Let's try this again...
Not much appears to be going on. Living Legends came and went without fanfare ... what's the next event? Super Bowl - Sunday February 11th? Oscar's - March 10th? In the mean time, some things are still rolling along in various starts and stops like Samantha's law suit. Or tax season is about to begin in the US. The IRS just never goes away. Nor do bills (utility, cable, mortgage, food, cars, security, landscape people, cleaning people, koi person and so on). There's always another one. Elsewhere others just continue to glide forward without a real hint of being disrupted by some news out of California. That would be the new King and Queen or the Prince/Princess of Wales. Yes there are health risks which seemed to come out of nowhere. But. The difference is that these people are calmly living their lives with minimal drama.
Comments
Not sure if this has been previously posted... Complaints made to Ofcom about the Oprah interview...I’m hoping the number will rise waaaay above 5k
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9423371/amp/Ofcom-complaints-Meghan-Prince-Harrys-Oprah-interview-hit-5-380.html
It is true I want to reply to lots of things but by the time I read 150 more comments I have lost the plot on the jokes and specific things I wanted to add to. :(
Regardless, all the videos, links, articles and more are super appreciated even though I don't comment super often I see all of it.
I also see why we are STUCK ON MODERATION AGAIN YOU GUYS geez. The internet is a voluntary place and open blog content (whatever Nutty wants to say) is unregulated, that's just the way it is.
I like it here but I like it more when we are not placed in a mandatory time-out.
If we get b/w photos of the "birth", we can go ahead and expect them to be photoshopped badly. Not sure why any woman would want to forgo pain medicine and technology for a home birth, but to each their own. She must think its glamorous to have a home birth. And no pain meds, makes her "strong"???? Birth is messy in general, imo.
I think that must be an April Fools prank cuz ain't nobody gon' wanna see dat but, that being said, I want fangs and The Claw to be photoshopped in.
`'Course, she was at school with him and she said he was, you know...' (voice dropped to whisper) `.. one of them'.
This was c1963, I doubt if they knew what she was talking about. How different from today, when it's on the curriculum and compulsory. A time when the BBC banned one of the Expresso B songs for the word `Bleeder'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tghEvAbcu0 See this trailer at 2.19 on `When I think of Don Paquale and compare it with this charlie - nausea!
' A further verse was `When I hear this little bleeder and compare him with Aida, nausea!..' That's why the Beeb banned it!
Watching the trailer I started to wonder if Omid Scobie is trying to be, not Cliff, but `Bongo Herbert, formerly Bert Rudge'? I knew Scobie reminded me of someone! Is he perhaps trying to attract a Cliff fan?
Have we got a Cliff Richard theme we could run with?
We had just adopted our poppet, and never told anyone until they got the pic.
The caption was "Can you guess what it is yet"
They thought I was off my rocker at the time, I figured if celebrities can do so could I :))
Truer words...
`When I hear that little bleeder
And compare him with Aida,
Nausea!'
It's in the trailers, at about 2.15 or 2.19 depending which trailer you watch.
What emerged most strongly for me was the appearance of young `Bongo Herbert', formerly `Bert Rudge' - I think Omid must be trying to channel the young Cliff, perhaps Markus is a Cliff fan?
(BTW Opus -
So? Why should you think that Lawrence Harvey wasn't Jewish? Born Lithuania, named Zvi Mosheh Skikne, bought up in S Africa (my guess - Cape Town) died in Hampstead - now in Santa Barbara - perfect credentials. I used to know quite a few people from NW London with the same history, one or two with very strong accents - Eastern European overlain with S African. Where I worked, we all used to exclaim `Oi Vay! My life, so soon, already!' it was part of the lingua franca.)
`A minced oath is a euphemistic expression formed by deliberately misspelling, mispronouncing, or replacing a part of a profane, blasphemous, or taboo word or phrase to reduce the original term's objectionable characteristics.'
Minced oath - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki ›'
The explanation I prefer is that it originated from a phrase such as `drunk as a blood' where a `blood' was a rich Hooray Henry, like our Harry ie `bloody drunk' - perhaps not as witty as `Drunk? He was Titus Andronicus!' ie `tight as Andronicus'
I hope that helps, Hunter, and that I haven't confused you at a higher level!'
My apologies for the double post - I got an error message and thought I'd deleted it.
Love how the dynamic duo is already talking about maternity/paternity leave and the baby isnt here yet. So the strenuous schedule of crashing other people's zoom calls once a week will be put on hold because you know baby bonding. Just another excuse not to produce content for that HUGE netflix contract or podcasts for that HUGE spotify deal
It will be curious how she deals with this baby. Will she get a real kid this time? Guess Welby is out as presider of a christening (ha), no antique baby gown (unless she ran off with it like the Saudi earrings), actually baby pics in People Magazine, more pap walks without archie. This will be odd
Headline from a newspaper I am not familiar with: “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry want ‘proper time off’ after birth of second child”
I suppose all that social media intrigue and relentlessly insulting Harry's elderly grandparents, father, brother, stepmother, cousins, et. al and churning that rumor mill *is* completely exhausting. Not to mention all the hopping betwixt borrowed celeb mansions whilst in the midst of a global pandemic, papp strolls, inventing hobbies for Archie, like chicken husbandry and crashing charity meetings in between phantom miscarriages, Botox treatments and wig/denture fittings. A week or so solid of lying to Oprah and having Haz cavort on top of a sightseeing bus must take it out of one as well. And all the keeping up with one's 'friends', old and new--Jessica, Priyanka, Serena, plus the new--Oprah, Gayle, the Fosters (oh, well, that's over with already)--feeding them their lines about how 'kind' and 'compassionate' and 'organic' the Sussexes continue to be in the face of crushing and unsurvivable trials, such as having Hollywood power players not return their calls; inventing creative excuses to Netflix and Spotify for dodging work, like whipping up a (1) lemon olive oil cake for how many dozens of volunteers and cavorting on the beach with yet another iteration of 'Archie'. Now of course, there's little Doriana-ghan to incubate, a moonbump wardrobe to dress and stroke and a LOT of empowered whining and bitching to be done!!! Seriously, not enough hours in Meg's incredibly pampered day with her PR staff of 12 (just like Jesus and his disciples, what!) to get it all done.
They HAVE had an incredibly exhausting year in their 16-bathroom mansion. Time for a break! If only they would. Take a break. Forever.
Thank you for sharing your Pimlico Academy story. This really is a small world, with members of our online community having so many experiences with a Royal connection. I recall another poster, sadly no longer with us, who was a Windsor resident and frequently walked her dogs in the vicinity of the Empty House. Unlike celebrity journo/tweeter Richard Palmer, she never saw any evidence of life or habitation or construction activity at FroggyCott and was a several-times-a-week, if not daily passerby in the area.
I am unfamiliar with the geography of London and didn't realize that the Young England kindergarten was right next to Pimlico Academy. That's a fairly posh neighborhood then, isn't it? I can't imagine that Diana's father would have been keen to have his girl working in a rough area. 'Pimlico' does connote posh, but my initial impression of this Academy was that it might be the sort of alternative school to which troubled youths are sent as a last stop before juvenile detention. My sister has a knack with this demographic of kids and has worked in two or three of these schools. They have all been called 'academies' and received private funding. She taught at a couple in Florida and is in her second year as an instructor in an Ohio one. Her students from from impoverished and fractured backgrounds. We've got charter schools called academies springing up all over in the States and generally speaking, even though the name is posh-sounding, they are mostly comprised of students who were not thriving in traditional school settings for a variety of reasons. Usually underperformance/behavioral issues go hand in hand and have gotten many in such programs expelled from their regular school districts.
I wondered if Pimlico Academy was this type of school. It is borne out by verifiable numbers that student attitude and behavior positivity rises proportionally when there is a dress code, and disciplinary problems decrease after an adjustment period, and the inverse is true when there is no 'uniform' or restrictions on what styles students may wear. I attended a public (in the American sense: ie, comprehensive) school(s) where a uniform was never required, though there was a conservative dress code. Jeans were permissible; shorts and raggedy jeans, revealing tops, T-shirts with profanity, or very extreme makeup/hairstyles were prohibited. As were items like hats/sunglasses for classroom wear, flip-flops (sanitation and safety), etc. No safety pins through one's lip or eyebrow or tattoos, etc. Not so much an issue in the 1980s when I was a student as now, I imagine. Kids of 12-17 years old were a bit more innocent then. There was bootleg smoking in the bathrooms and we had our percentage of 'stoners' (ie, 'burnouts') who were on a fast track to juvie, but they were very much a minority. Transsexualism and nonbinary pronouns were unheard of. Big hair and too much makeup were pretty common but nothing like the body-altering extremes that currently face school administrators.
Well, by the time the baby is "born" (or sold by the surrogate if you prefer), Harry will have been employed-ish for almost TWO WHOLE MONTHS which is probably a record for him. Poor baby gonna need a vacay. If they are putting out information that he is going to take a prolonged amount of time off to bond with baby and wife from his new job touting mental health job, I would (a) seriously question his work ethic and how much he is dedicated to helping the company succeed because God knows I'd find him useless or (b) think that the company has already decided that he's a big waste of resources and his "get the hell OUT" package has been negotiated.
I'm trying to envision how Harry could possibly be helpful around the house with a new baby and am failing abysmally. I feel even more strongly against Meghan caring for new baby GimmeThatRoyalChildSupport. Yikes.
May I also say that around here the description Academy attached to the name of a secondary school is an indication that we are dealing with what is euphemistically called special needs. Perhaps not in Pimlico.
I had forgotten that Laurence Harvey was Jewish and is it any surprise when I best remember him as super cool in Darling but these actors can do any accent. The other day I saw a movie where he was being super charming and heterosexual as a Frenchman.
https://deadline.com/2021/04/piers-morgan-irreplaceable-good-morning-britain-says-itv-kevin-lygo-meghan-markle-1234725279/
Piers may return to GMB
Love your story - `because we are English that we're sticking up for our right to be Burgundians'!'
I lived in N1 (near the Angel) when the much-resented gentrification was getting underway - I was OK because my father had been a local and I spoke the local vernacular as well as someone born and bred there, as well as RP. Dad's school was the one opposite the Agricultural Hall, aka the Aggie, where Sankey & Moody once sang their Sacred Songs and Solos. I've since been amazed at how strong were my mother's family with the are as well.
