Courtiers the release !

[jeffgoldblum]

In preparation for the books release , and with permission from randompenguin , I thought it would be good to start this thread now !

Well it would be an opportune time 😅

Why do I get the feeling the book will be published on May 6th🤣

Oh yes this will definitely happen, after all, they had the utter nerve to have their first child on a day they should have anticipated would be the King's coronation day 4 years later. Just shows how much they want the limelight. Their selfishness knows no bounds!

I also agree with PPs who have said this book will be absolutely massive, it’ll be discussed and pulled apart by all angles, by both lovers and haters of the pair.
But I agree, where does he go from here?
Because you can only tell so much.

Harry isn’t popular per se I don’t think, but people (both pro and against) are interested in what he has to say, purely due to the scandal. It’s like watching a soap opera. But I don’t see what he’s doing other than tell all book and reality show. These aren’t sustainable, they are one time things. So what’s next?

Once the scandal goes, people will lose interest. You can only ‘tell all’ until you’ve told it after all.

And then what’s he going to do?
He’s going to need to do something productive.
Being ‘altruistic’ won’t cut it, people inevitably get bored and move on to the next thing.

I hope he’s been smart and has more in the pipeline than RF gossip

It was in response to ‘an opportune time’
It was a joke, hence the laughing face.

All over my SM people are saying it’s KC whose being selfish for choosing Archie’s bday.

People read things how they want to read them, I guess 🤷‍♀️

I was continuing the joke, sorry didn't do a laugh emoji!

On to your point about Harry, I think he will be kept busy with Invictus. They recently added Nigeria and I think Ghana, and I think expanding that and doing more with wounded vets would b really great.

The main problem I see, and this struck me as I read their RFK Kennedy award nomination is that they are doing too many discrete things.

George and Amal Clooney, for instance do only one thing with their foundation: justice. The foundations that work best are single issue organisations.

If Harry focuses on Invictus alone, he will have more than enough work.

Amal and George can fund their own foundation whereas Meghan and Harry need funding for theirs so are looking for partners with cash at present

Invictus can’t pay him the money he needs to fund his lifestyle and the other deals haven’t generated a long term regular source of income

Didn't H play polo on Archie's birthday this year? I'm afraid I think coronations trump polo matches though some may disagree obviously.

The Invictus games financials revenue and expenditure were both at around the 1.5m mark per the charities commission report.

Surely Invictus is a charity set up to help ex-servicemen not to generate income for Harry?

Lol, sorry! 🙈🤣

That’s exactly it, there’s no focus.
Its very haphazard, nothing to keep people really interested other than wondering what the next bit of juicy gossip is.

I think the Invictus games are amazing, that’s a proper legacy project and is the type of thing he should be focusing on, rather than what appears to be a scattergun approach, where nothings really sticking. You need to have lots of money to be able to live this sort of life style I think, so while charitable works are all well and good, do they really pay the bills? I think they need to change tack as relying on a Netflix long term isn’t viable.

I really think they should have left it after the Oprah interview, I think Harry feels because he doesn’t directly speak to certain media outlets that he’s not feeding the beast, but he is. While there is hint there is more to say, they are like sharks circling.

Like I said, it feels like a soap opera.

I don’t wish ill on any of them, I’m sure there have been mistakes on both sides, and definitely hurt feelings all round, but I really think it’s best to get the book out and over with, because the drama will never end while there’s still ‘tell all’s’ to be had.

Then they can all get on with their lives, whether they reconcile or not.

Invictus isn’t a full time job, it doesn’t generate the income to fund a polo team, fly by private jet, teams of security guards etc. and I can’t see how it can grow it allow that level of salary.

Actually George and Amal do not fully fund their foundation. A lot of their funding comes from other about ten other foundations, especially Bill and Melinda Gates, Ford Foundation and Open Society. They also have other partnerships with Microsoft and other corporates. The partners are listed on their websites.

They also accept public donations.

The only foundations that fully fund their own work have huge endowments built over years, Rockefeller, Ford and Carnegie spring to mind. The Gates foundation also funds its own programmes.

I'd agree with the Soap Opera comment. It just has that feeling of whats going to happen next.

Will they stay out on their own or will the come back to the UK tail between the legs looking sheepish?

This is very well said.

I wish I could say more about where I have worked because my experience tells me that philanthropy is really a kind of con at these levels. I attended the Davos summit two years in a row, with high profile clients, and it really opened my eyes to how essentially corrupt the world of global philanthropy and high level networking is.

Part of what makes me uneasy with the "awards" of the type that M and H have received is that they are essentially networking baubles. It will not surprise you to hear that the RFK foundation, and the NAACP Foundation who have given them awards are represented by Sunshine Sachs, the agency who also represent a number of their award winners, including Alec Baldwin and his wife, and until recently Harry and Meghan.

