Harry & Meghan 12: Prodigal Prince, Immature, Paranoid, Whiner, or Fully Justified?

[formergothardite]

Why did I think they met on a blind date? Perhaps I’m mixing them up with someone else we discussed on free jinger.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

I think they were really looking for visuals, so they talked up how they checked out each other’s Instagrams before their blind date. Buried in there was the same mutual friend setup that we heard before.

[louisa05]

4 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

Why did I think they met on a blind date? Perhaps I’m mixing them up with someone else we discussed on free jinger.

Because they said they did. 
 

And they apparently changed the story of the first date as well. 

[Heidijoey]

I wonder how Omid Speedo feels about his account of their engagement being different than what they put out on the Netflix series? I just saw the Inside Edition bit on the curtsy to the Queen and the look of confusion, disgust, horror and amusement on Harry’s face while she talked about it was very entertaining.  

[Coconut Flan]

The NY Times critic, 'Harry & Meghan' Has All the Intimacy of Instagram:

Quote

In the third episode, Meghan reveals that she chose to wear only neutral colors such as beige, cream and black during her time in the royal family so that she would “blend in,” and because no one was allowed to wear the same color as the queen or another senior royal in a public setting. The implication being now that she and Harry had left “the firm,” she was free to express her true self in whatever bright plumage she desired — except judging by her film choices, that apparently means more neutrals. Which undermines the suggestion of sacrifice attached to her royal wardrobe, while underscoring her sensitivity to presentation and its various interpretations. Which brings up all those personal photos again.

Who took the various shots? It’s unclear; they aren’t all selfies. But there are so many of them! The relationship was being preserved in its fairy tale form for posterity from the very beginning. Perhaps not a surprise, given Meghan’s pre-Harry Goop-like lifestyle site The Tig. She had to close it, of course, when the relationship went public and royal protocol intervened. Just as the Sussex Instagram account had to obey certain palace rules. There was a lot of catching up to do, and the documentary in part serves that purpose. When asked by The New York Times whether the Sussexes had approval over the final cut, Ms. Garbus would say only it was a “collaboration.”

Another way to think of it, however, is not so much of a bombshell directed at Buckingham Palace as an image-making exercise for the endless scroll.

 

[prayawaythefundie]

23 hours ago, Jackie3 said:

The Sussexes decided that their children would not have titles. Just as Anne and Edward chose for their kids.

No, Harry & Meghan did not make that choice and if she didn‘t care about her title she could stop introducing herself as „Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex“ to children. And if you didn‘t care either, you would call them the Mountbatten-Windsors because that is their last name without any titles. 
 

ETA: And yeah, making a Netflix series about yourself is exactly what you do, when you image doesn‘t matter to you. 🤣

Edited December 10, 2022 by prayawaythefundie

[viii]

4 hours ago, formergothardite said:

Why did I think they met on a blind date? Perhaps I’m mixing them up with someone else we discussed on free jinger.

Yeah, you’re not mixing up anything. It’s just one of the many tales they’ve told us. 

[Coconut Flan]

Sometimes it's better to keep a little mystery:

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/09/opinions/harry-and-meghan-netflix-series-drexler/index.html

Quote

But who’s to say that people haven’t gotten a glimpse of who they are? What makes their version — a heavily produced, edited and controlled version — more honest than any version of their lives that’s come before? It’s striking how much the filtered version of events functions in the series as their version of real life. Meghan recalls how when she first got connected with Harry, she wanted to review his Instagram feed as a way to get to know him, and social media posts comprise a significant portion of the archive that guides their narrative together.

Quote

Harry and Meghan’s fatal flaw — both the couple’s and the film’s — is in thinking they can control how others see them. None of us can. And that the couple keeps trying, despite also asking to be left alone, reflects a naive outlook and disingenuous attitude that viewers will pick up on, especially against the fact that the documentary strives to portray them as “more grounded” than the rest of the royal family. In reality, they may be the most out of touch of them all.

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by Coconut Flan

[louisa05]

4 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

The NY Times critic, 'Harry & Meghan' Has All the Intimacy of Instagram:

 

Except there are many examples out there of senior family members appearing together in the same color. Here’s just one: 

Spoiler

 

[rosamundi]

17 hours ago, TN-peach said:

The hugging.  Why is not wanting to hug someone you just met bad and considered "cold and formal"?   Other than to set up the narrative that Catherine is cold and formal even in private and they could never be friends. 

