Royal style & gossip: don't be fooled by the rocks that they've got, they're still Katie/Leti/Maxi from the block

[QueenOfTheAndals]

Link to previous thread

Ah well, at least the baby moon was in the U.K. so no private jets involved! Strange that the Sun don't feel the need to break down the cost of the Cambridges last ski trip, or the Yorks' recent Bahrain jaunt. Though of course Andrew and Fergie are fond of a freebie so perhaps the Bahrain government paid for that!

@beanaseireann Freddie Windsor has such a Hanoverian look about him. I could picture him in a powdered wig and breeches at the court of George III!

I am a little surprised that she hasn't renounced her American citizenship

The IRS makes renouncing an expensive proposition as well, so it’s not as simple as that.

As with the NYC baby shower I highly doubt that they paid 33k for that.

Tax issue is very valid point. Also I don't recall Fergie ever getting royal collection jewels. (Happy to be proven wrong). And she was closer to the brine that Meg's is now.

Fergie might've been lent more jewels as she would've probably attended more state events than Meghan. I expect Meghan will attend more once Charles is king. I can't see her and Harry's duties lessening for a while. They might become less relevant once William ascends the throne but, if Charles has inherited his parents longevity, that's still a good 20 years away.

The PR spent on that Virtual baby shower is higher than what was actually raised.

I’ve seen some clips of the three princes at the museum ,something not right, no interaction between the boys at all, no smiles, quite a big distance between them. They were really close. I can see that Prince Charles is trying to mend that, but I think both boys are proud and don’t want to budge. but honestly the should realize that families are the one thing in life that is irreplaceable.

The idea for the virtual baby shower didn't come from the palace, it was something various fans on twitter started.

That baby moon story has made me so mad this morning. First, the price is actually irrelevant and they won't have paid that. Hell, I'm not a celeb or a royal and I've never paid the "official" price of a room at a hotel - everyone gets a discount (except when it's the fake advertising and they say, "rooms from £22 but it turns out there's only one of those, and it's only £22 4 times a year and you have to book 4 years in advance....I digress).

So the room thing is annoying. Then emily on twitter is all, "Ooh, Harry's so romantic, how lovely" blah blah blah but then of course, a minute later is tweeting about how the cost is more than was raised by SussexBabyWhatever (which they had NOTHING TO DO WITH) and how much stuff could be done with that money.

They are RICH. Get over it journalists. You are not.

I think I get annoyed partly because working in PR I see this all the time. Reporters want to be wined and dined by my clients at fancy restaurants etc, but then love to whinge about their pay. It's a sad truth that some people have more money. Some careers pay more. Get over it.

Some careers do pay more, but we pay for the Royal family. I think they are putting peoples noses out of joint by their conspicuous consumption whilst pretending to be green and environmentally aware, ie using helicopters and private planes instead of scheduled flights and trains.

I am getting a bit sick of M &H’s pontificating if I’m honest.

I think what annoys me is that Meghan is spending like someone who has become a mega Hollywood star overnight. It all seems so ostentatious. While preaching about world poverty.

It's naive to think M&H had no part in tbe virtual baby shower. It reeks of their PR stance.

The babymoon (which is a nauseating word) was in bad taste even if it cost £49 and was held in a Travelodge in Slough simply because these people barely lift a finger at the best of times and come from a family that owns loads of suitable getaway places filled with staff willing and able to wait on them hand and foot. The fact they don't seem to grasp how crass their behaviour appears is shocking.

I’m not reading the negative media and forum posts about Meghan and Harry anymore. It struck me that the media are playing the game of ‘reporting’ ‘news interests and writing that they had a holiday in X but their SOLE reason for writing that article is to then be able to write numerous critical articles about the costs, the supposed slights, the demands etc. It is bullying and it is cheap.

The babymoon (which is a nauseating word) was in bad taste even if it cost £49 and was held in a Travelodge in Slough simply because these people barely lift a finger at the best of times and come from a family that owns loads of suitable getaway places filled with staff willing and able to wait on them hand and foot.

So anyone with money must not and cannot spend it because it's in bad taste? Come on, surely you can see how ridiculous that is? And, as I've banged on before, while the royal family does receive government funds, I am not sure why it's so hard for people to understand that they are also massively and independently wealthy. If the royal family was cancelled tomorrow and the government stopped sending them places and supporting them, believe me, they'd still be astonishingly wealthy.

I agree @SlipperOrchid. I've seen how a lot of these things work. Just look at how the rumour about Kate being in tears at Charlotte's dress fitting became "evil Meghan makes Kate cry". The Cambridges spend as much on clothes and holidays but the press ignore this.

I think it is hypocritical of H&M to pontificate about climate change and then take a private jet but I also think it's hypocritical for William, who regularly hunts and shoots, to take a stance on hunting in Africa. Cruelty to animals is cruelty to animals!

The royal family are indeed wealthy, but when it comes to spending their own money they are extremely stingy, unless someone else is covering the bill, then in that case they don’t mind.

I wonder if H&M will stay in this country in the long term. Obviously they won't be going anywhere while the Queen is alive, but I would not be at all surprised to see them settle abroad.

Bling I didn't say wealthy people can't spend their money how they fancy that's a ridiculous notion. However the Royal Family only has wealth due to their public position. They haven't earned it. Even their "private wealth" is due to their public position.

Ostentatious spending is totally inappropriate whoever you are but when you are the Royal Family discretion is even more important. I find it astonishing that people can't see that if you take large amounts of public money you will be criticised for splashing on unnecessary luxuries when you already have all the unnecessary luxuries you could imagine in all of your many homes.

The whole of the Royal Family are hypocritical. I would have far more respect for them if they behaved honestly about their lifestyles and spending and didn't preach to the public about how they should live their lives.

@queenofAndals, I don't think William has an issue with hunting because it's cruel. It's a conservation thing. Illegal hunting (poaching) is driving the numbers of certain endangered species down to extinction levels. There are less than 5000 black rhino left in the world, for example.

The kind of hunting William et al do is not with endangered animals.

Personally, I'm not a fan of hunting either, but I don't think there's any hypocrisy here.

However the Royal Family only has wealth due to their public position.

I mean, that's true up to a point, in that as the kings and queens of england they've been amassing property and wealth for hundreds of years. But that's true of lots of other (often aristocratic) families so I'm struggling to feel too worked up about it.

I think what annoys me is that Meghan is spending like someone who has become a mega Hollywood star overnight. It all seems so ostentatious. While preaching about world poverty.

I’m afraid it does.

Daisypie
I agree 100% with your post re Meghan.

amassing property and wealth for hundreds of years

But they haven't. Most of their money has been amassed in the last 150 years.

I remember watching a documentary on Elton John and his spending was crazy. He was in HMV or similar in one bit and he was basically buying everything without really looking at it. His flower bill was astronomical. He was spending money in crap without a thought. And it didn't matter. Because he wasn't pretending to be holier than thou and telling people what to do. I would prefer a Royal Family who behaved like that. It would be brilliant to watch. It's only when they pretend to be frugal and 'humanitarians' that it gets up my nose.

I am a little surprised that she hasn't renounced her American citizenship

But she would be stateleśs which is usually considered not a good situation to be in.