Today's report in the Times of London newspaper that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be posted to Africa for a period of up to three years was probably a relief to the UK, but not to the Africans.
What, precisely, are Harry and Meghan supposed to do there? You can only Instagram so many pictures of elephants.
What, precisely, are Harry and Meghan supposed to do there? You can only Instagram so many pictures of elephants.
Who needs who?
Harry is lightly educated and needed help passing his basic exams. Meghan took some courses in international relations during the Bush administration, but has spent the intervening years grilling burgers in a miniskirt for the cameras and merching ill-fitting clothing and shoes.
Does Africa need those skills? Or do the Sussexes need Africa more than Africa needs them?
Harry's good use of celebrity
Harry reportedly loves Africa, particularly Botswana, where he has been involved in several long-term wildlife preservation projects. In my opinion, this is a good use of his celebrity: bringing attention to an important issue that doesn't get enough press. His mother Diana used her celebrity in a similar way, to promote the clearing of land mines.
But Meghan's involvement in Africa - mostly a 2016 photo shoot in Rwanda - seems to have been mostly about polishing her image as a humanitarian. She "visited a clean water project" and "talked to the children about what clean water would mean to them."
Wouldn't the Rwandans have preferred a visit from, say, a water engineer or an environmental scientist who could have helped them improve their water system even more? Maybe even a talented plumber?
Instead, they got an actress whose job is to pose and who largely did that job, posing for lots of pictures with Rwandans but not much else. And Meg never went back.
Not good for business
It's clear that what this banishment to Africa is really about is getting Meghan and Harry out of Britain, where their conduct has been so odious that they've been a threat to the entire Royal Family's cushy gig.
Meg's wild overspending, rough treatment of her employees, self-flattering social media posts, and visible lack of interest in British culture (including Black British culture) have not endeared her to the UK public.
Her pregnancy is bizarre - with her due date this week, she has chosen no hospital and appointed no doctors, and communicated only that the baby's birth will not be announced immediately after its birth, but after she and Harry had time to "celebrate as a family."
Along with a baby bump that resembled a basketball at 12 weeks and then grew and then shrunk and then grew and then shrunk again for the next five months, there are plenty of reasons to believe Meg is having her child by surrogate, if there is a child at all.
This suspicious baby story isn't good for the family business, which relies on the affection, forbearance, and taxes of the British people.
William's had enough
Harry's announcement of a glitzy TV series with Oprah Winfrey and Apple appears to have been enough to spur his brother William into action.
The heir to the throne seems to have spent a lifetime patching things up for his younger brother, but has finally run out of patience. (The role of Harry's PR Sara Latham in spreading rumors about William's marriage was probably a factor as well.)
It was William's decision to send Harry and Meghan away, the Times of London story made clear, even though the person who probably should have been taking charge of the situation was his father, Prince Charles.
Charles has supposedly been running daily operations since his father Philip's formal retirement in 2017, Philip having long been the power behind the throne for the Queen.
But Charles has been making a hash of things, before, during, and after Harry and Meghan's wedding. His mother doesn't respect him, and neither do his sons. Charles seems to be a likeable old goat who is fun at a party, but he doesn't have the spine or the occasional cruelty required for the big job.
A Shakespearean William
If this Africa banishment is remembered a few decades from now, like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's exile to the Bahamas, it will probably be remembered as the time when William came into his own.
William appears to be a bit of a Shakespearean figure at the moment: he never wanted the job of King, having seen the pressures of royalty contribute to the death of his mother.
Yet now he's been forced to take it on to avoid further damage to the monarchy, pushing aside his father and sending his once-beloved brother away.
It will all be an excellent future episode of The Crown: at the end of Elizabeth's life, her grandson grows into the job and takes over her role.
Harry may be back after his three-year Africa tour is over. But Meghan probably won't be.
Comments
1) her status is minor in comparison to the Cambridges
2) The royal family has roles to do in order to earn their privileges.
3) The UK and commonwealth citizens don't take Kindly to a upstart milking the real for her designer clothing.
4) you don't mess with the Queen.
I think it is common knowledge that Charles will suck as a monarch and the understanding is William will be the one on the throne - and seeing just how inept Charles is, that is a good thing.
I want to know how Megs is going to get out of this, I don't see her wanting to live in Africa where she is to around the wealth and high society that she was craving.
Good for William putting his foot down and sending his brother off to Africa. Maybe the Internet is so spotty there, Sparkles can't get into too much trouble.
Bet you dollars to doughnuts Sparkles ends up at the Big O's school for girls doing some weird class.
Whether or not anyone will be interested in Meg there is another question. I would imagine Meg's natural snobbishness would be off-putting.
I've seen many reports that her mom is in the UK, but no photos yet. I have the feeling that she and her mom are not close, and her mom feels she is being used as a prop.