Pretty sure I didn't hug my now sister in law when we first met. When I was at their engagement party, my brother and I greeted each other as usual, "You alright?" "Yeah, you?" "Fine. What you drinking?" with no physical contact whatsoever, and her side of the party were under the impression we'd had a massive row and I was only there under sufferance. In fact I was thrilled and it's just how we are.

[Coconut Flan]

I have never rushed up to hug someone even the grandchildren in my entire life.  I would never presume to immediately hug someone a relative had just begun dating.  I wait for a signal the other person is agreeable.  In our entire marriage I never hugged Mr. Flan's brothers or their wives.  I did hug his sister who was fourteen years younger and who I'd been around since a small child. The thought never crossed her mind some people might view her behavior as obnoxious or pushy?  You don't have to be a member of the BRF to appreciate a bit of reserve.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

10 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Except there are many examples out there of senior family members appearing together in the same color. Here’s just one: 

  Hide contents

 

That appears to be a memorial or remembrance service - when was it? The reason for the repeat colors is that only a few colors are suitable for royal mourning, including, oddly enough, purple. Supposedly there’s a weird unspoken rule that they usually don’t wear the same color unless they’re deliberately coordinating. I wonder who told Meghan about it.

[Coconut Flan]

I always thought the dressers contacted each other and set out a plan of who was going to wear what color so they didn't all either match or clash.  With the photos taken, it's really only reasonable to want them to look decent.

[Loveday]

I'm a generally very un-huggy, un-demonstrative person. I even have trouble initiating a hug between myself and my grown kids. My son usually does the initiating, but my daughter doesn't, so if I don't force myself, we would never hug! I don't know why I'm like that, I've had no hugging traumas in my life that I know of, and when my kids were younger, of course I hugged them a LOT. And once I'm in the middle of a hug, I love it! I think it's just my awkwardness at the start of a hug that bothers me. I should be used to it by now, though, I'm awkward in many, many social situations. 🥴

[Jackie3]

On 12/9/2022 at 1:46 AM, KnittingOwl said:

 He should have gone over what was expected of her. “Don’t expect to hug my family when you first meet them. They will be formal even when they are at home.” That’s what good partners should do!

I can't imagine the average guy doing that. Or even being self-aware enough to realize something needed to be said.  

It sounds like Kate was cold and distant. I suspect if Harry had brought one one of her pals from Marlborough, there'd have been a lot less "formality." Divorced mixed-race women get a "more formal" treatment.

[Jackie3]

25 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

I always thought the dressers contacted each other and set out a plan of who was going to wear what color so they didn't all either match or clash.  With the photos taken, it's really only reasonable to want them to look decent.

I am pretty sure Kate decides what she wants to wear, all by herself. Remember that discussion about whether George could wear a jersey or a suit to a sports event? Kate insisted on a suit, then the media decided that was hysterical--a little boy in a suit at a sporting event.

Even the kids aren't safe from media ridicule. I mean, come on, George knows how to read, and we know the Cambridge kids have ipads.

In any event, imagine having a dresser! Imagine having a dresser but having to hide it, so the public thinks you are one of them. Such a constrained life, really, when you have to hide things.

[Jackie3]

19 hours ago, SoSoNosy said:

I disagree.  If their titles meant so little to them, we wouldn't have them flashed in our faces every time their names are mentioned.  Don't try to tell me they are trying to suppress that.  We know titles have no use in Montecito, but they don't seem to.

Also, I am not so sure they are fantastically rich.  Yes, they started out with what looks like an unending mountain of money, but if you don't keep replenishing that mountain it dwindles a hell of a lot faster than most people realize.  I know this from personal experience.

 

 

Actually, no. When you get to a certain point, your money keeps reproducing. 

Quote

To turn $100 into $110 is work. To turn $100 million into $110 million is inevitable. — Edgar Bronfman Sr.

If you are actually worried that Harry and Meghan will go hungry, let me reassure you. 

They will always be fantastically wealthy. First of all, it's pretty hard to blow through tens of millions. And even if they do, they can make more with a handful of photos ("Lili's fourth birthday!) or an interview with People.

Since they declined titles for their kids, you can hardly argue their titles matter to them. Clearly, they don't. As for all the flashing, I think you are confused. That's the media.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Jackie3

[Coconut Flan]

You've obviously not heard of the bankrupt previous lottery winners.