(I once attended an Evangelical rally where a speaker with ill-fitting dentures and splashy diction (think Stanlet Birkinshaw from `Beyond our Ken') had to introduce
`Miss Simpkinson, our soprano soloist, who is going sing us a selection of Sankey's Sacred Songs and Solos'.)
Anyways, even on remakes, our Megs would never get a role ;-)
Just saw Harry is papping on the beach with pula No megs no archie. Archie wasnt allowed out. Little oliver twist hasnt finished scrubbing bathroom number 12.
"https://deadline.com/2021/04/piers-morgan-irreplaceable-good-morning-britain-says-itv-kevin-lygo-meghan-markle-1234725279/
Piers may return to GMB"
Are we sure this isn't an April Fools prank?
Has anyone figured out how Megs is going to merch these kids without showing their faces? Masking won't last forever (I hope).
I don't think she is "merching" them and may never. Oprah, supposedly paid $100M to get footage of Archie used during her interview. Archie has been papped, only to sue for an unknown amount of $$$. She is no doubt quietly trying to use Archie (and baby on the way) to get $$$ out of Charles and the Queen. Not only that,the kids give her sympathy points, ie "young mother" distressed over litigation she instigated.
Hope she had to put any awards on Archie's behalf in trust. States are pretty serious about that kind of thing. The $$ must be used exclusively for the injured minor. Any funds over X amount must be approved by the courts and receipts are required. Im going through this now with my daughter being in the car during our accident last October.
"Did anyone ever come up with any info on MM's interview claim that she was friends with Eugenie before she knew Harry?
I'm seeing discussions about this on Twitter today but without any resolution. It seems Eugenie is being accused of being a mole???"
I'm thinking this is a stretch, if not outright lie.
It's odd to me that Meghan would pretend to be friends with Eugenie despite all evidence to the contrary unless she said that to counter the negative opinion about her behaviour towards Eugenie and make it seem like she was part of the inner circle of younger royals.
Her 'inner circle' narrative would be believable if she'd named Misha Nonoo whose 1st and 2nd husbands are long standing friends of the younger royals from William to Eugenie, and even the Middletons.
https://www.eonline.com/news/1254698/gayle-king-reveals-her-hope-for-prince-harry-meghan-markle-and-the-royal-family
Doulas do very much exist in the UK, not just an american thing
Tom Bower is fishing, he needs info/anecdotes for his book, hope it's brutal :)
The quote "the turnip toffs know all about it" is rubbish with regards to the Rose scenario. The Cambridges moved back to London for their son's proper schooling after spending his nursery years at the local Montessori nursery. As far as I believe, there is no Rose issue, although I believe her life to be conflicted with her husband, just google him and his "best friend"
"Has anyone figured out how Megs is going to merch these kids without showing their faces? Masking won't last forever (I hope)."
A leaf from Michael Jackson's book perhaps? Ie cover their races at all times when in public or photographed, but still have visible labels on rest of body.
And or insert herself into their merching projects such that her face remains visible at all times meanwhile theirs are blurred or obscurred, but you can still see the merch.
"After all the blackmail and threats from the Sussexes camp, GAYLE KING now says she wants the Sussexes to reunite with the royal family. The RF called their bluff and now they want to make up. Loool. Obviously, the interview didn't have the impact they thought it would have
https://www.eonline.com/news/1254698/gayle-king-reveals-her-hope-for-prince-harry-meghan-markle-and-the-royal-family"
I think this is more Gayle and Oprah. Attempts at Damage control.
They thought they had the scoop of the century.
It was so reckless of Gayle.
I wonder if she knows that she's Oprah's canary in the coalmine?
Perhaps the perks are worth it.
"...The quote "the turnip toffs know all about it"..."
Tom Sykes really hates William. I wonder why? His stories about William always have a malicious edge to them.
And he cheers anybody who gives or has the potential to give William a bloody nose, metaphorically speaking.
Naturally he cheers Meghan, but not necessarily because he thinks she's special in the way of Omid, but for her potential to disrupt William
"Have you seen the new People photo's? Harry at the beach with the lab, tossing the ball? And i'm sure a photographer just happened to wander by to get the pics."
Photos are currently exclusives to people magazine which means it's definitely an arranged papstroll.
The fact that they are so clear and appear to be so close is another giveaway.
The accompanying article talks about his wonderful hew life.
Definitely PR project.
Aimed at countering the significance of today. An anniversary of sorts.
They would have created a bigger spkash if the BRF had put out a statement today.
Instead it's a sputter from him which everyone will ignore.
"Do you know anything about the mole angle? I apologize for not following too clearly - is Eugenie getting accused of leaking the Anne info to Lady CC?"
No i'm not following that particular story, but once again it feels that Eugenie is the fall guy in a Meghan story. Good or ill, it's always Eugenie. Meghan is as fixated on Eugenie as much as she's fixated on Kate though not as corrosively.
It's just plain wierd how stalker-y fixated Meghan is on her in-laws.
It makes me automatically discount any rumours that involve Eugenie or Kate doing anything to Meghan because they are living their best lives and meanwhile Meghan PR, surrogates, fans start rumours about them which somehow involve injuring poor defenceless Meghan.
I agree it’s a thing overhere, Personally I’ve just never heard the term used here, just a birthing companion etc. I can’t believe anyone sane would signup as Megsy’s Doula! They’d need to be certifiable! :o/
I always feel the palace is too slow and not savvy enough for the Sussexes and their cheerleaders like Oprah. I didn't understand why they just kept quiet. But on a second thought, the story in Eonline today which I posted where Gayle King was saying she wants the Sussexes to unite with the RF made me realise that the RFs strategy of stonewalling them is actually effective. The Sussexes openly threatened and blackmailed the family, yet the RF didn't budge. It means they have nothing on the monarchy. Gayle's statement means that the interview didn't do the damage they thought it did on the RF. If it did, she wouldn't be talking about how she wishes she Sussexes unite and sort out their differences.
Even when CBS tweeted that CW countries are now seeking to leave the organisation because of the interview, the comments were mainly negative against CBS with many telling them to mind their business and questioning how any country would want to leave the CW after an interview that was full of lies. So, basically, all the threats and attacks by the CBS and other US media against the RF didn't change anything. The RF hasn't budged and that's why Gayle is now seeking peace. Or am I projecting?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPjZ_jg4A4
Gee I wonder why Archie is not with Dad and dog????????????
Odd, isn't it? Almost as though he doesn't exist or Harry can't be trusted to go walking with a child.
she basically points out again that Meghan is a psycho with issues and spends some time on the time the fellow fell off his horse and Meghan laughed
@WBBM just caught "tongue" video 😳
I liked the top comment stating he is known to "sing in doctor's handwriting" 🤣
If you catch this post would you mind sharing what it was about your friend's fingers that alarmed the GP? Thanks!
Bouncing around posts, think I missed a block but saw People magazine mention and reminded me I read chrissy Teigen made beautiful people cover. Wonder if that's why she ditched Twitter? Will Meg make the spread? Surely she could buy her way in and if she didn't why not?
I keep confusing them with ghouls and gholas from the later Dune books.
I think the one year "review" happened weeks ago when the patronages were taken back. One year after the Sandringham summit, not their last official royal "duty" on March 31, 2020. With bridges burnt, they finalized the (probably long negotiated) Oprah interview.
Have you seen the new People photo's? Harry at the beach with the lab, tossing the ball? And i'm sure a photographer just happened to wander by to get the pics.
@Jdubya: Yes, a photographer JUST happened to wander by just as with the recent photos of Harry riding the bike and the Harkles driving in their Range Rover.
If they don’t have anything else lined up, Meghan and their public relations team must feel the need to manufacture their never-ceasing presence in the public eye. These photos, in addition to the photo of Harry and Meghan holding an alleged Archie standing under the tree in their yard serve as facade management.
Who thinks the invisible baby blew away in the wind whilst the photographer and H were examining H's foot?
Who thinks it is weird about the foot exam?
Between Prince Charles, Robert Lacey, Welby and Warby I so agree about her effect on older white men!
--------
Agree that she seems to be a magnet for white men in their 50's or 60's. I think it's the ingenue act she puts on. All doe eyed, flirty, big white toothed smile. She tries to make them think of their youth, back in their studly days. Her so genuine and innocent, virginal.
There was a photo during the wedding where the bishop was all smiles to her, the way a man looks at a woman. And she's looking back, making eye contact, a big smile back.
Ewww...during your wedding? To an old white guy? Who's supposed to be a religious man?
Re re the fingers, I've just done a quick google search - the first sites that come up are a bit `alternative' but this
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK366/ about what is called `clubbing' - I'm sure there are other people here better qualified than I who can add more.
...comes from a reliable source and is what most doctors versed in evidence-based medicine might recognise. My friend's daughter was whipped into hospital `at the double' and one of her lungs was removed. She was young, about 40. As far as I know, she's still going strong -I've lost contact with her mother.
Doulas etc in UK: I gather that `birth partners' may be present at a birth - a reliable female friend for moral support for eg. Father's can be more nuisance than they're worth.
Here is the link to the People magazine pictures of Harry. There's also the one of "Archie"? at the beach.
https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-plays-dog-pula-california-beach/
https://people.com/royals/prince-harry-plays-dog-pula-california-beach/
@Snarkyatherbest: I do so agree with you about those postwar B&W films, especially the Ealing ones. They were often quite subversive. My favourite, I think, is `The Lady Killers' (OK it in colour but it has all the comedy and charm of the others). Even that can be seen as a satire on the post war Attlee government (the gang) and the English spirit of Miss Wilberforce. Again, it's the atmosphere of London at that time.
`Hue and Cry'(1947), the very first of the series is suitable for all the family, this wins my Oscar for `atmosphere and location'
( Excellent video at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TOe5eiohzM
-though I want to rap the presenter's knuckles for mispronouncing `Holborn' - the `l' is silent and the 2nd vowel is the `indeterminate e' sound, so it should come out something like Ho-b'n!) More like Oban in Scotland. Of course, London voices then were different too.)
Kids played in the ruins, boys got their first long trousers when they went out to work - (1947 was the year that the school leaving age went up to 15) and they revelled in adventure stories where `plucky kids' won the day against criminal gangs. Much of that went on into my schooldays.
