To think Harry/Meghan are coming out of this worse than the Royal Family?

[Bassarid]

Is it just me?

@ohforarainyday can you explain what you meant by this?

(These quotes are from two different posts.)

“Harry and Meghan were not permitted to earn money unless they stepped down as working royals, which is extremely hypocritical considering Meghan was pressured to keep doing acting work”

“Harry and Meghan were told when they married that there was no money for Meghan and that she would have to continue working to support herself.”

I’ve spent enough time in officers’ messes to know though.
But we have no way of knowing if that's true or not. I mean, you could be some bored kid who's never stepped foot on an army base. That's the problem with claiming to have first hand information.

None of my information is first hand or me claiming to have insider information, it's all things that have been widely reported. The statement by the RR claiming an Earl's granddaughter told him about the affair, William's "my human rights have been violated" response to the article about Kate falling out with a neighbour, Rose's brother's press statement, the fact Tatler made one immediate edit to the article which was to remove the Rose Hanbury paragraph (they made a much lengthier and more substantial edit to the piece much later on; initially, the Rose paragraph was the only one deleted). All those things are a matter of public record.

The only person claiming to be a top insider who has access to first hand information no one else has - and simply expecting us to take his/her word for it - is Blossomtoes

The tabloid media that blew his cover was a foreign outlet, German I believe.

"Tabloid media blew his cover and compromised national security. Another reason for him to hate them. He was forced to return."

But that surely didn't mean that he had to quit completely?

Tabloid media blew his cover and compromised national security. Another reason for him to hate them. He was forced to return

That’s why he finished his tour early. He didn’t have to leave the Army because of the media. He could easily still be serving if he’d chosen to.

@ohforarainyday

I’ve spent enough time in officers’ messes to know though. But we have no way of knowing if that's true or not. I mean, you could be some bored kid who's never stepped foot on an army base. That's the problem with claiming to have first hand information.

None of my information is first hand or me claiming to have insider information, it's all things that have been widely reported. The statement by the RR claiming an Earl's granddaughter told him about the affair, William's "my human rights have been violated" response to the article about Kate falling out with a neighbour, Rose's brother's press statement, the fact Tatler made one immediate edit to the article which was to remove the Rose Hanbury paragraph (they made a much lengthier and more substantial edit to the piece much later on; initially, the Rose paragraph was the only one deleted). All those things are a matter of public record.

The only person claiming to be a top insider who has access to first hand information no one else has - and simply expecting us to take his/her word for it - is Blossomtoes

Do you know what? It’s a matter of sublime indifference whether you believe me or not. It’s hardly being a top insider now is it? Christ knows there are enough Army officers’ wives kicking about.

@diddl

"Tabloid media blew his cover and compromised national security. Another reason for him to hate them. He was forced to return."

But that surely didn't mean that he had to quit completely?

Of course he had to return. From that point on he would have been targeted by the 'enemy'. His known presence would have put his fellow comrades in danger too.

I guess him setting up the Invictus Games made him feel like he was still involved with the Army.

"Of course he had to return. From that point on he would have been targeted by the 'enemy'. His known presence would have put his fellow comrades in danger too."

That was why he hadto return from a tour though.

He didn't also quit the army at that point did he?

It was his first tour that was cut short when an Australian reporter outed him. He returned after 10 weeks rather than do a full tour but he did go on to do a full tour afterwards so I cant see why the first outing would have effected his decision to leave the army.

I don't see blossomtoes posts as comparable to the vicious personal rumours you have repeated here Rainy Day. Harry's qualifications are a matter of public record as is what's needed to qualify. These are fact checkable, they could be proven or disproven if I could be arsed. Most people don't lie about stuff that can be factually corroborated. And it's not a vicious slur like the MM stuff or the affair stuff.

Andylion - I genuinely don't know and it's one of the things about the Oprah interview that I do consider hinky and possibly not true, because to me those two statements do not square up.

But to me the fact those two statements contradict each other also shows how dishonest and hypocritical the press are.

The press and especially the RRs have made a huge fuss saying that working royals are not allowed to earn money, therefore Meghan would not be able to become a working royal if she intended to keep her job.

On the other hand, ever since they left there's been a firestorm of outraged articles about how Harry and Meghan's decision to stop being working royals has created this huge crisis, how it's unfairly dumped this massive workload onto William and Kate, how poor Kate can't see her own children since she's going to have to take on all this extra work that she was expecting Meghan to handle, how poor William was relying on his brother and SIL to share the workload once he became king.

These two press narratives cannot be squared. Either the RF were relying on Meghan being a WR, or they never wanted her to be a WR in the first place. The press can't make their minds up from one day to another which stick to beat her with.

What I expect happened is that Meghan was offered the chance to be a non-working royal and remain an actress, the same deal Sophie originally had. Perhaps she was pressured and perhaps not. Obviously she turned it down and it's hard to imagine how that would have been a practical option. Edward and Sophie were minor royals who attracted little attention and were basically liked by the press, and Sophie did a fairly obscure job, yet she still had to quit her career and become a full-time WR.

