Let's continue the conversation...
Recently there was (yet another) post somewhere out in the world about how they will soon divorce. And my first thought was: Haven't I heard this before? which moved quickly to: how many times have I heard this (through the years)? There were a number of questions raised which ... I don't know. I'm not a lawyer. One of the points which has been raised is that KC would somehow be shelling out beaucoup money to get her to go "away". That he has all this money stashed away and can pull it out at a moment's notice. But does he? He inherited a lot of "stuff" from his mother but ... isn't it a lot of tangible stuff like properties? and with that staff to maintain it and insurance. Inside said properties is art, antique furniture and other "old stuff" which may be valuable" but ... that kind of thing is subject to the whims and bank accounts of the rarified people who may be interested in it (which is not most of us in terms of bei
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https://64.media.tumblr.com/cee7760c9ad48841180b9e62305f7553/544e769f221dbba8-ef/s640x960/90df63685099e0ec87190ed8f968a5a45ca64823.png
'throughout the Heyer mystery book were references to Elisabeth and her biography gone missing. It is my family!'
I understand completely. Try these:
(From a Guardian article, a reader's recommendation):
'Try the Jane Aiken Hodge biography instead, goodyorkshirelass, it's a fun read with plenty of discussion of the novels as well as the life story. It was published in the mid 80s so the author had access to more people who'd known Heyer than Jennifer Kloester will have done, but was also more restricted in what could be published because some people were still alive to sue - Jane Aiken Hodge quoted bits of a letter about a plagiarist but didn't name her as Barbara Cartland as apparently Kloester does (that was in the Books pages in the summer, I think we both commented on the story).'
Abe books also:
https://tinyurl.com/53x66s35
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/queen-stripping-honours-record-rate-172146274.html
Queen is stripping people of honours at record rate, investigation shows,
Rebecca Taylor
·Royal Correspondent
Tue, 6 April 2021, 6:21 pm
Honours from the Queen are being stripped from their recipients at a faster rate than any other decade, according to an investigation.
Harvey Weinstein was one of the last people to have his honour "cancelled and annulled" by the Cabinet Office, on behalf of the Queen, last year.
According to The Times, his was part of a record decade for annulments, with 70 people having their honour cancelled.
The paper calculated that 70 in one decade was more than three times the number of any other decade since the Queen acceded to the throne, except for the 1950s when 26 people had their honour cancelled and annulled.
While some of these cancellations are widely reported, as Weinstein's was, others go largely unnoticed, which has prompted calls for a wider level of transparency in the cancellation process.
The Cabinet Office works on behalf of the Queen to cancel honours if the person is no longer considered fit to hold one.
Lord Lexden, who sat on the House of Lords constitution committee until 2015, told The Times: “Secret disgrace is no disgrace at all. A person to whom an award is made receives public honour; its loss should be accompanied by public dishonour.”
One whose honour cancellation was not reported was Peter Cornwell, a former civil servant who had his MBE taken away in 2009. His child sex offences conviction is only public knowledge because of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: "We have increased transparency in the honours forfeiture system, including making more information about the process available publicly, increasing engagement with complainants and appointing independent members to the committee.
"The vast majority of forfeiture decisions are published - including those relating to child sex abuse. Any exceptions to this reflect broader duty of care considerations.
"We rightly provided full evidence to the statutory Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, to support the work of the Inquiry and in recognition of the seriousness of the issues raised."
Records of cancelled and annulled honours are made in the London Gazette, the official public record.
Reasons are occasionally given, though they have been somewhat sporadic in Yahoo UK research. Some of those cancelled and annulled were accompanied by reasons during the 1980s.
Usually several cancellations are announced in one day in the Gazette. On 15 August 2017, 11 people were stripped of their titles in one day.
When Weinstein's was cancelled, his was one of nine announced as annulled on 18 September 2020.
According to figures, 70 titles were cancelled and annulled in 2011-2020, a rise on the 20 cancelled and annulled between 2001-2010.
In 1991-2000, there were 20 cancellations, and in 1981-1990, there were 21.
There were 26 between 1951 and 1960. The Queen acceded to the throne in February 1952 after the death of her father.
Titles only apply to the person while they are alive, and it is technically incorrect to refer to someone by their honour once they have died.
Later I was at a conference in Budapest and told my colleagues about her as we walked through an old market, as pictures of her beautiful face kept appearing in odd corners. They were fascinated. Especially the strange manner of her death, being stabbed with a very thin blade through her corset of course. As you know, no one knew the severity of what had happened until she was undressed. She didn't know herself. Mark Gatiss later used a version of that in Sherlock but with a male victim in unusual clothing (trying to avoid spoilers here). I worked it out immediately but read later he didn't expect anyone to do that as it was by then little known to younger generations.
During Diana's later royal life the Empress became very topical as she also had an eating disorder and had married into a very stiff, old-fashioned royal family. She turned out to be very much a Diana, not a Catherine. All the same problems. Like trying to keep a comet in a stable. She was never happy (with good reason mind). Never satisfied. Inordinately obsessed with her appearance. Fearful of ageing. One book about her was titled "Death by Fame", published soon after Diana's death, to capitalise on the similarities.
Actually, the comparison emphasises the vast gulf between Meghan and Diana for those who lives through the Diana years. I don't think you can capture her true impact for younger people, especially as her hairstyles and fashions have quickly dated in a way Jackie Kennedy's never have. Meghan doesn't begin to approach Diana, the royal 'A' lister. Unless you are measuring sheer nuisance value. Diana was quickly taken to the public's heart, just as Meghan was, but she built on that with actual work, really beginning with her rainy visit to economically depressed Wales. How Meghan would have hated that and how we would have known it.
https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1865-winterhalter-empress/
How can anyone compete with that these days?
And talking of sexism and in the spirit of equality presumably the Queen will ensure that as many women are deprived of their titles as men. Something about the removal of gongs strikes me uncomfortably. Poor Mr Weinstein may lose his gong - as if he cared - but if one is ennobled such honour cannot be removed and thus Jeffrey Archer did not when incarcerated at her Majesty's pleasure lose his Lordship. Weinstein did not receive his gong for failing to rape and so removing it for doing so (not that I believe for one second of his guilt) strikes me as moral grandstanding. Removing the Dukedom from Harry however strikes me as a necessity (followed by a quick silk-roped hanging).
When am I going to receive my gong - never raped anyone - yet.
Good morning people.
Anyway - the garden party - I still have no clear idea what happened there. I've read Meghan's transgression(s) went round the crowd there like wildfire. I read Lady C's book when it came out but then - when I swore off the Sussexes for a while - permanently deleted it from my Kindle. I can't remember my curiosity being satisfied when I read the book. I've seen all the footage. The stripper walk was as they left so it wasn't that.
Oh that walk! My jaw dropped at the time. A real OMG moment. She was now IN the Royal Family. Too late! That's when I started thinking of the BRF and Meghan like living cells under a microscope, watching the cell walls being breached by the invader which then multiplies. Hence Meghan's improbably swift 'conception'. An absolute necessity.
Just compare Jack and Eugenie's wedding cake to the Sussex wedding cake in terms of formality, skill and sheer labour involved:
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/dining/a23628091/princess-eugenie-jack-brooksbank-wedding-cake/
Every couple is entitled to choose whatever cake they like (though arguably a royal wedding is a little different) but there's a huge mismatch here in terms of cost and result.
On a happy final note - Jack and Eugenie's cake is just gorgeous. I've said it before but I loved everything about that wedding. The first and only time I've been happy about Prince Andrew getting his own way, ensuring it was televised. A coup for ITV that day.
I believe Meg was overheard telling Harry that she was bored and wanted to leave.
I don’t believe this for a minute. ;o) The Cambridge’s cake wasn’t anywhere near to that cost and it had all that fabulous icing decoration. Seems to me someone got slap happy with adding too many additional noughts! Lol
No idea where I found pic or I would give proper credit. Discovering I have bookmarked quite the collection of random MM wtf. But that is indeed frightening image. I would say "poor baby" but there is zero chance that whatever is strapped to her is Archie, or alive for that matter.
Nice glimpse of evil here https://stat.ameba.jp/user_images/20180419/23/audrey-beautytips/2b/7d/g/o0268018014173928918.gif?caw=800
@Ava
I cannot believe how sloppy their cake looks! Really looks haphazardly slopped together. I thought maybe it was bad pic/angle. However, internet search confirmed the look. Omg. I am sure a lot of hours went into it(?) but it lacks the intricate detail one would expect for 50,000+ pounds! No height even and that choppy unsmoothed icing is triggering to me. I am rather shocked
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/royal-wedding-cake-cost-revealed-12562199
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/how-much-prince-harry-meghan-1598367
https://metro.co.uk/2018/05/22/much-royal-wedding-cost-paid-7567772/
Apparently William and Catherine's cake cost £56k.
My favourite headline is from the first article listed:
Royal wedding cake cost £50,000 - first picture of treat made with with 200 Amalfi lemons
To which one can only say "200 Amalfi lemons? Oh well, that's all right then."
You could give each lemon a seat on a flight from Italy for that. Not first class though ...
Thanks for the wedding cake pix. The Harkles' looks very amateurish is not terribly big. In contrast, Eugenie and Jack's looks extremely professional and has intricate decorations. If the Harkles' cake was indeed £50K, then the BRF was seriously ripped off.
There has to be an exaggeration. 50k lol. That would be over $200 a slice for 250 guests....I think they had 150 guests?
I’d give a higher creditability rating from The Mirror, but that’s not saying much. Lol
When you compare the two cakes there’s zero comparison in talent and time taken to create. I’m surprised at the cost of either cake though....but we know it’s not just down to just all that. Adding royalty at the end would factor and attract a high price. I’m gobsmacked. ;o)
My sentiments exactly! It looks like an amateurish mess and I remember thinking it at the time.
https://www.eater.com/2018/5/18/17340392/cake-royal-wedding-meghan-markle-prince-harry-william-kate-elizabeth-history
These miracles of artistry are bookended by the three splats. Amalfi lemon and elderflower splats of course.
The Queen's wedding cake had three gallons of navy rum in it!
"There has to be an exaggeration. 50k lol. That would be over $200 a slice for 250 guests....I think they had 150 guests?"
I agree $50K much less £50K would have been ridiculous for the cake we've seen. But it was my understanding the cake was served at the first reception, not the evening one. So it needed to serve 800, not 150-200. Still a ridiculous amount. And no way the cake we saw served 800 either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_Ptak
All palsy-walsy.
This is snipped from Lady C's book...
Three days after the wedding, Harry and Meghan attended the garden party at Buckingham Palace celebrating Prince Charles’s 70th birthday in the presence of representatives of his many charities and associates. Meghan looked beautiful as she and Harry stepped out onto the lawn. They plunged in, glad-handing those who had been selected for introductions. She charmed everyone. Fifteen minutes into the event, she turned to Harry and said, ‘Harry, this is really boring. Let’s leave.’
To his credit, he informed her that they would have to stay. ‘But Harry,’ she said, ‘this is so boring. We’ve done our bit. Everyone knows we’ve been here. Let’s go.’ Harry asserted that they had to stay, and they moved on.