Food and clothing were rationed, tinned whalemeat came in (I loved it) and the NHS had still to arrive.
thank you for the link! I am somewhat familiar with clubbing. My first "real job" was working for podiatrist 😖
In addition to feet we also treated hands , to the wrist. Bonus!
@Jenn thanks for People link. LOL the quote 🤣
"He looked totally at ease," a source tells PEOPLE. "He has a great relationship with his dog, .."
Gee I wonder why Archie is not with Dad and dog????????????"
Because Archie has been monetized, a few levels higher than Harry, obviously. Only if the money or occasion is big and important enough will the public get to see the one who did not get a title.
Harry is sent out to make small sums regularly.
As for Megs, she is worthless.
Perhaps People decided to include that particular pic with the photographer because someone at People is also sick of their lies and arrogance.
They snuck in that pic to show that it was after all a photoshoot and not a genuine paps shot. See, Harry is all pally with photographer.
@Swampwoman my apologies as I read your address to Jenn as poster! thank You for link! :)
Now if only I knew where to purchase Harry's so eloquently described tee and shorts 🤔
"It's odd to me that Meghan would pretend to be friends with Eugenie despite all evidence to the contrary unless she said that to counter the negative opinion about her behaviour towards Eugenie and make it seem like she was part of the inner circle of younger royals."
Eugenie is well known to have a huge circle of top tier celebrity friends mainly due to her job at the art auction house. Meg has tried to insert herself into that exclusive group.
Also, I think the fact that Cressida was introduced to Harry by Eug also had some influence. Meg is trying to effect that she is as classy, well-connected and well-liked by the upper class as Cressida; Eug was happy that someone of similar stature could win over her cousin Harry.
I don't think anything has been said by the Sussexes. They may even play games and keep her name under wraps for all we know!🤣
Thinking about how private they claim to be, I'm going to guess a suitable Sussex name would be Secret or NoName, or maybe Whisper or Mysteria.
EDIT
@Swampwoman my apologies as I read your address to Jenn as poster! thank You for link! :)
Now if only I knew where to purchase Harry's so eloquently described tee and shorts 🤔
Oh, lucy, if we are desirous of purchasing that oh so elegant princely beach apparel, I do believe it can be purchased at a local Salvation Army, Goodwill, or any low-end thrift store anywhere in the world. I do believe I would want the white T-shirt new and unstained, though, because I prefer to individualize it myself by spilling my own red wine and chocolate ice cream and maybe some ground-in engine grease because that is what always happens to white T-shirts. Just one of my many, many quirks.
/Heh. I'm actually sitting here typing in a black Batman T-shirt and a pair of lightweight gray knit pants so nobody anywhere should EVER take their high fashion beachwear hints from ME.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9428893/Royal-expert-shocks-Today-host-comments-Meghan-Markle.html
LCC was on a morning show in Australia this morning.
M weaponises colour when it suits her needs.
If M was white H wouldn’t have been allowed to marry her because of her baggage.
Anne was worried about any kids being born - I assume because it’s harder to split.
Comments seem to be agreeing with her but only a few so far
Probably a name from SOHO HOME.
Blogger Craving a Martini said...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9428893/Royal-expert-shocks-Today-host-comments-Meghan-Markle.html
LCC was on a morning show in Australia this morning.
M weaponises colour when it suits her needs.
If M was white H wouldn’t have been allowed to marry her because of her baggage.
Anne was worried about any kids being born - I assume because it’s harder to split.
Comments seem to be agreeing with her but only a few so far
I would think that Ann's worry about children being born was precisely what appears to be the case, using them for purposes of emotional blackmail, extracting cash from the RF and refusing to let family members see the children. The prospect of the lifelong claw firmly attached to the family funds has to be grating. I wonder how many millions of pounds will be charged for a Christmas visit?
I have been seeing a plethora of articles daily in the last few months about learning how to spot a narcissist. They never mention Meg where are connected with her in any way, but they are floating out there in the ether.
@Glumdalclitch
I don't think anything has been said by the Sussexes. They may even play games and keep her name under wraps for all we know!
@JennS: Well, I’d say it’s pretty much a safe bet Diana will be one of this child’s names, most likely her first name along with some B.S. story about how the spirit of Diana has guided the Harkles.
The only place Diana would have guided these two would have been locking Harry in the Kensington Palace basement while she physically kicked Meghan’s gold-digging butt all the way back to Toronto.
How's this for the name of the latest Sussex spawn?
"Whispery Diana Wokeisha Cancelenia Avocadoria Markle-Windsor"
🤪😜🤪
"Eugenie is well known to have a huge circle of top tier celebrity friends mainly due to her job at the art auction house. Meg has tried to insert herself into that exclusive group.
Also, I think the fact that Cressida was introduced to Harry by Eug also had some influence. Meg is trying to effect that she is as classy, well-connected and well-liked by the upper class as Cressida; Eug was happy that someone of similar stature could win over her cousin Harry."
I know that, and i do agree. I still think Misha would have been a better fit to name as she is a known Megsy friend, and rans in the same crowd.
And Harry did attend Misha's first wedding in 2012 so there is proven evidence of royal friendship without bringing Eugenie into it. Alex Gilkes, Misha' ex-husband is a lifelong friend of Harry, William, Eugenie and Beatrice. Misha's 2nd husband is very good friends with Beatrice.
".... The RF hasn't budged and that's why Gayle is now seeking peace. Or am I projecting?"
Definitely not projecting.
Apologies if this has already been posted, as it's 4 days old. Found it at Fox News. It asks why Andrew wasn't mentioned in the interview and goes on to explain the reason......
"I supposed it could be said that he wasn’t relevant," royal author Anna Pasternak told Fox News. "It could also be out of loyalty and respect for his daughter, Princess Eugenie, who is close to both Harry and Meghan. And if that’s the reason, I think that’s rather charming because I think Eugenie has been a very good friend to both of them."
"It’s believed that [Eugenie] is probably the only member of the royal family who is the closest to them and has kept in touch," Pasternak continued. "We don’t know the reason, but one can only suspect that maybe out of respect for her, they didn’t want to go into her father."
In the interview, Markle, 39, confirmed that she and Eugenie, 31, knew each other before the former American actress met Harry, 36.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/why-oprah-winfrey-probably-didnt-ask-meghan-markle-prince-harry-about-prince-andrew-royal-author
In linguistics, the 'indeterminate e' is called the schwa, which represents an unstressed syllable, as 'a' in 'about'.
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Re the LCC article, there are still only 6 articles,with the vast majority agreeing with her.
Maneki Neko - Of course! Thanks for the reminder - I couldn't think of it in the small hours. It didn't even occur to me to highlight the phrase and R click on `Search Google'. Not that it would have helped - I've just tried it and was taken deep into maths.
Linguistics is/are an area that mystifies me almost completely, for all that I understand the rationale behind it. `Schwa' is 33% of what I know - the rest is made up of thorn and eth! Is there a Dummies Guide to Linguistics?
I'd add that a previous version I saw said they met `at summer camp when they were 13; The pair had a summer romance which fizzled shortly after'.
Also, it's worth pondering the photo in the original. It must have been before she was white.
Meghan's Old Boyfriend Speaks Out About Report She Bullied Aides
Alyssa Bailey
Thu, 1 April 2021, 5:27 pm
From Marie Claire
Numerous close friends and past coworkers of Meghan Markle have spoken out against an early March report in The Times that a bullying claim was filed against Duchess of Sussex for her treatment of aides. Now, her childhood boyfriend Joshua Silverstein is going on the record to explain why he doesn't buy the aides' claims at all—and how he can only see Meghan, an American woman of color, doing what she needs to survive in the British royal institution, a very white system that is not all that welcoming to outsiders.
Buckingham Palace, for context, announced it was investigating the bullying claim in the days leading up to Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview, despite the Sussexes' rep calling it “a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation.” The Palace is doing no public investigation of the unsettling claims Meghan and Harry made in the interview about the racism they faced in the institution and the royal family's lack of regard for mental health.
In a brief statement released on behalf of the Queen two days after the interview aired, the Palace said, “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
Meghan's ex Silverstein told Us Weekly that he doesn't “personally see her” mistreating palace staff. “I see her doing whatever it is she feels like she should do in order to be happy and coexist within a system that has probably not been very welcoming to who she is and where she comes from,” he said.
“When you find women of color—particularly Black women—standing up for themselves and speaking out and speaking against what they feel [is] disrespect or oppression, often times whiteness tends to classify that in negative ways because they don’t want that to happen,” he continued. “It’s almost like people are expected to know their place and whenever they don’t fall in line with that, then people say it’s a problem.”
Silverstein told the outlet he expects the scrutiny of Meghan and Harry to continue despite their permanently stepping back from their senior royal family roles and moving to California.
“She’s probably having to make hard decisions and uncomfortable ones for the sake of just being able to smile the next day,” Silverstein said. “That’s what life is about—making tough decisions so that you can live the life that allows you to thrive as the person you want to thrive as. As long as she’s happy and he’s happy, that’s all that matters.”
via https://uk.yahoo.com/style/meghan-markle-childhood-boyfriend-speaks-162700654.html
Point being, after the big ‘we’re out’ year too late Oprah interview I’ve been losing all interest in the saga. It just seemed so wrong and so lame that it’s like ‘really, tough girl? This is what you’ve got? Good luck hunny’ and since then we were introduced to Impact Officer Harry (if you go to the Twitter of AP, and Forbes and Fast Company all tweets are around 75-80% super negative. Not the PR splash BetterUp wanted! For a positive mental health app, no less! LOL.) I digress. There’s been nothing more. The RF slowly and quietly disproved all of their claims, like the stealth master chess players they are. We’ve had more yawn inducing ‘Meghan plans to do this and that in her mysterious future’ articles, which any adult must find weird. And the photo calls for Harry having no friends roaming around LA, (can’t believe they need this kind of petty cash - must be covering that $80k per month mortgage this way)...it’s all so dull now and will only Continue to be the Real House-family of Bore: Montecito Edition.
Will they be invited to the Oscars? What say you guys?
The titles are still here. Makes me think the entire family is whack, now. Not a good look for the Queen. They are all in on this ‘merching the title’ scheme because that family sure as hell doesn’t want to pay for Megs anymore out of their own pocket. So Harry can keep his title fantasies of supreme Dukedom and get woke at health conferences for millennials interested in yoga and oat-milk lattes.
