It was just 682 days ago that the second Duke of Sussex came into being.
The first Duke of Sussex, a red-headed wastrel with an older, unpopular wife, died in 1843, and the title had been vacant since then.
But on May 19, 2019, Queen Elizabeth resurrected the title for use by her grandson Prince Harry, along with the titles Earl of Dumbarton (for use in Scotland) and Baron of Kilkeel (a fishing town in Northern Ireland, population 6887).
It was hard not to see Prince Philip's humor behind the choice of peerages - Sussex, perhaps a reference to the Duchess Meghan's former employment, Dumbarton, a comment on Prince Harry's lack of intellectual chops, and Kilkeel - well, it just sounds funny. Earl of Dumbarton had actually been used previously, in the 1700s, but Kilkeel had never had a noble title connected with it before.
And now it's all worked out as badly as anyone might have guessed it would in May 2018.
The Sussexes have spent millions of pounds to no good end, they have tarnished the reputation of the British Royal Family and brought on calls for a republic, and they've left a large number of copies of People Magazine unsold beside checkout counters.
The disaster started picking up speed with the April 2018 departure of Harry's "body man" Edward Lane Fox, the man who turned a prince caught playing naked billiards in Las Vegas into "Hero Harry" for the public. Ed Fox was the man who made Harry look good.
Fox's resignation took place just a couple of weeks before the Sussexes' strange and rushed-looking wedding, with its ill-fitting bridal gown, sloppy cake, and sour-faced guests.
The wedding (to which, famously, Meg only invited one family member) was followed by several odd and unexplained public events.
A couple of weeks after that, Meg was invited on a special train trip with the Queen - and appeared with flyaway hair (wig?), no hat, and an outfit we'd already seen on Angelina Jolie. Wasn't there anyone offering her guidance?
Finally, the pair were sent on a fancy tour to Australia, where they offended their hosts so thoroughly that Prince Andrew (!) had to be sent down afterwards to smooth things over.
The tour also gave them the opportunity to offend Harry's Invictus partners, who wondered why non-veteran Meghan had been chosen to give a speech; Prince Frederik of Denmark, who was also attending the games but snubbed by the Sussexes; plus a market full of craftswomen in Fiji who had looked forward to meeting Meghan and promoting their goods to an international audience.
According to some reports, Meghan felt the market smelled bad. Whatever the reason, she had her security personnel remove her from the market shortly after she arrived.
The baby whose conception was announced quite early, at around 10 weeks, conveniently at another bride's wedding.
The baby who, safe within his mother's womb, became miraculously much larger or much smaller depending on her fashion needs.
The baby who was maybe sort of born in May 2019, although the press was given the wrong information about the timing of labor and birth, plus it isn't clear exactly where the birth happened, and also no doctors signed his Royal birth announcement.
The baby who has never made a public appearance in the United Kingdom, where he is supposedly seventh in line to the throne.
All totally normal, folks. Nothing to see here.
Very little production or publicity is going on during the coronavirus pandemic. And whenever things start up again, the Sussexes - who still have their dukedom but no HRH - are likely to be old news.
Sure, they have at least one revealing interview to offer (Oprah? Ellen?) and will also probably cheapen themselves on at least one US late-night talk show. (Start mass-market with Fallon and then move down to Corden? Or maybe do Colbert and talk politics? Shouldn't Meg give Lily Singh a boost, since she's Canadian and a WOC?)
But after that, silence. Bob Iger has left Disney, so there are probably no more elephant voiceovers in Meg's future.
The Sussexes say they plan to launch a charity, but who would trust them with money?
Although he married again, neither marriage was approved of by the royal family, and his son was deemed ineligible to inherit the Dukedom.
Might history repeat itself?
The first Duke of Sussex did have one bright spot in his life: he was the favorite uncle of Queen Victoria, and walked her down the aisle at her marriage to Prince Albert.
Perhaps, at some point, Prince Harry will again find a useful role to play in the Royal Family, and maybe even get his HRH back.
But Meghan probably won't.
The first Duke of Sussex, a red-headed wastrel with an older, unpopular wife, died in 1843, and the title had been vacant since then.
But on May 19, 2019, Queen Elizabeth resurrected the title for use by her grandson Prince Harry, along with the titles Earl of Dumbarton (for use in Scotland) and Baron of Kilkeel (a fishing town in Northern Ireland, population 6887).
It was hard not to see Prince Philip's humor behind the choice of peerages - Sussex, perhaps a reference to the Duchess Meghan's former employment, Dumbarton, a comment on Prince Harry's lack of intellectual chops, and Kilkeel - well, it just sounds funny. Earl of Dumbarton had actually been used previously, in the 1700s, but Kilkeel had never had a noble title connected with it before.
And now it's all worked out as badly as anyone might have guessed it would in May 2018.
The Sussexes have spent millions of pounds to no good end, they have tarnished the reputation of the British Royal Family and brought on calls for a republic, and they've left a large number of copies of People Magazine unsold beside checkout counters.
It started with Fox
In fact, smart money probably knew it would go wrong long before May 2018; both Prince William and his stepmother Camilla pegged the Duchess of Sussex as a grifter early on, and his father Prince Charles probably would have, had he not been so eager to show himself to be "woke" with an African-influenced wedding ceremony.The disaster started picking up speed with the April 2018 departure of Harry's "body man" Edward Lane Fox, the man who turned a prince caught playing naked billiards in Las Vegas into "Hero Harry" for the public. Ed Fox was the man who made Harry look good.
Fox's resignation took place just a couple of weeks before the Sussexes' strange and rushed-looking wedding, with its ill-fitting bridal gown, sloppy cake, and sour-faced guests.
The wedding (to which, famously, Meg only invited one family member) was followed by several odd and unexplained public events.
Odd and unexplained
Just four days after the wedding, the Sussexes attended a garden party celebrating Prince Charles' 70th birthday, but were abruptly asked to leave. Why?A couple of weeks after that, Meg was invited on a special train trip with the Queen - and appeared with flyaway hair (wig?), no hat, and an outfit we'd already seen on Angelina Jolie. Wasn't there anyone offering her guidance?
Finally, the pair were sent on a fancy tour to Australia, where they offended their hosts so thoroughly that Prince Andrew (!) had to be sent down afterwards to smooth things over.
The tour also gave them the opportunity to offend Harry's Invictus partners, who wondered why non-veteran Meghan had been chosen to give a speech; Prince Frederik of Denmark, who was also attending the games but snubbed by the Sussexes; plus a market full of craftswomen in Fiji who had looked forward to meeting Meghan and promoting their goods to an international audience.
According to some reports, Meghan felt the market smelled bad. Whatever the reason, she had her security personnel remove her from the market shortly after she arrived.
And then there was Archie
And then, of course, there was Archie.The baby whose conception was announced quite early, at around 10 weeks, conveniently at another bride's wedding.
The baby who, safe within his mother's womb, became miraculously much larger or much smaller depending on her fashion needs.
The baby who was maybe sort of born in May 2019, although the press was given the wrong information about the timing of labor and birth, plus it isn't clear exactly where the birth happened, and also no doctors signed his Royal birth announcement.
The baby who has never made a public appearance in the United Kingdom, where he is supposedly seventh in line to the throne.
All totally normal, folks. Nothing to see here.
The end
The story goes on and on - Frogmore Cottage, the expensively renovated house where no one appears to live! - but it's a sorry tale with a sad ending in a rented house in Malibu and a phone that probably doesn't ring very often.Very little production or publicity is going on during the coronavirus pandemic. And whenever things start up again, the Sussexes - who still have their dukedom but no HRH - are likely to be old news.
Sure, they have at least one revealing interview to offer (Oprah? Ellen?) and will also probably cheapen themselves on at least one US late-night talk show. (Start mass-market with Fallon and then move down to Corden? Or maybe do Colbert and talk politics? Shouldn't Meg give Lily Singh a boost, since she's Canadian and a WOC?)
But after that, silence. Bob Iger has left Disney, so there are probably no more elephant voiceovers in Meg's future.
The Sussexes say they plan to launch a charity, but who would trust them with money?
The first Duke of Sussex
Life was also difficult for the first Duke of Sussex. He divorced his first wife, who used the title princess for the rest of her life even though she wasn't technically entitled to it.Although he married again, neither marriage was approved of by the royal family, and his son was deemed ineligible to inherit the Dukedom.
Might history repeat itself?
The first Duke of Sussex did have one bright spot in his life: he was the favorite uncle of Queen Victoria, and walked her down the aisle at her marriage to Prince Albert.
Perhaps, at some point, Prince Harry will again find a useful role to play in the Royal Family, and maybe even get his HRH back.
But Meghan probably won't.
Comments
sigh. I like this blog and hope it doesn't go away.
Taking cover now.
@Cheathamgal said --
I think we are long lost cousins if Cheatham is a family name. I response to MeGain being able to land another wealthy man after Harry you mentioned Jeff Bezos. I know from personal experience that nerdy science-minded men have little experience with women. I was married to one for 17 years and interacted with his colleagues to boot. Many of them went to all-male schools, studied incessantly at MIT and Rensselaer while maintaining a 4.0 gpa. And carrying 25 hrs/semester. Their brains are just wired differently than the average frat boy. If you happen to attract their attention it will be at an intellectual coitus level. One must be an honourable person with them because they are eager to please and have often attained an enviable degree of financial stability. Two of my ex’s students have won a Nobel. If Meg is willing to settle for money over partying she could win a nerdy husband who will adore her.
_________________________
Hmm.
Quite.
Nerds, however, are not as clueless as we might think they are.
I can't think how Markle can think she can manipulate one of them, but I won't put anything past her.
