Petty squabbles aired

[cocolocopocos]

A place to discuss the way that petty private squabbles are aired via the media.

As an opening gambit:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12831097/Prince-Harry-Hugh-Grosvenor-wedding-snub.html

If the Duke of Westminster really was magnanimous enough to invite H&M - despite everything that has happened - and Harry really did decide to decline to avoid causing any drama - surely 'sources close to the Duke of Westminster' could have told the Times or similar that Harry was indeed invited, but declined. There's no way he would want people to think he snubbed Harry if he hadn't.

The fact that Sussex sources said this to the US tabloid Page 6 indicates that they are worried about the damage to their reputations in the US.

There’s only one side airing their petty squabbles.

No-one is listening though.

Waaaaaah!!

Well someone leaked the fact that they weren't invited - I wonder who?

It seemed enough to rouse them from their silence to Endgame

To be completely fair, I'm not sure why anybody needed to know who has, or has not, been invited to a wedding being held next year. The wedding itself would have told the story at the time.

I’m inclined to believe that this was settled by telephone call and a constructive chat rather than an outright snub.

‘Mate, we’d love you to come … but…’

’i know, Mate. We’d love to come …. But…’

I'm feeling sorry for the Waleses right now - all this just before Christmas when they have small children. I have a family member who has to create issue for every Christmas or main event and its exhausting and stressful - let alone doing it in the public eye. They need to shut up now.

Likely so, but why are they so worried about people they don't know thinking they were snubbed?

They are so fragile

When the story first came out the Duke of Westminster’s office issued a statement (unusually - he’s not exactly a public figure). The statements was:

“We are not in a position to comment on the guest list.”

That’s obviously a “no comment” response. Interestingly though, it’s a no comment that focuses on the guest list - i.e. who is or is not invited.

If Harry had already been on the guest list and declined when he received a “Save the Date” notice, as he now claims, the Duke’s statement is a little odd. He would have been able to say that he is not in a position to comment on who is attending the wedding. But he didn’t - the statement is all about who is on the guest list.

He also could quite easily have contacted Harry and said “happy to clarify that you’ve already sent your apologies” - which he could have done, since they are apparently close. He clearly didn’t do that either.

As I said, interesting. I have heard it said that the art of crafting a “no comment” statement which doesn’t give too much away is one of the hardest things to do in PR. This one is perhaps an example of this!

And as someone pointed out in the other thread, just a couple of weeks ago they were angling for an invite to Balmoral or Christmas at Sandringham - so why would a wedding next year suddenly be too awkward to contemplate?

I do honestly think that their presence would have turned a newsworthy event into a circus, and I wouldn’t want to do that to a friend

also, given both Archie and George are godsons of HW, they would almost certainly be asked to act as page boys. Possibly the two girls as bridesmaids also. Kate and Meghan would have had to collaborate over their outfits …. a bridge too far 🤣🤣

H&M seem to be trying to save face. It seems a shame that in the public eye they are underminding such a close friend. The narrative always seems to be rewritten into 'their truth'

How do you know they were angling for an invitation?

How do you know they were angling for an invitation?

It was reported by Roya Nikkah in the Times (not a tabloid). She reported that “Friends of the Sussexes say they want to change the state of play, and would readily accept an invitation to Christmas at Sandringham, the King’s Norfolk home, or a summer stay at Balmoral, Scotland, where members of the royal family come and go in privacy and can easily avoid each other.”

(Roya is the reporter who just this week had the story that Meghan and Harry were not on the guest list for the Duke of Westminster’s wedding which the couple have also commented on now, which confirms she has good sources. And a “Friend of the Sussexes” could well be the couple themselves).

If it wasn’t true , I’m sure that “ sources” would let it be known that H and M want a quiet Christmas at home with their DC.

So she's a Royal gossip columinst. Why would they want to go to Balmoral with like of Prince Andrew when they could have Christmas in California with Grandma Doria?

The fact that Sussex sources said this to the US tabloid Page 6 indicates that they are worried about the damage to their reputations in the US

Hang on - don't people insist there are no tabloids in the US?

Why would they want to go to Balmoral

It sounds like they really need that personal proximity to the RF now, both for rehabilitating their reputation and for the caché of being in the RF inner circle and the opportunities that will bring.

How does being in close proximity to The Royal Family rehabilitate a.reputation ? Has it helped Andrew. The people that don't like Meghan aren't going to change their minds and I think she knows that.

The people that don't like Meghan aren't going to change their minds and I think she knows that.

I don't think either of them understands that which is why they keep answering back to these petty stories in the media. They think if they keep whining, people will suddenly see what victims they are and feel sorry for them. It's toddler-level logic.

How do you know how she feels?

Which petty stories are you talking ?

I don't feel sorry for them because of anything they've said. I feel from what I see written about them. Having Archie compared to a chimpanzee for a starters

The photo of Archie was a horrible thing done by an unpleasant person . It was swiftly dealt with and I doubt if anyone found it anything other than despicable.

I wouldn't have thought it was about rehabilitating a reputation in terms of the UK.

It would be more about reinforcing their USP in USA, because without that, I think they might struggle to secure projects. They were hit by bad luck several times, most notably the start of the pandemic which must have meant they could not arrive and make their presence felt, and with that momentum lost, I think it has been hard to build back.

I don't know how long it would take to make either Miss Havisham or Meet Me By The Lake, but if they don't get more of a body of work behind them, then it'll dry up, leaving them with only royal connections to stand out amongst the crowd of other mid-ranking programme makers.

interesting that the RF have not made any statement about the racism stuff. yet H&M are berated for not speaking out.
I suppose its hard to prove that you did or didn't say it, if the only 2 people who know, would have to say"it was me"

What's interesting about it? Please explain

The made one statement ages ago, that the matter was serious and would be dealt with by the family in private. And they've stuck to that.

H&M may or may not have done - they're in a bit of a bind, because people don't necessarily believe them, and so assume that they did work with Scobie.

There are quite a few areas surrounding all this that I think would benefit from greater clarity, which can only come from the Sussex side. But if they are disinclined to make clarifications, then that's that.