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Open post: Today's legal hearing in Duchess Meghan vs Mail on Sunday

Let's discuss today's High Court hearing.

If you're just joining us now, the Daily Mirror live-blogged the event, and Joshua Rozenberg, a QC and commenter on British law, also weighed in on his Twitter account.


Comments

Anonymous said…
@Lt. Nyoman Uhuru

”...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.”

You would think so! Can they do anything to stop or delay its publication? I would have thought that the Mexit negotiations would include restrictions on this kind of self-serving tripe that could well do serious damage to the Royal Family.
xxxxx said…
@Lucy
Scooby Doo has been a loyal and devoted, their favorite fawning flunky, so he gets to write the book. Sure he is a lightweight but he has a co-writer who looks very competent. Carolyn Durand has been around and will serve as the adult in the room. You can count on Malibu Megsy to pull rank on her and do her best to demand and demand, in order to make life a living hell for her.

Omid Scobie has been dubbed Meghan's 'mouthpiece' and Carolyn Durand writes about the Royals for Elle
Just to add a little levity to a day of Scobie book news, here's my favorite photo of HMTQ and PP:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/511932682632176866/



Fairy Crocodile said…
@Lucy

I understand why Charles called her tangsten. She just doesn't let go:

'nobody wants to give her roles because she is a bad actress - she finds somebody who hires her because "she is biracial too and we bonded"
' she keeps dropping man to switch to a more promising candidate and when Harry is pushed towards her she uses all she learned in bed to keep him
' Palace staff tries to educate her about royal ways - "I will do my own thing"
' Kate and Wills take exception to her treatment of staff - "I will do my own thing"
' Queen shows her some favor - "I am bigger than the monarchy"
' Press points at their hypocrisy - "Press is racist"
' Brits begin to turn against them - "Brits are racists"
' Being royal proves more challenging than she thought - "We are bigger than royals"
' They are advised against breaking the rules - "I will set my own rules"
' They are advised against abrupt exit - "FY, I will do my own thing"
' They are advised to keep quiet for a while - "FY, I will set my own rules"
' They are advised against playing R card - "Brits are racists anyway, FO"
' They are advised against the press court case - "FY, we are the wronged side here"
' They are instructed to drop "Royal" - "FY, we are royal and we will use it when we see
fit"

Can you see the pattern? People like that can achieve a lot because they never follow rules, don't care about anybody else, but only until they run against a "super tangsten" individual who basically just mills them into dust. Megsy's problem is she is prepared to destroy everything to achieve what she wants at the moment, however small and ill-defined her goal is. That may be a good tactics but a very bad strategy.
'

xxxxx said…
Fairy Crocodile said...

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......


Grey Men would be Queen's courtiers, not Charles or his people.

Grey Man ELF will be hinted at. Enough to be smeared by speculation. ELF was about as close to Hapless as one can get. He was his image enhancer and projects coordinator. He invented the Invivctus Games which Hapless dismissed in his one-minute-by-the-doorway speech five weeks ago as in, "This years games cancelled due to virus....ummmm.... Gotta go"

Even ELF could not talk the "cnt-struck" Harry down from Megsy's Botswana charms. (pure speculation by me)
lizzie said…
I don't know that Carolyn Durand will act as the adult in the room.

About H&M's food deliveries she said in Oprah mag https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a32171837/prince-harry-meghan-markle-coronavirus-meal-delivery/

--Her mom, who is a frontline worker herself, had mentioned that they were in great need of support during this unprecedented time. (Since when is a yoga teacher a "frontline worker?")

--Project Angel Food which was established more than 30 years ago, originally to deliver meals to those suffering in silence of malnutrition from HIV and AIDS. Now, the organization aims to provide food to anyone battling critical illnesses. It's an issue near to the Duke and Duchess, particularly Prince Harry as he carries on his mother Princess Diana’s legacy in the HIV and AIDS arena...(Yeah, Diana, AIDS, sure. Plus the writing--- an issue near to? Did she mean to say "near to the hearts of...?" deliver meals to those suffering in silence of malnutrition from HIV and AIDS? Thought for a minute the silence caused the malnutrition.

Plus the article rehashed Meghan's soup kitchen stuff yet again (LA as a child and Toronto)

On Archewell she wrote in Oprah mag https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a32066650/meghan-markle-prince-harry-archewell-name/

---One other intriguing area mentioned in the documents cites a potential launch of a wellness website, which could capitalize on the groundbreaking work Harry and Meghan have done previously in the mental health arena (What groundbreaking work?)

---Could we see some type of website similar to Duchess Meghan’s wildly popular project The Tig? Time will tell. (Wildly popular? Really?)
Ava C said…
I don't know why the Harkles think releasing a photo of Archie will help. The country is not invested in him. Something that - like everything else in this mess - is entirely their own fault. They turned his arrival, which should have been a joyful national event - into a tacky mismanaged PR exercise.

We have fond memories of the days we first saw George, Charlotte and Louis on those familiar hospital steps, with their parents who recognised the need to be gracious and to share those precious early moments before they went off for some well-deserved privacy.

Archie's arrival made me feel like a working-class relation invited to a grand party only to be told to work in the kitchen. When I'd helped to pay for the party in the first place! They kept him away from us to sell to the highest bidder. Well let them get on with it. They will pay for that mistake. Something tells me sooner rather than later.

Meghan must be well through Harry's fortune by now. She's running out of time. Look at Prince Charles' face in that photo hugging Louis. He's truly realising what really matters. The family who stayed and are a credit to him, rather than the family who left and are a disgrace (little Archie remaining blameless of course).
Fairy Crocodile said…
@Ava C

Archie is just a kid. He may be cute (or not), somebody will certainly drool over him, but that is it. He is simply insignificant in a great scheme of things. Being Diana's grandkid is not enough to capture the public attention, unless he does something outrageous. Who even remembers the Christmas pic now?

Charlotte, George and Louis are different. Not only their parents very cleverly maintain their connection to the Brtis (we are all one family and one nation), they tactfully and softly remind us that the kids are the heir, the spare and potentially, the Princess Royal. They will determine the course the Monarchy takes in the future.

Archie's significance is simply not comparable, whatever Meg's fans may think.
Maneki Neko said…
Writing as Maneki Neko – usual long time lurker, first time poster. I think we are in for a great ‘spectacle de merde’ as Elle says (love that phrase of yours, Elle!). And this time the merde might well be about to hit the fan. So many posts I agree with! I don’t think she could ever be in the race for President (too lightweight) but she might try. On the other hand, Brad Pitt played Dr Anthony Fauci in a Saturday night Live sketch – this sort of thing is more her line. Playing Michelle Obama, perhaps? Although she’d have to ‘blacken up’!
Tomorrow will bring another episode of the court room drama. I don’t think any amount of fluttering her [false] eyelashes at the judge/QC will help. In fact a good QC will wipe the floor with her. We’ll see.
BTW, and apologies if this has been mentioned elsewhere before, have you seen the little round photo on The Charlatan Duchess blog? Taken at the engagement, with Harry and MM in her white bathrobe/belted coat. Look quickly and it’s MM but enlarge/look closely, it’s Yoko Ono’s head superimposed on MM.
First time and not sure how to use hyperlinks, emojis and a photo on this (a poster kindly explained recently but it would take too long to find).
Maneki Neko
@Maneki Neko,

Welcome! Yes, we have a lot of wonderful posters here great insights. Glad you joined the group!
xxxxx said…
@Lizzie
You just might be right about Carolyn Durand
Here is her body of work for Elle Mag
https://www.elle.com/author/221537/carolyn-durand/

Going by the Elle titles, she is a card carrying Malibu Two apparatchik, pouring on the refined sugar.
Glowworm said…
Hi Maneki, welcome. To get your name, photo, etc. just:
Go to your comment, click on the word ‘unknown’( shown in blue). A screen will appear and you just click on ‘edit my profile’.
Glowworm said…
@WBBM, can you repost that hysterical actress saying “handbag”? I want to save it....thnx! xo 🐛
Lt. Nyota Uhura said…
Rebecca said...
@Lt. Nyoman Uhuru

”...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.”

You would think so! Can they do anything to stop or delay its publication? I would have thought that the Mexit negotiations would include restrictions on this kind of self-serving tripe that could well do serious damage to the Royal Family.
________________________________________________

Good question -- you would think so, but they seem to be on a "damn the torpedoes" kind of trajectory (not that they haven't been all along).

HMTQ seems to have been incrementally depriving them of more here, more there, a kind of iron fist in a velvet glove approach, but softly-softly, catchee monkey, not to mix too many metaphors :)

I'm guessing (hoping) she surprises them (unpleasantly) with something new once the book comes out, regardless of what it says.

The main problem the Harkles have caused is the failure to consult HM or even inform her of their plans. This is Not Done. We shall see what we shall see.

MusicDSPGuy said…
@Wild Boar Battle-maid said...

Landmark (as well as EST) have been active in the UK for decades. I remember an article in the Guardian about them maybe 10 years ago. Would be below most peoples radar.

I only knew about them because I had a friend who "collects" cults for amusement and had tried them out about 20 years ago. It was he who gave me the hints and guide as to how to deal with a Landmark trained NPD who I ran into during a business project and who turned out to have created a very elaborate hoax that had been going on for 8 years. I am well used to dealing with con artists but Landmark + NPD adds a whole new dimension when it comes to fraudulent enterprises. Took years to extract myself from that particular swamp But I did learn the fine detail of the techniques Landmark teach. Manipulation of the most dangerous and insidious type in the hands of a NPD.

As for MM's Game Plan given as she grew up in LA in The Biz I would not think it is anything very sophisticated or cunning. Think of the plot line for the most hackneyed minor cable channel / streaming service low budget two camera shoot soap/drama and that is about the intellectual level of her scheming or plotting. People who grow up in The Biz really do think in TV/movie plot line cliches. I am talking Talent here, Crafts tend to be pretty normal in my experience. Well at least by LA standards anyway.

I dont think Brits understand just how utterly detached from reality the world MM grew up in is. The best way of explaining it is to people who did not know LA and SoCal in the 1980's and 1990's the movies Repo Man and The Big Lebowski look like completely off the wall fantastical films. To those of us who were there, they are basically fairly accurate documentaries of a time and a place. No flying cars but I have personally met in real life people just like pretty much every character in both films. I may also have run into people just like pretty much every character in Withnail and I over the years but that is not quite in the same league. Home Counties / London weirdness will never ever be in the same league as LA/SoCAl weirdness. No contest.



Maneki Neko said…
@JocelynsBellinis and @Glowworm Thank you for the welcome :). I will try your advice re. pic/emojis etc tomorrow.

Maneki Neko
Maneki Neko said…
(Profile edited, I think!). Thank you @Glowworm
Anonymous said…
I find this comments about markle running or office absolutely ridiculous. I agree with nutty. Politics is about coalitions. The GOP would make mincemeat of her past. The DNC wouldn’t put any money or organization into anyone who has that flawed a past. There are a number of exceptionally qualified Democratic politicians (women) who have the education and smarts to be appropriate running mates. You don’t pick a has been actress who has not established herself on ANY level with local or state politics to be a running mate. You pick someone who can deliver votes, which means you have someone from a state that matters in terms of electoral college votes.

This is why California, Texas, and Florida are so important. Big electoral college states. None of the politicians in California would even give her a glance. She needs to pay her dues, and she will never do that because she CAN’T. I think that physically she is unable to focus on one thing for anytime longer than two weeks. She hated the meet and greets with the British public. THAT is what makes a politician successful.

If. he can’t even make ratings on an obscure cable channel, why would anyone give a single second to thinking she would have a viable career as a politician? It would be like appointing, oh, I don’t know, another no-name woman with a lot of sexual charisma who speaks in word salad and whose name sounds like Parah Salin, who at least had some pre-political experience, although being the mayor of a small town (population 11,000) and the fledgling governor for two years doesn’t qualify her for anything but tabloid television, as events have proven.
Lt. Nyota Uhura said…
MusicDSPGuy said...
@Wild Boar Battle-maid said...

Landmark (as well as EST) have been active in the UK for decades. I remember an article in the Guardian about them maybe 10 years ago. Would be below most peoples radar.

