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Is Meghan really "highly intelligent" and "whip-smart"?

When she was being introduced to the world as Harry's new girlfriend, Duchess Meghan was frequently described as "highly intelligent", "whip-smart" and even "the smartest member of the Royal Family."

In the wake of yesterday's release of photos of the Harkles dining at a pub - photos that were supposedly taken in August but included metadata showing they were taken on September 17 - does it still make sense to call Meghan "smart"?

UPDATE: Apparently I misunderstood the metadata situation. The metadata was stripped from the photo, suggesting that the photos were not taken during the August Bank Holiday as advertised. However, they did not have metadata suggesting they were taken September 17. My apologies.

As some of the comments have pointed out, Bank Holiday weekends tend to be very busy times for pubs. In addition to the missing metadata, it's suspicious that there are no other people dining.

Also, what's with the very blurry images? Even an old-fashioned Nokia candy bar phone takes clearer images that this.

Finally, it's also suspicious that Archificial was reportedly quiet throughout the two-hour meal: "Not a single peep outta the little guy - even when Mom changed his nappy (that's what they call diapers)" according to the TMZ article.

A sleeping baby might have been totally silent for two hours, but an alert one?

And was Meg changing Archificial's diaper right on the dinner table? One hopes not.

Comments

KayeC said…
Wow...just saw The Charlatan Duchess is gone!?
FGB said…
Does anyone else here read The Charlatan Duchess page on tumblr? It seems to have disappeared in the last few minutes.

Anonymous said…
It's sad when Katy Perry spends $845 and looks better lol.
Anonymous said…
I do. and it has.
NeutralObserver said…
Hope this link posts. It's a photo of the black gown she's wearing at the wedding. Apparently it's a see-through Valentino. It's the second dress on the tweet. If she's not wearing appropriate undergarments with this dress, maybe she's not only merching , but paving the way for more yachting! Can't believe this woman wears black to a wedding. Didn't Doria EVER show her an etiquette book?

https://twitter.com/carolinepparr/status/1175108605097459713





Anonymous said…
I think she nailed the fashion on this one *IF* she was going with the 'older hausfrau who doesn't get out much or have any sense of what is a la mode currently' look. Otherwise, IMO the dress makes her look wider and frumpier/dumpier/older. She doesn't need more fluff with her new figure.
Anonymous said…
Very.

Very, very.
mauthra said…
The Charlatan Duchess site is gone. :-(
Anonymous said…
Now that I've gotten a good look, I'll call it late 70s/early 80s.

As for etiquette and style at the Markle household, my guess is that it centered around how to get stale pot smoke out of your clothes and why the removal of stains from the wife-beater undershirt is important before a job interview.
Anonymous said…
Full dress here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7486895/Meghan-Markle-arrives-close-friend-Misha-Nonoos-wedding-BLACK-outfit.html

Read it and weep.

Markle's mirror on the wall, who's the tackiest Markle of all? and, without irony, the mirror can answer Meghan. FFS, that woman just has the gaudiest, most inappropriate taste.
Anonymous said…
Love this: "...fashion Meghan perfectly distils the catwalk into her own brand of on trend chic."

OR

She perfectly distills the ice-skating costume combined with cheap negligee ensemble into her own passé brand of aging gauche style.
Anonymous said…
Now that I have had a better look, I have to say that the upper back/neck fat roll combined with double chin really adds to the frump of this ensemble. I'm rethinking that oatmeal with carmelized bananas I had for breakfast this a.m.!
Liver Bird said…
Is it being unreasonably cynical of me to suspect that the Smartworks 'capsule' launch - which presumably was done to fit Meghan's schedule - was deliberately timed to be just before this wedding, hence maximising the publicity for her and her new bestest friend du jour?
Liver Bird said…
I'm going to come out and say I actually like the dress! It's got a kind of a 70s chic vibe to it, a bit like the one Margot Robbie wore to the Oscars a few years back.

However, like so many couture gowns, it's designed for someone very tall and slim, which Meghan isn't. Plus, it's simply not suitable for an early autumn wedding in Rome, and as for being 'worth 14K? I think not.
Anonymous said…
I just can't. It reminds me of something Tonya Harding would have worn because she thought it would be klassy like Nancy Kerrigan.
Lady Boo said…
Prince Charles went to Cambridge. @Mischi with respect you never met my father who was fluent in French, German, Ancient Greek and Latin and was most certainly taken for a native when speaking the modern languages, I'm sure he's not the only one. Sadly I didn't follow in his footsteps, being multi lingual is an art in itself
FGB said…
not unreasonable at all, and as someone pointed out somewhere online, having the "charitable" sale period more aligned with the end of the month would have made more sense as that's when a lot of people get paid, but that wouldn't work for the wedding!
SwampWoman said…
JL, you have my deepest sympathies. I think she should go back and haunt California.
Anonymous said…
We don't want her on the WC, either. You take her in FL. She'd be great in Miami Beach.
FGB said…
I literally cannot figure out why all these wealthy people ever befriended Meghan. She really defines social climbing now.
Liver Bird said…
I doubt they were ever 'friends' in the sense that most of us understand the word. Most of them didn't know who Meghan was before she got with Harry, and the handful who did would have treated their relationship as a transactional one: A you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours type of arrangment.
FGB said…
I just don't get what she ever brought to the table for any of these relationships. A mention on her blog? It's bizarre. It's like if that Caroline Calloway person was hanging with the global elite all of a sudden, it's not like anyone else on "Suits" was moving in these circles. Give her credit, Meghan WORKED IT.
Anonymous said…
"Meghan WORKED IT." --- Not my verb of choice lol, but yes, something like that.
FGB said…
Makes you realize how gross all these people are. Makes everything about them seem tacky and debased.
Clarissa said…
I personally would like them to go to South Africa and stay out there!
Ava C said…
If anyone has a subscription to The Times there's what looks like a thoughtful article about H&M on the eve of their new tour and asks What Went Wrong?

