Discussing the things we liked about Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary series

[MrsMaxDeWinter]

There are so many threads on things posters hated about Harry and Meghan, the Netflix series, and fair play to those posters, so I thought I would have a go at stating a thread discussing some of the things that posters liked about the series.

I'll start.

I liked that this was supposed to be this bomb detonation, but has actually been a measured, warm, and loving look at H and M's relationship, and the pressures that the press put on them, and also on other royals. I genuinely did not notice anything incendiary. Maybe that is still to come.

I enjoyed the thoughtful insights shared on the invisible contract, especially, as Harry says, having to perform for a press that you know has said hurtful things about people you love.

I loved the warm memories of Sandringham, and meeting the Queen. And Meghan's memories of growing up. I think it was a wise, though sad, that they did not include Thomas. I really loved hearing Doria: my favourite bit is when a journalist offered her money, for an interview about Meghan and she said, "That's my child!"

I also learned for the first time about Meghan's relationship with her sister Samantha's daughter Ashleigh. I had no idea that she had been raised by her grandparents who adopted her, or that she had such a warm and caring relationship with Meghan. Along with Doria's, that was my favourite interview.

I enjoyed hearing from her childhood friends, as it is often said here that she had no friends who came to the wedding etc, just celebrities. They seem a tight nit grip who have been here fr years, and I am glad she has them.

I was gobsmacked that she needed security in Toronto after the relationship was announced.

I also thought the discussion on racism, in its wider context of colonialism and imperialism, was very well done, but then again it was led by David Olusoga and Afua Hirsch, who are always great, and I love their writing.

Most of all I love that Harry confronted head on the Nazi uniform debacle, and what he learned from it. And I loved, loved, loved, the segment on his life in Lesotho where they gave him the Sesotho name, "Mahale". A wonderful name.

“It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Harry said. “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right. I sat down and spoke to the chief rabbi in London, which had a profound effect on me. I went to Berlin and spoke to a Holocaust survivor. I could have just ignored it and made the same mistakes over again in my life. But I learned from that.”

I predicted on another thread that Harry would address this and other episodes head on in his book. I was scoffed roundly for this. I expect him to say more in is book, and I am happy to be proved right.

If only for this, I am very glad they did this.

Where is your evidence that KP have been planting negative stories about them?

To a certain extent it's common sense because it had to have been with their approval at least. You don't often get courtiers going rogue. And the stories have to be coming from somewhere.

Martin Bashir lying to Diana was pretty exceptional I would hope! I have no evidence this journalist is lying about the source of the leaks and no reason to think she would be. So her words are my evidence. She's not the first to say, or very strongly imply it, either.

By the same token

Lainey Liu in Canada - friend of Jessica Mulroney and Meghan was posting blinds about KP during the early days. She’s a small outfit mainly Canada related.

and Giles Coren posted his infamous William tweet after spending a boozy Soho house weekend in Amsterdam with Meghan and Harry also in attendance due to Meghan’s friendship with Marcus Anderson (who did have a thing with Omid Scobie )

There could be a case for suspicion on both sides ?

I hope neither posts about the other though

Been through hell? Just what "hell" have they been through as a couple?

They are privileged and need to learn to live their lives without the constant complaints and expectations of sympathy

My thoughts on Harry is that he needs to have his say, talk about his mum, his loss, his Meghan and for definitely call out the gutter press. Maybe call out the institution/ 'palace sources' and lack of family support. He also needs to publish his book and get it out of his system, and he can move on. Like all of us in life. there comes a time to speak out and call out injustices and stand up to the bullies and enablers. It's healthy - particularly when we have kids to protect.

and Giles Coren posted his infamous William tweet after spending a boozy Soho house weekend in Amsterdam with Meghan and Harry also in attendance due to Meghan’s friendship with Marcus Anderson (who did have a thing with Omid Scobie )

Wasn't that just a stupid joke though? I think you're comparing apples with oranges there.