I only knew about them because I had a friend who "collects" cults for amusement and had tried them out about 20 years ago. It was he who gave me the hints and guide as to how to deal with a Landmark trained NPD who I ran into during a business project and who turned out to have created a very elaborate hoax that had been going on for 8 years. I am well used to dealing with con artists but Landmark + NPD adds a whole new dimension when it comes to fraudulent enterprises. Took years to extract myself from that particular swamp But I did learn the fine detail of the techniques Landmark teach. Manipulation of the most dangerous and insidious type in the hands of a NPD.

As for MM's Game Plan given as she grew up in LA in The Biz I would not think it is anything very sophisticated or cunning. Think of the plot line for the most hackneyed minor cable channel / streaming service low budget two camera shoot soap/drama and that is about the intellectual level of her scheming or plotting. People who grow up in The Biz really do think in TV/movie plot line cliches. I am talking Talent here, Crafts tend to be pretty normal in my experience. Well at least by LA standards anyway.

I dont think Brits understand just how utterly detached from reality the world MM grew up in is. The best way of explaining it is to people who did not know LA and SoCal in the 1980's and 1990's the movies Repo Man and The Big Lebowski look like completely off the wall fantastical films. To those of us who were there, they are basically fairly accurate documentaries of a time and a place. No flying cars but I have personally met in real life people just like pretty much every character in both films. I may also have run into people just like pretty much every character in Withnail and I over the years but that is not quite in the same league. Home Counties / London weirdness will never ever be in the same league as LA/SoCAl weirdness. No contest.
__________________________________________

Hi MusicDSPGuy -- not sure which is your comment and which is WBBMs, so I just copy-pasted all --

But this is a real home truth -- I dont think Brits understand just how utterly detached from reality the world MM grew up in is. …… Home Counties / London weirdness will never ever be in the same league as LA/SoCAl weirdness. No contest.

Believe you me, those particular California types are alien species to the rest of us right here in the U.S.



They say that Portland is weird, but it is nowhere is as weird as LA.
This is a video MM shot when she was a senior in high school. If I had behaved that way, my parents would have locked me in the house until I was 40! But it also shows you how she grew up in LA, and it is really all you need to know about MM. Her focus even then was men, money and fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Zkezjc6Js

Kind of stomach-turning, isn't it?
Starry said…
@JocelynsBellinis

Re: Video of young Meg driving in LA.

Yeah. She's always acting. She's a shattered soul.

Watching that led to this link, a Megs Mercherama in Toronto pre-Harry that I hadn't seen before. I lived in Toronto for many years, so I found it particularly vomitous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrrC3HkJMzM
@JocelynBellinis

That video....Little did Ninaki Priddy (sp?) know that Markle would end up pushing the eject button on her.
@starry,

That was really bad. She has such an obnoxious attitude! She always stands like a sumo wrestler with feet wide apart. Does she think that's sexy? It just makes those chicken legs look worse.

I have to admit that I liked the black and white checked coat at the end of the clip, though!
Back by popular demand- here you are Glowworm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyuoUwxCLMs

It's the great Dame Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest exclaiming about one of the characters who, as baby, had been abandoned in a `handbag' (or large reticule) in the `coat room' at `Victoria Station, the Brighton line'.

It's from the classic film of 1952 - it has been remade more recently with Dame Judi Dench as Lady B.

ie He has very dubious social origins - and no relatives, so Lady B can't fit in to her concept of Society.

If you lose the link, just search for Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell.

Hope this helps.
Fifi LaRue said…
Rustiee here.

Markle's nose was normal in the car video so why in the h3LL did she trade it in for a Bob Hope ski nose? Why? Why?
The Toronto promo for The Tig was interesting in that Markle was dressed appropriately, especially the split hem Eileen & Frank sweatshirt paired with navy pants and an open cardigan. She looked good. That begs the question of her mental stability. Why would someone who once knew how to dress now makes sure everyone can see the outline of her undies on extremely formal occasions? Really? That desperate for attention, no matter what? Why? Why? She must somehow equate high end designer brands with good taste, and that ain't so. Fashion coming down the runway is most often unwearable, and meant for only parts of it to be copied, and made for Pret A Porter. And that ug-ga-ly house they are renting for $75,000/month just further attests to their stupidity.
MusicDSPGuy had an interesting comment about Meghan thinking in simple scene and plot lines. She's not smart enough to see beyond the current scene or plot line.
Did anyone see Saturday Night Live yesterday? Check out what Colin Jost said in Weekend Update — he shaded Harry hard. It felt a bit pointed and he’s a head writer so I felt like there was maybe something there and that we thankfully won’t see these 2 on SNL. They really have missed an opportunity to do something like John Krasinski but he doesn’t get papped much... bc he doesn’t call them and stays at home during quarantine. I feel like they must be super toxic if there are no opportunities like that or with a late night host or a benefit concert or whatever for them — the demand for content is so high.

Also randomly I was listening to a podcast and they described a particular murder investigation as “the biggest @$&#-up in the U.K. since Meghan Markle” — it just seems weird those particular podcasters have an opinion on her at all, so it just seems to me like the negative opinion is quickly spreading in the United States among those who previously had a favorable/neutral opinion, and there’s only so many ppl you can gag... right??
Fifi LaRue said…
Rustiee here: Standing with legs apart is de regeuer for actresses and clothing models. They must show off thigh gap, that is the space between the upper inner thighs. There must be a gap of at least an inch, more gap the better.
@MusicDSPGuy:

I've had a good read about Landmark Worldwide and their courses, it's very obviously son of EST (Erhard Seminars Training).

One of my colleagues raved about EST back in the '80s - I'd describe her as pushy and not particularly likeable, yet somehow she got on in our organisation. She tried recommending EST to me but my reaction was `I should bloody coco!'.

From what I heard then about EST I decided that it might not be a cult in the accepted sense but anybody who attempts to control the bladders and bowels of others, by denying them toilet breaks, is warped and abusive.

Landmark may, reluctantly, permit course members to have comfort breaks but there's not a great deal of difference, as far as I can see.

Reading through the synopsis of their 3-day course, I could see how the promises of Landmark (EST Reborn) would appeal to the Dreadful Duchess - all that talk of `power' and achieving the impossible. Worryingly, their methods seem to work - even the sceptics who go as objective reporters seem to end up by being won round to the `benefits'.

It's easy to see how someone with NPD who follows this route could end up as a Marklesque figure. As you say, extremely dangerous. It certainly could explain her. If ordinary folk don't know what's happening to them when an `entry-level' narcissist strikes, what hope is there where they are assailed by a higher-level one with Landmark training?

Experience with an organisation like EST, Landmark or Scientology looks as if it could be the `extra' factor that could explain her particular level of toxicity.
Rustiee- re the `Bob Hope nose':

Whether it is the result of plastic surgery ( surely nobody would choose to look like that?) or whether she's on the way to `saddle nose' is debatable.

Saddle nose is the collapse of the bridge. It can be caused by several medical conditions but I infer that the majority opinion here is that it may be the result of cocaine use/abuse. Not that we have firm evidence, it's pure speculation...
Magatha Mistie said…
@Sandie

Thank you, high praise indeed, much appreciated.
Magatha Mistie said…
@Rustiee

That ain’t thigh gap, there’s room for a pony, & rider between those knees...
Unknown said…
Thanks @Sunshinedaydream for pointing those jokes out. Here's the link for Nutties and the joke starts at the 10 second mark:

https://youtu.be/53axs1fLG5k

Colin Jost's Joke: "A popular food item among people staying at home is whipped strawberry milk. Incidentally, whipped strawberry milk is also Prince Harry's drag name."
re Meg's Mercherama in Toronto pre-Harry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrrC3HkJMzM

..................

Yep, puke-making - it's all about MeMeMeMeME! Toronto doesn't get a look-in.

So artificial.

As for the comments - how many might be Megs herself?
Unknown said…
I think Meg keeps her legs apart hoping to create visual balance trying to emulate a column shape. Her torso is relatively wide on her frame and so when she stands normally, she's a short, very dramatic shaped V. No matter how thin she gets, she appears wide.

I think she came up with this idea herself but doesn't understand how vulgar it is to walk and stand like that.
@Magatha,

I agree. That's way too wide for a thigh gap stance. I've never seen a model stand with legs so wide apart. It's not sexy at all. Maybe if you're about to give birth standing up...

That video is the later version of MM driving around LA as a teenager. I loved in that video, when they waved at Tiffanys, when Cartier was right next door. Young MM didn't know as much as she thought she did, but she's learned a little bit more about jewelry now (not the tiny, cheap stuff she wears, but the royal jewels, which she was itching to get her hands on).


@Wildboar,

I'm sure that she spent her weekends going to the open air market and had a favorite butcher. She got all of those ideas, and the restaurant tips, from the chef boyfriend. Notice the huge plug for the Soho House?



@Charade:

Once, when a teenager, I rode a horse that was rather larger than I was used to.

I was very stiff the next day and my mother really went for me:

`Can't you walk with your legs together? It doesn't look very nice!'
@WildBoar,

That sounds like me after the first day of ski season. I'd walk like an old cowboy! Not graceful at all.
Nutty Flavor said…
Good morning, all, and thanks for the good discussion of the Sussex book overnight.

It seems very likely that Meg will have the final right of approval over the information in the Scobie book, which makes him a glorified ghostwriter.

Meg loves to think she knows best, so I'm sure she will offer many helpful suggestions for the book's content.

The photo choices for the book will be interesting, too. Agency/ pap photos, or "personal" Sussex photos, never-before-published, which is another revenue stream for Meg? Probably some combination of both.

Maneki Neko said…
Re MM running for president: apart from the idea being the joke of the century, let's not forget that MM has basically been out of the US for abt 10 years (Toronto, London). I'm sure she's kept herself informed abt what was happening in her country but surely a presidential candidate would need to have lived in the US to have a solid grasp of the situation? She doesn't even have any political experience...
Maneki Neko said…
Meant 'would need to have lived in the US in the past few years etc.
Let's hope too that she stays out of UK long enough to rule out UK citizenship - I don't trust her not to come come sneaking back.
Maneki Neko said…
@Wild Boat Battle-maid I don't think she'd have the brass neck to come back to this toxic, r*cist country but in any case, trust me, she wouldn't pass the Life in the UK test. She knows nothing abt it, so is ineligible for UK citizenship on that count.
We thought she wouldn't dare show her face at the March engagements but she executed the Revenge of the Green caterpillar.

You're right about not passing the Citizenship test though!
Whoops:

`Revenge of the Green Caterpillar' (title for a Hammer Horror film?)
TheTide said…
Hey @Fairy Crocodile not trying to be the grammar police :) but it's actually tungsten as in tungsten steel (not tangsten).

Where did the $75,000/month rent figure come from? That is palace sized rent, not typical LA/Malibu (partner grew up in that area). $15k-$25k a month is, though. Have no doubt that is what Prince Charles is forking out to these two grifters.

Cheers everyone to another crazy day in the "Harry&Meghan Sh#tshow".
The Tide said to Hey @Fairy Crocodile not trying to be the grammar police :) but it's actually tungsten as in tungsten steel (not tangsten).

You are correct. Charles called her tungsten like the steel for her strength etc, and it wasn’t implied in a complimentary way.
NeutralObserver said…
From the Toronto Sun, a conservative leaning daily in Canada. The writer thinks the 'five friends' from the People magazine article will be called to testify. It's a given that Megs will feel no compunctions about lying under oath. It will be interesting if her 'friends,' if they're real, have the same ethical standards.


https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/blizzard-harry-and-meghan-cringeworthy-as-they-reinvent-themselves
TheTide said…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meghan-the-narcissist-gets-her-day-in-court-but-shes-too-blind-to-see-shes-already-lost-3fl0cxnr6

Meghan the narcissist gets her day in court, but she’s too blind to see she’s already lost
Camilla Long
Sunday April 26 2020, 12.01am BST, The Sunday Times

The 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.
Harry and Meghan in early March, carrying out their last function as royals. The duke may regret leaving that life behind
Harry and Meghan in early March, carrying out their last function as royals. The duke may regret leaving that life behind
AFP/GETTY

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.


TheTide said…
2/2

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.

On a (somewhat) unrelated note - this is an important week for the Cambridges, as they celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary on Wednesday and Princess Charlotte's 5th birthday on Saturday. Who wants to bet that the Harkles spent the weekend thinking of ways to upstate both occasions?
Lt. Nyota Uhura said…
Barbara from Montreal said...
On a (somewhat) unrelated note - this is an important week for the Cambridges, as they celebrate their 9th wedding anniversary on Wednesday and Princess Charlotte's 5th birthday on Saturday. Who wants to bet that the Harkles spent the weekend thinking of ways to upstate both occasions?
_________________________________________

Oh, heck, I'll throw in a nickel ;)

The question is *how* will they do it -- they've already played the Archie card ("Stay tuned! Photo is coming for 1st birthday!) ("Which is not till May 6, but we had to do something to upstage Prince Louis! We're running out of options!")

