Why don't the Sussex haters be more like Kate

[Thegrassneedsmowing]

She's admired for her grace, strength and stoicism. Yet her supporters spew bile over H&M, Obie Scobie (or whatever he's called) and their other high profile supporters.

I don't like the way H&M have behaved towards the RF but now they're living thousands of miles away, not costing the British taxpayer a bean ... I just don't care what they do.

But the hate they inspire on this forum (couldn't sleep last night so was reading a couple of threads) is unhinged.

Why not keep it classy like Kate? Ignore em and put all that misplaced energy into living your best life (as they say)?

@eise, just saw this thread.
-You do realize that Harry is involved in a court case in the US about whether he lied about his drug use on his visa https://www.newsweek.com/judge-orders-prince-harry-visa-application-heritage-foundation-drugs-1877168 The defense lawyers have even implied that "Spare" is a work of fiction to get him off the hook.
-Mark Toth wrote an article in January for "The Hill" explaining why H & M were dangers to the US & UK. In light of the recent reports about Russian and Chinese bots attacking both the POW & the UK goverment, they were spot on: https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/4426960-harry-and-meghan-knives-out-in-jamaica/
-William and Kate will be the future monarchs, and must look at the big picture. Harry is 40 years old, and not likely to change. They must put the stability of their kingdom before any remaining affection for Harry. England survived WWII because the Queen Mother made sure that Edward VIII no longer had influence in its government. This is a similar situation. I don't think wishing Harry well in California, where he has $30 million from his mother & great-grandmother as well as money from Netflix & Spotify is condemning him to penury.

I always hope for reconciliations in families and that goes for the royal family as well. I can't see Harry and Meghan having official duties again, mostly because I don't think they want them, but I wonder if it would help Harry settle into the US more if he could find peace with his brother and wider family. Serious illness often mends situations thought beyond healing and that would be good to see.

It's nothing to do with me of course, but on a purely human level I prefer to read about reconciliation rather than continued division.

I agree with you, @BemusedAmerican . Harry isn't going to change, and I suspect more is to come, especially when the coffers run low. That man will sell anything personal for money. W&C have to protect themselves, and their future role, and dealing with that fool will just take time and effort and won't make Harry a more reflective, kinder or supportive person.
I think the drug taking is a significant problem, although various posters have denied it, so the article is interesting.

This is a recent Hollywood perspective of MM's new venture. I was unable to link it so here is the article, long but interesting and insightful as to how Orchard (or whatever its called) came about, and a very snarky comment about carpet bagging.

[ Flamingo Estate, the decadent lifestyle accouterments company inspired by the fabulous Spanish-style L.A. home of Richard Christiansen and his partner, , has become the status symbol du jour for a certain kind of post-Goop, California in-crowd. You know, the sort of milieu where unironic, limited-edition raw honey collaborations with Julianne Moore, Will Ferrell, and LeBron James and cost $250 a jar. And people regularly guffaw over $42 bars of soap or $80 dried strawberries. It’s a world where Glossier founder throws her baby shower. And no one—no one—is more associated with this fever dream than Meghan Markle, whom I heard used the lifestyle company as “inspiration” for her new brand, America Riviera Orchard.

Inspiration is perhaps a generous term, since Markle appears to be all but trying to re-create Flamingo Estate herself after a potential partnership fell through. Indeed, the trademark applications she filed on March 9 mention candles, nut butters, dried fruits and vegetables, and “kits comprised of edible oils, fats, preserves, spreads and butters.” Also on the application are cosmetic brushes, yoga mats, and a number of other wellness-related items. Earlier this week, a friend said the brand looks like “what happens when you go to a dinner at Flamingo Estate and aren’t invited back.”

“It was a business she was trying to be a part of,” a source said of Markle, who supposedly visited the estate after being introduced to the property by another famous Montecito resident (not Oprah). There were multiple in-person meetings with the Flamingo Estate team in 2022, I’m told, and Markle expressed a desire to come on as an “active partner” in the business. Apparently, Markle and Prince Harry became such big fans that they displayed Flamingo Estate products in their home (a stack of green Flamingo Estate books is visible in the background of a 2022 clip of Prince Harry promoting a New Zealand eco-travel project from his study). “Ultimately, the estate realized they didn’t want to take the business in that direction,” this person added. Christiansen was indeed seeking investments at the time; he raised $7.5 million last year, and I hear he’s fundraising again.