I don't know anything about Lainey so I really don't know. But if you're talking about blind items on a gossip site people are unlikely to have heard of, I would assume half the items are a product of the writer's fevered imagination. Very different from briefing the British tabloids where at least there has to be some legitimate source to any story they run.

@Aspiringmatriarch

and there are posters on here who treat his comments as a fact. There are crazy fans on both sides .

my point is probably neither side is ‘completely’ innocent no matter what they feel is their truth (I really hate this phrase and what it means)

Both hides hopefully reset now

Thank you for this post which puts into relief the problem confronting the monarchy.

Yes, it performs a constitutional role.

But it is is one that it performs with the permission of parliament, and ergo, with the popular approval, that is, the consent of the governed, as Rousseau would say.

There have been many periods where the monarchy was unpopular for various reasons, Victoria after her long period of mourning, Elizabeth during the Annus Horribilis, and after Diana's death. These are just three examples.

The monarchy needs public approval, and for that, it has a relationship with the press, from which they derive much needed PR. The press in its turn wants to monetise the Royal Family by selling stories about them. Look at all the stories about the women in the family, all about clothes, how much they cost etc. What does that all have to do with the constitutional functions of the monarchy?

One of the devastating scenes of the docuseries was the footage of the kids on the ski slopes. What does exposing kids to the media have to do with the constitutional monarchy?

The monarchy needs the press to be relevant. And the press needs clicks and stories. As Harry says, he was born into a "contractual relationship" with the press. This is horrible and abnormal.

Other royal houses in Europe manage to have monarchies without feeding the press in this horrible way.

The Dutch King has just announced a far reaching three-year study into the links between colonialism and slavery and the Dutch Crown. Their former Queen Beatrix, and her heirs and their children are popular, modern, fun, and do not feed negative stories to the press about each other, but represent The Netherlands gloriously, looking to the future while willing to confront the past.

The Windsors could learn a lot from the Dutch. Having a constitutional monarchy does not mean sacrificing individual members to the rest. And it does not mean refusing to confront the reality of the past either.

That is a good point about George’s and Louis’ future wives.
Do they want their own children to go through what Harry is going through ? Are they fine with George’s and Louis’ wives going through the same ‘rite of passage’ as others have gone through?

The press hasn’t changed since Diana died , so in 15-20 years times it is unlikely to change.

my point is probably neither side is ‘completely’ innocent no matter what they feel is their truth (I really hate this phrase and what it means)

That probably is true. But I can't imagine Harry and Meghan asked Giles Coren to tweet something like that. It was either a joke or he was reporting what he heard and then played it off as a joke. Probably a joke tbh, I'm sure Coren doesn't want to be persona non grata with the future king.

Great post @MrsMaxDeWinter

The Dutch King has just announced a far reaching three-year study into the links between colonialism and slavery and the Dutch Crown.

And this! Wow. But you know, I'm not sure the UK public and media would be accepting of something like this here. Not yet anyway.

We have a republic and recently our Presidents wife made the headlines for the wrong reasons, suggesting that Ukraine should sit down and hammer out a truce with Russia. we are a small country so no-one cares much what we say but imagine if Kate or Camilla had said something similar in the U.K. That why staid and predictable wins over dramatic and unpredictable.

I’m in the Netherlands this weekend and have spent a lot of time here. The royal family here are very different to the U.K. I remember the playboy prince 25-30 years ago 😀 they have a similar code regarding the kids, the odd photo op and then left alone and their prince worked in the UN which is better than staying within purely national institutions.

I think I mentioned that a reset needs to go beyond RF to museums, university’s companies etc as part of a societal debate, otherwise handing back a few jewels seems like tokenism otherwise, but we’re not ready for a world socialist revolution either

That is a good point about George’s and Louis’ future wives.
Do they want their own children to go through what Harry is going through ? Are they fine with George’s and Louis’ wives going through the same ‘rite of passage’ as others have gone through

Yes I know. I can't gauge WK value system. What are their own personal values and principles in life. Maybe they don't even go there - with being next in line and 'duty first' being drummed into them.

