News on Meghan and Harry

[Viviennemary]

Since they are in the news more or less daily why not a thread on this. Latest I've read over the last few days is that Meghan is going to produce a film from a book. And later this month she is teaming up with Michelle Obama for project on gender equality. Both sound interesting projects.

Rather than baby groups lots of parents rely on meeting up with friends with other young children. We now know Meghan has at least five female friends with young children, so they can hang out together.

They don't seem to have thought through the implications of taking Archie to live in LA. The Royals have a huge network of support in this country. Not just staff but trusted people who can be discreet usually.

By God! The performance parenting would be on another level at an LA famous mommy and baby group.

How can MM think she is too well known for a mother and baby class in LA? I don't get that at all. I can't help thinking the pair of them are small fry compared to the A listers in LA after having quit the RF. I suppose they might have a certain 'notoriety' value.

I dont think they think anything through.

I really can't see what they will do for money. Their outgoings will be enormous.

They might do the public speaking thing but I think the world has moved on from listening to crusty royals and actors, they want to hear from exciting trailblazers like Greta Thunberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Malala Yousafzai etc.

They might get a few gigs off the back of their current drama-fame, but now theyre no longer royals they dont have the connections that made them appealing and important.

Archie would have lots of cousins to socialise with if they had stayed here.

The Cambridge kids socialise with the Tindall and Phillips kids, and Pippa's son is close to Louis' age. I think Frederick Windsor's daughter Maude? is in George's class.

I think having friends within your own extended family is the safest way for them to socialise and have people they can trust.

That latest bit about being too well known for baby and mum groups has to be bollocks. Is she the only well-known woman in LA to have had a baby? Or the only one who cares enough about her baby to want to do these classes? Has she no friends with toddlers she can hang out with? I thought she had at least 5 close ‘young mother’ friends? Why can’t Harry go to these groups, or will he be out upon too, by not-well-in own women? And surely if you’re worried your kid has no friends and needs to socialise, you take it on the chin and suck it up for your baby? Or you send the nanny (I’ve known many many who do).

My vote is the piece is completely made up, by the DM or by the “source”. Either that or it’s a pre-emotive PR piece for some new level of extravagance we’re about to hear about.

She wasn’t too well known to do a yoga class in NY when she had her baby shower though! It was just a normal class, and she came in quietly to the back. Those days are over I guess. I read somewhere that she went to a mother and baby group in Windsor at least once.
I would have thought LA is crammed with celebrities going to baby classes. Probably people much more high profile than Meghan.

Kids don't 'need' social contact at that age. Plus there will be lots of people in the same position during lockdown. When things ease up it ought to be perfectly possible to get into a rich person's baby group in their particular bit of LA.

I am still failing to understand what they are playing at with the court case. The Mail on Sunday won't even need to publish any of the friends' names. At this rate Meghan's own camp will give away enough information to make them identifiable.

@derxa

he wanted an escape from a toxic family The Royal Family is a family unlike any other. It's my understanding that they barely see one another. William and Harry seemed to have a great and almost normal relationship. Then they fell out. It's quite astonishing that every family member that Harry and Meghan have seem to be 'toxic' except for Doria.

I find the idea of Harry wanting to escape a toxic family hilarious. Until Megan came along, he got along with them swimmingly. He, William, and Kate were always pictured laughing and smiling.

Same with his father, the Queen, and Prince Philip - he always had huge smiles whenever he was around them. It was also widely reported that he was close to his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie, who set him up with Cressida.

Finally, at the engagement interview he talked about how he was excited about Megan joining 'his family'. I don't quite remember the exact words, but they were along the line of his family being the family 'she never had.'

Indeed I find it suspicious that Megan has fallen out with nearly every family member, except her mom.

Agreed it’s highly suspicious she’s fallen out with every family member except her mother. That being the mother, who went off and did her own thing and left Meghan with her father when she was a tween.

We really don't know how happy Harry was within the RF though do we? Anyone can plaster a smile on for the cameras, and yet be dying inside. It's wrong to assume a person is completely OK with everything from a few pictures in the Press.

As far as that DM story about MM being too famous for baby groups, I'd be taking that with a pinch of salt, sounds like classic clickbait to me.
Also with the royals with babies and young children just mixing with each other, I wonder if that actualy happens, in the case of Zara she's a real Gloucestershire girl, all she does is based in that county, can't imagine she'd be popping up to London with her two for a playdate!

