american riviera orchard - what was that all about then?

[Tenmus]

It seems to have gone the same way as their Sussex Royal site. I don't know much about social media or PR, but this all seems pretty odd and ineffectual.

Will it sell unbreakable dog bowls?

This line is trotted out frequently, what negative stories were fed to the press?

They could have had a country estate; the Queen reportedly offered one as a wedding present - they could have had their own Gatcombe, Highgrove or Anmer. But proper rural life with muddy boots probably wasn't on the agenda.

I read this as well, though I thought it was Charles rather than the Queen who offered the country estate. Not only would they have had the country estate but also the vast ‘apartment’ next door to William and Kate at Kensington Palace! They didn’t mention that did they when they were moaning about slumming it in poxy Nottingham Cottage on Netflix.

I do find the pair of them utterly baffling, they could have had all of the above plus all the glamour and kudos of attending state banquets and foreign royal tours, yet just because they had to play second fiddle to W&K they would rather beg for voiceover work, sell their souls to Netflix and Co. and sell tat on a website whilst hanging out with the Kardashians. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

I am pretty sure the leak accusation has been analysed on previous threads. The conclusion from memory was that it is entirely possible for the leaks to have come from their end rather than Charles’s or William’s office.

I don't know but I would think she is sailing pretty close to wind here re not trading off royal connections. But I suppose the RF has other things to think about.

There isn’t anything the RF can do though except remove their titles which they seem loathe to do.

This requires an act of parliament. Even if the dukedom were removed and unless the Prince and Princess titles were removed as well, which would surely be unheard of, Meghan would be ‘known as’ Princess Meghan rather than Princess Henry.

They won’t remove their titles, not if they can help it.

i think the rush to get the aro site launched and the archewell prize when William was at the Diana awards shows just how deeply affected Megan and Harry are by their lack of success /bad rep and shows how deeply envious they are of William.

They have launched that site before they should have, clearly, they were obviously desperate to show they had something, and to steal his thunder but still link to him.

i honestly think they are deeply impacted by how badly wrong it’s went for them, how their behaviour has backfired, and rushed to launch because of it, and have screwed it up again.

now they are releasing distasteful images of Megan being royal, in a hope of diverting attention from the fact aro is currently a disaster and to try to get some positive publicity.

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed two people continually fuck it up like they do. With all the money, advisors, opportunities, I don’t think I’ve witnessed anything like the utter stupidity of their repeated actions.

Those hospital images are really distasteful. I cannot fathom what went through her head- I’ll go hand out signed Polaroids of myself to to sick kids to show how Royal I am. Weird. The kids look utter bored in most of the photos.

Ouch, stinging comment in the DM today.
The Montecito pair will be fewmin'.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13267897/Meghan-brand-american-riviera-orchard-kate-cancer-KENNEDY.html

Yes dreadful poor taste, their Hollywood neighbours must be agog.

Ouch, I don’t think though the fact aro is withering, is anything to do with Kate, and everything to do with flamingo estate getting the lawyers in to stop them,

the site was already launched by the time Kate announced. It’s illogical that’s what’s stopped her, but I think Megan would love people to think it’s about that, and not she’s fucked up.

I suppose it could have been worse - she could have signed bananas.

4

I have said before that H has done her a huge disservice in promising her the moon and saying that she could probably have it with nothing more than a gracious smile and a waft of chiffon.

Agreed. Meghan had friends and Sunshine Sachs blowing smoke up her arse for the 18 months (half of it on 'maternity leave') that she was a so-called 'working' royal. Tom Bower talks about it in his book 'Revenge' that she kept SS on retainer almost the entire time she was living in London. She was planning her exit for most of the time she was playing at being a committed royal. And why was that? Because friends and publicists in the US were telling her 'You could be a HUGE star if you moved back here. People in the US LOVE the RF! Just think of the deals you could do, the connections you already have, THE MONEY YOU COULD MAKE'. And Meghan loves money ...

The Kardashians had a long running TV show. They get out there, pose for pictures, cooperate with the media and meet their fans.