Sandie said…
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2020042788754/prince-harry-mental-health-platform-headfit/?utm_medium=social_media&campaign=hellouk&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2qiwGaxzDBAmhykvlW_D34MMxMWYOizrmP9LAxq936beAo_-YIU2afh_8#Echobox=1587982690

This is a pre-Meghan Royal Foundation project that Harry was working on, and obviously one he took with him when he split from the Cambridges.

What struck me is that in the video (same wall in the background) there is more effort in how he presents himself (dressed smartly and standing) and it just comes across more professional ... but all the moving of the head starts to look like a twitch!

am surprised that Hello magazine seems to be the go-to media for communication, especially as this is a 100% British initiative and Harry's only link is actually through the Royal Foundation.

Watch the video ... does anyone believe that Harry is at peak physical and mental health fitness?
lucy said…
he actually looks and sounds more "with it" than previous videos but he is someone that would not be my go-to for mental health nor would I even consider any program he represented

kinda like an obese person pedaling weight loss plan,after three years
Sadly, this looks like an old video:

"Prince Harry visited the Ministry of Defence in central London in October 2017, to kickstart the partnership between the government department and The Royal Foundation. He also appeared in a video to introduce HeadFIT last year ahead of its official launch.

For more information, visit headfit.org. "

My emphasis. Same video?
Portcitygirl said…
https://www.tatler.com/article/meghan-markle-hires-princess-dianas-former-lawyer

Found this on Tatler.
xxxxx said…
https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1254676342659969024
Tweet from James Woods with a photo of---

Harry and what looks like a Yoko-Megan mashup ...Both walking down the street with Y-M striding ahead and Harry following
Fairy Crocodile said…
@The Tide and Rasberry Raffle
Apologies if I miss some finer aspects and make mistakes - English is not my first language and my phone has opinions of his own re grammar. I understood Charles's comment as a reference to tunsten as an extremely hard and inflexible metal in itself. I missed his reference to tungsten steel. Anyway, I did not take it as a compliment. I used to have a ring made of it which came with a warning that if I got the size wrong and it gets stuck on my finger I will need special tools to take it off! I thought it was a very fitting analogy for MM. Apologies again for my mistakes!
Jdubya said…
Seeing people post about EST training really brought back some memories. during the heyday of EST i met Werner Erhard quite randomly. I was working part time at a local airport, that did flight training, aircraft rental, charters. It was a second job, i wanted to get my pilots license. Werner came in and took flight lessons. He was "different". He had this presence, was fairly intent. I had only vaguely heard of EST and read up on it a bit at the time. His flight instructor said he was an unusual student. Fast forward - his lessons came to a close, he left the building and then - headlines:

As the founder of a human-potential movement known as "est," which stood for Erhard Seminars Training, Erhard in the 1970s and 1980s attracted hundreds of thousands of followers who sat through grueling sixty-hour "training" sessions that promised personal transformation and profound insights into human relationships.
But Werner Erhard was eventually plagued by problems and controversy, culminating in horrifying allegations, which he hotly disputed, that he had forced his wife to live apart from her children and sexually abused two of his daughters. Erhard also became the focus of renewed charges that his est movement had taken on some of the trappings of a cult. At the same time, the Internal Revenue Service persisted in claims that Erhard's est-related companies owed millions of dollars in back taxes. A bitter divorce battle between Erhard and his second wife further helped to fuel speculation that est's approach to personal transformation was both cruel and hollow. Finally, in early 1991, Erhard left the United States, preferring the solitude of self-imposed exile to the glare of harsh publicity.
xxxxx said…
Harry doesn't need any new agey headFIT. He needs three hours daily martial arts classes and he'll be good in four weeks. He'll get his ass kicked in them, which will set his mind right. This will reset him. Then given time he'll be winning. Lord knows LA is full of such instructors. But Megsy likes H weak and aimless. Easy to be milked of that Duchy money.
Fifi LaRue said…
@Tide: The $75,000 is printed on-line for the rental advert for the property.
The property grounds are quite extensive.
However, maybe the price was inflated from the real rental fee so that PC's funds could fill the gap for the Harkles other expenses.

Rustiee
Lt. Nyota Uhura said…
Fairy Crocodile said...
@The Tide and Rasberry Raffle
Apologies if I miss some finer aspects and make mistakes - English is not my first language and my phone has opinions of his own re grammar.
________________________________

I knew what you meant :)
Sandie said…
@Wild Boar Battle-maid: sadly, this looks like an old video

Thanks for the info. I was fooled by the colour of the wall behind him!

It seems so sad to see him standing there, neatly and smartly dressed, seeming confident and professional, and hearing him talk about using a physical and metal wellness programme ... and then to see this sad, angry, lost, following an awful wife Harry in LA.
Teasmade said…
The idea of this family, H in particular, thinking they need to lecture the world on mental health is, well, to use a classic British expression, it's enough to make a cat laugh.
Sandie said…
It is now in the Daily Mail, so I think the video is recent ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8260801/Harry-helps-launch-mental-fitness-tool-military.html

As usual, there is a barrage of negative comments, with this one being highest rated:

Stay out of our domestic affairs, Harry! Go back to your Hollywood celebrities where Meghan can wheel you out to get herself more attention.

... And many comments calling him out on hypocrisy:

Where was Harry's own mental resilience when he took off to Canada for 6 weeks last November with mental health issues?

Wasn't he supposed to return to the UK for some engagements right about now, pre-lockdown of what feels like most of the world? Maybe this video is in lieu of a an appearance and speech he was scheduled to do. Anyway, I'm glad he smartened up for the occasion (I mean video). Maybe someone in the UK send a person to LA to do this video and make sure he looked decent?
@Fairy Crocodile, no apologies necessary. 😃 I took it as a typo. I wanted to acknowledge The Tide for pointing out its meaning etc. 🤗
Sandie said…
Very odd ... a newly released video that includes a clip of Harry that was recorded quite some time ago? Why?

Maybe I am having a bad day but I am finding it very confusing...
Glowworm said…
@WBBM Thank you, dear, for the link! I absolutely love hearing Dame Edith Evans’ intonation. And I appreciate the reference you provided.

While I have your attention I would like to say how much I enjoy your brilliant posts. Your range of knowledge is astounding. Maybe one of these days you can expound on why you named yourself Wild Boar Battle-maid...I bet there’s a good story there.
🐛
CookieShark said…
Re: the latest clip of Harry.

Who asked for their input? Exactly no one. H&M just don't get it. MM alluded to being in Canada during one of her speeches during their victory lap in the UK. She was smiling and laughing about it, but I don't think it was well received by the audience. Being in the UK was so bad that they couldn't stay, even though they only had to work a few times a month at most.
Thanks to every one who's added something about EST etc.

It makes a whole lot of sense as a context for the Devious Duchess. Do we know where Erhard is now?

Thank you for your kind words, Glowworm - they're much appreciated in these trying times. My `handle', incidentally, is what my given name means in the original language. I usually try not to let people know about it, in case they think it suits me a little too well, but under the present circumstances I think it's appropriate - I see myself as one of Her Majesty's `staffsfolk' and I'll always drink her health - `Waes hael!'

As for my stories and so on, I've been around for long time and have a sort of magpie mind, and, so far, still have a good memory, despite the occasional Senior Moment. Jack of All Trades, that's me.
IEschew said…
Hello all. That’s really rich, isn’t it, that Harry is presenting something in which fight or flight is explained.

Interesting that we can see he is moving his hands in the video but cannot actually see his hands to check for the presence of his wedding band. At least I was unable to.

Also interesting how thick his hair appears relative to roughly the last year’s worth of appearances.

Finally, I think that the wall and trim colors are more like the colors used in the Kensington Palace meeting spaces than any of the tan-walled recent Harry videos, where there’s a warmer undertone to the the paint and any trimwork/cabinetry is stained brown wood vs painted a shade of white.

So my thought is someone is repurposing old video. Did (a) the HeadFIT organization do so on its own, or was this done by (b) the Cambridges or BP (ie, working royals), (c) Harry and Meghan, or (d) some combination of these? What are your thoughts and what do you think the strategy was?

IDK the strategy, but I know the overall effect on me, which is quel contrast.
Platypus said…
There’s a new Harry Markle up, folks!
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/prince-harry-announces-first-major-145920672.html

Yahoo's version has the buzz word/phrases from his speech writer - `Optimisation of Self' and `being the best you can be'.

If only he took it to heart but perhaps his potential is limited.
The new Harry Markle has them by the short-and-curlies!

Early on in her blog,(I assume the writer is female) the writer mentioned having read Law IIRC and her view is reliable, I believe.

Let's hope the judge comes to a similar opinion when the entire case is heard
Miggy said…
EXCLUSIVE: 'If Kate was being criticized no one would put up with it.’ Bitter Meghan tells friends the palace favored her sister-in-law and would have attacked the UK tabloids if she was the one relentlessly picked on.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8246897/Meghan-says-changes-wouldve-Kate-Middleton-bashed-press.html
Sandie said…
https://harrymarkle.wordpress.com/2020/04/27/why-the-identities-of-the-people-famous-5-friends-are-central-to-mms-lawsuit/

A new post on the court case ...
Henrietta said…
Miggy said...
EXCLUSIVE: 'If Kate was being criticized no one would put up with it.’ Bitter Meghan tells friends...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8246897/Meghan-says-changes-wouldve-Kate-Middleton-bashed-press.html


Wow. Sounds like MM is officially losing it in lockdown.
TheTide said…
Does no one not know where they are really living in LA? It's odd nothing definite has been published, just speculation.
Platypus said…
Kate was criticized for years in the press, and so was Camilla. So that doesn’t fly.
Platypus said…
They chose not to complain but instead work hard to earn the respect they are now given.
Sandie said…
Wow, do the 'friends' who spoke to DM realise that they have just confirmed that she has NDP? A narcissist cannot tolerate criticism, whether constructive or destructive, and will often react in ways that are completely disproportionate to the criticism. In addition, they have outed her (and Harry) as expecting special treatment (another key trait of NPD).

Harry was around for all of it ... he saw how Kate and her family were mercilessly mocked and criticised (and fake stories galore) for years, and he saw how hated Camilla was. Fergie did not escape the cruelty of the public and press, nor did her daughters ... even Prince Charles was mocked for years for environmental beliefs that have now been generally accepted as spot on correct. That he went to the Queen and his father (maybe through courtiers or maybe directly) and demanded that they do something unprecedented to protect Meghan is astonishing on so many levels.

I think Harry's family must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when Meghan left (they know she will not go back), but they must be very concerned about Harry, and they must have known from a very early stage that there was huge trouble ahead.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8246897/Meghan-says-changes-wouldve-Kate-Middleton-bashed-press.html

There is a part of me that almost feels sorry for Meghan ... like a toddler having a tantrum and saying 'it's not fair' and just not being able to listen to reason.

Why did you expect special treatment Meghan and have such an extreme tantrum when you did not get it? Because you are a raging narcissist!
Fairy Crocodile said…
Harry clings to his military connection for dear life. I always chuckle when he speaks about his "service".

Let me recall one article at the time: "Prince Harry in peril: SAS whisked Royal to safety during deadly Taliban attack at Camp Bastion. Rebel's attack: Harry had grabbed a pistol and was ready to fight but was taken to a fortified safe room on the base" Mirror Sep. 7 2012. Two US Marines were killed in the attack. The Mirror states SAS guarded Harry through the night.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-harry-sas-whisked-royal-1327405

Daily Beast ran an article "Armed guards for Harry in Afghanistan: for all the spin that Harry is just another solder, the truth is far from that" by Tom Sykes Sep. 12 2012.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/armed-guards-for-harry-in-afghanistan


And yet we keep seeing statements that he had no special treatment there.

