Harry and Meghan resigning Act 4: the Price of Freedom.....?

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

So the saga continues
Thé Canadians are not happy about paying for the Sussexes security

I think that will be their downfall. They can’t actually fund the cost of their «freedom»
Other security experts saying that the cost of 24/7 private security is about £4million per year.

Problem is; they have skipped the a Royal fold, and have to pay the real cost of their security and accommodation . They will have to sell every aspect of their Lives to fund this.

[PineappleDanish]

Harry will be on his way back today. If he didn't fly out last night. They will be back for the 75th VE celebrations at the start of May and not before.

[MarshaBradyo]

Hmm yes paying for their own security is a bit of a bind and maybe a realisation being a senior royal does work for them too.

[Dozer]

Lots of the royals have monetised it, to be fair.

[CoraPirbright]

So it will be Canada, or perhaps by that point, California

Totally agree PineappleDanish. Their press release talked about “North America” not specifically Canada, perhaps because they thought that it sounded better. If they came straight out with California, everyone would be even more pissed off. In light of the lack of diary engagements, the registering of trademarks 6 months ago etc this has clearly been in the works for a long time.

I ADORED MM in the beginning but now I am thinking that she never even really wanted to try and be a part of the firm but just wanted to bag her —main chance—prince and then bog off back home to make money in the most tawdry way. I think Harry’s happiness and reputation of the Royal family is being sacrificed on the altar of her ambition. As Harry himself said “what Meghan wants, Meghan gets”.

[MummyOfBoyAndGirl]

@LaMarschallin my favourite comment for a while

@Bluntness if you need a life so do many of us.... including me & that poster

[crispysausagerolls]

Prince William pictured leaving Kensington Palace this morning:

1. HE LOOKS ANNGGGRRRYYYY
   
2. are the red marks bad spots he has picked, or has Harry thrown a glass at his face?!

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

Harry will be on his way back today. If he didn't fly out last night. They will be back for the 75th VE celebrations at the start of May and not before.

He’s got an engagement on Thursday, something to do with Rugby.
I guess he’ll be on a plane that night.

Harry May come back for the VE celebrations. I’d be amazed if Meghan showed up.

So much for the carbon footprint....

[crispysausagerolls]

Accompanying photo

[PineappleDanish]

I think lots of us had very high hopes for Meghan. A breath of fresh air, a different perspective, someone who had worked for a living and could modernise the outlook of the whole family. I thought she was great and would do some really amazing things for women in general with her charity work.

How wrong was I??

[Theroigne]

I’ve been (lightly) following this story for the last few days and I really don’t think it’s going to be feasible. This is an idealistic fantasy that they have embarked upon which is based on a foundation of entitlement and out-of-touch, easy privilege.

PH has never in his life known what financial independence means. Money has flown into his hands like water from a tap. He has no idea what kind of sums he’s looking at having to actually ‘earn’ in order to have the lifestyle that he and his wife are expecting.

Security will be a huge issue and will be a massive financial drain. They will never, truly, be ‘free’. The only way for Meghan would be to divorce Harry thus cutting all ties to the RF, then living quietly for a few years to get past media attention.

In terms of brand longevity, it won’t work. Their USP is being royal! If they are no longer royal, they have no brand. They need the RF connection far more than they think they do. Contracts will dry up within a year or two once they are known as plain ol’ Harry and Meghan again.

I think they entered into this with some idealistic notion that they were going to continue being the Sussex Royals, getting involved in glamorous philanthropic endeavours, modelling for top end designers, acting in Hollywood films, being the power couple, when really, as commoners having to rely on talent, qualifications, and a thinning book of increasingly ambivalent connections, they will find it all a lot harder than they think.

Just my twopence worth.

[derxa]

,

[feelingverylazytoday]

I understand if they wanted out
So do I, but they should have opted out before the wedding, not after.
I've always liked Meghan and welcomed having a mixed race member of the royal family , but there does come a point where you wonder if some of the criticism is warranted.

