Omid Scobie Endgame PART 3

[Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstotheyard]

La Pom Pom Girl is doing the Double Dutch. But who is turning the skipping ropes? Part three/trois/drie of the continuing discussion of Endgame by Omid Scobie. Previous thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/4951834-omid-scobies-new-book-part-2

Oprah had MM's number for the very beginning. She will have met hundreds and hundreds of wannabe pretty HW aspiring actresses along the way. She didn't get to be billionaire Oprah without knowing how to 'manage' people like Meghan Markle - in her world, she's small fry. That interview was designed by Oprah to let the couple show the world who they are. H&M thought they were showing themselves to be horribly wronged victims who deserve the world's sympathy. Oprah KNEW they were showing themselves up to be what we're seeing them for now.

If H&M are as they are in public now (post Spare, Netflix etc), imagine what they're like in private. Oprah would have spotted it at 20 paces. She used them, letting H&M think they were deigning to allow her to use them. She got the world-exclusive interview with a renegade British royal, which she's been after since Diana.

I agree with you @Raincloudsonasunnyday, although I do think that Meghan is ruthlessly ambitious and that she had a bigger plan once Harry fell into her lap (and I bet she couldn't believe her luck when he did). As Valentine Low said (and is quoted up-thread), about M&H's plan being different to the one everyone thought.

I think it must be really tough if you've been hustling and trying to rise through the ranks of whatever industry, to get a new job and be told you can never advance further than your entry position and will likely slide back in importance over the years.

Personally you could not pay me enough to be a member of the Royal Family, I would hate to be so scrutinised and also to have to do all the boring stuff they do while appearing interested and perfectly polished.

Apologies to our American friends on the board but I think some of it is being American in that Americans unless they're really into the royal family probably only see pictures and videos of the glamorous stuff like movie premieres, state visits, etc rather than Princess Anne visiting and old folks home and then opening a garden centre.

Also an industry where advancement is very much based on appealing to the public, not doing a good job quietly!

But in addition to the 'boring stuff', which isn't boring for the people you are meeting, you get to hang out with heads of state, have the best tickets at top sports events, travel the world, be completely free of financial worries and have a unique platform to promote cause you believe in.

And maybe Meghan and Harry couldn't 'advance' in terms of their ranking, but that doesn't mean they couldn't carve out a niche for themselves, like Anne has done. Personally, I think they had the better deal. They would have a few years of being the glamorous, relatively young couple, and then, as the Wales children grow up, would no longer be the centre of attention but would have a lot more flexibility and freedom, whether to focus on causes they cared about, or even drop out of public life completely. Not too shabby, even if you do have to do 'boring stuff' every now and then.

I do wonder in Harry’s attempt to protect Meghan what would happen to him should anything happen to Kate. The internet will not disappear and I don’t care how stoic she is the abuse is another level. The images, the nicknames and the rhetoric. With the arguments of briefings and not protecting them against the media, Kate doesn’t seem to have direct links to the more racist abuse Meghan got. Even the who made who cry was all abit pathetic. Even “if” they didn’t leak the letter or inform Scobie they still started this ball rolling. Scobie talked about death threats, I could imagine these are nothing compared to what Kate is receiving. We know Harry covers his social media, how does he look at Kate photoshopped as the Ku Klux Klan by posters with his and meghans profile picture and not understand that this is from him. They are doing this for him and Meghan.

I think she had done her research, but in an assumptive way. I still remember seeing this photo in 2016, and thinking "why's she wearing wellies to walk round Kensington" then I realised it was because she thought British people wear wellies and Barbour coats the whole time.

I always thought that Meghan was jealous of Harry's relationship with Kate, which is why the "fall out" happened.

It's well documented that Kate and Harry had a sibling like relationship, the kind of bond you can't fake or buy, prior to Meghan coming along.

I often think that's why Harry is doubling down now too. He's lost his most valuable relationships due to Meghan so he has to make sure his marriage works; it's all he has left.

Just out of out of interest @cheezncrackers and @AliceOlive how has the book gone down in USA?