The conventional tiered cake of the C20, as baked for ordinary folk, had 3 tiers separated by classical columns, like the steeple of St Bride's Church in Fleet St. With cakes like that, everyone got some icing, both almond - and royal-.
Piling up cakes in the contemporary style, without separators, would make a sticky mess of fondant in the centre. So do those given a piece from the centre have to forego the icing?
What a swizzle.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9444869/Prince-William-ends-20-year-friendship-ITVs-Tom-Bradby.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14571550/prince-william-friendship-tom-bradby-harry-and-meghan/
Interesting timing, this emerging now ...
"I got an email in January from the wedding planner, or “project manager.."
Reads like Rachel with the hotmail account🙄
https://london.eater.com/2018/5/24/17388250/harry-and-meghan-royal-wedding-cake-claire-ptak-violet
She really is diabolical. No way did she hand over 50,000 for that cake.
There's quite a few articles today about Meghan being unable to accept she "would never be in the first division" with Kate and that this was crystallised in the difference between Nottingham Cottage and the vast Apartment 1A at KP.
This is hands-on the most irritating thing for me. I know it's very different to the US but we know Meghan was steeped in stories about Diana. You can't avoid learning how that world works.
Even if you had no prior knowledge, anyone can understand in a few sentences how monarchy works. H-I-E-R-A-R-C-H-Y. S-U-C-C-E-S-S-I-O-N. It's not difficult. I want to shake each syllable into her. Not for the first time.
Oh to be in a broken down lift/elevator with her for five minutes. Ten minutes. There are so many issues to cover. I'd need a mask for my eyes too though. Medusa.
Extensive labor involved. Maybe Meg exaggerated cost of hers to align with W&K's.
Even 20,000 seems excessive. Frankly, it is borderline embarrassing.
How much do you suppose she paid for olive cake she shipped to Chicago? (£12,000 according to invoice on Charles' desk) 🤨
https://www.hellomagazine.com/cuisine/20210208106375/kate-middleton-prince-william-wedding-cake-amazing-fact/
I'll give you extracts (with my italics) as it's so disturbing reading how some young people are being brainwashed into having such egotistical, unquestioning, closed minds not to mention being drama queens with no idea of real suffering. This is why Meghan gets the traction she gets. How much worse can this become?
****
In a recent episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Khloé complained bitterly about people commenting on how she looks.
'My soul is at a breaking point,' she said, 'in regards to the public thinking they're allowed to talk about my weight, my face, my personal life.'
She even managed to say this with a straight face, which may or may not be down to all the Botox she's had.
When even her own fans slammed her oddly altered physical appearance in a recent new commercial, she hit back on Instagram by urging everyone to 'start ignoring people who threaten your joy. Literally ignore them. Say nothing. Don't invite any parts of them into your space.' [...]
Some of their famous supporters have raced to double down on blaming the public.
Model and TV presenter Vogue Williams posted this furious tirade: 'I have seen so much crap surrounding this picture of Khloe Kardashian today. Once again discussing a woman's body and looks. It's honestly made me feel so angry. If she wants to post edited pictures she can, it's nobody else's business and nobody else should care either.'
Wait, what?
Nobody should discuss a woman's body and looks when they constantly post intimate semi-naked photos on social media for their 136 million followers to see?
And faking those pictures to create a false impression is 'nobody else's business' and 'nobody else should care'?
This is just astoundingly deluded, isn't it?
But that's the extraordinarily two-faced world we now live in, one personified by Meghan Markle's 'my truth' mindset: believe what I say, even if it's untrue, and only write and say good things about me, however hypocritical I'm being.
****
My only hope is these people and their followers will be too busy taking selfies to vote in the real world.
Keep up the battle Piers. It's like being at the end of the Roman Empire fighting off endless savage tribes (showing my age here, so I shall just add that of course their cultures had equal validity. It's just that you had to wait till the 19th century to get back to the same standard of plumbing.)
I cannot believe how sloppy their cake looks! Really looks haphazardly slopped together. I thought maybe it was bad pic/angle. However, internet search confirmed the look. Omg. I am sure a lot of hours went into it(?) but it lacks the intricate detail one would expect for 50,000+ pounds! No height even and that choppy unsmoothed icing is triggering to me. I am rather shocked.
It does look like a big pile of cow patties that someone frosted and threw some plants on top of, doesn't it?
I seem to recall reading that in the flurry of preparations for the Queen's reception, that Meg's cake accidentally/on purpose got dropped on the floor and had to be hastily patched up as best as could be done. It might have been a legitimate accident, sure. OR perhaps the catering staff was getting their revenge over having been screamed at by Bridezilla just too many times.
I also recall reading that prior to the engagement announcement, calls from the Palace were quietly but swiftly placed all 'round London to all the usual vendors who catered for Royal events, and probably most of the rest of the upper-tier type places that it would be very much appreciated if the businesses could find themselves fully booked for May 19th and thus unable to accommodate Meghan. So if Mugs had 'a friend' do her half-arsed wedding cake, it's because every other bakery in the Greater London area was unavailable to her.
This no doubt is a pole in Meg's tent of 'bullying' narrative. I think of it as the BRF going into self-protective mode . . no way did they want their professional relationships with businesses they had been patronizing for decades--, in some cases--be tainted and ruined due to Meg's shenanigans. Also they were probably doing what they could to keep the costs down for an event they were fervently hoping would not actually go off. Meg was supposed to take a handsome payoff to go away and leave Harry alone but she decided to dig in and extort the Queen for the full Duchess Wedding Extravaganza. The sour/shell-shocked faces in the stalls tell the tale.
Any normal person who'd seen even one Disney film and who was over the age of 5 is capable of understanding how a hereditary monarchy works. The firstborn Prince gets to become King, full stop. If he has brothers and sisters, they get to to be Princes and Princesses too, and get to have a very nice life--but the eldest gets to be the King. Meg's delusions have become a gigantic headache and international relations disaster for the BRF, but as Meg so famously put it, "It didn't have to be this way."
No, it certainly did not. When Meg made that statement, she meant, "It wouldn't have come to this if they'd just given me everything I know I'm entitled to, which is Windsor Castle and the title Princess of Wales--soon to be Queen Meghan--but they were totally unreasonable and mean and racist, so of course we had to leave."
It wouldn't have had to be this way either, if Hazza had just kept Good King Harry zipped up and told her to get lost.
William and Catherine have the homes befitting the London and country abodes of the future Prince and Princess of Wales. Their futures are mapped out; eventually they will be upgrading to the Big House (which, it is said, everyone detests. Charles is adamant that he's going to keep Clarence House when he's King and go 'to the Office' for Kinging during the day. He's determined to do what his mother was denied by the Grey Men when she was a 25-year-old baby Queen. Clarence House must be quite a special place. I think Charles may get his way, or at least he will week-end at Clarence House rather than spend as much time in Windsor as Mummy does.
NottCott seems to be where the Firm sticks the bachelor Princes before they've really gotten established. Didn't William and Catherine even stay there for a little while just before/after their wedding, before the move to Anglesey? Harry was in Afghanistan then.
Frogmore Cottage seems to have been something of a Royal shade-throwing, sticking Meg out in the frog swamp across the road from Wallis Simpson's grave. I am still of the belief that the extensive reno on that place was never finished, and the couple never lived there--probably because it was self-evident even before the marriage that wasn't supposed to happen that Meg would only be a short-termer in the family. And FroggyCott was probably something of a Royal rebuke as well for Harry turning down the organic estate in Herefordshire, where he would have been a squire with his own extensive lands. Perhaps the house wasn't as grand-looking as Anmer Hall, but Charles was hardly going to be putting the Sussexes into a double-wide.
If the Sussexes had ever genuinely intended to behave and muck in with Royal duties, they would have been gifted a very nice house. If they didn't get one, it's their own damn fault. Not that they will EVER acknowledge this.
The guests were served slices of cake made and stored elsewhere.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/dining/a27364096/prince-harry-meghan-markle-royal-wedding-cake-baker-anniversary-interview/
As the cake was lemon sponge, i don't think they made any tiers to be eaten years later nor did they send as gifts. And none will show up at auction.
Every so often wedding cake from older weddings comes up for auction. The oldest wedding cake slice at auction is from Queen Victoria which was sold in 2016. No way to tell for sure if it truly was Victoria's wedding cake, but Christie's sold it as authentic.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-37373425#:~:text=A%20slice%20of%20Queen%20Victoria's,Jersey%20collector%20David%20Gainsborough%20Roberts.
In 2015, a slice of wedding cake from the Queen's wedding came up for auction.
A slice of wedding cake from Charles and Diana's cake came up for auction in December 2020.
https://people.com/royals/prince-charles-and-princess-diana-wedding-cake-auction-2015/#:~:text=Sells%20for%20%241%2C375-,A%20Slice%20of%20History!,Diana's%20Wedding%20Sells%20for%20%241%2C375&text=A%2034-year-old%20slice,on%20Thursday%2C%20PEOPLE%2
A slice of cake from Willuam and Kate's wedding came up for auction in 2017.
https://twitter.com/gatitonic1968/status/1379440758390992897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1379440758390992897%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=
This guy alledgedly saw the "tossing salad" video
Necessary and past time, I'd have thought. If I were Wills, I'd have cut Bradby off for his participation in the South Africa whingefest. TB was booked for that by the Sussexes directly without the consent of BP, so he can hardly claim that he was acting in the best interests of the Queen by giving the SA tour good publicity. That entire project was to serve the Sussex agenda and their vast snowflake egos. Tom should have been struck off the Royal rota forthwith.
Still, the fact that William's displeasure was released publicly means that he is becoming a more powerful voice in this whole mess. I sense he's had it with standing by, mute and taking it on the chin with no means of redress. We know Charles feels the same. At this point, if the heir and his heir decide to defy the Queen (mildly) and express 'feelings' to the media in regards to Harry's treachery, what would the Queen do about it, really, in terms of consequences? Maybe she doesn't actually care if Charles and William manage this situation as they see fit, so long as she can be seen to rise above the fray as she always does.
"....NottCott seems to be where the Firm sticks the bachelor Princes before they've really gotten established..."
It's hapstance not design. KP is a network of flats and cottages with other residents from military services and the royal household. When they move into the palace, they get whatever is available.
Harry moved out of CH into KP and got Nottcott because that was available. Just as Eugenie got Ivy cottage after moving out of SJP because that was available.
It will be interesting to see who gets apt 1 which is next door to William and Kate now we know the Gloucesters definitely moved out.
Nottcott is also available now.
Frogmore was Meghan's punishment for pushing the BRF too hard and too fast. As you say, it's all their own damn fault. A delicious revenge though. Frogmore Cottage instead of Frogmore House. The Heathrow flightpath. The royal graveyard and mausoleum. The actual frogs in the kind of countryside they like best.
I think this happened years ago. Remember how malicious Tom was during Megxit last year? He was the one that issued the threat that the Sussexes would do a tell-all accusing the royals of racism if they didn't get their demands met during Megxit.
The way he spoke up for the Sussexes revealed deep personal animosity which led to many UK journalists wondering on twitter what happened for him to behave this way. Many thought this was definitely a sign that his relationship with the royals, and William in particular, had broken down, and done so bitterly.
