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

[selectabo]

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

@sadie9

I can't believe they didn't do the photo opp on the steps of the hospital after having Archie because "nobody asked us". That seems fairly unlikely.

I mean, it’s also untrue. What she said was the it wasn’t protocol, they had concerns for their son’s safety, and no one asked them to do it (breaking protocol).

But sure, cherry pick the worst bits and use that as your overall message a la the press

Not entirely no. Meghan said she didnt know what she was getting into when it comes to the duties, but then in the engagement interview she said she knows what shes getting into.
I think some have elements of truth into it (I beleive that some one in the firm said something about racism and her baby). Even from the start I'vealways said, she would end up on Oprah doing interviews as thats the kind of person she is.

@MammabearX1 the preacher was a big change in style for traditional Anglicans and he did seem to go on for ages, they were just nervous I think, rather than disrespectful. ZT's face was a picture as well.

I agree totally with @Totallydefeated...this is spot on!

[quote Blessex]@MarieIVanArkleStinks she didn’t need to rebuff the comment however with - it was Kate who made me cry. She just could have said - it wasn’t how it was reported and leave it at that. And anyway I know someone who knows the journalist who broke that story. He was told that version of events by two independent sources. So who knows what is true. But anyway the point is she didn’t need to be so graphic about Kate. That’s my point.[/quote]
And if she had done as you suggest, she'd have been criticised for not providing more information. The woman cannot do anything right in some people's eyes.

Is it my imagination or did Oprah and MM make much of the fact that MM allegedly does not read the media about herself? It seems she only knew about negative press stories when her friends phoned her.

This just seems frankly incredible.

If it's true, why would her friends go out of their way to phone her and upset her, if they knew she was deliberately avoiding reading the press in the first place. None of it makes sense. None of it rings true.

Just on the whole flowergirls thing:

Assuming what Meghan said was the whole truth (that in fact Kate had upset Meghan and had subsequently apologised), in whose interest would it have been to leak the opposite? .

If you wanted to paint Kate in a favourable light/Meghan unfavourably, you wouldn’t draw attention to a situation where Kate had in fact behaved badly and lie about it, because of the risk the truth would emerge.

So the truth is probably that there was a disagreement between the two in which both Kate and Meghan were upset, but Kate was the one to extend an olive branch by way of flowers/apology.

That suggests Meghan’s retelling is probably a partial one in which she casts herself as the wronged party.

It makes me feel that she has simplified the narrative here, and if she’s done it here she’s probably done it elsewhere in the interview also.

I think it was all very carefully thought out. I'm sure they believe their own sense of injustice but I am taking it all with a huge pinch of salt.

A couple of key points;

• The Royal Family are very sparing on their comments to the press. They might on formal business - say the cost to the public purse of the royal palaces or the civil list but not on private family matters. So they would have advised them not to respond to press stories and allegations not because they were against Harry and Meghan per se but because that is the family's approach. In PR terms that is the usual approach most communications professionals would take. You perpetuate the issue in the press and can never win. As Harry and Meghan are finding out now. Its is a mad and very badly advised strategy for them now - they are feeding their own sense of injustice and feeding the press.
• Kate did get some negative press before she was married and never commented. It went away. The Charles and Diana personal interviews where they admitted adultery and that there were '3 people in the marriage' were seen as huge mistakes by the RF and Diana resulting in even worse press. The RF have barely commented on the Prince Andrew allegations. He did a poorly advised interview and it made things worse.
• MM's comments about Kate were pretty well crafted. She managed to 'set the record straight' whilst claiming that she'd forgiven Kate. There was no context, no explanation of what happened. No addressing of the fact that she was seen as being very rude to palace staff. It was a very careful putting the boot in - addressed at the only non-family member - the one who is only royal by marriage.
• As has been said many times before the issue about Archie being a Prince was mis-represented. Or they both choose not to understand the protocol.
• The real issue to my mind is that MM does not understand the hierarchy principle within the RF. It is fundamental and I've got to say I'm amazed that Harry didn't see fit to explain it all more to her.
• There is nothing stopping anyone getting counselling. I wouldn't ask the Palace HR for it. Diana was having counselling. For mental health advocates they don't seem to know much about how to get a counsellor.

@Abouttimemum

I just can’t get over the fact they left the UK because of racism. I don’t disagree that it happens here and yes, it’s awful. But out of the frying pan and into the US fire, where black people get shot in the face by white people for fun. Full of shite the pair of them.

Are you a person of colour? Whether or not you are, considering Windrush and the racism M has faced from the media it’s in really poor taste to dismiss her experience. By doing that regardless of your ‘I don’t disagree it happens here’ you are dismissing the impact of racism in the UK. It’s really condescending to imply an adult biracial woman who has experience of living in both places is wrong in her choice of home.