TL;DR : Struggling to keep interested in these two, and I have a suspicion the rest of the world is moving on as well.
Diana Wokeisha Avocadoria Markle-Windsor wins a year’s supply of lattes and some Starbucks stock! Fantastic!
What do you make of this, folks?
I'd add that a previous version I saw said they met `at summer camp when they were 13; The pair had a summer romance which fizzled shortly after'.
Also, it's worth pondering the photo in the original. It must have been before she was white.
Meghan's Old Boyfriend Speaks Out About Report She Bullied Aides
Alyssa Bailey
Thu, 1 April 2021, 5:27 pm
From Marie Claire
@WBBM: What do I make of this? I think this is a desperate move by Meghan’s public relations team. They are digging up anybody they can who has ever known Meghan that they can get to say something nice about her.
People like this guy are just being used as vehicles to try to repair her damaged facade. The benefit, if you want to call it that, is he gets his name and face in the media for a minute. Otherwise this guy is just a speck of lint on the overall story of Meghan’s life that she’d flick off her designer coattails, but for the moment, he is useful to have pop up in an article to recite something positive about her.
These people are like the tiny fish that follow sharks in the ocean, scavenging for the bits of food that fall from the shark’s mouth after they make a kill and devour their latest meal.
From what I’ve read, Meghan’s overall reputation among people who worked with her during her actress days is that of a pushy, odious, greedy, snobby diva whose talent could barely fill a thimble.
Does anybody think he’ll be in invited up to Montecito anytime soon to relive the good old days with Meghan? My dog will start speaking fluent English before that happens.
He’s just another object who is willing to be used for 30 seconds by Meghan’s public relations team.
However, it's possible that Meghan's behaviour was such an embarrassment that courtiers asked her to not go out much. She may have had different rules to the others. Would be entirely her own fault but she wouldn't see that at all.
We may not have considered this possibility. I'm not giving her a pass, but this could explain some inconsistencies between what she said and standard royal practice. Of course the fact that she lies and distorts as easily as she breathes means I'm just tidying a few chairs on the Titanic here.
I'll never forget her Gypsy Rose Lee walk at Charles' 70th birthday garden party. The royal household must have been so nervous every time she was seen in public. What will she wear? What will she do? How will she be?
If Meghan was so restricted from being seen out at a coffee shop or to lunch- where is she now? She has no restrictions.
I cannot however share the general love for The Ladykillers; the constant repetition of that Boccherini minuet drives me mad. 78rpm shellac discs do not last more than a couple of minutes but there is always a flip-side and everyone can instantly tell whether they are listening to live or recorded music - much to the despair of audiophiles. I would have thought the old lady should have realised something was wrong. I thus greatly prefer Kind Hearts and Coronets. You must have seen it: the person with the wrong ethnicity who schemes to dispose of all those in their way for the purpose of acquiring the desired title. Now who does that remind me of??? I never liked the ending however and thus I was pleased to discover what I had seen was the alternate American ending. The British ending fell foul of the Hays code. KH&C should surely have had an X certificate for its subversion but I suspect it was a U as no one swears and apart from the non-stop murdering is entirely polite.
Bleeder as well as bleeding presumably derive from bloody and bleeding is a very strong swear word. Bloody less so but Eliza Doolittle said 'Not bloody likely', and in My Fair Lady that was altered to 'Move your bloomin arse' but I think that they must have considered 'Move your bleedin arse' - but rejected that as too strong.
Do American place names confuse Americans in their pronunciation. The spelling of English names which pronounce differently to their expected pronunciation are a minefield whereby non-locals are instantly shown up for what they are. This is also used as a marker of class. America being classless I suppose there is not the same problem.
Piers Morgan's EXPLOSIVE prediction about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFXxlkzgSOg
Good point. Though I think Meghan equates secrecy and only making rare appearances with status, not just for monetising purposes. A celebrity thing.
Conversely, when she was royal, she wanted to show off all she could AND she would have been spending other people's money. Now she has to pay for herself. Harry has been seen on a bus, on a bike and on a beach. Not in swanky restaurants or shops. She has hardly seen at all really, as you say. Maybe because she only wants to be seen in "the right places". We all think money must be right as they haven't actually delivered any proper content yet. Even Harry's two new jobs can't afford a Meghan.
Is there also the point that now she has a child or is supposed to have one. Would look odd if he was never with her.
@Opus - I'm forever yelling at the TV `TOT-niz' not tot-NESS , you ignoramus!' (ie Totnes -frequently described as `twinned with Narnia')
What do you make of this, folks?
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I totally agree that this smacks of desperation and that Mega's team are clutching at straws. this was quite some time ago, though, about 35 years and a lot can change in that time. Even if Meg was nice as pie then, this is now and she is probably not the same person. The childhood boyfriend hasn't seen her since school so what would he know?
If money's that tight, might she have another `miscarriage' so the sugars can start a sympathy Go Fund Me `Save Meghan' page?
The other options, having a real child or hiring babies, can't come cheap.
I think that several things were going on.
She may not have been encouraged out of fears that somehow the paps would just happen to be walking by with a camera in hand.
FF makes it clear that she had a lot of expectations of what others were going to be doing for her now that she had arrived.
But JH was doing things that were already planned for him as well as he had an office to go to and work on different projects with/without his brother.
Catherine was expected to step in and help her but Catherine didn't (for all kinds of reasons). It flat out says that.
So I think she was at loose ends. She probably had some people she knew from Soho but that she didn't know people as she was fairly new to the country. I think she was expecting that her position combined with being part of the Fab Four would ease her into JH's or Catherine's social set where then she would be able to have instant friends and they would be want/be able to do things with her when she wanted to do things or that they would ask her. Whether people froze her out because there was a natural reserve, she came off as pushy American or even both, I don't know.
(I'm also thinking that it is easy to throw a "this is sour grapes" over the experience as it continues to throw the blame for such unhappiness in their direction.
Some people can step into making small talk with people they don't know or know well and be comfortable doing this. Some can take initiative to go to a museum or read books to learn about your new country. And, some people can handle being by themselves (they don't need someone there all the time). She doesn't strike me as any of these.
They're desperate for glowing testimonials. I felt myself reaching for my red pen when I read the piece.
I don't know about 'a Dummies Guide to Linguistics' but I have a book called 'An Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics' by Professor John Lyons, which is very good. Don't be fooled by the title, the 'introduction' is rather misleading (about 500 pages)! A more basic book might be his 'Language and Linguistics', which is available on Abe Books and Amazon. Schools of thought have changed over the decades and I'm not au fait any more with these changes.
'I felt myself reaching for my red pen when I read the piece.'
I felt like reaching for the sick bucket!!
In the next to last paragraph, he mentions that her mother kept in informed about what she was doing doing which included "... overseas modeling..."
If so, shouldn't there be pictures?
On a different note, Idris Elba (who attended the wedding) is now making a supportive statement about how they should be allowed their voice.
The only reports I saw about her being `off piste' involved her being both `off the premises' and `pissed (under the influence)'.
Apologies - I can't find who mentioned this
(alhough I think it granny probably took care of MM and happended to be ill, and the story has been reinvented/reinterpreted to put MM in sainthood light)
Race card and As long as she's happy!
My pick for the baby’s first name is Diaria.
Could people been called to pap since maybe Harry actually had a photo shoot for someone else (part of his wellness blog content?) because there is a pick of him and a photographer but who took that pic? (or is megs doing a catherine)
I think she will WANT to pap herself a bunch because california is opening up and all the celebs are doing that now. I think questions about where's archie continue to surface (look at what people think about Harry being papped twice with no kid) and she doesnt even take him on a stroller walk? he's too big to hide under blankets. And now she's stuck moonbumping it til Diana's birthday. And she knows we always catch the irregularities of her moonbumps.
Besides, she doesnt have time, she is reading all the comments in the daily mail, and the blogs to see how she can one up the people that have actually figured her out. We keep asking about archie and she will have to produce him again here soon. Then again, do vampires actually come out in the day time?
Ava,
Why are they devaluing Harry? He’s not a common American. He’s a British Royal. What the hell is wrong with Meghan, and himself? He still looks uncomfortable in the pictures we’ve seen of him out in the commoner wild. As for Meghan, she probably doesn’t know how to pull off looking pregnant and/or looks awful so she’s hiding away. She wants the luxury parties and to be seen as A-list. You’d think she’d need her Royal husband to remain ‘A-list’ to get the invites. I’m not seeing it happen. They will spill everything and blackmail everyone. It’s clear as day to anyone with a brain.
Do we think Oprah was embarrassed? I haven’t read Gayles article, but begging for a Royal reconciliation after her amped up rudeness is bizarre backtracking. Why would anyone want to talk to actual Racists again?
Something tells me people higher up at CBS were right pissed off at the drama that ensued and the fact they looked poor. CBS is a pretty respectable news source. Not so much now!
So, CBS- Markled, Gayle- Markled, Oprah- Markled, BetterUp- Harkled, Oat latte girl- Markled.
The announcement they won’t be doing any work for months after the summer ‘phantom baby’ tells me they are trying to push yet another quickie deal through. Wonder what’s going to happen with Netflix and Spotify...they are getting lost in the mix of a crazy amount of small biz deals
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_(1999_TV_series)
Yeah I am beginning to think Oprah and Gayle are getting markled. Time for Oprah to get that Britney Spears interview so she can deflect attention off of the Harkles interview. Wonder if CBS news (as in reporters and producers based in london) are getting the cold shoulder on anything with the government et al. Thats how the brf could be working behind the scenes and cbs is feeling the pinch hence the walk back by gayle. Dr Jill really wants that state dinner at Buckingham palace, maybe someone in the Biden administration is saying tone it down girls you are hurting US/EK relations over a whiny actress.
So maybe another fib by M. Imagine that
`Agape summer camp - four day camp for children who have a parent in prison'
What a find! It may well be as we suspected.
Sorry, can't recall who suggested she'd researched UK to find the sensitive spots to exploit. I believe narcs do have an uncanny way of identifying their targets `raw nerves', especially with regards to sensitive issues they can exploit.
