Not much appears to be going on. Living Legends came and went without fanfare ... what's the next event? Super Bowl - Sunday February 11th? Oscar's - March 10th? In the mean time, some things are still rolling along in various starts and stops like Samantha's law suit. Or tax season is about to begin in the US. The IRS just never goes away. Nor do bills (utility, cable, mortgage, food, cars, security, landscape people, cleaning people, koi person and so on). There's always another one. Elsewhere others just continue to glide forward without a real hint of being disrupted by some news out of California. That would be the new King and Queen or the Prince/Princess of Wales. Yes there are health risks which seemed to come out of nowhere. But. The difference is that these people are calmly living their lives with minimal drama.
Comments
Stephens says the chances of a settlement before trial in Meghan's case are "close to zero." The paper has little to lose *******(damages are capped in Britain at about $60,000)****** and a trial would be a major story for all the media to cover. He said the legal costs for each side in pursuing the case have been estimated at more than $1 million each.
Is this true about a cap on financial amount of damages? Is this for the whole case or just the one charge? Surely Megsy will want more of a payout than that, or is she using this court case to stay in the news/prop up her ego/live out her fantasy of victimhood and legal brilliance ...? Why spend $1 million to get $60,000?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2020/04/24/self-isolating-in-malibu-handing-down-yet-another-sussex-royal-edict-and-suing-the-british-press-prince-harrys-and-meghan-markles-rough-los-angeles-debut/amp/
Nope, no ulterior motive here, folks. Move right along. (eye roll)
More than one person has stated that she used a lawyer or other rep to let them know that their relationship was over. Who does that?
She supposedly sent her wedding rings back to Trevor.
She tells the press, "there is zero engagement." She tells the UK about "stepping back."
Where is she always going away to, and why does she go scorched Earth on all of her connections?
Regarding Serena: Serena, like most pro athletes, are very superstitious. M is Serena’s bad luck. After losing Wimbledon, with M clearing out a section of seats, and breaking the clothes rule (HAMS love to take digs at established rules and laws), Serena did not want Meghan at the U.S. Open. The looks on the faces in the William’s box, especially Serena’s husband and mother, was priceless, when M sauntered in, smiling and flirting. The mother was so angry she could barely look at Meghan. The attention of the cameras on M broke up Serena’s concentration. After losing the US Open, I think Megs and Serena were over their acquaintance friendship.
Meg also stepped on her promo for the Elephant movie this week with the Sussex announcement that they would no longer speak to the four tabloids.
Hollywood likes talent that will get out and promote projects, not people that are going to distract from projects with personal drama.
I picked up this little gem at LSA (quoting from an article):
Stephens says the chances of a settlement before trial in Meghan's case are "close to zero." The paper has little to lose *******(damages are capped in Britain at about $60,000)****** and a trial would be a major story for all the media to cover. He said the legal costs for each side in pursuing the case have been estimated at more than $1 million each. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/04/24/duchess-meghans-privacy-case-against-british-newspaper-heard-court/3018894001/
When the Dumbarton Duo initiated the lawsuits they had sugar plum fairies dancing in front of their eyes. Fairies telling them about getting a multi million pound payout. Manic Megsy missed what her lawyer (solicitor in UK?) told her. That they payout would be small. Why should Megsy care anyway, she is not spending her money. The Conwall Duchy tenants are paying. If the Dumped Dumbartons prevail this will lay down their law, the cockeyed Dumbarton law, to UK tabloids that publish critical articles. Which in the Dumbarton's minds are all defamatory. The flighty little snowflakes that they are.
Once Megsy realized how Harry had such a repressed hatred for the UK media, she egged him on and made common cause with him on this. This is part of her control over Hapless. All the other Royals handle/deal with the UK media OK. With varying degrees of success. It is only the Dumb Dumbartons who wanted take them head on and discipline them. They failed and this is why they exited the UK to live in Malibu.
I will bet that when Megs pursued Hapless she thought he was second in line after William. That she still kept believing this after Harry told her how it really is. Megs went on her mega-crusade in her new one million dollar wardrobe, to modernize and update the British monarchy. Thinking that in a few years the Harry-Megs Royal family will have more worldwide acclaim and fame than the Wills-Katherine Royal family, no matter what that stuffy old line of succession is.
December 2018.
PART 1
Thomas Markle’s leaked letter from Duchess of Sussex could provoke legal action from Palace
Kensington Palace is considering taking legal action over a leaked letter from the Duchess of Sussex to her father, as her estranged family threaten to make public further details of their relationship breakdown.
The five-page letter, which laid bare the Duchess’ feelings over her father’s behaviour since she married into the Royal Family, was shared by Thomas Markle with a newspaper this weekend and has since been published around the world.
Palace aides are understood to be considering whether to take a stand over the very public family disclosures, taking legal advice before the Duchess decides whether she wishes to take formal action.
The Duchess’ estranged half-sister has said her father “is prepared to release more” of the letter, while her half-brother Thomas Jr said the father-daughter relationship was now “broken beyond repair”.
Under UK law, the Duchess owns the copyright of the handwritten letter, which was published in a Sunday newspaper days after five friends of the Duchess shared details of its existence for the first time in an interview with US celebrity magazine People.
The friends, who would have been immediately recognisable to the Duchess after giving details of their visits to stay with her, disclosed she had told him in writing: ‘Dad, I’m so heartbroken, I love you. I have one father. Please stop victimizing me through the media so we can repair our relationship.’“
One friend continued: “He writes her a really long letter in return, and he closes it by requesting a photo op with her.
“And she feels like, ‘That’s the opposite of what I’m saying. I’m telling you I don’t want to communicate through the media, and you’re asking me to communicate through the media’.”
Thomas Markle, 74, responded by showing the letter to the Mail on Sunday, which published emotional excerpts in which the Duchess accused him of misrepresenting his behaviour and detailing her distress.
Telling them he had felt the way the letter was presented in People magazine “vilified” him, he said: “It was presented as her reaching out and writing a loving letter in the hope of healing the rift, but the letter isn’t like that at all. I have the right to defend myself.”
Kensington Palace have not yet commented on whether the “five friends” interview had been conducted with the tacit blessing of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, or with the knowledge of their staff.
The Royal houses have taken legal action on numerous occasions in recent history, both using injunctions to prevent the publication of personal details and suing for breach of copyright.
In 2006, the Prince of Wales won a privacy case after the court of appeal ruled the Mail on Sunday had infringed his copyright and confidentiality by publishing extracts from his 1997 Hong Kong diaries.
In the 1980s, the Sun made a payment to charity and apologised for publishing a letter from the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh about Prince Edward’s decision to leave the Royal Marines. In 1993, the paper settled a breach of copyright case over a leaked copy of the Christmas speech with a payment to charity.
Fans of the Duchess, who follow her activities online and voice strong opinions through social media, have recently criticised the palace for “failing to protect” her from what they perceive to be negative coverage.
Shortly after their relationship was made public, Prince Harry issued an extraordinary statement complaining about the press attention on her life, saying he “is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her”.
She, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, have recently suffered from extreme written abuse on social media, with palace staff spending hours deleting comments from their Instagram page.
Omid Scobie, a correspondent for US television show Good Morning America, which was privy to the People story ahead of publication, said: “While the purpose of Meghan’s letter was very much to repair the relationship with her father, she knew in her heart of hearts that this was going to be released to the papers.
“Thomas has a record of this and this is exactly the man that she knows.
“So, many of the things in that letter were written with the public in mind. She very much wanted to set the record straight.
“The letter being out there puts the story very much in the past, and she’s focused on the present.” Kensington Palace declined to comment.
Then, when it didn’t work as she planned she turned her rage towards the tabloids for exposing her malignant actions.
Armchair dx of malignant narcissist works for me...MM is lightyears beyond just self-absorbed, spoiled and mean.
Call it like it is.
🐛
Regarding my attempt to illustrate a psychological point (not a legal one) about how people with a lot invested in a relationship, despite the other party being a shit, can tolerate logical inconsistencies/cognitive dissonance:
Yes, it was criminal case and, under English law, it was one of the exceptions where one spouse can be obliged to testify against the other.
Third-party witnesses can certainly be subpoenaed in matrimonial cases (personal experience here from my own divorce case here) - I daresay they can in other Civil cases such as this.
I'd appreciate a `ruling' from someone with more experience than I, bearing in mind that Thomas is neither Plaintiff nor Defendant, nor is he married to Meghan. He is a Third Party.
Thank you, Lucky Dog, for full info on how she might have registered Archie, assuming he does exist.
Unclear is whether Meghan Markle or Harry broached or even mentioned the newer Sussex Royal missive to Ms. Markle’s London lawyers — it would have been wise, since the lawsuit is proceeding, and they were communicating directly with the plaintiff. But one thing is clear: The couple’s dissatisfaction is ongoing and, whatever its target, will not likely be dimmed. This aspect of its durability and power suggests that its target is greater and more intimate than the trappings and duties of royalty, or certain members of the British press.
It may just be that, no matter what sort of change they make happen, Harry and Meghan are dissatisfied with themselves.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/guymartin/2020/04/24/self-isolating-in-malibu-handing-down-yet-another-sussex-royal-edict-and-suing-the-british-press-prince-harrys-and-meghan-markles-rough-los-angeles-debut/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
What a life.
- So far the Harkles failed to provide the list of articles they claim were false. "Offensive" is not an objective claim; "false" is objective because it is verifiable. I am waiting for the MoS to request a clarification of what precisely in the coverage was false. I am also waiting to see any proof of "racism" by the media.
- It is reasonably likely that Harkles leaked information to the media via their "friends" and even their offices. A widely acknowledged fact is Megs used to let photographers know her whereabouts. Wouldn't it be logical for the MoS to provide instances when the Harkles tried to manipulate the media via controlled leaks?
Quote in article from Scobie:
"Omid Scobie, a correspondent for US television show Good Morning America, which was privy to the People story ahead of publication, said: “While the purpose of Meghan’s letter was very much to repair the relationship with her father,she knew in her heart of hearts that this was going to be released to the papers.
“Thomas has a record of this and this is exactly the man that she knows.
“So, many of the things in that letter were written with the public in mind. She very much wanted to set the record straight.
“The letter being out there puts the story very much in the past, and she’s focused on the present.” Kensington Palace declined to comment.
Wowza. Proof of her agenda and a pr backfire all in one.
Part 1:
PALACE OUT-TRIGUE
Megxit Diaries
The Sussex bolters’ first 100 days out of royal captivity
BY HILARY ROSE
READING TIME: 5 MINUTES
January 8
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announce they are to step down as senior royals. Instead, they will “carve out a progressive new role” for themselves within the royal family and continue to support the Queen. Nation feels sad and asks if this translates roughly as: “We’ll turn up if it’s black tie and tiaras in central London. If it’s a wet Wednesday in Wigan, forget it.”
January 14
Stormzy says we’ve all been beastly to Meghan. Nation reminds itself that it went to Windsor 18 months ago to line the streets and cheer, and feels sadder. See also Brixton, Nottingham, Edinburgh, Cardiff …
January 19
Prince Harry explains how his life was so intolerable, he had no choice but to quit. Nation looks at national flood emergency, widespread use of food banks and its empty current account, and confirms it would be happy to have a crack at being royal instead.
January 23
Oprah says everyone’s been beastly to Meghan and we should all shut up.
Prince Harry explains how his life was so intolerable, he had no choice but to quit.
January 30
Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha, fails to shut up. “Without [their father],” she says from her home in America, “she’d be a waitress.”
February 21
Harry and Meghan are ordered by the Palace to remove the word “royal” from their sprauncy new Sussex Royal branding.
February 26
Prince Harry flies nearly 5,000 miles from Canada to the UK for a conference on sustainable travel. He tells delegates in Edinburgh: “Just call me Harry.”
