So, do you believe the royal couples revelations made tonight?

[selectabo]

I did. felt more authentic than I've expected. You?

@HelloMissus

The naivety was breath taking.

MM seemed to think that joining The Firm meant she’d just be a sparkly princess living her best life.
She apparently didn’t notice that Kate’s entire life is dressing like she’s 55 while smiling.
The rest of the time she’s under house arrest.

She also apparently didn’t appreciate how vicious and uncontrollable the press can be.

This made me laugh. Yes she was a bit too naive but also I think the Royals are in another planet

Caveat: I've not watched the interview, just read highlights.
Yes. I have no doubt they are telling the truth.

I believed some of it but felt that it was interweaved with some embellishments and possibly some fibs.

I think they believe most of what they said to be true.

That they are not factually correct, for example Archie being refused HRH due to being mixed race, will not matter to US audiences. They'll accept and remember the lie.

The wedding lie is bizarre, surely if that's believed it will backfire. People will think, "what were we paying for"?

A lot of this leaves people such as the Archbishop and the Royal family in a difficult position. I don't know if the "Never complain, never explain" strategy is the right one, but I can understand why it looks like a good one.

I am convinced that Megan was the victim of racism in this country, but I would put most of the tension down to the fact that she's American rather than black. She just doesn't seem to get it.

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-9340079/BEL-MOONEY-pity-sad-naive-damaged-souls.html

This is a good analysis.

When I said something should be done about the press I mean. The sensationalism they can be very damaging. Carolyn Flack for example. It’s not news with DM it’s a say anything true or untrue to sell theIr rag.

@ZenNudist

There is absolutely no way she hadn't watched documentaries about princess Diana. Which would have told her everything she needed to know. Unless she assumed the palace had dropped all these protocols. Why woukd you think that? Without checking? Seems unlikely. Again she could have checked with Harry.

Ironically the RF come out of this looking better. The H&M interview was so clearly lies and a calculated launch of that reality TV star "story" that you end up feeling sorry for Charles and William (shudders, never thought I'd say that).

Not true The Royal Family have come out looking absolutely terrible tbh. This view is shared by many , ( even the detractors of Meghan and Harry) What I find particularly distasteful is the suggestion by people such as Piers Morgan that Meghan was lying about her mental health . J am no shrinking violet, but I would have had mental health issues if I had to face the barrage of daily poison that she had to endure. I used to read some of the articles and cringe.

If she really didn’t have her passport she could walk to the US embassy and request another one. She’s still a US citizen. I doubt there are keys to the palace as such. There would be a footman or someone on guard.

Lampzade. I hardly think the Royal Family are attacking this couple.
HnM can’t stop poking their big stick continuously into a very large hornets nest.

The monarchs children and grandchildren, and whoever is prince of Wales at the time eldest grandchild at the time are entitled to HRH and prince/ princess etc. Princess Anne chose not to have titles for her children. Those rules were laid down in 1917. The rules were adapted in 2012 (so before Charlotte was born) to allow girls to be part of lineage

Yes The children ans grandkids of the monarch are entitled. The great grandkids are not.

Not really. There are three sides to every story.

Their side, the Royal Family side and the truth will be somewhere in the middle. Without context, a majority (not all) of their claims are just statements on their own and we all know that just about anything can be twisted one way or t'other.

I don't think they should have done this soap opera style interview. I think that Harry has burned too many bridges and I can't fathom why he would do that to his own family. I don't really think that Meghan understood what she was getting herself into. I DO think that she thought it would be much more fun and 'celebrity' than it is.

They came across a lot better than I was expecting. I believe that they genuinely believe their version of events. It seemed authentic.

There are of course two sides to every story, so other members of the family may relate it differently.

It certainly didn't come across though as nasty or vindictive or an attempt to smear the Royal Family.

I think in general it will do their image good but maybe not their relations with their family.

[quote Poorlykitten]@Henio would you not want to try and speak out after being ripped to shreds constantly? To try and tell your side of the story? You can’t possibly blame them for that. I’m pretty anti-royals generally and think they are a waste of space but the negative press this couple have received has been absolutely bloody diabolical. I’m ashamed of the British press, it has hounded her and hounded Harry’s mother. Misogynistic and racist. Why does anyone really give a shit what H and M do?[/quote]
I'm not denying the press have been horrific to them, some of the headlines shown last night shocked me, but why fuel them even more? H&M have stressed about wanting their privacy but they are doing the complete opposite, they can't have it both ways. They can't expect the public and press to just sit there silently after doing that interview, people are going to have opinions and thoughts about them.

I don't think that the RF has come off any worse than M & H.

There are no winners with this, they all come out of it looking pretty poor IMO.