(Once she does manage it, though, I will be there to point it out *grin*)
I hope when the virus is waning, to see lots more of Camilla and Sophie. Sophie is classy looking, so BRF, and Camilla can get away with quips and winks, if she wants to. I think, these two, their reputations, benefited immensely from the whole BRF markled thing.
Completely agree.
Sophie looked Fabulous at the church too.
I am a Christian, and I have been praying that we all live past this.
I will be praying for you, whomever you are, whether you want me to pray for you or not.
I do hope it works. It's up to the Man Upstairs if that is true.
The blog isn't going anywhere - no worries.
I'll delete some of the worst stuff from the overnight period.
Many years ago, I read a magazine article about "how to get a rich husband."
The woman writing it was plump and in her 40s, but she had recently married a very wealthy older man, and knew many other wives of similarly wealthy man.
Her number 1 tip was: you have to be a pleasant companion who enjoys the same activities as your wealthy partner. I seem to remember that her guy liked golf, wine, and travel, but I'm not sure.
The rich guy can find hundreds or thousands of gorgeous bimbos, but an upbeat, fun conversationalist to share his life is harder to find. She also has to be willing to put her own life on hold and basically follow him around as he travels the world. (Works for Nancy Shevel and Paul McCartney; didn't work for Jane Fonda and Ted Turner.)
In my opinion, the "pleasant companion who enjoys the same activities" is also the story behind Bezos' new partner. She and he are both pilots and share an obsession with space flight.
Meg seems to be able to be pleasant only in very small doses, and then gets greedy, and ultimately becomes domineering. Not a pleasant partner.
"Maybe she needed Jessica on this tour to bring her the moon bumps? Most royals don't pack for themselves so I don't think MM would have been able to "hide" them in a piece of luggage."
OMG, I'll bet that's exactly why the Mulrooneys were there!
I've no idea what would happen to the Duchy funding if the present duke departed this life and William became the Heir Apparent. Can anyone enlighten me?
Charles has been D of Cornwall since he was a small boy ie in 1952, when the `old King died' and his mother acceded the throne, although he wasn't proclaimed as such, at Launceston, until 1973. I've no idea how Princess Elizabeth was funded during her father's reign, when she was Heir Presumptive.(ie the heir -but on the presumption that no son was subsequently to the king) - apart that is from her Army pay when she was in the ATS!
On the bright side, Charles is going to open the London Nightingale Hospital by video link from Birkhall.
Thinking of potential future suitors for MM - she's no Jerry Hall, that's for sure. It also reminds me of what `Mrs Merton' said to Debbie McGee:
https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2017/04/18/news/mrs-merton-s-brazen-question-to-debbie-mcgee-voted-best-one-liner-999791/
Octagenarian Bernie Ecclestone has put his young wife in the family way
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8181521/Former-Formula-1-boss-father-fourth-time-wife-Fabiana-Flosi.html
I couldn't fancy him, not for all his wealth, and he's only 9 years older than I am. I much prefer the octogenarian I've already got - he looks at least 20 yrs younger than Ecclestone as well!
There's a little verse I once heard:
He was rich and old and she
Was thirty-two or thirty-three.
She gave him fifteen years to live,
The only thing she meant to give...
She gave him fifteen years, no more
Before she had him at deaths door
He may be old, & so very rich
But he didn’t give in to that young b....
It rhymes like Mother Goose.
@MAGATHA!! 😂😂
@Scandi, cheers, your photo is lovely, pretty in pink.
Thank heavens we have good old Victorian plumbing, we could have used a “mass” of it during the war to float tanks etc in the channel.
The image of the doc. is there in black and white, as well as Markle correspondence that she may have received from Samantha (W has previously said they'd connected)
see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPGJKIOeeq_GDlNKoi3bMeg , the video marked `Markle letters', it's been up 11 hours (10pm GMT, 2nd April) It's 15.33 long.
Even better! Original verse - Congratulations!!!
To add to it, the underlying issue is that except in unusual circumstances, a high net worth male has a high status that makes him attractive to lots of potential partners. As you state, the trick is to compliment his lifestyle and to make him want your company as there are many others who can step in
PH is most definitely high status/high net worth but what is interesting about him in particular is that he has done nothing at all to achieve those traits. Unlike a self made person he will potentially be a lot less confident in himself than those who did it for themselves. Of course there are wealthy heirs all over the world who are confident in themselves so this is not a catch all by any means.
But what is interesting about Harry is that he will always have played second fiddle to his brother both in terms of status and relevance. He knows this. While he excelled at sport when he was younger (numerous TV documentaries/commentators have mentioned this), this will have faded as an adult. Who cares how good he is at football/rugby/polo when he is 30? It takes more than that to make a man. Add on the fact that he is allegedly quite dim (search for the variety of news stories on the matter) and what we have is a man of high status and net worth who most likely is not very confident. Mid 30s, looks fading, going bald, no career, not too bright, friends are getting married etcetc.
I wonder whether MM ever even tried to do the 'snag a rich guy' playbook. PH was potentially a vulnerable easy mark and perhaps fell for someone with confidence and self made 'success' that he lacked.
It's an interesting side note to his lack of brain power that he was not able to spot that MM was not exactly overly blessed in the brain area either. But her steely confidence and self assurance hides that from PH. And probably will forever. He's not bright enough to ever figure it out.
I think that Megs steely confidence & self assurance hides the fact that she is very insecure?
A lot of bluff, & balls on her part.
They are both mid 30’s, looks fading, going bald, no career & not too bright.
He’s not bright enough to spot that she’s not blessed with brains, & shes not bright enough to realise he’s not that important in the scheme of things.
Match made in heaven, or hell?
You've got a solid point that Harry lacked confidence (although a lot of accomplished individuals do too - "Imposter Syndrome.") Meg might have used a gender-flipped version of what male pickup artists called "negging" - in other words, pointing out the negative aspects of an otherwise sought-after individual, such as a pretty young woman.
These sought-after individuals are used to a lot of empty compliments, so the "negging" can feel like they have finally met someone who truly understands them.
There's also the aspect that both Harry and Meghan were largely raised by single fathers who apparently overcompensated for missing mothers.
It's been one of Page Six's Top Trending stories for two days now - I guess its a distraction from Coronavirus stories.
One thing that the Smirkles did do a good job of during their brief time with the RF was mislead people into thinking that the Commonwealth countries were still colonies of the UK.
Canada, and other Commonwealth countries, are independent countries with our own constitutions and laws. Harry could not have worked in Canada without the proper work visa.
Nearly 30 years ago when I first came to Oz from UK I had to apply for a working visa.
Same applied last year when my nephew came to stay.
@Wild Boar: Thanks for clarifying! 😂😂
She certainly was the one pushing the relationship forward, as she dropped multiple clues on her Instagram and then when that didn't work, made up a paparazzi complaint and probably gave him an ultimatum in the guise of sad doe-eyes.
She also tried to portray herself as independently wealthy, taking a private jet to the Inskip wedding in Jamaica and wearing Erdem, which is still not haute couture like Dior or Givenchy but still considerably above her usual JCrew/Aritzia budget. Not surprising how she rarely wore flowery, floral old-grandma chic Erdem again after snagging the Prince, if at all.
I also think Harry was star-struck because she was an actress and bragged about her contacts to real "American royalty" like Serena Williams. Also, he acted a bit like a rebellious teenage girl, dating someone who comes off as different, in order to stick it to Charles. Harry seems enamored of cultures on the African continent for being free and joyful, rather than like the stuffy, judgmental English, and almost every teenager in Europe believes that Californians are the most chill of all. So he with his limited brain capacity probably believed Meghan to be some exotic, cool black person like Snoop Dogg AND a cool So-Cal surf girl, rather than seeing that she's the terrible type of shallow, uptight, prissy SoCal sorority sister, healing crystals, yoga, chia-hemp smoothies from the Vitamix and all.
And she also seems to absorb the hobbies and interests of any more powerful person she wants to please, regardless of gender, or tries to outdo the accomplishments of anyone whom she considers below herself. Like when she met Ellen at the pet shelter, she suddenly embodied a diehard passionate "adopt don't shop" stance. Or after meeting Justin Welby, she became a devout Anglican and Christian. I could see her very well snagging a rich man again (but only if he is rich due to family legacy and not due to personal achievement) but perhaps not sealing the deal as quickly or as easily with the dimwitted, arrogant, immature prince.
To me, this is someone so insecure with themselves that they do anything to be liked. She notices Corey has a more successful career and social circle in Toronto as a celebrity chef than she does as a supporting hot-girl plotline in a TV cable show, so she starts her lifestyle blog with some foodie reviews and recipes, thereby positioning herself as the next Martha Stewart/Nigella Lawson, etc. Jessica Mulroney is a stylist, so she starts trying to snag fashion spreads in magazine. Eco-warrior to please Prince Charles the holder of the purse strings, fashion editor to outdo Catherine being on a cover of Vogue.
Yeah good point, the negging thing makes a hell of a lot of sense in the context of this relationship.
As for the article on PH and a US visa it seems like he has more than enough options to secure one in order to work in the US.
No one, but plenty care as to whose paying for it, & his security?
"in order to work in the US."
I'm having fun imagining him in various work roles. Hm . . . not geographer or artist . . . can't appear on Jeopardy! . . . what WOULD anyone hire him to do???
I am thinking one of those no-talent-required, TV announcer-type roles, but according to what I've heard, he doesn't speak well (I don't watch the videos of him). So even that's out.
They however are lurking on various blogs or in various collections been caught and saved immediately after first appearance. Internet has a very long memory. We will see them again.
Thank you Nutty for managing this blog so well. And thank you all too. The vast majority of people here are polite and considerate to each other.
First, it did a very thorough job examining his options to enter and stay in the USA.
