Harry and Megs in LA

[RosesandIris]

Continuing on from the last thread.

Spot on, Date.

Ah! Sorry about that. Yes I meant air freshener.

the Daily Mail are reporting that the Queen has just employed a very impressive-sounding member of H&M’s former team, Sara Latham. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8165593/amp/Queen-snaps-American-PR-hotshot-Sara-Latham-cut-loose-Harry-Meghan.html?ico=amp_dontMiss

She’s a major PR player so she sounds amazing anyway but also hopefully that’s HMQ trying to ‘leave the door open’ a bit and also be seen to be open to change and so on, in a nice way.

Assuming they stay in the US for the foreseeable I wonder how differently their year on review will end up having to be done due to Coronavirus?

I wonder if on that premise, some the RF would be tempted to call them and say, gently, that they they would be happy to sit down again to talk and to see if they need to rethink agreements that they all made weeks ago which were based on looking to a wildly different set of future expectations, compared to the likely reality now?
That would be a kind thing to do and could offer H&M new and realistically much more solid options, if they were open enough to consider them.

Or it’s to keep her quiet.

She didn’t do a very good job for H and M though did she? Their PR has been an absolute disaster. Ditto Hilary Clinton.

Diptyque sell room spray. I have some in my downstairs loo.

Tbf in order for her to do her job they’d have to listen

Interesting about Sarah Latham. She has an impressive CV but IIRCC she also had some high profile 'fails', including the communication mix-up that happened with the press releases when Archie was born.

I wonder if her moving to work with the Queen has anything to do with not making an expensive hire redundant, as presumably her salary and employment ultimately came from and with the same source.

Frankly Date I don't see why on earth the RF would be tempted to try and get them back now. I don't see how that's in the best interest of either side. It's clear relations are frosty, the Sussexes made it clear why they were leaving, they've moved on. I'm not sure what they could offer the RF unless the RF were to capitulate to all their demands and let them have the half-in/half-out option that's already been denied.

The only way I think there will be a going back in any sense is if it's Harry on his own, should that ever arise (and I'm not sure it's likely).

As it happens, the Sussexes have made their own high-powered hire recently. Apparently they've got someone from the Melinda Gates foundation to help them set up their new not-for-profit enterprise. it's intriguing as they can't possibly have the wealth of Bill & Melinda Gates and I wonder who is paying this person's salary.

Whose decision would it be to even allow them back?
I, for one, don't want them. Public opinion seems to be quite anti, I think.
That ship has sailed. They've made their bed. They now must lie in it, and it's just unfortunate for them, as for the rest of the world, that Corona Virus may well put the kibosh on their plans.

@MyOtherProfile Sorry to butt in here. I'm not really a royal follower but I've just seen on the news H and M have left Canada for California. Can anyone briefly explain to me what's going on? Thought they were going to settle in Canada? And isn't it a bad time to move?

My own opinion is, they were never going to settle in Canada. Canada does not have the "big bucks" available in the US. Furthermore, if one were to settle in Canada, one of the last Canadian cities to do so from would be Victoria - it's a small and is a place many Canadians retire to. Vancouver would have been a better choice, for flights across the US.

I believe Canada was chosen because it's a commonwealth country adjacent to the market they wish to penetrate.

Of course it's a bad time to move, but H&M haven't exactly shown themselves to be master planners at anything.

@Becles Given that Kate did the same for her wedding, it's a bit off to snipe at Meghan for assuming it was fine since Kate got to scent the Abbey with Orange Blossom in 2011.

Wasn't that in keeping with a wedding "theme"? Plus, don't churches have candles already? I'm Orthodox, and we have lots of candles in our churches, always lit during services, and we light candles to pray for the dead. I think that's different than misters to cover an odour the bride doesn't like. MM should have asked for candles.

This is the staff appointment I referred to in my last post.

New hire

Date

I can see how any family dispute can be resolved, they are family after all, and it's not unheard of to forgive and forget if there were any disputes.

But I highly doubt that H&M would be willing to come back as long as the Royal Rota seems to only include printed media in the form of MNA tabloids like The Sun / Fail etc. I think, they would prefer a more diverse mixture perhaps with some real journalism in the mix.

I suspect that the half in and out situation would have also meant that another side of the coin is shown.

As one of the army friends that served with H said on telly, they are fine with criticism when it's due, but it's when it all moves to fiction that they are not happy with. (I guess you could count the £20 million security bill that was pulled out of some reporter's S as one, the DM and Sun did not even bother to explain, even though they went on about this amount, and got their readers frothing for months on end) I can't blame them ofcourse as that impacts their charities,

Mummy195
Your last post doesn't really make sense. Who is MNA? What is the Royal Rota?
What is a reporter's S?

