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AIBU?

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:
Lordfrontpaw · 09/01/2020 16:55

I suppose I’m older (and possibly wiser) - but ditching your family and going halfway across the world? I know it has to happen with one of them but if you are supposedly ‘close’ wouldn’t you want to be near your aged parents and grandparents? Don’t they realise that if you are a ‘working Joe’ you can’t just drop everything and jump on a jet (or paddle your dinghy very fast) and zip across the Atlantic? As your kids get into education it’s harder too to just zip abroad for a few days, weeks or months as a family.

Something has to give.

Amylox · 09/01/2020 16:57

And the way Fergie was treated was much, much worse. She only saw Andrew a couple of months a year and had very small children. It was relentless about her, her figure, her appearance, her attitude. She had zero support and was just told to get on with it.

Diana treated her dreadfully. She leaked negative stories about Fergie to deflect from her own poor behaviour and goaded her into leaving Andrew by making a pact (which Diana didn't honour) to leave their husbands at the same time. Diana did that because she wanted to see what happened to Fergie and learn from her mistakes, like sending a canary down a mine. Diana even acknowledged the Yorks were soul mates who'd never really split but she still goaded Fergie into leaving.

When the Yorks split it was because the establishment had decided she had to go. The first photos which appeared of Beatrice with Fergie's lover Steve Wyatt was almost certainly planted by MI5 in his former apartment because staff had cleaned the area thoroughly after he vacated and swore the photos were not there until months later. It was suggested there was complicity of the security services in the toe sucking picks too. She was deliberately drummed out.

I think people forget that the media was so different then and so concentrated. There were less than 10 newspapers that most people got their news from and there were daily headlines. It was very concentrated and meant the reach and pervasiveness of negative stories was far, far higher. It's not like now when people who aren't interested just don't click on the stories.

And the intensity of coverage of Fergie and Diana is not something that will ever happen again because of the internet. The RF has learned from their mistakes with Fergie and Diana and is much more supportive to the new generation of wives. Meghan's experience is nowhere near as bad as that of Diana & Fergie. Not even close.

Lordfrontpaw · 09/01/2020 17:06

I wonder what their notice period is..?

1forsorrow · 09/01/2020 17:08

I agree the treatment of Fergie was awful but let's not forget being rude to red heads is totally acceptable, I say this as a fellow red head who has suffered more abuse about my hair than my mixed race DD has for her skin colour.

It goes back further though, the slurs about Wallis Simpson having been "trained" in a Chinese brothel - don't think Meghan has had to put up with that sort of comment. What about Phil the Greek, ridiculed for being Greek, for being penniless, for his Nazi family members (totally ignoring his own wartime service in the Royal Navy) not to mention his mother being a nun and having been incarcerated in an asylum at one time.

I don't think it is OK to make unpleasant comments about people, royal or not, but to make out she has somehow been uniquely victimised just isn't true.

Destinysdaughter · 09/01/2020 17:09

Personally I don't blame them, the press has been horrendous, especially about her. However it does feel like they want to have their cake and eat it...

Greenpop21 · 09/01/2020 17:10

I hope they’ll be very happy. Big respect to Hazza for standing up to his family and making a decision for him and his new family. Can just imagine the men in grey suits flustered in the palace. How very dare he do this? Lol

doritosdip · 09/01/2020 17:27

Good luck to them but I think Harry needs to prioritize carefully and not make mistakes like failing to see Prince Philip when he was ill last month

AllPowerfulLizardPerson · 09/01/2020 17:32

The Duchess of Sussex is not yet a British citizen (they announced she wouid not be fast tracked), so can she spend more than 90 days outside UK in any one year without losing her right of abode?

Laiste · 09/01/2020 17:32

Josette77 - I think no one is going to care about them for long once they are no longer royal.

Oh - they'll jet back here and swan about gurning at the dreadful British public (while racking up a security bill) just often enough to keep the ££££ valuable royal connection humming along, don't worry.

WineOrGinOrBoth · 09/01/2020 17:33

Destiny The press have been no more bike to her than other royal married ins. Doesn’t make it right though. But to say she’s suffered more than others is wrong. You’re clearly younger than me if you can’t remember that!

Andylion · 09/01/2020 17:35

Being properly Royal is the cachet.