Second, it planted a suggestion that Harry could have violated law and got away with it due to his "special" status. Whether it is true or not is secondary really.
People do not like been preached about equality and then watch Harry waltz into the country the way he did. There is already a red alarm bell about Harry in the background following this article.
Even a small misstep by the duo can turn on the avalanche of negative publicity after their alleged attempt to get publicly funded security and possible immigration law violations.
Embarrassing photos and videos? And do you know where to find them?
Asking for a friend.
Find! Lol!
First paragraph:
What’s ancient, slow-moving and leaves a trail of crap in its wake? No, not Britain’s royal family; the African elephant. The two are easily confused. The royals never forget and are an endangered species that mates in captivity. Elephants are leathery, photogenic and likely to inspire misplaced sentiment. No wonder Meghan Markle’s first venture as Hollywood royalty should be as voiceover artiste for Elephant, a Disney documentary about elephants in Botswana. But this, like Meghan’s in-laws, is as rich, white and privileged as it gets.
https://spectator.us/meghan-markle-white-privilege-disney-elephants/
No paywall
Despite being over the worst of the virus, he looked extremely flushed and sounded very rough. He'll probably take a while to recuperate fully. I wonder if he was much worse than we were led to believe?
JH should be thoroughly ashamed of himself but some how I doubt it, especially if he too is a narcissist. As has been observed before, narcissists don't do shame.
The only thought I have is to wonder if anybody with a gynae/obstetric background could comment on whether there's any evidence here as to whether she had been preggers in the past, given the rumour of her having had a child early on?
Who better to take advice from than the most famous and successful courtesan of the 20th century? No less than Winston Churchill's daughter-in-law, Pamela Churchill Harriman? She worked her way up, each man richer and more powerful than the last. Her first husband, Randolph Churchill, was a dud but he was the springboard to endless opportunity for her. Got her into the right circles. She wasn't even beautiful at first, but she made herself seem so. Reading a biography of her was certainly a learning experience. I couldn't begin to have her nerve.
But here's one of the key differences with Meghan (the other important one being she did horizontal service for her country as well as herself during the war). She devoted all her energies and attention and care to the man, and she kept it up, even in marriage. It wasn't temporary lovebombing. It was her modus operandi, but she didn't offer it only to snatch it away later, to the instability and ruin of the man. He paid and he got what he wanted and kept on getting what he wanted.
Meghan wants to succeed to this extent herself, in the same way, although of course she seeks to present it differently (maybe to herself also). But she has no work ethic. Pamela Churchill worked hard during the war to influence the right people for her father-in-law. She worked hard later to learn all there was to know about the next man, his interests, his wealth and his world. Meghan doesn't begin to have that degree of application. She's slapdash in everything, not just her appearance.
Yes you may say Meghan didn't bother to learn about the UK because she had no intention of staying, but her plan has totally failed as she skipped the groundwork. She should have made a success of it, as Diana did, then left on her own terms, as Diana did when she cleaned out her husband's investment portfolio. Instead, we've watched Meghan skittering and careering all over the place. It's as if she hasn't bothered to learn the first thing from the women who've gone before her.
Don't think I am advocating this as a way to live or something to aspire to. However for centuries this is how women got what they wanted. Pamela Churchill Harriman was just more blatant and showily successful. To my mind Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill were on the market as sisters in just the same way. And what were debs' coming outs but respectable auctions?
One good thing to come out of all of this is that many young girls see Meghan for what she is. A faulty, no-talent anachronism. They are going to be successful by their own efforts thank you very much. I see this in my own 17-year-old niece, valiantly trying to keep up her studies every working day, all day, in this unprecedented crisis for the modern world. Meghan is nothing to her.
It has been revealed Doria has security detail too. I am pretty sure that the British tax payers are footing the bill.
Prince Charles is weak and tone-deaf. He should have put his foot down long time ago. The Duchy of Cornwall is not his private pocket money. He cannot use it to finance Harkles' extravagant Hollywood lifestyle. It is not going down well with the British public. Many people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
Louise and Suzi1972
Finding her pics that will make you cringe is not difficult. Celebsunmasked is one source, the other one is various blogs like Harry Markle, Charlatan Duchess, Deceitful Duchess, Not my Duchess and many others. There are plenty shots of her see through skirt, exposed bra, crossed legs showing more than you want to see, trashy men's health adverts, vomit inducing "fashion" shots etc.
The bottom line is: even one of them will make you fed up with her for life. She is so cheap.
https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/03/listen-meghan-markle-narrating-disney-film-elephant-duchess-of-sussex/#comments
The comments below the article won't disappoint...
A short clip from the Elephant documentary with Meghan's narration.
There is also an article in the DM about it:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8183625/Meghan-Markle-absolutely-fascinated-matriarchal-leadership-elephants-say-filmmakers.html
1. I find her voice annoying.
2. What pronunciation did he correct, because her voice is VERY California. You would not think she had lived in Canada and then the UK for a decade.
3. They are really pushing the PR for Meghan, bu this will pass ...
4. No more voiceovers please Meghan. IMO, you are missing an essential element ... genuine interest in the subject (rather than acting as if you are interested).
As you point out, similar to Jackie and Lee. Their greed was so manifest that can’t look at a picture of either of them without shuddering. They were in the inaugural class of the Markle School of Social Climbing and Bagging Rich Men, albeit with a lot more smarts and an astonishing sense of style and class!
@MustySyphone why stir the pot?
"Prince Charles is weak and tone-deaf...The Duchy of Cornwall is not his private pocket money. He cannot use it to finance Harkles' extravagant Hollywood lifestyle. It is not going down well with the British public."
PC is using his personal money to support the Harkles, not Duchy money: https://mol.im/a/8169299
I applaud you. Thank you.
I will admit Tatty is not one of my favorite posters. But she is human, she went to a virus hot spot, and I am showing compassion. Please do not insinuate that I am purposely "stirring the pot". I've been reamed and censored on here for many things, none of which were intended to be inflammatory.
The problem with a post is that you can not hear the inflection of a person's voice nor see their facial expressions so it is easy to misunderstand. There is a core group of posters that are friends, and then the rest of us.
Can we all hold hands and just get along?
Also, in case I get booted I just wanted to shout out to @KnitWit--I have the same education/background as you!
Himmy said...
"Prince Charles is weak and tone-deaf...The Duchy of Cornwall is not his private pocket money. He cannot use it to finance Harkles' extravagant Hollywood lifestyle. It is not going down well with the British public."
PC is using his personal money to support the Harkles, not Duchy money: https://mol.im/a/8169299
"As always, follow the money" -- said Deep Throat
Come on, this Bank of Charles money is fungible. Funny money is always fungible. What money is being taken from Charles' pocket to finance Malibu's most recently arrived nut cases, will be replenished by Charles' cash flow from his tenants in the Cornwall Duchy. Which btw has many holdings outside Cornwall. In London for example.
Bottom line: Duchy tenants are on the hook for The Wastrel Harkles. For their "Lives of the Rich and Famous" lifestyle. Many/most? Duchy tenants are hard working farmers. Now this is tough work! Contrast this with the cush lives of Duplicitous Dumbartons.
___________
"Follow the money" – a phrase that's now part of our national lexicon — was supposedly whispered to reporter Bob Woodward by Deep Throat as a way to cut through the lies and deceptions and find the truth about the Watergate scandal. The so-called third-rate burglary that happened 40 years ago this weekend ended the presidency of Richard Nixon.
Follow The Money: On The Trail Of Watergate Lore : NPR
www.npr.org/2012/06/16/154997482/follow-the-money-on-the-trail-of-watergate …
Tatty is not a problem. You must surely understand what’s gone on just recently?
Harry's goose and golden eggs will pass to his brother IF Charles passes away. It appears that Charles aka the Bank of Pa, is the funding source for at least their protection, and anything else. Unless HMTQ and Harry have negotiated a contract in writing with a time length, anything oral agreed upon by Harry and who ever in the RF would be subject to renegotiation.
The parallels to Edward and Harry are amazing - poor Queen, dealing with this from her (supposed favorite) grandson.
in closing, my two cents - MM will hang onto Harry until he turns 40 and has full access to his inheritances. Then she will pounce with the divorce and the community property 50/50 split. No pre-nup, Harry is financially screwed.
Glad to hear you are doing well. Nutty has a coronavirus blog (a new conversation every day) if you want to have a look and share ideas and give support:
https://nuttyflavorvirus.blogspot.com/
Wishing you and your family good health.
I think he uses most of that income (i.e. what is left over after all expenses and investments in the duchy have been deducted) to support projects such as The Prince's Trust and his grand projects such as Dumfries House in Scotland.
People do not think logically about this sort of stuff, but whether Charles supports the Sussexes or not makes no difference at all to the duchy and its tenants. What it does make a difference to is other projects (outside the duchy) that Charles supports (less to give to those).
Does anyone here know if Doria was/is being guarded by protection officers and who is paying for it (certainly not Doria)?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/03/queens-address-nation-coronavirus-can-watch-speech/
So glad you are ok and will be sending prayers to your husband and all of your other family as well. We have nurses and docs on the frontline as well. One of ours does the screening in SC and doesn't have proper equipment. I share your opinion about the HAMS and Archie as well. Be safe!
Glad to know you are ok. I think all of our priorities have changed. On a lighter note, if you run out of house to clean....there's always mine. Just teasing!
@Magatha
Actually I missed the latest dust up between two of the posters. But I managed to get into the thick of it without trying. Sigh.
Would actually like to know what the big deal was. I'm not the most astute at social cues or whatever so if I did see it, I may not have understood. Appreciated posts from both CE and Elle. Agreed with some, not with others.
That's about it.
The astute her have pointed out that Meghan is not suitable companion material for a wealthy man. She must dominate and lead. She is not suitable wife and mother material either (like Jerry Hall).
