In what capacity are Harry and Meghan visiting New York

[IsabelBeck]

They are no longer working members of the Royal Family so have they gone to New York as private citizens?

How do they get to meet with Chelsea Clinton at the WHO offices and UN officials and politicians?

According to the Mail (I know, I know) they had federal protection.

Do Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (as they are styled there) have much clout in the US? Why?

And they are happy enough to give whiny interviews about how life isn't fair but they seem strangely reticent about Archewell

This is extremely weird.

Its like they are on a state visit representing a country - but who the fuck are they representing.

I get it from their point of view- its all about building their brand and making money so they can live the life they want whilst lecturing the rest of us on how we should live our lives.

But I really don't get why these institutions etc are humouring them.

Not that many institutions have humoured them. A school, a restaurant, a short meeting with Chelsea Clinton. It’s their PR machine doing what they are paid to do to make it look like a bigger deal than this is. Which is fine, that’s what H&M need to do to survive in the cut throat American celeb world they have chosen?

I do think it's interesting to consider why people are so annoyed by H&M. I find them hugely irritating and am not normally interested in the royal family or trivia generally at all, and I do consider them trivial. I think it is partly because their self-belief and self-importance are both so over-inflated, partly the crass hypocrisy, and partly because anyone with a heart would have wished for better for that little boy who had to follow his mother's coffin. I wish I could ignore them but they seem to be on the front of every paper so regularly spouting hypocritical bilge about running towards a crisis and one act of compassion at a time, when all the while she's dripping in jewellery and wearing clothes the price of which could feed a village for a year in some parts of the world. It's just crass, self-serving garbage all the time and I can hardly believe we are subjected to such nonsense.

I don’t understand why their unqualified views are relevant to any of these people or organisations yet people are falling over themselves to indulge them

I do think he's beginning to look like a man who knows he is hugely out of his depth though.

Their security costs for such a trip must be rather large. At some level, though, they must deem such expenses justifiable. Have they now become famous for being famous in a self-perpetuating feedback loop or do they have a concrete mission in mind that will bring real change to real people?

I would like to have a clearer idea of their objectives to know what to think about them. At the moment what I see is the most royal-looking not-a-royal tour and it leaves me feeling confused. It's as if they have willed into existence an alternative reality in which the Royals actually did green-light their half in/half out vision.

Yes but they are not actually meeting anyone a Royal would have instant access to (eg most Commonwealth heads of state). Also as someone who lives on the east coast of the US they are really not that well known. The Oprah interview was greeted with people who were appalled by the racism allegations AND the entitlement simultaneously. (The whole I had to live off the millions my mother left me was a bit tone deaf). As I said they are doing what they need to do to survive and their PR machine is doing what it’s paid to do. Not much more than that.

I find her styling a bit odd - it’s been close to 26 degrees in NYC this past week and she’s been wearing woolly coats.

Also, I find it odd that given they don’t have to do this trip (we aren’t even sure what it’s purpose is, and presumably they’re now their own bosses), both parents have chosen to leave a relatively new baby nearly 3,000 miles away.

Each to their own, but I find it very hard to relate to their motivations.

Ah yes the coats. It’s been T shirt and shorts weather here (which is nice because we are further north of NYC and winter is coming…and our winters are long and full of snow). It was probably warmer in NYC than where they live in LA and I bet they weren’t in wool coats in LA. It’s all a bit mad.

I suppose they are just high profile people

I’m genuinely interested in the OP’s question - what is their role?

What is their job now?

Are the WHO meeting them because they see them as being influential, and therefore, they can use them to spread key messages etc? Much in the same way as celebs go on visits to countries to raise issues?

And I ask this genuinely, with no malice.

I kind of understand their wish to be away from the stuffy BRF.

What frustrates me is that they are choosing to live as high profile celebrities which they can only do so by using their titles.

This pseudo royal tour is starting to look like the start of a PR campaign for Meghan to go into politics. And who will be funding the millions of $s she will need .............

From the Daily Record:

“ Tomorrow, the couple will appear at the 24-hour star-studded global TV event Global Citizen Live in Central Park.

