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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Harry and Meghan resigning?

999 replies

TheMustressMhor · 08/01/2020 19:03

See link. News just announced.

www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2020/01/08/prince-harry-meghan-step-back-senior-members-royal-family-couple/

It does sound like they might be escaping from the public scrutiny and online abuse.

OP posts:
LaurieMarlow · 09/01/2020 12:58

the black preacher was laughed out of their wedding with shameless smirking that the royals didn’t even try to hide.

That was appalling behaviour, I agree. Zara in particular.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 09/01/2020 12:59

They are not resigning, will still keep income and expenses for the duty they choose to do and Frgmore cottage and money from the Duchy of Cornwall. Just cherry picking and pissing off most of the time

GhostofFrankGrimes · 09/01/2020 13:00

They are significant because the british public and the media make them so.

Still don't get the connection between H&M actions and Bush fires.

Mummylovesbags · 09/01/2020 13:00

Duchess of Cambridge has green eyes. Completely trivial but I had to correct this sorry.

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 09/01/2020 13:01

Should have told th Queen and Prince Charles first, very rude and hurtful to a father and grandmother

CruCru · 09/01/2020 13:02

Ah, fair enough.

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 09/01/2020 13:05

I think it’s bourne out of sheer desperation and a desire on Harry’s part to protect his wife and child (and look after his own mental health)

The best way to protect his wife and (very high profile) child is NOT to do a Diana and come out from under the protection of the UK security forces and the advise of the British PR firms most notably BP.

The answer is not to lay yourself open and vulnerable to having to rely on the funds, good will and patronages of spurious individuals who may or may not be on the make for various reasons. Look at what happened to Andrew. His unsavoury proclivities were exposed by those who gained by association with him, and if what has been alleged is true, used as a cloak of legitimacy to entrap other women by. I still don't know how he was allowed to be within 10 walking miles of Epstein.

He has always had the option Anne took. Play it safe. Be quiet. Don't do any preaching on instagram or emotional videos. Turn up, shake hands and go home.

In any case their real objective is not to get away and have a quieter life. It's a reversal of Marie Antoinette. They want to eat the cake.

Either that or they want to force the Queens hand. Shame on them for doing this when their GF is frail and the Queen is in her 90s.

CareBear50 · 09/01/2020 13:06

Harry and especially Meghan have been treated terribly by some journalists and, in many ways, I can understand their desire for change, especially as Harry still carries the scars of his mother's untimely death.

However, how they have gone about announcing their semi departure from the Royal household is utterly disrespectful, and this is where they lose the higher ground. The Queen is Harry's grandmother and, whether you are a fan of royalty or not, I think many would agree she has served her people with grace, dignity, humility and honour for the majority of her time on the throne. She deserved to be treated much better.

The Sussexes cannot have it both ways. The monarchy is not a hybrid. You are in or you are out.....you cannot dictate your terms, expect free tax funded royal protection, have frogmore cottage upgraded to your exact specifications to the tax payer funded tune of 2.4 million quid, but saying your new role is on your terms.

I still wish Meghan and Harry well, but they really have gone about this in a totally cack-janded and disrespectful way! The monarchy does need to be slim-lined, but not like this. What were they thinking!

KaptenKrusty · 09/01/2020 13:08

Threads like this are exactly why they have quit - and I read the comments on the official instagram post too- absolutely shocking - so Racist and aggressive - only posh white British people can marry into the Royal family it seems is the most popular opinion

The Royal family is a horrible institution and it is a joke that they even still exist in this day in age, being born into it giving you status and expecting the public to instantly respect them, bow to them all this nonsense when they haven't done anything to earn it? wtf

The rituals, with people all dressed up in crazy outfits, capes, crowns, expensive jewels .. step back and take a look at how ridiculous it all is.

The sooner they are done away with the better.

JanesKettle · 09/01/2020 13:08

It just sticks in the craw to see two very well -off people (in more ways than one) make a fuss over a change of lifestyle when issues they profess to care about are actually changing people's lifestyles in the most terrible of ways.

They really have very little to complain about.

ShatnersWig · 09/01/2020 13:12

This is probably one of the worse threads I have ever read on MN

You can't have read many then!

He has always had the option Anne took. Play it safe. Be quiet. Don't do any preaching on instagram or emotional videos. Turn up, shake hands and go home

This.

In 2018, Charles made the most engagements - over 500. Anne was second with just under 500. Edward not far behind Anne and Andrew just over 400. Queen did just under 300.

Harry did just under 200, Meghan just over 100, Kate under 100. Camilla did more than Harry.

GhostofFrankGrimes · 09/01/2020 13:17

I'm still confused. H&M aren't singly handedly responsible for climate change but they are as entitled as anyone to take up causes they are passionate about. The Royal family in general are protected from the bad things in the world by their status, money and privilege. H&M walking away wont change that.