There were photos of a "dog walker" with Doria's dogs the other day. The dog walker was a well-dressed white woman in her 60s or so - could this be Doria's rumored long-term partner?
But I don't think Africa is a bad place for a baby (and neither do millions of Africans, of course)
I have an acquaintance from where I live in Europe - she is of Asian descent, and her partner is white - who moved to Africa with her family shortly after giving birth.
That was more than a decade ago, and they've never returned. They're happy there, work in the sustainable tourism business, and really like both the local culture and people.
It doesn't hurt that the African economic hierarchy allows for lots of household help that she'd never be able to afford in Europe.
Meg's baby will get lots of nannies, and she can hire and fire them without the glare of the British media.
I never understood why she didn't do one at the National Theatre in London.
Get a bunch of kids - mix of privileged and underprivileged, maybe - and direct them in a classic British play at the Royal Theater. Shakespeare, Joe Orton, David Hare, it doesn't matter.
Just a way to combine her background in acting with her supposed charitable interests with a sincere desire to learn about British culture.
That would have been some very good PR for her.
Most Windsor men - Charles' uncles - died of natural causes in their early 70s if they hadn't died earlier from illness or accidents (lung cancer, plane crashes, etc.)
Charles is 70, likes his drink, and looks like he has poor circulation. Those swollen hands!
Yet now he's been forced to take it on to avoid further damage to the monarchy, pushing aside his father and sending his once-beloved brother away. "
I disagree with the above portion. William and Kate were always ambitious and wanted the crown for themselves and their offspring. When Diana spoke about infidelity by Charles, William was mighty upset and didn't speak to his mother for several days. In his head he always saw himself as a monarch and what his mother said did damage to the monarchy. He was more concerned about that. William took his own sweet time to decide on his wife because he was testing suitability of kate for the royal job. Purposefully stayed out of any controversy so that it didn't affect his future thrown. Kate on her part patiently waited for the royal job(ie marriage) and groomed herself to look n behave like a future queen. All this was done to keep the people still interested in monarchy so that after many years the thrown is still available to them to takeover. W n K have tried to promote themselves as an ideal pair and ideal parents. These things were carefully worked out by their pr. I just feel W n K are threatened by an increased call for republic because of harkles behavior. They feel the thrown may not be available by the time they get to ascend. That's the reason William is trying hard to contain the harkles and trying to pull strings from behind. Not trying to say they shouldn't be doing it but want to disagree with reluctant heir story.
My take is that he mostly enjoys being a husband and father, and would have been happy to remain at Anmer Hall and continue his work as a pilot with the air ambulance service in East Anglia for a few more years.
The original concept was that Elizabeth and Philip would step back and let Charles get his hand on the tiller at the monarchy for a few years, and then that Charles would reign for a decade or so while William's kids grew up, or at least got old enough to be sent away to boarding school.
Unfortunately, Markle exposed the soft underbelly of the monarchy, which that it depends on voluntary adherence to codes of behavior and had no remedy for people who do not follow those codes.
Charles is hopeless, but William was apparently ready to let him fumble around until Markle began attacking his marriage and family life.
I also think there may be some security concerns we have not heard about regarding Markle's more vehement fans, who would like to get the entire Cambridge family out of the way so their heroine could be Queen.
MeAgain has the capacity to bring down the RF. Hence exile.
We have had years of austerity, we voted brexit to thumb our noses at those with their noses in the trough. Some fake yank in a £100k dress is going to break our patience.
The PR puff pieces about her also undermine public trust in what was once prestigious media names. Vogue and Harper's Bazaar insists that she's a "fashion icon" when she's clearly a mess. People Magazine says she has "five best friends" who support her when she seems to have none at all and each of the supposed friends speaks in a tone that sounds suspiciously like Meghan. And the Times of London writes about her "rock star" status and "international popularity" when it's obvious that she is despised wherever she goes.
It makes the ordinary reader feel like he or she has entered a bizzaro world. Who can you trust?
Ironically, outlets like the Daily Mail, the Sun and the New York Post come out relatively unscathed, because no one ever expected to trust them in the first place.
Martha Ross apparently drinks Kool Aid.
Fashion trends these days comes mostly out of Asia, in particular Korea, and the young people with the excess cash to buy designer names and the interest in wearing them it are largely wealthy Asians, Middle-Easterners, and Africans, plus of course African-Americans.
So Anna figures a biracial American who married into a British Royal Family would be very, very interesting to her target group.
She's not in tune enough to realize that Meghan isn't really of interest to anyone except a small group of stans (who may be bots.)
It's tough being Anna these days. Fashion brands don't really need her magazine any more either; they can connect with potential buyers directly using Instagram.
I find it interesting the prediction that Harry might come back as a prodigal son returned, but sans Markle, maybe. We'll see, I suppose.