[quote CupOfTeaAlonePlease]@MammabearX1

You think the wedding is proof that her culture was supported and accepted?

I remember Beatrice/eugenie giggling and carrying on while that black preacher was speaking. It was incredibly disrespectful.

Kate picking an argument days before the wedding is just silly behaviour, not supportive of a new sister in law. I cannot fathom bothering my sister in law with that nonsense before her wedding, period. Let alone when she was dealing with her disappointing father.

There were tells all along.

Also as anyone who has spent time in an abusive family will attest- how people behave on one day, in front of others, is no reflection of the level of respect and empathy shown behind closed doors.
[/quote]
Oh yes. Poor girl can't catch a break.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: 'To have one abusive family, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness.'

She's a sociopath who has spent her career passing as white and uses black people as shields. It's an appalling, but incredible trick she's managing to pull off despite contradicting herself every other sentence and having hordes of casualties in her wake. For now. It'll all come out. At the moment everyone's too terrified to come forward because of the insanity around her - anyone in disagreement will be accused of racism.

I can't quote the other person who just replied to me but re guests at her wedding - no childhood friends, no siblings, aunts or uncles but...SERENA! THE CLOONEYS! ROBBIE WILLIAMS! OPRAH! You know this but choose to ignore the evidence of your own eyes and ears because it's fashionable at the moment and the 'compassion' you have for this woman who is more privileged than you'll ever be is making you feel warm for some batshit reason.

Also agree with both Netmicks and Bubbinsmakethree.

How could they want to correct all the untrue stories it they weren't reading them?

@ChocolateSantaisthebestkind nervous or not, they couldn't control their faces and behave respectfully for the duration of a church service? Isn't that literally their main function that they've been trained from infancy to be able to do?

I couldn't believe I was seeing grown women pulling faces during someone's wedding. While televised! Incredibly rude

Harry is getting shielded by the publicity around Meghan.
What we are seeing is really the result of Harry jumping out of the royal nest and then blaming everyone for finding himself at the bottom of the tree.
He could have negotiated with the Royal family for an exit. He could have paid a team of confidential mediators to negotiate behind the scenes. What we saw instead was two people extremely reluctant to ask for help.
Both Harry and Meghan are hugely emotional personalities. They act first and think later. They find it extremely hard to ask for help or to allow themselves to be helped.

It’s funny how everyone is just nitpicking and saying that she’s a serial liar.

Like so if she lied about the fact she didn’t know about Prince Harry prior to dating him, then she must have lied about her mental health issues and the fact that the royal family is racist? Those are NOT the same issues. The latter is way more severe.

I think either these folks have their priorities wrong or just live in a bubble! If your friend told you that she’s so depressed to the point that she wants to commit suicide and that her in laws have an issue with the colour of her baby’s skin and therefore will not be made to feel like family, will you just tell you friend to eff off cos she told a white lie before and therefore she’s a narcissistic liar now? What a friend !

And what’s this whole thing about the royal wedding?! It’s just a media play. It’s just how the royal family choose to advertise themselves. We are not part of the institution. We do not know what goes on or does not go on behind what we know of. We know as much as the royal family choose to let us know. So the fact that you guys are making some serious assumptions based on what the people around her have or haven’t said, you guys gotta be a fortune teller.

As we don’t know the full truth I think it’s best we refrain from criticising. But being denied mental health support and facing these aggressions cos you’re a person of colour is SIMPLY NOT OKAY. Again, I don’t know the truth but I think if someone is in trouble the least we can do is to hear them out.

I’m not sure why everyone is even QUESTIONING THIS.

We live in the 21st century not the Victorian era. Unless you guys are like the French folks who pretend that racism does not exist or like my conservative family members who think that mental health issue is a first world problem and is not important.

Because from the way it’s going, it seems it’s along the lines of this! What happened to women supporting women?!

In fairness Meghan probably believed she had to go to an officially sanctioned therapist and that someone in the family or the machinery around it would put her in contact with them.

Far too many people are putting a spin on things and make assumptions. She came across as truthful and not someone who wanted to put the boot in. She wanted to put her side of things across. I think it was very telling that it is the people around members of the royal family who seem to make decisions on their behalf which have wide-ranging and sometimes damaging consequences on a personal level.

She reminds me of my old boss. Was absolutely vile to every woman on the team. Endless youngsters crying in the bathroom all day long. Once told me I was too fat to be on her team. I was 10 stone. Yet any criticism, remark or complaint of any kind on her endless bullying and it was racist. HR too scared to do anything. I left. I won't work in toxic environments.