[Jackie3]

19 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

They've beaten the drum quite a bit about Archie being a prince and then Lili being a princess.  For some tangled reason they have mistaken belief that those titles go with security.  

Link? Do you have a link to a direct quote from Harry or Meghan, referring to their child as Prince Archie or Princess Lili?

I'd love to see it, because they they declined those titles for their kids.

[Jackie3]

8 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

You've obviously not heard of the bankrupt previous lottery winners.

This couple is educated and surrounds themselves with advisors. It's possible they'll burn through they money, but pretty unlikely.

If they do, they can give a speech, sell some photos, or give an interview (that you would watch!). Cha-ching! Money in the bank again. Most likely, the interest in them will never die. It didn't with the other royals, even when they stepped away.

They have an endless source of easy income! How hard is it to give an interview for 60 minutes? I'd love to be able to make a pile of cash that way. 

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the Sussexs will always be rich.

Edited December 10, 2022 by Jackie3

[Jackie3]

Here's what a Royal Correspondent says about the titles. A Royal Correspondent! As we all know from the Netflix doc, that is an elite press corp member with special access to the Royals.

Quote

The Sunday Times' Royal correspondent told True Royalty's The Royal Beat: “On the death of the Queen, Harry’s children, Archie and Lilibet automatically as grandchildren of the sovereign became HRH the Prince and Princess. 

“So they have got that now. But they have not been updated on the royal website with their new titles. They are still Master and Miss, whereas William and Kate’s new titles were instantly updated. 

“It is my understanding that this was discussed between father and son when Harry was over here. [King Charles] said, ‘What do you want, son?’ Harry said, ‘Well, I want my children to be able to decide about their titles when they come of age. It is not my decision to make for them. We can only do that if we keep the titles’. 

Harry turned down the titles. He wants to let the kids decide.

Charles can still take away that option, but it's clear the couple wouldn't really care. Like his uncle and aunt, Harry wants his kids to have a chance at a private life.

Pretty unlikely Charles will take anything away. . It would be a huge public relations disaster. Besides, the Palace wants Harry to return (cha-ching!). It won't ever happen, but they'd love it if he came back. They need him far more than he needs them.

[nelliebelle1197]

46 minutes ago, Jackie3 said:

Link? Do you have a link to a direct quote from Harry or Meghan, referring to their child as Prince Archie or Princess Lili?

I'd love to see it, because they they declined those titles for their kids.

Uh. No.

link?

[Jackie3]

This is so funny. Interesting perspective on Meghan, too.

 

[Coconut Flan]

54 minutes ago, Jackie3 said:

Link? Do you have a link to a direct quote from Harry or Meghan, referring to their child as Prince Archie or Princess Lili?

I'd love to see it, because they they declined those titles for their kids.

They didn't decline prince and princess.  They've never been offered them except possibly as noted in the gossip above.  In the Oprah interview they whined that Archie was denied it and thus security.  Never mind the tiny little issue that he wasn't entitled to it at the time.  They declined the Dumbarton title because it had Dumb in it.

53 minutes ago, Jackie3 said:

They have an endless source of easy income! How hard is it to give an interview for 60 minutes? I'd love to be able to make a pile of cash that way. 

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the Sussexs will always be rich.

I'm not disappointed whether they're rich or not.  To decree now that forever they'll be rich is naive.  Their popularity may not last, they may make bad investments, any number of things may happen.  But their income level affects me not.  You're the one hung up on it.

[viii]

1 hour ago, Jackie3 said:

I can't imagine the average guy doing that. Or even being self-aware enough to realize something needed to be said.  

It sounds like Kate was cold and distant. I suspect if Harry had brought one one of her pals from Marlborough, there'd have been a lot less "formality." Divorced mixed-race women get a "more formal" treatment.

But we know he was self aware because he mentioned having to bow to his grandma the first time Meghan met the queen. So it’s not like Harry is innocent and clueless. He knew the rules of his life and she didn’t. It was his job to guide her. 

And I don’t think it mattered what skin colour Meghan was - Kate was always destined to be aloof. She is notoriously private and doesn’t trust easily, given the amount of people that have tried to use her and pry into her life. She was always going to take awhile to warm up to someone new and again - Harry should have prepared her.