The Princess of Wales..

[CurlewKate]

I just wanted to share some thoughts I've had since talking to some RL friends last night. I'm a Republican, and didn't actually post much on any of the threads on here. But I did read them, laugh at the ones I found funny and speculated a little IRL. I enjoy robust mental health, but I feel a little sad and down today about the news. And a little guilty. It occurs to me that it might be a real source of distress to some other people. Not the big media ghouls, of course, they have no shame and will just move on to the next thing without looking back, but for those of us who bought in to the whole farrago and maybe posted things we now wish we hadn't. So remember, the media often manipulates us, the establishment often lies to us and it's actually a good thing not to immediately take what we're told at face value. Don't beat yourself up and find someone to talk to if you feel really bad about it. Take care of yourselves.

Maybe when it calms down.

Oh please....

"To the people who don't like Britain and its institutions it's taking a few bricks out of the wall. It doesn't collapse immediately, but it weakens it. And a lot of people on here, knowingly or not, took part in that. "

I agree with this. Destructive and worrying as to what they are trying to lead us into

Absolutely agree. How awful that the one thing the brothers were trying to avoid ultimately made people hound Kate and Meghan more and turned into the circus their mother had to endure 🤷‍♀️

I think since the start of this there has been quite a large group of people who grasped fine that Kate was probably actually quite unwell but didn't let it stop them fuelling the most dreadful rumours about both her and William. They didn't care a jot about her health, just saw an excuse to drop poison about (entirely unsubstantiated) secret children/weird sexual practices/domestic violence/affairs/mental health issues/entitled idleness and faking being ill/secret ambulance convoys that never happened/eating disorders/plastic surgery/you name it.

All that is from here in the past few weeks and it has been shameful. All the minimisation, whataboutery and faux concern in the world won't change that and as I said elsewhere, if anyone doesn't believe what me and others are saying, there's always AS.

No @CurlewKate - I strongly disagree with you. Take some accountability and hang your head in shame if you posted stuff you are now embarrassed about - own it! In fact, it is now historically relevant like the Covid thread so I doubt MN are going to take it down at this point. Many of us saw how toxic it was and what a bad rep it was giving this site, but now it is social media “history”.

You can’t blame everything on the media or Government/establishment, it is exactly why this country is going so horribly wrong at the moment. Many people voted for Brexit, voted the Tories in for years etc and buy the nonsense that is posted about the RF and spread rumours. It is why the RF keep being harassed because it all fetches such a high price.

The general public and widespread stupidity/envy mixed with adoration is absolutely to blame. I think it is democratically significant to own that.

Now spare a thought for the Prince of Wales whose father is ill, brother is difficult, love of his life is ill and probably massively triggered because he lost his own mother young. And has to put on a brave face and keep going.

The RF and it’s relationship with the media and the general public is an interesting issue.

I’m in general terms republican leaning, although I find the RF mildly interesting. The key problem is in order continue existing as heads of state and receive extensive public funding the RF need to be seen as accessible and interesting both by the media and the UK public, and has to continually adapt to the needs of modern society and its media.

Unfortunately the most vocal supporters of the RF, tend to have elements who are unhealthily obsessive, and require constant feeding by the media, who also reap the benefit of this insatiable interest. It’s an unhealthy co-dependent 3-way relationship which regularly reaches a dangerous point whenever there is an uncontrolled event or crisis. The relationship is often at its most dangerous when there is a vacuum caused by a lack of information, or when information is obviously manipulated.

Obviously the general public is not all the same - some put various members of the RF on unrealistic pedestals and can became angry when their fantasy is disrupted , others just enjoy the gossip and intrigue and love the drama of it all. Others have their own agenda and use any crisis to their own ends. This is particularly visible when the RF’s desire for privacy is trumped by the public’s ‘need’ to know everything

I don’t know what the answer is, however I personally think people who are overly invested in the RF need to be much more aware of the key role they play in causing many of the issues and stop throwing the blame back at others.

For example was it right the young princes felt obliged to walk behind their mother’s coffin, or view the flowers outside Buckingham Palace in order to placate public demand? Should Diana and Charles marriage break-up have been so exposed in the public domain? Why did Harry & Meghan feel the need to run away from the UK? Did we all really need to know the details behind Kate’s health issues? Who forced the publication of Kate’s ill-conceived Mother’s Day photo, which I think was due public demand for new information because of all the wild rumours.

I think we would all benefit from a more balanced approach to the RF.

I would agree with all of this, @SomethingUniqueThisTime - apart from the fact that Harry and Meghan didn't "run away". They wanted to very much remain royal, but live in the USA and make their own money. Their choice.

@Araminta1003 "Take some accountability and hang your head in shame if you posted stuff you are now embarrassed about "

I didn't.

So you're feeling guilty, but not embarrassed? 🤔

I don’t know why they made the decisions they did, but I do think the reasons behind the need to leave were in no small part because of the media and public’s obsessive interest in the relationship of the 2 brothers and their spouses.
The whole Kate good, Meghan bad or vice versa is unhealthy and very polarised - almost like people choosing their own pantomime villain or which football club to support.

but for those of us who bought in to the whole farrago and maybe posted things we now wish we hadn't. So remember, the media often manipulates us, the establishment often lies to us and it's actually a good thing not to immediately take what we're told at face value.

Why the royal ‘us’ then? I think that is what is muddying the waters.

Most people employed critical thinking and saw those posting the nastier rumours as not being manipulated by the press but just being plain nasty.

I took that as what it was at face value. It was as plain as eggs.

Exactly, @ArcaneWireless . Some of us managed not to post nasty vile rumours and vilification. Funny that!

Then why start a big “be kind to yourself if you were a twat” thread?

The media interest and all the rumours would not exist if people were not over-invested in RF.
We all need to accept some collective responsibility.

Well that's cut right through the nonsense 😂👏

No "we" don't, thank you.

Many of "we" were happy with the Palace's statement that the PoW had undergone abdominal surgery and would take a while to recover.

You speak for yourself, thanks, not for us.

Some of the posts on here & elsewhere over the past few weeks have been truly appalling. But it was the underlying attitude of so many posters that I found even more disturbing.

The glee at Catherine's misfortune was undisguised – getting the popcorn ready for the discussion of someone's serious illness or posting for 12 hours solid in order to fire up the rumour mill, etc.

The tune has now changed. Apparently it was the media and KP's fault that people posted nasty things because they weren't told all they wanted to know when they wanted to know it. There was no choice; they were forced to be cruel by the royal PR machine and they too are victims of it...

No contrition; no compassion; and absolutely zero self-awareness.

No. Some of us on here spent considerable time challenging the nasty comments and offensive rumours. No culpability here.

Is there some secret committee to console and excuse twats after they’ve been twatty?

If you woke up feeling shitty, then let it wash over you. That feeling is there for a reason. Then once you’ve taken a beat, resolve to go and twat no more.

The rest of us aren’t here to make you feel better about it today.

No. Some of us on here spent considerable time challenging the nasty comments and offensive rumours. No culpability here.

Aye.