Harry and Meghan make surprise phone calls to young leaders in the US

[PrincessTigger]

I actually really liked this video, it’s them doing what they have always done best. I want to see more things like this, hope it marks a change in tactics.

It also has a very “royal” feel: e.g. there have been recent reports about a split but they’re not arguing in the gutter they’re rising above it and proving them wrong, they’re using their spotlight to shine onto other people, etc.

Only criticism: why are they filming people on the phone?! Makes me think of The Apprentice 😂 use Zoom!!

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/harry-meghan-young-leaders-surprise-call-b2386408.html

For many people, particularly wealthy people, charity type work or community initiatives, are something they do because they want to help. Not because the country is forced to pay them extortionate sums of money for it. People can keep saying what the royal family do is work, but the pay isn't proportionate is it. Far from it. It's not a job. It's a privileged role. The money and assets they take is not for charity work. Its because of the role they're in.

Crazy as it may sound, you can actually do charity work or community support, even if you're not in the British royal family. They may sell their role as extra specially special and super duper important, but the reality is lots of people undertake the same thing without the public footing the bill for it. As has been said before, you can live a life full of service to your community without the need to be a paid member of the British royal family, or indeed any royal family.

They'd have absolutely ripped the guts out of the RF name had they been allowed to do what they wanted to do - all for their own gain. HMQ saw through them ... now they're desperate and look, frankly needy and pathetic

But there's absolutely no proof of that at all. It's all just made up fear-mongering. When they left everyone was confidently predicting that they'd release their own merchandise line, never happened. Saying that of course Meghan would try to chase celebrity and would be one of those people who turn up to the opening of an envelope, yet she cloistered herself away with her children and wasn't seen in public for months, is only ever seen in public on rare occasions and mainly for charity-related stuff.

They can do whatever they want now, as the RF have zero control or say over them, yet they've done the exact opposite of "rip the guts out of the RF name". So that's clearly fake.

The perception of them has nothing to do with reality.

They want to be celebrities then that how they get treated, comparing them to W&K is a nonsense now. They are more like the Kardashians.

But again, that's something people have made up in their heads to justify hating them. If Meghan wanted to be a celeb and be papped at celeb events every night, have a Kardashian-style reality show, she could have that in a second. Yet she's done the opposite.

Nothing about hiding from the public eye for months and only doing very rare charity appearances suggests someone desperate for celebrity at all cost.

Can you really not see that all this manufactured hate is all made up?

whereas how is this H&M's job?
It is their job because Archwell are one of the partner organisations of RT Youth Power Fund, who give the awards to the awards recipients in the video. So it literally is their job.

They're not doing anything that other company chairs don't do, and they were obviously asked to do it by RT Youth Power Fund.

It is their job because Archwell are one of the partner organisations of RT Youth Power Fund, who give the awards to the awards recipients in the video. So it literally is their job.

Where are the other 13 partner organisations then - where are their calls and big press release about how bountiful they are? Or are they all slackers?

PW is a paid by the public member of the rf, so he is paid for faking stuff, PH is not paid by the public. its different.
even if they gave up their "titles" H would still be a prince, so Meghan would just be called princess by the press and sm.

His dad is the King whether or not Harry uses his title, pretty much still guaranteed to be in the news.

I personally have been involved in setting up filmed phone calls exactly like this, and when I received an award from a non-profit founded by a reasonably well-known arts leader I had to do the exact same thing as the young people in these videos. The video of me being told I'd won the award which is basically exactly the same as this is online, but obviously has very few views.

There are zillions of videos exactly like this online, from CEOs, chairs, and yes lots of celebrities have done the exact same thing.

Videos with anonymous chairs of organisations obviously don't get media attention, they get put on some corporate website and get six views.

This is very common. People are just showing their ignorance of how the third sector works.

If the RT Youth Power Fund asked them in their capacity as chairs of RTYPF's partner organisation to present the awards phone calls and they said no, can you imagine the flurry of negative media articles and threads?

Harry and Meghan in CHARITY SNUB scandal!
Status-obsessed Harry and Meghan refuse to congratulate hardworking teens.
Harry and Meghan are so lazy they refuse to make a couple of quick phone calls for their own company partner!
Archewell are exploiting RTYPF by becoming partners yet refusing to do any work for them!

Why not give up the title then?

Oh yes pinkgraffiti they can't do right for doing wrong.

Whatever they do will be criticised. On a thread a few weeks ago, this is what some of the detractors were suggesting or demanding they do. Exactly this sort of thing. Now they're doing it, it's wrong.

I honestly just don't get it. I presume this is the nature of threads now. Especially anything about Meghan. She is barely seen for months and months but when she is... she's doing something wrong.

Why doesn't Andrew?

He's a non working Royal too.

Seems a bit cringey to me

No. They are not all slackers. The Responsible Technology Youth Fund is actually a really brilliant initiative. Partners include Archewell, the Hewlett Foundation and the Oak Foundation. The latter by the way, is an incredible foundation that I happen to know only because I know some of their work, but they fly very much under the radar.

RT Fund's aim is to support young people who have interesting projects around how to use technology responsibly. The range of the projects chosen for this first year is dazzling, from responsible use of AI among students (a real issue because of plagiarism etc) targeting online cyber-bullying, and rethinking the use of social media.

