Harry and Meghan - everyone still being respectful please

[Oldbutstillgotit]

Lots still to talk about .

@LoisWilkersonslastnerve

There was no way Meghan would want a quiet private life off in Africa. She is a person who thrives on attention and the spot light. Nothing wrong with that if she was up front with Harry and floated the USA as a base and occasional trips to Africa. Whatever you think of Meghan she isn't a wall flower and actually I think a diplomatic role on the world stage would suit her and she would do a good job. It's her flip flopping between causes and talking in clichés that is irritating people I think. I honestly don't know what to make of them.

She’s not a wall flower and there are a huge number of good/positive things she could have done that would have benefitted everyone (her, the public and the RF). It’s a shame she seems to have gone out of her way to do the opposite.

@greenteafiend

I want to know how the Botswana thing would have worked. I mean, what was he planning to "do" there? Does he have any skill sets that are not already found in Botswana? Do the people of Botswana even want him in their country? I mean, we are no longer living in the Age of Empire, when useless younger sons of the aristocracy used to be sent out to "the colonies" to take on a cushy local post or start some business or something.

There was a previous poster who said about how he wasn’t wanted there for those sorts of reasons. I hope it wasn’t a deleted thread because what they said was really thought provoking and showed how presumptive (and tone deaf) Harry’s previous words of living and helping there were.

@Maireas

greenteafiend good points, it does seem a bit colonial. Although some sort of sustainability/animal conservation may have been ok. peachsquish I agree about the baby, sometimes it seems as if things are latched onto and construed as negatives. It's strange that Harry made those remarks about the press, flash of cameras and privacy, and yet has a lifestyle of PR agents and promotion. I don't know how he squares that circle.

Right now most of Harry’s life is a circle that cannot be squared. I have to agree that it seems unlikely many recent decisions have been joint ones, unless many of his previous comments haven’t been true.

@LaMarschallin

I just like the image of prince Philip "cooing" over a baby...

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t visualise it.

Must admit that one of my favourite pictures of HMQ in recent times was the one of her meeting Archie with PP, Doria, Harry and Meghan.

Iirc H said security costs made certain parts of Africa unfeasible eg SA.

But if H&M had wanted to move I'm sure they could have put security in place. I know lots of expats living in diplomatic compounds or in massive mansions. There's also massive differences in security across the entire continent.

I think it would have been a good option but I'm biased because I'd happily move there again . It would have taken them away from the men in grey suits. They could have had privacy but also hosted and attended high profile events if they wanted to. Plus they could have developed genuine experience in their chosen areas eg the environment; women's rights - which would have been much easier to convert into a speaking circuit career if they'd still decided in the end to give it all up and move to LA.
It would also have given them some much-needed breathing space.

SunbathingDragon

I agree - it was a lovely photo.

@AnneOfQueenSables

Iirc H said security costs made certain parts of Africa unfeasible eg SA. But if H&M had wanted to move I'm sure they could have put security in place. I know lots of expats living in diplomatic compounds or in massive mansions. There's also massive differences in security across the entire continent.

I think it would have been a good option but I'm biased because I'd happily move there again . It would have taken them away from the men in grey suits. They could have had privacy but also hosted and attended high profile events if they wanted to. Plus they could have developed genuine experience in their chosen areas eg the environment; women's rights - which would have been much easier to convert into a speaking circuit career if they'd still decided in the end to give it all up and move to LA.
It would also have given them some much-needed breathing space.

I agree with everything you have said except I don’t think they (or perhaps just Meghan) want privacy. It’s control over their image that they want.

If we weren’t in a pandemic, I’m sure we would have seen them out in public plenty of times and it’s USA that much of their chosen future seems to be based. Perhaps they felt they couldn’t justify the frequent flights from Africa to America since they are so concerned with the environment...

I suspect that the lure of the bright lights of Hollywood was too strong.

It's literally Meghan's hometown.

Vancouver wasn’t exciting enough, so a farm in the middle of Botswana would probably have been Meghan’s worst nightmare.

Slightly in her defence, most of us (male or female) will have professed enthusiasm for our intended’s hobby/dream, either because at that point we think they’re wonderful or because we want them to think we are wonderful. I mean, when I first knew dh I went to a cricket match

@IrmaFayLear that made me laugh It's so true. DH's interest veered more towards vintage tractors but he'd probably say he sat through one too many experimental theatre productions for me.

@froggygoneacourting

I suspect that the lure of the bright lights of Hollywood was too strong.

It's literally Meghan's hometown.

Exactly, @froggygoneacourting

It literally is her hometown. 😂😂

Don't see what the problem is with her going back home.