Daily Mail also ran an article in 2013 quoting the Ministry of Defense that insisted Harry had been treated "like any other soldier" when a GQ magazine suggested the Prince "had been stashed in a secure location" when fighting started.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2411779/Prince-Harry-stashed-secure-location-protect-Taliban-assassination-attempt.html

Top rated comment in DM? "The priority should have been to save many lives, not just rush Harry to safety. Harry being there compromised the lives of others"

These articles served to deepen Harry's hatred of the press. Personally I do not believe Harry had been treated like any other solder. Placing him there was an idiotic idea that cost lives because he "was the target".
Sandie said…
Here are just a few examples (and this is just the Kate stuff, and some of it is recent, very recent):

https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/273D3F0F-B122-4F09-8AD9-5E78CA015055_zpsk9yxnbzf.png

https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/B5AE6528-6E46-4A68-A986-3305E9ECD19A_zps
https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/98D50B96-1D84-4A7A-B03D-A72D04AA059B_zpsxenwxnno.png
e8iibgam.png

https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/B1B31552-897F-4431-B410-B0B82B6435A5_zpsd1tnjskg.png

https://s350.photobucket.com/user/Louise3287/media/A148A542-D44D-4C7F-B077-9A90F44FC830_zpsg0zeh4pz.png.html

https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/1E36683E-29D4-44E4-9C86-FEA041CE0A4D_zpsoagicir9.png

https://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q435/Louise3287/DE080E5F-2600-4779-9A41-2CD7893FA88A_zps1fqlab4u.png

https://s350.photobucket.com/user/Louise3287/media/B1B31552-897F-4431-B410-B0B82B6435A5_zpsd1tnjskg.png.html

Meghan's problem with the criticism is twofold:
1. As a narcissist she cannot tolerate criticism at all
2. She is not grounded in a happy relationship with husband, family and friends that can help her in ignoring the criticism (if it is unfair) and being happy in her life.
Sandie said…
A hilarious piece of satire:

Meghan and Harry have lost the plot in a deluded attempt to silence the press By Lesley Roberts

PART 1

You’ve got to hand it to the former duke and duchess of Sussex. In a strange, scary world, they take mind-boggling to new levels. While thousands of heartbroken people are denied the chance to say a final farewell to their loved ones, Harry and Meghan have got more important things on their minds – themselves.

They’ve been busy sending censorship letters to the most popular newspapers in Britain. Self-delusion or what? We’re in the grip of a killer pandemic. This pair really should just get a grip.

Here’s the letter they should have written.

Here in our squillion-dollar mansion in La La Land, we’ve been unable to get the pool cleaned/lawn manicured/barbecue lit because the nice bloke who used to do such things is self-isolating with his family of 10 in a one-bed flat somewhere in a distant zip code and has to wait in for emergency food parcels to be delivered.

It is most inconvenient. Still, we’re struggling on. Thank heavens for outdoor kitchens and self-cleaning hot-tubs, eh?

Plus, Oprah next door will happily share her barbecue roast boar and swan burgers in return for an exclusive interview or two. That’s one thing we adore about lockdown – the sense of community it fosters in our gated community.

Anyway, we just wanted to reach out and share some love, because everyone needs to be sharing love, and taking time for self-love and filling the world with lovely love – all that kind of stuff we pinch from our favourite California motivational memes.

We hear that quite a lot of you have been exceedingly ill. We seldom watch the news or read papers as it interferes with our zen when they say naughty things about us but we understand thousands have died from this awful virus.

National Health Service employees have proven themselves unfailingly brave and selfless (we looked up what that means – we were unfamiliar with the terms).

Key workers have put themselves at risk to keep the nation functioning, old people who are not lucky enough to be quarantined in Windsor Castle are being infected at a terrifying rate, there’s a chronic shortage of PPE. Cripes.

It’s made us a feel a little, er, inadequate. And we have to admit Harry’s previous assertion that “things are better than we are led to believe through certain corners of the media” was, in fact, ill-informed tosh.

Here we were thinking this was the time to censor the British press by telling some (including this fine journal) we “no likey” and we’re not talking. How out-of-touch and selfish that would have made us seem.

What’s far more important and appropriate is to send a message of gratitude and support to you all, just like Granny Liz and grandpa Phil have done.

Wills and Kate have been doing Zoom video conferencing from home – because they never put a bloomin’ foot wrong.
Sandie said…
PART 2

We know it’s been a tricky few months and we’ve had our differences. We thought it was OK to fly around on private jets while lecturing on climate change… but it turns out you took offence.

Many were irritated by our “hissy flit” move to Canada and our valiant attempts to secure crucial voiceover work for a jobbing ex-duchess.

Then there’s been much fuss over Thomas Markle’s various indiscretions. You’ve gotta laugh, though. Honestly, you should hear the “father-in-law” jokes in our house.

But let’s put all of that behind us and move on. So we will not be pursuing a ludicrous court action over the publication of Meg’s letters to Mr Markle, letters he gave to the press.

We realise that would make us look petty and vindictive as well as exposing further embarrassing details in court. Doh. What kind of fools would do that?

Instead of wasting a fortune on such megalomaniac misjudgment, we’re donating the cash to Captain Tom Moore’s fund for NHS Charities Together.

And from now on, we’ll live our lives quietly, like plain old Hollywood celebs. Clearly, we can’t call ourselves royal any more (although the phrase “right royal pains in the a***” is permitted), so we’ve adopted more fitting titles. Anyway, try to stay alive, guys. Laters.

Huffy and Vegan (plus baby Anarchy)

Mansion No1, Deep Self-Obsession Canyon (next door to Oprah’s gaff, round the corner from Spielberg’s), Beverly Hills 90210
Henrietta said…
Just got back from the grocery store where a down-market American celebrity magazine had MM and Prince Harry on the cover with a headline reading something like, "Alone and Isolated." I didn't buy it -- it's not worth it -- but I did read the article. FWIW, it basically "reported" what we've all been speculating: that the pandemic has cancelled all their meetings, no one's returning their calls, they have no work in the pipeline, and money's running out. It also said that Doria wants MM to live near her so she can babysit Archie, but MM really wants to stay in Malibu. It did say Harry was having some regrets.
abbyh said…

I knew that criticism had been part for the life of PC, C, K, F and some of the others. I guess that the narrative claim that she didn't know anything about the BRF would actually indicate she had gaps in her knowledge base. I am certain she could have found this all out via search engine had she been interested.

It does not explain why JH did not clue her in that criticism was part and parcel and that it lasted for years. In short, it's not all wearing gowns and tiaras every day.

It could, however, explain why no one was terrible interested in "fixing" what she was calling "the problem" for her as it had existed (for at least C, maybe F) long before she was born.
Shaggy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sandie said…
Is this the answer? The video of Harry was filmed in March when he was in London. Meghan was mot around. Being on home ground and without Meghan around made him feel more confident and sane. He had a professional team around him (could have been their staff who were all accomplished professionals) who make sure he was well groomed and well prepared to film the clip. It was then incorporated into the main video (for release in June but bought forward because of the virus).
EXCLUSIVE: 'If Kate was being criticized no one would put up with it.’ Bitter Meghan tells friends...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8246897/Meghan-says-changes-wouldve-Kate-Middleton-bashed-press.html

Oh boy. First, in the early years of her marriage Kate was criticized relentlessly. I remember distinctly that the tabloid press called her "Duchess Dolittle" for her perceived lack of work ethic and mocked her family for not being grand enough. And the Palace never stepped in to stop the criticism.
Unlike MM, Kate did not breach protocol, barge ahead of her husband, wear inappropriate clothes, or do or say anything to bring disfavour to the monarchy. MM on the other hand constantly thumbed her nose at tradition and protocol.
As for the BRF "favouring" Kate over MM - well, she is the wife of the future king of England and mother to another future king, and MM is not. It'll all about hierarchy, as in any other organization.
Fairy Crocodile said…
@Barbara from Montreal

Yes, I remember being absolutely appalled by nasty articles about Kate. I especially remember how paparazzi called her looking sadly out of the bus window and a gleeful speculation that all her waiting game came to nothing because Will still ditched her. That was ghastly.

Another especially disgusting one I think in 2013 was Hillary Mantel publicly saying Kate was a "plastic princess with no other purpose than to produce an heir for the throne" or words to that effect. That was so low.
Teasmade said…
@Fairy: Hilary Mantel's quote, taken out of context of a much longer speech, was not anti-Kate at all although it has been spun that way. It was about the role of women in the royal sphere and that sphere itself, something about which she (Dame Hilary) is very well informed.

I don't remember the sad-looking-out-the-window photo, just the Waity Katie digs (which were true, I mean, come on) and the series of upskirt photos before she FINALLY learned to put hem weights in her dresses. But these stories (to me) were more sympathetic than critical, in a kind of we've-all-been-there-girl way. And there were the classist digs at her family for having a background in airlines, and then whenever their party favor business appeared to trade on their royal connections.

The thing is, let's be honest, Kate has done nothing wrong and Meg has done little (?) right. She can hardly expect "equal" treatment.
Fairy Crocodile said…
@Teasmade

This is a link to the 2005 pic of Kate the papers used to illustrate the Waity-Kaity point.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/382102349632335546/

As for Mantel's words about Kate, even David Cameron found them "hurtful" "completely misguided and completely wrong", so if she didn't mean a sting to Kate she didn't put it very well for a double Booker Prize winner. Link to the article below.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280780/Kate-Middleton-plastic-princess-designed-breed-Author-Hilary-Mantel-attacks-Duchess-Cambridge.html
Teasmade said…
From CDAN: "The team or people associated with the alliterate former actress are trying to smooth ruffled feathers with a family member which would then allow them a chance at winning an ongoing battle."

I didn't catch on to the "family member" but among the first comments was that it's Thomas. So . . . they're trying to get to him to, what, back down? HE's not suing. Also, who is her team--her attorneys? What's in it for them?

Can anyone help?
Starry said…
Geez!

The latest DM article with Megs complaining about unfair treatment!

How can she not see that she is digging herself deeper into a hole with this???

Especially considering all the mitigating factors already discussed here - that Kate did receive criticism and kept quiet, and that Megs displayed unsuitable behaviour.

She is truly convinced in her delusional mind that she's the smartest person in every room. I'm also starting to feel sorry for her.
Pantsface said…
Kate and her family were vilified back in the day - Waity Katie, Duchess Do Little, her mother being an ex air hostess, dodgy uncle blah blah. also vilified, Camilla, Fergie and Sophie,for various different reasons it's not right but par for the course - no rules were changed for them so why should they be changed for meghan? If she had stuck it out, like the others did, and learnt, who knows, she may have become the second queen of hearts :) as if lol!
HappyDays said…
abbyh said...
It does not explain why JH did not clue her in that criticism was part and parcel and that it lasted for years. In short, it's not all wearing gowns and tiaras every day.

@abbyh: Perhaps Harry did clue her in and used the beating Kate took (remember her being nicknamed Waity Katie?). But because Meghan likely has a full-blown case of NPD, she brushed off any warnings from Harry or anyone else by thinking that the brits would love her.

It seems that Meghan has very selective hearing, and basically does what she wants. During the entire time she has been associated with Harry, she has taken advice from only sycophants who will parrot whatever she says.

But she’s a narc and this behavior is par for the course.
TheTide said…
@Fairy Crocodile

I wasn't trying to be the hall monitor :) just thought you might want to know the proper spelling, this is a rather "global" blog with many nationalities chiming in and language nuances. Cheers!
HappyDays said…
abbyh said...
It does not explain why JH did not clue her in that criticism was part and parcel and that it lasted for years. In short, it's not all wearing gowns and tiaras every day.

@abbyh: Perhaps Harry did clue her in and used the beating Kate took (remember her being nicknamed Waity Katie?). But because Meghan likely has a full-blown case of NPD, she brushed off any warnings from Harry or anyone else by thinking that the brits would love her.

It seems that Meghan has very selective hearing, and basically does what she wants. During the entire time she has been associated with Harry, she has taken advice from only sycophants who will parrot whatever she says.

But she’s a narc and this behavior is par for the course.
HappyDays said…
Apologies for the repeat post. My computer acted like it didn’t post the first time.
Starry said…
@JocelyneBellinis

re: her legs-apart posture like a Sumo wrestler...good one 😂
TheTide said…
William's friends (and surely Harry's) reportedly were harsh about Catherine having parents that were once flight attendance. As was the public and British media. She, her parents and siblings kept their mouths shut and handled themselves with dignity. "Waity Katey", "Duchess Do-Little", "Wisteria Sisters", "handles to upright position" or something like that...