The best thing H and M did this year was to drop Sunshine Sachs. They are not good news.

It is part of what worries me about their strategy. They are falling into this philanthropy do everything trap, when they could focus on one or two things and do them really well, Harry with Invictus and Meghan perhaps with World Kitchen. They could take a small charity and make it global.

They don't need to make money from these ventures, with clever speaking engagements, partnerships and endorsements, they can make money easily. Above all, the best currency for them at this point is scarcity. They need to stop doing interviews, so that when they do interviews, it is for the right reasons.

Sorry to natter on, I really liked your post and it got me going!

@MrsMaxDeWinter

i have said that a women focused DOE style award would be an amazing fit for them. But they have to fund it and their own lives, and they’ve struggled to find the money.

I have said that a women focused DOE style award would be an amazing fit for them. But they have to fund it and their own lives, and they’ve struggled to find the money.

That would be a very good fit.

As for personalmoney, I dot think they are struggling or will struggle on that front. It's the purpose and strategy that they are struggling with at the moment.

Once they zoom in on just two big things, the funding will follow, especially if they do something no one else is doing.

Actually George and Amal do not fully fund their foundation. A lot of their funding comes from other about ten other foundations, especially Bill and Melinda Gates, Ford Foundation and Open Society. They also have other partnerships with Microsoft and other corporates. The partners are listed on their websites.

They also accept public donations.

Just on that last point, but it’s actually a requirement of the US laws governing not for profit foundations that a portion of their funding each year has to come from public donations. In the same way they also have to donate a certain amount of their revenue each year to charitable causes.

If you think about There are other people who have more to lose than H+M and if that's the case then the RF will protect those people with everything!

Which people do you mean?

I thought Andrew was the only other one in the frame for bullying and I can't see the palace machine grinding to a halt to stop him being thrown under a bus.

The main problem is that they are dress-up philanthropes because they are not wealthy or well-respected enough to be real ones. It is the same Kardashian wealth signaling ('clear the arena!', 'let the twenty mile security convoy through' even though nobody is following) which cheapens the RF brand by indirect association. They want to be seen to be moving in those privileged circles as independent adults but it is widely accepted that they are living off H's family/inheritance and trading on this association. Neither are talented or interesting enough to generate the required wealth or influence of George and Amal in any other way. Inevitably, this (and the odd missing million) always leads one to question, 'What are you hiding by filing accounts in Delaware?' How much are you paying out to your podcast guests?

You cannot be the free bird and try to sing sweetly like a caged bird at the same time. People are generally interested in hearing the caged bird while they are still living in the gilded cage. You left the cage, you found your freedom. You are now sounding out of tune.

Brilliant!!

I was trying to work out what I would do if I was them, or what I would advise them to do if I was their reputation manager. One of the issues I think they have is their need to make money. That massive house and the security issue are the two big money pits.

And public perception isn't getting better no matter how many times they try to explain their side of things - in fact it seems to make it worse. I don't think being in the Hollywood bubble surrounded by all the celebrity hustlers is helping their mindset.

If I was them I would come back to the UK (and suck up how hard that would be) use the kids education and desire to have them experience their British roots as the excuse.

They've got Frogmore which they are already paying for and as it's on Windsor Royal Estate that gives them a whole layer of security already there that they don't have to pay for. They can pay for private bodyguards when they are out and about.

I bet Charles would pay for his grandkids' schools, and possibly extra security for them too.

Harry concentrates on Invictus and the African Parks projects - he would be able to stay as a consultant etc on things like BetterUp, and would probably be offered other UK directorship type things with his contacts so that, alongwith selling the Montecito house would help with the money situation.

Meghan, I would advise go back to University and get a PHD in something relevant to her philanthropic interests, and as a side project start acting again in an edgy off-West End play.

Be seen shopping in Winsdor Waitrose, playing with the kids in the park, etc

A couple of years of that and Meghan uses her PHD to launch a related project - they will have had time to really network and get good contacts for fund raising.

Stop trashing the family, and having mouthpieces like Omid Scoble do it for them and in 24 months there would be no Sussex drama to criticise, no oxygen for the haters.

Yes, if Harry and Meghan are struggling, I would like to be part of that struggle – I’d be most obliged 😂

What would I advise?

They could live a quiet life like the Duke of Windsor did, live of their investments, do the odd after dinner speech and the charities they have.

That could be a stepping stone to be back as working Royals. But they need to actually want that.

I think that is what would suit Harry and do his MH some good.
But I doubt Meghan would settle for that I think she wants the glitz and glamour that only Hollywood can offer. But I just can't see how they'd earn the money to keep up with that lifestyle.

Excellent post.