I agree with this to a point. They could lose the Royal part of Sussex but still be famous. They would still get offers to speak but perhaps not from organizations they would want to associate with. Also, anyone who wants a Sussex Royal hoodie won't care if they are no longer part of the RF.

Do any Americans on MN have thoughts as to whether or not Americans would care if H&M were set loose from the RF? Is this getting any coverage in the states? It's not getting that much coverage in Canada because of the plane crash in Tehran as many victims were Canadian.

Ethelswith · 09/01/2020 17:37

"Odd they announced this the eve of Kates birthday"

They've form for that sort of thing - they announced the pregnancy on the Stillbirth Awareness Day (thus knocking all the hard-worked for news items, that had been running first thing, straight into the bin).

If their advisers aren't checking for that sort of totally avoidable trashing of charitable work, or they are too self-centred to wait a few hours to a less inopportune time; then I really don't see that a lesser event such as a non-landmark birthday is going to register with them at all

OVienna · 09/01/2020 17:41

Amylox I agree with you totally on the treatment by the media but it seems we are in a minority.

malylis · 09/01/2020 17:45

Since when is Kate's birthday a news item?

IrmaFayLear · 09/01/2020 17:48

Is 38 a new landmark birthday? Mine passed without fanfare or celebration.

IrmaFayLear · 09/01/2020 17:48

(As do all my birthdays, now I come to think of it...)

BoneyBackJefferson · 09/01/2020 17:53

kateandme

so how dare you.

I will get the meme for you as you appear to be to lazy to do it yourself.

Harry and Meghan resigning?
bluemoon19 · 09/01/2020 17:57

Many people say she’s 43 not 38. It’s all lies with the two of them. Don’t believe a word they say.

DeeZastris · 09/01/2020 17:57

I hope harry doesn’t live to regret it. Dumping your entire family (very publicly) and emigrating are fairly monumental decisions. He’s reportedly fallen out with all his old friends too which is also odd.

If he ends up divorced he’ll be massively in the shit.

clairefrasier · 09/01/2020 18:03

How gross that the Queen makes known that she’s “disappointed” that her grandson’s wife doesn’t want to work for the family business, but not disappointed that her son has been accused of sexually abusing numerous teenage girls.

Also agree with this x 1000000

I think there is alot of stuff going on behind the scenes in the RF that us ‘commoners’ do not know about. There must have been some serious infighting going on for them to have to announce without a discussion with the RF and then for the RF to comment back that they are disappointed.

Personally, I wish them well. I think Meghan has had a rough time here. I have heard racist comments about them, not overtly but a couple of women saying that they don’t trust her and that she’s not an English Rose like Kate. I don’t know what the lack of trust is based on. So yes I do think prejudice is playing a part - partly because she is American and partly her skin colour. I actually think these two women were also jealous !
Meghan and Harry deserve to be happy so let them go and earn there own money and live elsewhere and have a more normal family life with their son. Harry didn’t ask to be born into that family - in many respects it must feel like being trapped. William (and His son) will be king one day so him and Kate have more of a vested interest in performing these duties.

TheMustressMhor · 09/01/2020 18:04

If he ends up divorced he’ll be massively in the shit.

I don't think this is true. If he does end up divorced I think his relations will be supportive.

OP posts:
Leflic · 09/01/2020 18:05

Kate’s Birthday May not be a landmark one or important to the British public per se. It is however Harry’s sister in law. Don’t most people said theirs a card if not a present?
This is a shit thing to do and smacks of being deliberate.

TheMustressMhor · 09/01/2020 18:06

I also think the prejudice against MM is to do with her nationality and not her ethnicity.

There are plenty of people who seriously object to her being American. I do not know why this is, but I believe it is so.

OP posts:
ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 09/01/2020 18:06

How gross that the Queen makes known that she’s “disappointed” that her grandson’s wife doesn’t want to work for the family business, but not disappointed that her son has been accused of sexually abusing numerous teenage girls.

Well said.

Vive la republique!

annualleavepurchase · 09/01/2020 18:07

How gross that the Queen makes known that she’s “disappointed” that her grandson’s wife doesn’t want to work for the family business, but not disappointed that her son has been accused of sexually abusing numerous teenage girls.

It was a 'source' that said the Queen was disappointed. Eg the press making it up.