I wish I could recall when it was that HuMbug first expressed an opinion on UK leaving the EU. Presumably she was here at the time of the referendum - did she factor it into her game plan then? Knowing that it had been a close-run result, it may not have mattered who she supported, whatever she said might upset half the population and simultaneously break protocol. Job done.
Then there was the Irish abortion referendum about which she should have kept her trap shut, just 2 months after the wedding.
So another Harkles wedding invitee is out defending Megs (Idris Elba) Is she basically going down the list of everyone she knows, reaching out and crying a river about her unfair treatment. She is keeping this going while the world has moved on. With every new drip drip drip about poor meg, she is looking more pathetic every day. Her oprah interview was the last hurrah for now clearly she has nothing else going on.
@Jessica said.....
"Will they be invited to the Oscars? What say you guys?"
The Oscars are only inviting nominees, presenters and afew of the academy voters. No guests.
All the usual Oscar parties are not happening this year.
Next year, if we have a grip on covid, it will be full steam ahead.
We may not have considered this possibility. I'm not giving her a pass, but this could explain some inconsistencies between what she said and standard royal practice. Of course the fact that she lies and distorts as easily as she breathes means I'm just tidying a few chairs on the Titanic here.
I'll never forget her Gypsy Rose Lee walk at Charles' 70th birthday garden party. The royal household must have been so nervous every time she was seen in public. What will she wear? What will she do? How will she be?
Has anybody discussed that she may not be above soliciting shop owners for freebies in return for being seen using their products or, even worse, shoplifting (aka the 5-fingered discount)?
I think a safe bet is they will be a "surprise" guest on the virtual Elton John Oscars party. Don't know that it will be broadcast for the great unwashed as the website says it will be selling tickets.
Why are they devaluing Harry? He’s not a common American. He’s a British Royal.
I suppose the Harry we see now doesn't look like he even values himself. He's a bit of a sorry sight in his one grey suit and battered shoes. Reminds me of one of my favourite 1940s films, The Best Years of Our Lives, about American servicemen returning from WWII. One was an Air Force officer when he gained a no-good trashy wife. As soon as she saw him out of uniform (and unable to get a job) she lost all respect for him. The uniformed Harry, correct to the last polished button, seems light years ago. He's tainted. Like his great-uncle Edward. Let's face it, the "good Harry" was only ever a product of other people's efforts and sleight of hand. People like Edward Lane Fox who did the real work for Invictus and somehow hid Harry's failings from the world. I bet he didn't even polish those buttons himself.
Do we think Oprah was embarrassed? [...] Something tells me people higher up at CBS were right pissed off at the drama that ensued and the fact they looked poor. CBS is a pretty respectable news source.
This has preoccupied me more than anything else since the interview. The apparent lack of the most basic research or the decision not to use it at all if it was done. No accurate questioning. No digging. No attempt at impartiality. (For example, the 1917 rules about titles should have been basic research. Easy to find. Obvious the subject would come up and now it's one of the biggest sticks beating the BRF.)
As you say, CBS is pretty respectable. Yet they paid millions for a discussion that was no more professional than two women having a gigantic drunken bitching session after work. The more time elapses, the more time Americans will have to think about Oprah's dereliction of duty and complete irresponsibility, stoking racial tension and rubber-stamping lies at such a precarious time. On top of that, the UK and US economies will be hammered long-term by the costs of Covid. Marie Antoinette had nothing on these people.
Late to the party regarding Megs very short summer romance when she was just a teenager.
Have tried to remember any short fling from my teens into late 20’s. Did he have dark hair, blue eyes, was he nice etc.. I can’t and to be honest I don’t really care.
They obviously didn't mean anything to me.
I find my eyes constantly rolling to the back of my head every time I see another article about them.
One day they are not going to roll back into place.
"I think a safe bet is they will be a "surprise" guest on the virtual Elton John Oscars party. Don't know that it will be broadcast for the great unwashed as the website says it will be selling tickets."
I've already purchased my tickets for this one.
Will report back if we get any 'surprise' guests.
Constantly! We have a lot of towns/rivers/mountains with various indigenous people's place names that were spelled using the language conventions of whichever European explorers passed through which often had no letters for the sounds of the native language. Then we have places named for European cities which don't exactly sound like their namesake in the local people's pronunciation. The southwest has lots of Spanish and Indigenous names with a distinctly American pronunciation. For example, Casa Grande, Arizona has more of a flat, nasal Midwestern pronunciation, completely ignoring the Spanish pronunciation. El Paso, Texas? El Pass-o, as though I am attempting to speak Spanish by putting an "o" on the end of the word.
Town named Cairo in a nearby state? That would be pronounced KAY-ro. Town of Lebanon? Forget it, it is LEBnun. New Madrid fault? New MADrid. Oh, I forgot the early French explorers and their use of names spelled with silent letters. In a giant screw you to French spelling, those letters are silent no more and are pronounced proudly. Versailles, Missouri is pronounced Versayls. I know there are more Versailles pronounced Versayls in the US but I don't remember where they are.
Then there are the state names themselves. Those of us from around here pronounce my state of Florida as "Floorda". Georgia has many pronunciations; we generally call it "Joe-ja" or Jaw-ja" depending upon our ethnicity while some people from out of the area actually pronounce every letter separately. Oregon people get all mad about being referred to as residing in ar-uh-GON instead of Orry-gun. People in the state of Washington lose their crap over their state being referred to as "Warshington" instead of "Washington" and I can't fault them.
This was started in 2005 in Hawaii. https://campagapecalifornia.com/about/?v=20210311
I'll keep looking. I suspect it was something also called that but came up through that church they were married at since he mentioned he stayed in contact with her mother through seeing her there.
I think they mainly care about numbers, just like any other network. And like any other news agency, they have been caught in embarrassing situations, like the Dan Rather forged document fiasco with George W Bush. That was the actual news outlet, (not the general network or entertainment branch) in which a very prominent news anchor tried to smear the republican nominee (and incumbent President) 2 months before the election. So no, I doubt CBS is bothered; they got the eyeballs, and any factual issues are all on Oprah.
I do wonder if Oprah is embarrassed. I am torn between thinking she might be or that she might be so caught up in the racial aspect that she believes "Meghan's truth" more than actual fact.
I think Mr Elba was probably just being kind, but he might also have an eye towards a future sampling of the wares, so to speak.
I do think assertive black women ( indeed any assertive women) can get labeled as being difficult but not bullying, which is a completely different thing. And I think some people will consider themselves bullied when in fact people are just being direct, or blunt, etc. I think society as a whole has started assigning behavior as bullying in a different way than what we used to consider it.
I have seen women at work brought to tears (not by me!) over incidents that didn't strike me as anything other than having their mistakes corrected. I was brought in to HR as a witness to some situations and was shocked to hear it referred to as bullying.
I believe initially Nutmeg's behaviour was a case of American (and Hollywood) work habits vs British, but I also believe she could be a bully. She wouldn't think of it that way, of course, so she can deny it truthfully.
https://www.thecut.com/2018/03/meghan-markle-first-kiss-joshua-silverstein.html
IMO Oprah, Gayle and the Harkles set about presenting a certain narrative and didn't care whether it was false or not.
Isn't MM behind Meghan's Mirror in some way? For some reason I thought she was feeding them info on her outfits so they could help her merch? If so, can Valentine Low trust them as a source?
No idea if this has already been posted..
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1418206/royal-family-latest-Meghan-Markle-prince-harry-William-Kate-Middleton-Prince-George-news
MEGHAN MARKLE faces further criticism from Piers Morgan in the coming days, as he gives his first TV interview since quitting GMB.
The outspoken journalist will chat to US TV host Tucker Carlson on Monday for his video podcast on Fox Nation. The interview with last for one hour and will air at 4pm ET on Monday, 8pm GMT. Mr Morgan is expected to discuss his recent career change, having quit Good Morning Britain (GMB) last month over his criticism of Meghan Markle.
You may be right for now but I still think Oprah cares for her reputation to some degree. After all the years she's spent building her empire. She's undoubtedly debased her coinage so to speak. Not so apparent in the US to date, but Meghan can't help being Meghan. Her true colours are bound to emerge Stateside as they have over here. It will just take longer.
As Lady C said this week about ITV's knee jerk decision not to support Piers Morgan, only later realising what the majority of viewers thought, people like Idris Elba think they're backing the right side, but they'll slide away later. Reports say the impact of the interview was greater than Oprah and Gayle expected. They will think deeper about their roles in time. Though you're probably right about how they felt at the time.
I still think CBS as a whole will regret this. They've been in my black book since 1977 when they were the only US network not to lead with the death of Elvis. They all but ignored it. Then they realised hours later how badly they had misjudged the public response and had to hastily cobble something together. Hah!
@Jenn
Diana Wokeisha Avocadoria Markle-Windsor wins a year’s supply of lattes and some Starbucks stock! Fantastic!
.....................
@Hikari
Thank you for the lattes and stocks!
I must admit it was late at night and I became rather silly after spying the photos of Prince Harry on a California beach raising his injured foot so a strange man could kiss his boo-boo for him.
🤣🤪🤣
CBS isn't even an also-ran for entertainment or news in my area of Florida/Georgia.
I must admit it was late at night and I became rather silly after spying the photos of Prince Harry on a California beach raising his injured foot so a strange man could kiss his boo-boo for him.
🤣
I wondered whether we were about to be treated to toe-sucking pics a la Fergie. Still struggling with how I feel about that. May need therapy just for thinking it.
I’ve been saying and thinking this too. America hasn’t been exposed to Meghan’s shenanigans like we have over this side of the pond. It will take time....but they will come to see (with hope) that we were right all a long, because Meghan can’t hide Meghan.
My pick for the baby’s first name is Diaria.
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Is that an American spelling for diarrhea?
Exactly! You expressed it perfectly. "Meghan can't hide Meghan".
d1 Love it!!! so who responded back oh that's so megs" !!
Sorry for taking so long.
The only one who "Got it" was my mate in the UK, we tend to be on the same odd wave length.
I was happily laughing my socks off as I did it... think some people need a sense of humour transplant.
At the very least, I would imagine she would fall into the " if Meghan felt she was the victim of racism, she was; that is her truth" narrative.
We are seeing this routinely in the States. Over the last several years, there have been a rash of "hate crimes" reported against various and sundry people that got huge publicity until it was found out that the people had committed the crimes themselves. If in fact the hoax was even mentioned, we were told by our betters in the media that these people were either living their truth, or had been driven to do it because they had been treated so badly.