Meghan grew up in LA so handling criticism should be in her DNA. Apparently she is a little snowflake that will melt with criticism and obviously Harry is not any better. Screaming for privacy yet moving to the most intrustive city with paps on every corner. smh
xxxxx said…
As far as this DM gem of the day goes,    

Who Megsy and Hapless really want to sue are the DM commenters. These  commenters represent popular sentiments in Great Britain, at least among Brits over 45. This was mostly disapproval of how Megsy and Hapless conducted themselves in public. Disapproval of their stated mission to modernize the British Monarchy. Yeah, some 5th rate American actress is going to swoop into the UK and modernize the Monarchy for the British. What a laugh.
Fairy Crocodile said…


May I add a couple more examples of bashing others took in the press?

"Her Royal Rudeness" - media about Anne
"Bat ears", "loon talking to plants" - about Charles
"Brenda" - about Queen
"womanizer" - about Phillip
"Duchess of pork" - about Fergie
"gay" and "homosexual" - about Edward
Sandie said…
Has anyone found the Omid Scobie book on Amazon? I have just done a search and have not been able to find it. It is nowhere on the Harper Collins site either but with publication in August, it is far enough away for them to not have a cover yet. They know it will sell and too much publicity too early may just cause fatigue in the market ... for now, rumours will generate interest?

Perhaps Omid Scobie has 'jumped the gun' in leaking information (and to the very tabloids that the Harkles have shunned ... it is hilarious). Perhaps he is still negotiating with Harper Collins and the contract is not signed?

There are a lot of books about Meghan and Harry, as a couple and as individuals (and I bet they have copies of and have read every one!). I suppose the interest in this one is that they have supposedly co-operated (and they have been sending out hints and threats that they are going to do some kind of tell-all for ages now). I just do not understand this grudge and resentment with regard to Harry's family, but if Meghan or any of her friends think that she is going to do harm in some kind of tell-all book then they are very ill-informed about the monarchy and the history of scandals it has endured and overcome.

Meghan and Harry: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meghan+and+harry&rh=n%3A2399&ref=nb_sb_noss

Meghan: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=meghan+markle&rh=n%3A2399&ref=nb_sb_noss

Harry: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=prince+harry&rh=n%3A2399&ref=nb_sb_noss
I will admit that some of the tabloid articles about MM were unfair - like the one about how her love of avocados was ruining the planet - but they were silly and should have been overlooked (and someone with a thicker skin would have overlooked them).

Many articles, however, were valid criticism. Does anyone remember the Wimbledon debacle last summer? MM was informed of the dress code - no jeans, no hat - and showed up in jeans and a hat. then she had the officials clear several rows of seats around her of other spectators and had her bodyguards warn people with cellphones not to take pictures of her (most didn't even realize she was there). Real diva-like behavior, like Madonna or Beyonce. Then she only watched her then-friend Serena Williams play and did not bother watching Andy Murray or any other British tennis players - a major mistake for a member of the British Royal Family. So not just one but FOUR faux pas, all in one afternoon. Impressive, that.

The reason I mentioned Wimbledon is because she recently complained that it was one of the occasions in which the tabloids were mean and unfair to her.
xxxxx said…
TheTide said...
Meghan grew up in LA so handling criticism should be in her DNA. Apparently she is a little snowflake that will melt with criticism and obviously Harry is not any better. Screaming for privacy yet moving to the most intrustive city with paps on every corner. smh

When I first heard about Megsy it was probably their engagement interview. I figured good for Harry. His two serious girlfriends dropped out due to not wanting to live in the Royal Fishbowl. Or these were the reasons given. I figured here is an actress who doesn't mind all the attention. Actresses crave attention or they have no career. Megsy also said she was eager to perform Royal Duties.

How ironic that in the end Megsy didn't like the kind of attention and scrutiny the British were giving her. M/H could have changed their behavior but this was not meant to be. They booted all the Royal Tours they were sent on. They minimally performed Royal duties. In the end they were dumb, confused shirkers who split for North America to cash in on their Royal status and titles.
To become the Malibu Two
Sandie said…
I am probably going to state the obvious, but I think the way the press, and especially the tabloids, write about people (sometimes publishing fabricated nonsense) is appalling. If that were me being subjected to that, I would pretend I was one of those extremely conservative Muslims and wear a full face and body coverage tent (you know what I mean ... burka?) in public. Of course, I would have to employ a driver as Muslim women from those sects are not allowed to drive or go out in public unaccompanied, but I could live with those restrictions!

However, Meghan had every opportunity to know what she was signing up for (I am sure Harry told her when he proposed but she grabbed the ring before he could even finish proposing and just would not listen to anything other than her own voice) and was surrounded by experienced courtiers and family who could give her guidance, plus she was in a loved-up relationship with the great love of her life (judging by the adoring looks) and was living in a protective cocoon in the lap of luxury.

Get a hobby, find something other than shopping to occupy your time so you do not dwell on what you cannot change. She doesn't actually have hobbies does she: painting, horse riding, gardening, reading, history, collecting ...? She is actually quite a shallow person.
ShadeeRrrowz said…
In terms of treatment by the media, I think Fergie, and to a lesser extent the Countess of Wessex are a good apples to apples comparison for Sparkles.

Both Fergie and Sophie tried to sell access to the Monarchy. That’s not much different than trying to merch it.

Fergie has been a much naughtier than Sophie to be fair. However, the press were SO mean to her at times. The whole “Duchess of Pork” thing was just utterly unnecessary. It wasn’t gossip. It wasn’t holding her accountable for something. It was just cruel.

There is a huge difference between these two and Megsy though. They both took their lumps. Nobody sued, nobody pouted, nobody complained. Nobody tried to control the narrative. They both just soldiered on, although in Fergie’s case she just walked into the next blunder most of the time.

In Sophie’s case, she’s become one of the hardest working members of the RF and one of HM’s faves. It has even been said that HM still has a soft spot for Fergie.

I never thought I’d advocate the idea of learning a lesson from Fergie… LOL!
Sandie said…
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51824432-thoroughly-modern-royals

I checked and that is a HarperCollins Dey Street Books ISBN
TheTide said…
Oh Meghan's bitter alright, no one disputes that. Because being the granddaughter-in-law of The Queen Of England isn't enough to make her happy. That is a marvel in and of itself.
Pantsface said…
TBF the Duchess of Pork was way before her shenanigins, she was always compared unfavouably to Diana, must be really tough. But yes, totally agree, no matter what mud was slung at any of them (and in some cases justified) they all just got on with it and Sophie has proved herself, Fergie, the jury is out, but she does maintain good relations with some of the firm, despite her indescretions. Mayne Markle never got the memo, never complain, never explain
TheTide said…
SPOT ON comment on CDAN:
Pride always cometh before a fall...
I don't get this woman. She was handed everything on a silver platter. All she had to do, keep her mouth shut, cut ribbons etc...
Now, she will have to flog Flat Tummy Tea on IG to make ends meet 😂😂😂😂
#screwedthepooch
TheTide said…
oof CDAN comment:
And with the divorce, I'm going to put my money on he'll go back to the UK with his tail between his legs, fall back under the BHP PR machine to rehab his image, and she'll become the most vilified woman since Yoko, and will be doing what you said, plus running the tell-all talk show circuit until she exhausts those avenues.
Sandie said…
This is what is on the HarperCollins site for the ISBN:

https://www.harpercollins.com/9780063046122/untitled/
MaLissa said…
Barbara from Montreal said...
I will admit that some of the tabloid articles about MM were unfair - like the one about how her love of avocados was ruining the planet - but they were silly and should have been overlooked (and someone with a thicker skin would have overlooked them).

Many articles, however, were valid criticism. Does anyone remember the Wimbledon debacle last summer? MM was informed of the dress code - no jeans, no hat - and showed up in jeans and a hat. then she had the officials clear several rows of seats around her of other spectators and had her bodyguards warn people with cellphones not to take pictures of her (most didn't even realize she was there). Real diva-like behavior, like Madonna or Beyonce. Then she only watched her then-friend Serena Williams play and did not bother watching Andy Murray or any other British tennis players - a major mistake for a member of the British Royal Family. So not just one but FOUR faux pas, all in one afternoon. Impressive, that.

The reason I mentioned Wimbledon is because she recently complained that it was one of the occasions in which the tabloids were mean and unfair to her.
April 28, 2020 at 12:20 AM


They also said that those seats were already paid for and that the people that had paid for them couldn't come in to watch the games because Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex was there to watch her friend with 2 other friends. She's a piece of work, no wonder the people, tabloids, newspapers, et al dislike her and then she has the nerve to complain that "they're so mean to me and racist".
lizzie said…
I think M has told the truth about one thing: she does not, absolutely will not listen to people who try to tell her things she doesn't want to hear. We heard that from a few people from her past early on and M essentially said that was true in the SA docudrama. We've also heard she doesn't want Archie exposed to "negative energy."

But her ability to ignore things she doesn't want to hear obviously doesn't mean she has a thick skin or is truly able to ignore criticism. It just means she distorts reality and can't learn from the past.

It's absurd to say she didn't know what she was getting into. Harry's blast at the media in November 2016 claimed the press was confronting her in Toronto, confronting her mother in LA, trying to bribe friends to talk about her, breaking into her house...but less than a year later she moves to the UK and accepts his proposal, claiming to know nothing about the tabloids but thinking the coverage "would at least be fair?" Sure.

Do people really think "friends" are responsible for the DM story about Kate not being criticized? It makes no sense to me to have "anonymous friends" blab now given the attention her 5 anonymous friends are getting re: the court case. But as I said, she doesn't/can't learn.
HappyDays said…
CDAN, MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2020
Blind Item #12
The team or people associated with the alliterate former actress are trying to smooth ruffled feathers with a family member which would then allow them a chance at winning an ongoing battle.

In this CDAN item from today, it sounds like they are trying to get Thomas to change his story, and if my memory is correct, Thomas either said himself he would testify if necessary, which makes me wonder if Meghan’s team is getting into the realm of witness tampering, which is a no-no here in the US.

Are there comments from any of the legal eagles here on Nutty’s blog?

Are they trying to convince Thomas to screw himself and flip any possible testimony in this trial to make the MoS look bad? This seems pretty sleazy, but par for the course for Meghan. It sounds like she is attempting to do some narcissistic hoovering on her own father.

FYI: Narcissistic hoovering is when after a period of separation from a victim, the narcissist suddenly reconnects with the victim, who thinks the narcissist has good intentions. But the reconnect is only to serve as a way for the narcissist, to set up the victim for more emotional abuse and another fall.
ShadeeRrrowz said…
@lizzie
“It's absurd to say she didn't know what she was getting into.”

THIS!

Let’s pretend (it’s a big reach) that MM didn’t know “anything” about the RF. We all know, because he’s said it way too often, that Harry believes the press killed his mother. Don’t you think at some point, with all that sneaking around between the UK and Canada, that Harry MIGHT have mentioned this to her? That he didn’t talk about his mother being hounded and stalked (in his eyes) to her grave? Of course, he would have left out Diana’s part in some of that. But I don’t believe for one hot second that he never discussed this with her before they were engaged. That means she had to know what she was getting into.
Snippy said…
But, but, I thought she never read the media, it was all just "noise"! She knew exactly what she was getting herself in for, and said all the right things like the aforementioned comment, and "hit the ground running" for Hapless' benefit.

She would have been well aware of the past trashing in the tabloids of Kate, Camilla, Charles, etc. You would have to have been living under a rock not to. So why did she sign up in the first place? Because she thought she could bamboozle everyone else the way she bamboozled Harry, Trevor, her dad, Argentinian Embassy, Ninaki Priddy, etc. etc. She had visions of them becoming the next Beyonce and Jay Z, that no one would ever question her murky past, and she could do whatever the f she wanted, as classic narcs do. It all goes back to her being spoiled rotten as a child and growing up to have a massive sense of entitlement. People can see right through that though, unfortunately for her...
Shaggy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
HappyDays said…
Anon-Unknown said…
@HappyDays-
I will be SO disappointed if Thomas changes sides!
But I'm not sure he really can at this point.
I believe the MOS has been working with him since the news of the story broke and have discussed his part in the strategy at length. He is on record as saying he will testify against his daughter in court, and has already told much of his side of the story.
How could he change it now? He spoke of his side multiple times. And Samantha is also on record backing him up.