February 27
Canada stops the direct debit helping to pay for their security. In the coming weeks, a government minister says, the assistance will cease “in keeping with their change in status”.
March 5
At an awards ceremony in London, Meghan’s first public appearance in the UK for two months, she’s photographed looking like several million dollars in a blue Victoria Beckham dress, grinning happily at Prince Harry in the rain. Nation looks at them and thinks: “Must you go? Is it really so bad?”
March 6
Meghan makes a “secret” trip to Robert Clack School in Dagenham to mark International Women’s Day, where she asks the assembled pupils to “value the women in your lives”. Invited to the podium to discuss why men should be involved in the fight for women’s equality, the head boy, Aker Okoye, is greeted with a hug, before taking the microphone and saying: “She really is beautiful, innit?” Photos and videos of the “secret” trip are later posted to the Sussex Royal Instagram account, in a post urging followers to “uplift one another”.
Harry and Meghan are ordered by the Palace to remove the word “royal” from their sprauncy new Sussex Royal branding.
March 9
Huge row erupts about the core principle at the heart of the royal family: status. Specifically who sits when and where at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. The Cambridges are due to process in with Queen. The Sussexes are told to sit it out. The issue is resolved when it’s agreed that none of them will take part in the procession, they’ll all be sitting when the Queen walks in. Nation considers the possibility that spending the rest of her life seated on the sidelines while William and Kate take centre stage might not be what Meghan had in mind. Today, Meghan wears something brand new and bright green, Kate wears the royal equivalent of “this old thing” and completely, utterly and totally blanks her brother-in-law and his wife.
March 11
Prince Harry is duped into thinking two Russians who call him up on his mobile are the Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg and her dad. He talks candidly about how separate he is from his family, and disparagingly about the elected president of the country to which he will shortly be moving. Buckingham Palace declines to comment.
Game of thrones: William and Kate snub Harry and Meghan.
March 26
Prince Charles, aged 71, tests positive for coronavirus. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge release a video of their three young children clapping for NHS carers.
March 27
Harry, Meghan and Archie fly by private jet from Canada to Los Angeles to start a new life in the midst of a global pandemic. Taken to task in the past for his use of private jets while championing climate change, Harry replies that he only did it occasionally and only then for security reasons. Never, for example, because the border’s about to be closed to non-essential travel, there aren’t any commercial flights, you’re in a bit of a hurry, and have you flown commercial recently? Ick.
I know 2 women who like and defend her. Both are primitive simpletons. Real mental midgets. They are 2 of the dumbest people I have ever met. Thanks to them I have come to the conclusion that the only remaining fans the odious MM has left are intellectually on Harry's level.
Anonymous, I love David Spade, but I doubt he reads here. I'm a Londoner so wasn't familiar with Gap Girls, but it's hilarious. Adam Sandler looks exactly like a girl I know! Thank you for telling me about it.
Also as a sidetone: I always found DS bizarrely sexy. I'm much taller than him, and I'm not usually into short guys, but he's so witty and clever. Smart funny men often got into my knickers.
Prince Harry is duped into thinking two Russians who call him up on his mobile are the Swedish climate-change activist Greta Thunberg and her dad.
March 29
Donald Trump says on Twitter that the US won’t pay for their security protection. “I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen and the United Kingdom,” he says pointedly, adding that when it comes to Meghan and Harry’s security, “they must pay!”.
March 30
The Sussex Royal social media accounts close down with the mysterious words “You’ve been great!”
“We are confident that every human being has the potential and opportunity to make a difference,” they add. “Together we can lift each other up to realise the fullness of that promise.” Nation tries and fails to understand what they’re on about and gives up.
March 31
Harry and Meghan officially step down as working members of the royal family.
April 3
Meghan’s voiceover for a Disney film about elephants is released, after Prince Harry was overheard pitching the chief executive of Disney for work at a film premiere last year.
April 5
The Queen delivers the speech of a lifetime, ending with the words: “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again.” Nation reaches for the tissues.
April 6
Harry and Meghan launch their new brand. It will be called Archewell, they announce, after the Greek word for “source of action”. In the future they promise they will be doing “something of meaning, something that matters”. Nation looks up from worrying about whether the prime minister is going to die and the country is going bankrupt, to say: “Do keep us posted.”
Easter Sunday, April 12
Meghan and Harry start helping to deliver food to the needy on the other side of the world. In due course, photographs of them doing so, hand-in-hand and wearing face masks, are published worldwide.
Harry and Meghan launch their new brand. It will be called Archewell.
Buckingham Palace publishes the Queen’s soothing Easter message, in which she states that coronavirus will not overcome us, and calmly encouraging hope in times of darkness.
April 17
One hundred days since Megxit. Princess Anne tells Vanity Fair that certain members of the younger generation are trying to reinvent the wheel, and describes herself as “the boring old fuddy-duddy at the back saying, ‘Don’t forget the basics.’”
April 19, Morning
The UK coronavirus death toll tops 15,000 as the country enters its fifth week of lockdown and a 99-year-old man with a walking frame single-handedly becomes a reason to be cheerful in a harrowing world. In Los Angeles, Prince Harry says that things in the UK aren’t so bad. “They’re better than we are led to believe,” he tells a podcast. An eminent scientist describes his comments as “outrageous”.
April 19, Evening
The couple release a statement saying they will have no more dealings with UK tabloids, whom they accuse of publishing “distorted, false or invasive” stories. Since they are at present embroiled in legal proceedings with several of the publications listed, this could probably have been taken as read. The first court hearing is due to take place by video link on Friday.
I do not understand either why MM hit the roof about Thomas's pics. He was being measured for a new outfit. Big deal. They paid him for the pics. Hmmm. So what? This is not like he sold information that she was cruel to animals or that she started smoking at 5. The whole thing is a storm in a teacup that didn't need to turn into a s**t storm of today.
You are right. She is most likely embarrassed of how he looks and lives and avoids him because of that.
As for her poor father...well he is an idiot. This all started with psychotic Doria who passed on her weird obsession with men to her daughter. Here are pictures of Doria acting inappropriately:https://twitter.com/TheToadours/status/1251757853628661763/photo/1
and here is Meg acting al sexual with a friend of her father: https://twitter.com/kschumi777/status/1251666364349071360/photo/1
this is just learned behavior.
and if you are wondering why Serena does not like Meghan anymore, well someone must have tipped her a copy of this picture: https://twitter.com/BananasRoyally/status/1216874896950734849/photo/1
Meg is showing Alexis that she isn't wearing underwear.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7359185/meghan-markle-glass-of-red-harry-vodka-cocktails-amsterdam/
Interesting article about the Amsterdam Soho opening ... especially it referencing specifically her choice of red wine. If I figured correctly, the article published on 9/27 referenced the opening the prior weekend, so 9/21-9/23. Three short weeks later she announced her pregnancy at Eugenie's wedding and we were assured that she was "far enough along" that the tour down under would be safe for a pregnant woman (some reports stated she'd had her 12-week scan.) But she was drinking red wine three weeks prior? wth?
'and if you are wondering why Serena does not like Meghan anymore, well someone must have tipped her a copy of this picture: https://twitter.com/BananasRoyally/status/1216874896950734849/photo/1
Meg is showing Alexis that she isn't wearing underwear.'
If this isn't shopped I bet Serena is pissed. Thank you for sharing.
April 25, 2020 at 11:22 PM
Let's also not forget Harry's inappropriate giggling at the WellChild Awards this past year on Oct 15, 2019. In his speech when he started to giggle (IMO anyway, some believed he was tearing up) he talked about that at the previous year's awards event he and Meghan knew she was pregnant but hadn't told anyone yet.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a29477491/prince-harry-wellchild-awards-london-speech/
The previous year's awards meeting was held on Sept 4, 2018, about 3 weeks before the "boozy" weekend in Amsterdam.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g22979492/prince-harry-meghan-markle-wellchild-awards-2018-photos/
Of course, M's red beverage might not have been wine. Could have been cranberry juice or red grape juice or pomegranate juice...although going to drunken parties when newly pregnant sounds icky to me.
Actually, the headline is misleading. Jephson does not urge them to give up their celebrity lives but suggests that they give up their royal titles (the HRH that they are not supposed to use but still have).
Yet here is the crux of the Sussexes' dilemma: to rake in the necessary celebrity dosh they must leverage their Royal status to the maximum. After all, what else do they have to offer in exchange for the big cheques and star treatment? As their recent letter of complaint to British newspaper editors makes clear, their flight to LA has not induced them to drop an ounce of Royal haughtiness, as their hapless spokesman blared out their Royal titles in every paragraph.
The point couldn't have been clearer: we don't care about losing the HRH – all we, and our Hollywood best friends, want to put on the invitation cards is the Duke and Duchess bit. The trouble for Meghan and Harry is that this is a spectacularly bad time to trade on a fraying Royal connection.
It is a brutal summation of their predicament:
THEY must surely sense how out of touch, even borderline desperate, they appear. Yet – and here they may deserve sympathy – they have no alternative. They are currently in the audition of their lives, aspiring to be the toast of Hollywood. But they have chosen a pitiless spotlight – the here today, gone tomorrow favours of the world's most ruthless chattering class.
Common sense – and decency – would compel the Sussexes to hunker down with their baby in the temporary comfort of a borrowed mansion and hope the rest of us wouldn't notice their period of wise invisibility. But they dare not, because to be invisible and un-royal now is to fail the audition. And that, they simply can't afford. So expect plenty more ham-fisted paparazzi photo opportunities as they dole out supplies to deserving Hollywood Covid sufferers; be ready for more insights on the British response to the pandemic from the poolside prince; stand by for more plaintive screeds on the iniquities of the British media. This is just the jam the Sussexes have got themselves into and, like so much else that has befallen them, it is of their own doing.
So if we wish them success in their new adventure in the world's entertainment capital, we must help them cast off ties to the institution and country they seem to think they've outgrown. Now, surely, is the time to unburden them from the stress of being half-celebrity, half-toxic Royal.
Their attempts to ride on the coat-tails of the hard-working family they have abandoned do nobody any good. In April 2020, real royalty isn't Instagramming from Malibu but working here, among crowded hospitals and deserted streets. This is where historic Royal titles are earned and re-earned, and this is where Harry and Meghan must leave theirs. For their own good – and for the good of the Crown they claim to serve.
Omid Scobie knows that there is a market for what he has to offer (albeit a small one): fawning coverage and now a PR biography. He sells himself as a 'royal expert' but he is actually someone of limited talent using the Sussexes to make a quick buck for as long as he can, just as they use him as a fawning mouthpiece. He is their servant, not a confidante that does lunches and accompanies them on holidays, but in serving the Harkles he has found a niche because I doubt anyone else wants to do so as full-time role.
The Daily Mail has an article about Omid Scoobie’s new book. It’s a biography of Harry and Meg. They both have interviews for it.
@Sarah: No doubt it will be so packed full of lies, half truths, and lies of omission from the self-serving pair that it will be published as a work of fiction.
Sarah said…
The Daily Mail has an article about Omid Scoobie’s new book. It’s a biography of Harry and Meg. They both have interviews for it.
@Sarah: No doubt it will be so packed full of lies, half truths, and lies of omission from the self-serving pair that it will be published as a work of fiction.
____________________________
Methinks they're feeling a bit of a pinch in their wallet ...