H seems to have had a romantic idea about Southern Africa. He had been there with Chelsea, unaware of what is going on around him. If anyone read the book 'white mischief', it'still a bit like that. The wealth distribution is no where near fair. Chelsea's father made money off from apartheid, then when SA ended apartheid, he moved to Mugabe's corrupt regime to create a business of killing big game - while making sure that the country will see minuscule profits from that business. It seems all along, H was not aware of these nuances and I am guessing neither were all of the RF from how they were brought up. As he says, having a mixed race family, has opened his eyes. Anyone who has lived in Southern Africa would surely be aware of the disconnect between black and white people over there.

On dissecting it and looking at the everyday lived life, would H&M be living in a township with poor people, while having a a big house with security detail?

Exactly, @froggygoneacourting*

It literally is her hometown. 😂😂

Don't see what the problem is with her going back home.*

No problem with her going back home.

But she had no real success in her home town, and had to move to Canada for Suits. I think she wanted to return to Hollywood as a huge success (through marriage), but sadly Covid has prevented that happening to a certain extent - although I suspect that the genuine stars of Hollywood may not have fallen for her new charisma as much as she might have expected.

From what Harry has said in interviews, I think his heart would have been in the Botswana plan - some sort of connection to a once pink part of the world map, following in the footsteps of King Edward, who became governor of the Bahamas for a while after the Wallis Simpson affair led to his abdication.

But instead, he’s ended up in Hollywood.

To me, his recent interviews give the impression that he’s completely embraced the sunk cost fallacy, the conviction that, as Macbeth put it:

I am in blood stepped in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er'

I don’t know why H is portrayed as this hapless naive young man constantly excused. When exactly was his Road to Damascus moment? When he met Meghan? Then we might equally presume that he could have been influenced by anybody.

@froggygoneacourting and @Mummy195
Of course their is no problem with M going back to her home town, apart from the fact that she signed up to be part of the UK Royal Family. On what level was that going to work? The USA has nothing whatsoever to do with our monarch and vice versa. How could it ever be practical to do a job that involves supporting people and projects in the UK from the other side of the Atlantic? Being in LA is totally incompatible with being a Royal.

[quote smilesy]**@froggygoneacourting* and @Mummy195*
Of course their is no problem with M going back to her home town, apart from the fact that she signed up to be part of the UK Royal Family. On what level was that going to work? The USA has nothing whatsoever to do with our monarch and vice versa. How could it ever be practical to do a job that involves supporting people and projects in the UK from the other side of the Atlantic? Being in LA is totally incompatible with being a Royal.[/quote]
I am guessing that is why they proposed Canada in the first place, not too far from home. That was rejected.

@IrmaFayLear

I don’t know why H is portrayed as this hapless naive young man constantly excused. When exactly was his Road to Damascus moment? When he met Meghan? Then we might equally presume that he could have been influenced by anybody.

Yet, everyone is perfectly fine to portray him as dumb Harry in general.

You can be clever, but if you never experienced racism, you can not know what it's like till it happens to you, or the person very close like your immediate family.

And yet he found it acceptable to make racist comments before. I'm sure the recipients of that racist name-calling and their families understand completely.

South Africa is a country. Southern Africa is part of a continent. The RF and the diplomatic services are well aware of the security risks and the political situation across the globe. Since the palace and H admitted that an African posting had been considered, I think we can assume they are telling the truth. Whether the idea was discounted because of security or because H&M changed their minds, I doubt we'll ever find out.

H&M rejected Canada.

I am guessing that is why they proposed Canada in the first place, not too far from home. That was rejected.

Who rejected Canada?

I am well aware of SA and Southern Africa. Infact, most of the white people in most countries in Southern Africa are from South Africa or are expats. A good amount nowadays come from big corporations in South Africa like MTN, Vodacom, Telkom etc. some coming from extension from global co-operations like Price Waterhouse, KPMG etc.

"who rejected Canada? *

The palace rejected their proposal to work for them, which would have been from another CW country which is Canada. Why would they stay in Canada now when the idea was rejected ?

So yet more, do as I say, not what I do/did?

@ajandjjmum

Exactly, @froggygoneacourting*

It literally is her hometown. 😂😂

Don't see what the problem is with her going back home.*

No problem with her going back home.

But she had no real success in her home town, and had to move to Canada for Suits. I think she wanted to return to Hollywood as a huge success (through marriage), but sadly Covid has prevented that happening to a certain extent - although I suspect that the genuine stars of Hollywood may not have fallen for her new charisma as much as she might have expected.

Perhaps a while back, Hollywood and LA were the only places to make a success out of yourself. There was a time when A list only meant doing big screen movies, and no TV series. That has long moved on. Maryl Streep and Reese Witherspoon now star in and produce Big Little Lies. Oscar winners are now constantly in TV series.

Producers have also cottoned on to the fact that you can actually make films in cheaper to live in towns, cities and countries . Big deal series like GoT in Ireland, TWD in the Georgia countryside, Lost in Hawaii. There is also a plethora of "American" series in Canada.

Canada made sense as MM has spent a long time there, and may have felt quite familiar with the culture while at the same time it covers the CW aspect.