The allegations around Andrew are so bad... surprised that was never more of a priority to deal with him / the allegations.
The Markle family seem nuts, and NC is so important. It feels like Harry (let’s not forget him!) and Meghan have - instead of going NC - been using a PR firm. Maybe H feels very protective and guilty for not telling M the truth of what it’s like in the public eye so much, I don’t know. Anyway their PR guys have gone OTT, on two points.
Firstly on the “five friends” piece. It is very rare for a royal to speak to the press through their friends (I can’t remember other examples). There’s no way that story didn’t go to press without H and M knowing/ authorising. But what’s the point PR guys? Any crazies who already don’t like H and M wouldn’t be convinced, and it was saccharine sweet and weirdly scripted - sounded like a Hallmark film character. But maybe H and M are desperate to stop the meanness around her (fine), but this was ineffective and gave more material to the haters.
Secondly, more stories about H and M and her dad. Where did this story come from? Her dad hasnt been in the press for months, this is like an old story line being rehashed. I’m not sure who started this again, but I’m actually not convinced it was her dad - he’s too unsophisticated to plant a story so he could release that letter, he’d just sell the letter from the get-go.
Actually a third bad move by PR (?). I saw that article in the Mail about doxxing those weirdos who have blogs that are anti H and M. If this was by the PR/ Palace, it was such a poor idea. Again, engaging with crazies. And for what? It didn’t win over any new people. It could have gone very very wrong (we don’t know the bloggers’ mental health state, esp if they’re writing what they were). Most importantly it was a sledgehammer approach - why not just highlight the blogs to show examples of what shite they were posting, not the bloggers’ names? It looked like Royals attacking individuals (however crazy), even ones abroad, even against freedom of speech (again, however crazy the speech). You do not win when you fight crazy. This is why the Royals used to say “never complain, never explain” - much better to have a dignified, distant approach.
PR are too keen to use stories to retaliate - it does not work with narc families, for crazies, or with anyone in the public who already doesn’t like you.
Basically it’s a mess but with their endless cash the Palace always has the upper hand - and they need to deal with this properly.
The contrast with the Middletons is interesting exactly because they do have black sheep and scandal. And so few stories are actually written on them - because they haven’t used outside PR. There’s just less content to go on, because less content put out there.
Anyway, the whole thing is giving me Royal fatigue. Though makes W and K seem less boring and more easy to read about, as it’s not constant calamity.