>>>>>>> Don't feel bad for this numbskull who has never worked hard in her life. And if she feels awful (my soul is at a breaking point) she can go see a high priced Hollywood shrink.
So it's interesting that Hello today has a similar piece on the Sussex wedding, which does NOT have a special anniversary coming up. All I think about is how fast everything unravelled from that day.
https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/20210407110447/prince-harry-meghan-markle-wedding-guests-tears/
I guess Meghan has her grid out, ready to match every Cambridge article with a fatuous Sussex equivalent. Without justification as ever. Hello is one of her mouthpieces.
By PIERS MORGAN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 09:41 EDT, 7 April 2021 | UPDATED: 10:20 EDT, 7 April 2021
_______________________
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9445341/PIERS-MORGAN-Khlo-s-horror-picture-family-built-empire-exploitation-fake-views.html
________________________
Piers is on a roll. After slamming MM/Harry's lies he is now exposing the ultra-photoshopped fakery of what the Kardashians put up on Instagram, UK Daily Mail and more. Their perfecto images and poses that drive girls and young women crazy as they try to copy these fake (lying same as Meghan) Kardashians and look as good.
***************************************
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/amp36037574/princess-eugenie-spring-easter-instagram-2021/
Nutties, you will appreciate this. Princess Eugenie posted a special family photo to mark Easter on her Instagram. Have a look. We mustn’t assume that the royal family isn’t finding ways to have a bit of fun with the current debacle. The Suxxits are being mocked, my friends, and it is glorious.
Do you recall how much the Sussexes made a point of claiming their interest in Windsor? How they'd spent so much time there during their dating months, how much it was lovely and home to them.
The wedding venue was tied into that PR as if they had specifically asked for it out of personal affection and romance.
I can't find the article now, but when it was announced that they were getting frogmore cottage, Richard Kay wrote an article that explained that it was a fait accompli type of situation. That very few members of the family knew the cottage existed as it was used for staff and they don't concern themselves with such property matters especially Harry. Until it was presented to them, various options had been discussed and then everything was withdrawn and the cottage presented as their only option.
Given the series of mcmansions they've lived in since November 2019, i think once they were denied Windsor castle, and they kept pumping out Windsor PR, i speculate that they were presented with Frogmore, but not realising there was a cottage AND a house, they agreed to it assuming they were getting the house. The type of place they could show off to their friends.
Imagine the shock to see the cottage!!!
I've just realised that it's been a long time since the media and everybody was handwringing about photos of unrealistic and unobtainable beauty in fashion magazines and how it was encouraging disordered eating and poor body image in teens and women. The advertising industry was encouraged to use 'real women' in their ads.
Now everybody merrily posts heavily edited, photoshopped, filtered IG images for likes which everybody accepts and no one handwrings over the fact that IG is having a more corrossive effect on everyone, male and female alike than anything the fashion magazines ever did.
I am an American, and through Heyer I learned many “British” words, such as a torch is a flashlight. I thought that the modern English people used a large piece of wood with a fire on the end! I was lucky to have had public school (tax payer paid through state and local taxes) English teachers, grade seven through twelve (ages 12 to 18) who were rewarded the awards for top teachers in the USA. Very difficult classes to pass, much less receive an A or B grade. I learned, through extra credit, why Americans use cutlery in a different way than England, like my mother, living in Europe for five years, who followed the “Continental” usage. America and Canada were where many extra sons of the nobility ended, and they created huge plantations, were bequeathed land, etc. The upper class way of eating was holding, say, a piece of steak with the left hand, cutting the meat with right hand, and then placing both used cutlery on the plate, and picking up only the right hand to eat the one piece of meat cut with the fork. To be repeated.
The aristocrats were horrified that the poor and uncouth copied their mannerisms. Thus, they changed their cutlery to a different style once they returned to England. They introduced the way of eating food with holding the knife and fork together, which to Americans is very tacky and low-class! Of course, then the peasants in Europe copied the aristocracy, so what to do? Well, turn the fork over in a ridiculous way, and eat food on a fork that cannot be held in a graceful way. Thus, today’s habit of cutlery is not the true aristocratic way of eating.
In the same way, the French Canadians assert their French accent and words are that of aristocrats. Before the “Terrors” in France in the late 1700s, the aristocratic and gentry second and third sons were sent to the northern territories of North America. They spoke with the so-called high nose-born French, and this is the accent all Canadians speak today. Meanwhile, all the aristocratic French were murdered, or went into exile in Canada, Great Britain,, and especially, Krakow, Poland, joining the fleeing Scottish Jacobites of 1745-7, and creating the greatest cultural city of its time, In the gorgeous Krakow..
A few years ago Charles put in planning permission for the home he wanted built on the property - a grand Palladium mansion.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/12/23/2E64344A00000578-0-image-a-1_1447369676778.jpg
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3316291/Charles-s-10million-folly-s-personally-designed-grandiose-dream-home-scornful-architects-say-ll-blot-English-countryside.html
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Watch the face of the staffer in the background. It appears she was also embarrassed by what H was saying? However, mm needs to develop a professional demeanor and not show on her face what she's really thinking.
Perhaps Meghan's slice of cake wasn't the only cut she got???
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That was my first thought. Arrangements were made?
Hmmm. I read somewhere that Markle was loudly giving her opinion about abortion at the garden party.
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I thought that incident had happened when they were in Ireland. Maybe she did it both times?
If I were Wills, I'd have cut Bradby off for his participation in the South Africa whingefest.
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Exactly. I saw someone on Twitter speculating that Bradby had been cut off earlier and that the South Africa interview was revenge for that.
KP is grand but it comes across as a bit of a barracks. To quote a summary about Tom Quinn's book on the place:
"For more than 200 years the younger members of the British royal family including future monarchs have lived at Kensington Palace, alongside royal aunts and uncles, distant cousins and assorted aristocratic eccentrics. The palace has been described as a royal menagerie, a hive of industrious freeloaders, an ant heap and even a lunatic asylum."
Industrious freeloaders and lunatics. Mmmmmmm ....
Cake. Over priced. Deliberately. Did someone offer to split the reimbursement for the advertisement of being the Markles royal wedding baker. Something some journo should look into.
Bradby. Did the split occur because of the harkles interview or was it before. Did bradby supply harkles with info ie tidbits offered to royal reporters to get a point of view out (or receipts about things) and instead he was feeding it to harkles? Curious if he has soho ins or if there isn’t something more going on with him. Yeah and he did shoot himself in the foot on that interview but maybe he was already being cut off ahead of that
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YEBFIE826k&t=426s-
It sounds as if it could be being used as an accommodation address for a number of businesses which MM may or may not he involved with.
I haven't watched any further (she does slip up in one respect that's best ignored).
Wow that's the closest mention I have found to the tape.
@Ava C
Agree with post about Kardashian and how it illustrates what kind of thought culture Meghan is coming from. It's distressing, almost scary because the money earned, the social media popularity (K-family's) gives them power to bend facts, to skew the view to right vs wrong.
@Maneki Neko
I am cheering William for this too. C'mon - some more, some more
@Lucy
That evil look gif says so much. Also I think this is her without a wig.
Thank you for the link to the baker's interview, I found myself reading between the lines. As per it, Meghan never gave any direct indication of what she wanted of the cake - more like at first it was surprise us with it, and thereafter Meghan discussed with Harry to choose flavours. It tells me Meghan has only one vision (and I extend to all things she does) to catch attention by either being loud - so the high cost of something, or something that causes immediate discussion of her - or by being demanding. Her input is just demanding results from other people's talents, and thereby appearing like a woman of great taste. This is why when left to it she doesn't come off as classy as she would like it.
Wedding cakes are made of many levels of cardboard, iced over to look like a cake. Depending on the size, the “wedding” cake has one or two layers of cake. The cakes given to guests to eat are pan cakes, made from the ingredients of the ‘real” cake.
Wedding cakes of many layers will topple over from the weight. Thus, the layer the bride and groom cut are the only one*s) that are ‘real.”
Just wanted to leave a thought that's lingered, and really this is the only place for me to express it. Thank you Nutty for that.
I found that Harry is mentioned boldly as patron of Invictus but found it odd that he was there without name and only as The Duke of Sussex. Especially so when his association with the Games is since much before he was given the title. If Invictus is the only thing Harkles can milk now, I wonder if the mention has been made so to subconsciously include Meghan. Together they are the Sussexes, but as Pince Harry it's just him.
Pasting the link here and copy pasting the Patron blurb.
Patron: The Duke of Sussex
The Duke of Sussex was inspired to bring the Invictus Games to London after visiting the Warrior Games in America 2013. The Duke sees the Games as an important part of a broader legacy of support, through a combination of on-going care, training and employment opportunities, to the well-being of those men and women who have served their country.
https://invictusgamesfoundation.org/foundation/governance/
It does make me wonder whether he really was personally inspired, or whether it actually someone at the palace who thought it was a great idea for Harry to be a patron (of a new foundation)? I believe so little about his positive PR now. :o(
Yes! I experienced that at a wedding for the first time about 2 years ago. The “wedding cake” was a glorious multi tiered extravagant tall cake.
A few of us were marveling at how over the top it was for the amount of people there, and a worker overheard us and told us it was their cardboard stock display wedding cake and that the real cake was in the kitchen and we would never see it.
Sure enough, the bride and groom didn’t even pretend to cut the display cake (which wasn’t even icing... it was whatever it was) and we were suddenly served cake from platters held by servers who walked around handing it out.
We really can’t be sure that any of those cakes were the real ones.
I don't think Harry was personally inspired, I think someone else found the inspiration for him.
The Express has this article and Invictus and Netflix:
'PRINCE HARRY has been warned against monetising the Invictus Games following the announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will produce a series on the competition for Netflix.
Lowri Turner told Channel 5's Jeremy Vine programme that she felt uncomfortable at the thought of Prince Harry monetising the Invictus Games. Ms Turner also mocked the Duke of Sussex's press release announcing the Netflix series, stating he had gone "full Californian".
Ms Turner said: "The money that he is going to be paid for this both as a presenter and as an executive producer, is that going back into the foundation of the Invictus Games or are they making a profit?
"In which case [that would be] monetising the Invictus Games, I am quite uncomfortable with [that]."
"Although, he has only got £30 million left and he needs the money."
She added: "The other bit which made me smile so much is the press release they put out about this, it talks about inspiring global healing.
"He has gone full Californian on this, they do not teach that sort of language at Eton."
She added: "The other bit which made me smile so much is the press release they put out about this, it talks about inspiring global healing."'
Etc.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1419981/Prince-Harry-news-Duke-of-Sussex-Invictus-Games-Netflix-Meghan-Markle-royal-latest-vn
Global healing indeed! So far it hasn't inspired him to heal his fractured relationship with his family.
