Royal style & gossip: advance Baby Sussex!

[QueenOfTheAndals]

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Surely this is the thread where Meghan has her baby??

It is ridiculous to suggest everyone who isn’t a fan of MM is a racist. It is an effective way to dismiss any discussion.

You can't criticise anything Meghan does without being called a racist on here.

I can't warm to her but I feel dreadfully sorry for her because I think she was woefully unprepared for what she was getting into. This is not at all her fault, I blame Harry. He knew exactly what she was going to face.

In the early days of reality television contestants used to have the "talk of doom", outlining all the ways things could go wrong for them and how the press would dig through and find every skeleton in the closet they had. As a non-Brit who could never appreciate the level of attention and focus being a member of the Royal Family brings Harry was totally wrong not to give Meghan a version of this. He was probably too scared to. Instead he's allowed her to believe it was like being a pop / film star instead of the reality of it which is more akin to the Truman Show.

I just don’t understand what she’s done wrong. Which is why I often end up at racism because there really doesn’t seem to be any other explanation for her unpopularity.

I think she was probably prepared to get the same level of criticism Kate did but it's gone to a new level now. What Kate got was nowhere near as bad as this.

Just look at these comments about Catherine , they are pre Megan, you don’t need to search hard for them just type battle of somme , Remembeance day or any public occasion. I remember all the fuss DM made about her grinning, and when I watched the video , it wasn’t like it was portrayed.

It’s just the press doing what they do best, I’m not saying that there is no true hate towards Meghan , but to say that it’s something new and never been expressed before is simply untrue,
Catherine has been portrayed in a truly digratory way by the press for so many years.

I truly agree with whoever said that Harry marrying Meghan is the best thing to happen to Catherine and William . I also believe the the Sussexes , are taking full advantage of that hate.

I have nothing to add but just wanted to check in before I loose you all!

I just don’t understand what she’s done wrong. Which is why I often end up at racism because there really doesn’t seem to be any other explanation for her unpopularity.

I'm going to set a cat properly amongst the pigeons here but I think it's less about race and more about class. All the other commoner brides came from solid middle to upper middle backgrounds. They broadly knew the score. The cultural values and conduct were familiar, they just had to learn the Byzantine rules of royal etiquette.

Meghan's background, though affluent as she got older, is definitely not that. She has said her parents came from humble beginnings. She has a lot more ground to cover. She's coping by going into actress mode and playing the part of a senior royal but there's no foundation for her to work from. Very hard for her, and I agree, Harry didn't help.

You've just brought back a memory that my parents used to grow it too. I used to be sent out in my wellies to stamp on it as we had far too much :)

OK this is not the asparagus thread. I have never stamped on a royal.

By "no foundation" I mean of course no relevant foundation. I'm not casting aspersions as regards her parents or upbringing. Just to make that crystal clear.

@StealthPolarBear that was hysterical! Thank you!

At least I did say wellies and not willies

I think it's naive to think that racism isn't a factor in the level of the abuse. Yes Kate was criticized but not to the extent of Megan. I remember some papers going on about how Kate was "one of us" (although she was actually middle class not working class like the papers made it sound). Her pregnancies were also positively viewed on the whole. Megan is critised to a whole new level by pretty much all news outlets. Touching her bump, just as Kate did without critism, has caused so much critism it's beyond belief.

Writing on the bananas was an Americanism and the people who are going on about it being ill judged are doing so because it's an Americanism or because they need a reason to judge her - they interviewed people who received them and they were really happy with them, plus it got the charity loads of attention thus lots more donations. The writing on the bananas was a good move for that charity and the people it helps but let's forget that and critise her because she must be in the wrong.

Racism isn't just saying "I don't like X person because he/she is black" it's about having different standards, judging them more critically than that a white british person who did the same. I do sadly believe that is what has happened with Megan.

And that isn't saying that everyone who doesn't like her is a racist - it's saying there is clearly an awful lot of extra critism from racists, as well as the people who really would critise her the same if she was white british.

@evilharpy - sorry been offline. It's closer to grey than hazel I think. Hazel for me has a bit of green or yellow to it, and his don't.

Completely agree

@Myimaginarycathasfleas

I agree with you broadly. However pre marriage, Kate was pilloried for having a working class grandmother and a mother who was an air hostess.
remember “ doors to manual” and the cover of tatler calling Kate and Pippa the “wisteria sisters” for being social climbers.

Kate went to one of the best schools in the country and would have learnt the ropes of how to be “posh”. Not to mention her parents being millionaires.

However there is definite racism undertones or just blatant racism against Meghan.
I think being in the entertainment industry, she has developed a thick skin to a degree.
However the desire for privacy around the birth, is surely to protect the baby as much as possible. I would not want to stand in public and parade my newborn given the vitriol against me, if I was in Meghan’s shoes.
I really hope she manages to give birth in the safety and privacy of her home.

I have to post this, it still makes me laugh!

I used to frequent lipstick ally, purse forum to read celeb gossip .
around the time Kate was pregnant. People were positive Kate was never pregnant . one poster was certain she used a surrogate because she didn’t look like Kim kardashian.

imaginary cat whilst there will be those for who it is a class thing (although Megan apparently grew up in a big house in a nice area - the media have made her sound like she came from less), I think a white british woman from a working class background would be celebrated, by many, as a positive thing.

KK poor tortured ankles. ( and I don’t even like thevwoman)

Thé DM would have a field day with an actual working class person joining the RF. Accent would be the first thing to be criticised.

If Harry had married Cressida, she would be the blue eyed girl and Kate would still be being criticised.

I wonder if M is even aware of negative criticism in the press. She claims not to read any of it. Not very wise really.

I don't agree, I think had Kate done any of those things she wouldn't have been condemned anywhere near as much

I'm not sure about this - she would have been accused of being not sufficiently high brow enough. She took a lot of heat for her supposedly middle class beginnings.

Having said that, I do think the vitriol against Meghan is insane. My instinct says it's because she's an American and an actress. But I've read enough articles and comments from other black women, particularly American ones, who say they experience similar kind of dismissiveness and hostility that I have to accept there's an element of in-built racism. Possibly often the kind that the perpetrator would be horrified if they understood it. The closet example in my own life is a man I used to share an office with who honestly had no idea how entrenched his broadly sexist views were. I think he truly considered himself a feminist because he absolutely believed women should be able to do any work etc. But he simply couldn't see that his tone when talking to women, the things he was willing to discuss with them etc was all slightly sexist.

I think she's said she doesn't read social media comments about her, which is fair enough. She probably is well aware of the press campaign though.

If Harry had married Cressida, she would be the blue eyed girl and Kate would still be being criticised. thank god he didn't. She struck me as dreadfully boring and wishy washy.

I really don't get the fuss over the bump touching. Some pregnant women touch their bump a lot, why shouldn't they? You are allowed to touch your own body. It feels nice, it's comforting.

Both of my babies were real wriggly kickers. I'd frequently have my hand on my tummy (or would be pushing a little limb back into place when it threatened to break out of me, alien-style).

It's not attention seeking, for some women it's just natural. I can't say I ever really did it consciously.

But then I also used to use my bump as a tray to rest my dinner or cup of coffee on so I definitely can't judge Perhaps I was attention seeking in my own home?!

In the early days of reality television contestants used to have the "talk of doom", outlining all the ways things could go wrong for them and how the press would dig through and find every skeleton in the closet they had.... Harry was totally wrong not to give Meghan a version of this.

How do you know he didn't?