I have no trouble whatsoever believing that Oprah thinks Meghan was the victim of racism, despite evidence to the contrary. We're talking about a woman who thinks she was herself the victim of racism because she wasn't allowed to come into a store in Paris after it had closed for the day.
Life's a beach! Prince Harry flips his baseball cap backwards for seaside stroll with dog... as he settles into LA lifestyle after landing two new jobs
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9430955/Prince-Harry-flips-baseball-cap-backwards-seaside-stroll-dog-LA.html
OMG, @JEnnS!!
Not sure how I missed this earlier. A week's worth of lattes to you for making my entire day!
You have a Cairo (KAY-ro) too, huh?
Ours is a small village about 20 minutes from here within the county, and is a ation of one of our branches in our library system. Years ago, a new employee who was also new to the area Referred to this branch by name only he pronounced it as the capital city of Egypt, ie, One could argue “correctly”, and that in gendered not just titters but out loud guffaws and this was in staff meeting—Just goes to show that insular small town folks don’t extend much compassion to people they consider outliers. I thought that was ridiculous behavior, because I miss pronounced It when I was new to town also, just not in the context of a staff meeting, fortunately for me. There’s a lot more where that came from. My city is spelled like the capital of Peru but pronounced like the bean. Cool fact: In the 1999 remake of the Thomas Crown Affair, Catherine Banning, played by Renee Russo, Hails from Lima, Ohio. When reciting this fact, Tommy miss pronounces it as the Peruvian capital city. Apparently someone on the crew was from here, and they stuck it into the script as sort of an inside joke. When I first saw the film, I had no idea that one day I would be living here, and in fact had no idea the city existed, despite being raised in Ohio—4 hours away. Now every time I rewatch that movie, which I adore, I marvel that this person whoever he was never bothered to correct Mr. Brosnan’s pronunciation.
In the vicinity, there’s also a Versailles ( Ver-SAYLES); a Mantua (MAN-away); Padua (PAD-away) and a Russia (ROO-shie).
American hicks: Butchering European place names since the 17th century!
Amazonia (bezos)
Dorey (jack dorsey of twitter)
Mozie (mozilla founder Blake Ross)
Airia (Airbnb Brian Chesky)
Blaze (Paul Allen, microsoft also owns portland trailblazers)
we could go on all day!!
Dont get me started about Leichester!!!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9366027/CRAIG-BROWN-Great-Oprah-Interviews-time-II-Jaws.html
If this guy knew Meg for a few weeks at summer camp when they were in high school, he barely knows her. Even if they slept together, what a couple of kids did at summer camp 25 years ago it’s hardly relevant to the present, And it doesn’t seem like the Meg we know would have kept in contact with such a brief acquaintance/nobody from all those years ago to have solicited his support herself.
So I smell undercurrents to his sudden appearance in this publicity of the relationship now. This guy not only had no contact with Meg during the period of the alleged bullying at KP, but he hasn’t had any contact with Meg in her adult life. But Maybe it’s what he knows of her past behavior where before she became Duchess of Sussex that has informational value. Like, if he’s highlighting the fact that they met at a summer camp for children with parents in prison...what does that say about Doria’s Missing Years? So many rumors swirl about a possible teenage pregnancy— what does he know about that, and might he have been directly involved if there was one? Perhaps this “defense of Meg“ it’s actually a veiled reminder to the Duchess that there are lots of people in her pass who know things and who have not as yet talked about what they know. I imagine Tom Bower is Noting down this man’s details and will be in touch. Maybe Tom will hunt down all the kids at that camp and compare their notes about Meg. He may visit all the classmates he can find, sorority sisters, producers, casting agents..the exes...The lid on Pandora’s box is getting incrementally pried open.
Here is info:
https://campagapecalifornia.com/about/?v=20210311
The CA group is based on a model from Hawaii and is associated with Angel Tree Ministries.
Doria may have been in prison but this isn't the connection.
I think the Silverstein guy spoke up before the wedding to grab his 5 minutes of fame. And he may have been dredged up now by M's side.
" I don't have a Twitter account but I can go through feeds to search for info." But I do! If you need any help digging something up just let me know and I will investigate.
The blood diamonds certainly dropped out of the narrative as quickly as they came in.
Also, it makes sense MM's "camp" releases to all media because they want to cast a wide net. I suppose not every outlet will run their story.
Valentine Low must be onto something. I hope he follows the money. The BRF won't like that because it might remind the public just how wealthy they are and that's an uncomfortable truth.
Finally, Nutties, I had a thought about Mudslide Manor. I recall that Gavin De Becker (security consultant to the stars and Jeff Bezos' current security advisor) was advising the widow of George Harrison with regard to privacy during his illness and death. He had her set up a public address that was different than the family's actual address for security reasons. After Harrison's death, fans went to his listed address, however it was an empty lot. No one knew where the actual Harrison address was.
My point is, after reading comments on whether or not H & M live in that supposed mansion, I lean toward the theory they do not. It makes sense that they're pretending to so they can earn some money by providing publicity for the property until they "decide to move". At the same time they're under a cloak of privacy.
As another commenter pointed out, no one in Montecito really pays them any attention anyway so the neighbors won't out them.
I’m still puzzled about why Eugenie and Jack “moved into” Frogmore Cottage for a few weeks, then moved out. Was it about money, funds or rent owed? Was it a stunt to make it look like H&M still owned/controlled the cottage? Why did Meghan mention Fergie positively in the Oprah interview? She talks badly about someone, then later releases PR about how good friends they are. I can’t tell if this is impulsive, or if there is method to her madness. I suspect the former.
I can’t for the life of me decide if Meg suffers from memory problems or thinks that everyone else does. Because this ongoing PR From her side that she was pals with Eugénie before she’d ever met Harry, and PE is now taking Meg’s corner Against her family, and brokering back door rental agreements for Frogmore Cottage and etc. is probably the most ludicrous bit of self-serving revisionist history that Meg has concocted. It’s possible that she attended an event E was also at without Harry. PE was chummy with the Soho House crowd. E May have even been the one to introduce H around. When Meg glommed onto Harry, Of course they would’ve attended some of the same parties as E and J, Including the infamous Halloween party in Toronto where Meg was accidentally on purpose outed as Harry’s girlfriend.
In M's world, Any person even remotely in the celebrity tier Or celebrity adjacent becomes “one of her best friends” overnight if she meets them Once, has a brief conversation with them in any media, has a relationship conducted entirely on Twitter—Piers—Or even manages to get photographed in the same room with them. You are her “good friend” so long as she can drop your name and you are useful to her in some way. If E Made a show of friendliness to the Pushy American her cousin was dating, that is just good manners. Good friends do not do to Eugénie what Meg did to her at her wedding—And at megs own wedding, neither E nor her sister look thrilled At what was happening down front. There is no visible delight That her cousin is marrying such a good friend.
is it likely at all that E will continue to cultivate a friendship with a woman who disrupted her wedding, is despised by both her parents, and who is the cause of so much grief and upheaval to her other Wales cousin and her grandparents? The suggestion is daft. So Mugsy is either brain-damaged and has actually forgotten all the causes she has given to Eugenie for ear to hit her, where she thinks the rest of the world is so dumb that we have forgotten. So great is megs magical thinking and her belief in her own powers that she must believe that if she says something is true, it will be immediately accepted as true, even if she said the complete opposite thing just the day before.
Meg is trying to dIffuse The person she regards as a rival By making it seem that E is in the tent of friendship, And therefore not holding herself aloof as “better than” Meg. It’s important to narcs for them to receive absolution from their victims so they can continue to exert control even as they ramp up their worst behavior. If Meg can convince the world that E Has forgiven any bad feeling and they are back to being great friends,… Like they ever were… That would appear to minimize the charges that she’s a bully and has made other Royal women cry.
E Is a blood princess, but she must represent an easier target then Kate or any other of the royal women. E is the Second daughter of a disgraced second son. Her husband is a commoner, so east children will not have titles either. The Brooks banks only write the tiniest cottage at KP. He didn’t write security or helping of the sovereign grant. She had to work. But let’s look at what she does have that Meg with envy:
A good looking & devoted husband. Close to her family, including the Queen. Legitimate friendships with celebrities. A standing invite to Royal Ascot And all the other family events. Nearly 10 years younger than Meg. Just gave birth to a healthy baby who is unquestionably hers. And last but I feel for sure not least in Meg’s mind, she got that emerald tiara. It’s kind of interesting that Meg consistently goes after E And leaves Bea alone. B and Edo Are completely under the radar and this whole mess, and Meg was powerless to ruin Bea’s wedding from a far, which can only be good for her.
"Whispery Diana Wokeisha Cancelenia Avocadoria Markle-Windsor"
Absolutely inspired! As is H holding his foot up so the beach bud could "kiss his boo-boo"
Thanks for the laugh!
March 25, 2021
I know the author hired to dig up dirt on the alliterate one has already scheduled an interview with her most recent ex. It will be centered on her cheating on him.
Tom Bower/Meghan Markle
If this guy knew Meg for a few weeks at summer camp when they were in high school, he barely knows her. Even if they slept together, what a couple of kids did at summer camp 25 years ago it’s hardly relevant to the present, And it doesn’t seem like the Meg we know would have kept in contact with such a brief acquaintance/nobody from all those years ago to have solicited his support herself.
So I smell undercurrents to his sudden appearance in this publicity of the relationship now. This guy not only had no contact with Meg during the period of the alleged bullying at KP, but he hasn’t had any contact with Meg in her adult life.
Yes, if I would've been accused of hurling objects at the help, how would going back 20 plus years to a church summer camp and an extremely short-term boyfriend possibly be of any relevance? Seems to me that going back to her last boyfriend would be of far more importance in establishing her character (which is probably why they went back so far).
What it screams to me is that an incredibly small amount of people out of all those that she has met over the years are prepared to tell the press what a kind person she is. They probably all have to be paid well for the endorsement because, although they won't be able to salvage their self respect, at least they can buy themselves something that they want with money that she had to put out to get their cooperation.
