Omid Scobie Endgame PART 4

[Mymilkshakebringsallthepapstomycar]

Continuing an enjoyable and civilised discussion of Endgame, and all things relating to its contents.

Previous thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/4954329-omid-scobie-endgame-part-3?page=1

I suspect the case will go quietly away now. It will be very easy to prove harry didn’t make the government an offer to pay before starting proceedings.

the High Court said in its decision today held that the Mail has a real prospect of demonstrating that Prince Harry had issued a misleading description of the issues in his claim against the Home Office

Harry giving a misleading description? You don't say ...

If Covid hadn't happened their basic lack of talent might have been exposed earlier. How many times could Harry do after dinner speeches about his trauma? Americans like inspirational stories and Harry's actually isn't.

I agree that if Covid hadn’t happened, we would have seen more interviews and publicity stunts in that time. Thinking back to when they became more visible, how did Harry not see that photoshoots in a cemetery for Remembrance Sunday was a terrible look?

I don't think Meghan understood what that would entail in the new royal life. It didn't go well but I don't think she meant it ill when she said it. It sounded good at the time, as did my resolve to be gone to town by 1130 today. FORCED to be late by Mumsnet.

Hold on to this prophecy and see what circumstances are in 12 months time.

Just read this, not a great judgment for Harry he may have been better not trying to block the defence and gone straight to trial. This seems to make the Mail's case for them. I wonder if the judge is offering a view to encourage either settlement or for Harry to drop the case completely.

Hold on to this prophecy and see how it seems in 12 months time.

That element is already proven - the timeline was publicly disclosed in the preliminary hearings of Harry’s claim against the Home Office.

Meghan struck me as like a new employee to a company whos super eager but never worked in the industry and day one is telling you how to run your company better.
Thats not saying that a fresh pair of eyes can't suggest better ways to do things but I think unless you understand why over years we've done X, you shouldn't presume Y is the better way without wondering why we couldn't have come up with it or if we've already tried it.

I think her heart was in the right place but I think she also thought she knew better than everyone else

I've been FORCED to stay in bed by Mumsnet. Bloody Mumsnet.

(tbf I am ill as well, but that's not the point. I need someone else to blame).

Meghan struck me as like a new employee to a company whos super eager but never worked in the industry and day one is telling you how to run your company better

New manager just as I was leaving exjob was like that. Literally been there a couple of weeks and reorganising my job with the newbiw and telling the head of sales to sue a customer they'd spent months wooing because customer was a bit late paying.

She lasted eight months.

this is the one trial I’d like to see (read about) in court. When it’s against the media I’m on Harry’s or anyone opposing them side. But this one would have to include Scobie especially as he’s even got his own mention in the judgement. The question and objections would be wonderful.

t was widely understood that the Queen was in favour of that (having very much enjoyed her 'pressure off' time in Malta) and of course the then Cambridges did that in their Anglesey years - where William was working in helicopter rescue, not anything commercial.

The Queen was so wise wasn't she? She could clearly see that Meghan was going to struggle to adapt to a) the strictures of royal life and b) the tediousness of being a FT working royal after being an independent working woman until well in her 30s. She gave them an out right from the start. But they turned down this clearly wise and well-considered offer. More fool them. They should've accepted, eased Meghan into royal life, not 'hit the ground running'. They should've taken their time, like William and Kate did.

Their problem is they lack patience. They wanted to build a brand as global iconic stars (like Diana) but they wanted it 'right now'. They were not prepared to put in the long years of ground work that achieving a lasting, credible and respected 'brand' always takes. Like the Obamas, like Oprah - they have the global status they have because they built it over many years of solid grind.

There are no short cuts to this as they are finding out now. I would argue that William and Kate are still in this process of building the brand, it is only in recent years that they are achieving global credibility and recognition as a couple.

But that’s what harry was telling her, he said it in their Netflix docu thing, that she was going to throw out all the old ways and show them how to have a new modern monarchy. The pair of them genuinely seemed to believe this . He was proper besotted and she lapped it up and believed it. It was the gig of a lifetime.

I remember watching him , incredulous, on what planet was a low level American actress about to come in and tell the queen how to run the monarchy. So the queen telling her she could continue to act, was never going to be something Megan thanked her for. They both thought she was going to be the star of the show.

prob why they think everyone was jealous of Megan, as they didn’t permit that, they don’t seem to grasp it is because Megan had neither the position, the experience or the ability to do that.

the queen ran it, with a single handed determination, followed by Charles and then William, and a boat load of senior and very experienced advisors and courtiers. Harrys wife not being allowed to step in and take over was not personal. He could have married Deborah Meadon and they’d still have told him to jog back to his place in line.

They've already tried something v similar to that!

They said that the Palace wanted to vet Suits scripts and that made her continuing untenable - something which can come across as the Palace's actions forcing her out of the role.

Shame that producer Aaron Kosch told the BBC (on the R4 Today programme) in November 2017 that the decision to write out the character of Rachel Zane was taken about a year before that, so right back at the very time they started dating (they met for the first time on a blind date in July 2016).

I really don't think the Palace would have made any interventions whatsoever that early in a relationship.

@GreatCaribouMigration and that was the problem with the brief time M had in the RF. She didn't have the patience to learn about how it all works and find her place in the institution. Look at all the other senior royal women. They took their time to carve their roles. Princess Anne says she didn't say a word for ten years in Save the Children meetings. She sat and listened. M thought she knew better than everyone. She even came back to quickly after having Archie IMHO.
Anyway it's water under the bridge now. The real issue is what happens next. They have not been a success in California and no one will be offering them any more multi million dollar deals. How will they fund their lifestyle? I'd imagine their large egos are bruised too.