I live in the UK, so I couldn't say.

I think Harry was hooked for Meghan by the Soho House set. The details of how they met are - as usual - a bit vague. Probably being in the rf was seen as a giant merching venture. It all started to go a bit wrong when she was told off for wearing “advertising” things and keeping freebies - maybe at first she didn’t realise this. But apparently the “men in grey” went berserk about the baby shower and the brands on show.

Personally, I think they had the better deal. They would have a few years of being the glamorous, relatively young couple, and then, as the Wales children grow up, would no longer be the centre of attention but would have a lot more flexibility and freedom, whether to focus on causes they cared about, or even drop out of public life completely. Not too shabby, even if you do have to do 'boring stuff' every now and then.

In Spare Harry was very affronted when it was suggested that Meghan continue acting and not be a full time Royal. I think that would have been the best situation for her, she wouldn't even have had to stay acting, I'm sure she could have done another job that interested her. They could have gone to the premieres and state dinners and other similar events and she could have kept her independence.
She could literally have been as in or out as wanted

That picture is really funny @Charlingspont. Look how shiny they are!

Yes, it was odd choosing to be working royals. They could have had much of their 'half-in, half-out' if they had chosen differently. I suspect they could have had much of it if they had quietly raised the subject and negotiated a change having found that it wasn't working for them.

Also i would imagine some film companies would have been falling over themselves to put an actual member of the BRF into their movie. Could have been the best thing ever for her career.

That's a really interesting point @miri1985

.....glamorous stuff like movie premieres, state visits, etc rather than Princess Anne visiting and old folks home and then opening a garden centre.

Anne does the state banquets and the unglamorous stuff, but she has a whole other life away from royal duties. She has her own longstanding patronages. She had her successful equestrian career, she has Gatcombe, which she is by all accounts very much involved in managing, she and Tim have their joint interests which they pursue together, and she has her children and grandchildren.

I think for a member of the RF out of the direct line of succession, life can be very much what you make it, with the added advantage of wealth and being able to pick up the phone and consult the top people in whatever field you're interested in.

I still remember seeing this photo in 2016, and thinking "why's she wearing wellies to walk round Kensington" then I realised it was because she thought British people wear wellies and Barbour coats the whole time.

But a few minutes' observation would have told her this isn't the case!

Was that photo taken on the day staff at the DM office noticed her walking up and down the street ? She then went to the public entrance to Kensington Palace rather than the discreet private one ?

A mantra on Mumsnet is "If someone shows you who they are, believe them...."
Meghan did and I do.
Imho she is a beautiful, self serving hypocrite.

It was in the Daily Mail yes, but don't know the circumstances - I just always remembered the wellies!

Meghan's trouble is that she thinks she knows best about everything even things she knows nothing about.

Didn't Princess Anne once comment that the duchess had a great deal to say on a great many subjects?

In all this time it's never been explained why they'd even want half in/half out considering Meghan was alllegedly nearly driven to suicide, but yes - a lot can be achieved by doing things quietly and taking your time

However my own view (and of course it is just a view) is that Harry was an opportunity and that his new wife never intended to stay in the UK, which if true would explain why there'd be little point in wasting time and effort on the institution

IcedPurple the problem with Meghan was she rushing towards 40 and middleagehood, she hadn't made it in Hollywood (and was never going to) but was so cocksure of herself and no doubt truly believed that if she bagged Harry she would be the shining star of the British Royal Family. When she realised she could never be number 1 ( or 2,3,4,or 5) She threw a hissy fit and ran away dragging her Hapless lapdog with her.
Meghan has to be the top of the show or she won't play ball.

I can imagine Princess Anne saying that. She's my favourite royal.

Possibly, and possibly she and Harry created a fantasy about their joint lives as adored working royals.

The reality fell short, and rather than realising that their expectations were based on Hollywood fantasy, they started getting paranoid and believing that they were being undermined by shadowy enemies. And that half Harry's family were consumed by jealousy and out to get them.