Harry and Meghan (15)

[Froq]

No harm in having it ready for the next event/announcement...

[7Worfs]

[7Worfs]

Thanks, yolo

[yolofish]

I've started a new fred, not clever enough to link but if you go to RF topic there's a clue in the name...

[SunsetBoulevard3]

The thing is if there are that many protection officers, one running errands won’t compromise their security too muchI would have thought.

[IsntCoffeeWonderful]

Could you imagine if anything happened to M and H, and their POs were down at the coffee shop. Not only paying 2M for security, but they’re not even there!

I’m not surprised they have been ‘whinging’. They’re covering their ass in case anything happens. You can’t repel an assailant by throwing a soya frappé at them after all.

I bet there will have to be extra payouts to them for breaches in their contracts. It’s a bit of a HR nightmare.

Why haven’t they got a housekeeper/ assistant?
even the nanny could pop out when the baby is asleep.

I’m sure even the self absorbed M and H could manage to babysit their own kid for 20 minutes or so.

[Butterymuffin]

That was meant to be ! Excuse my fat typing fingers..

[Butterymuffin]

It's completely not what I've said, at all.

It's very obvious that you are going to some lengths to avoid criticising the Sussexes in any way at all. You've avoided criticising them by saying it won't have happened but bizarrely have found a way to make it the officers' fault if they did! But ok, you don't want to answer and like everyone you have the right not to answer questions other posters ask you Plus we'll be on to the next thread any moment now..

[DandyAndFine]

I assumed some would be ex royal forces, but happy to accept they’re all police.


Same principle though, all police constables make an oath when they join the police to serve the Queen.

[rockingchaircandle]

No, they won't risk the scandal of that coming out for real when they can afford to employ someone to run errands.

[SunsetBoulevard3]

I thought protection officers were recruited from the police force?

[DandyAndFine]

I’m sure it has been “anticipated” @rockingchaircandle by the people who train these officers. And of course they’ll know how to push back appropriately, it’s whether it’s worth the aggravation and potential cost of their job. These guys are presumably mostly from the British armed forces. And who is the Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces? Harry’s grandmother. Somewhat different when the boss is a Hollywood celebrity. You could vote with your feet more easily without your army credentials and contacts potentially being compromised.

Who knows whether it’s true. Not something I feel worked up about either way.

[Lunde]

I think it is wrong as it would be a HUGE scandal if there were intruders at the house such as paparazzi, terrorists, kidnappers, or mentally unstable people (remembering the case last year at Buckingham Palace) - and it transpired that the security levels were reduced because an RPO had been sent out to the coffee shop or deli.

Protection officers should stay with their protectees! ... and H&M need to hire an assistant, housekeeper or butler etc to run their personal errands.

[rockingchaircandle]

But hypothetically you wouldn't see it as wrong of them to ask the protection officers to do a coffee run? That's what you're avoiding commenting on!

It's completely not what I've said, at all.

[SunsetBoulevard3]

Obviously Harry has now changed his tune. What M wants, M gets etc.

[Butterymuffin]

But hypothetically you wouldn't see it as wrong of them to ask the protection officers to do a coffee run? That's what you're avoiding commenting on!

[7Worfs]

Lol.

[rockingchaircandle]

Occam's razor- far too unlikely, and fits the anti M&H narrative in a conveniently anonymous way!

[rockingchaircandle]

Nope. I think it's bollocks. For all the reasons I've stated. That includes the reason that I can't believe this problem has never been anticipated or catered for by the people who train these officers.

[Butterymuffin]

Just to get this straight then rocking - assuming that this actually happened, you don't think that Harry and Meghan are at fault for asking their protection officers to go out to fetch coffee, but you do find fault with the protection officers because they didn't push back against this request in the appropriate way?

[7Worfs]

Lack of training or complaints procedure? No.

Occam's razor - it's too political and career-ruinous to raise anything officially.

[queenofarles]

I remember one of the Royal correspondents once saying that Harry is known to be a bit stingy with his own money
I remember one of his girlfriends saying the same thing, he refused to pay her plane ticket, while they were travelling together.

[Laughterisbest]

I used 'whinging' because that's what the article I read said. It didn't say they were making an official complaint. It sounded as though they were muttering about it to the local people.

If it's true, of course it's outrageous.

[yolofish]

rockingchair I think they ARE highly trained people, but they are in a situation where it seems they are being asked to do stuff which is not in their job description.

Now, if all is going smoothly, most people will go above and beyond to please their employer. But if things aren't going well, and the only way you have to make a point is to talk about the 'little things', then that's what people tend to do.

[yolofish]

Totally agree 7worfs I mean why on earth are we, as in the British taxpayer, paying for highly trained people to go on the coffee run?? If it is true, of course...

And I agree about the social capital element too. Think we'll be onto thread 16 soon.

[rockingchaircandle]

Tax-payer funded, well-trained officers, raising a valid complaint about misuse of publicly funded resource?

I think there's a serious wider problem in the training of these officers if they can't make a valid complaint any other way. There must be training on these scenarios, there must be confidentiality warnings that mean it's not worth your career. In a big mansion, you can probably find someone to get your coffee who won't be highly controversial of discussed and be of massive interest to the press during sensitive security negotiations. Officers are more than likely to fancy a coffee off-site for a break.

It makes me think this is total bollocks.


H&M are still popular with parts of the public, this seems to get overlooked on this thread. I think they'll be fine!