What she is trying to do with Harry is pursue wealth and fame as partners (and he is useful because without him she would not get any opportunities nor doors opening for her without an endless amount of hustle) but the people they were before they met have nothing in common and I doubt that Meghan will hold onto him once she establishes herself.
However, I can see her being another Oprah, if she can become successful and wealthy as an individual. She will have a partner (not a husband) who is also wealthy and successful but stays in the background (mostly, unless she really needs the public support). For that kind of partnership, Meghan needs a man who really loves her unconditionally exactly as she is and since Meghan does not know how to love I doubt that she will find that, not on a long-term basis.
https://www.tmz.com/2020/04/03/listen-meghan-markle-narrating-disney-film-elephant-duchess-of-sussex/
ELF joined Harry's staff shortly after the Vegas strip billiards incident and left abruptly just before the marriage to MM, for reasons that were never explained. It seems that from 2012 to 2018, Harry followed ELF's advice, with excellent results. What if MM gave Harry "permission" to just be himself and to disregard ELF. The petulant, self-pitying spoiled brat we see now - I think that's the real Harry, without the Palace filters.
What is the name of the Pamela Harriman biography you read? It sounds interesting.
Thanks.
Tatty,
Good to hear from you. I was worried.
I read the reason that ELF left abruptly was that MM was deceptive about her wedding plans to him.
I think your assessment that we are now seeing the unvarnished Harry is correct.
Thanks for the Spectator article link. Very interesting!
Sorry to interfere. One of possible reads I suppose would be Reflected Glory:Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman by Sally Bedell Smith
I like Smith's writing style as she always meticulous in researching and does tons of interviews for her books.
"It's pretty telling that this studio didn't try to sign the alliterate former actress for any additional projects. "
No interference--thanks for the recommendation!
I asked about you a few times , glad to hear you're okay.
The virus blog is interesting because bloggers give updates in their areas about shopping and supplies which are not always reported in the press.
The Sussexes have been unusually quiet the past few days.
It's hard for celebrities to compete with the Covid-19 news without exposing their shallowness unless they're making a large aid donation
There's a documentary about her here:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l9W_Ar0YY5Y
The Sussexes have been unusually quiet the past few days.
It's hard for celebrities to compete with the Covid-19 news without exposing their shallowness unless they're making a large aid donation
And we all know, they do not have money to donate!
@Fairy Crocodile
The book looks very interesting! Have read the preview on Amazon.
Thanks for the clip of Meg narrating the elephant documentary. She's awful. She sounds like one of those computer voices you can program on your smartphone or Amazon Alexa.
I never knew it was possible to be a bad actress if people couldn't see your face or movements, but I guess it is.
I am so glad! It is difficult to put down a well written book, isn't it?
Since the DM yesterday decided a random child in one of his photos was the mysterious "Archie", Charles made certain to have no images of "Archie" in today's video. Or, for that matter, of Meghan, except for a group shot that also included Kate and the Cambridge kids.
Lots of nostalgia, old pictures of his mother and Princess Margaret and himself and Princess Anne as children, plus a shot of him and Camilla of course. No images of Diana.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8184521/Inside-Prince-Charles-sitting-room-Birkhall-Balmoral-estate.html
No offense taken, if you haven't been interested in the Sussex saga. Just come and go as you like - applies to all.
I know people are seeking stress relief, and one of the things that works for me is watching old TV dramas, episode by episode, with a group online and discussing the plot twists. Something historical, so there are 0% parallels to the current situation.
"EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle plans to return to acting but will only work with A-list directors like Ava DuVernay in a 'breakout role' because current offers are too 'cheesy and beneath' former Suits actress"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8184491/Meghan-Markle-demands-work-list-directors-hopes-landing-breakout-role.html
And she calls the lions "cats" for goodness sake.
Did Disney really thought it was good enough?? I now believe Bob Iger did lose his position because of this debacle, whatever his RP says.
Thank you for the last link. It definitely made me laugh! 😄
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1148550/#director
(Filter for "director" - most of Ava's cv is publicist jobs.)
"They continued: 'One commercial could pay for their entire security team for the year. Meghan likes the idea that only the creme de la creme of actors are offered this type of work. She knows they need the money'"
Wow, there's a lot packed into those few words.
Is Meghan "big in Japan"?
Is DM toying with our darling Meg? If it is true, Meg has totally lost the plot.
* Meghan Markle has demanded she only work with A-list directors in the hopes of securing a breakout acting role, an industry source told DailyMail.com
The former Suits actress is worried critics are going to be hard on her so she needs to nab a breakout role with the right director attached to the project
* The Duchess of Sussex has 'been telling her agents that she wants Ava DuVernay involved, and that they need to find the right script,' the insider added
* Although Meghan has received lots of offers, 'she thinks the majority of them are cheesy and beneath her'
* Meghan's desire to land her next acting job in Hollywood could be the push behind Meghan and Harry moving from Canada to LA last month
* The royal couple is also getting lucrative offers from Japan and Meghan is 'not entirely opposed to the idea', the source said
* They continued: 'One commercial could pay for their entire security team for the year. Meghan likes the idea that only the creme de la creme of actors are offered this type of work. She knows they need the money'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8184491/Meghan-Markle-demands-work-list-directors-hopes-landing-breakout-role.html
LOL! Meghan really does have an over-inflated opinion of herself!
Japanese and Chinese companies do pay a lot for advertising but it carries certain stigma. I have read the article which said a number of western A-listers specify advertisements with them should not ever be broadcasted outside of Japan.
Well that figures.
Of all companies to pair up with Meghan. Disney.
Also, just sayin’, nothing is cheesier than dusting in a bustier and garters. Oh, Markle, you are so amusing at times.
Arnold Schwartzenegger has several Japanese ads available on YouTube.
If her Japanese bonanza means UK doesn't pay for her security any more I am all for it. She can advertise cosmetics, household goods, clothes, condoms - whatever.
Everything she touches turns to manure, so Japanese will learn the hard way too.
Maybe she is pushing this idea because Asian Pop Culture is becoming more mainstream and she thinks it makes her look cutting edge.
Meghan Markle plans to return to acting but will only work with A-list directors like Ava DuVernay in a 'breakout role' because “current offers are too 'cheesy and beneath' former Suits actress
Daily Mail headline: EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle plans to return to acting but will only work with A-list directors like Ava DuVernay in a 'breakout role' because current offers are too 'cheesy and beneath' former Suits actress
A: Nothing is beneath her. She will sink to any level to get what she wants.
B: You can’t make this stuff up. Proof that real life is better than fiction.
Meghan's body language is also so discourteous and unprofessional. She shows no respect. No understanding of ceremony. I wonder how Meghan's treatment of the Queen and Prince Philip has gone down over there?
There's also the lack of talent. Perhaps worse, she has no meaningful work ethic to partially make up for that. Right across the board, from the trivial to the most crucial requirements, she fails resoundingly. She can't get away with smoke and mirrors there.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/04/meghan-markle-elephant-voiceover-botswana-trip
I had a good laugh "the real inspiration for her participation happened back in 2017, when she and Harry visited Bostwana to assist the charity Elephants Without Borders.".
By all means I am not an expert on Japanese culture but all the stars I know that did those Japanese ads are “iconic.” That is why they are paid so highly. Even after marrying “Just H,” Meg is still very obscure on the world stage. Even if Asia knew her, she wouldn’t appeal to them.
I also find it interesting that "Archie" is having facetime play dates when he is less than a year old. Even toddlers don't play together much, they do "parallel play". They like another kid near them but don't interact. So just how is "Archie" playing on these play dates?
If you're going to spin a narrative, at least do your research.
I may be wrong but I have the feeling they try to monetize the 1st shot of their couch-surfing...
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/first-shot-of-meghan-and-harry-in-la-home-will-fetch-100-000-hchmwwnmv
"whose doll?"🤣
Agreed with y'all.
I can see that there maybe more interest from Asia for Prince Harry in ads, rather than her highness. Where is Hikari when you need her for commentary re Japan? Hope she is okay.
People are so witty!
>>I also find it interesting that "Archie" is having facetime play dates when he is less than a year old. Even toddlers don't play together...If you're going to spin a narrative, at least do your research.<<
Agree. But remember **last fall** at an actual play group supposedly Archie was so taken with other red-haired babies he crawled on over to them. https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a29818301/prince-harry-archie-redhead-babies-report/
Yeah, sure. He could have been an early crawler but wouldn't have done that I don't think.
Do research AND keep up with the lies.
First shot of Meghan and Harry in LA home ‘will fetch $100,000’
PART 1
The first clear picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their new home could fetch up to $100,000, a Los Angeles photographer has estimated in a warning to the couple.
By moving from Vancouver island in Canada they have swapped a low-key location for the engine room of the global celebrity news industry.
The switch was first reported last week. Mark Karloff, a Californian paparazzo for 12 years, said that teams of photographers were already hunting for the couple and Archie, their baby son. Both entrances to the gated community in Malibu where they are believed to be holed up were being staked out while they observed California’s coronavirus lockdown.
Karloff, 43, said that when those restrictions were lifted “and people are used to the fact that Meghan and Harry are here, it’s going to be a little bit of a frenzy to get them”.
The photographer hosts the Paparazzi Podcast, which shares stories from his professional colleagues on the streets of Los Angeles. “They are going to be hounded every single day, at least for the first few months,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to go out without being photographed.”
Karloff estimated that the first clean shot of the family settled in their new city could be worth up to $100,000. When the duke and duchess announced their intention to step back as senior members of the royal family in January they said that their plan was “to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America”.
They added: “This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter.”