The mere sight of Nutmeg is vomit-inducing for me, and since (as a fellow ginger) I used to love Harry, it's almost painful to me to see how complicit he is in this sh*tshow. I do think she has manipulated him, but he has to have been ripe for the picking. I have one brother, as well as several aunts and uncles, that I do not get along with at all, but there is no circumstance I can think of ( other than injuring children or animals) that I would do to them what he did to the BRF.
****
The idea that Nutmeg was friends with Eug prior to Harry might be why it was reported that she was upset that Harry showed up alone to the reception, or after party, or whatever it was. I could never understand why anyone would be upset that a heifer who had done her best to draw attention to herself on my wedding say didn't go to the reception.
Although the background is cropped out of almost all of the beach photos there are some rocks in one of them. My first reaction on seeing the photos was - that does not look like Hendry's Beach. Looks more like just to the east of Butterfly Beach or just to the west of Miramar Beach. That dog should be on a leash.
Now the only beach in SB where you can let a dog run without a leash legally is Hendrys. Which is on the other side of downtown. By the Mesa. Its against the law to let a dog run without a leash on any other beach. I've walked a dog plenty of times on both Butterfly and Miramar Beach and you will almost never see a dog without a lead. In fact usually only the occasional tourist staying at the Biltmore or Miramar Hotel lets their dogs run on those beaches. Not something the locals would do.
BTW I came across a good quote from a New Statesman article today about the new Scottish independence party, Alba, that could equally apply to the Sussexes. By Rory Scothorne:
"The trouble is that there is nothing more inauthentic than somebody trying desperately to prove their authenticity".
Beach photo's. why would they release the one where he's looking at his foot? That one just doesn't make sense. Is that a body guard or ? looking at it.
and it is interesting that they are so tightly cropped. Maybe there were 10 other assistants with him and they didn't want to show the entourage. Nothing is ever anything near normal looking for them.
Based on her article, IMO the timing of Megxit was planned because deals with Quibi, Apple TV were about to be realised with Frim Fram moved to Delaware in December 2019 to hide the money stream that had been set up.
They really thought they'd use Sussexroyal and all of it's trademarks post-Megxit.
We know she lied to Oprah and in FF, but this article goes some way in revealing the victim set up she created in order to realise Megxit.
Also, Harry went to the Sandrigham Summit while also attending Quibi meetings within the same week.
So much for his heartbreak after the Summit.
Their American advisors are utterly incompetent to think they could plan all this behind the backs of the BRF and hope to get away with it and or not check was was legally possible.
Here is link to article
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2021/04/02/harry-meghan-talks-video-platform-year-megxit/
Open link to article
https://archive.vn/WHilA
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9431411/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-cheerleader-Nicola-Brentnall-quits-role.html
Its hard to say. It is very easy to keep a very low profile in Montecito. Maybe I should rephrase that for this pair. It is very easy to be living in Montecito and not be seen out and about. Not that anyone would be paying attention. Unless you deliberately drew attention to yourself. Which would immediately mark you as little better than trailer-trash. Or as they say locally, Very LA..
But I really cannot imagine either popping down to Vons to pick up a quart of milk. Or a quick sandwich in Pierre Lafonds. But I could see the house above East Valley (I love the name Mudslide Manor) being little more than a theatrical prop.
Absolutely nothing about buying the place makes any sense. And not just financially. For a start they could have bought a much much nice place (which would have look great in Instagram pictures) for far less money. Plus given her overweening ambition they really should be in somewhere like BelAir in LA. That's were wannabe flakes who crave publicity usually end up. Somewhere like Montecito makes zero sense for someone like her. On so many levels.
In fact given the fantasy world she lives in (like all sociopaths) I expect somewhere like Montecito would have been way down her places to live list. She strikes me as the type who really really wants to live somewhere like on the bluffs south of PCH and west of Zuma in Malibu. But even Prince Charles's deep pockets could not afford those kind of real estate prices.
Given the fake job that Ginger has now with the Dot Com scam company in San Francisco I'm not sure how Ginger will make that commute work. It's not like he can easily take a private jet from LAX to SFO everyday. I know someone who once did that. The airport in SB is very nice but still a good 30 min drive away from Montecito and given the cost of positioning a private jet it is going to be very expensive commute. I suppose he could drive up 101 to San Francisco. Only a five and half hour drive. Although I have done it in four..
Now the really interesting question is just how much money are they spending on tax attorneys to try to limit the potentially horrific tax liabilities of their precipitous and ill-though out actions. That rather nice man at Coutts wont be terribly useful in those very treacherous IRS waters. The old money in places like Montecito have old money precisely because of very careful and well thought out decisions and preparations made over extended periods of time by tax attorneys and tax accountants long ago.
If they actually do own the property dont be too surprised if a tax lien pops up sooner or later. For a start there is that $10K plus a month property tax and I can easily imagine them already with a large multi-million dollar tax bill. Both state and Federal. Those guys in the Franchise Tax Board in Sacramento make the IRS look sane and reasonable. They even once tried to tax a satellite in orbit because the ground station was in LA so by the logic of the tax people in Sacramento the satellite was "in" California so could be taxed. The tax people eventually lost that case but it went on years.
Thank you for the Camilla Tominey article.
What a pair of snakes they were behind closed doors. 🐍🐍
The Meghan’s mirror founder tweets referencing that she knows a lot about Meghan are from August 20, 2020, and a retweet aimed at a reporter September 23, 2020.
I have some thoughts on this: A) she doesn’t have inside info and B) her business must have tanked since last September. And especially since the had Megxit.
Following on from our general discussion today about Oprah in this saga, will Oprah mind this evidence coming out now, of this degree of underhand planning at least a year before they left? When they told her they had no plan when they left and were bounced into the Netflix and Spotify deals by immediate, unexpected financial necessity? If Americans bother to look into this latest evidence, she'll be seen as a total patsy, or negligent or deceitful. That's a big 'if'. It's a very detailed report for other publications to pick up. Let's pray it gets some traction.
Do you realise, with Camilla Tominey and Valentine Low firing on all cylinders, we finally have the proper investigative journalism we've been waiting for? The respectable, heavyweight end of the British press. It's been such a long wait.
Their PR immediately after Megxit was all about their billion dollar brand which based on this article was probably truthful if her agent was fielding offers in high-end dollar figures.Especially Quibi which was setting them up to be the star property in their stable.
The trouble is that it was all predicated on their royal connection which was compounded by a negligent lack of due diligence about what was possible with that connection.
The Sussex team appears to have been completely ignorant based upon the details on that Megxit website and or simply believed what Harry and Meghan told them about his family without fact checking it.
Still, they probably pitched this false information to Hollywood which led to the mega-bucks deals.
Once they severed that connection and then acted atrociously so publicly which forced the palace to publicly repudiate them, their deals disappeared. No new decent deals appeared as it became clear any claims by the couple about how the family worked, what was or wasn't possible were not true.
And that was before factoring in the couple's utter lack of any talent or skillset to trade.
I think THAT, more than Covid and poor performing Quibi, is why they spluttered out with their new life.
And now a year later, they are working with low tier companies that feel desperate rather than choice. And everyone now understands that the Netflix and spotify deals are production + advertising deals rather than actual cash in their pockets.
Oprah did not help at all.
She made their ambitions harder.
And then Nick and the Gersh agency dumped them.
It's going to take nifty moves to right this ship.
I particularly liked this quote from the article, simply because it confirms what we already suspected! That SHE was the one running the Sussex Royal Instagram account.
“Meghan was the one controlling the timing of announcements, and doing a lot of the planning,” said one source. “She had a grid and was plotting the cadence and order in which all of their plans would come to fruition. There was a sense that Meghan thought she knew what was best for them.”
Heres the link that @Acquitaine posted.
https://archive.vn/WHilA
Harry and Meghan were in talks with video platform a year before ‘Megxit’
The Telegraph has learned the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had discussions with the now defunct Quibi service from early 2019
By Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were discussing projects with a billion-dollar backed US streaming service a year before they stepped down as senior members of the Royal family, it has emerged.
The Sussexes had a series of meetings with Quibi, a now-defunct rival to YouTube, from early 2019 until after they dropped their 'Megxit' bombshell in January last year.
The Duke returned from the so-called Sandringham Summit to meet executives from the short video platform in London as plans for him to provide content apparently reached advanced stages.
In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple said that they “didn’t have a plan” upon leaving the Royal family, but The Telegraph has learnt that they had talks with executives of the £1.3 billion start-up before their son Archie was born in May 2019.
The discussions are understood to have led to tensions with Palace staff fearful they would be accused of “cashing in” on their status, and because the couple were predominantly consulting Meghan’s US-based team of advisers.
A source with knowledge of the situation said: “There were well-developed proposals in place with Quibi from early 2019.”
A royal source added: “A lot of it was orchestrated by Meghan’s people in America. It was a bit of a secret squirrel.”
Sources in the UK and US confirmed there were numerous conversations with Quibi, including its founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, described as “one of Hollywood’s premier political kingmakers”, and Meg Whitman, chief executive, a former president of eBay.
After Quibi drew up a proposal in early 2019, there were conference calls to discuss a plan for their own series of 10-minute videos. There was a meeting in London last January, which the Duke attended with James Holt, the new executive director of Archewell, the couple’s non-profit organisation.
Shortly afterwards, the couple relocated to Los Angeles, and the pandemic put all plans on hold.
Quibi did well on its launch last April, but by September, around the time the Sussexes said they had signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix, it was on the verge of shutting down.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Unfolding events
They told Oprah Winfrey they “didn’t have a plan”. Revealing that they had been “cut off” by the Royal family, Harry, Duke of Sussex, insisted that he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, only signed deals with Netflix and Spotify out of immediate financial necessity.
As the Duke told the US chat show host: “The Netflix and the Spotify, they’re all . . . that was never part of the plan.”
“Because you didn’t have a plan?” prompted Ms Winfrey. “We didn’t have a plan,” replied the Duchess, with the Duke adding: “We didn’t have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford . . . afford security for us.”
The Telegraph has now learned that the couple spent more than a year in the lead up to “Megxit” in talks with a now defunct US streaming platform which would have seen them make a series of 10-minute videos.
The story behind their conversations with Quibi, once hailed the next YouTube and backed by £1.3 billion of investment from the likes of Disney, NBC and Goldman Sachs, lays bare some of the apparent tensions between the Sussexes and their staff as they attempted to walk the tightrope between royal duty and potential commercial opportunity.