[CurlyWurlyTwirly]

Sophie and Edward tried to be commercial ( her with PR and him with a production company in the early 2000s)
The Queen let them; they both failed miserably and have now been working for the RF for 20 years as full timers.

Problem with the Sussexes; particularly Meghan, is that they have burnt their bridges.
Even if they divorce; the RF will probably be funding security for Meghan and Archie for at least the next 18 years.

[PaperFlowers4]

I think Meghan thought all of that, not harry particularly. I don’t think he cares about being a power couple. He wants to be a family.

It’s a real mismatch of ambition and I think it will strain their relationship immensely

[londonrach]

Its a hot topic with my elderly patients..the general feeling is that ph has let the queen and rf down. Everyone also saying cant see it lasting. Who knows what will happen. Its just very sad that two boys who lost their mum young are no longer close. I do feel sorry for ph but if hes happy with megan in canada so be it but they fund themselves.

[RuffleCrow]

Why would they need that level of security in Canada of all places? As long as they stay the right side of the batshit TRAs - who is going to care or hassle them?

[diddl]

Well Harry has done what he would have been told to do on here hasn't he-support his wife?

But if UK doesn't work for her & Canada turns out not to for him then there will be a problem!

[PineappleDanish]

Why would they need that level of security in Canada of all places?

Because Canada has terrorists just the same as other places do? What a silly comment.

[FatherRabulaConundrum]

Why would they need that level of security in Canada of all places? As long as they stay the right side of the batshit TRAs - who is going to care or hassle them?*
*
They'd be a huge kidnap risk for terrorists.

[Iamdobby63]

I think lots of us had very high hopes for Meghan. A breath of fresh air, a different perspective, someone who had worked for a living and could modernise the outlook of the whole family. I thought she was great and would do some really amazing things for women in general with her charity work.

How wrong was I??

Yes I feel quite duped and the alleged quote from her friend stating ‘this was the plan all along’ makes me question the commitment in the first place. Plus if that’s true then they should have been open about it in the first place.

If Meghan was unhappy I would have completely supported a year out but to be honest I think the only thing she is unhappy about is the realisation that she can’t ‘cash in’ and earn her own money, surely this was made clear to her prior to getting married.

[fallen121]

I had a dream that Meghan signed a deal with Love Honey to sell branded adult sex toys "the Harry" and his bigger brother "the William". There was also a Royal Sussex love swing made of bell ropes originally installed at Frogmore.

Absolute bonkers you might say but the reality is that at some point there is going to be some questionable merchandising deals. You can already buy a Buckingham Palace Honey Dipper. I kid you not.

[RuffleCrow]

Really? Nothing that's made the news over here @PineappleDanish and there's no need to be rude. Do you have a link for Canada's huge terrorism problem ?

[StillCoughingandLaughing]

This ‘one foot in each camp’ arrangement is doomed. It will be expensive, impractical and, ironically, will not give them what they want. They will still be tabloid fodder, unable to live their lives without the press reporting each detail, but they won’t get any of the benefits either. As others have said, they will spend their lives touting for business; they will become this generation’s Fergie, a ‘rent a Royal’.

Obviously I don’t know either of them personally, like the rest of us speculating on this thread. I have no reason to believe they’re not being genuine when they say they still want to devote their time and energy to causes that matter to them. But do the kind of people and companies who make huge donations to charities and foundations still do it for ‘Royals’ who are no longer seen on the balcony or at the key state events, but plead for privacy and to be left alone in Canada?

It’s not that I have no sympathy for them - I certainly wouldn’t want the life they have. But it’s not like with Diana when she was a naive 19 year-old thrown into an unprecedented situation. Harry was brought up to this. He knows the precedent all too well. And Meghan was well into her thirties and had spent her entire adult life courting celebrity. Why does it all come as such a shock now?