In the seclusion of Vancouver island they had some of that space. Photographers from around the world swarmed to British Columbia but the Times Colonist, the biggest newspaper in Victoria, the province’s capital, chose not to cover them.
“Their connection to our island is worthy of note,” Dave Obee, the newspaper’s editor, said. “But their day-to-day existence here is not. Let them be.”
Kenneth Tynan, the British critic, wrote in 1977 after moving to Los Angeles that “life is cloudless here in every sense”.
A select few celebrities command an elite premium for photographs. “Leo DiCaprio, global interest, Beyonce, global interest,” Karloff said. “That’s what Meghan wants. She’s here to be in Hollywood. I hope she’s ready for it.”
Karloff said that Tom Cruise was one of the few celebrities who had figured out how to survive in Los Angeles. He said: “ He comes up [to a venue] with his motorcycle and keeps the helmet on until he gets inside.”
The will only work with my chosen A list people. Wow. It's up there with the demand letter and the response later to the Queen about the loss of titles. Same sense of voice.
I did watch the clip. "uh". Very California as someone put it.
Just because you demand doesn't mean you'll get. (I'm pouring a glass of wine and laughing at her "demands")
My view on interest from the paparazzi?
Meghan lives and breathes for this kind of attention, but (1) she wants full control of all photos and articles about her - everything actually! - and that just is not going to be possible. However, until she became 'royal' there wasn't really a bad photograph of her doing the rounds (cheesy, cheap, tacky, but not bad in that her hair was a mess, her clothes did not fit properly, her shoes were dirty, her make up looked bad ...).
And, (2) Meghan actually wants to monetise her image so she is not going to want the paps to make a fortune from photos of her without getting a slice of the action.
It's a double-edged sword: without the pap interest, she is not worth much for the big interviews, the merching deals, and so on; with the pap interest she does not control and profit off every image out there of her.
However, she CAN more easily control and monetise images of Archie - she just has to get Harry to agree to let her do that with the child.
The following is an article from Air Mail (which has a paywall). Thought it doesn’t relate directly to the Harkles, it addresses the possible ramifications of CV on celebrity culture:
Celluloid Zeros
Has the coronavirus undermined our obsession with celebrity?
BY POLLY VERNON
Part 1:
The celebrity response to the coronavirus crisis has been extensive and varied.
The actress and activist Jameela Jamil “can’t help but wonder if this virus is the clap back from Mother Nature we were waiting for”. The singer and actress Jennifer Lopez thinks we should “Meditate. Move. Pray. #staysafe”. Gal Gadot, the star of Wonder Woman, co-ordinated a mass celebrity YouTube, um, reimagining, of John Lennon’s Imagine, enlisting Kristen Wiig, Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell and Cara Delevingne — among 20-odd others — to sing a line each from the depths of their respective quarantines. Jessica Alba live-streamed a self-care party.
The singer Sia — also a star (though, should we call them “stars”? Really?) of Gadot’s Imagine video — posted an image on her Instagram feed, a variegated blue backdrop against which a single word was written: “virus”. Except the “vir” had been lightly scribbled out in pink, so the post effectively read “us”. Robbie Williams started holding regular karaoke nights on his Instagram feed. He calls them “Corona-oke”.
Jameela Jamil “can’t help but wonder if this virus is the clap back from Mother Nature we were waiting for.”
John Krasinski, from the American version of The Office, has launched a YouTube channel dedicated to sharing good news, nothing but “a few heartwarming, good stories that people might be looking for right now while stuck at home during the Covid-19 pandemic.” The broadcaster Ellen DeGeneres is posting winsome vignettes in a lemon hoodie about how “stir crazy and anxious” she is feeling. Madonna has taken to posting her “quarantine diaries”, the most famous of which shows her languishing in a bath filled with rose petals, declaring Covid-19 “the great equaliser”, while a gentle piano plays (possibly live, who can say?).
It would seem that all our celebrities — mired, as we are, in their homes, with little hope of escape and no more sense of how and when (and if) this will end — want us to know just how they are thinking and feeling. They want to share their notions, their musings. They want to engage, relate, emote, share.
The question is: do we care?
Embarrassment of Riches
Do we give a damn how these pampered, privileged, heartbreakingly pretty remnants from our decadent, pre-corona past, these emblems of a time when we actually needed distracting from our quiet, uneventful, stable, blissful little lives, because nothing exciting ever really happened … Do we give a flying f***, how they are responding to the greatest trauma of our lifetimes?
If we don’t, what does that mean for the future of celebrity culture?
Celebrities want us to know how they are feeling. The question is: do we care?
Now is a difficult time to be a celebrity. No! Really! I mean it! Think about it: the world is in crisis and they — accustomed to having far more agency and power than the rest of us, to getting their own way, to being generally much less fettered and much more fêted — must make a bigger adjustment to this, our new normal, than those of us not accustomed to those things. With the possible exception of the billionaire David Geffen of course, a man who, just four days ago, posted a picture of his self-isolation experience: on the deck of a superyacht in the Grenadines, captioned: “Sunset last night … I hope everyone is staying safe.” Except, even Geffen must be enduring curtailments, mustn’t he? Limits he has not faced in decades?
So the abject humbling process to which we are all now subject must be more intense for them. They have so much more humbling to do.
Ah, but more than that: celebrities must try to navigate us, their (formerly) adoring public! They must try to work out how to talk to us. How to relate. How to beam their images and words and sensibilities directly from the glossy interiors of their palatial mansions, into the depths of our crappy little flats, without really pissing us off. How to dodge the trending Twitter hashtag #guillotine2020. How to avoid the mass condemnation to which Gadot’s Imagine was (somewhat inevitably) subject: damned for being both patronising and atrociously out of tune.
Stars Struck
So far, largely, and with some notable exceptions, they’re getting it horribly wrong.
I mean horribly.
I write this as a long-term admirer of celebrities and celebrity culture. I am not only an interviewer of many famous people (Ryan Gosling, Donald Trump, Little Mix, Harry Styles, Piers Morgan, Take That, Rod Stewart, Kate Moss, and Martin and Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet), I am a lifelong, devoted consumer of celebrity culture. I loathe the pseudo-intellectual snobbishness that dismisses it, derides it; that insists celebrity and any interest in it demeans us. I see no more shame in being caught up in the ructions of celebrity lives than I do in being passionately involved with the fortunes of a football team. They amount to the same thing: a projection of the human condition, the triumphs and the failings, the righteous and the foul. So it is with affection and admiration that I say: “Dear me, no, celebrities. Don’t do that!”
Robbie Williams started holding karaoke nights on Instagram. He calls them “Corona-oke.”
I say it to Idris Elba, who thought sharing his positive Covid-19 test result with the world would invoke sympathy, possibly even envy, that he got in there first. Instead, it prompted angry questions about why he — a man with no symptoms — had managed to get tested, while frontline NHS workers — with or without symptoms — had not. I say it to Sam Smith, who documented his breakdown, frame by fetching frame — the modern equivalent of watching oneself cry in the mirror — from the floor of a home that the tabloid press was quick to point out had cost $14.8 million.
I say it to Katy Perry, who posted a fake video of Italians (not actually) singing her song Roar from their balconies while locked down, alongside the caption: “You cannot break the human spirit.” And I say it to Lionel Richie, who has proposed a remake of the song We Are the World, because … Who knows why? Who has any idea?
Real-Life Amateurs
If I have learnt anything from two decades of interviewing celebrities, it is that they do not know more than us about pretty much anything. They can be spectacular. Charming, hilarious, mesmerising; they are always surprising, always gentler or sweeter or sillier or harsher or scarier or angrier or rather more dull than you’d assume from all your years of watching them on the telly. But they are also, very much, just people; exceptional in their one particular, hugely commercial, way — otherwise: ordinary. Like any of us, just with wardrobe and staff. Their exceptional talent does not come with exceptional wisdom. Their physical beauty is not necessarily matched by inner grace. The size of their bank balance is often quite at odds with their capacity to be self-aware.
Which is why they can contribute no more to the crisis, be no more informing, or constructive, or useful than your mum. Unless, of course, your mum is a key worker, in which case, celebrities are less helpful than your mum.
Yet, try telling them that.
Now is a difficult time to be a celebrity. No! Really!
Coronavirus catches our celebrities at an interesting stage, developmentally speaking. The past seven years have given them the distinct impression that they are — or perhaps insisted they must be — much more than mere musicians, actors and so forth. Celebrity culture has collided with social media, grassroots activism, Trump, Brexit and Me Too. The consequence has been that people with what we now routinely refer to as a “platform” have felt the urge, or the pressure, to use it to quasi-political ends. Feminist ends. Ecological ends. Mental health ends. Non-specific spiritual ends — a stance best expressed through regular Instagram images of them in extraordinarily accomplished yoga poses, or with a multitude of utterly vapid “inspirational” quotations.
All of this, until the advent of corona, went down terribly well with their legion of social media followers, who took to routinely reassuring them that their extended vocation was “inspiring”, “soul-shaking”, or — having presumably been struck temporarily dumb by the impact of Beyoncé proclaiming “Your self-worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are” — simply made free with multiple examples of the “preach hands” emoji.
So celebrities became accustomed to performing these additional duties. All the pop stars-cum-philosophers. The hip-hop stars-cum-priests. The actors-cum-activists, movie stars-cum-wellness gurus, reality TV phenomena-cum-vegan crusaders, sports stars-cum-shrinks.
But, quite suddenly — as of, what, three weeks ago? — all that stopped meaning anything.
Namaste to Wellness
We no longer wanted their non-expert hunches, their unqualified proclamations, their inspirational quotes, their “it is what it is”-level insight. We rejected their clean-eating, Malibu-meditating calls for radical self-acceptance, whatever the hell that may be.
