Harry stepping down as a royal family member

[kittykatkitty]

Just read this on their instagram page.
They plan on becoming private citizens

The racism directed at Meghan is obscene but I don't understand commentators who cite that as their reason for leaving. Was the website, trademarking, plans to monetise their brand something they up with after deciding to leave due to the treatment of them or was it the plan all along? Many people saw that plan forming for a while and that in my view fuelled the backlash. It's fine to not want to be constrained by Royal tradition but then don't trade off the title bestowed on you by that very tradition.

I think folks are being a bit bitchy here. Zara Philips is a hugely successful equestrian and an Olympic silver medalist. She was also voted sports personality of the year by the public. Yes her name means something, but it's coupled with both her and her husband's huge sporting achievements. It's not simply name alone.

And marrying well, aka Beatrice and Eugenie is not remotely th same.

Zara Philips isn't some talentless lay about trading on her name. Sports personality of the year and Olympic medals does tend to result in sponsorships. In fact nearly every time.

I wonder whether Andrew will actually get his wish and find his daughters taking on some formal royal work? The queen must feel dreadful for them plus there's a lot of ribbons going to left uncut and plaques left veiled by loosing 3 senior royals from active duty. The queens cousins who do a lot of that aren't young. Charles clearly will trim the monarchy but the extent of public duty will still need to resourcing.

It's fine to not want to be constrained by Royal tradition but then don't trade off the title bestowed on you by that very tradition.

That exactly ^^

Zara and her mum know how to behave respectfully (OK I remember Anne early days, she could bash and swear with the best of them,) but she rew up pretty quickly and has fulfilled her role very successfully and without trouble; her dd is following suit.

Zara Philips isn't some talentless lay about trading on her name. Sports personality of the year and Olympic medals does tend to result in sponsorships. In fact nearly every time.

Who said that she was? I’ll summarise the non-reverent remarks made about Zara Philips on this thread for you:

1. She and her brother make the most of their royal connections in their private business activities.

1. No other Olympic horsewoman has had anything like the same sponsorship or endorsement opportunities as Zara Philips. Not even close. Why is that? As for her being sports personality of the year: give me strength. As if that result wasn’t influenced by a bit of royal stardust and goodwill towards her mother and granny!

Blimey wombat, calm down, your bitterness is really a bit disturbing, what's the big issue with Zara Philips? She's made her way in life successfully under the constraints she had, and as a pp said, respectfully and never had her hand out begging from the royal purse.

Re Zara, she can't help who her family is. Anne declined titles so her kids were free from restriction. Zara's lineage may have helped her but I think she's beyond reproach in her work ethic.

I never quite understand it when people talk about Zara as being down to earth and ordinary and hard working. She's never had a job! Yes, she is undoubtedly a talented sportswoman and a great credit to her country and her sport but she was given the opportunity to develop that talent in a way that many people simply can't afford to do. She has many endorsements that come her way.

That being said, she's a credit to her parents and family.

Meghan and Harry seem to want to have the best of all worlds. They want the glamour and adoration and international travel but not the banal bits.

Turn up, cut the ribbon, smile and shake hands then go home and don't flash your wealth. That's what we want our royals to do, and what the queen does so well.

I don't think anyone is saying a
Zara did not have a privileged up bringing, but many many people have and they haven't achieved what she's achieved. Opportunity and privalege doesn't equate to success. For many it equates to hand outs, lazing about and a huge sense of entitlement, and I don't think anyone can say that about her. She also doesn't court the limelight like some other famous off spring, she basically gets on with living her life. Good for her.

Don't really get the bashing she's getting.

"She's made her way in life successfully under the constraints she had"

Isn't that the point though-there were no constraints for her?

Everyone has constraints.

Megan will not be coming back to this country - she's checked out whether Harry is coming or not. It is incredible to drob that bombshell and then leave Harry in the shit. I hope William reaches out to him.

She literally came for a day and didn't bring Archie. That visit to the Canadian embassy was just a pathetic PR exercise to try and convince us that all is well. You could just tell by Harry's face that all is not. She just continued with a fake smile plastered on her face.

@cannotchange I was thinking that it's a bit shit to leave Harry to deal with it. Perhaps she didn't realise the stink that their statement was going to cause. I wonder if she has already checked out as well. Her personal history is full of her walking away from relationships when they no longer suit her.

Zara Philips isn't some talentless lay about trading on her name. Sports personality of the year and Olympic medals does tend to result in sponsorships. In fact nearly every time.

But how often do they also result in £100K non executive directorships for six official duties per year?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/zara-tindall-sarah-fergusons-lucrative-18880566

I'm interested in how the security works, if Meghan just leaves the country without informing anyone. Do her police protection officers just have to go with her wherever she goes, even with no notice? Or would this return overseas have been planned and approved?

Hmm. Yahoo news feed reporting that Charles is considering cutting H&M out of funding from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Let's hope those sock sales take off

It’s all such a mess & very disrespectful. I hope they get their benefits stripped back as far as possible.

Glitch I assume her security must follow her but it would be quite presumptuous to just leave when Scotland Yard have already said they're reviewing her security and are unhappy about having to send staff to Canada for extended periods of time.

I find it interesting that they're saying they had to rush the statement because the Sun was going to run the story. They could have denied it or fudged their answer. Plus, the fact they left Archie in Canada implies they never intended to stay long in the UK. If this is already positioning for custody, I hope H has lots of support. Meghan seems to be used to moving on and dropping relationships. Harry has had a lot of stability not withstanding the tragic loss of his mum.

Blimey wombat, calm down, your bitterness is really a bit disturbing, what's the big issue with Zara Philips? She's made her way in life successfully under the constraints she had, and as a pp said, respectfully and never had her hand out begging from the royal purse.

Who said that there was a ‘big issue’ with Zara Philips, apart from you? It’s you springing to her defence and accusing anybody who dares suggest that she and her brother have privately benefited from being royal of being ‘bitchy’.

As a PP noted: what constraints has she had? Unlimited money and preferential treatment. No need to beg from the royal purse when people, including you, are queuing up to kiss the hem of her gown.

Are you Jennie Bond?

Glitch, good questions surrounding the security of the Royals and who has to do what and where and who pays etc.
All this back and forth might be a complete nightmare. I can imagine the bill for it all ( paying it yourself) would be eye watering on long haul flights and accommodation etc etc for the staff/ hotels and so on.
I bet her latest trip to Canada hasn't cost her anything yet as nothing has been sorted out on that front ( so I gather !)
If it's discovered that the taxpayer will have to pick up the tab every time they want to come back ( which is hinted it might do) I can see even more back lash as they have chosen not to now live permanently in the UK! I suppose they will say ' oh, it's only 50 p per person ' as they always do whenever money is brought up when the actual costs are probably enormous. Everything is spoken of in millions of pounds when it comes to the Royals.

To be fair if most riders had the best trainers and the best horses, the chance of succeeding is much higher. Zara is known for using her name to open doors. Don’t be fooled into thinking she doesn’t.

Meghan seems to be used to moving on and dropping relationships.

That she had no longtime friends at her wedding surprised me and the friends she did have were all connected to her industry in some way. Plus just one family member. That's not usual is it.