D-list actor Zach Avery, 34, is arrested for masterminding $690 million Hollywood Ponzi scheme and forging Netflix and HBO licensing deals to fool investors
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-9443931/Actor-Zach-Avery-arrested-connection-227-million-Ponzi-scheme-Hollywood.html
Hmmmm, so what if you "sign" a netflix deal, and then work with investors to get upfront production money not provided by netflix and then produce little or nothing. or what if you "sign" a deal and try to monetize it for upfront money hmmmmm
Do you recall how much the Sussexes made a point of claiming their interest in Windsor? How they'd spent so much time there during their dating months, how much it was lovely and home to them.
The wedding venue was tied into that PR as if they had specifically asked for it out of personal affection and romance.
I vaguely remember this, yes, and the engagement photo shoot that looked like it could be a magazine advert for a jewelry store ad. At the time, before I knew about Spenderella's habits, I thought the rather risque engagement dress had been borrowed for the pictures. This was Meg putting her 'Hollywood Princess' stamp on her bridal image and choosing a more flamboyant look than the conservative Cambridges.
Given the couple's propensity for self-puffery and lies, I doubt very much that they spent much time there during their 'dating months'. Harry may have taken her there on a day trip once or twice to see the Castle, and that's when her grandiose plans for taking that over started to simmer. But can we picture the lovebirds strolling hand in hand down Windsor streets, going in the shops? Ludicrous. Meg was never seen in Windsor when she supposedly lived there, apart from the time she was picked up by the police in the middle of the night. If she'd been in Windsor that often as a 'girlfriend' I think we'd have had some 'completely random' papp shots.
I'm sure you're right that the Royals don't concern themselves with staff accommodation, but I still think it's curious that Harry, or any Royals besides the Queen would have not been aware of the existence of this property. Any house that has 9? bedrooms isn't the image of a 'cottage' which is conjured up by that word in normal circles. In Royal circles, sure. It's an ugly house, in my opinion, but it is quite large and sprawling and very close to the public road, as I understand it. Since the Royals spend a lot of time in Windsor--the York girls having grown up there; William and Harry having gone to school at Eton, within view of the Castle, it seems like any of them would have passed by Frogmore Cottage dozens of times. If it overlooks the family graveyard at Windsor, I'd suppose that there were a number of pilgrimages out there for the family members. Nobody noticed it or asked what it was for? Would Charles never have pointed out to his sons the birthplace of his beloved Uncle Dickie as they were driving/walking by? The Cottage abuts the Frogmore House property, doesn't it? Meaning that guests at the annual public open house at FH could probably have wandered up to the Sussex back garden . . or Royal children, exploring.
This proximity to the public never made FC feel like a plausible family home for a Royal Prince. Too many security issues. Perhaps the idea was always that it would only ever be Harry's address of record for paperwork purposes--not that he'd ever actually live in it. I still fail to see how it could possibly be finished . . and yet, Jack and Eugenie are alleged to now have it? The whole thing is bizarre.
Gee, H., how does it feel to be the 'Warnee' for a change?
He's always issuing stern 'Warnings' to people. Let's see how he likes it.
It's official: JH,FKAP has become a full-fledged man-wh*re. All down to the company he keeps.
He most certainly isn’t inspired to give up his time (or name) for free these days, and yes healing those fractured ties with his family is a complete joke it seems (on Joe Public). Innate kindess and generosity isn’t something he possess. Makes you wonder what other PR stunts were pulled for him when he was a proper royal. :o/
Interesting article
Also a fun video - if it'll copy here
https://twitter.com/i/status/1379596476557352961
copy & paste both
To be honest though, I don't think I tasted a decent one until the early 60s. Bakers habitually had a stock of fruit cakes they brought out and iced as required - some of the 1950s ones seemed to have been made before the War, the fruit was so badly oxidised. A baker did tell me c1970 that people made the mistake of thinking they were saving money by making the cake at home and then having it iced - but it was the icing that was the costly bit because of time and labour - couldn't be done in bulk. A homemade cake did mean it was worth eating - none of those ghastly black crumbs. And if your Mum made it, you might get real almond paste, not breadcrumbs, colourant and `almond' essence (the wartime version)
The top tier would be saved and re-iced for a Christening cake because one would probably be needed within the reasonable life of the cake. It would carry over some of the symbolism of the cake (fertility and abundance).
Btw, those people I know who don't care for rich fruit cake always seem to express themselves with a sneer when declining it, as if they are thereby demonstrating a higher level of refined taste and discrimination than you have. Is this another narcissist indicator?
@Hikari - Frogmore Cottage would have been beneath royals' notice because it had been converted to 5 separate dwellings for staff. Looked rather run down.
God, yes, it looked really dilapidated in the two (2) photos which have ever been released. We've not seen any of the shiny new work on the facade or grounds, because I suspect there hasn't been any. It may be deemed as not really salvageable without astronomical sums, even to upgrade it to acceptable living quarters for staff.
A rather sad way for a building with significant family history to end up. Lord Mountbatten was born in it 120 years ago. Victoria housed the infamous 'Mushi' in it before that. And before that, it was a respite place for Queen Charlotte to retire with her ladies for some refreshment after visiting the Royal greenhouses.
It's ugly and run-down, but it's big. I daresay it wouldn't look like just an ordinary Windsor house such as the locals would have. It's not exactly tucked away to escape notice, and the Frogmore House gets used quite a bit for family events. I can't remember; did the Cambridges have their reception there, too? I think Lady Gabriela Windsor did.
Suddenly, since Easter weekend, a flurry of articles really talking up FroggyCott!
From Hello!
https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/20210406110366/prince-harry-meghan-markle-uk-home-frogmore-cottage-picture/
This was posted yesterday from The Observer:
https://observer.com/2021/04/princess-eugenie-jack-brooksbank-baby-august-settling-in-frogmore-cottage-home/
These are the first new pictures of FC I've seen. There's another article on the Hello! site featuring a view of the cottage across the lake, posted back in February, back when E. and J. were 'graciously being given use of the cottage by Harry and Meghan.'
This is a front view of the cottage and we can see how close it is to the gates of the cemetery. Literally spitting distance to the final resting place of the Duchess of Windsor.
FroggyCott looks smaller in this front view, but the house stretches out and must be perpendicular to public view. This article says 5 bedrooms.
The cottage doesn't look so ugly or run down here. Looks quite nice actually. It's surrounded by a lot of green.
How stupid the Montecito Moochers are.
And even if the royals knew about the cottage, it was staff quarters so why pay anymore attention to it. It's illustrous beginnings and residents didn't elevate it to a cherished property in their minds and they had no problems turning it into staff quarters.
FC was so thoroughly forgotten / overlooked that even the media assumed Adelaide cottage was the most likely destined property on the estate.
Finally, to our regular people eyes, Frogmore cottage is indeed a mansion, but it is a cottage to people who have palaces at their disposal.
And Frogmore cottage is small by the royals' standards.
As a comparison of what they think is a regular sized cottage, this is York Cottage on Sandrigham
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/B2DG6P/york-cottage-on-the-sandringham-estatesandringhamnorfolkenglanduk-B2DG6P.jpg
And this is Park House on Sandrigham where Diana grew up until the family moved to their big house, Althorp; Park House would be a cottage by their standards.
https://images.cm.archant.co.uk/service/social-media-image/267776/6409794/1/6217202-2/JH-5-PARK-HOUSE.jpg
Lol I didn’t know about the baker’s windows cakes! I only knew they were used during the Second World War when rationing was on when they had to cut down on the ingredients (sugar etc for icing). I’ve never once seen a wedding cake with a cardboard facade overhere, so I doubt the royals would do either.
I love rich fruit cake, some couples have a combo of cakes these days, two or more different sponge cakes and one rich fruit one (if you’re lucky!). Lol
We also see the same couple of photos of baby Archie ad infinitum. I'll scream if I see that Archbishop Tutu photo one more time. Compare that to the colourful riches from Catherine's camera, on those key milestones through the years. They always bring a smile to my face. That's a precious quality right now.
I've always liked the story in David Niven's autobiography when he was an army officer (he was a commando at the Normandy landings). For training, he turned his men out without warning on Dartmoor for a week to fend for themselves, but his sergeant seemed suspiciously fine with the arrangement. He questioned him later as to why this was. "I happened to have about my person one large fruit cake Sir!"
The icing certainly does resemble spackle 🤔😏
@Acquitaine
I can see why cake looks like it was thrown together last minute, because it literally was! IMO it makes it even worse it looked like that. If it was merely for display they could have/should have used different batter or baked fruitcake so they had time enough to properly ice and decorate. Cake does not look professional at all, looks more like project of elementary home economics class.
Cake auction you mentioned reminded me of Seinfeld episode where Elaine glides around eating historical cake, after realizing she then tries replacing it with an Entemanns store bought haha.
Regarding succession/hierarchy. Oprah show seemed slanted more toward American audience, majority of which entirely clueless as to innerworkings
of monarchy. That lack of knowledge played right to Meg's hand. Guarantee many who watched viewed all the children as equal. Therefore, no title for Archie was nothing but discrimination. Protocol and law be damned! Intentionally misleading, purposefully inflammatory. Absolutely shameful.
Yes, I'm aware that Windsor Great Park encompasses a lot of buildings. Frogmore Cottage is very close to Frogmore House and might even be within sight of the big house. I wouldn't expect teenage boys to have been interested in it, per se, but neither is it entirely invisible. It shares grounds with Frogmore House and the Royals visit the cemetery in Windsor on occasion. I'm sure Harry thought he'd be getting something more grand but the 'Frogmore' name should have been a tip-off. Surely even Harry wasn't dumb enough to not know the name of Frogmore HOUSE vs. 'Cottage'.
I don't think the Harkles would have been given a grand house the HM; it's not her place to do so, but rather Charles'. HM gave her own children homes, not her grandchildren; William got Amner Hall because of his position as the direct heir to the throne. I don't doubt that either of the Disgusting Duo thought they were entitled to something quite grand; it's hard to determine whether their arrogance outstrips their ignorance, or vice versa. But I don't see how HM was ever going to give the Harkles a grand house, especially after they had seemingly turned their noses up at an estate on 900 acres. ( it pains me physically to think of anyone turning that down.)
I am not surprised by the cost of the cakes; I suspect there is more to it than just the ones shown, and you have to suppose there are several people working on them for says, let alone the finest ingredients, etc. Overpriced, certainly, but a lot of time and effort goes in to them. IIRC, my own wedding cake (in 1990) was about 1500 USD, and it was literally just a 3-tiered chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, (my mother was appalled) made from a family recipe with simple ingredients, albeit plenty of them, as it was meant to feed 300. Actually, I take it back, we also had a groomscake, not near as large, basically just a pound cake, which alone required something like 10 dozen eggs, and had to be made well ahead of time and wrapped up to age. A fair amount of effort and made by one person with help from one of my aunts and a few cousins, for a simple country wedding; I can only imagine what goes into a Royal cake, with ingredients flown in from all around the world, probably organic, the fanciest of bakeries, etc.
Lol so juvenile and silly but must share whose cake Elaine ate 🤣🤣
https://youtu.be/naVyR6KlkWI
The surveillance footage is what I remember, hilarious!
https://youtu.be/kSOhCs9frzs
Re. Cake disaster
The cake being dropped was one story I heard; there was also something about it not rising properly/partially melting due to the heat. It was very warm that day, and these historic buildings don't have the A/C mod cons we Americans take for granted. So even at Frogmore House, the kitchen could have been very warm. Or it got damaged in transit to the venue.