The partnership never came to fruition, but by the time it fell through, I’m told, Markle had reviewed relevant company information that any potential investor would be privy to and had “intimate knowledge” of the business. Christiansen declined to comment, and a spokesperson for Markle didn’t respond.

This is the double-edged sword of celebrity culture. Small brands want famous people who are brand-aligned from an aesthetic standpoint to take notice, but celebrities (and especially second-tier former royals) are inevitably seeking ever more ways to monetize themselves. These days, fronting a brand is the celebrity passive income stream of choice, and anyone with some measure of fame or a following thinks they have permission to start a multicategory product empire. Kylie Jenner and Kim Kardashian have tried to do this to varying degrees of success at different points in time (Jenner just released a canned alcoholic beverage and a fragrance), but we still have yet to see an Oprah or Martha Stewart of this generation. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, which started in 2008 as a content website—and later expanded into skincare, apparel, vagina candles, activewear, etcetera—is probably the best example of a celebrity lifestyle brand today.

It’s indisputable that Markle needs to rehab her image beyond hiring an actual stylist (My Puck partner Lauren Sherman recently wrote about that here), but I’m not convinced American Riviera Orchard is the way. Being a late-addition ambassador for an established brand seems sort of like a microcosm of the carpetbagging that Markle has already been accused of vis-à-vis the Windsors.

And, ironically or not, the Sussexes have been in a process of gradual rebranding ever since they evacuated from Buckingham Palace a few years ago. Their various business endeavors haven’t been revolutionary, and their prowess as content creators has been unexpectedly shallow, even given the low expectations. Will Markle be able to prove that she has the taste and style to overcome the considerable obstacles to launching a lifestyle company in a turgid market, when a number of best-in-class options already exist? She’ll have her work cut out for her. And, for better or worse, everyone will be paying attention.'

Having read that, it makes me wonder are there some legal shenanigans going on in the background which is possibly the reason for the strange 'launch'.

Meghan should go back to what she did well - the Tig. And her fans will love it. It would probably be huge and it’s certainly the most authentic thing she could do and would be back to her roots. I never looked at it, but she would surely get a decent income from that. And if they just invest wisely and do a bit of turning up to places for money, they should be ok. The Spare money can’t have gone yet!

MrsLeonFarrell · Today 06:38
I always hope for reconciliations in families and that goes for the royal family as well. I can't see Harry and Meghan having official duties again, mostly because I don't think they want them, but I wonder if it would help Harry settle into the US more if he could find peace with his brother and wider family. Serious illness often mends situations thought beyond healing and that would be good to see.

It's nothing to do with me of course, but on a purely human level I prefer to read about reconciliation rather than continued division.

Mrs F - I know what you mean - family discord is really upsetting.

But...I just don't see a way back from what H & M have done and said. It's one thing to have a massive fall-out and row in the privacy of your own home, and then keep these secrets from the rest of the world. But Harry and Meghan made a conscious decision to assassinate the characters of KC, Camilla, William and particularly Catherine on a world platform not once, or in a moment of madness, but many times (Showbiz interview/Faux 'reality' series/books). Any claim they might make about not having meant to do the damage they did would be ridiculous - neither of them are innocent ingenues - they were/are both young middle-aged people, and Meghan in particular, a highly sophisticated operator.

It's a bit Disney, I feel, to imagine that every wrong is right-able. It just isn't. Some things aren't forgivable and bridges have been well and truly burned.

And whatever is said and done from this point, trust has gone and can never be regained, and that has implications for both personal and official relationships.

I know that H & M haven't had much contact with the RF over the last few years, but I suspect strongly that they'll use the 'well, we reached out and offered to help but we were harshly rejected' line at some point.

Both of them need to understand that their role within the RF is over. That's all I ask of them - otherwise, I wish them well and I particularly want things to work out for them in their US life for the sake of their children.

Both of them need to understand that their role within the RF is over. That's all I ask of them - otherwise, I wish them well and I particularly want things to work out for them in their US life for the sake of their children.