DuchessofWoke · 09/01/2020 13:21

Threads like this are exactly why they have quit

Nope. They’ve stated clearly it’s all about the money. They’ve trademarked 100 items under the name Susseroyal. They are going to sell themselves around the world and pocket the cash. Their new website makes all this rather clear actually.

She’s full of shit to say they don’t have tabloids in America. How she said all that with a straight face I don’t know.

They want to make money and do as they please without scrutiny. They want to live in America and hobnob with celebrities.

They do not want to play second fiddle to Kate and William all their lives.

All understandable, but don’t pretend racists on social media are the reason for any of this. They were given fantastic press during their engagement and the time of their wedding.

Social media is NOT The Media. It’s individuals shouting in an echo chamber. The media is newspapers, tv and radio.

I think the tide turned on them when they treated the media AND their supporters with absolute contempt when their baby was born.

OVienna · 09/01/2020 13:23

Exactly what @DuchessofWoke said...

LaurieMarlow · 09/01/2020 13:24

I think the tide turned on them when they treated the media AND their supporters with absolute contempt when their baby was born.

Sometimes I think I’m living in a parallel universe.

In what way did they do that again?

CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook · 09/01/2020 13:24

Threads like this are exactly why they have quit

Rubbish.

They get a lot of rubbish on instagram, worse than the DF comments are not moderated as they are here. But you don't see them shutting that down.

If it was truly about privacy they'd be ensconced in their very PRIVATE newly renovated home, they wouldn't be choosing high profile events like their Africa tour to drop major news, they wouldn't be making videos ostensibly about their work ALL ABOUT THEM and offering up unasked for, unsolicited (by anyone) details about their private lives and feelings, or getting emotional on camera. They wouldn't do things like make announcements that there will not be an announcement about their sons moment of birth.

They've done those things not because they don't want publicity, but because they want to control the publicity to the ninth degree. They need publicity. Their new plans will fail without it.

No. They don't just want any accountability. They want fawning, sychophantic, identity positive press and I suspect they'll get that in Canada.

GhostofFrankGrimes · 09/01/2020 13:28

Its cognitive dissonance people go teary eyed when there is a royal wedding but see them as tabloid fodder the rest of the time.

Maybe h&m got sick of being "owned".

paulinespeaksmanylanguages · 09/01/2020 13:28

@CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook. I think your post is absolutely spot on and I'll be us be repeating what you've said in real life.

IrmaFayLear · 09/01/2020 13:34

The answer is not to lay yourself open and vulnerable to having to rely on the funds, good will and patronages of spurious individuals who may or may not be on the make for various reasons.

The above is very true. There is no such thing as a free lunch out in the big, wide world.

KaptenKrusty: The rituals, with people all dressed up in crazy outfits, capes, crowns, expensive jewels .. step back and take a look at how ridiculous it all is. . Do you honestly think that all these new friends and associates will want to do business with H&M without all the royal twiddly bits? Strip all the pomp and ceremony away and you're left with a couple of ordinary people. Why do you think they've trademarked their titles?

JanesKettle · 09/01/2020 13:34

Maybe h&m got sick of being "owned"

If they'd like to go and live a life of quiet obscurity, free from being owned by the great British public, that's fine with me (and quite a large % of the GBP). I am so sick of hearing about their luxury problems. The single reason I can tolerate Kate and her lot is that she doesn't whine about her luxury problems.

ShatnersWig · 09/01/2020 13:38

Maybe h&m got sick of being "owned"

Then actually quit it properly and be private individuals. Which isn't what they are doing.

FeckOffGraham · 09/01/2020 13:41

Right, this is going to sound a bit head tilty, but I worry about these two..

I'm not a royalist and I'm not even from the UK originally, but everything they seem to do seems a bit...erratic? A bit, (and this sounds super insulting, but I don't mean it to be) like Trump. I know they aren't bad people and Trump, well, is. But the timing of all of their social media posts is always a bit strange and sweet jesus that documentary they made after touring Africa. WTAF? So badly timed. Either they or their PR people are not quite right.

SophiaLarsen · 09/01/2020 13:41

Just read the funding bit on their website. They are relinquishing the sovereign grant which makes up 5% of their income, the rest coming from the Duchy of Cornwall. They only mention the sovereign grant. So their financial independence could be to fund the aspects the SG gave but still relying on the PoW for the remaining 95% of income.

What will be interesting is if the DoC still gives them the 95% when he is PoW....

Cookit · 09/01/2020 13:44

The bit I’m a bit confused at is this resigning from the royal rota media thing - which I assume is a way of banning the daily mail from covering their events. Fair enough they hate the daily mail which has been relentless but I don’t think you can cherry pick which media outlets to allow to cover you when you’re still doing your charity work on behalf of the queen? - they’ve said they don’t want to give up the patronages.

ShatnersWig · 09/01/2020 13:45

FeckOffGraham If they are listening to PR advisers, as an ex-PR myself, they should fire them. It's shockingly bad.