Thoughts on Prince William's speech?

[Aspiringmatriarch]

I've been musing on this, I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the Bashir interview created a 'false narrative'. Obviously Diana was lied to, which is appalling, and I'm sure that fueled some of her paranoia but isn't it true that she was spied on at times e.g. with the squidgygate tapes? And she'd already collaborated with Andrew Morton saying many of the same things, and apparently wanted to do an interview after Charles gave his.

I don't know... it just feels odd to me that William is essentially asking for it to be struck from the record. He was apparently angry with her after the Bashir interview and was teased about it at school, which must have been horrible. Is he trying to protect her memory or is there an element of trying to tidy it all away?

All profits from the sale of Duchy Originals products are donated to The Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation

An undisclosed percentage of profits is donated to the charIty.

The Royals need some disreputable members to keep the public interested in them; Duke of Windsor, Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew spring to mind.

and PW was smiling and laughing politely. made me think it can't be easy showing interest, when perhaps the person or subject is boring.

The majority of adults do this all the time when they interact with others. Sure we aren’t under scrutiny but neither are we getting paid for it!

The majority of adults do this all the time when they interact with others. Sure we aren’t under scrutiny but neither are we getting paid for it!

I don't think you can say that. Some people love burbling on, others love listening. Some people have jobs that require them to listen politely, others are happier doing something that means they have as little interaction with others as possible. And if it's work related, of course you get paid for it! Albeit not at the levels of HM.

Some people doing work that they are clearly unsuited for - that'll be the miserable cow in Tesco this morning - but then who knows what else she has going on in her life.

Here is some news on the outcome of Sussex Royal charity investigation - Republic have even apologised

www.republic.org.uk/an_apology

Dear readers, please be very wary of any attempt to present royal financial affairs as transparent
They aren’t.

They are anything but. The opacity is staggering.

*When have any of the Meghan haters ever said one single good word about her?

NEVER. Seriously never. When I have posted links to some really good initiatives, like the Texas womens refuge for instance, it is always met with negativity. Just for once, it would be really refreshing to hear 'ahhh OK, that was great what they did" but no.
It's always 'well, anyone can do that' or 'they always want praise for what they do'
or 'how do we know how much money they donated'
or 'shame they don't think about their own families instead'
that type of thing.
It is pretty pathetic to not be able to occasionally see the bigger picture.

The difference with tax funded MPs, and Royals.
I can write to my MP and get a reply. (although mine was voted worst for engagement with the public and has no SM)
However, if he doesn't reply to repeated letters from me, I can go and stand outside his constituency office with a placard (although he doesn't have one).
But I know I could make a noise and get heard somehow.
If I did any of this with a member of the RF, I'd probably get arrested!

I don't think you can say that
Of course the majority of adults who have been taught any manners at all do this. All the time!

Saying people do different jobs that they might prefer is moot. PW can stand aside if he chooses. It has been done before and very recently too. If he wishes, he can take over from Charles for a short period and pass the flag to George or Charlotte too. People can say he has a sense of duty and its not easy. It isn't easy but I'm sure if he wasn't in good health, they'd work around it.

The difference with tax funded MPs, and Royals
I can write to my MP and get a reply. (although mine was voted worst for engagement with the public and has no SM)

Mine never responds to any communication whatsoever

However, if he doesn't reply to repeated letters from me, I can go and stand outside his constituency office with a placard (although he doesn't have one)

Again, no constituency office.

But I know I could make a noise and get heard somehow

Really? How?

If I did any of this with a member of the RF, I'd probably get arrested!

You’d get arrested for writing a letter? You could stand outside Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle with a placard without getting arrested as long as you didn’t disturb the peace. Why would you want to though? It’s not as if the royal family has any power.

Stop nitpicking. NO, I would not get arrested for writing a letter, I obviously did not mean that
I would get arrested if I stood outside KP or BP with a sandwich board and refused to go away.

I am only picking up on the conversation above, that's all. It was a topic of discussion about tax funded MPs and the RF and was, until just now, quite interesting.

Mine has responded to communications in the past but is spasmodic with it but I know if I had a matter dear to my heart that meant a huge amount, I would get hold of him somehow

Stop nitpicking

You really don’t cope well with disagreement, do you? Nobody would ask you to leave if you were peacefully standing with a placard. Not that it would achieve much.

I am pretty sure my MP was not chosen at birth based on who his parents were. Indeed, I believe they had to be selected by their party then stand for election in their constuency. Even if I didn't vote them, the majority in my locality did. Comparing that to the RF is just silly.

@HeadNorth

I am pretty sure my MP was not chosen at birth based on who his parents were. Indeed, I believe they had to be selected by their party then stand for election in their constuency. Even if I didn't vote them, the majority in my locality did. Comparing that to the RF is just silly.

Indeed. The fact remains that both MPs and the royal family are funded by the taxpayer, which was the original point. No amount of “Yeah but ...” changes or mitigates that.

