Harry - what next?

[TrashyPanda]

Continuation thread for all things Harry, Meghan and all things Archewell.

welcome back everyone!

You could almost read it as he's paranoid that someone else would sell "H lossed his virginity in a field behind a pub" story to the papers.

Empty his cupboards remove all skeletons. Take control tell it the way he wants to tell it.

I think he gave too many salacious details of that encounter. He doesn't come across as a man comfortable with his youthful indiscretions, he'd need to be more 'Boris' for that. I'm not sure why he put that in...other to show another example of disfunction.

Well, no one had sold it in 20 odd years.
He could just have kept schtum.
He's actually had a lot of loyal friends over the years.

I agree it didn’t need to be included, I’d say that for quite a lot of the book. I got the strong impression from the change of writing style that the ghostwriter threw up his hands towards the end of the book and the third section where Meghan is the central story was pretty much all Harry’s work, and not for the better.

My point was that out of context, that story read very differently from how it appeared in the book.

I find myself in the unexpected position of defending Harry, but I am trying to be fair, and also to listen to his version of events even if I don’t buy them wholesale. I take this thread to be about what his life might hold going forward, and I think the press will always be against him, and make things difficult.

Now, you can say he brought that on himself, which is fair comment, but I think looking at how he grew up it may be a bit more nuanced than that.

I agree with what you're saying, really @Ohpleeeease - but really writing a sensational autobiography was going to get a lot of attention. I personally think that he should have written it and then locked it away for a few years, but hey - his choice. I also think that the ghost writer struggled in parts and Harry's own words can be heard clearly.
No one knows what most people's first sexual experience was, even very high profile people. That and todgers - steps too far, imo.

I thought exactly the same thing. The first half is well written and engaging. The second half is badly written, meandering and unfocused . It needed a heavy edit.

He did literally say that was his intention to be fair.

However:

A) He can't remove the right for other people to have different recollections or perspectives on his memories (esp. when there's a degree of inaccuracy).
B) He threw a few people to the wolves in his storytelling - this girl and the matron, to name a couple in particular.
C) Some of the revelations suggest/confirm that he WAS rather protected by the palace - see, brawling with his security staff, drug taking etc.

His early popularity was very much linked to the popularity of the military in the early noughties due to the war. If he were a serving squaddie now, they have nowhere near the same positive profile.

Above all, it seems that he fundamentally doesn't get that individual perceptions can't be governed by even the most rigorous of facts. He ought to watch Lucy Worsley.

It's hard to remember at times that he is nearly a 40 year old man. I think we sometimes still think of him in his previous "funny Harry years" whereas he is midway through his life.

You're right, @thecatsthecats .
I agree about the level of maturity. He's a 38 year old father of two, not a troubled teen.

It's almost like he wanted to be free and rebel against the Palace and his family but I think he is secretly missing the protection they gave him. Or didn't realise just how much protection he was being given.

I guess part of it must be being watched ALL the time. I mean really can you imagine being in your 20s/30s, not allowed out without a babysitter (bodyprotector). Cameras around your house. People knowing who you have visiting. And then the phone hacking not knowing who you can trust.

But he's stuck between a rock and a hard place now.

He had freedom in the army. He also had freedom as a single man. He went on holiday a lot and out with friends. He only drew attention to himself by going to strip joints and naked antics in Vegas. Just going out for a quiet drink or meal could have gone under the radar. Plenty of celebrities and royals do this.

He’s a sad case really. I don’t think he has any clear idea who he is. He’s lacked guidance and advice all his life. He’s not very bright, his brother has the sort of marriage and home life he desperately craved as well as a set role. His father wasn’t around much and he lost his mother young. He’s been watched and gossiped about since he was born.
His only real job was in the Army, where he couldn’t progress or even continue because of safety issues. He’s a loose cannon.
If his relationship with Meghan begins to fall apart he really has nothing at all. She will get custody of the kids and he’ll be stuck living in a foreign country just to be able to see them.

She will get custody of the kids and he’ll be stuck living in a foreign country just to be able to see them.

Didn't Ben Affleck move into the pool house when they split up? I can see Harry living like that. Shoeless in his shorts, bumming around with his spliffs. 😄

Just joking. I don't see them splitting up. He seems to adore her.

Exactly this. He was never that smart, albeit very well-educated and always had his life organised by others. There was zero chance he could succeed at a content creator, creative thinker or business magnate.

