Harry & Meghan, all welcome (aka positive thread, now renamed!)

[Roussette]

Here we are, let's inform, discuss, share and respect.

But there was an article not that long ago that said she and PH would think up some major project over dinner and expect them to executed immediately, which stressed their staff out.

Ugh. I can just imagine the sort of bone-headed “projects” they came up with over dinner.

this popped up on FB made me think of here

Not surprised to not see sex there, but it really should be. Women in the Royal Family as a whole are treated more harshly than men.

Well, the fact that Meghan isn’t actually accused of a serious criminal offence and Andrew is tells you everything you need to know about reporting restrictions in order to avoiding prejudicing the course of justice and libelling people in the UK, I think.

Andrew has faced plenty of critical stories in the press when there have been matters and developments to report on, including now.

It would have been the Queen Mother's birthday today too.

@Serenster exactly.

I hate Tweets/memes like that. As anti-Trump as I am I cannot bear when my US friends post whatever is the equivalent message they're trying to make about him.

Is there one that says: 'The fact Prince Andrew gets a harder time than Blair, Clinton, politicians, business leaders and people who currently yield a lot of power in the US, who spent time on Epstein's island, tells us everything we need to know about power, influence, the media, distraction techniques and paedophilia in the US.'

It's a false correlation to compare PA and MM. PA should be discussed in the context of the other names on the Epstein flight manifesto and the other names in the court papers. All of them should be under scrutiny.
Recent court papers claim Epstein invited people to his house and island so he could blackmail them. That means court papers are claiming former world leaders, politicians, royalty, business leaders, leading academics and lawyers were all vulnerable to blackmail. Call me cynical but that seems worth much more global coverage than it's getting. I don't think it's an accident that the US media is focusing on the PA story (British and unlikely to be questioned or stand trial) but ignoring influential Americans and British politicians.

Andrew has faced plenty of critical stories in the press when there have been matters and developments to report on, including now

The press is skewed. There is news out there on PA, Ghislaine Maxwell, today there is something about PA being spotted at Tramps the night he was supposedly at Pizza Express.

I posted Sunday when there was a development. And just now.
But tumbleweed....
Yet... Meghan...
So Samcro I agree with your link.

I don't understand your point Roussette you know about the Ghislaine story and the Tramps story because they are in the media. Both of them made the home screen of the Daily Mail; they were all over Twitter; at the other end of the media spectrum, the Times has covered the Epstein story extensively.
This isn't a PA thread but there have been lots.

I’m sorry Rousette, I don’t understand your point? So you’ve posted on a discussion thread about Prince Andrew and didn’t get a response - what did you expect people to say? And what will MNHQ allow them to say? I think there’s very likely to be a consensus that he’s not a very well respected individual, with a lot of questions he should answer in the appropriate forums. There’s not much to say, or that can be said right now. And yet here you are insinuating we are all a bunch of apologists for him.

tumbleweed where Roussette?

There is nothing to continually react to with PA. He has gone to ground and will never be heard from again, one hopes. We all know he’s a disgusting waste of space and I don’t really need the press to keep telling me the same thing on a daily basis. Besides, that would take valuable column inches away from all the hilarious reactions to MM and PH and their latest self-induced disasters.

myrtle on the Prince Andrew thread.
No one posts on it to speak of.

I do have a point but have to go and meet a friend for coffee...

I think a lot of people were delighted for Harry initially and were really hopeful about this marriage and the positive impact it might make on the RF generally. I was certainly one of those people.
The fact is many people feel very disappointed, not to say duped, by what has since transpired.
People are also angry that the public are upholding this couple and funding them through their taxes.
Andrew in the other hand has never been popular. It’s been common knowledge for years and years that he’s an odious arrogant, entitled toad. No one is very surprised at the revelations about his life. Yes, people are angry, but it comes as no surprise and therefore there isn’t the same sense of let down. Also, he is the Queen’s son. Therefore he’s been born into the life , not chosen it. That makes a difference. HM has to try and manage him without cutting him out entirely, it’s complicated.

I for one am very angry about his shenanigans and have said so on some of the threads about him. The two cases however are completely different.

We’ve all known about PA at Tramps for months. As I say, there is nothing new to react to. It has nothing to do with racism or classism or sexism or whateverism. But if you’re set in stone in your belief that it is then that’s what you’ll see in responses - and lack of responses. And there’s not much anyone else can say to change your mind.

Recent court papers claim Epstein invited people to his house and island so he could blackmail them. That means court papers are claiming former world leaders, politicians, royalty, business leaders, leading academics and lawyers were all vulnerable to blackmail. Call me cynical but that seems worth much more global coverage than it's getting

This ^ is the important story here. Andrew is only one person of many who has allowed themselves to be put in this position. There are others too who are, arguably, more influential.

Of course there are!

There was plenty of criticism after the Maitlis interview, he's just kept his head down since. So down that he didn't even show up in pictures of his daughters wedding.

Harry and Meghan continue to court publicity, and one way or another, an astonishing level of detail about their lives seem to make it to print.

Many of the headlines on Bea's wedding made reference to 'disappearing Andrew' and his issues.

Regardless, H&M and PA is a false correlation.

The reason there is so little discussion about PA is because ( as far as I can tell ) there is 100 % agreement that he is a disgusting embarrassment to the RF and the country whereas MM and H have divided opinion.

I think it is the gleeful detail in which posters like to dissect MM's clothes, appearance and imagined behaviour that contrasts with the PA threads. It certainly whiffs of an unholy trifecta of race, class and sexism to me, albeit probably unconscious for many posters.

@Oldbutstillgotit

The reason there is so little discussion about PA is because ( as far as I can tell ) there is 100 % agreement that he is a disgusting embarrassment to the RF and the country whereas MM and H have divided opinion.

This completely. Also: the royal family have at least dealt with him swiftly and cleanly by cutting him out of royal duties and as far as we are aware he is not trying to push against this. If he were, I am sure he'd be skewered. His lawyers will be advising him on the FBI angle/participating in the investigation. I am sure they would hope to avoid the ignomy of a member of the RF being questioned, charged embroiled in the investigation but I also disagree that he is the only person in the 'global elite' who might be seeking to and indeed able to, secure some sort of pass here. Clinton?

In fact - this is a very key point about the PA case generally and the media reporting/interest. There are some big names here that stand to be exposed of much greater significance than the aging nth in line to the throne dude who can be exited from the world stage with no consequence whatsoever to anyone. Who has missed this guy? No one at all.

This is one story which is not about 'unconscious bias' at all.

Sorry Navigator, can you clarify please? Posters who gave opinions on Meghan’s clothes, appearance and (reported) behaviours are racist, classist and sexist? Is that what you are saying?

It's actually ridiculous to compare to H&M to the PA situation.

A reasonable comparable is perhaps to someone like the Kardashian family or another celebrity figures.