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/can-prince-harry-and-meghans-africa-tour-save-their-reputation-fhnh8xckw

The Express is writing about the possibility H&M could leave royal life and the UK altogether:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1180039/royal-shock-meghan-markle-prince-harry-resign-royal-life
Mrs Trestle said…
Apparently, she will be giving a speech on 'gender violence' in SA and how women are primarily the victims of violence in SA. Suzie Boniface, on Sky news, is currently saying how Markle is not getting involved in the host country's politics (really?) and if Kate made the speech she would be applauded, but Markle will be critisized. Sorry, she shouldn't be saying this.
Clarissa said…
Check out the picture of the christening. There are no reflections the are in front of.
Ava C said…
I remember seeing a photo of pre-Harry Meghan at an event in a simple but glitzy red dress and full-on classic Hollywood red lipstick and she looked great. Her dress sense is totally different now. Someone must have been dressing her then. It was mentioned somewhere she was allowed to borrow clothes for events from the TV company that made Suits. Surely she could get someone good to advise her now. She'd look much better, and save Charles a ton of money and further embarrassment when the next set of accounts comes out.
Ava C said…
I've made yet another DM comment (well, two actually) trying to get people to do the maths/math and realise how ridiculous it is to think she has millions of her own. Don't know why I bother but it riles me so. People use that to excuse everything. Her sugars depend on it totally.
Ava C said…
I can still get the Charlatan Duchess site and there's a better view of Meghan's dress at the Nonoo wedding there:

https://the-charlatan-duchess.tumblr.com

I'm writing at 11.20pm Friday 20 Sept UK time.
Liver Bird said…
"I just don't get what she ever brought to the table for any of these relationships"

But most of these 'relationships' only started after her marriage. She had a few photos taken with Serena and this new bestest buddy and that was it. Serena didn't invite her to her wedding or baby shower. The Clooneys were nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, they're nowhere to be seen now either. Not a word from them about their great friend Meghan for months now.
Liver Bird said…
As a member of the royal family and representing the crown abroad (supposedly) Meghan should not be talking about such issues. The royals normally focus on bland, nonoffensive causes and certainly do not get involved in their host country's affairs. Of course all her fanz will be in raptures about how 'brave' Meghan is tacking the 'tough issues' but that simply is not her role as a royal. They are there to represent HM, not lecture their hosts about problems in their society.
FGB said…
I was more specifically thinking about this Misha person, perhaps they were kindred spirits on a mission to snag even richer husbands than their first husbands. She is definitely on MM's Instagram account from years back, post Suits, but pre Harry. Very odd that landing a cable series that shoots in Toronto could open these kinds of globalist doors. The whole thing is very disingenuous.
Ava C said…
I can imagine this dress on someone like Cyd Charisse in the good old days and it would have been ravishing, but on Meghan it looks matronly, especially as it looks like she had to adapt it for modesty's sake (going by the back). She needs to find a designer for petite women. That market is woefully neglected. Then she could be a useful contrast rather than trying to compete with Kate who is so tall. But I'm only pipe-dreaming. All good ideas for Meghan flew out of the window long ago.
Ava C said…
Maybe this tour will be the Queen's first public shot across the bow, with no proper greetings on arrival and no state banquet. The whole tour may be like that. In front of the world's press. They are at a crucial point now I think. Time to choose. Are they going to step back into the royal fold and behave as expected, or are they going to choose celebrity land? It's like Pilgrim's Progress if anyone still knows about that.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
Why would this Suzie person say such a thing and drag the SIL Kate into this?

And they say the "unwoke" crowd are the ones pitting women against each other!

In reality, it's probably just the so-called "woke" crowd beating strawmen to find excuses to bring attention to themselves as fiminists.

Like fakea** Justin Trudeau, the loudest virtue-signaller are the worst offenders behind closed doors.

Feminism has been reduced to small talk.

Stop it.
Anonymous said…
"And they say the "unwoke" crowd are the ones pitting women against each other!

In reality, it's probably just the so-called "woke" crowd beating strawmen to find excuses to bring attention to themselves as fiminists."