@Anon-Unknown: Ok, so my memory is correct about Thomas saying he’d take the stand and that the reason he gave a copy of the letter to the MoS was to defend himself after the People article.

I’m hoping Thomas has already given a deposition, which is under oath I think here in the US, so perhaps it us the same in the UK.

Thomas is the logical person for Meghan to try to flip, but I am hoping if it is Thomas that she, won’t be able to soften him up or buy his loyalty. If he HAS already given a deposition, I truly think if Meghan or her team are trying to flip him that it would be considered to be witness tampering.
lizzie said…
Thomas might be able to be manipulated now that M is living only 150 miles from him vs over 5500 miles away.

I think there probably have been previous efforts. Not directly from M, of course. But there was flurry of articles saying M might consider reconciling with TM not too long before Archie was born (after the People and MoS articles) according to "sources close to the Duchess." Then another not too long before the lawsuit was announced in the fall. Each time, after a period of time "friends" or "sources" angrily denied she'd ever reconcile. That TM couldn't be trusted not to talk to the media about what she said to him.  (Of course, that never made sense. Just don't give him stuff to talk about. What she has to be most worried about is her past and he could blab about that anytime.)

While all the articles could have been made up I suspect there were efforts behind the scenes with TM back then. I seem to remember when the lawsuit was announced it was stated M had been in negotiations with the MoS for many months prior to filing. So it would make sense she'd have been trying to manipulate/dilute TM's testimony. And be pissed off when he didn't fold.

I wonder too about where the line falls on witness tampering. It would be one thing if M and TM were suing each other. No one would care how it got worked out or if he got paid off. But that's not the case here.
Henrietta said…
This would be a time for the FBI to really help the Windsors, but catching MM engaging in witness tampering is probably too much to hope for. She needs to be careful though. She lives in one country, her father in a second, the case going on in a third. All parties will be using electronic communications to keep up with each other, all of which leave traces. How much you want a bet MM is using Doria as a go-between?
Is it possible that Thomas may be under protective cutody or at least have bodyguards to protect him before the trial?

It's obvious to the MoS that he is the key witness in this trial, and that they are dealing with a mentally unbalanced couple- The Harkles. It would behoove the MoS to keep their prize witness extremely safe from any harm or attempts to turn him by bribery or other means. Maybe they have moved him to a new location? When was the last time we've seen or heard from him him?

Remember when he said he would make a public statement every month until MM spoke to him?
CatEyes said…
To the Poster thinking the FBI should get involved.

The FBI has no reason to get involved (and indeed shouldn't) in a CIVIL trial in a foreign country.

Secondly this being a civil trial there is no so-called witness tampering (such as in a criminal trial). A witness such as Thomas has a duty to tell the truth. He also has the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association (hence can talk to his daughter about anything he wants and he can see her if he wants).
brown-eyed said…
The Wimbledon Championships is an international, major tennis tournament. All those people in that section lost their special seats. Imagine how they felt. I wonder if seats were found for them, as the tournament is always sold out. MM looked awful—little white hat, white shirt, and ripped jeans, if I recall.

When the Cambridge’s or other royals attend the Wimbledon tournament, they sit in the VIP section 1, in which every seat is filled. No clearing the decks for them.

MM also refused to have her photo made with some little boys and had her security remove them out of her sight. I just don’t know why she thinks she can act like that or why she can get away with it. And on it went. For some reason, this public behavior bothered me tremendously.
Snippy said…
@Jocelyn, MOS has one of the top barristers in the country. They will have locked down Thomas' evidence by way of a sworn affidavit a long time ago. Likely admissable in court if he can't attend (e.g. due to another heart attack), and can be used to impeach his evidence if says something different on the stand. They would be able to seek leave to treat him as a hostile witness and cross-examine him.
Barbara said…
Sadly, TM might be easily manipulated by MM. The author of the Harry Markle blog analyzed the interview TM gave Piers Morgan on the British morning show and came to two conclusions: one that TM is deeply hurt by all the terrible things said about him and was eager to defend his reputation, and second, that he desperately wanted to reconcile with his daughter and resume the warm relationship they used to have. He is an elderly man in poor health and I think he has trouble accepting the fact that his beloved Bean (his nickname for her) would refuse to speak to him for the rest of his life and not try to reconcile with him. I also do not think that he really acknowledges what kind of a person she is; in his mind, she is still the little girl who was always, as her half-brother said, the apple of his eye.
CatEyes said…
@Barbara

You are spot on regarding the assessment of Thomas Markle IMO.
lizzie said…
Apparently in the US witness tampering is against federal law even in civil cases.

https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1729-protection-government-processes-tampering-victims-witnesses-or

Perhaps that's not true in the UK.
Barbara said…
BTW, I am Barbara from Montreal - I just logged into a new computer and I do not why my full name did not appear.

MMs behavior at Wimbledon was atrocious. I just do not understand how she thought it was acceptable, or why she felt she could get away with it without being criticized. One person who was approached by a bodyguard and told to put away her cell phone was a journalist, and she was furious, so furious that she wrote an article about her experience.
CatEyes said…
Sure if Meghan is threatening her father, that could be a crime in a court proceeding or without a court proceeding, But Meghan just talking to her father about the case and maybe trying to dissuade him (without threats or physical harm) I see is allowable. Many people discuss with their loved ones about their situation in a court case. But committing a crime is a crime regardless. The context is just a framework for a crime to be committed not the crime itself.
Magatha Mistie said…
Their true colours are becoming even more apparent
Jealousy

After their recent shade Cash & Harry have announced their own colour
Sussex Green the indelible stain

With tints of brown-muck, red-rage, yellow-cowardice & black, closest to their hearts
It is also known as the Sussex Sludge
CatEyes said…
I also thought Meghan stated she has not talked to her father since her wedding so I see no viable means for her to harm him physically nor to threaten him directly. I can't think she would be so stupid to threaten her father indirectly (using someone else) knowing his phone calls are probably recorded. Why would she/someone else do it? I would think she is more inclined to pressure her 'friends' to alter their testimony.
Shaggy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
@Snippy,

In one of the civil court cases I covered when I was a reporter, even though they had an affadavit, they also protected their prize witness by moving him to a secret location. Millions of dollars were on the line, and they wouldn't want to resort to having him as a hostile witness. That would take even more time and money.

I also think Thomas could easily be swayed, and it wouldn't have to be directly from the Harkles. Also, things like car accidents do happen. I'm sure that Thomas isn't just sitting in his little condo in Mexico by himself, waiting to testify in what will become one of the most famous trials in British history.
@anon,
Im sure that his legal team told him not to speak about the case, so he dropped the plan to make a statement every month. They advised him against doing that.
Shaggy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
@anon,

That's all the more reason why the MoS would have people with him. If he went rogoue and spoke out to the press, it could unknowingly ruin the case for the MoS. They need to keep a close eye on him.
The `Untitled' book is surely what we're talking about, with the 2 anagrams for authors.

"Lou Eibocs" = Scobie but who is Lou Dnarud? Dunard? Rudnar?
Maneki Neko said…
@Sandie Well done for tracking the book. It is a biography (part autobiography if part written by MM?) but might be better listed under fiction.
I note there are four ratings and one review (glowing, no doubt) and the expected date of publication is 23rd June, not August.
lizzie said…
Lou Dnarud = Durand (Carolyn)
Sandie said…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8263449/Prince-Harry-records-message-Thomas-Tank-Engine.html

Once again, Harry looks well groomed and dressed, and this time there is background that is kind of 'royalish'.

Was this recorded before he left the UK to join Megsy in LA (they have been in LA for much longer than they implied in the leaked story of fleeing from Canada*)? Has the BRF sent a team to LA to smarten up Harry and start rehabilitating his image? If the latter, is this a sign that the marriage is unravelling?

* Someone posted a photo and post n another blog - lives on Vancouver Island, in February, went past the entrance to the mansion where the Sussexes were staying and took a photograph as evidence - no guards, all the screens taken down.
Sandie said…
In his introduction - which was recorded in January before his move overseas - Prince Harry is seen sitting in an armchair, reading from a book about the train's adventures. A donation from the recording was made to charity.

Yes, it was recorded before the flight to LA (and perhaps even before the Megxit negotiations went south because since then not many have wanted to be associated with them). He looks like the old Harry ... especially in this photograph:

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/28/07/27729582-8263449-Prince_Harry_during_the_recording_of_his_introduction_to_the_new-a-8_1588054747542.jpg

I got a bit carried away and am a bit disappointed that the separation and divorce episodes of this soap opera have not yet begun!
Portcitygirl said…
Sandie

How do we know for certain when it was recorded? If I were HM or PC I wouldn't want to be mentioned by him, ever. The comments aren't kind.
Ye Gods - even the locomotive looks like her.

Somebody deserves to be bricked up in a tunnel for this.
Of course, it was Henry, the green engine who was bricked up in a tunnel!

(I've gone through life thinking it was Gordon!)
Maneki Neko said…
Just seen by chance that 'Meghan Markle and Prince Harry 'will be on every red carpet' after Covid-19', Daily Mirror: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expected to say yes to many red carpet invites once the battle against coronavirus is over.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped down from their senior royal roles last month, are now looking for ways to finance themselves it appears Hollywood could be the answer thanks to Meghan's acting credentials - which means A-list events will be a must.
. 'Thanks to Meghan's acting skills' - is this a joke? I don't read the Mirror and certainly didn't read further but at least had a good laugh.
Sandie said…
And another person uses the Sussexes for a bit of humour:

PART 1

An exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming Meghan Markle biography
As unearthed by Lisa Graves


Lisa Graves, 27 April 2020 2:0

What’s the next logical step for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after promising never to work with four of Britain’s biggest tabloids after incursions into their privacy? Collaborating with friendlier journalists for a tell-all biography, of course! Yes, Meghan and Harry are supposedly giving their side of the story for Thoroughly Modern Royals: The Real World Of Harry And Meghan, a new book by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. Intrepid investigator Lisa Graves has uncovered the account of her life that the Duchess of Sussex provided to the two reporters…

Every little girl dreams of meeting her Prince Charming. I was no different. We are taught from an early age that meeting the perfect man should be the most important goal in our lives. Fairy tales convince us that one day, a gallant and powerful man will come into our life, sweep us off our feet and save us from whatever hardship we are being forced to endure.

As I grew up, I began to question this, and the ‘Disney Dream’ crumbled into pieces the more I examined it. Why should a woman’s success be completely dependent on the man she marries? A woman is a person in her own right and is as valid and empowered as any ‘prince’ Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm ever dared to create, right? At the tender age of eight I swore I would reject the tired expectations society had attempted to force upon me, and I knew then and there what it was to be a feminist.

By the time I was 11, I had already begun my role as a feminist activist when I challenged the sexist conventions of a dish-soap commercial and won! As I blossomed into womanhood, I was confident that I needed no ‘Prince Charming’ to come and rescue me.

I started dating my first husband (film director, producer and talent agent Trevor Engleson) in 2004, and we married in 2011, shortly after he cast me as Megan in Remember Me. Sadly, we divorced just before I got my big break in Suits, 18 months later. I guess after seven years of dating, I suddenly realized that the film director, producer and talent agent Trevor Engleson just wasn’t my type. Ho-hum, that’s how it goes, I guess. Sure, it was upsetting and everything. Divorce is never an enjoyable experience, boo-hoo whatever, but I took heed of my childhood feminist awakening and remained determined that I did not need a man. I was in Suits! No ‘prince’ had arranged that for me, not even the film director, producer and talent agent Trevor Engleson. My self-obtained acting career was all I needed, and my talent alone would see me through.
Sandie said…
Not well written, but it has its charms! (I suppose it lacks the bite that so much British humour has.)

PART 2

I married Prince Harry in 2018 after a whirlwind romance and I left Suits because well, my life had started a new chapter. I think it’s obvious to everyone what I see in him. I mean, he’s just so…like…nice? Y’know, he looks good. He’s sort of really OK. Yeah, I’ve never felt this way before. Harry is like completely different to anyone else I’ve ever met. He’s British so he talks different which is interesting. I like his clothes. His hair is cool, like, it’s not just brown or blonde or black. We get on well and sometimes he tells me jokes which I laugh at and that seems to make him happy. We make a good team.

Now I know what you’re thinking: ‘But Meghan, after everything you said, he’s an actual Prince!’ Haha! Yeah you got me! But y’know what? When I said I didn’t need a ‘Prince Charming’ that didn’t include an actual member of the Royal family. I think I made that clear. In any case, he’s not technically a prince now after everything that went on. He’s a duke. So, I’m still being true to myself.