It seems that the publication date has been moved and the delay is said to be because of the virus - not a good time for book launches and book signings. But there might be other reasons for the delay (was supposed to be published in June), such as:
* Manuscript handed in very late
* Manuscript needs a lot of work (heavy editing/rewriting)
* Lots of legal issues to be checked
* Issues about the contract
* Perhaps even uncertainty about being able to book a spot with a printer, but printers may very well have continued working in the East, despite the virus
Books can be promoted and sold through the Internet (an e-book or delivery of a physical book by someone like Amazon ...), so I doubt the virus has delayed publication date.
the letter was not about communicating with him but about a constructed image (she was thinking ... letter leaked, letter preserved for the royal archives. letter published in a biography or memoir of the Duchess of Sussex ...).
I could easily see that she was thinking something along these lines.
Sandie ...Stephens says the chances of a settlement before trial in Meghan's case are "close to zero." The paper has little to lose *******(damages are capped in Britain at about $60,000)****** ...Why spend $1 million to get $60,000?
I think the small payout would be one of those details where the differences between USA and UK matter and are/were not well known if you didn't grow up in the UK. If there is truth to the beliefs that she didn't know about born of the body, how the lines of succession run and so on, this would be just be one more.
CookieShark ... why does she go scorched Earth on all of her connections?
IDK for sure. If it were not successful on some level for her early on, she would have dropped the behavior. People don't tend to stop doing something a particular way if it has already worked a number of times before (to say: maybe I should try to do things differently this time).
And, I think also that for like victims of domestic violence where you hear/see gas lighting (love bombing followed by the look what you made me do to you), a scorched earth might just be the next step up plus likely having them plead/beg/abase themselves to allowed back by the other.
A biography of them? How interesting...how it does might give the publishing houses good ideas of how a book from either would fare.
And, having details (approved) down in print might be helpful to renegotiate or control the future of money to support them. It was apparently done before things went south in such a big way (Disney no call backs/retreat from friendly Canada/we're not hearing about how the A+ directors are fighting over M/covid) ... so to me, this is not the time to have in print anything negative about anyone who has the ear of all who are writing checks to support me.
I cannot remember (eh, lots of things going on) what were the watch numbers for the latest "documentary" on them (and how does it compare with others)? thanks
🤦
Re the next best seller in the reality-fantasy genre! It could be that the book was on target to be released this summer, before Covid, before the crash out of the Duo from the toxic family..when MM would by then be hosting parties, and filming for her big movie roles and Harry would be making speeches all round the world and Archie would be --inspiring legions to do good and donate to the rachewell foundation...The Book would have been the icing on the cake for their new existence in the center of the PR universe. Now, it will be just another threat to the BRF to keep the money coming or an excuse to get on the talk show circuit, since documentaries and tv roles seem to have not worked out.
Perhaps with the publication of this book, HMTQ will have had her fill and pull the Sussex titles and the other titles given at the wedding from them and cut off all money. Harry is a prince by birth, so that can never be removed, but there’s a lot of other things she can take from them.
I don't promise not to buy the Scobie book but I will start at the used book store (on line or something). Rather give the profit to an "independent" bookstore.
Remember the odd shapes under her green most recent dress at Commonwealth written off as some sort of bullet proof body protection?
Jaw on floor. That someone would think she was so worthy of being taken out? That she needs protection not offered by the MI 6 (or 5) or anyone?
I reckon the book will be a Vogue style Meg monologue.
Multi glossy photos of Meg, and her interiors.
What she cooks for her family she never had, twice removed.
Her fabulous work ethic, saving the world in between Givenchy fittings.
Coffee table crud.
Her foreword will probably be longer than the actual book.
@Rebecca B
Thanks for the Sun article, good to see RF getting positive reviews.
Also saw Sophie preparing meals for NHS workers, good on her.
“She should be suing whoever made that green dress”
Do you think Meghan married Harry and joined the BRF with no intention of staying but simply to get herself that global fame (and she assumed wealth with it) that she had hustled so hard for and never got close to before she met Harry? She just seemed to be planning an exit from very early.
At what stage do you think Harry became part of that strategy? Was he along for the ride with her all the time? His family must be devastated.
Gosh, this is turning out to be the biggest royal scandal since the War of the Wales'!
Just wanted to remind people that it is there and there are some wonderful stories shared by some regulars (back in the day I wold be hustling to publish a book: The COVID-19 Diaries).
https://nuttyflavorvirus.blogspot.com/
You’re welcome! I’m sorry my iPhone copy-and-paste job was a bit rough.
@Sandie
The War of the Wails
"Her forward will probably be longer than the actual book"
I can already see it.
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,221 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#415 in Biographies of the Rich & Famous
#39 in Welsh History [this says a lot about Amazon's categorization or perhaps, Welsh history]
#241 in Biographies of Royalty (Kindle Store)
Maybe if they had a category for Biographies of Former Royals and Has Been Celebs, it might make it in the top ten ranking.
I do not think it will approach anything near the Michelle Obama book sales.
The book will be costly to produce if it is packed with photographs. Some publishers would expect the author to pay for artwork; others cover the costs themselves. How much are they going to spend on advertising and promotion (and did they do focus groups, and did they have extra legal costs because it needed to be carefully checked, and did they have additional editing costs ... all adds to the cost of producing the book)? Even then, worst-case scenario is that they have to sell about 10 000 books at full published price to break even. Anything they sell after that is profit (those initial costs would be covered by the sale of the 10 000 books).
Publishers and authors might not make mega millions from this book, but there will be guaranteed profit. How many followers did they have on IG? They just need a tenth of those people to buy the book, at full price, to make it a lucrative best seller for all. If I was a publisher, I would hold my nose and put it on my list!
The book will probably be rubbish (not well written, not objective, not well researched, not a lasting reference). It is a vanity project ... Megsy was not royal for long enough to warrant a royal biography (the Morton book was about Megsy before becoming royal, but even then was cleverly exploiting a trend rather than an in-depth biography). It will be most unfortunate if there are accusations against the royal family or negative stories about them or criticism of them. Considering how very well the grifter was treated and ow much she was given - it would look very tacky indeed.
No, you do NOT need to buy the book. The tabloids will cover it in depth and anything new or interesting in the book will be covered in the tabloids (and the broadsheets plus everywhere online).
Fabulous insights, Sandie re book deal and pre-trial hearing!
Perhaps with the publication of this book, HMTQ will have had her fill and pull the Sussex titles and the other titles given at the wedding from them and cut off all money. Harry is a prince by birth, so that can never be removed, but there’s a lot of other things she can take from them.
This article features the author aka: Scuzzy Scobie quotes on "The Letter" ~ just when I think the idiots cannot stoop any lower re: "The Book" ~ they never fail.
"Certain parts of Meghan’s letter directly dispel certain claims Mr Markle has previously made to media outlets.
Omid Scobie, Royal contributor for American network ABC’s Good Morning America, believes Meghan had this in mind when she was writing the letter.
According to Mr Scobie, Meghan knew her letter would be leaked to the public via her father and used it as a chance to “set the record straight”.
The royal contributor said: “While the purpose of Meghan’s letter was very much to repair the relationship with the father, she knew in her heart of heart’s that this was going to be released to the papers.
“Thomas has a record of this. This is exactly the man she knows.
“So, many of those things in that letter were written with the public in mind. She very much wanted to set the record straight.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1086163/Meghan-Markle-letter-father-Thomas-Markle-letter-leaked-Kensington-Palace
I wonder if Harper Collins did focus group research for the book? That could be another reason for the delay in publication ... re-editing and designing to match the market that will actually buy the book!
@Sandie, Blockbuster books are often published in October in time for the Christmas gift-giving season. My guess is that the publisher might be planning a fall release, especially due to the current pandemic, which at this time doesn’t have a date when daily life will gain a resemblance of normalcy in the world. To publish it now or probably any time during the summer would likely be a bad move from a marketing and public relations perspective. The world has a killer virus on its mind for now.
However, this is Meghan’s show and she wants to call all the shots with little regard to the fallout because we all know “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Has Scobie now markled himself, & Megs?
So Carolyn Durand writes for Oprah magazine, hmm.
Apparently this book was supposed to have been released around the birth of Archie, why?
Please tell me the fraud expert on the MoS team will be revealing the truth about Archie.
I suppose if H&M were flying high in HW, M doing the A-list stuff she thinks she deserves, Harry at least not looking like a buffoon, revenue streams in place besides Charles, his tenants, and the UK taxpayer, there was no COVID-19, *and* they were still HRHs/part-time royals, then such a book might make them seem more interesting. And so it could be one of many books. But as it is, it kind of sounds like the end of the line to me.
Still, things do change. I'd like to think lots of things will be different for all of us by August when the book comes out. I'm not sure they will though. But if things do change virus-wise in terms of treatment or a vaccine, who knows. It was not that long ago that in the US Roseanne Barr was seen as lower than pond scum for some comments she made. Not only was her brand-new show cancelled, reruns of her old show were pulled. But while staying at home I've been watching entirely too much TV and reruns of the old Roseanne show are now everywhere, at all hours of the day and night. One can hardly avoid them when flipping through channels.
--------
@Crumpet said:
"I do not think it will approach anything near the Michelle Obama book sales."
Neither do I. Besides the clear differences in achievement, it's a pretty safe bet some of the sales of Michelle's book were to people who wanted to casually display her book on their coffee tables. The audience H&M is seeking to impress likely aren't into coffee table books. (And IG bots don't buy books.) Plus, MO worked hard to promote her book. People were interested in seeing her on her book tours. Who wants to see Omid Scobie and his co-author? Surely H&M won't go on the road tours saying "Please buy this book about us. It's great and we're great!"
I also wish that HMTQ could pull all of the titles and cut off all money right now, but I'm afraid that they may have had a legally binding contract drawn up that allows The Harkles that full year to get on their feet financially. Just how much money that means has never been reported. What does getting on their feet financially mean to royals who are worth hundreds of millions?
I asked yesterday (I think) whether Mexit was a family handshake-type deal or whether there was a contract for Megxit, and nobody could answer that, but it seems that in dealing with MM, you'd want all of the terms of Megxit legally binding. MM's past behavior had shown that she could not be trusted to follow the rules, so I hope that HMTQ was wise enough to get everything in writing and signed by both parties. How else could you legally hold MM and Just Harry to any agreement? HMTQ did say that this was partially a family situation, but I don't think she realized just how far Just Harry would push the boundaries, spurred on by MM.
I think that HMTQ and her legal advisors underestimated just how much damage that The Harkles could do in one year. Only COVID has put a stop to some of their plans, but if there is a legal contract, they can't be stopped until it expires. If there is a contract, did it stipulate what would happen if the terms of the contract were broken by The Harkles?
“The sign of intelligence is that you are constantly wondering. Idiots are always dead sure about every damn thing they are doing in their life.” ~ Vasudev
If Scobie's book comes out, the British press is going to have a field day, going line by line, pointing out the falsehoods in it. This is another screw-up in timing and planning by MM. You don't have pending court cases against the press and not expect the press to tear apart everything that Scobie will write. It will open up another can of worms against Just Harry and MM in the media, most likely exposing more lies and evil deeds.
Yes, it will give the Harkles press, but it will end in just more negative press. That old adage, "even negative press is good press" can only go so far, and I think The Harkle's grace period has run out on that, except for some sugars who will continue to hang on for dear life.
One think I think went unnoticed was a photo Jessica Mulroney posted this morning
https://ibb.co/qr03Nvm
A friend sent me the link but by the time I got there it had been taken down
Normally, Jess fires back at trolls and doesn’t take things down but this was different because she took it down and no “woe is me, the internet is a terrible place” post.
Makes me think Jess upset someone out in LA.... LOL
A reverse-Markle!
Print a chapter a day? oh some papers used to print a condensed version of a book (in hopes the readers would want to BUY and read the entire book.
sometimes I did, and sometimes ... the condensed was enough
I imagine Scobie's book to be just like the fairy tale played out on the CW a couple of nights ago. A huge sugar-fest sure to portray Markle as a victim.