I don't talk politics at Nutty's blog, but here's what I *will* say. Only people who have not been deeply involved in politics think that one side is pure/good/blameless/right and the other side tainted/bad/worthy of blame/wrong. It's both sides equally, and those who are embroiled in it have friends on both sides. The talking points that alienate us are just that - marketing, bread and circus. Neither side is wholly feminist or racist. It's sad that people buy into the extremes. It's just marketing. On both sides, the sensible politicians will tell you about the crazy extremist wing that demands and pushes and it's disgusting to watch from both sides. The loudest virtue-signallers are no worse than the loudest extremists on the other side. Both are riddled with hypocrites.
Ava C said…
Just think, PH left the army in 2015. He's drifted nearly 5 years now. No one can argue his charity work is a job. I know people who do as much while working 9-5. When I saw the film of him getting out of the car at Noono's (I'm not checking the spelling yet again) wedding I thought, this is what nearly 5 years of idleness does to you. The Duke of Windsor was ruined by idleness too.
Ava C said…
NeutralObserver - from all I've read the Queen sees being Queen as a job, pure and simple. And she happens to be the one who has to do it. She's never seen herself as special apart from that, and I agree with her that if you've been properly trained, that's what matters. And yes, she's transformed when with horses and dogs. That's the person she would have been if not for Edward VIII.

When I see photos of them together in the '30s, a confident, outgoing man and a small, well-mannered child, that's when I realise the weight of responsibility he put on her shoulders. Yes her mother was still young enough to bear a son, but no one thought that was likely. I think it stunted her emotional development at a critical time, as she was far more rigid and punctilious than her mother or her sister. In fact, she was like Queen Mary, who she spent a lot of time with in her early years. Every year that passes the Queen looks more like Queen Mary.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
@Elle:

EXACTLY.

I wrote a novella about a woman on a B1/B2 visa making observations about just that.

My grandfather (who was a villagehead, born into it like the equivalent of a village squire [?] In England) had to 'befriend' the local mobsters because it was the only way to keep them under control. Doesn't make *him* a mobster.

The crazy thing is, the worst virtue-signalers in western countries will come to Asia and exhibit UGLY behaviour. Yet the ones painted as "racist" will meet me (probably the first foreigner/Asian they've ever met) and they are nothing but curious and kind!
abbyh said…
I think her smarts (street, crafty, some long range planning) have carried her well so far but she is floundering.

She still doesn't know how to read the room.

She doesn't learn from her errors (just look at the clothing alone). This is big because it increases the chances of making another one which is preventable.

She still thinks that her opinion is something the world not only needs but wants to hear from her.

And, I think she thinks that because she has made it this far, she is the smartest person in the room. That didn't work out well for Enron either.

She has smarts but they are also the kind which blind you to your own potential for making some kind of error which will undo the whole thing like pulling a card out to set off a chain of falling cards.

Marie said…
Can someone tip off Daily Mail that she did NOT meet her BFF Misha at some egghead, intellectual Art Basel lunch years ago in 2012 but actually only a year before she allegedly met Harry and at some boozy SoHo shindig instead?

Meghan probably is intelligent in a booksmart sense, incredibly emotionally intelligent, and certainly a genius in comparison to her husband. Yet her vapid Instagram quotations and vacuous buzzwords on women's empowerment movements like really don't do her much favors.
Ozmanda said…
SwampWoman - I agree, one of the most valuable pieces of advice I have been given during investigations is "don't assume everyone are criminal geniuses". Basically we assume they people have the same sophisticated strategic or critical thinking that we all do. Sometimes people are just - stupid. Unable to understand or not give a hoot about the consequences to their actions.

MM lacks impulse control, her actions seem to be for the immediate "gain" (whether that be financial/social or to answer critics), she isn't thinking about the consequences or:
Maybe she just doesn't care and in her mind since she has a "baby" that they can't get rid of her? I also still think she has something on Harry which the family at first may be so scared to be released they turn a blind eye.

This is where Lord G comes in - he gets called back to duty, one of her new staff members was trained in similar arena's - by allowing the media to release all these negative actions taken, they are eroding the public sympathy of her - so even if she does have something on harry, her rep will be so burnt by the end of this trainwreck no one will care or she will be tagged in a more negative light.

This "baby" in my mind is her trump card - if there wasn't one I doubt she would be there, but since there is a child in the mix this is going to keep her around for a bit.
Ozmanda said…
Some aspects of Metadata can be photoshopped can alter certain parts of the EXIF data.

Date and time data on these files are usually set to "read only" which makes then unable to be altered by the general public, however there are tools such as ExifTool that can be downloaded and edit time stamps - bear in mind that there are extra layers within image source code that contains the right data - added to that digital cameras that take the image will contain the true data and under court orders these can be compelled.



Ozmanda said…
Over the weekend I was doing some digging of historic articles (ok io have no life) and I could not find a single photo or reference that MeAgain and Nanoo were BFF any earlier then a few weeks ago. Happy to stand corrected if others can dig anything up
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