Any way it happened, the thing looked like utter shite. Most unappetizing. The only way that would be worth 50,000 pounds was if the flour had been substituted with Bolivian marching powder.
I have also seen donut towers. The fact is, a lot of people don't actually like cake that much, and I'm one of them. There is a ceremonial aspect to the cake that makes it a tradition, but oftentimes a lot of traditional cake gets wasted because people will take a piece but only have a bite.
Aunt heap, not ant heap, because of so many elderly aunties being housed there. I think it's rather touching, really. Why did the Gloucesters have to move?
Despite the intimation early on that they were being forced out of their apartment by Harry exercising precedence, I think it was their decision because they wanted to downsize. There are just the two of them and it felt too large. Maybe they were just tired of the 'barracks' atmosphere and wanted a more cosy space. Not sure, but I don't think it was because the Harkles pushed them out.
As for cupcakes for a wedding, Hikari, bite your extremely sharp, well-spoken tongue for suggesting such an outrageous thing! I invoke the wisdom here of the late great Julia Childs, "A party without cake is just a meeting."
I don't think weddings need to be elaborate. I surely don't think they need to be million dollar affairs. But I think they need a showstopper cake. As a baker whose got a wicked sweet tooth, cakes were made for celebrations and a nice wedding should be the ultimate celebration.
If I had a million dollar plus budget to work with, I'd order something EXTRA from Mich Turner MBE.
https://www.lvcc.co.uk/
"Aunt heap, not ant heap, because of so many elderly aunties being housed there. I think it's rather touching, really. Why did the Gloucesters have to move?
I don't think the Harkles would have been given a grand house the HM; it's not her place to do so, but rather Charles'. HM gave her own children homes, not her grandchildren; William got Amner Hall because of his position as the direct heir to the throne"
Apt 1 is ginormous. It's not as big as Apt 1A occupied by William and Kate, but it's a close second. It's the second largest home at KP.
Without children, two people would be lost in it.
I believe the downsizing reason that was given out when they moved to smaller digs at KP.
By their standards, Anmer isn't particularly big. It's a very big country house for sure, but not by the standards of other homes on the estate.
Of The Queen's children, Andrew's Sunninghill Park was surprisingly small. Gatcombe and Bagshot are huge. Andrew made up for it with Royal Lodge.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1379343500911775746
Her body is the perfect model body, she's tall, thin, and lean.
I feel sorry for all of the kids who have been growing up with that family as role models, something that's unattainable.
Which brings me to MM. When they announced that they were leaving the Royal family I think MM thought she was going to strike it rich in California like the Kardashian family. But even in that artificial respect MM can't pull it off.
The timing of the exit and immediately following came Covid, that really screwed up all the plans they may have had in their heads or I should say in her head. American's aren't hung up on Royalty except from afar. Royal titles mean nothing here and she's not the big catch of that particular duo.
Harry is the one born and breed into the royal family and the only one holding those cards. But even that won't go very far here in America. He's managed to get two no show jobs, based only on who he is, not who they are as a couple. No one wants a MM in their midst.
She proves over and over again she is NOT who she wants to be at all. There's only this ex actress from a cable show who snagged a royal prince. After that it's crickets. I do know there is very little American support for her even with Harry on her arm. She's just one of a million wannabe's who are nothings in this country.
(Re Frogmore Cottage)
It's an ugly house, in my opinion, but it is quite large and sprawling very close to the public road
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There is a road that borders Frog Cott, sadly it's not open to the public. It's very difficult, if at all to see it from the road.
Thank you, also, for your wonderful, insightful posts. I get on when I can ( mainly when my mom is napping or I have someone visiting with her) and never seem to get a good opportunity to thank you and others for all you bring to the blog!
".....I'm sure Harry thought he'd be getting something more grand but the 'Frogmore' name should have been a tip-off. Surely even Harry wasn't dumb enough to not know the name of Frogmore HOUSE vs. 'Cottage'."
When they talk about properties, unless there is a very specific reason to be clear, they only mention the big house of the property. Frogmore automatically denotes big house. Ditto Sandrigham.
Just as everyone assumes the Middletons spend Christmas at Sandrigham house when infact they go to Anmer.
There is the fact that Frogmore cottage was staff quarters throughout the 80s and 90s. Even if they visit the grave yard, there are 3 other cottages close to it. Why should they bother about any of them when they barely spend any time at Frogmore? The grave yard doesn't require additional knowledge of the surrounding buildings nor is it in the garden of Frogmore cottage.
As for Harry's intelligence? Yes, he really is that dumb. A man who didn't know granny was The Queen as exhibited by his Megxit statements despite growing up in the family AND joining the military where granny is commander in chief is barely going to notice staff quarters tucked away in a section of an estate he only visits for family parties.
He exhibits no curiosity whatsoever about his family and their properties or anything else except his status.
It's clear that Diana did just the opposite, and while I can understand that she didn't want him to ever feel that he was less worthy than William as a human being, she must surely have been able to look to her own family background (she and her sisters knew Charles would inherit everything, after all) and figure out how to help him understand his position in the hierarchy. Given the recent Windsor history, Harry certainly had to be given enough training to prepare him for a worst case scenario, but how was he ever allowed to think everything should be exactly even between himself and William?! (And I don't mean to say Charles isn't as responsible as Diana, only that she at least understood how NOT being the heir felt)
Do you think Harry was always this way, or is it all Nutmeg's doing? A lot of it seems to be him wanting to protect her position, so to speak, wanting to be sure she got what was her due. I can see her pitching a fit, but what I don't understand is why he hadn't been helping her to understand that it was never going to be equal.
I just cannot fathom why on Earth this was not made clear to her, by Harry specifically, from the start, which is what leads me to believe that he has had a huge chip on his shoulder from the get-go, long before he ever met her. Has he always resented walking behind William? Did he not ever notice that every one of them besides HM has to walk behind someone?! It beggars belief that he didn't understand the protocol within his family.
This is what has upset me the most out of the entire fiasco, this unmasking of Harry.
In this video from Murky Meg, if you fast forward to 0:54 you'll not only see the back view of the cottage but also the front view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0hGl-1rCYU
March 30, 2021
Could there be an alliance? Yes. I am not sure exactly how it would benefit the two children on the same level as the ginger one. He can't change the rules and get them money. There is no one who would listen to him across the burned bridges to get them money. That being said, it is one of those siblings who is responsible for leaking the name of the relative. Maybe the siblings are throwing bombs on their own to extort payments for themselves.
Princess Eugenie/Beatrice/Harry/Princess Anne
As for cupcakes for a wedding, Hikari, bite your extremely sharp, well-spoken tongue for suggesting such an outrageous thing! I invoke the wisdom here of the late great Julia Childs, "A party without cake is just a meeting."
For the record, I don't care for cupcakes, either. I don't like that much icing. Wedding cakes look beautiful, but let's be honest, they usually taste like crap. The younger brides over Stateside are going ga-ga for cupcake towers (with a small ceremonial cake to cut). Or (cover your eyes) towers of Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.
Highly doubtful at this point in my life that I would ever get married, but the wedding cake is certainly not the draw for me, any time. I would like to have wedding tiramisu, but that's blasted hard to cut. :)
Apt 1 is 2/3 and a bit the size of Apt 1a occupied by William and Kate. It has it's own garden. It's right in central of London. In a palace. Next to billionaires. Surrounded by all her favourite hangouts.
Considering Meghan used KP stationary to flex her refusal of a 20th high school reunion in LA, she would have slept on the floor in an unfurnished apt 1 if it was on offer.
Her PR put out spin that it was being refurbished for them and when FC was given to them her PR switched to her preferences for FC on the grounds that it would cost more and take longer to refurbish apt 1.
This was a face saving exercise.
"@Acquitaine - I read the news back in the day that Fergie was banished to Wood Cottage on the Sandringham estate as per PP. I took a tour around Sandringham with relatives from overseas, and my impression was, it's not a bloody cottage!! It's a substantial house. I grew up in a cottage, 2 up 2 down with a tincy bathroom. Does make me chuckle that Fergie was banished to a house that became PP's main residence in the last few years :) Obviously not too shabby!"
True. Fergie was banished to wood farm every christmas as the Palace kept telling the lie that she was banned from Sandrigham.
Sleight of hand word play because everyone assumed that Fergie being banned from family gatherings at Sandrigham aka the big house meant she wasn't present on the estate at all.
She had the use of woodfarm whenever she wanted, but it was kept on the dl.
On the cottage front, it really boggles the mind what they think constitutes a cottage.
It's on a par with broke Harry cut off financially except for his £10M trustfund!!!!
@Acqitaine, thanks for the Lil Mermaid video. I had seen it before but it's sooo funny I watched it 2 more times just now. Piers liked it too & shared it on his Twitter. I don't have a Twitter account but I've been lurking on his since the wheels first started to come off their media circus and well b4 they left. Piers and Sharon are my heroes in this dramady. I watched them both on celebrity apprentice back in the day. In fact that was probably the only time I did watch it. When Sharon was on they had Cyndi Lauper and Brett Michaels in addition to Sharon so I was hooked on that season. Speaking of Sharon, she dropped the receipts on Sheryl Underwood, not that that makes any bit of difference to the woke crowd. But I hope Sheryl going on record to lie like that helps Sharon take CBS to the cleaners. She deserves a big payout and her own show for that. I'd love to see Sharon and Piers get their own talk show and put the minions at CBS out of biz. Whose gonna tune in to the Talk now that Sharon's gone? Tho, really the Talk was never something I watched, even with Sharon.
What a wonderful quotation! I hadn't heard of JC before I saw the Meryl Streep film on TV. Such a pity I hadn't.
Mostly I've used Elizabeth David from that era but at the moment it's more more a case of thinking back to Katharine Whitehorn's `Cooking in a Bedsitter' - Chapter on `Cooking for Survival' - will we ever be able to have parties again?
BTW Jilly Cooper cracked a joke about `Aunt Heaps' in `Class' (c1983) with reference to Upper Class pronunciation - grand ladies exclaiming about `Aunt Heaps' in the garden. Does the pun go back any further?
Do jokes travel together? - I heard a pair of gags in an undergraduate review in 1965 (`The train now standing at Platforms 3,4,5, & 6 has just come in sideways' and `Here is the weather forecast - The World will end at noon tomorrow. It will be a day of mo(u)rning'. Well they seemed hilarious, half a bottle of Lutomer Riesling having been drunk.
25 years later, I heard the same gags, again together, at another university
All the weddings I have been to in the past ten years had cakes. My cousin, marrying in a French restaurant, had the traditional French cake of crusty, sugary balls of flour. Caramel flour. I have seen cupcakes at many weddings, but they were on the dessert tables. One of my daughters had ombré place cards with ombré cupcakes. Too, too much. Cupcake wedding cakes were popular around 10-15 years ago. I love all types of icing and cake, so I will never complain about any dessert.