All the more reason to buy it from a used book seller (if you want to spend any money or time). Trying to keep small business owners in business...
"I do not think it will approach anything near the Michelle Obama book sales."
Crumpet, you are probably right. Michelle Obama is generally a likeable public personality and she has made few public missteps. She did a good job as First Lady, and afterward as a former First Lady. No drama, no obvious instances of screwing over family, friends, and professional associates to advance her self-promoting agenda and the other behaviors in what would be a pages-long description of Meghan’s behavior, supported by her dupe Harry.
There are few parallels between M.O. and the Harkles. Also, my guess is Michelle Obama's book also appealed to the black community, especially women, who can identify with her. Meghan does not have that built in bond with the black community, especially women. Meghan has spent most of her life shunning her black ethnicity while only embracing it when she hints at or outright hurls the accusation of tacism in an effort to hide her own bad behavior and shortcomings as a human being. This behavior does sit well with any of my black friends or colleagues, or acquaintances, who come from all socioeconomic levels of America. We have some pretty candid conversations about race, the hurdles that still face women, and our sometimes the similarities and differences in our life experiences. As one female and black friend who is no fan of Meghan or Harry (but loves Diana) sums her up, “Meghan is about as black as a loaf of white bread, just a little color on the outside, but white as snow on the inside.”
Hillary Clinton’s book bombed, as did her tour with Bill. They couldn’t give the tickets away. Many people see Hillary as the person who although Bill was president, Hillary was the driving force and still is the driving force in that pair. Hillary, like Meghan, is a ruthless, greedy power-hungry climber who got a big book advance for a much-ballyhooed book that flopped.
Meghan should take note. The damage this book may do will last forever, but the money she gets for it won’t.
Those condensed versions were printed with the cooperation of the publisher and the author to boost sales. I'm saying to print then entire book, of course, as an in-depth "review".
Start with the MoS to print Chapter One, ending with a review of that chapter. At the end of that "review," it would say look forward to Chapter Two and a review in the DM tomorrow. At the end of that one, it would say look for Chapter Three in the Sun tomorrow and so on.
Let MM sue all of them and see how much that will cost. Remember, MM wants things printed in full. One complaint of hers is that only parts of the letter were printed, putting her in a bad light, she says. So, those newspapers would only be following her wishes, and she and Harry DID cooperate with Scobie and friend by providing info for the book.
Wouldn't she want to be consistent in her wishes in printing things in full? :/
I think I may have found the ivory wall and cabinetry in one of them that matches the wall from Just Harry's weird videos. Take a look at the kitchen in the photo that's taken from the kitchen island that's furthest away from the big windows. To the right of the windows, there is a little magnolia-colored wall with dark brown cabinetry next to it. Could that be the wall?
This house is for sale, so they could be couch surfing there. Thoughts?
http://www.bcre.com/serra-retreat-malibu-homes-for-sale.php
From the New York Post:
The dynamic duo have settled into the gated Serra Retreat area of Malibu — a “hotbed of around 300 photographers,” according to one celebrity snapper who regularly camps out there with his compatriots to get a glimpse of stars like Mel Gibson, Britney Spears and Kylie Jenner who have frequented it in the past.
LA photographer Mark Karloff, host of the Paparazzi Podcast, told the Daily Star Meghan and Harry that while they might have privacy a few miles inside the gated community, they’re surrounded by a hot bed of camera lenses.
“This is LA, there are probably 200 to 300 photographers around, they’re really hungry for pictures right now,” he told the paper. “If they were out and about, they could expect to get it constantly if they decide to frequent any place.
“There are different breeds of photographers, there are photographers we would call savages that will pretty much do anything to get a picture,” he continued. “They will stay as many hours as they need to wait for an exit or wait for them to come out.”
Karloff said he believed that the couple will be living in Serra Retreat, where they can expect to find photographers at either exit of the grounds.
“There will be at least three or four photographers there at all times,” he told the Daily
Thanks for the info. That house is a travesty of design and architecture, even worse than the Canada house, if that's possible. It's also the only one listed now for sale that has dark wood cabinetry.
Why haven't they been papped there yet?
It never makes sense to me to live at the ocean, to, see it, but not be able to get to it. The house is way up on a hill, so they aren't waterfront. That's like window shopping every day, but not being allowed into the store.
I have no idea if it's where Meg and Harry are staying, but it's certainly the type of place Meg thinks she ought to be staying.
What's amazing to me is - if you have all that beautiful scenery - you would choose to record your video against a plain white wall.
I understand it might be a bit much to show the pool or the tennis court, but there are lovely gardens and a lily pond that would make for a wonderful background.
The publishers must not be very pleased at the low ratings of the Sussex TV special on the CW this past week. The CW reaches (or in this case, does not reach) the same young, urban audience that the book is supposed to reach.
In the midst of a recession, does this audience want to buy a full-price coffee table book? Especially when they didn't even watch a free TV special.
Young people do buy photo books - I imagine that you could do very good business with a luxurious BTS photo book, or a luxurious Harry Styles photo book - but those fandoms are much more active and healthy than Meghan's.
I think the plain wall is just to keep the mystery going, to keep people guessing. It's pure PR.
That house has been on the market for 142 days, a long time in real estate. So I think it's another ad for the seller to have them there. They probably get a cut of the sales price if it sells.
I agree on Scobie's book. After coming in last place in the ratings, it's obvious that The Harkles aren't as important as they think they are. On Goodreads, it's listed as only an e-book. No hardcover.
The comments on the DM about Scobie are scathing, and many mention Scobie and Marcus Anderson's relationship. I hope that some news org will suss out just who Marcus is and how he rose to be the king of Soho House so quickly. There's a story to be told there, my Spidey senses tell me.
...In what must have delighted Meghan and Harry, he has written about the almost daily mistruths' of the British press.
Now that is an interesting turn of phrase (and at this particular moment in time) - thinking legal thoughts.
...In what must have delighted Meghan and Harry, he has written about the almost daily mistruths' of the British press.
Now that is an interesting turn of phrase (and at this particular moment in time) - thinking legal thoughts.
now not not (arg)
"I think I may have found the ivory wall and cabinetry in one of them that matches the wall from Just Harry's weird videos. Take a look at the kitchen in the photo that's taken from the kitchen island that's furthest away from the big windows. To the right of the windows, there is a little magnolia-colored wall with dark brown cabinetry next to it. Could that be the wall?
This house is for sale, so they could be couch surfing there. Thoughts?"
Long-time, most appreciative lurker. The cabinets in this kitchen have glass fronts. Iirc hostage Harry's did not.
Look at the second photo of the kitchen. To the right of the big windows is a small wall with one painting on it. Next to it is a floor-to-ceiling cabinet. That cabinet doesn't have glass on it like the others do.
Also, welcome! This is a fun place for Harkle intrigue.
@Nutty, using the landscaping as a background would give away that they weren't in Canada. The foliage is entirely different. The grounds are lovely, though, except for the boy fountain (I hate those) and the dome rotunda, which seems somewhat funereal.
Thinking again about the Sussex book. One of the most successful celebrity photo books of all time was Madonna's "SEX" book. This was in part because you had to buy the book to see what was in it - the photos were too racy to be widely distributed in other media. (This was in 1992, when the internet was in its infancy and mostly a text medium.)
At the time there was plenty of "free" clothed Madonna on MTV and other places, which was supposedly one of the reasons her movies flopped. Her book, by contrast, could only be accessed by laying out some cash. I was living in the US at the time and I remember that it was shrink-wrapped so you couldn't flip through it at Barnes and Noble. I also seem to recall that it was a limited edition, so you had to rush if you wanted your copy.
Back to the Sussexes. Not saying they should put out a sex book, but what could they possibly offer in a book that wouldn't immediately be available on other media? What could possibly make fans rush to buy a copy?
I saw one post, somewhere, from a sugar (Megs herself?) claiming that she was capable of conducting her own case because she knew the law from 7 months playing a paralegal on `Suits'.
It hadn't occurred to the writer to wonder why, if the necessary depth of knowledge can be gained that easily, legal training takes so long and is so expensive. Do they think one can start practising within a year of leaving school, aged 16, with negligible academic qualifications?
Even if one knows one or two points of English law, one soon finds out that there are layers and layers of law underneath something that sounds like an absolute ruling - all the exceptions, special cases and ways of getting round perceived obstacles. Plenty of wriggle room.
The law isn't necessarily what one thinks it is, and certainly not what one thinks it ought to be.
Nasty, arrogant & ful of spite.
So the book was originally planned to be launched around Archie’s birth,
she must have been plotting this since the wedding?
She never had any intention of staying in the RF, & I think Harry was complicit all along.
The DM story about the book said it is 320 pages long, so if that number of pages is accurate, it will likely be a standard book with a section of photos somewhere in the book.
The Harkles are probably initially going to make a large a large amount of money in the next few years, but their novelty will wear off, especially as they age. If they keep kicking the shins of the royal family and the UK, they risk losing most of or perhaps when William is king, all of their financial support.
Narcissists often have extremely lavish taste, and Meghan has a double helping of it. And she feels entitled to it. The problem with people like Meghan is that they are always want more. They can never get enough. Both of Meghan’s parents have been in bankruptcy, so it’s not as if she had good financial models growing up.
Since marrying Harry, she has been on a non-stop spending spree. Her appetite for an uber wealthy lifestyle is not going to go away. They will have money to be sure, but she will spend every penny they make — and far more. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised in a few years to hear they are in financial trouble.
But of course with these two, none of it will be their own fault.
Are you looking at 3250 Serra Road? It's listed at $18.5MM. I think you're looking at 3093 Sweetwater Mesa Road, the first listing on the page. That's the $40MM house that is still under construction.
Scroll down to the next listing. That's the one! They'll still be couch surfing at $18.5MM, though!
I personally don’t think anything was solidified in writing. I think the royals and their advisors would have known things change dramatically and quickly with the dubious duo. I think there would have been unwritten clauses, whether the Sussex’s heeded any of those is another matter entirely. I personally think not, considering their behaviour to date.
We really don’t know whether the royals have already pulled the plug on these two financially. Just because it’s not in the public domain doesn’t make it not so. The Sussex’s appear to be acting more desperate and erratic by the day.
An eco friendly book.
Written on sugar coated vellum, read then eat, swallowing hard.
“My World” the modern Reader’s Digest...
Ha ha!
Actually, the very best thing that could happen to the Sussexes would be if the book was issued and then recalled - for libel purposes or copyright purposes or whatever - making it a "banned book" and a collector's item.
I'm not sure that the BRF would just take MM's word that she and Harry would abide by their "talks". If it's not written down and signed, it's just talk, and nothing would be enforceable. I don't think that the BRF advisors and legal team would approve of a handshake deal when they'd already had a glimpse of what MM is capable of, especially when it concerns a considerable amount of money. Just IMO.
JocelynsBellinis said to Happy Days, also wish that HMTQ could pull all of the titles and cut off all money right now, but I'm afraid that they may have had a legally binding contract drawn up that allows The Harkles that full year to get on their feet financially.
@ Raspberry Ruffle and JoycelynsBellinis: You are probably right that there is no agreement in writing, but a year goes by fast.
If the August book is damaging in that it is unflattering, critical, or tells outright lies especially regarding HMTQ, Charles and Camilla, or the Cambridges, or slams the citizens of the UK, then I’d think that the RF would have no sensible option to take but to cut the Sussexes off at the knees with a rusty axe.
They could actually lose the titles received at the marriage as well as funding, but Harry will always be a prince and that’s what Meghan married him for and that’s what they are selling.
I don’t know UK law, but the only way I could even think Harry might have to give up his title and place in line to the throne is if he became a US citizen. I just don’t see that happening. Without Harry’s title, they would become quite irrelevant.