I cope perfectly well with disagreement. However ridiculous comments like I wouldn't be arrested for sending a letter is quite obviously tiresome.

I was actually cracking a joke about being arrested with a placard outside the railings of BP. Could you lighten up a bit perhaps? Sometimes humour is needed on these threads.

And it's not about achieving anything with the RF, it's about tax funded MPs and RF being answerable and accountable to the public and also corruption and opacity with expenses and funding. I think you missed that.

If I voted my MP out, I’d get another one so it would still apply

And this is the crux of it all. Some people (the younger me) think that the system will change if only we can vote in the elites as opposed to having elites who are not voted in foisted on us. It makes no difference at all. Ordinary people (the majority) are still excluded from power and decision making whichever system they find themselves in.

Rainy, I'm sorry, I can see your point, there has been some really unfair stuff about H&M, I don't condone it. I was actually where you are now. I took on the DM comments section on a regular basis defending MM. I still defend her when it's nasty.

I just think that maybe your perception of what's acceptable to say about MM and what's not might be a little bit too strict.

Genuinely, I don't have any objection to negative opinions about Meghan as long as they're not abusive or lies, or started with the intention of creating a hate-pile on.

It's the double standards and hypocrisy that gets me, as well as the mass bullying.

Just now a thread that was critical of Kate's decision to wear extremely expensive jewellery to meet NHS nurses (where the "worst" post was one mentioning she has a bit of grey hair which is sometimes photoshopped out of photos) was immediately taken over by outraged Kate stans calling everyone vile, who got the thread deleted almost immediately.

I'm sorry but it's just outrageous that posters who regularly call Meghan a lying abuser with NPD, can turn around and call other posters "vile nasty bullies" just for critiquing a public figure's wardrobe choices, and get any thread about Kate that's not completely positive deleted.

Black women are fair game for the most extreme abuse and hatred here, but don't dare say anything even slightly critical about what a white women is wearing.

I'd really rather that the Kate thread wasn't deleted, but when people bring past comments, resentments, arguments to a fresh thread that's to be expected.

This is not a long running battle. Each thread is its own discussion. It details threads.

De-rails threads.

They weren't calling MM anything on that thread. Stay on topic.

Stay on topic.

Funny how you never tell all the posters derailing a thread about William into yet another excuse to bash Meghan and her fans to stay on topic, but you do as a way of censoring posters pointing out the obvious double standard of Cambridge stans getting mild critism of Kate's wardrobe immediately deleted, while all but the most extreme abuse and libellous allegations against Meghan - often from the same posters talking about how "vile" it is to critique Kate's wardrobe - is permitted to remain?

when people bring past comments, resentments, arguments to a fresh thread that's to be expected.

No one did that in the Kate thread. It was 80% mild criticism of Kate's decision to wear expensive jewellery to meet NHS nurses, 20% outraged Kate fans saying laughably untrue things like "how come even the mildest criticism of Meghan is instantly deleted, but threads started just to bash Kate is allowed" (ironically immediately proven false).

@amusedtodeath1

I'd really rather that the Kate thread wasn't deleted, but when people bring past comments, resentments, arguments to a fresh thread that's to be expected.

This is not a long running battle. Each thread is its own discussion. It details threads.

I'd like to keep threads roughly on their topic too.

Which I why I don't comment often on posts which derail by talking about a different person, except perhaps to point out where there are threads where that comment would be on the topic.

I'be never been persuaded that watching posters tick each other off helps a thread. But it seems to happen on Royal family ones quite a lot, usually overnight, and often off-topic.

This is not a long running battle. Each thread is its own discussion

If only that were true!

I agree it should be. I'm taken aback that fairly tame thread on Kate was deleted {shock] when literally hundreds on M&H are allowed to stand with the most vile and derogatory insults in them.

I've seen many many threads pulling her appearance apart in the most disgusting ways. Her figure, her clothes don't fit, her face, her hair, her nose, and worse. All left to stand. So I do agree with @ohforarainyday. It's obvious that can happen but not on Kate. At least we know where we stand.

Anyway, onward and upward....
William and Kate are busy with their charm offensive in Scotland. He said in a speech that George, Charlotte and Louis know how dear Scotland is to him and they are building up their memories of Scotland too. What a shame they couldn't be with them up there for a week.

What a shame they couldn't be with them up there for a week

Let's just clarify that. They obviously can't pull them out of school, that would not go down well at all. Just musing here, and wondered why they couldn't have taken their week's trip during half term maybe...

up there Scotland is a foreign country to you isn't it. I live 'here' in the Scottish Borders. The trouble is that the Royal family do love coming to Scotland. Charles has his Dumfries house project generating jobs for people in a deprived area of Ayrshire for a start.

'William and Kate are busy with their charm offensive in Scotland.'

Yes they are so natural and genuinely charming aren't they.

It'll be doing wonders for travel industry too, the scenery all looks so beautiful. I think it is great how the rf are so at relaxed and at home in Scotland.