"Let’s be clear about one thing: Any decision the couple make about their future will be made by themselves for themselves. Harry and Meghan have always wanted to reach people on a global level and that is the only thing that’s motivating them."
By themselves for themselves? No, nitwits, you have a job, and that job is representing the British people.
It's like a hamburger flipper walking into McDonald's and saying "I'm here by myself and for myself. I will only make you a Quarter Pounder with Cheese when it suits me. I really want to reach people on a global level and that's the only thing that's motivating me."
Either by doing dozens of appearances like Princess Anne, or getting really stuck into one or two specific projects.
As I said above, Meg would be a natural for youth theater. That would offer tons of Instagram opportunities too.
Yes, but that would require her to be in possession of a clue.
Which she isn't.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6952073/Why-taxpayer-fork-millions-make-Harry-Meghan-King-Queen-Africa.html
While it is very noble, Jen, to project these honorable qualities upon a man you've never met - it may not be very realistic.
One of the things I enjoy the most about salacious celeb gossip on the interwebz is pulling back the curtain for a peek at what is the truth behind the paid PR stories we see on the DM and People.com.
It gives me the eyes to see a story behind the story and I think that's interesting.
Couple things I've been picking up. Saw an offhand rumor I've seen alluded to more than once - that there was a pre-wedding wedding? And/or by the time the formal wedding occurred all the attendees and family/friends had the air of resignation as though it were required to occur?
That the friends and social circle were also under this yoke of resigned expectation as early as the tennis game she crashed (?).
Something about Meghan having blackmail over Harry? Why did they break up for so long? Why does it appear she was stalking him? HOW IS IT THAT THAT WAS ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL?!?!!? (wtaf?)
So - somehow she had enough power (without being knocked up?) to twist Harry's ring into a marriage? And somehow this may or may not be affiliated with her (and his) offsite "yachting" activities? This is where I'm adrift - what is being implied by these rumors?
Agree with you on distant Doria relationship - agree she is a cooperative pawn and with the alienation of every other member of Meghan's family I almost wonder if she is some evil devious psycho everyone is secretly terrified of (clearly not Samantha), and I've wondered if she actually has her mother under some threat toward cooperation.
It is weird. If her mother is gay then frankly she's lucky to be left alone in peace, what a mess for the royal family, lol!!
The idea there could actually BE NO BABY is blasphemous insanity I can barely consider - the only option would be a VERY TRAUMATIC STILLBIRTH OMG THE COVERAGE THE NEWS THE TRAGEDY
I'm also very very interested to hear more around your comment regarding Black British Culture - what's going on there? I'm pretty American and have wondered how white Meghan (let's be serious, WTF with that black wedding preacher?! that didn't strike me as authentic to her AT ALL not even a wee bit, so Twilight zone, like she was punk'ing us).
The two incontrovertible pieces of evidence that convinced me Meghan was actually a VERY BAD SEED were:
1. I was gobsmacked at the apparent one-upmanship of the baby bump at Eugenie's wedding. It seemed so blatant, inappropriate and tacky. I hoped the photos were leading. But NO - wtf? That wasn't even a real bump (wrong size)?!!? What kind of Kris Jenner Satanist does such a thing?
2. The incongruous bump size and completely incomprehensible pumpkin strap-on in Australia (at 12 weeks? so confused) - now add all the subsequent BS and it's a total burrito surrogate.
3. Went to HarryMarkle site (tangled web!) to see more about clothing sponsorship. Saw article on DM today about Serena's fashion line being "fit for a princess" so Meghan would wear it and it just seemed sooooo BLATANT and not British royal-appropriate whatsoever.
I cannot understand WHO does she think SHE IS bypassing all these protocol things and barging her way into that crown-touching sword pow-wow (whatever it was) she and Harry were not even supposed to attend? Who does that? I WOULD BE MORTIFIED, I wouldn't dare! None of us would!! Who does that???
No wonder they all hate her. Also goddamn I wish I could know more about these tantrums with the help.
"The Duke of Sussex caused quite a scandal when he married twice in contravention of the (Royal Marriages Act 1772) because it had not been approved by the King."
Oh REALLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYY?????
Could this be why the Queen made them the Sussexes? Shade!
"Dumbarton" is not much of a sought-after title, and neither is "Kilkeel".
And "Sussex" also has the benefit of referencing the Duchess's former line of work.
I can hear Philip's sense of humor in the choice of titles.
(There's a BJ photo of Meghan on Instagram this morning, by the way. All we can see of the gentleman is his smaller head, indicating that he is Caucasian, or as the Lipstick Alley ladies call it, "pink peen.")
Supposedly it was Prince Charles who brought the Black minister, choir, and cellist to Meg and Harry's wedding. And none were particularly representative of Black British culture, which has a strong Caribbean, Nigerian, and Ghanaian influence.