It makes me despair when I hear people say: ‘She knew what she was getting herself into.’ I mean, yes, of course I did. I am not a fool. I did plenty of research. I watched The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, like a bajillion times so I knew precisely how hard my role would be. But trust me, the Queen is no Julie Andrews. Honestly, you would not believe the ego on that woman. I mean, who does she think she is? I was in SUITS!
lizzie said…
The Sun says the video blurb was recorded in January before he "moved to North America" so that makes it sound like he did it when he was in the UK for the MEXIT mtgs. The suit could be the one he wore for the Canada House visit although I'd think he ought to have more than one blue suit. Sometimes I wonder though.

I expect the report is correct and it was done months ago and that's why he looks better than in other videos. Also I'm sure he's wearing makeup vs the more au natural approach taken in the laundry room shoots.
Portcitygirl said…
I hope the Hollywood set is unable to have one 'look at how wonderful we are' red carpet event for another year. They won't be missed.
Fairy Crocodile said…
Harry reading the kids book is priceless. He is falling back into doing things he did while he was a working member of the rf. What the heck stopped him reading or talking to the vets then?
I predict he will try and do more and more of the "royal" things because he doesn't know anything and not trained for anything and they are within his comfort zone.. The only problem they will not earn great money they want.
Sandie said…
Harry's appearance reading a children's book:

* Location probably Buckingham Palace. Does not look like the Kensington Palace rooms he used in the past, and there is no reason why he would use KP.

* Channel 5 (Audience share: 3.88% - 22 March 2020)

* Partnership with Mattel, a commercial enterprise, to celebrate 75th anniversary of a commercial brand

* Donation to Travalyst, which is not registered as a charity

* Donation to be used for unnamed environmental projects (especially if BP used as a venue for the video, the name of the beneficiaries for the 'donation' should not only be named but all their info should be in the public realm to be verified)

The Sussexes are so shady, don't you think?

PS Well done to the staff they used to have. The comparison between Harry in the two videos and more recent appearances is remarkable.
Magatha Mistie said…
You’re right @Wild Boar

That locomotive does look like her, same sly, deranged eyes & sloping nose
The Duchess of Roughborough more like!

Sacrilege having those two associated with Thomas, Toot off!
TheTide said…
Oh, the good old days!

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d10fd515586882d0a4477119ef4750d4c590de62d4567ad4fb4b01459a9f58ef.jpg
Sandie said…
There is going to be a hardcover version of the book, and publication is August, not June. I reckon Scobie himself listed it on Good Reads and is pushing for a June publication date because stuff with the Sussexes goes belly up so fast he wants this book out there and selling quickly because by August they are going to do something that may jeopardise the sales of the book!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/untitled-lou-eibocs/1136556002?ean=9780063046108
Snippy said…
@Magatha, of all the low-down, scurrilous, reprehensible things Hapless has done, ruining Thomas the Tank Engine is the worst! As Gordon would say, it’s “rubbish”!
Portcitygirl said…
Good one! The Tide! MM won't like that circulating.

Also, remember they always have to draw attention to themselves around another important event such as PW and DC's Anniversary.

I'm beginning to think they are a bit insane.
Magatha Mistie said…
@Snippy

Good old Gordon, you tell em!. They should be banished to the Island of Sodoff!!
lucy said…
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/prince-harry-set-star-unexpected-114700095.html
hunter said…
Hey guys, check out this firsthand account of working with MM - screencaps (3) from LSA on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Remisagoodboy/status/1252701837397983233/photo/1

bootsy said…
I have an off topic question for the Nutties.
We all know that any foundation set up by the dynamic duo is going to be a front and is basically a cash grab to fund their lifestyles.
Can we also not say this about the foundations that Prince William has set up? I know he has more money/income streams (at least I think so) but surely the same accusations could be levelled at him as well?
Piroska said…
Thomas the Tank Engine read by JH airs in UK 2nd May; Princess Charlotte's 5th birthday
Jdubya said…
Bootsy - i could level the same accusation against anyone, everyone. Even you? In their defense. He has more income so they aren't looking for money the same way as them. ?? And i think there is much more scrutiny on a future king then a spare? And then of course, I thin there is an integrity end. Something i feel William has more of then the "other" one.
Sylvia said…
@ JDUBYA Welk said
William has shown he has stability gravitas staying power and a wife who is loyal to his position as heir apparent
Sylvia said…
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/01/09/prince-william-was-right-to-peg-meghan-markle-as-a-disruptor/
Maneki Neko said…
@Bootsy, I have no idea but this is what I found:
There is no distinct legal definition of a ‘charitable foundation’ in the UK. Most frequently ‘foundation’ or ‘trust’ is used to describe charities with private, independent and sustainable income that fulfil their purposes by funding or otherwise supporting individuals or other organisations.

I wouldn't imagine William would use a foundation in the same way as the gruesome twosome. This gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/payments-to-charity-trustees-what-the-rules-are gives a comprehensive explanation.
Sylvia said…
copied pasted from the mercury news.com 
'she zeroed in on marrying Harry, and she has transformed the seemingly easy-going, one-time Las Vegas party boy into a “neurotic, faux-woke millionaire,” as a source told The Daily Beast.

“A lot of his old mates and the old boys at the palace say they now just find both of them a complete pain in the arse,” the source said. “I don’t think anyone will be too gutted to see a bit less of them, to be honest.”

xxxxx said…
That's a good one Sylvia! From January 2020
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/01/09/prince-william-was-right-to-peg-meghan-markle-as-a-disruptor/

Prince William was right to peg Meghan Markle as a disruptor
William reportedly had concerns about Meghan fitting into the royal family, but ‘rolled out the red carpet’ when it became clear Harry planned to marry her.

In an oft-told story, Prince William sensed right away that Meghan Markle might not fit into the House of Windsor’s “never complain, never explain” style of British royalty.

After Prince Harry reportedly introduced William to the American TV actress, and told his big brother that he planned to marry her, the future king reportedly said, “This seems to be moving quite quickly. Are you sure?”

Some say Williams’s “tactless but well-intentioned” reaction to Meghan is the origin for the current historic moment the royal family finds itself in, with Harry and Meghan stunning the world by announcing Wednesday their “Megxit” from the royal family, according to the Daily Beast.

After William’s comment, Harry “flew into a rage” and never got over the idea that Meghan– and he with her — would never be fully welcomed into the family, the Daily Beast added.

In the fall-out from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s announcement, there has been no end of speculating on whose fault it is that the monarchy has suddenly lost two who some say are its brightest stars. People also are debating whether it was disrespectful for Harry and Meghan to give no notice to William, the queen or Prince Charles before going public with their plans, as the BBC reported.

But if nothing else, it appears that William was right to wonder whether Meghan would fit in, because it turned out that she couldn’t, or that she didn’t want to after all. Of course, Meghan came into the marriage as a woman with a thriving career and money and opinions of her own, as the Atlantic said. But more than that — whether William realized it at the time — Meghan turned out be the catalyst for his brother to see that he wasn’t happy with the status quo and that he needed to change things up for himself.

The result is that Harry and Meghan are pushing for “a progressive new role” within the royal family that challenges decades of tradition. But there are differing reports about who in the marriage has been the driving force behind the couple’s disruptive moves, as one would say in tech world.

William and royal courtiers around him may be inclined to blame Meghan. The Sun, citing palace sources, said Meghan has “taken total control” of Harry’s life. In this version of events, the ambitious Meghan has long wanted to become a global philanthropist and enjoy A-list fame, like her new friends Oprah Winfrey and George and Amal Clooney.

So she zeroed in on marrying Harry, and she has transformed the seemingly easy-going, one-time Las Vegas party boy into a “neurotic, faux-woke millionaire,” as a source told The Daily Beast.
xxxxx said…
MORE!!!! part 2

“A lot of his old mates and the old boys at the palace say they now just find both of them a complete pain in the arse,” the source said. “I don’t think anyone will be too gutted to see a bit less of them, to be honest.”

A counter-narrative is that Harry — the “spare” to William’s heir — had long sought a meaningful purpose in life. He may have realized, via Meghan, that his purpose would be best served by working outside the royal family.

After all, Harry was “always a royal rebel,” the Atlantic said. He always seemed to chafe under the unwritten rules of being a senior member of the royal family, which include suppressing talk about one’s private struggles and personal beliefs, the Atlantic added. Harry also was known to abhor being at the mercy of royal correspondents and the vociferous tabloid media. Harry blames the latter for tormenting his mother, Princess Diana, until her death, and he and others say some of the coverage of his wife was racist.

There was a time, in the months after Harry and Meghan announced their engagement and in the run-up to the wedding, that the royal family and the British media seemed excited about the match and what it could mean. Many hoped that Meghan, a biracial, Los Angeles-born feminist, would bring a forward-thinking energy to the 1,000-year-old monarchy.

Whatever doubts William may have had about Meghan, he cast those aside once it became clear Harry was going to marry her, the Daily Beast said. He and his wife Kate Middleton “rolled out the red carpet,” inviting Harry and Meghan to stay with them during their visit to the queen’s nearby Sandringham estate for Christmas in 2017, the Daily Beast.

During the first, exciting months of their acquaintance, William, Kate, Harry and Meghan became “the Fab Four” and worked out plans for how they could all work together, the Daily Beast said.

Meanwhile, in a show that the royal family had welcomed Meghan into “The Firm,” Prince Charles walked her down the aisle at her globally televised May 2018 wedding. This was after her American father allowed himself to become ensnared in the sort of tacky, unpleasant tabloid scandal that the royals seek to avoid.

But somewhere along the way, things within the Fab Four fell apart, the Daily Beast said. Maybe it was because Meghan had made Kate cry during a dress fitting or had become too demanding about a tiara for her wedding — or so the tabloids said. Or maybe it was because both she and Harry had reportedly become difficult to work with — though that would seem to be par for the course for royals, especially for the infamously arrogant Prince Andrew, the Daily Beast added.

From Harry and Meghan’s point of view, they suggested in their ITV documentary interviews that she didn’t get the kind of support she needed to transition into royal life or to fend off what they say were false, negative reports about her in the British media. She also said that things became more challenging when she was pregnant with their son, Archie.

Other reports, citing sources close to the couple, suggested that the couple believed they had innovative ideas about how to use their influence to promote worthy causes and advance British interests, but they didn’t believe they received the support they thought they deserved from the royal family.

The couple certainly made many of their frustrations clear on Wednesday, with their exit announcement and with the launch of their new SussexRoyal.com website.

In their announcement, they said they wanted to “transition to a progressive new role” within the royal family and to live part of the time in North America, possibly in Canada.
@bootsy, William has and will inherit far more money than Harry could ever acquire, so he has no need or motive to skim money off a foundation. I know a lot of foundations are seen in one way or another as potential money rackets, but there usually needs to be a motive, Harry and Megsy have those by the bucket-load. 🤨
Jdubya said…
Just saw this add on Facebook

Guacamole Doritos Are Here And Ready To Become Your New Favorite Snack

Ya know where my mind went........i'm sure you do.
Snippy said…
@Magatha, Island of Sodoff, good one! And she’s no Duchess of Loughborough, more like Diesel 10 with “Pinchy” the claw!
Sandie said…
@bootsy: I have an off topic question for the Nutties.
We all know that any foundation set up by the dynamic duo is going to be a front and is basically a cash grab to fund their lifestyles.
Can we also not say this about the foundations that Prince William has set up? I know he has more money/income streams (at least I think so) but surely the same accusations could be levelled at him as well?


No, because:

1. The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was started with money from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as is normal with such a foundation, and it is interest from this donation that is used to run the foundation and to fund projects (since Harry was initially part of the foundation, he might have also put money in the pot, but I suspect that if he did, Megsy tried to get it back when they split). William inherited money from his mother and one assumes that he had access to the capital when he started the foundation with Kate and Harry. Kate had quite a bit of money from her parents and one assumes she invested it wisely and there was a huge chunk that she could add to the pot. They might have even received some seed money from Charles. (This is all speculation, but these are the sources they had to start the foundation. One would have to go through all the financials to find the source of the seed money, but it did not come from fund raising or donations from private companies for appearances and so on.)

2. There have been additional donations to The Royal Foundation (the more reputable such a foundation is, the more likely it is to get further foundations but the initial foundation is not set up to beg for foundations but to run on the interest generated by the set-up money).

