Meghan and Harry Debacle part 2

[RosesandIris]

New thread

Has anyone seen that Lady Colin Campbell has written a book on Harry and Meghan using insider information. Apparently she’s has members of the Markle family to stay. She’s brave!

For god's sake, pay back the lump sum you tight gits! This just reads as so slippery...paying rent has nothing to do with paying back the capital sum. No mention of whether the money is going back in the public purse or directly to HMTQ. And no mention of interest rates over a 10 year period! 10 years....shocking given the state of council budgets right now. Just give the lump sum, with 2 years' interest, straight back to the tax payer please. Is there a petition for this somewhere?! Smoke and mirrors with everything concerning this pair...

Give it to the tax man to chase. They are ferocious and unforgiving in their tactics.

Harry can sit on the poverty line and go through every income and expenditure with them, tutting that their car tax is too much

Anymone

I agree. It's disgusting. I would sign a petition right now. He's got millions, and can't pay for the refurb out of his own money? It's criminal to have a huge house sitting empty, having the lawns cut and the place cleaned when no one is living there. I agree it would be better to have a small pied a terre for essential visits (pleading for more money), and let someone else have Frogmore. The way things have unravelled in two years is beyond belief. They are making a mockery of the British public and the RF in general, and being allowed to do as they like. If there aren't some major changes at the next review, the RF are going to look very weak. Strip their titles, take away their patronages and make them pay for Frogmore. Then let them loose to do their own thing. It makes my blood boil to see them holding patronising Zoom chats with charities from their high hill, living in their ridiculous vulgar house which belongs to someone else. Rant over.

I was also surprised to learn that they'd made a stack of money through the BBC (tax payer again, thank you) televising their wedding. Came to light just a few weeks ago when they 'magnanimously' gave £90k to charity because of coronavirus. So they've been sitting on this money for 2 years without giving it to charity (how much more is there and what are they doing with it other than earning interest?). Why wasn't that money put straight back in the public pot that had funded a large chunk of their £30m wedding?!
I am far from being a republican but these two really are pushing me in that direction!!

I don't think William looks like a Spencer at ALL!

I referred to William's mother saying he looked like her. He was 15 when Diana died, his looks have changed quite a lot in 23 years.

Diana wasn't really a Spencer, she was the image of her own mother.

@Amymone That's not how it is with the BBC money. It was collected over time by the
BBC and then the agreement had always been that it would go to their choice of charity when they had the full amount. This is a standard thing with royal weddings. The Sussexes haven't been sitting on it. Though I was irritated that some reports made it sound like they were giving their own money to charity.

Aaah thanks for explaining that. I hadn't realised. Does indeed sound better if it's coming direct from BBC. And you're right, that's exactly how the news coverage sounded. Don't know if it was PRd that way by H&M to make them sound philanthropic or twisted by the media to aggravate licence payers. Probably the latter!!

@Amymone I don't think they made money from their wedding. I may be wrong, but my understanding is that the £90k given to charity was the profit made by the BBC, presumably for selling the broadcasting rights. It was always agreed that any profit would go to charity. So it was never their money.

I think they (the RF) mistakenly imagine that paying for Frog Cott will turn public opinion in their favour. It's a red herring in my view. The house needed renovating, they paid for the interior work themselves anyway.

Anyway I'm not sure what they are paying related to that work. Maybe someone can correct me if I've misunderstood.

I think what they are paying is rent so they can keep it for their own use, which is what any of the rest of us would have to do to have exclusive use of a property.

Royals have to pay a fair rent for their estate properties these days, don’t they? Bank of Mum (or Dad for Waleses) might pay it (via increasing ‘private’ allowance) but it still has to be paid. Unlikely to be full market rent (and his would you find comparators!) but it can no longer be peppercorn

So I assumed the repayment plan was in addition to rent. I’d that not the case?

Also, how did the BBC make £90k and why was it not automatically used to defray programme costs? I though the justification for all Beeb commercial enterprises was to permit the lowest possible licence fee - something the public must pay or face prosecution

Oops, cross post!

Don't know if it was PRd that way by H&M to make them sound philanthropic or twisted by the media to aggravate licence payers. Probably the latter!!

No, I think it was the former

RE the rent...it's my understanding that as part of their megxit agreement, the queen told them they have to pay rent on their property, since grace and favour property is for working royals. In addition to that, they have promised to pay back the renovation costs to the taxpayer. Now it seems the two have been fudged together, which (in absence of too many facts) looks like a bit of a dodge. And still no clarity on exactly who is receiving those payments.
It would be much nicer if everything was just played straight and there were no need for all this reading between the lines, which makes everything look very circumspect.

"and let someone else have Frogmore"

Doubt that can be on the cards!

Five flats were merged into one house. There isn't an obvious other occupant for a house that size. So will need redivudung when the Sussexes relinquish it. Which would be fine after years living there. Unthinkable at the moment

I agree with you @Amymone. They should pay rent. The renovation costs, meh. Had to be done sooner or later. Why complicate things?

@WinnieTheW0rm I'm sure Jack and Eugenie would be glad of the space. They're squeezed into an actual tiny cottage at the moment and presumably also thinking about starting a family. Better than it standing empty?

I definitely do think they should pay back the renovation costs. Not too fussed about the rent, which would just go to the queen anyway. There's a big difference between essential estate building upkeep and converting 5 dwellings into one 'fit for a Prince' pad, complete with sprung yoga floor FGS... People are actually starving and we're paying for Markle's yoga studio 🧐. They lived there for what, 5 minutes?

The Sussexes aren't going to give up Frogmore unless they get something better. Any 20 bathroomed tacky Hollywood mansions going on the Windsor estate. No. Shame. I assumed the £18k rent was separate from the £2.4 Million renovation money. The rent will be paid to the estate and the refurbishment money to the taxpayer. I don't think their reputations will recover from this circus.and they've learnt nothing. I've never liked Camilla much but at least she knows when to keep quiet and do what is expected of her.

What annoys me is that they went along with that refurb right to the end, long after they knew damn well they were leaving.

Wouldn't the rent go to the Crown Estate, with a portion then going back to the RF as part of the Sovereign Grant?

I assume Frogmore Cottage is being kept in case H&M decide to return at the end of the year.

I assume Frogmore Cottage is being kept in case H&M decide to return at the end of the year.

I think that's HMQ's intention Winter. I suspect the Sussexes just though it would be kept in aspic for them should they have to return for the occasional public duty.

I do wonder what death threats they must have received that we don't know about for them to be so paranoid. I would say I'm a pretty reasonable person and I've expressed frustration with them so when the real loons get going it must be quite terrifying.

I suspect royals still in the U.K. get more death threats.

The threat to them in the US would probably be more of kidnapping rather than bodily harm.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were in my city at the height of their popularity, with no bodyguards.

I assume Frogmore Cottage is being kept in case H&M decide to return at the end of the year.

There is NO WAY this is going to happen, but rather sweet that the Queen thought it might.

Yes, I agree it’s unlikely they will be back.

I don’t do Instagram, but saw a link to this-

www.instagram.com/tv/CATqastHzoN/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_mid=AE769FF7-07EA-433B-B4BB-E825EB62F4CF

The entire interview-

m.youtube.com/watch?v=XyaJ3YFCe_A