Re: the bypassing of protocol. Meg has tried to make this into part of her brand - oooh, she's like James Dean, she breaks all the rules! Even Saturday Night Live used this as part of a skit - they had a Kate character saying "You mean she breaks all the rules and people love her for it? No, I'm not jealous at all."
(I wondered at the time if SNL had gotten a hint from Meg's PR people. They are based in NYC and use PR people - perhaps Meg's PR people.)
Anyway, I don't think the "not wearing stockings" rule-breaking is all that revolutionary, but Meg's other transgressions, like pushing in front of Harry when meeting dignitaries, not listening to her own security people or addressing other people (the Queen, Prince Louis) by their titles while insisting people use her title are rather obnoxious.
And maybe she really was pregnant but had the baby months ago?
I think either - or both - of these options are feasible ... they would certainly go some way toward explaining this facade.
https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/04/meghan-markle-post-baby-body-surgery/
Meghan Markle has already planned a little post-baby recovery, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively!
Sources said the Duchess is desperate to look her best for the cameras after giving birth — and has short-listed the best surgeons from around the world to help her.
“Meghan hated the thought of the world watching her standing on the hospital steps with her newborn baby like Kate Middleton and Princess Diana had done,” explained a palace insider.
“She is obsessed with the way she looks. It’s one of the reasons why she’s breaking tradition. It’s her worst nightmare to be photographed when she’s not looking her best!”
Money to pay for the best cosmetic doctors is obviously no object for Meghan, and Prince Harry gives her everything she demands.
“They’ve already put aside $500,000 and she’s consulted with doctors about what procedures she wants,” the source revealed. “Now all that’s left is deciding what to get done first!”
As Radar readers know, Meghan’s pregnancy has not exactly followed royal traditions.
Earlier this month, Radar exclusively revealed the former Suits actress was demanding to give birth in a hospital of her choosing rather than at the posh Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London.
“Meghan is set to bring her child into the world at the vegan-friendly, new-age Mulberry Suite at Frimley Park Hospital near the royal couple’s new home, Frogmore Cottage,” a palace insider said, adding that the deluxe maternity suite has a birthing pool, king-sized bed and full vegan menu!
It’s all custom tailored to Meghan’s unique interests and desires.
“Meghan wants to shut out the world and have just her and Harry — and her mother, Doria, who’s flying over from Los Angeles — welcoming their little prince or princess,” the source continued. “There was a lot of pressure on Meghan and Harry to use the royal favorite Lindo Wing to deliver the seventh in line to the throne. But Meghan dug her heels in and retorted, ‘This is our baby, not yours … butt out!’”
To both Nutty & Bootsy I can say it would strike me as very strange indeed if she tried to affiliate herself with British Black culture because why would she? She never did in the USA either, nor do I get the impression she's claimed to (again, WTF with that preacher? No wonder the Brits were cringing). She's always lived within mainstream white culture as noted by both of you.
So I don't find that weird except to find it strange you would hold that against her - that seems odd and unfair in my opinion. She never made any indication of interest in British black culture. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's the only place you'll find me defending her.
I still want to know WHAT HAPPENED to make him get back together with her and marry her after they had broken up - that's the thing that seems to be being whispered about but the only thing I can imagine - which we already know isn't true - is getting magically knocked up.
OR UNLESS SHE SAW HARRY KILL SOMEONE :o
But that's REALLLLLLYYYYY left field and seems highly unlikely. Nonetheless, it's the type of thing (no I've never heard this yes I just made it up to prove this point) that you could hold over someone's head to the point of a forced marriage.
So yeah, I want to see that dirt juice.
I saw a huge Twitter stream where the whole internet seemed to have Kate's back against these William cheating rumors and it was really heartwarming compared to all the shit Kate's gotten since Day One, I hope someone sent her a link because those memes would have cheered her up a lot.
*rubs hands and smiles*
However. Ha - check this out - only a woman who isn't actually getting that surgery won't mind telling the whole world she has.
A woman who ACTUALLY gets a mommy-lift (especially a vegan empowered, self accepting one like Meghan *COUGH*) keeps it a secret out of shame and pride.
Think about it. A mommy-lift is COMPLETELY off-brand for Meghan - dumb choice, total kneejerk reaction to release that statement without thinking. You can tell it's from her too because of the details. HA.
I think the lady doth protest too much. :)
Yeah I think they picked it up - this entire story is about their banishment?
Megan was fine, she had a main character role and was on every episode. Definitely what I would consider a mid-level successful TV actress in that she was employed in a recurring role as a main character.
It's not Mindy on Mork & Mindy but what happened to that lady? I wonder if more than 20 people read the TIG blog.
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/prince-harry-announces-netherlands-trip-next-week-as-meghan-markles-due-date-passes/news-story/9df7bd873c303874299c2fa7d695f549
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9880041/meghan-markle-royal-hollywood-princess/