But that’s what harry was telling her, he said it in their Netflix docu thing, that she was going to throw out all the old ways and show them how to have a new modern monarchy. The pair of them genuinely seemed to believe this

How could they both have genuinely believed this?

Harry might have said it to impress her but he has no say in anything does he?

Why would she believe him?

That she might be able to take on what charities/patronages she wanted I could understand her believing although even that wouldn't be true would it?

This is galling for Harry and his team, if they choose to read what's said rather than what they want to believe. In this judgement Harry is being called a hypocrite, a liar, and guilty of spinning.

This claim was about something like this:

Harry: I'm going to sue the Home Office for removing my security

Home Office: OK

Harry: I've lodged my claim, see you in court

Daily Mail: Harry is suing the Home Office for taking away his taxpayer funded security! He wants YOU to pay for HIM!

Harry: ahem, of course, if the HO refuses to provide me with security, I'll offer to pay for it myself, I don't want to burden the taxpayer

Home Office: our policing services are not for sale

Daily Mail: Harry wants YOU, the taxpayer, to pay for him and Meghan to have armed security when they come to visit the UK even though they're no longer working members of the RF!

Harry: YOU LIE! I didn't expect the taxpayer to pay, I offered to pay out of my own pocket

Daily Mail: um, no, you only did that when it looked like the HO was going to defend the judicial review of their decision

Harry: YOU LIE! You're libelling me, you're painting an incorrect factual picture of what happened, you're making me look money-grabbing and like I'm spongeing. I'm going to sue you for libel, for maligning and besmirching my character by printing that I only offered to pay after I first asked the taxpayer to pay

Daily Mail: um, OK, go ahead

Harry: in fact, I'm going to stop you from even defending yourself against libeling me. I'm going to have your defence struck out. You're lies were so brazen that they're indefensible!

Daily Mail: um, OK, go ahead

Judge: I'm not striking out DM's defence, and in fact if this went to trial I reckon DM will win because the facts show that the timeline was as the DM said and actually it was Harry - who, ironically, preaches about misinformation - who tried to spin things (ie, lie) such that he came out looking like he wanted to spare the taxpayer.

[Daily Mail: oddly, crickets...]

For Harry to actually bring a claim trying to deny the DM's defence, in other words, for Harry to stop DM using the provable facts and instead only print what he wanted them to print - nay, for him to SUE IN ORDER TO HAVE DM BROUGHT TO HEEL FOR NOT PRINTING WHAT HE WANTED THEM TO PRINT RATHER THAN PROVABLE FACTS....well, that tells you everything you need to know about (1) Harry (2) the relationship between the RF and the press that Harry is used to and that Charles, William etc still benefit from today (3) how Harry and undoubtedly his wife use the press today (4) how little we should believe of anything that's printed.

Never would I defend the DM as bastions of truthful reporting, but in this case of tittle tattle, I have to say they come out as irritated by Harry buzzing around like an annoying fly. This is beyond embarrassing for Harry.

Harry might have said it to impress her but he has no say in anything does he? Why would she believe him?

Because she didn't know any better. All she knew was that she was marrying the grandson of the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And that prince, who she got to know in Canada, far away from the RF and all the people who's job it was to keep Harry in his box, clearly told her that as his future wife she could have whatever she wanted. Remember the hoo-ha over the tiara ("Whatever Meghan wants, Meghan gets!"). I mean, who could forget that? So jumped up and ludicrous, when he was speaking to the Queen's dresser, who ran everything by the Queen and was the gatekeeper of the Queen's things. But Harry actually came out with that shit, when he clearly knew that Meghan couldn't have whatever she wanted. But he wanted to impress her and for her to think that marrying him gave her the keys to the castles and all the jewels.

But he wanted to impress her and for her to think that marrying him gave her the keys to the castles and all the jewels.

That's quite sad really isn't it?

This quote from Anne in a Vanity Fair interview in 2020 was quite pointed I thought;

She told the magazine that her advice to other members of the family is simple: “Don’t forget the basics”.
And Princess Anne cautioned: “I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it?
"You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, ‘Oh, you did that?’ Or, ‘You went there?’ Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, ‘Oh let’s do it a new way.’
"And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that. Some of these things don’t work.”

Their problem is they lack patience. They wanted to build a brand as global iconic stars (like Diana) but they wanted it 'right now'. They were not prepared to put in the long years of ground work that achieving a lasting, credible and respected 'brand' always takes.

Absolutely. It’s like they’ve forgotten that Diana’s most important work was after her divorce and she’d built fans from the “little” events that she had done over the years.

In Meghan’s case I agree that it came from a good place. She’s probably aware of the Duchess Dolittle name assigned to Kate and thought that being seen here, there and everywhere would mean that she would become an overnight superstar.

When you’re a Hollywood star, you can tell your assistant to do something and they rush off to do it but I imagine that the Palace runs very slowly in comparison. Announcements and events have to be planned in advance, be signed off by multiple people, checked against what the more senior members of the family are doing … Plus there’s the dreaded Protocol. Harry and Meghan clearly struggle with being told no and I suspect that protocol is the often the reason why they were told no to ideas.

I suspect that Meghan is full of ideas and thought that being married Harry would mean having the money and fame to make those ideas happen but being a Royal means taking orders from above and probably only getting opportunities that William and Catherine don’t want for themselves.

Thanks for the summary @Raincloudsonasunnyday ,
Not looking good for Harry is it?