Am I the only person who hopes Meghan wins her case?

It doesn't look strong, but the papers in the UK are awful and have done dome dreadful things, have ruined lives. It would be great for someone to win a case like this against them.

Oh yes. Hope she wins. Give the vile Daily Mail a bloody nose.

Rather than baby groups lots of parents rely on meeting up with friends with other young children. We now know Meghan has at least five female friends with young children, so they can hang out together

I can't help but wonder whether the DM is playing games here, reporting that MM doesn't have anyone with children to hang out with - on the very same day that it is revealed that her 5 'close friends' are all mothers with young children.

Anyone can plaster a smile on for the cameras, and yet be dying inside. I think Harry has proved that he's not very good at that Roussette, over the last couple of years. He's looked very angry at times.

I'm surprised that Meghan has said that she's not on trial - somebody must have explained to her that (as she brought the case) the burden of proof is on her.

I'm referring to the post saying how happy he was within the family, someone said about his huge smiles when he was with the Queen and PrinceP. And I said it's easy to plaster on a smile and not be happy inside.

@BalloonSlayer

Am I the only person who hopes Meghan wins her case?

It doesn't look strong, but the papers in the UK are awful and have done dome dreadful things, have ruined lives. It would be great for someone to win a case like this against them.

If the court case was about numerous articles that were proven lies or twisted then yes. But that's not what the case is about. This is only about one set of articles relating to the letter she sent her dad.

My personal view is she's got involved with the press using her friends so on that basis, I don't think she should win a privacy claim as she may have given up that right herself. Even if she didn't know about it, her dad still had a right to reply in public based on what her friends said.

If they have breached copyright then of course she should win this. I think this will be more clear cut whether they have breached or not. I just don't know the law. I do think AN are not bothered whether they win this or not though.

I agree the AN don’t care if they win - look at the press the Sun is generating from the JD case.

Any time there is an injunction coming there are lots of story’s which are seemingly unrelated until the injunction comes out eg lots of stories about Hugh Bonneville before it became common knowledge about his injunction. They know how to get peoples names in the front of peoples minds without directly linking them

It would be great for someone to win a case like this against them

She stood a good chance of winning on copyright.

But she's blurred the issue so much with a slew of unrelated issues (some of which have already been struck out) that even if she does win, it will be entirely pyrrhic

I know what you meant Roussette, I have heard of people smiling when they don't feel like it, I've even done it myself. But I don't know what your point is wrt Harry. Are you saying that all of the photos of him appearing to enjoy his grandparents company he was 'plastering on a smile' but not really happy to be with them? Why would you think that?

I also hope that Meghan wins the case, and I think she will, but I also think she was nuts to bring it as they will rip her reputation to shreds.

Not sure if this has already been asked but if the letter was written to Thomas Markle surely the letter would be his to do what he wants with it. If that is the case then Meghan has no case as it's not her letter.

I also feel for Meghan with the baby groups thing.

I can imagine Kate told her going to baby groups was doable . . . but that might have been down to good old British reserve . . . "OMG is that Kate Middleton with Prince/Princess X? I can't believe it! Nor can I!! Be cool, be cool, pretend we haven't noticed and act like she's anyone else." Americans would be more honest and wouldn't try to hide their excitement.

Oh dear.

Not sure why it's so hard to understand what I'm trying to say. Maybe read the PP I was referring to, that might help.

Anyway, here goes, I'll try yet again...
The PP said he always looked really happy, he had a big grin on his face, he can't possibly have been unhappy, the RF couldn't be toxic because he was smiling and grinning when he was with the Queen etc, I just said in passing that having a smile on your face doesn't mean that everything is perfect and you are happy. And we shouldn't assume that. I've always felt he has been a square peg in a round hole within the RF to be honest.

And there are no doubt lots of MNers who have lived through difficult marriages, smiled for the in laws, held family parties smiling and laughing throughout for the sake of the children etc. And they are dying inside.

Not sure what is difficult to understand about that.

I hope I have covered it enough for you now.

Do you need baby groups when at least 5 of your closest friends are young mothers, social distancing isn't enforced and you are rich enough to either travel or host (looks like guests could be placed in a pretty substantial wing on their own and meet up inky outside where risks are so low.