We started wanting cold, hard stats. The daily briefing with Dishy Rishi. Exponential graph-tracking we can trust. We wanted to know when we’ll have tests, when the NHS will have personal protective equipment (PPE). To stand up and applaud frontline health staff, binmen, delivery drivers and supermarket staff.
This is not to suggest we have absolutely no time at all for celebrity any more. We do. Of course we do. But we only have time for those we perceive as proceeding with integrity, who can largely be divided into two categories. Those who are doing something active and meaningful, rather than, I dunno, singing songs badly (the actor James McAvoy, who has denoted $340,000 to a PPE crowdfunding appeal and also applied to join the NHS volunteer scheme, being a case in point, along with Rihanna, who has donated both PPE and more than $5.2 million through her foundation to help organisations fight coronavirus). And those who have remembered, and started honouring, their core purpose: to entertain, purely, simply and well, without righteous posturing, lecturing or whining (Arnold Schwarzenegger playing chess with his miniature donkey, Lulu, if you will).
We wanted to know when we’ll have tests, when the NHS will have personal protective equipment.
But what of the long or even mid-term future of celebrity culture? Will corona be the undoing of the whole shebang? Will we, as an international community, on emerging from this crisis, re-evaluating our priorities and lifestyles and belief systems, finally see fit to free ourselves from the shackles of celeb worship; bow down no more before that gilded, overprivileged, overdressed, overpaid minority? Will we find our heroes and our icons elsewhere in society; carry on applauding those actual pillars of society, whom we have only, just now, come to see clearly?
No. Of course we won’t. I was a journalist during 9/11, the Iraq war and the 2007-08 financial crisis. Each time we felt the world’s priorities shift beneath us. Each time we felt the tone change, become infinitely more serious, infinitely less frivolous. Each time we predicted that this, then, was finally it, for all that. And each time, we were wrong. Each time, as the crisis abated, celebrity culture reasserted itself in its wake.
Corona may be a bigger crisis than any of those. Its ructions will certainly be felt for longer, and some things will, without question, change for good. But not celebrity. Not that.
We need those shiny, pretty, attention-seeking glamour bombs. We need them every bit as much as they need us.
Good points but I would hope that as part of the Mexit deal, Cringe and Ginge were told and/or agreed to NOT monetize "Archie" in any way.
But we shall see (would also depend on if there is a real Archie really living with them)
@lizzie, I saw something last week that some ‘anonymous source’ put out that said was supposedly a recent update on Archie That reported he was “learning to crawl” at 10-12 months! ?!? My children WALKED at 9 -10 months. As you said, when you tell nothing but lies, it’s a challenge to keep them straight.
It is odd ... but it could be people putting out nonsense rumours. (There is an odd group of people who love to do this and gain nothing other than putting out a nonsense story that then gains traction and gets passed around and gains in credibility.) It could be someone who has spoken to Meghan and is passing on stuff she has said. (I don't think Meghan, or Harry, spend much time with the child, and Meghan has been caught quite often saying what she thinks sounds great for the moment but has little relationship with the truth.)
Archie is now 11 months old. Child development differs from child to child, but here are some guidelines:
Babies begin to crawl between 6 and 10 months. (So we assume Archie has been crawling for anything from 1 to 5 months, depending on how delayed his development is, but the Christmas Archie looked as if he was crawling or trying to crawl at just over 7 months.)
Babies stand, holding on to things, between 6.5 and 8.5 months, and pull themselves up to a standing position between 8 and 10 months. (So, even with delayed development, Archie has been standing for 2.5 to 4.5 months and has been standing unaided for 1 to 3 months.)
Babies take their first steps sometime between 9 and 12 months and are walking well by the time they're 14 or 15 months old. (Archie should be walking by now, but he could be 'cruising' round the living room table but not walking unaided if he is a late developer. I was considered a late developer/lazy child. It was a friend of my mother's who got me walking in one session at 11 months' old - actually, just before my first birthday - because she was shocked that I WASN'T walking unaided!)
Thanks for the Airmail article, Rebecca!
Great food for thought...
@rebecca B
Thanks for the Airmail article, Rebecca!
Great food for thought...
Ditto from me!
"Her second husband said that she was always hounding him to get her invited to events, even if she had to wear a logo hat/shirt, anything at all to get her photo taken, no matter how minor. He said it was exhausting because they never had any time to relax. This was all before they were married of course. He got her some bit parts in a few movies but once he helped her get the cable night time soap opera soft pr0n job, she dumped her friends & him for her (imagined) life of a STAR in Toronto."
"There is a pretty truthful critique out there by 4-5 high level casting directors and none of them thought she was a good actor and said they couldn't see casting her in anything. They were nice about it but honest."
Ava DuVernay has become a progressive icon, but her directing resumé is thin and includes some major flops.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1148550/#director
(Filter for "director" - most of Ava's cv is publicist jobs.)
Thanks for that info. Never heard of her. Meghan must think she is woke and cool for some reason ... black credentials (for some reason Meghan really is pursuing this) and LOTS of experience in publicity.
1. Things are getting desperate fast. Hence the talk of Japanese commercials.
2. DuVernay. As Nutty said, progressive icon. Part of what I'd call the black entertainment elite, along with figures such as Spike Lee, Oprah, Gayle and so forth.
I don't know all of Ava's work, but I believe her biggest flop was the woke "A Wrinkle In Time", which starred Oprah. That film came out in 2018.
The reason why people such as Meg virtue signal as they do is for moments like these. Meg isn't someone that is going to make it into an Ava film on merit, but she may make it in as someone who is symbolic (POC who was a royal), hates the right people (Ava hates Trump), and takes the right positions (Ava is a big female empowerment person I'm pretty sure, and we've seen Meg try to play that tune).
Didn't Meg invite Gayle to her wedding (without knowing her) and Gayle came? This seems like a similar move. A feeler put out to see if Ava will bite. And she might. Oprah may help nudge her on that. Or someone else may help nudge her on that.
Meg is trying to jump the line here and (implausibly) have some kind of (her words) "breakout" role that will help her find regular work in Hollywood, preferably at a high level. And she's hoping Ava will help her do it. Maybe give her some juicy, emotional-laden part that will springboard middling Meg into an upper-crust zone she couldn't attain in any other way.
As I think someone said, Ava isn't exactly a sure-thing director. She's had some acclaimed productions, but I think they were Netflix-based films probably with limited budgets and limited (in theaters) audiences.
Meg is down to her final couple of cards now. She's not a real royal any longer. She can't do "girl power" any better than a thousand other actress in LA. There are hundreds of other virtue-signaling actors in the city begging for work. She's not a very talented actress, and she's not in high demand currently.
Thus, she's down to the POC card (as well as, I guess, the "look at who are my friends" card). This is where Ava (and maybe Oprah, Gayle, etc) come in.
Anyone recall Jay-Z and Beyonce talking about Meg in reference to black excellence? That's Meg's play here, with Ava. Basically it's "I'm a key female POC symbol and helping me out helps out all black female empowerment." That's the kind of play that's being made here, in my opinion. Will Ava take the bait? We'll see.
If someone would have told a Meg sugar two years ago that Meg would be contemplating making Japanese commercials and begging for an Oprah friend to hand her a freebie movie role, they would have laughed at you.
How the mighty have fallen. We're well down the Fergie path here, far away from the Diana track or any breaking the internet hopes.
Thank you...you took the words out of my mouth. lol!!!
@Sandie
Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate you asking my opinion and remembering I do have a scientific education and mind. As such I hesitate to ever put my opinion out there what I thin he thinks (or for that matter less so Meghan). I tend to comment on their actions and observations of their actions,
If I was going to guess I think he bought into Meghan's dream of being a global power couple and I believe he might be jealous of his brother and want to outshine him in his own way. However I think Harry is in love but even so financial strain can get the best of solid couples much less ones that have so many challenges as they do.
I think a lot will depend on what happens in the next 6-9 months as far as then getting any deals, American recognition in a big way and if they can survive being in lockdown (I'm inclined to think Meghan may be a B^tch behind closed doors). If they get some traction toward financial success it will probable prolong what I think will be an eventual divorce (maybe some way off). I just can't see at this point that they are worth 'gold' as Mark Cuban said... afterall he didn't make any deal with them, nor did Ryan Seacrest,
I still think Travalyst is a bust and definitely it will be a long time before people will start to travel for fun again certainly not to China, Italy or so many foreign ports (there will be a fear to get stuck if another outbreak erupts after this one is under control).
That's a shart answer because I am not feeling well.
They appear to be two immature adult children who have been given everything they asked for growing up.
I hope the pandemic shows them that they are no more special than the next person.
We are all worth the same in the eyes of God.
I just find myself wondering how marketable is Meghan. she can't act so I can't see her being cast in blockbuster and reviews of her voiceover are less than stellar. unless it is truly innovative mind-blowing "secret" project guaranteed to bring in bundles of cash who wants a piece of her? I see zero sustainability.
I think the reaction to the Oprah projection will be very telling
I am here and a couple of times have become so exasperated at people who want to attract attention to themselves (like our friend MM) by posting more personal info than is necessary, picking fights or calling “poor me” that I have piped up.
@Nutty takes the time to provide regular posts with great thoughts for discussion, and moderates with a gentle and generous hand, IMO. I appreciate having this blog to dip into at odd moments, and especially now when the news is something I can take in only small doses.
I appreciate all the info and thoughtful comments provided by most here. It’s so easy to skip over a remark that doesn’t appeal. Let’s remember that there is a wide variety of humans here, and look for ways we can come together, not separate. A parallel, if you will, of what is happening all around us today.
Sooner or later, they will tire of it.
@Vince. Interesting re Ava, directors, productions, etc. You know what I think would be funny, if MM did get a breakout part in one of Ava's productions playing a white female bit part--is that how she marketed herself on her CV. Have all of her acting bits been as a white character...I have never watched any, so do not have a clue.