I think working for international organisations helps give a better view.

but I can’t imagine Wilelm’s wife Máxima getting an easy ride in the U.K due to her father’s role in the Argentinian dictatorship?
kate and Meghan would have had it easy by comparison 🤣

For my 2p worth, I don't believe William is leaking stories about Harry, or vice versa.

If you remember back to the Leveson Inquiry into the ethics of the British Press.

The Royal Family and other celebrities thought it was family and friends who were leaking info to the tabloids. Turns out it was the News of the World hacking phones.

It all seemed a bit seedy, gossipy and ridiculous. BUT, then we heard about murdered 13 year year old Milly Dowler.
They hacked her phone for an "exclusive", listened to the voicemails and then deleted them.

This is the what the gutter press do. They are low lifes.

They will hack into the phone of a dead 13 year old just to get a story and make money from her death.

If they are willing to do that, what else are they prepared to do?

Maybe that's true about the press? It's hard to believe deliberate leaking when they've both grown up being so careful who they trusted; anyone doing that would be out. But something has caused the rift between them.

Dan Wootton
Christian Jones
Callum Stephens

Maybe there's a rift, maybe there isn't.
Maybe this is another thing the press have made up.
Or maybe there was a silly argument between brothers and its been made out to be a huge thing because, the press will print low life shit, just to make money.

I have a brother and a sister and we have had "rifts" or as I call them typical sibling crap.

Recently I was in a shop with my Dbro. I was talking to the shop owner as said her lamps were lovely. Later, my DBro said i need to watch my "tone" as it can come across as "patronising".
I told him the tone of his face is patronising and annoys me 😁we are in our 40s
(thinking about it, maybe my Dbro has a point!)

Anyway my point is, if any "journalist" heard about it, think of the headlines they could come up with
HUGE rift in minou house! Sister and brother in a BATTLE after minou INSULTS his face.

Jones - with royals from 2018. He was KP's deputy comms secretary for both couples. When households split he stayed with William as comms sec. 2019-21
Stephens - freelance publicist and Jones's boyfriend so privy to inside
info/pillow talk
Wooton - exclusives in the Sun. Knew both Stephens and Jones and allegedly paid the former.

On a wife for a king it is of course why until Prince Charles broke the mould the spouse was always a prince or princess so they were used to publicity and understood the rules. Prince Charles did not follow that rule and even though is wife was virgin (another rule) so not much dirt to dig up she did not have the upbringing to deal with the role.

May be if they revert with Prince George to limiting future wives to virgins who are also princesses from European royal families things might go better.

I have come to the conclusion that the children, the wives, and actually Harry and Megan are human shields. The amount if column inches written about them is staggering and most of it horrible. The children are rolled out from time to time as a cuteness break.

Allof that keeps our focus away from cash in plastic bags, capital gains tax avoidance, inhertance tax avoidance, cloudy finances, palaces left empty and so on. There is a lot to hide and a lot to loose. They are collateral damage.

It must be exceptionaly painful for Harry.

The sheer volume produced by Piers Morgan and the tabloids every day is surely different to a single gossip site in Canada that ran blind items?

I dont think that we can say "well both sides" in this case as they are not equal.

May be if they revert with Prince George to limiting future wives to virgins who are also princesses from European royal families things might go better

This will probably be 2040 at the earliest... will they really think that is a good idea?!

This is my view as well. As well as the fact that we have more than one strong indication including this journalist (whose name I don't know) claiming ALL the negative stories about H&M came from KP.

What do you mean by Prince Charles's wife didn't have the upbringing? Princess Diana was a Spencer and the Spencer family is one of the oldest aristocratic families in England and actually she had more royal blood than prince Charles.

I doubt princesses from other royal families in Europe are keen to marry into british royal family. Also the time of arranged marriages is not really a thing in 21st century Europe, not even in UK.

Lovely family, battling their own mental health, caused by being both famous and royalty. Also, stunning house, beautiful family and way more exciting than the rest of the RF. Harry has definitely grown up