@Bubbinsmakesthree

Just on the whole flowergirls thing:

Assuming what Meghan said was the whole truth (that in fact Kate had upset Meghan and had subsequently apologised), in whose interest would it have been to leak the opposite? .

If you wanted to paint Kate in a favourable light/Meghan unfavourably, you wouldn’t draw attention to a situation where Kate had in fact behaved badly and lie about it, because of the risk the truth would emerge.

So the truth is probably that there was a disagreement between the two in which both Kate and Meghan were upset, but Kate was the one to extend an olive branch by way of flowers/apology.

That suggests Meghan’s retelling is probably a partial one in which she casts herself as the wronged party.

It makes me feel that she has simplified the narrative here, and if she’s done it here she’s probably done it elsewhere in the interview also.

It would have been in Kate’s interest because as we have all seen when everyone thought M had made K cry M was vilified. Then when the record was set straight everyone rallied around K finding a number of excuses for her and M was still vilified. Hardly anyone is questioning why she couldn’t have been accountable earlier, especially if it was a resolved disagreement because naturally in a situation like this the white woman can do no wrong.

My experience so far has been that most people on SM who are anti H&M haven't watched the interview but have formed opinions from soundbites.

Watching the whole interview gives an entirely different feel to the headlines in the press/clips played on the news. Meghan in particular came across as very genuine, in my opinion, and the Royals did not come off well at all (with the exception of The Queen). The only bits that grated for me with Meghan were the 'living authentically' type comments, which is how Americans speak so...

I'm glad Oprah stated after the interview that Harry said he wanted her to know it was neither of his Grandparents who made the comment about Archie's skin tone (clearly loves The Queen and awful lot and knew assumptions would be made that Prince Phillip said it, probably) and also that he asked her to get that out to the public. Seems like the only person it's gonna be now though is his Dad, right?! Charles is hardly popular with the public anyway (especially after the last season of The Crown!) and will be even less so now, I think.

Worrying times for the Monarchy, who seem to be bigger 'puppets' to the 'institution' than we realised.

Sad all round, really.

It was a hard watch in parts, for sure.

I think they believe what they said, however I also think that much of what they said is incorrect. They do seem to have a victim and pampered mentality which would influence their perception of events.

Harry is getting shielded by the publicity around Meghan
I think you're right in some quarters.

But if you look on some of the many threads about this, there's quite a few posters who seem to take the view that criticising Harry and Meghan equals proof that you, and the rest of the UK are racists.

On one I expressed my feelings that a wealthy couple moaning that daddy won't give them an allowance and they have to pay their own security after leaving their job is in poor taste and leaves them wide open to criticism, and even that was turned into 'so how else should they talk about institutional racism'.

Some people clearly have views underpinned by racism, eg 'poor Harry was stolen from us by evil Meghan, there's just something I don't like about her', but others refuse to consider any criticism of the couple and think that any challenge to H&M public appearances is proof that everyone is racist.

However I am also certain the Royal Family are incredibly flawed as an institution. Obviously some members are also personally deeply flawed.

@Toptotoeunicolour

It was Oprah who suggested there was a link between Archie's skin colour and not having a title/security. Meghan then just said yes you could assume that. I think that was extremely contrived, because in truth there was no link, they suggested it.

Yes she loses all credibility at that point I think.

No I wouldn't be surprised that there is racism in the family/institution.

That they would not follow protocol/tradition re titles I would find surprising!

@liverpool1981

There is more to this that meets the eye. I don't think Harry is charles son. Why would they cut him off financially??

He looks like both his mother's brother and like Prince Philip. He's definitely a Windsor. He has an independent fortune from his mother, and they also inherited money from his grandmother. Megan has made money as an actress. It's not like they didn't have a cent. It's not acceptable to the British taxpayer to fund significant expenses for royals who aren't even living in Britain. I don't know why they even thought that was tenable.

In a word, no. M&H were given nothing more than an uncritical platform to air their grievances. Their accounts were not challenged at all, and on occasion, Oprah's leading questioning of Meghan led her to make opportunistic points that did were not credible.

There were enough self- evident lies to satisfy me that nothing that was said, could be trusted. Having just been through litigation, I am surprised that they were not intelligent enough to understand that they were not going to come out of this interview as credible witnesses.

I wonder if they stopped to think about the damage this stunt would do to any vestiges of a relationship with the RF.

[quote ChocolateSantaisthebestkind]@MammabearX1 the preacher was a big change in style for traditional Anglicans and he did seem to go on for ages, they were just nervous I think, rather than disrespectful. ZT's face was a picture as well.[/quote]
That sermon was at least twice as long as it needed to be and it didn't really go anywhere. I would have been bemused too!