If any agreement was in writing then they aren’t enforcing it or there wasn’t much they wanted to enforce going on the Sussex’s behaviour. Which is why I don’t think it’s a written agreement, though there could perhaps be parts in writing that they had to agree on and can be enforced. I think this book will be an interesting factor between what the Sussex’s are doing, and whether it was ever permitted or expected by the royal family.
Harry is beginning to act like a carbon copy of Edward VIII on his exile to Paris. He spent his whole life thereafter hassling and berating his brother King George (then Queen Elizabeth) for more money and more royal recognition. Forbidden to use his HRH, he brutally enforced it within his own household. Mrs Simpson was self-anointed with faux royal patina, including after Edward's death. Of course they had no access to social media platforms or modern PR practices, but I'm sure they would've made use of them in exactly the same way the Sussexes do now. He was a permanent and vicious thorn in Elizabeth's side. Now she has another one.
Meg has an open offer for Real Housewives, I suppose, but what about Harry? He's unemployable.
I suppose they could be professional party guests for the Middle East, Asia, etc. if anyone would have them.
Or just keep spending money and eventually go bankrupt, as Meg's parents both did.
How would the BRF handle a prince who couldn't pay his debts, or refused to?
https://mol.im/a/8257071
I have long suspected Harry wanted to outdo his brother and the only way for this to happen is for MM to be President. This is made light of in the article, but she has said that is her long term goal. Having MO and HRC hanging around in the beginning and espousing all their woke platitudes led me to believe they were gearing up for something. Certainly not a life of quiet family bliss in the rolling hills of LA.
I'm certain HMTQ has been aware of the duo's tell all story in which will be the first pics of Archie among others. People may purchase it just for a glimpse of him.
I find it absolutely disgusting that these two release their bs
diatribes on or around important birthdays. Harry obviously has deep seated resentment and anger towards his family to do all of this to them and now to write a tell all book? What in the world does Charles think of this? I just find this ongoing saga
unbelievable. I wonder sometimes if it's not some grand scheme in which to distract us all from something much bigger going on.
It's as if TBRF are at war with the Sussexes and are unable to fight back. If I were you Brits I would be hot with anger over any of my money going to support them.
How can Harry sleep at night knowing all the grief he is causing his family? Not to mention a nation suffering with a deadly pandemic.
I might if I see it on my local post office's charity book stall. 20p is quite reasonable for a doorstop or kindling to light the fire with :OP (and the proceeds would go to local charity, not directly added to that pair's profits)
@Jocelyn gave me another idea: If Scobie's book comes out, the British press is going to have a field day, going line by line, pointing out the falsehoods in it.
I might buy it from the charity stall if I see it on there, add notes pointing out all the inaccuracies, then re-donate it so the next person who buys it gets an idea of what's been going on. That would also be a 20p well spent on a form of "community service".
Just refreshed before I hit post.
Oh darn... The DM story about the book said it is 320 pages long (posted by HappyDays). I've read longer newspapers... There goes my doorstop. Fire kindling or "community service" it is then! lol
When they visited Ireland a new Irish reporter asked the royal reporters what she was like. The answers were not exactly glowing! Obnoxious, vile, bad mannered was the main answer
And the Ireland trip was early on, when the Sussexes were still in their honeymoon period.
And they've been new parents for less than a year. What place on their list of priorities does their baby son merit I wonder ?
Getting elected involves building coalitions and working well with people, which she simply cannot do.
Also, my experience is that even very controversial politicians are often charming and personable one on one. The journos I know who have met Trump, Hilary, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have all said they're extremely likable in person. (Trump is supposedly quiet and a good listener.) In other words, their private personalities are much more winning than their public ones.
With Meg, that's clearly not the case.
True that. Most first-time parents are baby bores (I sure was!) with constant updates about their wonderful offspring's superhuman abilities.
The lack of this type of braggadocio - in particular from Meg, who is so boastful in every other aspect of her life - plus the lack of images makes me think it likely that they do not have custody of Archie, if he exists at all.
I also think it's very odd that they haven't been pictured clapping for the NHS. Seems like an easy win for them.
Failing that, my guess is that as part of the Megxit negotiations, it was stipulated that there would be ZERO merching of HMTQ's Great-Grandson.
And the idea that M could go into politics is as about as likely as me going to the moon. Ain’t gonna happen.
I don't disagree with you on points made about most politicians and elections. However, that doesn't mean she won't have support here in the US. For example, the media, the luvvies, the woke brigade, and a whole slew of citizens who would vote for a dem no matter the candidate. Also, HRC won the popular vote here and no one thinks she has a charming personality in front of the camera or behind the scenes, and she is one of Markle's biggest fans. Like you, I doubt she will ever be a candidate, but there are people here who would love to see a biracial woke female and her prince in the White House. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if Biden picked her as his running mate
in this bizarre world we live in today.
CAMILLA LONG
Meghan the narcissist gets her day in court, but she’s too blind to see she’s already lost
Part 1
he trial of the decade kicked off on Friday morning, with much excited fiddling online — a pre-trial hearing conducted, “trickily”, on Microsoft Teams. In one window, the duchess’s little Italian waiter QC appeared, with a plume of glossy turkey hair. In another, there was the silent, clipped, gravedigger QC for the defence, representing The Mail on Sunday and its case for printing Thomas Markle’s letter. Both were in rooms that had been blurred out, while the purring judge — a man not unlike Alan Rickman — sat in a normal Harry Potter panelled courtroom.
Along with 80 or so other journalists, I watched the whole thing from start to finish. It felt vast and important, like Leveson part two. At one point, it looked less like a trial of the matter at hand and more like a trial of the press in general. If Prince Harry has his way, it will be a monstrous, all-consuming, neverending rapture: a terrible reckoning, a Book of Revelation for the people he hates. For Meghan it will involve an end-times level of self-promotion and publicity. Guess what? She will take the stand. It is their dream circus.
Be in no doubt: this is a circus. It seemed astonishing to me that these skilled and pre-eminent men, with 100 years of experience between them, should waste any time discussing a story of such effervescing Marie Antoinettish frippery and thin-skinned triviality. There was talk of “post-Naomi Campbell jurisprudence” and a comic moment when they stopped to consider whether Meghan’s “favourite snack”, avocados, fuelled “human rights abuses, drought and murder”. That was before we got to the 75 pages of articles that had displeased the couple. First impression: neither the duchess nor Harry can take criticism.
Second impression: for someone who doesn’t like to talk about her private life, the duchess sure does want to talk about it. Before this trial, we knew little about her relationship with her grim Honey Bear father; now there’s little we don’t. The hearing made reference to a whole 33 further pages of mostly personal content she made available 10 days ago, including texts to her father from Meghan and Harry before their wedding.
The messages add absolutely nothing. In one, she appears concerned for her father’s “health and safety”. In another, she seems most interested in getting “security” to the hospital where he’s just had heart surgery, presumably to stop him talking to the press. So why release them? Perhaps to provide a mirage of openness, give the impression she’s happy to lay it all out when she isn’t. If anything, the couple come across as unhealthily obsessed with the press and their own image.
But then, the duchess is someone who thinks she can win at anything; be the centre of all attention; have the moral upper hand in any dispute. Her own ego blinds her; it even blinds the people working for her, like her poor QC struggling to keep up with the vastness of her pompous submissions. I am no fan of the royal family, and in many ways I’d hoped she would expose them as the pale, stale charisma vacuums they are, but at least they have the humility to know when to stop, instead of throwing themselves into this extraordinary trial and its ramifications — the hundreds of pages of overshare, plus the added negative publicity that will never end.
Who wins is irrelevant — in many ways she has already lost. There will be a day’s headlines if she prevails after two, three, even four weeks of lashing stories about her destructive ambition and unedifying obsession with her image. Meanwhile she is reducing the pair of them to supermarket magazine fodder, telling Harry he’s getting better, when he is in fact getting worse. She will brush the whole trial aside as yet another injustice, whatever happens: “See what they made me do,” she will say, by way of explaining the roomfuls of dirty linen about to be laundered. It’s as mad as a box of prancing kippers.
By the end of it, Harry will secretly wish to go back to the relative anonymity of being a royal, living in peace at Frogmore, able to fully disappear once he’s clocked out of the day’s work, just like a normal person would. Royals are the most anonymous celebs in the world — Prince William, for example, lives in obscurity. We don’t know where he buys his clothes, gets his food, even where he goes on holiday. He had a whole job and none of us knew anything about it. As he appeared outside his house on Thursday to clap the NHS, I realised I didn’t even know whether he would like his own front door. All those riches, and all that power and no effort — it is the dream, and Harry is probably already missing it.
As he appeared outside his house on Thursday to clap the NHS, I realised I didn’t even know whether he would like his own front door.
I don't know what this means.
On a practical level, how do they communicate with the press without an office full of staff? Who acts as their communications person, private secretary, and so on, and where do those people work (if in the UK, time differences must be a pain)? Business managers in LA, Internet company in Canada, staff in London (Harry still has two there ... It is a mess!
Does Meghan risk becoming even more unpopular than Wallis Simpson?
ANNA PASTERNAK
Part 1
As the country struggles and lockdown endures, our monarchy remains a gleaming mainstay of support. The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Cambridges have all made it clear – in exemplary manner, via bolstering broadcasts and Prince William’s comedy sketch with Stephen Fry on Thursday – that we are all in this fearful uncertainty together. Which made the latest jaw-dropping antics by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex even more ill-timed.
First, Prince Harry made unqualified comments that the coronavirus crisis in the UK was “better than we are led to believe”, sparking outrage among health experts, including Prof Karol Sikora, who said the Duke was “deserting his country in its hour of need”.
Then, the Sussexes issued a sanctimonious statement announcing that they would no longer “co-operate” with parts of the British media, ahead of the first hearing, on Friday, of Meghan’s legal action against Associated Newspapers.
What has happened to Harry? Has Hollywood high-handedness gone to his head? For all his woke compassion, this smacks of insensitivity. But in his bizarre press statement, he is right about one thing: he says when power is enjoyed without responsibility, trust is destroyed.
He was born into the British monarchy, one of the most powerful institutions in the world, and raised to understand the responsibility this entailed. Yet it would seem that since getting married, he is perilously close to eroding the trust of the British people by exercising his celebrity status without demonstrating the associated responsibility.
Meghan may claim in her latest American television interview that she “understands” elephants – but she does not understand the loyalty of the British people to our monarchy and our free press. Our disgust of hubris is embedded in our national character.
Yet, though our patience may be hanging by a gossamer thread, such is the depth of our affection for Harry, here in the UK, that we would still welcome his return.
Indeed, as we watch him kindly deliver food in Los Angeles, while the rest of the Windsors contribute to the British effort, his sense of isolation feels tangible. Can he ever be truly happy while his wife, Meghan, is cast as the villain – portrayed as leading a beloved, besotted Harry astray?
We’ve been here before, when the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were exiled after the abdication crisis. And, like our current American duchess, her predecessor, Wallis Simpson, was written off as a calculating and manipulative spouse, determined to deprive Britain of an adored king.
This sexist scapegoating is probably as unfair today as it was in 1936, as both Edward VIII and Prince Harry were ambivalent about their royal responsibilities before their marriages. But there are lessons in history.
Once married, the Duke of Windsor carried a lifelong emotional wound that his family would not accept, or even meet, his wife – receiving the news that Wallis would not be accorded the coveted HRH like a gunshot, from which he never recovered.
It became his life’s aim for the world to know and adore Wallis as much as he did. Alas, this festering emotional sore was not lanced during his lifetime. Will this become Harry’s angry preoccupation, too?