3. The Royal Foundation is audited each year, and the audited books are published for public scrutiny. You can find all these here: https://royalfoundation.com/accounts/

4. What Harry and Meghan are setting up (Travelyst, Archewell, whatever) are private companies, even if they do use the word 'foundation' as a ruse, and so the financials are not open to public scrutiny; according to the laws of where they are registered they only have to use 5% of donations to actually give to charities; they can use donated money to pay themselves salaries and fund their lifestyles because they can claim expenses; they do not require an independent board of trustees; and they actually depend on a steady stream of donations and whatever money they can generate in any way (i.e. they have put NONE of their own money into the foundation, and even for the set-up, they have used sovereign grant money, money from Charles or donated money, such as from Disney).
Sandie said…
My apologies ... it seems that The Royal Foundation does do fund raising:

We have some amazing donors who see the impact that an investment in The Royal Foundation can make, and the multiplier effect we are able to deliver. Around 84% of money raised goes directly on charitable activity, well above the normal charity targets ...

Detailed financial statements from the year that Meghan was part of The Royal Foundation are available (see link below) although, her and Harry were still formally part of The Royal Foundation until June 2019 I think. Financials from other years must be available as well. Someone with more of a forensic eye than I have could perhaps go through them and see if they can find anything that could have caused trouble between the Cambridges and Sussexes?

https://royalfoundation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2018-Trustees-Report-and-Accounts-final-dated-7-June-2.pdf

I think the 2019 financials will not be available before June 2020?
lizzie said…
@Bootsy,

When it comes right down to it, we don't know if the Cambridges skim off their foundation. Maybe they do.

That foundation was initially begun in 2009 not by Will and Kate but by Will and Harry primarily with money that had been donated in memory of Diana. (Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and perhaps others.)

Kate was then added in 2011 and then Meghan in 2018. After the split, Will and Kate are the two principals of the Royal Foundation.

I have no idea how the foundation's assets were split. I do know the Disney Lion King donation reportedly went into the Royal Foundation prior to the final split. (Telegraph stated "Until they set up their own charitable vehicle, funds can be collected under the Foundation banner and ring-fenced for their own projects.") https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2019/06/28/prince-harry-attend-lion-king-premiere-disney-pledges-support/

However, as others have said, the level of support Will has now from Charles from Duchy funds, plus his gifted house, his rent-free giant apartment, and his inheritance from Diana would appear more than  adequate for his needs and his family's needs (but one would have thought what Harry got would have been adequate for H&M's needs, too.) In the future, of course, Will knows he will have control of various other big money pots.

The reason many of us think H&M plan to skim is because they practically told us so in their manifesto.

There were two central concerns in their statement:

1. Their desire to be "part-time" in a job that by normal standards was already no more than a half-time job most weeks of the year anyway with at least a month off at Christmas and at least two months off in the summer.

2.  Their desire to acquire private money in non-traditional ways unrelated to royal duties and to attain "financial independence." For this to happen, an awful lot of money has to come from somewhere. (I do wonder what ever happened to that huge Disney Lion King donation last summer.)

And speaking of donations in memory of Diana--- the genesis of the original Royal Foundation-- wondered what ever happened with the statute of Diana to be installed at KP? I know donations were sought for that.
Sandie said…
With regard to the PR Harry and Meghan put out about themselves (with key points changing more often than the seasons) does anyone have any information about what was or is progressive about Harry and Meghan?

Progressive:

favouring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters

new and modern, encouraging change in society or in the way that things are done

supporting new or modern ideas and methods, especially in politics and education

developing or happening gradually

happening or developing gradually over a period of time

and so on ...

Of course, glasses (spectacles), taxes and a verb form can also be described as progressive.
lizzie said…
@Sandie asked
"..what was or is progressive about Harry and Meghan?"

I don't think "progressive" is used as the opposite of "regressive" as in taxes. Nor do I think it means gradual in any sense. I think it's code for "we plan to speak about politics because we know better and it's old-fashioned and stodgy for UK royals not to."
Sandie said…
How Kate Middleton makes sure she never has bra and knicker lines on show by using shapewear and sewn-in bras

https://www-thesun-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/11496704/kate-middleton-bra-knicker-lines-show-shapewear-sewn-bras/amp/?usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASDAAQE%3D&amp_js_v=0.1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Ffabulous%2F11496704%2Fkate-middleton-bra-knicker-lines-show-shapewear-sewn-bras%2F

How difficult would it have been for Meghan to take this approach? I am indigent and have been for quite a few years, and even before then I always struggled financially, but I used to wear (and still have have some items so obviously at the time I invested in quality) shapewear and multi-functional bras. Why would Meghan not do so? Honestly, does anyone have a rational answer to that question because it really does perplex me.
Sandie said…
@lizzie: @Sandie asked
"..what was or is progressive about Harry and Meghan?"

I don't think "progressive" is used as the opposite of "regressive" as in taxes. Nor do I think it means gradual in any sense. I think it's code for "we plan to speak about politics because we know better and it's old-fashioned and stodgy for UK royals not to."


Perhaps English is not your first language or you are American and do not understand irony as a form of humour? I genuinely do apologise if that is so. I was being sarcastic/ironic, not stupid! Perhaps if you read the submission with that in mind you will be able to see the humour.
Sandie said…
Before I get a major bashing, may I just say that I am aware that there are commentators here from an international audience ...
Maneki Neko said…
@Sandie, good question indeed re. Meg's underwear. As you know, our Megs knows best!

Just seen that Netflix will release a documentary on Michelle Obama on 6th May. Might take the shine off the sprog's birthday?
Crumpet said…
@Sandie,

I agree re underwear. Why would a person spend thousands or why would a designer loan a seriously expensive dress, only to have lumps and lines showing? I mean, even Kim Khardashian puts on shapewear under her skin tight dresses.
lizzie said…
@Sandie,

As an American I consider English to be my native tongue. Not British English, of course. I can talk about a person's choice of pants without feeling odd at all, when I was in school I'd never have asked to borrow a rubber from a classmate sitting near by, and I'd not think homely was ever a good thing.

I don't think it's the words you used causing a misunderstanding. I think it's the setting. People here have been trying to translate what H&M really mean by so many things they've said, I just assumed your post was another in that long list.

I didn't think you were being stupid...one could certainly hypothesize H&M consider the current royal system/approach to be regressive in the sense taxes can be. And H&M plan to be the opposite, for example (while still taking advantage of the personal perks generated by the regressive system, of course.) That said, I take your word you meant to be  sarcastic/ironic but I wouldn't have ever read it that way. Sorry!
One thing that has always mystified me about MM is how she could spend so much money on her wardrobe yet never quite look pulled together. I don't think a skin-tight dress is appropriate for a royal (a Kardashian, maybe, but not a royal) and especially not when you have lumps, bumps, visible pantie lines and bra lines. Just go up a size and it it's too large somewhere, have a good seamstress take it in there! I think she just doesn't know how to dress as a royal and never bothered to learn, either. The author of the Harry Markle blog described one of her outfits (the pink dress and hat she wore to Prince Charles' birthday garden party in 2018) as "call girl plays dress-up at Ascot for the day". Ouch.
Teasmade said…
@Barbara: what makes it worse is that her eyewateringly expensive clothes didn't even come in sizes. They were (or SHOULD have been!) custom made. So no need to show off for the store clerk by getting a 4 instead of a 6. The dresses--the awful wedding dress, the idiotic beige Moroccan caftan that cost the price of a starter home, the green caterpillar monstrosity--they were all cut out per her measurements and built on her.
Sandie said…
@lizzie: No problem! But yes, I was being sardonic and piling on the sarcasm with a trowel!
Fairy Crocodile said…
@Teasmade

I agree with you the many if not the majority of her outfits were not flattering to put it mildly.

Her wedding look was an example of how not to do things. In fact if not for the wedding tiara provided by the Queen I would not be able to find a single good word for it. Givenchy must be embarrassed it will forever be associated with this lesson in misses.
Sandie said…
Didn't the wedding dress designer from Givenchy (Claire?) say that the last fitting was a month before the wedding? She made a couple of recent posts, gushing abut the wedding dress. Isn't that a bit risky? Some women lose a lot of weigh in the weeks before a wedding because of stress (and I suppose some may pile on the weight), but it is an obscenely expensive 'wear only once' wedding dress so I would say a final fitting in the week before the wedding would be prudent.

Maybe those long posts from the designer were a passive aggressive way of getting the information out there that Meghan was so controlling that she messed up the wedding dress by not being available for a fitting closer to the day? The posts were so over the top flowery ...

Did Meghan think she was an expert on fashion and fitting (didn't she have a gig on some small TV show about clothes/fashion?) and thus refuse to use experts and when she did use them sabotage their work by instructing them what to do?
Dallas Alice said…
I had to do a palate cleanser last night and watched William and Catherine’s wedding (again). Fond memories of my sister and I having a slumber party in my living room. We put out an air mattress, my sister found mini chocolate biscuit cakes (in Texas!) and I made about six dozen tea sandwiches. We drank every iteration of Pimm’s cocktail and had a fabulous time. I hope everyone is doing well.
Crumpet said…
@Sandie,

Fascinating take on the wedding dress fitting from the designer. Despite all the positive press re the wedding dress, I too thought it ill fitting and a bit too plain--but perhaps she wanted to highlight the veil and the tiara. I agree, I just cannot image the designer, not doing a final fitting literally a few days before the wedding. I think you are right, in every arena--from clothes, to law, to mothering, to mental health, to politics, to being a wife and a royal--MM knows more than anyone in the ENTIRE universe.
Fairy Crocodile said…
@Sandie

I have a very vague idea about dress making but that design was a very risky one for the last fitting to be the whole month before the event. Brides can lose a lot of weight due to nerves. Some gain weight instead due to stress eating. The dress didn't have a corset as such (but I suspect it did have some internal corset - like structure) so they could not use it to fix minor issues. It was neither flying nor figure - hugging, but rigid and thick, which demanded an absolutely perfect fit, especially for the midsection. The pure dazzling white of the dress was also a very risky choice, because optically it immediately makes every problem obvious. The simplicity of the design with nothing to distract the eye was also demanding absolutely diamond-precise cut and fit. The veil didn't go well with the dress either.

For Megs body shape it was not the best choice and it showed. Not a glorious job by Givenchy whatever the designer says.
Sandie said…
https://the-charlatan-duchess.tumblr.com/post/616663516710158336

The article about the Sussexes is not available online, and will probably be behind a paywall. The tweets referenced above give an intriguing glimpse of the contents (Dan Wootton saying there was more than one source/deep throat for the Megxit story).
lizzie said…
Re: the wedding dress-- I just think it was a bad dress or maybe a style, fabric, and body shape mismatch.

I agree having a final fitting so early was a mistake. But if the dress HAD been more closely fitted as it seems that style should have been, imagine how much more wrinkled it would have been around the midsection when arriving at the church by car and later leaving the church after being seated during the ceremony. The fabric just seemed way too heavy or something. Maybe it could have worked for a wedding where the bride does her final dressing in a suite at the church. And the ceremony doesn't involve the bride and groom being seated for part of the ceremony (which is more common at shorter Protestant ceremonies in the US where I live.) And yeah, the veil didn't go with the dress and the Comminwealth stuff was OTT.
Fifi LaRue said…
Markle dressed beautifully, IMO, in the promotional video for her blog. Harry Markle has it right, Meghan was/is actively advertising for the next man by making absolutely sure her undergarments are visible. And that hideous caterpillar dress was all bunched up at the waist. It's somehow mentally ill to dress as a call girl at age 38, while she's attending the most formal of occasions.

Rustiee
Supposing, when it comes to the final hearing, she either wins her case on a technicality and is awarded nominal/derisory damages of, say, 10p, or she loses her case altogether, I excpect her toreact very badly.

Better still, if, in addition, the judge were to tell exactly where to get off.

If she starts screaming and swearing, yelling obscenities at the judge, maybe throwing things, I rather think she can be had for Contempt of Court.

Are there any legal eagles here willing to comment on what might be the result of such a performance? I gather that a sentence of 2 years imprisonment is the maximum penalty available. Perhaps a suspended sentence? Would it attract a heavier rather than a lighter penalty as a higher standard of compliance to the law could be expected of her?

All very interesting thoughts. Oh, to be a fly on the wall!

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