Of the 13 partners, the best known, in terms of public visibility is Archewell.
And given that this is a new initiative, and this group makes up the first cohort, the Fund will have wanted publicity for the bright young people who got the grants. It makes sense that the two best known people in the partnership, Harry and Meghan, are the ones who announced the grants to the recipients.

Certainly, the young people who received the calls seemed very happy to hear from them. A

To anyone interested in their projects, you can find more here. I was blown away by the range, and the thoughtfulness of the selection process. And I love that it is a programme aimed at young people, who are at the frontline of issues around new technology, and its uses and abuses.

https://www.rtyouthpower.org/partners

Why would he? He is happy to be part of RF, unlike Haz. So, why Haz doesn't give up his title?

Of course he is happy being a Royal !

How else could he live on a 98 acre Royal Estate with his ex wife of 27 years?!

He wouldn't have the balls to give up his luxury paid for lifestyle.

Why Haz doesn't give up his title?

Why should he? I hope he doesn't. His disgraced Uncle hasn't.

His disgraced Uncle never complained about hard life being a royal is, Haz did

When did we see them before this video?

I think it was May?

An appearence every three months is hardly the behaviour of complete publicity hounds...

They are not independently wealthy enough to be philanthropists.

Philanthropsit is not a job, it's something you do when you have excess money you wnat to give away.

I thought they were struggling to fund themsleves?

Where does the money they give away from Archwell come from?

It all seems a like fake RF set up in California which is essentailly waht they wanted.

Re: titles.

They can't without royal permission.

Well they could, but if they did, it would completely destroy any possibility of having even a civil relationship and cause a firestorm of scandal. This is still Harry's dad and brother, and he clearly has a complex relationship with them.

First, if their Ducal titles were removed (which could be done pretty easily) they would automatically default to being Prince and Princess. I'm pretty sure the BRF and the media don't want a situation where Meghan's official title is Princess because that's a word with a lot of cultural weight, and would lead to increased comparisons with Kate now her official title is also Princess.

To strip them of all titles (ie to stop Harry from being Prince Harry) would require an Act of Parliament, and there's no way that wouldn't cause a huge worldwide scandal. Imaging being so vindictive to actually pass an Act of Parliament to remove your own son's birth title.

People would also ask why Harry was stripped when people who have done far worse were not stripped.

King Edward VIII abdicated and was a Nazi sympathiser and it's widely accepted that he was a Nazi collaborator who was actively a traitor to his country, he wasn't stripped of his titles. Prince Andrew was credibly accused of rape, continued a financial and social relationship with a convicted pedophile, had dodgy financial dealings, and was directly selling access to royals for money. He's still there and still a Prince.

The BRF's worldwide popularity right now is low, Will and Kate's last major foreign tour was rife with gaffe and accusations of racism, and countries around the world are either leaving or talking about leaving the Commonwealth. Outside the UK (especially in America) there's a lot of criticism a general perception that the BRF has a problem with racism. If you think "Being a Nazi collaborator or accused rapist with ties to paedophilia doesn't get you stripped of your titles, but marrying a black woman and leaving to ensure her safety does" wouldn't be a worldwide scandal, and wouldn't increase the perception of the BRF being racist, you're wrong.

Second, the royal family do not want them to lose their titles. They have an agenda and investment in them keeping their titles. Why? Because no child of a monarch has ever been stripped of a Prince/Princess title before in modern history, and doing so now would create a dangerous precedent that could end up being used to hurt Charlotte and Louis, or any of Will and Kate's future grandchildren. Will and Kate absolutely don't want to create a situation where if one of their kids goes through a sticky patch or struggles to find paid employment, or is perceived as a freeloader (and the media WILL be all guns blazing against the spares), the public's response is "well just strip them of their Prince/Princess title, you just did it to Harry."

If Harry and Meghan gave up their titles voluntarily it would be perceived as H&M snubbing and rejecting the RF's magnamity (which would be framed as, aren't the RF marvellous and gracious for letting those ingrates keep their titles after all the horrible things they've said, and those wicked people are throwing their generous offer back in their faces). They'd be accused of hypocrisy after what they said about not denying their children their birthright. There'd be no benefit.

Even if you strip the title of Prince from Harry, he'll always be the King's son, and the world will always call him Prince Harry the way the world always called Diana "Princess Diana" when she never held or was entitled to hold that title. So the BRF would be causing a lot of fuss and scandal for no reason.

If the BRF didn't want Harry and Meghan to continue to have titles, they wouldn't have them.

No, of course not. How would he have got all those backhanders and dodgy money from ME oligarchs and arms dealers.

It was no hard life for him. He did what he wanted on the taxpayer ticket.

Are we still talking about Haz?

Yeh, but they could just choose to never use them or to use them for thier children.

But they haven't.

But - the point is to to raise the profile of the people who are trying, in various ways, to improve internet experience for young people.

They have achieved that!

I had not heard of any of them before - now I have. As a mother of tweens it is something I am very interested in.

You said this "His disgraced Uncle never complained about hard life being a royal is" and I answered you.

Nice try though!

Harry has never been accused of dodgy deals with Middle Easter Oligarchs and arms dealers.
Unlike his Uncle.

@pinkgraffitirat Brilliant post. You've summed it up so well.

You can say Exactly the same about the Royal family's entire business model. They've somehow appointed themselves at the top of the tree and the plebs down below are supposed to be grateful for a bit a acknowledgment or the odd medal.