It’s agonising, as Edward Windsor discovered, when the world misguidedly mistrusts your wife. Yet the solution is not to fight back, but to retreat and enjoy the private tenderness you have, together.
Unlike Meghan, Wallis understood the royal creed. While it appears Meghan seeks to control her public narrative, allegedly encouraging friends to speak out and now trying to censor her press, Wallis resigned herself to the mute impossibility of her situation.
After the abdication in 1936, she wrote plainly to Edward: “The world is against me and me alone. Not a paper has said a kind thing for me.” Admirably, instead of openly bleating about her situation, Wallis schooled herself to survive the shadow side of infamy. This she summed up as “to have one’s character day after day laid bare, dissected and flayed by mischievous and merciless hands”.
Wallis contained her suffering with laudable resolve. Meghan would do well to learn from her predecessor, who triumphed with a “kind of private arrangement with oneself – an understanding of the heart and mind – that one’s life and purposes are essentially good, and that nothing from the outside must be allowed to impair that understanding”.
If Meghan were more emotionally contained – which is not the same as having a stiff upper lip – might she earn our respect? There is great merit in stoic dignity, as the Duchesses of Windsor, Cambridge and Cornwall can attest.
While Meghan looks set to face her own father in a court battle, Wallis demonstrated she knew the importance of family. Like Meghan, she was the only daughter of a single mother, whom she adored. Despite exclusion from her in-laws (no member of the Royal family attended her wedding), Wallis never gave up hope of reconciliation.
It caused her suffering that exile separated Edward from his mother, Queen Mary. In the spring of 1942, when Edward was governor of the Bahamas, and Wallis sensed that he was missing his family, she tried, without her husband’s knowledge, to make “one last try to reach his mother and heal the breach between them”.
She wrote a generous-spirited letter to her mother-in-law, explaining: “It has always been a source of sorrow and regret to me that I have been the cause of any separation between mother and son, and I can’t help feeling that there must be moments, perhaps, however fleeting they may be, when you wonder how David is.”
Unlike our Queen, who has shown such accommodating warmth to Meghan, Queen Mary did not reply to this touching missive.
When the Duke fleetingly returned to Britain in 1952, after the death of his brother, King George VI, he left Wallis in the US; she was not invited to her brother-in-law’s funeral. Wallis sent her husband home with the sage advice: “Do not mention or ask for anything regarding recognition of me.”
Probably the greatest myth about Wallis is that she was an infernal troublemaker, when, in fact, she tried always to be the peacemaker. For her entire married life, her aim was to soothe her husband, aggrieved by his familial relations.
Sir Walter Monckton, an aide to Edward, said he had warned Wallis after her wedding that “most people in England disliked her very much because the Duke had married her and given up his throne, but that if she kept him happy all his days, that would change, but that if he were unhappy nothing would be too bad for her”.
Wallis did keep Edward happy – he adored her until the last – but nothing changed for her. Everything can still change for Meghan.
If she restrains her husband from ill-advised outbursts, if she accepts her own press and if her marriage is as long and devoted as the Windsors’ was, then she will prove, just like Wallis did, that the sacrifice was worth it. And we may come to love and admire her as Harry does.
“As he appeared outside his house on Thursday to clap the NHS, I realised I didn’t even know whether he would like his own front door.”
I don't know what this means.
Me neither!!
Dan Wotton is really exposing Meg and Scoobie
"This makes me 😂 so much. Meghan has chosen Omid Scobie to write her hagiography. Don’t think she realises he’s an ex-tabloid reporter who made his living flogging stories to the very papers she hates, including the Mail on Sunday! Whoops. https://t.co/uOvFiVMNrY
While we have had some presidential candidates (and some presidents--not only the current one) without traditional political experience, that's not the norm. And they've generally had something to show in the way of achievements (like Eisenhower and his role as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during WWII, for example.)
If looking woke was enough, Marianne Williamson or Mayor Pete would have been more than brief flashes in the pan. (Not sure Williamson was even that.) But Buttigieg was at least elected as a mayor and Williamson has had a long career as a best-selling author and activist. In contrast, Meghan has an uncanny ability to get men to support her, has married well twice (or more), has had a supporting role on a cable series, has flashed her "magical boobs" on a game show, has simulated sex acts on camera, and ??? The dubious soap ad claim to fame from nearly three decades ago won't cut it. And certainly her brief experience in the UK doesn't suggest she has any skills in diplomacy.
People sometimes act like Jimmy Carter went from being a peanut farmer to being president but that's not really true. He had 10 years of active military service, was elected to the Georgia Senate, and was elected as governor.
I suppose M could try to emulate Reagan's path as a re-tooled actor (as a Democrat, of course) but he was a bigger deal actor to start with, then was twice elected governor of California after serving multiple terms as president of SAG. Those achievements suggest he had the necessary ability to work with people that a successful political campaign would require.
M might be able to be elected to something in CA. Maybe she could even aspire to winning a seat in the US House. There have always been some oddballs in the House (and the Senate.) HRC did manage to parlay her role as a victimized First Lady into a stint in the Senate. And then parlay that into being an unsuccessful presidential candidate (twice, no less.) But that would take long-range planning and some actual work. And HRC had Bill advising her and he used to possess the consummate political mind.
For M, though anything less than the White House, and the White House fairly soon, is probably beneath her and not worth her time.
------
@PortCityGirl wrote:
"As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if Biden picked her as his running mate in this bizarre world we live in today."
Good one! They could rub each other's backs! (Not sure Uncle Joe would sniff her wig more than once though.)
Thank you for posting the Telegraph and Times articles, interesting viewpoints.I
Birthday photos announced, which outlets? hmmmm so it begins. The last card about to be played?
https://66.media.tumblr.com/e24fe35e5426debf11ca389908fbf2e8/0fdf283ebd53e22b-fb/s640x960/a87a861e8615ddee94fab7bf8196e133aedfe969.jpghttps://66.media.tumblr.com/e24fe35e5426debf11ca389908fbf2e8/0fdf283ebd53e22b-fb/s640x960/a87a861e8615ddee94fab7bf8196e133aedfe969.jpg
I am sure there are many more examples out there. She merched everything!
I bet once she was 'royal' it was immensely frustrating to her that she now was told she could not take her cut!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8257177/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-interviews-two-journalists-writing-flattering-biography.html
This is rich. Scooby Do is calling himself biracial. He is British Iranian, says so in the DM article.
But it is no secret she DOES aspire to gaining a political position, and there are many nut jobs currently holding positions at the federal level in the US. Old and young. I have no idea how some of the young ones got elected, but the old idiots are still there due to money and power.
Hopefully, HAMS are doing themselves in with all of their shenanigans on both sides of the pond and her political hopes will be dashed.
The Harkles have sent out word that a photograph will be released of Archie in his birthday. Oh, the suspense!
I can picture it now. He'll be standing, holding onto that beige wall harry's so fond of, and all we'll be able to see is the back of his head (most likely covered by a hat) and whatever he'll be wearing lol
Meghan is much too thin-skinned to be able to survive even the first round of an election campaign (at any level).
Also, I doubt that she would find the backers to fund a campaign.
>>>The Harkles have sent out word that a photograph will be released of Archie in his birthday. Oh, the suspense!<<<
Maybe Archie will be photograpohed on the beautiful Malibu beach or better yet, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, next to the star for Cary Grant (born Archibald...). No, on second thought, Meghan would not want to get anywhere near the famous spot, it would remind her of her own lack of acting achievement.
The Sunday Telegraph:
Does Meghan risk becoming even more unpopular than Wallis Simpson?
ANNA PASTERNAK
Thanks so much for sharing the article.
I do disagree with the writer's conclusions because there are some essential differences between Meghan and Wallis.
* Wallis did not pursue David because she wanted global fame. Meghan did want the fame that Harry could provide for her.
* As was common at the time, Wallis needed a husband to support her and I admit she did get lots of fabulous jewellery, clothes and holidays from David. As soon as she had a ring on her finger, Meghan spent and spent and spent (stuff she bought for herself not gifts from Harry), but she did not need a husband for financial support.
* Wallis was poor but from the genteel class of America in a bygone age. She knew how to behave in society and she appreciated etiquette. Meghan was clueless about etiquette and ended up mocking it because it made her feel inadequate. Wallis was classy (did not need to be taught); Meghan has no class at all and was not willing to learn.
* David and Wallis were popular in society (weekends in the country with friends; holidays on some island with friends; lunches with friends, often at home; evenings out with friends, almost every evening). Meghan and Harry are not popular (outside of weddings we have never seen them photographed with friends together ... even the very private Cambridge get photographed walking to church with friends staying over for a weekend party).
* Wallis suppressed her own needs for most of her marriage to ensure the happiness of David. Meghan does the complete opposite for Harry.
* Wallis left opinions expressed in public mostly to her husband. Meghan always tries to talk over her husband and show that she knows everything. (A different era but this does make Meghan a target because she exposes herself so much. Wallis was not stupid nor dull, but she stuck in her lane and did not make a fool of herself professing to be an expert and thus exposing herself to ridicule.)
Meghannaise Word Salad
I love it!
For the fancy evening version: Word Salad a la Meghannaise
The RF treated her very well from what I can see. When she wanted to leave, they let them leave. She did not even stay in the same country to be involved in discussions about their future. Where did she go? To pose for pap photos in a SUV allegedly.
In this time of the pandemic, many of us losing jobs, budgeting to pay for food and worrying about family, their actions are tone deaf. We do not care. Perhaps they didn't get everything they wanted, but they got plenty.
I hope I am able to see my parents again soon. I miss them so much. Her continued public badmouthing of her father is repulsive.
*mmf* *snerk* …. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *wide awake now LOL*
Yes-yes-yes, I know actors have delved into politics many times, and even been regarded as success stories (Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Fred "Gopher" Grandy, among others) -- but this is Meghan we're talking about. She has the attention span of a gnat. Not to mention her main skill is stepping on rakes. My little Chihuahua/wire-haired terrier mix Pixy would be a better president :) Like La Markle, Pixy is good at digging -- except Pixy always gets what she is looking for, whereas Markle only digs …. deeper and deeper towards disaster. Markle going into local politics? Well, anyone who would vote for her deserves her.
As for the book deal -- like other posters have said, I saw it coming as well. The Harkles need the dough-ray-me, number one, and this is one of their last remaining chances to stay in the public eye, number two, IMO.
Common sense dictates that the Harkles not run down the Queen and the Royal Family …. but this is Harry and Meghan. They won't be able to resist, painting everything with the "poor little us" brush, which I guess is reason number three for publishing the book.
As for Scooby Doo -- wow, what a piece of work. Did an internet search to try and find out just who the heck this "journalist" and "royal expert" was, but all I could come up with was he worked for "Heat," a gossip screamer. The other author, Carolyn Something (oh, yes, Durand) seems to have a better CV, tho writing for "O" magazine seems only somewhat less dubious, to my mind.
Nothing like picking 'em for credibility and gravitas, Harry and Meghan, you two krazy kidz!
In all seriousness, tho ….. this time they are truly careening toward the cliff and the point of no return, IMO. The mere fact they are writing this thing has probably got the Palace going past anger into cold rage. Nothing the Harkles can say in the book, even complimentary (which I doubt) will ever mitigate it. I only hope the Queen and the grey suits finally bring the hammer down hard. No more titles, no more money.
On that cheerful note, hope everyone's having a good day :) /rant off
Hotel; The Meghandorf
Car: Megadillac
Home: MegMansion
Burger: Megurger
Style: Meghanista
Courtesy of a poster at LSA:
Meghannaise Word Salad
I love it!
For the fancy evening version: Word Salad a la Meghannaise
_____________________________
Oh, excellent LOL!