Throughout 2019, the couple held a series of discussions with senior executives from Quibi including its founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, described as "one of Hollywood's premier political kingmakers” and its CEO Meg Whitman, a former president of eBay and Hewlett Packard.
Worth an estimated £650 million, Mr Katzenberg, a former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, is one of the Democratic Party’s top national fundraisers in the US, having actively supported Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren and Barack Obama.
Ms Whitman was a senior member of Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns in both 2008 and 2012 and ran for governor of California as a Republican in 2010, but supported Democrats Mrs Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020.
Quibi collapsed in October 2020, a little over six months after it had launched to the public. Its founder, the Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg (left, with and Meg Whitman, chief executive officer of Quibi, on the right) said Quibi had 'exhausted every option available' and was 'no longer viable'. The service was intended to capitalise on the short attention spans and busy lives of today’s smartphone generation.
Both apparently viewed the Duke and Duchess as the key to getting their “mobile-based Netflix” off the ground, actively courting them in the run up to its eagerly-anticipated launch in April 2020.
The couple stated in their “Megxit” statement of January 2020 that they “intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”
Still working royals
They went on to sign lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, thought to be worth millions of dollars.
But when they were still full-time working royals, palace aides are understood to have long harboured concerns that the couple would be accused of cashing in on their royal status because of their meetings with Quibi, or tarnished by association if it failed to take off.
As one source put it: “Chinese walls were put up and certain amounts of information weren’t shared which just made it difficult to protect the couple from accusations of attempting to monetise their role.
“It was hard for royal aides to be supportive of projects like Quibi because they knew how it might look but the couple kept dismissing these concerns. They didn’t seem to see the pitfalls of any potential conflict of interests.”
Amid much talk of conflict behind the gates of Kensington Palace, with a bullying complaint submitted against the couple in October 2018, it seems one bone of contention for royal aides was the couple's “secretive” conversations with the Duchess's trio of US advisers.
Asked whether she would be giving up her career in their November 2017 engagement interview, the Duchess replied: “I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change.”
Sunshine Sachs and sussexroyal.com
Multiple sources in the UK and US have confirmed that the Duchess continued to consult her lawyer Rick Genow, her business manager Andrew Meyer and her talent agent Nick Collins, during her time in the Royal family – with regular conference calls even set up to link both sides of the Atlantic.
Another key figure who remained in her sphere of external advisers throughout was Keleigh Thomas Morgan of PR firm Sunshine Sachs, who helped to broker the Duchess’s first interview about dating the Duke with Vanity Fair in September 2017, before going on to mastermind the couple's first charitable foundation, Sussex Royal.
The quartet are understood to have helped with the registration and development of the couple’s new website, sussexroyal.com, in March 2019.
According to one insider: “Rick, Andrew and Nick came with the territory. So did Keleigh. They were constantly fielding proposals for Meghan and bringing stuff to her.
“But the team in America did pose problems for staff at KP. There was always quite a lot of secrecy surrounding the couple’s conversations with the US.
“Certain people would be in the know about what was going on with things like Quibi, while others wouldn’t have a clue. Discussions that had been quite public would then suddenly go underground, into the 'private' space. It was all quite difficult to manage at times.”
In September 2019, James Holt, now executive director of the couple’s Archewell non-profit organisation, confirmed that Sunshine Sachs had been “supporting us with outreach and coordination in the US.”
The firm helped with the launch of the Duke's sustainable travel initiative, Travlyst.
Mental health initiative
Around the time the Sussexes had received a proposal from Quibi in April 2019, they announced that the Duke would be teaming up with Ms Winfey to create a series of documentaries about mental health. The shows were to air on Apple TV+, Apple’s video streaming service expected to be released that autumn, after Ms Winfrey had signed a multi-year deal to create programmes for the streaming platform.
But the announcement on the Sussexes’ new Instagram page took Buckingham Palace by surprise, with the Queen’s private secretary Sir Edward Young and Prince Charles’s counterpart Clive Alderton both contacting Samantha Cohen, then the couple’s private secretary, requesting more details.
“The Apple TV series was a bit problematic because senior palace staff were given minimal information about it," added a royal source.
“Meghan had insisted it be announced on Instagram because they had just launched the Sussex Royal page and wanted to make all the big announcements on there. But no one had seen the fine print. There was uncertainty over the commercial terms of the deal.”
The palace briefed at the time that the collaboration to “accelerate change for a more compassionate, connected and positive society” was the result of “several months of discussions” with Ms Winfrey, who had attended the couple’s wedding in May 2018.
'Surviving' rather than 'thriving'
Confirming the Duke would be donating his fee to a mental health charity, a spokesman for Kensington Palace said the multi-part documentary series "will focus on both mental illness and mental wellness, inspiring viewers to have an honest conversation about the challenges each of us faces, and how to equip ourselves with the tools to thrive, rather than to simply survive".
The Duchess would later use the same terminology to describe how she was “surviving” rather than “thriving” in the Royal family during an October 2019 interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby.
During the Oprah interview, the Duchess suggested that she went into the Royal family “naively” and that they “only wanted to have the same type of role that exists”.
Citing royals who “earn a living, live on palace grounds, can support the Queen if and when called upon", she said: “We weren’t reinventing the wheel here.”
However, there was no precedent for full-time working royals to earn money outside the institution. Figures like the Earl and Countess of Wessex had to give up successful careers to devote their lives to public service.
While Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, do earn their own living, they are not and never have been full-time working royals.
The royal source added: “There was a constant dialogue from the couple along the lines of: “Why can’t we do this? You can’t stop us from doing what we want to do".
Calling the shots
“They were calling the shots and would be the ones instructing the press office on what line to put out.”
The Duchess suggested in the Oprah interview that the institution did not do enough to defend her against negative press coverage. But insiders on both sides of the Atlantic revealed the Duchess did have a great deal of control over the couple’s PR, writing her own Instagram posts and even selecting the imagery to go with them.
“Meghan was the one controlling the timing of announcements, and doing a lot of the planning,” said one source. “She had a grid and was plotting the cadence and order in which all of their plans would come to fruition. There was a sense that Meghan thought she knew what was best for them.”
Another insider revealed how royal aides were left in a quandary after Meghan attended a baby shower in New York without taking any palace staff with her.
As guests including Serena Williams and Amal Clooney began to arrive at the exclusive Mark Hotel alongside trolleys-full of baby items, staff back in London wondered how they should register the freebies in accordance with the Royal family's strict rules on declaring gifts.
“That was a bit of a headache, not least because no one from the palace was there to oversee what was happening,” said the source. “The American lot were the ones dealing with the baby shower.”
Eyebrows were also raised four months later when the couple attended the Lion King premiere in London, when they met the singer Beyonce and her rapper husband Jay Z.
Voiceover work
Video footage later emerged of the Duke touting the Duchess's skills as a voice over artist to Disney CEO Bob Iger. “You know she does voiceovers, right?” he told the media mogul. “She’s really interested,” to which Mr Iger replied: “We’d love to try”.
In January 2020, it emerged that the Duchess had signed a deal with Disney to do a voiceover for a wildlife charity called Elephants Without Borders, having reportedly recorded it before the couple left for their six-week sabbatical in Canada in November 2019 to consider their future.
The couple said Disney had made a donation to their charity work on the environment and conservation.
Holed up in a multi-million pound mansion on Vancouver Island over Christmas 2019, the couple are understood to have masterminded their departure from the Royal family with the help of Mr Genow, Mr Meyer, Mr Collins and Ms Thomas Morgan.
Around the same time, the Duchess’s company, Frim Fram Inc, was moved out of California and incorporated in Delaware, which tax experts suggested could have been done to avoid being hit with tax liabilities in California.
Corporation filings seen by The Telegraph showed that the move was made on New Year's Eve, while the couple were still in Canada. Mr Meyer and Mr Genow are listed as CEO and secretary of Frim Fram Inc.
With its flexible business laws and low personal income tax rates, Delaware is known for being home to more corporations than people, with almost 65 per cent of Fortune 500 companies incorporated in the state.
A source said at the time that as the Duchess was no longer resident in California it was appropriate for the registration to be moved. It is understood that the company receives payments for work undertaken by the Duchess before she joined the Royal Family, such as residual payments from her acting work.
The company was described by the source as "largely inactive". On March 10 last year, the company’s status changed from “active” to “merged out”.
In January 2020, the Duke had his last meeting with Quibi at Soho Works, a workspace in London’s White City. Previous conversations had taken place while the Duke was at Kensington Palace and at Frogmore, the couple’s Windsor home.
The discussions with Quibi, understood to have been about a sustainable tourism project, never came to anything. Its app fell out of the list of the 50 most-downloaded free iPhone apps in the US a week after it was released in April 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic put the global economy on hold.
In late 2020, the streaming platform shut down after just over seven months of operation due to a lack of interest and profitability. Of the initial £1.3 billion raised, Quibi only returned £250 million.
On October 22, 2020, Mr Katzenberg reportedly told the employees to listen to the song "Get Back Up Again" from the Dreamworks movie Trolls as he announced that they would be fired.
By then, the Duke and Duchess had announced they had signed a multi-million dollar deal to make content for Netflix. Three months later, they announced they had also signed a similarly lucrative deal to make podcasts for Spotify.
ENDS
@Jessica Thanks for looking into that Twitter feed. @JennS gave me the link and then I was called away on a project.
@MusicDSPGuy Thanks for your intel. It’s great to have someone with their “boots on the ground” in the midst of all these shenanigans.
I think in Nutmeg's mind, she IS the type who belongs in Montecito, which she undoubtedly looks at as classy, and old money. I bet she thinks she is every so classy anyway, and now she has married into some of the oldest money around, and is a princess, to boot. She doesn't see herself as the brash, show-offy, look-at-me type that she is, and there is of course the Jackie Kennedy connection to San Ysidro.
I suppose it could be possible that Harry didn't want to be right in the center of Hollywood/L.A. Or if there isn't an Archie, maybe they thought it would be easier to hide that in Montecito, which is by far more private?
Honestly, the more detail we get, the worse my opinion of Harry becomes.
@Ian's Girl
We have speculated so much about their dishonesty, and yet to have it confirmed this way with facts and figures brings up such a bitter taste of revulsion. Snakes indeed, poisonous snakes.