So much of what came out at the interview is

They both seem to be making the RF responsible for their deep unhappiness, and the interview was hardly that as they weren't exactly pressed on some inconsistencies:

1. Meghan said she wasn't, 'allowed,' to get therapy. Her own mother is a social worker, and Harry has been getting counselling, so I call bullshit. They managed to keep the events of Archie's birth a secret, who the godparents are, and lots of other aspects away from the press, so I don't believe there wasn't a way for her to get the help she needed.
2. The whole narrative about Archie not being called a Prince thus not entitling him to security based on racial grounds. So their reaction about this is to leave? It comes off as a huge sulk.

They came across as very very damaged people, and while I feel for them as human beings, I think they have been treated with kid gloves in the interview, although Charles does come across as also being in a huge sulk and not very emotionally mature.

But yes, I believe that the RF or certain members are completely racist, and that they are apologists for Andrew's paedophilia so should not be entitled to any public funds.

I believe them

You just have to read the responsss on this thread to see how much people are twisting what either of them said last night. No wonder they wanted to set the record straight

I believe them.

You only have to look at the papers today, and the Palace's well-timed accusations of bullying to know it's true.

I can't stand this "a woman says something bad happened to her and some people say she's making it up or being manipulative" bullshit that happens so often.

I believe her.

And I think he's protecting his wife the way he wishes somebody had protected his mother.

I bet Diana and Meghan would've been thick as thieves.

No I felt that a lot of content was missing from the accusations and Oprah is a terrible interviewee. She didn't do any research that would of called put a lot of their claims and didn't push for more information. This interview was only to benefit them and hoping America views them as victims.

I think nothing they ever do ( or say) will be right. I think they are damaged people who are probably not operating from a very balanced perspective. I think we should take a step back and have some empathy.

What shocks me, I don't know why, is how the press has changed its tune today.

I for one hope there is a U turn and they give Archie royal protection.

For me there's so much shit in there-who knows what might be true?

Lie about getting married & your son deliberately not being made a Prince-might easily be lying about everything else!

@ShirleyPhallus

I believe them

You just have to read the responsss on this thread to see how much people are twisting what either of them said last night. No wonder they wanted to set the record straight

Absolutely

I think part of the problem is the Royal Family is strict in procotol and titles something which peop

Diana for example was NEVER Princess Diana. She was Diana, Princess of Wales. Two very different things but in the US press she was always Princess Diana.

My Dad always complains (a historian) that in fiction (particularly Disney) once they marry a Prince they are automatically a Princess - which never happens. You are born one not married into it. Kate isnt Princess Catherine but Princess William of Wales.

The rules are so confusing and difficult and so different to what fictional perception are of becoming a Princess it is easy to see how Meghan went in with a very different idea of what would happen.

Harry is not switched on enough to realise that she would have these different perceptions.

Meghan went into a difficult family without anyone really realising I think how different culturally they were and how some of the things they expected to be obvious werent.

They are also a very clear couple who over time I think have created a joint truth of their own - taking both of their preconceptions and pasts to create what they think happened.

I think that M & H believe what they say, which fall into four topics.

1. Lack of a title or security - neither of these is a surprise. Once they weren't working royals, security isn't covered by the tax payer, especially in another country. And a title will be forthcoming when Charles becomes king.
2. The mental health issue - Meghan had her own staff and her own money and could easily have accessed support if she wanted to. But the royal family is famously stiff upper lip, so I can see how Meghan wouldn't have got the reaction or support she might have expected.
3. The argument between Kate & Megan - what grown woman (whichever one it was) cries over a dress? It sounds like a line out of Bridesmaids.
4. The racist comment - this is the really awful bit, but if someone made that comment to Harry as claimed (which is possible) why on earth did he share it with his wife, Hardly supportive or likely to heal rifts.

Now they've had their say, I'm not sure they've done themselves any favours. They were is a position of huge privilege, they chose to step back, they are each individually wealthy so I'm not sure they'll get much sympathy from the wider population who are dealing with covid & unemployment.

I occasionally have to arrange a meeting that involves senior bishops - it is always a nightmare because their diaries are packed months in advance. The idea that they could call up the Archbishop of Canterbury and he popped over is ridiculous - as well as a marriage needing certain formalities such as witnesses to be valid.

I would hate to marry into the royal family - and I have no doubt that it is restrictive environment with some unpleasant and racist people around. I can understand why someone would prefer to leave.

But you can't have the perks, the titles, the paid-for security, the deference without the drawbacks.

They could have disappeared into private life if they wanted, but people wanting privacy and a life of 'service' don't go on Oprah to tell millions of people about their grievances.