Harry & Meghan change their surname

[Gottseidank]

… from Mountbatten-Windsor to ‘Sussex’.
Apparently it’s to strengthen their brand.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prince-harry-meghan-sussex-archie-lilibet-children-name-royal-title-cnvf7d9jf

As far as I’ve read he’s expected to allow her to do it, but hasn’t yet.

I just don’t get what they’re doing right now in Whistler. There’s barely any promotion of the games involved, and hardly any competitors. It just seems like a very long photo shoot and an interview. Why is Meghan there at all? I suppose you could say that about Kate going to things where William is the main patron….but then you wouldn’t get the shots of Kate smiling directly into the camera, crouching on the ground chatting to a vet but facing the camera ensuring with gesticulations and positioning that her new engagement ring (it is indeed a new and bigger stone fgs!) is on prominent display for photographers. What are they actually doing? Would any other American celebrity couple get this much attention for doing so little? It’s entirely manufactured, and entirely about them.

I just don’t get what they’re doing right now in Whistler. There’s barely any promotion of the games involved, and hardly any competitors.

The Games aren’t currently taking place in Whistler - they are there to mark the fact that it’s one year to go until they do kick off.

@YetMoreNewBeginnings thank you. Very interesting.

And this is also odd. Is that news? Does that warrant attention, even in the world of sport? There’s no “one year to go” media splash for the Olympics or the World Cup or whatever else, presumably because they’re such big events they don’t need any introduction. Maybe that’s what it is: the Invictus Games aren’t significant enough to the general public, so they need all the publicity they can get. Not sure all publicity is good publicity though. This publicity doesn’t seem to be especially informative, the only new things I know are that there will be winter games and those games involve sitting skiing and bobsledding (which the patron’s wife finds so funny she actually took a photo to show her children).

Good points @Iwasafool . But with some fervent Supporters if you aren’t 100% with them then you’re against them.

I've just looked on Zara Tindal's website. No coat of arms or coronet in sight. Most likely because she mentions her sponsors. Hence won't do both.

Thank you for explaining this so well

Maybe that’s what it is: the Invictus Games aren’t significant enough to the general public, so they need all the publicity they can get

Big sporting events are struggling at the minute - the common wealth games which is well established and is well know in countries that compete is struggling for hosts - and Birmingham have said it was a mistake to host it as it contributed to their financial woes.

The Olympics is this year - which the big one - so maybe there concerns about getting enough spectators to Invictus so start early with PR blitz and hope that helps.

It's a bit like 'having a go' in a wheelchair... would that be OK in the context of a sporting event? Personally I'd find it a bit tasteless, a wheelchair isn't toy

I think it's all about self promotion to be frank, pretty lame after the release of the shiny new website where they gloat about being environmentalists on yet ANOTHER private jet - I just hope they're not charging their massive
Expenses to Invictus

I think she'd have been blinded by the whole queen/princess thing, sparkles, easy luxurious life without realising it's a job and you have to work for it - plus she'd have been really pissed off with the hierarchy,
Standing at the back etc ... she's done that already on Suits where she wasn't queen bee on that 🤭

good grief now meghan is being berated for laughing.

If someone laughed at you if (for example) you got knocked over by a bike on the pavement and you ended up sprawled on the ground with your skirt over your head and your knickers on show - wouldn't you berate them for that?

You have to be on something to think there aren't circumstances where laughing can be disrespectful, rude, inappropriate. This is the third instance that springs to my mind with Meghan: first was when she was on the balcony at BP and a horseman fell off his horse. Harry looked horrified, she sniggered behind her hand. Second was at some hockey match in Canada last year where the national anthem was sung by a young autistic girl. Harry stood respectfully and listened to the anthem, Meghan semi-snorted and tried to catch his eye to share the joke until she realised she was being rude and stopped.

Do you think it's off to "berate" someone for this behaviour? Or would you rather just have a go at people telling things as they see them wrt Meghan Markle, for whatever reason?

Meghan laughing at Harry in that situation as very similar, it is not very diplomatic. I do think it is different to laughing when you are doing something which may be exhilarating and fun to do.

I disagree - Meghan was laughing and smiling with her husband, his aide and the man who she took a picture for. There are other people on that slope with Meghan who were smiling and laughing too but I understand some here are keen to see her in isolation from everyone else in that moment. I don’t. Regardless. I take the point that there should be no laughing or smiling in the presence of the veterans or athletes- especially by Meghan.

Meghan laughed in the moment, not with hindsight, and yes when my brother went from wheelchair to mobility scooter (years ago) everyone had a laugh and a joke trying it out. I do think Meghan has a laugh that has caught her out but it seems more of an uncomfortable laugh. I think this is harsh on her

@Raincloudsonasunnyday ahh those things were not mentioned in your post.
so bit of a drip feed. some people laugh when nervous. I had a friend who lol at a funeral,

@Vespanest you should have seen up when we had a hoist out in.

It's most weird. The vets were smiling, laughing, talking and even shouting out! Everyone was having a good time. Yet it's all dragged down to a horrible level... shock horror Meghan was smiling or laughing. How dare she.
Definitely not allowed for either of them to look happy or enjoying themselves. They should've been there with faces as long as anything, looking like they didn't want to be there and hating every minute.

For all those posters questioning why they were there, why is there 'a year before' Invictus meet up... get a grip!
It was a training camp so that the Vets could practice for when the adaptive Games actually happen. Do you think they could just turn up and be good at any sport? A lot of them will never have partaken of their chosen sport before, they need to practice.

Very wrong to suggest it shouldn't be happening.

Perhaps she should aspire to be more like Camilla , our Queen, who spent her time shagging a married man behind her husbands back or perhaps be more like Charles who was shagging a married woman behind his wife's back oh and also wanting to be her tampax

As I found out the hard way on a different thread, many posters haven't a clue about Invictus, except when Harry's there.

On the laughing, I think there's a difference between the veterans laughing (and someone else joining in clearly enjoying himself) and a person with the camera - an onlooker at that moment not a participant - laughing. It's the difference between laughing with a group you're a member of; and laughing at the group you're observing.

Not a big deal? Well, I suppose that could be said of any individual micro-aggression. And of course not everyone agrees on what constitutes a micro-aggression, but I don't think the lack of on-the-spot challenge is necessarily telling

On the laughing, I think there's a difference between the veterans laughing (and someone else joining in clearly enjoying himself) and a person with the camera - an onlooker at that moment not a participant - laughing. It's the difference between laughing with a group you're a member of; and laughing at the group you're observing.

Absolutely agree. No one on that slope who was observing the veterans and athletes should have been laughing.

Personally I think there's too much laughing going on altogether. I've seen some of it today. Not on.

Not a big deal? Well, I suppose that could be said of any individual micro-aggression. And of course not everyone agrees on what constitutes a micro-aggression, but I don't think the lack of on-the-spot challenge is necessarily telling

And no doubt if they had expressed discomfort they would have been told not to take themselves so seriously, it was just a bit of a laugh etc. Like Harry's funny names for his army colleague (P**i) who also found it all just a laugh 🤔

(it's a drip feed because those things are derangers conspiracy theories).