Meghan had ten times the attention and controversy on her, the press hated her, and acting is inherently high profile. There's no way Meghan could have continued to do acting jobs after her marriage, she would have been relentlessly hounded by the press, accused of only landing roles due to her royal status, and every single stage or screen production who cast her would have found themselves under scrutiny. I'm sure the RF would have also wanted veto rights over her jobs to ensure she didn't take any roles that were unsuitable.

And realistically, Harry being so high profile, there's no way Prince Harry could be a WR married to a non-working royal. How would that even work in practice?

Meghan made the only choice she could have made, but she was clearly naive and didn't think through the ramifications of not being able to earn her own money unless she stopped being a WR.

I remember searching for other sources about the affair rumours but they only led to that Twitter account and To Giles.
There was talk about both Kate and Rose taking legal actions against the Sun? Which makes me believe it’s about something entirely different.

I check Houghton Hall on insta from time to time, they do exhibit some very interesting artwork by famous artists , their lifestyle is far more glamorous than the Cambridges. The house, Gardens, parties , I bet Amner Hall must look like a travelodge in comparison to Houghton Hall.

Back to the topic though H&M are just as responsible for their current position as anyone else, more actually. No one owes them anything, that's what they forget. Yes they are looking worse and worse every time one of them speaks.

The RF don't need PR, H&M are doing it for them. By comparison the RF seem reasonable, compassionate, dignified and reserved.

"how it's unfairly dumped this massive workload onto William and Kate"

But surely that's because having decided to become working Royals a workload was allotted that must now be reassigned?

Funny how people clamour for "proof" of stories about royals only if it suits their argument to disprove them. When I posted a while back that I had it on excellent authority that Andrew was loathed when training at Dartmouth, everyone was happy to believe it (it was true!).

@CallmeHendricks

Funny how people clamour for "proof" of stories about royals only if it suits their argument to disprove them. When I posted a while back that I had it on excellent authority that Andrew was loathed when training at Dartmouth, everyone was happy to believe it (it was true!).

I can't imagine there was anyone who thought this wasn't true or was interested in disproving it tho.

What I do think about some of the "bombshells" that have been revealed is that some have already been hinted at, a lot of people just don't really care about another family's squabbles and a lot of people just aren't really shocked by anything anymore.

There may be more to come but so far it seems to have been hyped up far beyond what it is.

I'm assuming that for MM to keep working outside the RF she would have had to agree to keep to her stage name and not use her Royal Titles. I doubt that they would have allowed her to style herself HRH, Princess or Dutchess. There will definitely have been some restrictions upon her working as an actress. Which might be why they turned it down. They gave her the option, probably would have involved breaking protocol and they probably felt they were going out of their way to accommodate her.

@CallmeHendricks

Funny how people clamour for "proof" of stories about royals only if it suits their argument to disprove them. When I posted a while back that I had it on excellent authority that Andrew was loathed when training at Dartmouth, everyone was happy to believe it (it was true!).

Well having seen how he comes across it's an easy one to believe imo.

That said, it might be believable that if he wanted to he could be maybe a little bit charming.

Of course he had to return. From that point on he would have been targeted by the 'enemy'. His known presence would have put his fellow comrades in danger too.

But there was definitely a time when it was public knowledge that he was in Afghanistan doing a tour. I remember Prince Charles talking about how worrying it was and how he didn't really fully understand that until one of his sons was there.

Harry couldn’t really stay on in the army because he wasn’t academic enough to pass the exams for promotion and he obviously didn’t want to be Captain Wales forever while his friends progressed up the ranks and was unsuited to a desk job.

I have also heard that he wasn’t brilliant at being a pilot. It’s not easy anyway but not his forte.

It’s a matter of sublime indifference whether you believe me or not.

That's fine, but please stop acting like someone saying "well x journalist said this, x source printed this, here's William's own response, and here's a press statement by this other person" is remotely comparable to someone rocking up claiming to have secret insider info that contradicts official sources and expecting people to simply take their word for it.

amusedtodeath1, Blossom didn't say anything about Harry's educational qualifications. She claimed that her time spent inside her husband's mess hall gave her insider info that "every single officer" knows that Harry "was a woeful flyer, absolutely terrible, he never actually flew even once he just sat next to the pilot." So not only is Blossom claiming to speak for every single officer in the entire country (really? You've spoken to every single one?) but she's making up some very nasty allegations without a word of proof. Harry's GCSEs don't say anything about whether he was a good flyer or not, or how successful he was once he started training and working as a pilot.

Harry's qualifications and military record are a matter of a public record. It's a fact that he holds a pilot's licence. It's a fact that he qualified as an Apache Helicopter Commander. It's a fact that he won an award, and that he was top of his class at El Centro. It's a fact that he's been widely praised by his army peers for his skill as a pilot.

So no, if Blossom wants us to believe that his entire military career is all just made up as part of some conspiracy, that actually he never flew and was terrible at it, she's going to need more than "I'm an army wife and therefore know what every officer in the country thinks and you're just going to have to take my word for it." And claiming Harry never flew and is shit at it is absolutely a vicious claim IMO.

I never asked for proof, I said it can't be proved either way and as such, and considering its a slur, I personally cannot consider it any more than I can the slurs against MM and that things like this shouldn't be repeated.

The RF don't need PR, H&M are doing it for them. By comparison the RF seem reasonable, compassionate, dignified and reserved.

In your opinion, some will agree, some won't.