If I remember correctly, the HAMS were going to move into the large space the Queen’s cousins offered to give up in Kensington Palace. After all the weirdness of Meghan, walking around the Cambridge Kensington home, taking pictures of the children in their private rooms, plus videotaping the Cambridge flat, Meghan was persona non grata at Kate’s home. Everything on the camera was destroyed. This is before the wedding. The HAMS were no longer welcome to live near the Cambridge’ family.
Charles gave them the offer of a huge country estate, along with the Nott Cottage, but according to the newspapers, they turned him down. The Queen soon was “vexed” by the constant calls from the HAMS to her aides, first asking, then pleading and finally demanding that they have a large flat at Windsor Castle. The Queen told them they will be able to live at Windsor, but not in the palace or Frogmore House. Their reward for constant threats and temper tantrums was Frogmore Cottage. The BRF was quite aware of the plans of the HAMS to leave for good. The Queen laughed at the two in her own way. Many pundits have claimed Harry was her favorite grandchild. How do the writers know? After all, Sussex sounds like suck sex, and Dumbarton is, after all, a name associated with being, duh, dumb. The Queen has been blessed with many descendants. I think, in her own way, she will have the last word on the HAMS.
If you hadn't heard of Julia Child until the movie came out, I think you'll be interested that Julia Child was a spy for the OSS(later the CIA). Supposedly, she left that work as she became famous, but many people think that her world travels as a master chef led to her continuing as a spy for the CIA much later than is recorded.
https://www.history.com/news/julia-child-oss-spy-wwii-shark-repellent
Julia's husband was also a spy.
"Oddly enough, her intelligence work actually led her to discover her passion for food by way of her husband, fellow spy Paul Child. This is the strange but true story of how Julia Child's spy career led her to become an iconic celebrity chef.Jul 9, 2020"
This article goes more in depth about Julia's spy career:
https://allthatsinteresting.com/julia-child-spy#:~:text=Oddly%20enough%2C%20her%20intelligence%20work,become%20an%20iconic%20celebrity%20chef.
You will die laughing.
Please get yourself a fun name. We have a few rules and one is that everyone has their own ID (no Unknown). Charade wrote this up:
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Instructions:
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Thank you.
Back before, Harry brought IN money to these games with his patronage. Could one consider that he "donated" his royal ness to the cause?
But now, he TAKES money from the cause and puts it in his own pocket. This too makes me sad.
There is so much useful info provided here.
There was one person...a few months ago, who said she had info as to Meghan having posters of Harry on her bedroom wall. Was it Maggie, Maisy? I’m sure the first letter was an m. How would she have known? And is there further info?
Why can we not plumb the depths of this despicable person?
And where is Markus? The guy appeared so at home in the Toronto *at home* photos, with dogs. He was present at Invictus along with Doria?
There is no way, whatsoever, that he’s no longer on the scene,
I don’t knownwhatntonthink about the York girls. It’s difficult to believe that either would side with Meghan,
And I do feel sympathy for Kate. She’s only tried to further the monarchy, be a good wife, a loving mother...and to be cast alongside this despicable piece of s$it!. Meghan lacks morals. Period.
Whether Mulroney was part of it or not I guarantee Meg faked the invoices. She is con, master manipulator and no matter what she is gifted, feels entitled to more. Unlimited clothing budget and not doubt in my mind still pulling scam.
She probably not only got all clothes shipped for free (doubtful made to return) but paid to wear them. Also, more than likely why she never wore/promoted British designers. I too remember plant once saying she heard Meg's merching deals ran 6 figures on some pieces. Shocking at time but I now believe it. Add to it too whatever arrangement she had going on with Meghan's Mirror.
Heck, she was making so much money she shamelessly left royal family in unabashed lust for even more! Complete greed and inability to walk behind Catherine is why she left period. True hellion that one. Money, sex ,greed. Envy!
This article is a joke filled lie . Catherine reference is as laughable as it is shameful and pardon my language but headline screams "no shit!"
https://www.glamour.com/story/meghan-markle-reportedly-own-fashion-stylist
This next one I just found in my bookmarks
https://www.insider.com/how-much-do-meghan-markle-outfits-cost-2018-7
Twasn’t me that posted about the Harry posters on her bedroom wall. Sorry.
Just a minor petrological point: `Dumbarton Rock' is a topographical feature - the mass of basalt on which Dumbarton Castle is built. It's not a `type' of volcanic rock, but I can see how the confusion arose.
If you're unfamiliar with basalt, in the UK we have Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa (Scotland) & the Giant's Causeway in Co. Antrim (Northern Ireland). Coming westwards, it makes up the Faroe Islands and a significant part of Iceland. In the US there is the Columbia River Flood basalt and of course Hawaii. Also the Deccan Plateau in India. It frequently displays columnar jointing.
The only type of `rock' that might go by the name of `Dumbarton' would be the pink, minty, sugary stuff (like candy cane?), often called `seaside rock', with the word `Dumbarton' written all through it. Think Graham Greene's `Brighton Rock'.
The only thing the 2 types of rock have in common is that neither is good for the teeth!
But MM black history write up leaves me heavy, reasons best unsaid. I choose silence, same as Meghan Markle
https://www.popsugar.com/family/photos-little-girl-dressed-as-black-women-trailblazers-48225296
I recently saw that poster picture somewhere. I will see if I can find it. I remember thinking it looked photoshopped or faked.
@Martha I can't easily find pic, maybe it really was real?? I will give better look tomorrow
@Everyone are we all pretending we didn't read Archie post over at celt tarot? Regardless if into tarot or not, it is one haunting read. I don't even want to post link. Stuff of nightmares and bedtime now.
I believe. Pencil me in for never existed. Meghan needs medical help. Goodnight
That there are men with yachts and females happy to invited on to them is undoubtedly true (one of my romantic entanglements had done just that - until she thought better of it, so she explained; young, pretty, away from home, being taken advantage of by evil men, probably rapists). I hate to say anything that would make Markle look better than she is but if there were video of Markle out there it would be available.
https://archive.ph/2021.04.07-224935/https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/opinion/2021/04/07/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-trashed-their-hollywood-dreams-by-dishing-to-oprah.html
This is a very interesting take and I totally agree
@Martha
Twasn’t me either.
If she did have a poster on her wall
I’m sure it would have been of Wills,
not Harry.
@WildBoar
I haven’t had a stick of rock
in donkeys, never really liked it.
Far too sweet, I’m more savoury 😉
Adding to your rock formations,
Dum is Scottish Gaelic for fort,
Barton old Norse for farmyard/barley field.
The Dumbartons are ruling the roost,
of their chicken coop 🐔
Let’s have a look at Kilkeel 😋
As for the wedding cakes,
Megs Mess looks like something
I could make.
I’m not good at plastering,
but am a dab hand at covering cracks/holes
with flowers/fruit/chocolate.
Such a waste of beautiful peonies.
Lot of work removing the tarnish from
those gold receptacles 😉
Is this, or is this not, the same child?
The resemblance is truly uncanny!
https://twitter.com/salty_duchess/status/1380102608065560576/photo/1
Look at the hairline. 👀
https://twitter.com/Smartiepants73/status/1379563766195572737/photo/1
Was that the Oprah special?
Great British Fake Off!!
When is a cake
Not a bake
The Queen, with her cachet
Would dismiss papier mache
But megs, on the make, would take fake
O/T Magatha -
`Barton' is used a lot in the Devon & Hampshire as well, for places and farms- same meaning, altho' the `barley' sometimes appears as `bere' (2 syllables.)
Of course, `ton' in England is usually attributed to A/S - fenced enclosure, farm, settlement- but it also is used in Reykjavik street names, as `tún', just like we have residential roads called `fields' - because that's what they used to be!
In Icelandic, the pronunciation is `toon', as in Scots & nickname for Newcastle FC
tún = field ie fenced enclosure... but `baer' can mean `farm' (as in `byre'?) or town.
Lots of scope for confusion! Northumbrian English was used a great deal in Southern Scotland; some assume that the Scandinavian echoes in Scots (lang, reek, hame, bairn) are relatively late, from trade with Denmark) but to my ear they're Old Norse and even occur S of the Border. In Co Durham, children can be `bairns' and `Toon' is the nickname for Newcastle, especially Newcastle FC.
I argue with my Collins dictionary on only one point - it gives the meaning of `braw' as `brave'. Now a `brave' pair of knees sounds like pure Spike Milligan. Listen to the sound track of `The Killing', say - it's used as term of agreement `Fine!' which is its true meaning. A `fine' pair of knees are what's required for effective kilt-wearing.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/breaking-meghan-markle-harry-police-23875187
It’s for that reason I feel she has a huge bone to pick around the RF not squashing the true tabloid stories. They had erased everything else. Meghan does not like not getting what she wants. She could not handle being kicked out of The Firm. Yes, it was the consequence of her behavior. No, she still doesn’t understand that fact as she’s never been held accountable in her life.
Meanwhile, are there any new `dogs that didn't bark in the night'? The delay in claiming a `secret wedding' perhaps? Any other deafening silences where we might have expected her to be yapping?
`The UK government believes and acts in censorship all the time'
I take it from your use of `ass' and `behavior' that you are American? I don't criticise US administrations and would appreciate your returning the compliment. Thank you.
Good catch. I looked into what a Misc Priority Incident report is and it’s when an officer decides to leave a call and write notes down ‘just in case’ as in something was a bit suspicious and he couldn’t just leave the call as resolved without a report. They are commonly used, but it’s a step above ‘everything was fine’ on the police call out. If an officer needs to cover their back, for example, because a situation doesn’t really
make sense or the caller is dishonest.
With Meghan- No Surprise There!
@Ava C
Most calls were probably from Harry,
and staff, trying to escape.
That is not a criticism. It is a stated fact. The UK media and government does support censorship. Why don’t you see crime information in the UK? Why are all the stabbings hidden and blocked from media coverage? Why can the RF have a Rota and control what is written about them?
I’ve lived in both countries.
@Texshan
Hahaha, love it!!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9449153/DAN-WOOTTON-writes-open-letter-Prince-William.html
Here is the recent rankings list of the state of freedom of expression around the world, by country:
https://www.article19.org/gxr2020/
Within one year, the UK has slipped in rankings from 20th, to 31st. It places Britain behind all G7 countries except Japan, which is in 34th place. The UK is in the bottom third of European countries, with only Greece, Slovakia, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Poland and Hungary ranking lower.
I could have written their ‘back’ instead of ‘ass’.
I've just read about it and was going to post a link when I checked. I saw it in the Metro (online). At first, I thought it was for what is called a domestic, with Harry being brutalised! Quite a few of the calls seem to be 'alarm activation'.
9 calls... The most recent one being on 16 February, so why do we hear about this now? Because they're still peeved about their security not paid for by BP so it's a ploy to get daddy to pay.
The article says that Harry said [about a security risk] ‘I was born into this position. I inherited the risk. So that was a shock to me.’ Yes, but, sonny, you left the position!!
https://metro.co.uk/2021/04/08/police-called-to-harry-and-meghans-home-nine-times-in-as-many-months-14376722/
The Great British Fake Off!🍰 Very good! Another little gem.
