A positive thread on Harry and Meghan (aka Thread 6)

[Mummy195]

@rousette

I'm sure you won't mind that your excellent link gets 'pinned'.

Some of the things MM did before marrying H.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1282990766097301504.html

Colin Campbell’s book was very balanced in regards to Meghan. She acknowledges her as an independent woman in her late 30s with a well established career and who knew her own mind. She also states that most of her misdemeanours seemed to occur because of her Americanisms ie she is very determined and go getting and the Brits saw this as being rude and pushy.

Harry, on the other hand, is painted as being spoilt, overly sensitive, not very bright and extremely cosseted. She says that Diana spoilt him because she knew he was the ‘spare’ (she doesn’t paint a favourable picture of Diana!) and people gave him free reign when she died as they felt bad for him, which gave him a sense of entitlement. When people started to ‘clash’ with Meghan because of minor cultural differences (again CC says she thinks Meghan wanted to avoid this type of situation because she is image conscious and genuinely seemed eager to learn), Harry, being overly sensitive, decided to put the blame on others and accused them of beings snobs and racist.

Eugenies dress and tiara have been my favourite.

If H&M didn't collaborate how come it contains such high levels of private details that only H&M would know about? Either the pair of them have been discussing details of their personal lives with other people, who in turn, have been sharing them with journalists or the authors are making stuff up. Either way I would expect them to be taking legal action over it.

Lets see if that happens...

Do you have any screenshots of Omid Scobie's tweets of frustration (that people assumed H and M had helped with the book)? I thought that the rumours of his inside knowledge came from him, to give the book credibility.

@jeffgoldblumlovespenguins

I read lccs book , have to say I found it quite complimentary towards m and h in certain places , even the critical parts were measured and fair.

It really was. I was surprised at how balanced and fair she was to be honest. She gives them credit when credit is due and when she criticises she provides lots of reasons and evidence in why she is doing so (she knows the ins and out of the inner royal circle so of course she’s very on top of it in regards to etiquette and personalities which an outsider might not be aware of).

I’d say that at the moment that Omid Scobie’s book is the one that shows them in a negative light, strangely enough. Which is strange considering how pro Meghan he is...

she seems surprised that people aren't making more of an effort for her; protecting her, defending her and making time for her. But why would they? They have their own lives to live

Because she is new to the RF, because she doesn't know the ropes, because she's from another country and different culture. Many reasons. Of course they have their own lives to live, but shouldn't you be as welcoming as possible given the above?

Here you go Ethel

I think as someone said on a previous thread, there may well have been an attitude of here's another of Harry's girlfriends. I imagine if you are a member of the RF you would be wise to keep your guard up for quite a while. No slagging of mil with potential sil over gin and tonics for Kate

Actually to be fair Kate was pregnant with Louis for the run up to the H&M wedding and it is clear that Kate struggles with pregnancy.

I think it’s unfair to criticise Kate for not being ‘helpful’. When Harry met Meghan, Kate was a mother of two young children herself (George would have been around 3-4 and Charlotte would have been 1-2). She has a very busy schedule as she was one of the more senior royals and everyone wanted to see her. She was also pregnant for a lot of their engagement, and we all know how difficult she finds her pregnancies. Then on top of that, she has Louis not long before the actual wedding. She has a very busy ‘working’ life and we all know she is a very hands on Mum (doing school runs etc). She might simply not have had the time to be more on hand for Meghan, especially as everything seem to happen so quickly.

Because she is new to the RF, because she doesn't know the ropes, because she's from another country and different culture. Many reasons. Of course they have their own lives to live, but shouldn't you be as welcoming as possible given the above?

I think most people were pleased that H was getting married, were interested that it was to someone from a different background and were happy to cut her some slack as she learned the role but sympathy started to wane when some odd choices were made - clearing the seating at Wimbledon so she didn't have to sit with the masses, complaining about her life in the South Africa documentary which distracted from the purposes of the visit etc.

Kate probably fell out with H&M over the date of the wedding The thought of being 3 weeks post partum and having to be a vip guest at a royal wedding would have had me reaching for the smelling salts.

Shocked and disappointed that MN keep deleting critical threads about H&M. They are all over the news, they are public figures who actively seek a public platform. They are part of an institution that is paid for by the taxpayer!

I understand why threads about Madeleine McCann are often deleted as there can be a lot of speculation and criticism of Gerry and Kate which is hurtful (and the McCanns are notoriously quick to sue). However, Harry and Meghan are different. We have a right to discuss what is already in the public domain.

To constantly delete critical threads but allow positive ones to stand - that's censorship. And it's very disappointing that Mumsnet is censoring and shutting down legitimate discussion.

Does the RF operate a mentor system at all? I know one of the European RF's (can't recall which one) has "prince/princess school" that all (born and married in) have to do...

I think a more experienced member of the RF (perhaps Sophie?) could have been a good mentor for Meghan both in terms of showing her the ropes but also flagging up opportunities for Meghan to showcase the skills she brings. I know their is a court/office structure which handles the transactional side but that coupled with a personal mentor may be a good combination...

I think if MN were to actively rename this thread we are on now and take out the word 'positive' you wouldn't know it's much different from what's gone on before.

Maybe just a few more posters who have more of a moderate view?

Those tweets from Omid are rather disingenuous or perhaps he doesn't do nuance. The DM article says Omid's book blames Angela Kelly. In the DM's opinion AK wouldn't have done anything without the support of the Queen.
Omid's tweets set the Twitter bullies on AK. It's all rather undignified for a royal correspondent.

@mrscampbellblackagain

Kate probably fell out with H&M over the date of the wedding The thought of being 3 weeks post partum and having to be a vip guest at a royal wedding would have had me reaching for the smelling salts.

I never realised that it was such a short time between the birth and the wedding. Wowee! She looked amazing considering she would still be considered postpartum. That lady must have golden genes/metabolism or a will of iron! Not even mentioning how tired she must have been! Respect to Catherine 😁

@Roussette

I think if MN were to actively rename this thread we are on now and take out the word 'positive' you wouldn't know it's much different from what's gone on before. Maybe just a few more posters who have more of a moderate view?

@Roussette this is a really good idea. The polarisation of positive vs negative is wrong and we see this being played out again and again in this thread with AK vs MM, Kate vs MM. Maybe Mumsnet should rename it.

I think they deny writing the book, so it should be left at that, till otherwise proven.

This is what I mean about censorship. Other public figures dispute things (Johnny and Amber anyone?) but we aren't expected to just accept, carte blanche their version of events. We are allowed to discuss it, have opinions. But not MM and Harry. If they say something the hammer comes down and we can't debate it until we have what...legal proof to the contrary.

Autobiography = wrote by subject.
Biography =wrote by another author.

I have no idea how Kate did it either. My db got married three months after dc3 and even then, it was bloody difficult. I don't think there was much leeway for the date for H and M as the royal calendar is packed in the summer months.

@Wheresthebeach I totally agree.

The polarisation of Positive vs. Negative is a result of a simplified view of reality I think.

If two parties disagree/differs and you cannot accept that one is at fault (or the difference), by definition the other party is “the bad one”.

Or it could be that some posters just get so cross that they for the purpose of discussion take a more extreme position than they actually hold....

Kate is very hard working, and does seem to follow the Royal rule of 'never complain, never explain'. Except when topless photos were published of her of course...by pap's with telephoto lenses.

William definitely followed his mother's advice about not marrying in a rush...even though Kate suffered a lot - 'waity Katie' couldn't have been easy to see plastered across the press.'

Kate is very impressive. So dignified and performs her royal role perfectly.

I think Sophie works very hard too, you seldom hear about her though.