At the event, they will "continue their urgent work with world leaders in the pursuit of global vaccine equity to end the Covid-19 pandemic for everyone, everywhere".

I am struggling to see how Harry and Meghan, without the RF, have any influence over such issues

@OutwiththeOutCrowd - I think you're right about them trying to enact the half in half out "progressive new role" that they hoped to carve. It was a strange quasi royal visit, she read her children's book at the school in Harlem - she needs to promote it, but in a kind of charity situation that seemed a little odd.
They're royals and celebrities and influencers.

People care and comment because they’re unbelievable.

Spouting about mental health then trashing their family and putting them through hell with the press.

Flashy, self-absorbed couple with the money to make a true difference but you won’t find them actually doing that.

I found the photos of them both hugging the children nauseating, so they see themselves as ‘saviours’?
And reading them her book whilst sat there dripping in diamonds? They are so tone deaf.

@LuchiMangsho

Not that many institutions have humoured them. A school, a restaurant, a short meeting with Chelsea Clinton. It’s their PR machine doing what they are paid to do to make it look like a bigger deal than this is. Which is fine, that’s what H&M need to do to survive in the cut throat American celeb world they have chosen?

They visited the 9/11 memorial with the mayor (and I think also the governor) of New York. Which I thought was odd because it is a very “official” sort of thing to do. But I don’t know why the mayor/governor would really bother, I assume they wouldn’t for other celebs - I guess they thought the association would be good for them.

@NerrSnerr

These threads are not put up due to interest are they? They're just put up to slag them off.

I started a thread (on the appropriate board 😇) to discuss (not "slag off" - what an immature phrase) the Sussexes' trip to NYC.

They are only of interest to a niche set of Americans because Harry is a prince. Oprah didn't want to interview Meghan when she was on Suits, did she? So I'm interested as to what is the purpose of their trip to NYC?

@TooBigForMyBoots

Do Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (as they are styled there) have much clout in the US? Why?

They made Time's "Most Influential" list a couple of weeks ago.

Along with Britney Spears and a whole host of other uninfluential people

They're visiting an underprivileged school I think. They're not royal but they're carrying out royal type duties. It is odd.

Noone needs to justify why they're interested in them, or why they want to comment on people they dislike. It's not unusual in the slightest to discuss public figures and the news coverage of them.

@Shellfishblastard

I’m genuinely interested in the OP’s question - what is their role?

What is their job now?

Are the WHO meeting them because they see them as being influential, and therefore, they can use them to spread key messages etc? Much in the same way as celebs go on visits to countries to raise issues?

And I ask this genuinely, with no malice.

Yes. I wonder this too.

''Who do they think they are?'' sounds like a quick put down, but I really do wonder, do they see themselves as American Royalty, do they see themselves as role models? of what?

Does the WHO need H&M to put out their position on health/vaccines etc?

I think both of them should have just relaxed on their birthdays, had a glass of wine and a piece of cake. Just relax. Stop trying to be Mother Theresa or Nelson Mandela

If you’re genuinely interested, there’s a great Instagram account called @eholmes where she talks about the work they do and the type of influence they have. In short, they’re hugely popular in the US and therefore able to use their influence to draw attention to various causes that are meaningful to them.

They don’t represent the royal family. They represent themselves and Archewell. It’s worth remembering that when they attend events like this, they aren’t aping the behaviour of the royal family; celebrities and people of influence have engaged in political and charitable causes for a very long time, and it is the royal family who have adopted that behaviour in order to remain relevant and justify their roles in the modern world. Criticisms of Harry and Meghan for ‘behaving like royals’ are therefore unfounded; the reality is, the royals act like celebrities by using their influence to raise consciousness about various causes and charities.

If you’re not actually interested and just want to snipe at two people you disapprove of then @eholmes isn’t for you, but she’s a great source if you really do want to understand more.

So @eholmes is a big fan of M&H and we'll ''understand'' finally if we read that?
Any interpretation currently held needs to be corrected?!

I have my own interpretation of their conduct. It's as valid as any other instagramers