I still think it's tacky to serve cupcakes at a wedding and, like Piers Morgan has declaimed, "that is a hill I'm willing to die on!" ;)
They must be paying for top of the line elite security services. I’d have thought they could afford two million a year on 3-4 guys and their related expenses?
There are very few RF members that have security, correct?
And if they wanted to step back, it’s a better case for laying low and out of the public eye. If they want to engage high profile careers which need security, since they have decided to become quite political, it seems that would be on them. It’s their choice
@WildBoar
My home town is surrounded by Norse
named villages. Many of them funny.
Years ago I was trekking in Nepal,
with a Shetlander and a Danish? girl,
who spoke perfect English. But,
stuck up Annapurna, they realised
they could converse using Scots Gaelic
and Old Norse.
Back at base camp, in a bar, with a deaf
waiter, our Scotsman revealed he could sign.
Wonderful night, language no barrier,
great memory.
Perhaps I could have put it better- we can say what we like about out own governments but I reckon it'd be bad form were I to comment about any US administration. I found it acutely embarrassing in '09 when in US & NZ, when local people enthused about British politicians I detested. V. difficult to know what to say.
Let's leave it at that.
@Maneki
Thanks, ‘twas a fork off 😘
All of HMs grankids were born to their positions, they dont get protection.
For that matter everyone is born to a position of being at risk. Ask those born into the inner city of Philly, NYC, Chicago, London, etc they didnt get a choice or free protection. They are at more risk than a pampered prince! Where is their round the clock security?
There is risk and threats everywhere, everyone is at risk everyday.
And having round the clock protection certainly cramps that Freedom to be Authentic that they crave so desperately. Secruity and your handlers (grey suits) are the first ones to tell you what you can and cant do 'for your own protection`.
Perhaps if they didnt make such huge Spectacles of themselves, like their over the top tax payer funded MM handpicked bridezilla wedding, or MM ostentatious 300k NYC baby shower, or their globally presented `chat` faux interview with Oprah, they could live a private , not public, type life and have fewer security concerns. They choose to be in the public eye, the rest of us are sick of them and want them to just go away!
We should be more concerned
about the fact she’s going to
pull off another miraculous delivery?
I was able to translate the Shetland motto `Með lögum skal land byggja' (`By Law, shall the land be built') using Icelandic. Interesting about `lögum' - it looks related to the Gk `logos' `word', probably not a coincidence as the Law Speaker at the Althing used to recite the law from his rock at Thingvellir. Shetlanders spoke their own version of Old Norse (`Norn') until the 17th/18th centuries, much later than I thought.
Our trek leader one year was a Kiwi who'd learnt Old Norse so he could research the Iceland law of Settlement times in the original. He spoke such good Icelandic that even Icelanders were impressed!
I am always in awe of your postings, for both their clarity and content. But the tweet with the bird plot on her dress during the OW interview is priceless. Thanks for the much needed laugh today.
Thanks, ‘twas a fork off
-------
Yes, it rhymes with 'bake off' but the other word didn't escape me... :)
Yes, maybe Megs will pull off another miraculous delivery. I don't want to sound horrible but could she fake a very late miscarriage/very premature birth and then no baby? It's sick, I know, but I wouldn't put anything past her.
Anyway, a home birth followed by 'time off' (off what? Work?) is the perfect cover for a surrogate.
@WildBoar
The Danish girl, Anna, could speak
old Norse, and the Shetland guy Andy,
could speak Gaelic. I kid you not on
the names.
It was a fantastic trip, Annapurna was unreal.
An arduous, scary climb at times.
Descent wasn’t easy either, took
longer than the ascent!!
@Maneki
Hahaha
Thank you for getting it X
It’s the perfect set up for another
miraculous birth.
No prying RF, or RR this time.
Not that it stopped her before.
Her time will come, law of averages,
As Prince William dumps the tame ITV reporter who joined Team Meghan, DAN WOOTTON writes an open letter telling him that tough love is now the only way to show Prince Harry where his true interests lie
By DAN WOOTTON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 07:17 EDT, 8 April 2021
Dear William,
Sometimes you have to accept there's only so much you can do for a sibling.
For 20 years, after those tragic events in 1997, you were a rock for your brother – the only other human being he could entirely open up to and trust.
Your father was often absent and distant. Given the deep-rooted bitterness you and Harry both feel about the way Charles treated your mother, the paternal relationship was understandably strained for many years.
As a result, you often took on the combined role of Harry's surrogate dad, chief-of-staff and best friend.
It wasn't always easy. Especially as scandal followed scandal for your brother – the drugs, the Nazi uniform, the drunken altercations, the racist language in the army and the strip poker incident in Las Vegas.
But you always kept the faith, with calm and wise counsel behind-the-scenes, imploring harsher members of your family to give Harry the chance to grow up while making mistakes.
It was you who convinced Harry to seek professional help to deal with his mental health problems sparked by the death of Diana. He first saw a counsellor after you reassured him by saying: 'Look, you really need to deal with this. It is not normal to think that nothing has affected you.'
(continues)
When your wife Kate entered the scene, she immediately bonded with your brother too, becoming a trusted companion and then a work colleague.
Your bold and brave charity initiatives as a trio revitalised a tired and fading monarchy, providing some much-needed hope that young people would keep the faith with the Crown.
In that context, it is completely understandable that when a fame and power-hungry American actress entered the scene and stole your brother's heart, you asked some difficult questions about the courtship.
No one with any sense blames you for gently querying whether Harry should take some time before he married someone so apparently prepared to give up her career and life in the US to enter the British Royal Family.
Many of your early fears have tragically come to fruition.
Your guidance encouraging Harry to take it slow and not rush into any hasty decisions was rooted in love and concern, certainly nothing to do with racism.
Despite these initial skirmishes, you put that nagging feeling in the back of your head that something wasn't right about your brother's new partner to one side and prioritised making Meghan feel welcome in the dysfunctional and odd Royal Family.
She was invited to spend Christmas with you and Kate at your Anmer Hall residence in Norfolk, a decision you supported even though it went against royal protocol.
Discussions soon started about Meghan taking a leading role in your beloved Royal Foundation – the Fab Four was born.
But no matter how hard you and Kate tried, it soon became clear that Meghan had not moved to London to quietly settle into life as a community-focussed royal.
(Continues)
I remember from my reporting at the time that Kate was not happy with the way Meghan spoke to staff at Kensington Palace. Your wife rightly raised the issue and it caused tension.
The infamous bridesmaid dress fitting and Meghan's failure to accept Kate's apology for whatever did or did not happen made things worse.
You were also dragged into the sensitive row over which items from the Royal Collection – including tiaras worn by your mother – would be loaned to Meghan.
In the end, following discussions with the Queen's dresser Angela Kelly, it was down to your grandmother to make the tough call to Prince Harry that made clear, given the royal pecking order, Meghan couldn't always get what she wanted.
But the damage was done.
You and Kate had tried everything, but fundamentally Harry and Meghan had made a decision that they didn't want to be on your side. Their narrative as victims of the system was firmly set in their heads.
They were increasingly angry you wouldn't back them in petty battles with the media. Your advisers were, entirely appropriately, beginning the long and sensitive journey of preparing you to be king, and didn't think your public input would be helpful.
The final straw for you came with the way Harry and Meghan behaved over the Megxit debacle.
You are right to feel it's unforgivable that they twice tried to publicly jump your grandmother – now 94 – into giving into their ludicrous demands.
The phone calls largely stopped, Harry and Meghan left the country and very open wounds remain.
Before that despicable Oprah Winfrey interview, where they accused your family of racism, you had hoped that matters could be resolved privately over time. The Windsor way, you might say.
There was the possibility of a fruitful reunion to unveil the long-awaited statue of your late mother later this year.
But sadly, it's now reached the point where you can no longer trust your brother or his wife, largely down to their ongoing manipulation of the American media.
Private conversations with family members have twice been twisted and dissected for US TV personalities Oprah and Gayle King, both friends of Meghan.
You've rightly ended your two-decades long friendship with the ITV News presenter Tom Bradby, who you believe has taken sides by becoming a media mouthpiece for Harry and Meghan.
The Sussexes have declared war and are not attempting to start any form of healthy discussion.
History will show the problem was with Meghan, not you. She has fallen out with most of her close relatives – including her father and half-sister – and no old friends were on the guest list for her wedding.
Her friends are in showbiz now. They're ready to exploit her for their own gains, be it by securing TV interviews or advancing divisive identity politics.
By contrast, you are going to be king. Your priority is to keep the monarchy popular, not give in to your brother's petulant tantrums and delusions.
Bowing down to Harry and Meghan is no longer the right thing to do and that's why you were correct to publicly state at the first available opportunity that 'we're very much not a racist family'.
Many old friends of Harry I have spoken to are convinced he will come back to you and Great Britain, but it's going to take him some time to work out the mistakes he's made and how he's let you down.
Until that time, there is nothing more you can do. Harry knows you love him and that you'll do anything for him if he's in serious trouble.
It's painful. But the time has come to stop appeasing your brother. He'll soon learn millions of dollars and a Californian mansion don't compare to the unconditional and unwavering love of your blood relatives.
#
I think this is on intentional. Remember this cake was for a woman who continuously walks around with bed-head...even at her own wedding.
For those who wish to read the comments on Dan Wootton's excellent new article posted full text above at 5:22 thru 5:24 PM), here is the link:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9449153/DAN-WOOTTON-writes-open-letter-Prince-William.html
Lady C on The Queen's Rep 2 verify birthing of Meghan's progeny; her appropriating Irishness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZRkmk39k2E
I don't think they can move back to Windsor, and by Windsor I presume you mean FrogCott. Harry might be tempted - or not - but there is no way MM would go back. For a start, it would be admitting that they made a mistake and that things were not working out in SoCal. Can you imagine the loss of face? MM doesn't do humiliation. They see their future in the US, they can stay there. I'd say that ship has sailed.
The article says that Harry said [about a security risk] ‘I was born into this position. I inherited the risk. So that was a shock to me.’ Yes, but, sonny, you left the position!!
I haven't had time to catch up yet today but must quickly agree with you on this. Harry's sense of entitlement is staggering. A chip off the old royal block where 'servants' are interchangeable and not seen as actual people with their own lives. (Everyone who works for and with the BRF is a servant to Harry no doubt.) Harry assumed he could live anywhere in the world and those poor RPOs had to follow. And we had to pick up the tab, however much it was.
Oh no worries, information is so fluid with these two, it's a forever dig and discover mode!
@Lucy
I read all three tarot readings by celticcross about Archie. Unsettling aren't they? I do want this mystery surrounding him unearthed, it's beyond ridiculous.
The Harkles saga and the bread crumbs in comments to various articles led me to several tarot card readers, at first as a complete cynic and then as someone wanting relief.
For those interested it's https://celticcrossanon.tumblr.com/
@Maneki Nelo - same here, my first question was were they called for domestic distress.
Then I was reminded of the write-up on some blog that Meghan often rung Toronto police to complain about break-ins, all to build the profile of a chased and harassed celebrity.
Maybe they have moved already. Isn't it their MO. Cry for security, cite incidents, claim their hallowed stock status as their vulnerability despite being nobodies. Maybe it's to hid Archie and the one expected? Meghan's creative wheel is always spinning. Phew, tiring.
