Harry - what next?

[TrashyPanda]

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

welcome back everyone!

I saw this quote from Lady Colin Campbell

To gain a toehold over Harry she appears to have played to his weaknesses, just as Katherine has played to William's strengths.

That is an interesting take on it all.

The jewellery was a public confirmation of a suspected attachment

And I frankly don't believe that the effect of wearing it wasn't entirely predicted (because its so highly predictable)

But of course what we don't and can't know is why this was done. Was it something they agreed she would do? Or was it all his idea (he gave it to her, didn't he)? Or was it her idea?

Was it done to nudge the blossoming relationship into the public eye in stages (something they both wanted)? Or was one of them trying to force the pace, and if so, which one and why?

Was this the H and M necklace?

Yes, and their matching bead bracelets. She wore them on her Instagram and the palace advised against this in order to limit press interest or escalation at that point.

And do we care?

No, not really! At least I don't!

Yes, that's what Meghan said later (Source Scobie and Durand, Sept 22)

"She was advised that wearing such a necklace only served to encourage the photographers to keep pursuing such images — and new headlines."

"..... she knew the aide had good intentions, the surreal experience of having someone from her boyfriend's office tell her what kind of jewellery to wear or not to smile at a photographer was too much."

I think at that stage in her courtship (it was very early days) she would not necessarily have known much about how the Palace worked. Here, they appear to be giving advice on how to lessen paparazzi attention, and to be doing that before she was a publicly acknowledged girlfriend.

I think this example of Palace advising on protection gets a bit over-looked.

.....and how she misunderstood/misinterpreted it.

Possibly she thought she knew what publicity was like but in actual fact she had no idea at all of how much interest there would be in a Royal couple.

I think she must have known how much interest there would be - she had followed Kate's wedding for example. It's not the interest but the management of it, perhaps.

The background to her vanity fair cover is quite interesting. It discusses how she was leveraging her relationship from quite early on. Quite entertaining.

So the palace was giving advice to M to try to reduce paparazzi attention and media intrusion? Yet the NF documentary portrayed H and M as practically being thrown to the media wolves.
Of course M wanted the world to know she was with H. She was a nobody and now the world’s media was interested in her.

Poor Meghan couldn't get to grips with the idea that you can't control the media. She had a successful blog where she could massage her image to what she wanted. She dictated how the Reitmann advertising went and loves to micromanage. To suddenly be confronted by a huge monolithic British press with a hideous agenda to goad and rip apart the very people they had been worshipping and building up for months was a huge shock.

The past 3 years have been all about attempting to paint themselves as victims while taking no responsibility for anything. In the process trying to destroy the RF while also profiting from them and merching the titles. Frankly it was not thought out, poorly executed and a disaster all round because they couldn't get their own way.

To be fair if the couple hadn't had the OW and Netflix deals (which won't pay as much as they thought) they wouldn't have reached such a high profile or had as much money as if they had behaved differently. All pretty disastrous and I don't see it improving any time soon.

I think there is a big difference in the scrutiny you get as an A-lister than the scrutiny you get as a (successful - she achieved more than most wannabes) minor actress. The higher your profile, the more it will be inspected for accuracy.

Something that was seriously underestimated

Didn’t she do a VF magazine cover confirming her relationship with H? That’s really at odds with her complaining about the intense media attention. Moreover almost all A listers conduct romantic relationships as quietly as possible. She was clearly using H to gain a platform. Tbh I didn’t even think about her behaviour back then because, like most people, I thought it would be nice if he’d finally found someone to settle down with.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2017/09/meghan-markle-cover-story

I think it's been clear all along that Meghan and Harry are not anti media attention, just unfavourable media attention.

Which is fine, I am sure many celebrities feel the same, I know I would. But it's not realistic

In that article, she's very complimentary about her father, and how supportive he was.

Yep. They wanted attention but assumed it would all be positive.

The Oprah interview backfired on them big time.
The press had a great time picking holes in so much of it from the more serious to the mundane,
Harry - I couldn't go for a bike ride with my Dad - Boom there's a pic of Harry on the back of Dads bike with William beside them.
Meghans comments about her needing MH support when he's got his own therapist & involved with a MH charity. What's wrong with them picking up the phone?

Probably because they thought the Palace
should pay for it! That’s why I think they were indignant. Her thinking is ‘why should I pay for my own therapy’! Total entitlement.

Sorry, wrong post quoted .

Yes I noticed that too!

Regarding harry I think he will now try to concentrate his energies on charities relating to Africa and veterans. I can't decide whether he genuinely likes the limelight and celebrity (he did associate with celebs before marriage but so do all the royals) or just on his terms. If his army days were his happiest maybe he's happier out of the public eye.

So I think the couple will increasingly do separate things with Meghan concentrating on her Hollywood career and harry on his charities. However charity workers can't afford mansions or security so it will all be dependent on meghans endeavours.

Hopefully the 'grifters' comment is not true and Meghan has more skills than we have seen so far.

I don't think harry will ever live in the Uk again because he won't leave his children but eventually there may be a reconciliation. The press love a forgiveness story. Meghan no, not in the Uk I'm afraid but it's up to her and her talent how she progresses in the future. Interesting. Just need to get out of the disaster that they've created.

I agree with this. The question is whether M will tire of keeping H whilst he becomes more and more disaffected, as I expect will be the case. Charities will not be much interested in him without the clout of the RF behind him. He’s just a whiny bore now with no ability to think before he speaks. If he’s coming into a huge inheritance when he’s 40 she will stick around for that , that’s for sure. I wonder if she will be entitled to part of that in a divorce settlement .