@CatEyes: Rest and stay strong ... I also don't really see any way for them to make the billions that were touted and be the globally famous influencers that they were predicted to become. The coronavirus is useful to blame, but I think they would have ended up doing tacky commercials and begging for anything and everything anyway.
I don't think Meg is very marketable at all. Specials she's been in don't get great ratings. She doesn't seem to move the needle a lot when on magazine covers. She doesn't seem to be able to act very well and she doesn't seem very good at voice-overs. She's gunning for a spot in an image-based industry and she's 38 years old. Her ties to the monarchy (every royal only matters in relation to the monarch or to-be monarchs) are essentially severed.
She does have powerful friends and she is a meaningful symbol for some. I think it's going to be tough. Someone likely will give her a shot but if she doesn't crush it, I don't know that there will be many more chances.
Megan is not a compelling character. She's not interesting and she's not charismatic. And she comes off as so, so, so fake and really amateurish.
I agree with you, I think sustainability for Meg is going to be extremely tough in Hollywood.
Ha ha. That would be amazing if Meg 'broke out' by playing a white part. I have no idea on her previous roles because I have never seen her in anything.
@Sandie
Yes, this looks like Meg's only hope at the moment, the path you said (woke WOC reaching out to others like her). I agree, chances look slim for Meg. And desperation is absolutely kicking in now, in my opinion.
I am more than happy to tell you why Rachel Meghan Markle is such a blight on the Royal Family.
1) She hates the very idea of Royal Protocol. (As she has so ably demonstrated.)
2) She has thrown away numerous relationships in her life. This has been documented.
3) She has thrown money to the winds, at a time when many are hurting. A million pounds in one year for her wardrobe?
Sorry, "Unknown," but you have a lot to answer for with your "hero".
“Meg isn't someone that is going to make it into an Ava film on merit, but she may make it in as someone who is symbolic (POC who was a royal), hates the right people (Ava hates Trump), and takes the right positions (Ava is a big female empowerment person I'm pretty sure, and we've seen Meg try to play that tune).”
I think you’re right. MM will likely find someone, somewhere in Hollywood to throw her a bone.
@Vince
“Meg isn't someone that is going to make it into an Ava film on merit, but she may make it in as someone who is symbolic (POC who was a royal), hates the right people (Ava hates Trump), and takes the right positions (Ava is a big female empowerment person I'm pretty sure, and we've seen Meg try to play that tune).”
I think you’re right. MM will likely find someone, somewhere in Hollywood to throw her a bone.
_________________________
Ah.
And, shall we ask, how large the audience shall be, that will pay the dividends?
China is the current cash cow, due to the Marvel Comic style. All of the other so-called "artistic" films are money losers.
Quite fine by me.
I agree with the posters saying that Ava Duvernay might go with Meghan out of solidarity as a woman of colour and female empowerment though.
Perhaps Meg's minions have extra time on their hands at the moment and have decided to try to drive people away from this blog.
I have deleted the worst of it.
Anyone recall Jay-Z and Beyonce talking about Meg in reference to black excellence? That's Meg's play here, with Ava. Basically it's "I'm a key female POC symbol and helping me out helps out all black female empowerment." That's the kind of play that's being made here, in my opinion. Will Ava take the bait? We'll see.
I think Meg made a big mistake by not acknowledging Black history month this February. She still (apparently) had control of @SussexRoyal at that time and could have made a tribute to Black British citizens.
Alternately, she could have done what Royals so often do and "spoke with her clothes" - a little bit of kente cloth, a cameo with a silhouette of a woman with African features, a reference to a historically black college. Meg's wardrobe was clearly not under the control of the Royal family.
This would have boosted her WoC credentials at a very useful time.
Ah, well. Fake, phoney, you name it.
toxicavenger, Montclair, United States, 11 hours ago
“Its like in Christmas Vacation when Cousin Eddie was unemployed and holding out for a management job.“
Poetic justice that Meghan is holed up in Malibu and can't venture out to be papped. Oh to be a fame whore in LA and not be able to be papped. Worse yet, to be an A-lister in her warped mind and to be offered cheesy roles in projects deemed beheath her. When your best offer is a Simpson's guest spot then you're really low on the Hollywood totem pole. Maybe George Clooney can throw her a bone and cast her in a walk-on role in his next movie. Quite telling how no A-listers are on social media welcoming them to LA. Even those backstabbing attention seekers find the couple to be tacky.
_______________________________________________
HAHAHAHAHA I am LOVING all of the humiliation these two are getting. I am NOT sorry, not in the slightest.
I am piling it on. I will pile it on until I leave this Earth. Why?
I hate phoneys, for one thing.
I hate phoneys, for a second thing.
I am a loyal American, proud of our history, but also proud of the Royal family. I hate, hate, hate what Markle did to them.
That's about it, then :)
Instagram allows any low-level celebrity access to a wide audience.
It would seem to be a "quick win" for any real housewife, rap star, athlete looking for endorsements (from a less visible sport?), or half-dressed bimbo to Welcome the Sussexes to Hollywood.
They might even get a sidebar in the Daily Mail out of it.
Yet none of them do. The word must be out - if not among the Z-listers themselves, then among their managers and agents.
"The Sussexes are toxic. Avoid."
Nutty Flavor, please be aware of *bots* who *behave* like regular posters. I have seen them here already.
*crickets*
Well, believe it or not, I can't stand Rachel M. Markle, and what she has done to the British Royal family.
I am a staunch American, but a lifelong admirer of the British Monarchy. Why? They represent the best of what we should all strive to.
Anything Markle does is going to be dissected by me, and used to make her look as bad as I can manage.
__________________________
Speaking of the movies, just read in the DM that Cate Blanchett has been offered the role of Wallis for a new movie, not MM, but Cate!
It will be interesting to see how sympathetic the film is to Wallis. Given her great admiration for Hitler, she'll be hard to rehabilitate as a feminist heroine.
Nutties,
Speaking of the movies, just read in the DM that Cate Blanchett has been offered the role of Wallis for a new movie, not MM, but Cate!
__________________________________________
Same as it ever was.
Sorry if an important point got lost in the deletion campaign this morning.
Not speaking of your post in particular, but in general it's tricky if a post contains both useful information and fighting words. In that case, it usually gets deleted.
I'm quite sorry about the useful information being lost, but I really have no patience for grown ladies fussing at each other.
This film is based on the Anna Pasternak novel that came out in 2019, which was a bit more sympathetic that say previous biographies--entitled The Real Wallis Simpson A New History...
@Uhura
Sorry if an important point got lost in the deletion campaign this morning.
Not speaking of your post in particular, but in general it's tricky if a post contains both useful information and fighting words. In that case, it usually gets deleted.
I'm quite sorry about the useful information being lost, but I really have no patience for grown ladies fussing at each other
___________________________
I quite understand.
I join others in congratulating you in conducting a blog that manages to avoid partisanship that divides and conquers, as it were.
Apologies for any appearance, or even actual behavior, that may be perceived as … partisan.
Ugh. Really?!
How many remakes of history's worst mishaps must we endure!?
They'll certainly be losing the (very large) Chinese market plus Chinese investment.
(I wouldn't want to be Disney, which has its big-budget "Mulan" picture to release. Not popular in the West, and probably not popular in China, either.)
It was directed by Madonna & had a nice soundtrack (by Abel K-very-difficult-last-name and a couple of old French songs & maybe one of the composers who did "Breakfast At Tiffany's", the Manchini dude).
Saw that thing on rerun back in 2013 on FX like 11-13 times because it was just SO GEZELLIG for me.
According to the film snobs it was a terrible film but I don't care, if it feels good I'll have it playing in the background!~ 💜🍹
I'm not going to watch any new productions of any Wallis Simpson film, though. I'm not going to watch ANYTHING made post-2016 because it'll likely have a "Woke" agenda & I'm not putting up with a of that BS.
Just tell me a good story, don't preach at me when you're unqualified to be preaching.
(As a side-note, I've ZERO intention to see another wonder woman film after what Gal Gadot put me through with that dreadful "Imagine" video full of dead-eyed Slebs.)
Can you imagine?
The woman basically got with Edward 8 while she was married to someone else, which is an a-hole thing to do if you ask me!
But if course in the Woke world of post-2016 that's only an a-hole thing to do if you're a man, but if a woman does it, it's "empowered".
Nope. Not going to entertain that kind of entertainment.
I think I'll pass.
The upshot of it was that she can be seen as having done the UK a favour - Baldwin (the PM) was very concerned about David's own, pro-German/ pro-Hitler, views - Wallis being a divorcee was a very handy excuse for getting David off the throne and out of the way. Divorce was so unacceptable to the British public at that time.
Nothing needed to be said about his political views. It was probably feared that had he remained, he could have been Hitler's puppet, especially if we had appeased the enemy or otherwise capitulated.
Poor Bertie got landed with the job instead but did it remarkably well.
Speaking of Disney, a friend was laid off indefinitely and has no idea when or if she will get back to work.
"The Sussexes are toxic. Avoid."
Hollywood is neutral on Harry.
But Megs has a past in Hollywood. All the old tales about her. About how difficult she was to work with, they have been resurrected. All the gossip will also return.
Hollywood agents agents are also thinking "How do you blow being in the Royal family? "The wedding was huge and lavish and you are gone in less than 2 years?" "I am thinking this is your fault, Megsy"
Megsy screwing around with her father reminded more than one top Hollywood agent about ingrate children he has or relatives have had. I think this really hurt her.
The problem now is, with the economy locked down, will any company want to take the risk on her?