Even William has zero illusions of becoming a media mogul. He and Kate have a much easier job in comparison to H&M because they only need to show up to engagements. It's probably physically tiring but every detail is meticulously organised and they just need to show up. There is zero pressure to come up with ideas that will generate X amount of revenue for XZY companies within a certain timeframe. Harry has bitten off way too much that he could chew, and why both of them chose to sign so many projects during a time where Meghan was technically on maternity leave is baffling.

Though to be fair, I don't think W&K have the fairytale marriage people assume. They have a complex marriage like many high-profile people and the stakes are too high for it to crumble. They probably work on it like all long term married couples and go through good and bad patches. I think Kate needs to be credited with an absolutely backbone of steel to ensure her kids don't go through the same thing William did with Charles & Diana.

It takes a lot of effort to break generational patterns of trauma. Kate has the sole advantage that her family is "normal" and harmonious and she's determined to give that to her children. With another woman, William's marriage could also have gone in any direction. H&M both come from extremely dysfunctional families and their kids are doomed for the same thing.

I sometimes wonder if Harry is a bit like Snape, and Kate is Lily.

(Yes I know that's over-romanticised piffle, I'm just musing randomly)

@User34352515 I don't think it's fair to compare W&K or H&Ms marriage to C&D.

C&D was basically an arranged marriage which wasn't particularly well matched. I believe they thought they could make it work but...
C&C have had a much more successful marriage, even if they do have ups and downs and can't cope with being in each others pocket 24/7

W&K had time to get to know one another and for her to get to know what she was getting into.

H&M, H had 2 long term girlfriends run🏃‍♀️ 🏃‍♀️, He wasn't prepared to give it time to make sure it was right for them both. M was possibly also thinking the clock was ticking.

They could have had a very similar easy life to W&K, pick a couple of causes that were important to them. Rock up cut ribbons deliver speeches, look the part. And yes it's probably quiet a tiring job, constantly on the go, being ready to meet multiple people, knowing what to say putting people at ease etc.

They walked away without fully thinking through what they were doing or how they were going to earn money.

I've just read Spare too, I was expecting a crashing bore but it flows really well.
The first part is the one I enjoyed the most, it sounds believable, the teachers trying to inspire a love of learning, kids getting up to all sorts etc.
The second part is about the Army and it sounds the part of his life where he was at his happiest.
The third part goes off the rails, the singing seals, the talking bin, nuff said.
Overall an engaging read but not a sympathetic character.

William will end homelessness as he did conflict in the ME.
Same with his photos hoot with The Big issue. Although I understand it's now failed due to lack of funds.

He does adore her. I think though that his appeal is already waning for her. He’s essentially another child in a big body.

The Middle East thing is the DM saying that the Duke of Cambridge "is said to have vowed"

Far too political an area for him to be directly involved with.

This project, like Heads Together and Earthshot, is however squarely his. Good to see they've given the success criteria at the outset (something Sir Humphrey would describe as "brave")

User34352515
He was never that smart, albeit very well-educated and always had his life organised by others. There was zero chance he could succeed at a content creator, creative thinker or business magnate.

Yes - and although it may be a bit of an obvious thing to say, I guess Harry wouldn't be used to people telling him straight about anything, or even being mildly critical. His upbringing would have accustomed him to deference, which he would probably accept as quite normal and his due. Therefore when business people start saying 'this isn't good enough' or 'you need to work harder on this', he'd be quite unused to that kind of frankness.

It's a bit like the time when naive Prince Edward, as he was then, produced the notorious Royal It's a Knock-out, expecting praise from the media. He just couldn't handle the adverse criticism because it may well have been his first exposure to judgement. He was very young at the time and I'm really not being nasty about him - but I think there's something of the same problem with Harry.

Some pps have brought up the comparison with the Windsors. I think there are some parallels, but it's not quite the same.

Apart from the obvious points such as Meghan being an American divorcee, I think the most obvious parallel is that Meghan (and I'm no fan) is an intelligent, sparky woman and Harry is a dim, unoriginal man. His USP is his royal-ness and beyond that he's just a boring, sporty, average-looking bloke. And a grumpy, sulky one at that.

From reading about the Duke of Windsor so many people whose judgement I trust say he was dim and very boring. And very insensitive too, as other pps have mentioned. Pretty soon (far from being the love-story of the century) Wallis found herself tied to a dull and irritating man-child who had absolutely nothing to recommend him except his previous royal glamour.

I thought for a moment you meant comparisons with The Windsors!

<I'll get my coat>

Wallis said "it's hard to live out a great love story"