And a very nice summation of the Wallis-Meghan comparisons/differences. The main one that glares out is Wallis had class, and Meghan will never comprehend the concept. Again, great observations.
I love it!
"Their new role is professional victims". Their role doesn't really exist outside the notion of somebody treating them badly
Her family
His family
The Queen
British press
British taxpayers
Palace staff
Canadian taxpayers
Canadian press
Russian pranksters
Donald Trump
Disney who booted Bob Iger
Amricans who don't like her word salads
Hollywood that doesn't give her major roles she deserves
White people who fail to appreciate her WOC credentials
People of colour who are sceptical of her
Cynics who refuse to buy her agenda
Covid-19
Am I missing something?
@CookieShark
I love it!
"Their new role is professional victims". Their role doesn't really exist outside the notion of somebody treating them badly
__________________________________
Nice roundup! Stomach hurting already from laughter today, you all are on fire here today :)
I would say your list is pretty comprehensive, except perhaps for "Expecting me to do that British stiff upper lip thing"
You make a valid point about support she still gets in USA. The only comment I have it is hard to overestimate support HC had been given, including millions of dollars. Hillary has more brains and more experience than MM. We saw the outcome.
Megsy lacks the background, intelligence and most importantly, connection to what people feel to play the game.
May I add Meganite
The exlposive used to blow existing accepted and balanced set of conditions and create controversy, division and chaos. Extremely volatile and not stable under any environment. Difficult to detect, easily disguised as more benign substances like breath of fresh air and much needed fresh blood in a thousand-years old crowned substances. Meganite becomes temporarily stabilized kept in gold when handled with constant praise.
Note: requires considerable financial injections; otherwise becomes liquid and flows to a more favorable environment. Almost impossible to wash off.
Excellent description of Meghan for sure! I am not so glib but there is another substance she produces in copious quantities especially when lying, 'megnure'.
I think the journo was saying in comparison, Harry is easy to read. Harry has been chasing an oxymoron: private celebrity which is just a synonym for anonymous celebrity. Harry's saga with Meg is chasing that dream whereas Wills has it on a silver platter.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
"Royals are the most anonymous celebs in the world — Prince William, for example, lives in obscurity. We don’t know where he buys his clothes, gets his food, even where he goes on holiday. He had a whole job and none of us knew anything about it. As he appeared outside his house on Thursday to clap the NHS, I realised I didn’t even know whether he would like his own front door. All those riches, and all that power and no effort — it is the dream, and Harry is probably already missing it."
Meganure!!!👍👍👍👍👍
@CatEyes and Lt. Nyota
May I add Meganite
The exlposive used to blow existing accepted and balanced set of conditions and create controversy, division and chaos. Extremely volatile and not stable under any environment. Difficult to detect, easily disguised as more benign substances like breath of fresh air and much needed fresh blood in a thousand-years old crowned substances. Meganite becomes temporarily stabilized kept in gold when handled with constant praise.
Note: requires considerable financial injections; otherwise becomes liquid and flows to a more favorable environment. Almost impossible to wash off.
_____________________________________________________
Known to have blown up many a previous relationship, friendships and job opportunities! Main ingredient of meganite -- tungsten (per expert Prince Charles)
(You should go on TV, you'd beat the so-called "comics" all hollow :) … )
Your people!!!
Tansten as main component of meganite is excellent!
An unstable and radioactive isotope of tungsten, previously unknown to science.
Here, I nominate you for Noble Prize!
@Nutty @Rebecca @Magatha Mistie It's an odd sentence but given the context, I took it to mean that Wills is inscrutable. How he lives is obscure and so are his feelings and opinions. Before, Wills came off as the "hesitant" heir to the throne and now he's embracing it. Has he changed? Does he enjoy it? Has he accepted ot? Wills is very sarcastic and I consider him enigmatic.
__________________________________
I agree, @charade. He has always been a very private person, at least in my observations. Self-contained, unlike impulsive Harry. As for hesitant, I would think Charles, and HM, went through the same thing when they became aware that they were/are going to be the monarch.
"Has he changed," I would say yes …. apparently he sowed as many wild oats as many a young man in his 20s, but he eventually came to terms with duty. Can't help but think the topsy-turvy life with Diana had a lot to do with it, especially with his desire for a normal and quiet (as possible) family life with his wife and children.
Reason no. 5,067 why I'm relieved he is the heir, and not Harry.
@Lt. Nyota
Your people!!!
Tansten as main component of meganite is excellent!
An unstable and radioactive isotope of tungsten, previously unknown to science.
Here, I nominate you for Noble Prize!
_____________________________
Aw, shucks, *kicking toe in ground* … I gravel at your feet ;)
The question is - what would the Harkles do to fund themselves if they were cut off financially from the Royal Family entirely?
Meg has an open offer for Real Housewives, I suppose, but what about Harry? He's unemployable.
I suppose they could be professional party guests for the Middle East, Asia, etc. if anyone would have them.
Or just keep spending money and eventually go bankrupt, as Meg's parents both did.
How would the BRF handle a prince who couldn't pay his debts, or refused to?
@Nutty: Meghan wants FAR more money than she and Harry will likely ever be able to make, and jobs on The Real Housewives would never pay the bills she’s going to rack up. And Meghan would consider a Real Housewives gig to be far beneath her. After all, she is said to want to star in major films directed by A-list directors.
With the skills they have that you mentioned, such as professional party guests, and Real Housewives type gigs, it will in no way generate the kind of money that will makes them achieve a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars or billions of dollars, which is the lifestyle scale that Meghan seems to have what passes for her heart set on.
If this marriage goes on much longer, Meghan will quickly Harry into a financial hole deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Your question of How would the BRF handle a prince who couldn't or won’t pay his debts?
When Harry and Meghan reach the point of being in deep, and I mean deep financial straits, Meghan will have created so much wreckage that like a hoarder, she will no longer be able to wade through it and she will dump Harry.
Remember that a typical narcissist behavior is to spend every penny their target has and when the money, or in Meghan’s case, the credit runs out, the narc moves on to their next target. Their marriage will likely break up over finances, and for additional pity factor, Meghan will accuse Harry of being out of control and abusive toward her and the kid(s) due to drugs and alcohol.
I think in the end, and I mean after a scorched earth divorce, the RF will take Harry back, pay at least part of his debt, and let him rehabilitate his life working quietly in Africa or some other safe, but out of the way place, hopefully with custody of Archie and the child they will likely produce in 2021.
Nutty Flavor said…
The question is - what would the Harkles do to fund themselves if they were cut off financially from the Royal Family entirely?
Meg has an open offer for Real Housewives, I suppose, but what about Harry? He's unemployable.
I suppose they could be professional party guests for the Middle East, Asia, etc. if anyone would have them.
Or just keep spending money and eventually go bankrupt, as Meg's parents both did.
How would the BRF handle a prince who couldn't pay his debts, or refused to?
@Nutty: Meghan wants FAR more money than she and Harry will likely ever be able to make, and jobs on The Real Housewives would never pay the bills she’s going to rack up. And Meghan would consider a Real Housewives gig to be far beneath her. After all, she is said to want to star in major films directed by A-list directors.
With the skills they have that you mentioned, such as professional party guests, and Real Housewives type gigs, it will in no way generate the kind of money that will makes them achieve a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars or billions of dollars, which is the lifestyle scale that Meghan seems to have what passes for her heart set on.
If this marriage goes on much longer, Meghan will quickly Harry into a financial hole deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Your question of How would the BRF handle a prince who couldn't or won’t pay his debts?
When Harry and Meghan reach the point of being in deep, and I mean deep financial straits, Meghan will have created so much wreckage that like a hoarder, she will no longer be able to wade through it and she will dump Harry.
_________________________________________________
@HappyDays @Nutty --
Didn't the Queen Mum rack up a lot of debt, so much so that HMTQ had to do some painful accounting and purse-tightening to pay if off? (This is NOT to draw any comparisons, God forbid, other than royal debt).
Given that not-so-distant history, I would think (hope) HM and Prince Charles have some sort of cutoff point with the Harkles. The "Bank of Dad" isn't bottomless, tho doubtless the Harkles think it is.
If this marriage goes on much longer, Meghan will quickly DIG Harry into a financial hole deeper than the Mariana Trench.
@HappyDays @Nutty --
Didn't the Queen Mum rack up a lot of debt, so much so that HMTQ had to do some painful accounting and purse-tightening to pay if off?
@Lt. Nyota Uhura: That certainly rings a bell in my memory. As I recall, HMTQ did pay her mother’s debt off out of her own pocket.
If the Harkles get into deep debt and remain married, I doubt the RF will be so charitable as to volunteer to help them. Leaving Harry and Meghan to sort it out on their own may be a RF strategy to hasten a divorce.
If they do eventually divorce and there is a lot of debt in the aftermath, I still think the royals will make Harry pay at least part of it to teach him lessons about loyalty to family, rushing into marriage, heeding advice from family and friends who care about him, and how to handle money.
He has broken the bond of trust between himself and the RF, so that will never totally be repaired.
`Remember that a typical narcissist behavior is to spend every penny their target has’
I can vouch for that! And if they can’t get their hands on it, they do their level best to deprive you of it by other means.
My narc ex refused to settle the `property matters’ (essential before a Decree Absolute is granted). He thought he’d waste what money I had in fruitless litigation by his being a Litigant in Person, advised by Court staff.
In the end, I refused to engage with his games and decided to wait it out. It took almost 8 years in all, from the time I walked out on him. Eventually, the boot was on the other foot when I was about to be made redundant. The fear of me being able to claim from him meant he accepted my offer to settle. He was much older than me, yet I’m glad I didn’t have to wait for him to become my deceased ex – that would have taken 37 years in all.
It just feels like a bad dream now.
Somehow, I can’t quite see the Harkles taking this course.
Lt. Nyota Uhura said...
@HappyDays @Nutty --
Didn't the Queen Mum rack up a lot of debt, so much so that HMTQ had to do some painful accounting and purse-tightening to pay if off?
@Lt. Nyota Uhura: That certainly rings a bell in my memory. As I recall, HMTQ did pay her mother’s debt off out of her own pocket.
If the Harkles get into deep debt and remain married, I doubt the RF will be so charitable as to volunteer to help them. Leaving Harry and Meghan to sort it out on their own may be a RF strategy to hasten a divorce.
If they do eventually divorce and there is a lot of debt in the aftermath, I still think the royals will make Harry pay at least part of it to teach him lessons about loyalty to family, rushing into marriage, heeding advice from family and friends who care about him, and how to handle money.
From your keyboard to God's ears. I have a brother like Harry. We six children were told "When you're 18 you are either in college or in the military. You will be welcome to come back home to visit, but not to live." And my parents meant it. Brother has drifted aimlessly after a brief stint in the Army (after which he got kicked out for drugs). But he knew better than to try and move back into the family home.
He has broken the bond of trust between himself and the RF, so that will never totally be repaired.
"Indeed you're right."
The hell of it is, they seem to be so charming and affectionate in the beginning. If they changed overnight once you get married, that would be easier to deal with. But they don't -- it seems to be a gradual thing over months, until the victimized partner finally sees the light.
(Had a very jealous, possessive boyfriend once -- not sure he was a narc, tho. I was able to break away without too much hardship -- you should be proud of yourself that you have stayed the warm, kind, smart and witty person you are :) … )
3250 Serra Road. Ugly kitchen everything: cabinets, islands, herringbone woodwork behind the stove?
Master bath with multiple horrible sconces. The woodwork throughout is ghastly and overbearing.
The nicest place is the barn with pine paneling.
Built about 1968, and has never been updated.
The only thing making it a palpable place to live is the wine.
The Harkles can't entertain there because it is so ugly, and celebrity guests who are used to fine living and designer interiors would be horrified and embarrassed for the Harkles.