- on Yahoo yesterday at:
UKuk.style.yahoo.com › 31-documentaries-leave-jaw-floor-123700055
I'm quite sure that it's enough to make one weep!
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meghan-markles-impressive-job-title-21788356
" Meghan Markle gave birth to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor at the private Portland Hospital in Westminster in May 2018, and the royal tot's birth certificate contained a few interesting details"
So Archie born in May ... 2018 according to Zoe Forsey! Do I have to read between the lines? Is it a hint that something about Archie is weird?
Her biggest problem is her attitude though. She expects huge leading role without anything to show for it.
To get to the top in Hollywood an actor needs a part in a huge hit, iconic film the likes of Avatar, Predator, Terminator, Sixth Sense, Matrix or a decent crime fiction like Client or the Firm or even a sob story like Titanic. Without exception all of them require acting skills or a very strong personal presence. We may dispute Arnie's acting skills but his power of presence is indisputable.
What can Markle contribute to a hit? In a support role she will be carried through by the A-listers, as a main dish she will never pull it through.
Lets see how many A-listers are keen to do the job to let her shine with their reflected light.
Charlatan Duchess has a copy posted by somebody who found it.
If they were involved and Trump gets re-elected things will get interesting. He has a memory of an elephant.
On a slightly different note: there have been rumors that Harkles got somehow involved with Trump's failed impeachment attempt. I largely dismissed it until I saw a copy of the court document in their name. The case was dismissed.
Charlatan Duchess has a copy posted by somebody who found it.
If they were involved and Trump gets re-elected things will get interesting. He has a memory of an elephant.
_____________________________________________________
Hence the so-called "pre-emptive" ban on paying for security.
The Harkles DAMN WELL DID expect Secret Service protection. They DAMN WELL DID ask for it. I don't have proof, but at this point, no one needs it, as they made it plain they "deserve" it. Prince Charles is paying for private security for these, um, "adults" and is upping the rents in the Duchy of Cornwall to pay for it.
Yeccchhh.
slap in the face ,very dysfunctional to brag on it. she really has zero shame
I went in totally objective but left with maniacal laughter. I honestly didn't think it was going to be that bad but wow it really is that bad. the cringe is real
I think MM's dismissal/contempt of the people that work behind the scenes to make projects successful will be (or has been) her undoing. Never, ever underestimate your employees' ability to either make you look good or eff you up.
Yes!! This!! I daresay she partially learned this lesson over the past 2 yrs, or at least comprehended that she must feign respect for those people, so I predict that we’re going to hear more from Ms St-Laurent about how very dear to her and other “staff” Meg and H are personally. Yeah. When will former staff decide to speak?
@Lucy, totally re: the effect of Meg’s bragging and laughing about her lying/not paying SAG dues!! That may be one of the biggest clues to her narcissistic inability to relate, thus her complete tone deafness.
On that, I think Meg misinterprets the interest in her. She thinks it’s due to her innate talent, intelligence, beauty. We know it’s due to the sheer spectacle of it all - same as the effect of the Tiger King documentary. I think petulant, angry Harry has glimpses of that reality too, in those rare moments when he is lucid and willing to look at facts—thus his self-medication. That’s also because he witnessed “spectacle“ before he ever met Meg, and it is painful/angering for him.
So she will delight in an LA pap frenzy, and I expect he will be done in by it. I visited LA a couple years ago and exited Nobu Malibu to a sea of paps - I still don’t know what famous person was in there (or whether they were at whatever private club shares Nobu’s parking lot - it might be a Soho House Malibu?) - but it was an ugly, seamy experience for me that convinced me only fame-hungry narcissists could bear that scene and illustrated one more reason that sensitive, creative types facing fame can get so caught up in substance abuse. It’s unbearable for most!
@Elle, I just happened to see an old comment from you about Dickie Arbiter’s Twitter. YES, I think journalists know details about Archie. Shall we poll for best guesses about when and how these details will be revealed to us plebs? I sort of thought the BP statement that there’d be no further comment was the notice to journalists, but the virus perhaps has them continuing their restraint. So as much as the Harkles curse current events, this virus may be protecting them to a degree.
I am so happy to know @Tatty is okay, albeit worried and anxious (who could blame you, Tatty?). I hope you all are doing okay through this worrying and uncertain time. I may make my way to Nutty’s virus blog later.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PchguzIBRZE
The cheesy grin at the end finishes it off fantastically well:)
Interesting that MM, in addition to admitting she lies about being union, also went to court over her taxes. She apparently doesn't manage money well.
After she married into the RF, her clothing costs were astronomical. I think she doesn't mind other people paying her bills. She also doesn't think rules apply to her.
Did JH really oversold M about life in the BRF? I don't know that pitching the negs would stop the desire/allure of it but his not being able to explain the why traditions, protocols and subtle message behind the words (perhaps his explanation: just a that's the way it is because he's never really known different) combined with the heady desire of feeling that everything your little heart has desired is now within your grasp may have kept the impetus going.
With all the push for females to take on power positions within, will Hollywood (let's wear a certain color, flower and that will signify we mean business/a power to be reckoned with) throw a bone at either of them just because? Has Hollywood changed enough that just those things - all the right boxes ticked will be enough to give someone a big flashy job based on the boxes and thin experience? Can they really afford to make a bomb with all the other financial issues going on right now?
When people are uniting to not pay landlords, people trying to apply for unemployment and their application doesn't go through because of overload, all the uncertainty of death and loss, will Hollywood go back to making distraction movies and back off on the SWJ ones?
Could she do Hallmarks? Possible except she's cut off that option and similar ones by declaring what she won't do any thing less than X.
What about SAG? Did she finally join up? If she didn't, wouldn't that be an easy out for being pressured to take her on by doing is strictly by the book for the union?
I may go reread Dawn Steel's book They Can Kill You But They Just Can't Eat You. She was the first female to run a major studio. She was someone I would have liked to have known. And think about Hollywood then and now.
Nutty - good points about February and easy points to pick up for the future. Those pictures would have nicely replaced some of the others in the current rotation.
Japan - Narrow definitions of race? Good point Marie. I had forgotten that.
They like macho man. Brutal muscular guys will do well. On the opposite scale feminine looking boys with handsome features will do well too. Hello, idol culture! Harry is neither.
They have very exacting ideas about feminine beauty. One of the most praised and valued qualities is white, porcelain looking skin with very natural make up. Japanese women will go to extremes to keep their skin white. Most of the Western models I saw are young girls of anemic type with light skin. There some WOC used in adverts but not very many. Another pole is very characterful models, like red haired overweight Japanese woman, but she has great charisma.I love her.
They are famous for beautiful, shiny hair. They can immediately tell if a person wears a wig. Hello Megsy.
Both Harry and Meghan, if used, will be used because they are "royals". I am not sure what Japanese will buy with their image. Harry probably could do beer, Megsy...I really don't know. Archie is not well known, perhaps together with her he could do baby things.
Any ideas?
The exercise regime responsible for Meghan’s new body
For the past two weeks, thousands of us have been doing it free online.
Then comes a lot of text about the studio founder’s personal problems, then at the bottom of paragraph 3
She’s 45 and has been in the fitness world for 18 years, first in LA, where she buffed Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr and other A-listers into shape, and then in London, where her personal clients include Carey Mulligan, the actress, and the Duchess of Sussex. (Meghan was spotted at the Heartcore Kensington studio when she moved to London and instantly liked its menu of stretching, barre work, free weights, TRX, yoga and low impact cardio.)
More text about the founder, then at the bottom of paragraph 7
She says her data can’t tell her whether Meghan’s logging on. But given how addictive that post-class buzz of toned, lengthened and stretched out muscles is, it would be odd if the Duchess wasn’t keeping up with Heartcore.
Bizarre. I guess someone still thinks that Meg can sell products.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/exercise-regime-responsible-meghans-new-body/
"It appears whatever transpired with Archie has contributed to the situation within the royal family and speed of Harry's fall out. What have we seen and heard so far:
1. Odd behavior. Coat flicking, changing bump, no change in appearance you expect from a pregnant woman.
2. Refusal to use traditional royal doctors.
3. Overall secrecy and confusion over the place of birth, time of birth, doctors present. I happen to know the name of one of the top consultants who signed Kate's birth announcement, he is a very top surgeon in London's leading hospital for women's health. It is odd a geriatric mother like Megs didn't have him in her team. He is the very best in his field.
4. Bizarre circumstances surrounding Archie's arrival and christening. Harry's odd remarks.
5. Secrecy surrounding kid's appearances in public, attempts to hide him from the press, family, general public.
6. Odd inconsistent sizes of the kid in pictures. His limp and lifeless appearance as well as strange lack of affection for his parents.
7. Bizarre Christmas picture that made me think there is something wrong with the kid.
8. Lack of traditional family shots where the kid is clearly visible at various stages of his development.
All of the above is circumstantial but put together brings me to the conclusion something did transpire that made the crisis in the RF deeper. Archie may be a real child but something is off with his story."
That is speculation which is rooted in circumstantial as well as photographic evidence where we can look at the weird behaviour and wonder what's going on. If there wasn't speculation around all that then I'd be worried that people weren't being inquisitive enough!
In contrast, saying that Archie is a surrogate and that Harry has one testicle and the Queen said this in a private meeting etcetc is, as others have said as well, totally different. And I worry that it is counter productive to those who display genuine puzzlement at all the unpleasant shenanigans. Because (for me at least) it goes down a road leading to people like us being called conspiracy theorists. This might/would be damaging to the overall cause of these trying to find out just what the hell is going on.
You don't need to be Harvard/university educated to know that there is a world of difference between the two types of speculation.
Either way I love the blog, love the varied posts and am glad to know that there are many others who think MM is a conniving money digger and that Harry is...Well, maybe that one testicle theory is closer to the truth after all:)