#1--- Before the wedding taking photos and video of the Cambridge's children and the Kensington grounds
#2--- Before the wedding pushing and harassing the Queen for the emerald tiara
#3--- Before the wedding getting into an argument with Katherine over her treatment of little Charlotte, plus the white tights for the flower girls which Meghan banned (idiot!!!)
#4---After the marriage pushing and harassing The Queen for an apartment in Kensington. The Cambridges were dead set against. Did not want to live near snoopy Megs.
________________________
https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1420338/meghan-markle-news-windsor-castle-kate-middleton-frogmore-cottage-queen-spt
Meghan’s first choice royal residence was Windsor Castle before apartment rift with Kate
MEGHAN MARKLE had her heart set on living in a wing at Windsor Castle before reported "friction" with Kate Middleton over their living arrangements at Kensington Palace.
By JOEL DAY
PUBLISHED: 09:47, Thu, Apr 8, 2021 | UPDATED: 12:42, Thu, Apr 8, 2021
Their departure from the UK and senior royal duties last year - Megxit - came as the end result of years of tensions and internal disagreements.
While many have tried to define at exactly what point things between the pair and the rest of the family changed, others have noted that lots of smaller things culminated in the dramatic fall-out.
One of these events came shortly before Meghan and Harry married and were eyeing up a long list of royal residences.
According to a 2019 report by royal author Roya Nikkhah, the couple asked the Queen if "living quarters [at Windsor Castle] could be made available after their marriage".
However, the Queen rejected the idea.
The report said: "The Queen politely but firmly suggested Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, which is said to be her favourite home."
A royal source told The Sun earlier this year how Meghan asked Harry to "have a word" with the Queen in order to gauge their chances of living in the castle.
The source said: “Meghan wanted a wing at Windsor Castle. (lolololol!!!!)
"She asked Harry to have a word.
"But the Queen politely turned down the request.
"The castle will eventually be given to Prince Charles."
Hugo Vickers, a royal author and a deputy lord lieutenant of Berkshire, told Ms Nikkhah: "There are empty bedrooms and suites in the private apartments which the Sussexes may have had their eye on, or perhaps some former living quarters in the castle grounds converted into other things.
'someone who is jumping into action without a properly thought out plan and letting their act of confidence (bluffing) carry them through any inconsistencies that arise.' Yep, Megs to a T.
If this is true - and we do not know for a fact that it is - then MM is a seriously disturbed individual. No wonder Harry looks so glum and lost most of the time if he has to put up with this charade.
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Representatives for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office declined to provide further details about the calls.
The couple's security arrangements hit the headlines following the interview with chat show host Winfrey in March.
The duchess, who is pregnant with a daughter, said she sent letters pleading with Harry's family not to take away his personal protection officers, warning he was facing death threats.
Prince Harry claimed in the Oprah chat that when the Sussexes were in Canada he was told 'at short notice security was going to be removed'.
Meghan also claimed the decision not to make her son a prince meant he would not get police protection.
But round-the-clock police protection is understood to have been taken away when they stepped down as working royals after a meeting of the government body that oversees protection.
Prince Charles then reportedly said he would not fund their private security out of his own money.
Harry said: 'I was born into this position. I inherited the risk. So that was a shock to me.'
Harry told Oprah Winfrey they were informed at 'short notice' that their police security detail would be cut off.
The prince said, 'Their justification was a change in status', adding that he 'pushed back'.
Former chief superintendent Dai Davies, who led the Metropolitan Police's royalty protection unit, said the couple's plans were 'utterly unrealistic' and could have put British police at risk.
Mr Davies said he was 'gobsmacked' that the couple expected British taxpayers to pick up the bill – estimated at £4million a year.
He added: 'It was utterly unrealistic to think they could continue to have their royal protection team working in America – in fact it would have put their [police] lives at risk.'
UK officers cannot carry guns under US laws or access intelligence about potential threats.
Donald Trump, who was then president, also made it clear the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have no US-funded Secret Service bodyguards after the couple moved to California from Canada in March 2020.
Explaining his decision to leave Canada for the US during the early days of the pandemic, Harry said: 'The biggest concern was while we were in Canada, in someone else's house, I then got told, short notice, that security was going to be removed.
'So suddenly it dawned on me - "Hang on a second, the borders could be closed, we're going to have our security removed, who knows how long lockdown is going to be, the world knows where we are, it's not safe, it's not secure, we probably need to get out of here".'
The couple were escorted from Canada to California last March by UK police, but the officers were then summoned back to London.
Media mogul Tyler Perry, whose house they used in LA, then brought in private security for them.
They now pay for their own protection after moving into their own mansion in Montecito.
The couple's friends are reported to have said the cost of the bodyguards is 'exorbitant'.
Horses are the best lie detectors in the world. Had the Gruesome Twosome moved into the stables I am sure there would have been some snorting and stomping going on. :-)
Horses are the best lie detectors in the world. Had the Gruesome Twosome moved into the stables I am sure there would have been some snorting and stomping going on. :-)
I have not grown up with horses, to be a horse person, but I know how sensitively attuned horses are to their environment and the intentions of people. Their senses are on high alert all the time and their trust is not easily given.
Two years ago, I amused myself by watching and rewatching the infamous birth announcement made by Just H in front of the Queen's stables at Windsor Castle. Royal steeds George and Sir John looked on to this debacle, and it is so obvious that the proceedings had the horses quite agitated, particularly the more revved up Sir John. He provided a head-tossing, snorting commentary of equine disbelief at the steaming pile of verbal manure that Harry was shoveling for the Sky News man.
After hearing the fantastical tapestry of word salad being woven by Just H (what joyous new dad can only come up with the words 'Little Thing' to describe his newborn son?)--take the sound off and go through again for the body language--Harry's and the horses'. Repeat until it gets old. Hasn't gotten old for me yet.
I am not a body language reading expert, but in my amateur opinion, Harry lied his arse off throughout that soundbite. Lies on top of lies. He knew it. The horses knew it. Manure from start to finish. The location itself was super suspect. The couple was supposed to be happily nesting at Frogmore Cottage--Harry said Megs was at the cottage with the baby at that very minute, just a few hours after giving birth--what a superwoman! So why is he skulking around the stables?
I think they had wormed their way into a stay at the Castle, which is why the Presentation of the Blessed Bairn happened in the great hall at Windsor just two days after Harry's sh*t show in front of the horses.
Horses know things. If anyone well-versed in equine language had been around to hear what Sir John and George were saying to one another after the crazy humans packed off, it would have been very entertaining, I'm sure.
Celt News (now Celt Views) had a very entertaining video parody with commentary, but sadly I can no longer find it on her website. It had hot pink comments and was titled something like 'Liar, Liar Pants on Fire'. If anybody knows what I'm talking about and can find that link, it's hilarious. I've posted it here before but I know a lot of our YT vloggers have had to rebrand/take stuff down in recent months due to harrassment from the Sussex Squad.
Archbishop of Canterbury says being in Royal Family is like serving 'life without parole' as he warns Prince Harry will never escape 'celeb' status
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9450371/Archbishop-Canterbury-says-Royal-Family-like-serving-life-without-parole.html
Harry really truly does not need your sympathy Archbishop. You're feeding the Sussex fire. The one they are using to scorch our country and our monarchy. You know ... the things you are supposed to support and defend.
To say nothing of your lack of charity and compassion for Harry's grandmother soon to be 95, his grandfather soon to be 100, his own father, his own brother and his family, including young Prince George who no doubt will be dealing with Harry's failures decades from now.
As usual very well stated. There is an old saying by an American horse person called Ray Hunt. I believe it was him that said this regarding horses:
" They know when you know and they know when you don't ".
I have horses, have been around horses and a horse is a refection of you , their owner. Ever see Handbag on one of his polo ponies? That says it all right there.
I recall Monty Roberts` visit to Her Majesty. She was quite chuffed.
@Ava C, unreal about what the archbishop has said. How out of touch can one be? He needs to go-yesterday. Still trying to figure out how he ever ended up in his current job.
I don't think they can move back to Windsor, and by Windsor I presume you mean FrogCott. Harry might be tempted - or not - but there is no way MM would go back. For a start, it would be admitting that they made a mistake and that things were not working out in SoCal. Can you imagine the loss of face? MM doesn't do humiliation. They see their future in the US, they can stay there. I'd say that ship has sailed.
This is why the million-pound question to me is, What is Harry's true level of investment in the continued American experiment? His ego and sense of perpetual aggrieved victimhood, the caustic bitterness against his blood family seem as monstrous as hers. Because at any time during the last year, he might have privately admitted to William or his dad or Granny, the magnitude of his mistakes and asked to come home. If he were willing to mend fences, sans his wife, I think the BRF might still take him back. He'd have to keep a low profile, go work in some destitute corner of the Commonwealth for at least 3 years, and completely STFU about everything.
The problem, of course, is his wife. What would happen if Harry were to leave her and return to Britain . . just leave? Surely his tax situation and residency status/visa have to be very dicey and up for regular review. He's not a citizen. What would happen if he would come home by himself, for good? Could they live apart and just have a paper marriage? A divorce is going to be really ugly--we are agreed about that. It would be Mills-McCartney awful. Worse. Could Harry refuse to divorce her? If it were put to Meg that she could agree to remaining the Duchess in name, free to merch herself and make her own deals, and she'd be given an amount from the BRF for 'child support'--maintaining the integrity of her story that she's got a child and is about to 'give birth' to another--that this was a one-time offer and if she refuses . .if she sued for divorce, the BRF would release ALL they have on her, including the probable non-existence of any children or impending children . .what's the likelihood she'd go for it? If she sues for divorce, she'd have to cover all her own legal bills, and no surety that any settlement she'd get would be more than a maintenance amount as Harry's wife.
Suing for divorce and mounting a custody battle would oblige her to produce 'her children', along with records of all the expenses for their care, medical bills, etc. for the scrutiny of the court and the Palace lawyers, as I'm supposing the Firm would jump in to provide legal counsel for Harry in a divorce trial. She doesn't want that.
Harry is most likely beyond any sort of redemption or rescue. It's clear that the BRF would never take them back as a unit, but will they ever take HIM back? This saga is getting really hard to watch. Not even David and Wallis made this much of a fracas over their leaving.
That is awesome about the horse!
If he were angling for a way back hed have skipped it and let her do it.
Once he does decide to make a break from shallowness, fakery, money grubbing, thirstyness and go back home, he'll have to fight for custody of archie and daughter, tax problems, money problems, citizenship problems, business contratual problems, PR problems....MM will be ruthless, Etc. It will be hellaciously difficult without the help of the brf.
When hes ready, he should start throwing filthy rich millionaires in her path and hope she cheats with one! Dont want to throw billionaires because they have more $ than the brf and can make the fight very long and drawnout.
At least he's older than I thought - he's got 5 years to go to retirement and I was thinking it was more than 10.
I bet in reality, HM and her grey suits, wanted to keep MM at arms length to avoid her running over whining to HM everytime she had a gripe about some perceived slight or more likely her craycray ideas on how to bring the monarchy into the MM 21st century.