsustainable after a while, and that likely would have continued if she got a different job. 10-15 years ago, the British press was quite a bit worse than now in terms of doing whatever they could to get photos. They got engaged when she was 28, and married when she was 29.

Meanwhile, Meghan didn't even meet Harry until she was in her mid 30s. Of course she had a longer work history!

As for Meghan's wealth, I was reading Jenna Fischer's book "The Actor's Life" a while ago, in which she said that about 50-60% of an actor's earnings are immediately lost to taxes/manager fees/agent fees, so that 5 million can be cut in half. That's assuming that Meghan earnt $50k per episode for the entire run, which would be unusual as actors will generally renegotiate for later seasons. Then there's the fact that she was living in Toronto, a notoriously high cost city, and her social set included the high-class people of the city so she is likely to have spent quite a bit. I don't think Meghan was poor by any means, but the idea that she would have been able to continue her lifestyle after Suits ended without another hit show is perhaps unrealistic.

[EmCatlyn]

53 minutes ago, LilaMae said:

Kate met William at university and after she got her first job, was hounded by the press at work. They used to wait for her outside her place of work to get photos. I can imagine it became quite unsustainable after a while, and that likely would have continued if she got a different job. 10-15 years ago, the British press was quite a bit worse than now in terms of doing whatever they could to get photos. They got engaged when she was 28, and married when she was 29.

Meanwhile, Meghan didn't even meet Harry until she was in her mid 30s. Of course she had a longer work history!

Why has this discussion become “Kate vs Meghan” and “William vs Harry” and “Sussexes vs Cambridges”?  (Not picking on you @LilaMae— just using your post as a springboard.)

As you rightly point out, Kate and Meghan are two very different women with different life experiences.  They also chose different lives, and one hopes they feel they made the right choices.

Personally, I find the Cambridges rather boring. The Sussexes on the other hand are the gift that keeps on giving for snarkers.  

 

[tabitha2]

They may not be the most exciting of people but after years of scandals and people who court trouble and drama and salaciousness from big personalities  a solid stolid couple who just do the job the Tax payers pay them for has got to be a relief. 
 

 

 

 

 

[prayawaythefundie]

2 hours ago, EmCatlyn said:

Personally, I find the Cambridges rather boring. The Sussexes on the other hand are the gift that keeps on giving for snarkers.

Probably why we are in Part 10 of the Sussex thread while the Cambridge thread grows a lot slower. 😄

As an obvious Cambridge admirer (guess I like the boring & stable), I agree with you about not needing this to be a contest and I don‘t see how (unfairly) attacking „the other side“ all the time would convince any fan to change their mind and also why I would even want them to.