If H&M assume the US tabloids will be better, they are delusional. Unlike in the UK, there are very restricted rights to sue US tabloids for reports that are false.

MM said there "is no US tabloid press". That is absurd. She just wasn't a big enough star to warrant the tabloids making stuff up reporting on her.

I think back to early reports about Diana (after her marriage), Fergie, and Kate (back to when she dated William). All were critical, far more so than against MM. I think the difference is, in the UK, the press seems to knock you down and then once your mettle is proven, they lay off. In the US, you're gold for a little while, then the criticism comes.

But I highly doubt that H&M would be willing to come back as long as the Royal Rota seems to only include printed media in the form of MNA tabloids like The Sun / Fail etc

Mummy195 I don't know what you mean by MNA but I think we can agree that The Mirror as a tabloid comes into the 'etc' part of your statement. Especially as it's The Mirror that Harry apparently has an ongoing law case against regarding their historical hacking.

Yet earlier you linked to The Mirror as source material to show evidence for a claim you were making.

So what's your position - is The Mirror part of the problem as to why Harry and Meghan left or not? If so, why would you quote it?

Meghan does not seem like someone who ever goes back to repair relationships.

Wanted to like these two , but they really have not done themselves any favours. Meghan has an excuse as she was not raised in the UK and as such , doesn't get the traditions . But what is his excuse ? Surely, he should have kept her better informed.
And what the hell is he going to do with himself in LA? Not exactly the most exciting place for an unemployable bloke - lying by a pool gets very boring .
And all this was allegedly to raise baby Archie in a better way. But is dragging a baby around different time zones, different caregivers, different homes is not exactly the most stable of environments .

Sorry Absolute

it's NMA - New Media Association.

The Royal Rota (RR) are the chosen reporter who cover the RF (Royal Family). only designated papers and agencies can cover them.
For printed papers those are Daily Mirror, Express, Mail, Evening Standard, Telegraph, The Times, The Sun. All of them are represented by the NMA
For TV broadcast it's BBC, Sky New, ITN (so ITV)
For photographs it's Wire Picture Agency, Council of Photographic News Agency and Independent Photographic Association.

Depending on the scale of the event, usual only one of these from each group will be invited to cover the story. So if it's a small conference, they may invite ITV or the BBC, depending whose turn it is, I guess. Then who ever comes out, will share with the rest of the media. So if you recall only one journalist was present for the first showing of baby Archie and he did bring cameras with him, but he had to share with everyone. That is why you never hear reporters shouting out questions to the royals. It seems that the RR was created about 40 years ago, though I think significant changes were made to it after Diana's death- I could be wrong.

The reporter's S, was trying not to be rude and write out the whole word, arse. Pulled out of some reporter's arse (made up).

The NMA, News Media Association, represents print journalism in terms of participation in the royal rota - which itself is just a term for one newspaper attending a royal event but sharing its material with the others, to save everyone needing to go. Core members are the Mail, Express, Mirror, Times, Telegraph, Sun, Evening Standard.

Trouble is mummy that the Sussexes' intentions seemed to be more about taking control of the narrative by choosing 'alternative' sources to run their (presumably pre-approved) copy. If they want to be reported on by 'real journalism' sources, they can angle for that, but I'm not sure the Guardian or the FT will want to cover them, or certainly not in the way the Sussexes would like. I would be highly entertained to see what the Morning Star or Private Eye (where they have had a couple of mentions) made of it all. Yet again it's a case of being careful what you wish for.

I think the point was they don't really want to just be covered by papers who all seem to have just one agenda.

Or papers who hacked him. Still not sure why you were quoting from ‘the enemy’ The Mirror.

I'm really intrigued as to how they're going to maintain their profile over the next year before this trial period is up. Surely any sort of high profile events are going to be cancelled entirely or postponed until the end of the summer, six months away. So the potential for earning significant sums of money or getting any facetime doing anything in any way relevant are going to be very limited. How long can they continue to string out photos of them doing appearances in the U.K. and Canada?

I have a suspicion that once "this is all over" they'll have lost some of their appeal and pulling power. This has come at exactly the wrong time for them, everyone's battening down the hatches just when they must have been planning their first events and appearances. Even getting some flattering pap shots or a face to face meeting with anyone is out of the question- H won't be able to practice his hustling skills again any time soon.

Honestly I despair of these two. Even during this global crisis they seem to be under the impression that the world is awaiting the unveiling of their new brand with bated breath.

They are like a couple of toddlers who haven’t grown out of the idea that the world revolves around them.

Dandy
You have posted this twice now, Maybe you can show me what you are referring to.