What we know for sure: the Harkles have no taste.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/media/hollywood-unemployment-coronavirus/
Also re: the original Thomas pics they were originally published with a straight face by the tabloids even though they knew they were set up. The DM only revealed it was a setup AFTER Harry sent a missive (through KP, I think) accusing them of harassing Thomas. Then Meghan, who very well may have been in on the setup, was forced to choose between her dad and her meal ticket (sorry, I mean loving fiancé) and, well, we know which one she picked. Interesting that this is also a bit of a pattern for her, even today, with the Canadian hiking/baby dangling pics where she’s smiling and posing for the camera, then Harry returns from the U.K., puts out another missive, and she’s forced to pretend she was appalled by the whole thing so as not to arouse suspicion, though that boy is THICK, so she probably doesn’t have to work too hard. Also in this instance she probably was actually embarrassed, what with all the people pointing out she doesn’t even know how to hold her own baby. She was probably delighted to have those pics disappear.
Camilla Long
Sunday April 26 2020, 12.01am BST, The Sunday Times
Is this the first time MM’s been officially labelled a ‘narcissist’ by the media?
Great blog. Informative and nicely nuanced.
A lot of posters have caught on to the fact that MM is a archetypal NPD (and probably an ASPD) and have discussed at length all the classic NPD behavours. Illustrated from from their own personal experiences with NPD's. What is missing from the puzzle is one key fact, it sounds like MM is a Landmark graduate. Landmark is one of those "self development" cults that came out of the Werner Erhart EST ecosystem. Landmark has been a really big deal in certain circles in California for the last twenty years. Lots of online material at just how nasty and manipulative these people can be.
The best way to think of Landmark is that it weaponized all the worst traits of NPD's. An NPD will ghost immediately anyone who sees through their lies and fraudulent behavior. A Landmark NPD will just brazen it out. No matter how pubic the showing up their lies is. An NPD will try to control the situation and conversation but once the other party pushes back hard the NPD will walk away and act as if the situation never ever happened. A Landmark NPD will just continue uninterrupted with the outright lies no matter how obvious it is to everyone else that the NPD is lying.
Even to someone with experience of dealing with NPDs for many years dealing with a Landmark NPD is a jaw dropping experience. In a business meeting situation the only way of prevailing is to engage in the most aggressive constant interruption of the NPDs unrelenting torrent of word-salad and mind game tricks. Which is one of the techniques they learn in Landmark. In fact word-salad is one of the defining characteristics of NPD's who have taken Landmark. Where they learn - Words mean whatever I say they mean. At this moment in time. They may have the completely opposite meaning in following moment if I so desire.
A lot of harmless people take Landmark. But an NPD plus Landmark is probably the most dangerous person you will ever run into. Give me a criminal psychopath any day.
Another observation. About Harry. Harry is a walking cliche in the aristo circles he moved in. The Old Etonian functional drug addict. You find the same sort of type in the old money circles in the US. We are talking at least four or five generation old money. Plus its not a typical domestic abuse relationship. Its the typical drug addict codependency situation. Harry is more than a little NPD. Like pretty much all drug addicts. When you seen one drug addict relationship you have seen them all.
This is not going to end well.
Very interesting info. I was peripherally introduced to EAT in the 80s. Creepy s**t.
There's also NXIVM that she has been allegedy tied to through Bronfmans.
"NXIVM conducted "Intensives" classes for 12 hours daily for 16 days. One cited price was $7,500.[85][86] Classes were divided into modules. In one module, "Relationship Sourcing", students were instructed to explore the benefits they would receive in the event of a partner's sudden death. Another module, "Dracula and his ghouls", reportedly discussed psychopaths and their followers. Other module titles included "Best People; Perfect World" and "The Heroic Struggle".[87]" (Wikipedia)
It's kind of . . Scientology Lite?
Anyone else?
I don't know what this means.
I understand it to mean that the writer knows so little about PW that she doesn't even know his opinion on something he assuredly uses every day (e.g., his front door). I don't take this to mean inscrutable (i.e., something we can't know), just something we don't know because, presumably, PW's so private.
I wonder if it will be another one like the horrible, almost frightening, Christmas photo of Archie. The Harkles are running out of ideas for PR, so its obvious that they are grasping for any positive PR now, and they are using their son to do it.
They've already released the photo of Harry holding Archie in Canada, so what's the big deal? It's just another photo. Sounds like bad timing to me, when they are in the middle of a lawsuit against the press and a pandemic. Wouldn't it be more effective to put Archie's photo in the book, hoping to drum up sales?
Does anybody really care what Archie looks like anymore? I think that ship has sailed.
The timing works for both British and US Vogue. Babaii has regularly worked with US vogue.
This also WOULD have coincided with the Met Gala (first Monday in May)
And although i would probably never either bother to read the book, if i did, i'd wait until the local library got a copy and i could read it for free. Would never pay money for it.
Seeing people post about MM and public office in the US makes me sick to my stomach. it will NEVER happen. Period.
@Henrietta the DM doesn’t always do a great job editing articles, so I’m assuming that the writer meant “lock” his own front door.
You've lost me! Nutty was commenting on part of Camilla Long's article in the Sunday Times that Rebecca retrieved for us from behind the paywall. Do you think that sentence in the Times may have had a typo in it?
I've always considered the London Times to be the gold standard of British newspapers.
The DM often has typos but I agree it would be surprising if the LT did. Disregard my thoughts on that LOL
They also couldn't do an international book tour during the COVID lockdown, and many people have said that restrictions on travel will be eased by then, before the second wave of COVID cases that many predict will happen in the fall.
The Sussex behavior continues to confound, if they are planning on releasing photos of Archie soon. While it wouldn't surprise me, as it appears to be their only card left to play, it makes no sense unless you share their greedy, selfish way of thinking. Archie was born last year. Since then stories of MM editing a magazine/sponsoring a fashion capsule collection have been shoved down our throats. I think she did not get the adulation she expected for it. PH starts Travalyst, whatever that is. Rumbles of an upcoming charity foundation for them. OK. The Christmas card debacle ensues, poor Archie is just not that cute (in my opinion) but what is even weirder is the "picture kill."
Why did they need to "kill" the image of their own card? Fans often photoshop pictures of celebrities online, that's not new. When the DM ran "is it photoshopped?" story, the picture kill order ran soon after. Why? Even if it was photoshopped, who cares? It appears for some reason H&M got truly spooked after the suggestion that their e-card was photoshopped.
Since January, they have alleged that the RF is toxic, the UK is toxic, they were staying in Canada, oops now they aren't, she is shredding her father to pieces in the press, by the way they are NEVER EVER speaking to certain publications again! Plus Archewell! And the Elephant movie! Now a tell-all has been threatened.
Meanwhile the virus has hit with a mighty wallop, changing our lives instantly. I suppose they are a welcome distraction from Covid, but how can they think anyone would care about seeing pictures of Archie? Do they have no shame?
I think that's possible. She piggybacks on other events often to get the most out of her PR. Unfortunately for her, it almost always fails.
Warning: There is one date that is given incorrectly and none of it makes sense unless the date is 19 October 2016 (not November). Remember Meghan says they met in London in June 2016, but let slip in the Vanity Fair magazine that it was actually May 2016 in Toronto (when she was still an item with Corey - bad optics).
https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/meghan-markle-unpopular-opinions-thread-pt-2.2215591/page-3620#post-57171316
Wow! I hadn’t heard of Landmark (in the UK it’s a heritage organisation that preserves special buildings & uses them as holiday lets) but it sounds as if you’re on to something there.
I’ve always thought that Duchess Henry was something over and above the common-or-garden narcissists who’ve done their utmost to screw me over. She could teach any one of them a thing or two. We’ve looked at the possibility of mental illness but haven’t got very far with that. `Cult’ has been mentioned, mainly in connection with Doris (sorry, Doria – but she looks like a Doris to me).
One of my `crazy thoughts’ just dropped into my mind in the last hour (These are the thoughts/insights/speculations that seem totally beyond reality yet frequently come about. A previous one, which gave me a nasty turn, was realising that Meggalina had her eye on the White House – well before I’d seen it in the papers).
How about this for any idea? `Meghan for Queen’- could it be closer to the truth than any of us imagines – what do you think?
Not Queen Consort but even the actual monarch? Daft isn’t it? Or is it? It is completely outlandish to us because we know how the system works. We’ve assumed so far that she’s too dim/too slapdash in her research to understand it but perhaps she does know. She feigned ignorance of the RF – but I can’t believe she doesn’t know what the score is. Perhaps she assumes it doesn’t matter as rules don’t apply to her.
The Law of Succession to her may just be one of the stuffy archaisms that she plans to `modernise’ by driving a coach and horses through it...
How might she plan it?
She seems to bear a great deal of malice towards all 3 royal ladies with precedence over her – Catherine, Camilla and the Queen herself.
Where would she go from here?
With the Queen, she may be content to let nature take its course.
She knows Charles is weak. She has been observed acting seductively around him. Is she hoping to break up his marriage and take Camilla’s place? Then rule him?
If Dan Wootton is to be believed, she’s already had a good go at destabilising William’s marriage, although she’d find William difficult to manipulate, were she to usurp Catherine.
That brings us to Hopeless. Does she imagine that she can engineer his accession to the throne, over and above William and the little Cambridges, perhaps by fomenting a popular uprising? Certainly, if H ever got his backside near St Edward’s Chair she'd shove him out of way. She’d rule the roost, even if only to take central place on the balcony. And she'd expect H to pledge his fealty to her in the Abbey at her Coronation.
Pure fantasy – but I wouldn't put anything past her.
You read it here first.
Now Archie's pics and Scobie's book! This drama never lets up.
Strange that they have to announce pics of Archie are coming soon. I guess they are gauging public interest. That CW Special had awful ratings. Very embarrassing! Maybe they want to see if Archie can help them bounce back from irrelevance.
"Meanwhile the virus has hit with a mighty wallop, changing our lives instantly. I suppose they are a welcome distraction from Covid, but how can they think anyone would care about seeing pictures of Archie? Do they have no shame?"
I agree. While people did likely expect to see a picture of Louis since W&K have set that expectation about their children's birthdays, I honestly wondered if they'd release one this year for the same reason.
Nearly 21,000 people have died of COVID-19 in UK hospitals. That count doesn't include those dying in care homes---the Financial Times estimated the overall UK death toll from the virus is currently over 45,000. Is a child's birthday really all that important to anyone but the child's family in the midst of that? But W&K managed to pull it off quite skillfully by including the rainbow paint theme for the NHS. I do wonder what they'll do for Charlotte's birthday (which comes a few days before Archie's reported birthday. Maybe the reason for the announcement?) Having done the rainbows for Louis and the two clapping videos W&K likely have some wiggle room for Charlotte's birthday photo. I don't think Harry and Meagan do for Archie's. It's going to seem self-indulgent and tone-deaf no matter what (although diehard fans likely will celebrate "King Archie's" big day.)
RF survived Diana's drivel by Morton. It will certainly survive Meg's fantasy incunabula. I can even predict what it will say -
a great love painted in the stars,
nothing but support from the Queen and Charles,
certain "grey men" in the palace plotting from the day one because they objected to Megsy's colour,
some nasty family members not loving caring Meg because she wanted to do things differently, nasty British rejecting Meg,
careful hint of the rift between the brothers,
nasty press lies,
heroic efforts to do charity work,
love for the child and desire to protect him from the nasty press,
"we were forced to leave",
Diana, Diana, Diana
dash for freedom,
endless happiness ever after,
Harry painted as a hero with broken heart,
Megsy painted as a human and saint at the same time.
Carefully edited Megsy's family history
Artfully arranged Harry's past
Lets see if I am right.