But it’s a bloodline situation, as much as racehorse breeding is — Harry, at least, will never be ‘done’, because he’s a prince of the blood, even if he’s slipped down the line of succession.

That’s the whole mad illogicality of a hereditary monarchy — you get whoever’s next in line, by blood, regardless of whether they’re dutifully in training to cut ribbons, a Nazi sympathiser, someone wanted by the FBI in conjunction with underage sex trafficking offences, or someone acting out an identity crisis on Oprah Winfrey and Netflix.

If, by some mischance, William and his children were all wiped out by some mischance, Harry would be king. (And if Harry disavowed it on behalf of himself and his children, then we get the man who is wanted for questioning about underage trafficked girls and his convicted trafficker friend.)

@KarstRegion

Yes, I acknowledge that - but somehow, the system does manage to get rid of the bad apples one way or another. I'm a mild, non-frothing monarchist but I would have a lot to say if either H or Uncle Andy got anywhere near the throne, and I think most of us would! That would be the last straw.

Having said that, I think this is a wake-up call for everyone (the health crisis, I mean) and shows the need for managed reform - not to become a republic necessarily but to slim things down to manageable level, retaining the ceremonial side as far as possible (as do all countries to some degree) but taking the pressure off the few working royals. And the corollary of that would obviously be - less pressure = less money, so some changes would need to be made (with the many castles/homes etc).

KC might be too preoccupied/too sentimental to face this task, but I bet if you asked William and Catherine they'd be in favour of a more Scandinavian model.

That is very interesting ! Thanks for that.

In the real world it's not all happy families and in certain cases there will not and should not be reconciliations. Some say " oh life is too short for this nonsense" and yes I agree with that . Life is too short to surround yourself with crap. Embrace the positive and say no to the others.

I’m not so sure about the bad apples being got rid of by the system. Look at what happened with Edward VIII/the Duke of Windsor — in many ways it was pure chance that his wish to marry Wallis Simpson meant that there wasn’t a reigning king with pro-Nazi sympathies on the throne during WWII, and even after the abdication he remained a dangerous political liability because of his combination of royal blood, poor judgement, desperation for a significant role, and fascist sympathies, which made him a significant figure to various political factions (Operation Willi etc).And even leaving aside his political sympathies, it’s very clear from his letters that there was a reigning monarch, head of the British empire, who held his non-white subjects in contempt.

He was a pretty bad apple, and one would imagine the establishment subsequently should have been grateful to Wallis Simpson for being the reason for his short reign.

But the RF are carrying on. They do not need Harry. William doesn’t need a brother who threw him and his wife under a bus.

I thought it was the opposite

The establishment was grateful that Wallis gave them a reason to get rid of David/Edward. He was clearly weak, vain and lazy and not really up for the job.

However, it strikes me that he was a more dangerous character when freed up from the crown and the British Government and free to roam with Wallis and attend meetings with top Nazis, as well as plot with them to retake the crown should Britain fall to the Germans.

Had he remained the constitutional monarch, he basically would have had to do what the Government told him to do. He’d probably have been a shit head of state in the crisis of war, and he may have quite liked the cut of Mr Hitler’s jib, but he wouldn’t have been steering the course and making decisions on Britains policies and strategies vis a vis war with Germany - that would have remained with our elected government.

How so? I may have missed something

There's only one of the brothers who wrote a tell all autobiography, shared all in a Netflix series, tv and magazine interviews. Critical, nasty, unsubstantiated and invasive of others' privacy. It wasn't William.

Had Edward VIII remained head of state, he could have passed on info from his red boxes to the Nazis. Dumping him in Bermuda was the way to go ( sorry for Bermuda). They would have had to make sure he was given nothing of importance during his reign.

It was the Bahamas actually but I know people often get the Bs mixed up.

They already worked out he was doing that. That's why they had to get rid.

@musthorse They didn't deserve them either. W & E seemed very high maintenance.

www.channel5.com/show/edward-wallis-the-bahamas-scandal-revealed

If you look at philips funeral footage Kate diplomatically drops back to allow the brothers a chance to talk together she could have clutched at him like a leach she did not she gave space

Probably wishing he would get lost in the Bermuda triangle