This is true too. I suspect that the Kardashians are high profile enough now that they don't have to work nearly so hard, but there was an interesting programme (maybe 'House of Kardashian'?) I saw on them and they really grafted in the early days. They had very little money in the early days of KUWTK, but had to give the impression that they were rolling in it and they got into a lot of debt initially. But they, particularly Kim, would turn up to anything and everything that got them publicity (and you see Meghan doing the same thing with her posing at an awards ceremony where she wasn't nominated or even invited, but it was publicity). Kim flew to NYC at one point to open a public toilet in Times Square! So while I can't stand the Kardashians, they did work very hard (at least initially) to get where they are.

I think the conclusion was that no-one could show an example of a leak of this kind.

Yes, not only no evidence provided, but not even any suggestion of which stories were supposed to have been planted/leaked.

Celebrities have talked about the pressure of having a whole team behind them, however. How having a team running your production company or your business means that a whole load of salaries and livelihoods are depending on you to keep producing whatever it is that you do.

This is the big issue, isn't it? They have a huge number of people who are on their payroll and they need to keep the money coming in to pay them all. Think about it: security, housekeeping, landscaping, nannies, drivers, WMD (I'd love to know how much it costs for MM to be on their books!), assistants, stylists, hair and make-up, whatever is left of Archewell, writers and producers and on and on ...

I was at the hair salon yesterday and I was browsing some trashy mags and in one, I think it was Closer, there was an article (and I don't know if there was any truth in it!), about MM's new website/business and it said how she's really stressed out and knows that if it flops they're in real financial trouble, not least because of the amount of money they've already poured into it.

Perhaps they should put hives in the Orchard, then she can sell Royal Jelly

(I'll get my coat)

It must be incredibly expensive to maintain. It is really a billionaire's lifestyle. The security alone must be phenomenal. Then all the ++. Apparently property taxes in California are astronomical. With low rain fall there is continuous ground maintenance. Household staff. Lawyers. Agents. Travel.

I just can't see where their income is to cover this. They don't get royalties (pardon the pun) really of any kind or a consistent, ongoing and reliable income stream. It must be incredibly stressful.

Any 'down sizing' at this point would be an enormous loss of face (compared to other celebrities who can do it relatively anonymously (if needed).

yet just because they had to play second fiddle to W&K they would rather beg for voiceover work, sell their souls to Netflix and Co. and sell tat on a website whilst hanging out with the Kardashians. Talk about cutting your nose off to spite your face.

That wasn't the plan though in 2020, was it?! They flounced off to Canada in 2019 convinced that they could have a fabulous life in California while working as part-time royals, with paid-for, round-the-clock security, picking and choosing which fabulous events they'd attend and which causes they'd support, while leveraging and monetizing their royal connections for influence, relevance and $$$$$$$$$. But it all went horribly wrong when they didn't get that deal ...

The life they're living now, where they have to pay for everything or blag it for free, where Meghan has to turn up and gurn on red carpets she has no business being on just to get her picture in the tabloids, like she did as a young actress trying to get noticed, where they're having to actually earn a living from their own talents and hard graft - that absolutely wasn't the plan.

It was all supposed to be easy and fabulous, because in 2019 they were huge global stars. They literally had the world at their feet. They had a much cooler, more youthful and diverse fan base than stuffy old W&K and with a half-in, half-out deal keeping them firmly in the public eye for all the right reasons they would, to be fair, have been sitting pretty. Shame they fucked it up!

I agree their lifestyle must be extortionate. From security to all Harry’s legal fees, even to Megan’s clothes, and all the business stuff where they aren’t making money on return for the staff effort. Ie their new websites etc, their assistants. They are literally blowing millions.

Apparently property taxes in California are astronomical.

You're right - they're insane. M&H's are apparently about $300,000 a year.

This is the big issue, isn't it? They have a huge number of people who are on their payroll and they need to keep the money coming in to pay them all. Think about it: security, housekeeping, landscaping, nannies, drivers, WMD (I'd love to know how much it costs for MM to be on their books!), assistants, stylists, hair and make-up, whatever is left of Archewell, writers and producers and on and on ..

The recent article about ARO in the New York Post said something interesting about this. It referred to “a source who knows the Sussexes” (obviously, could be Joe down the road for all we know!) who spoke about Mandana Dayani, who was the president of Archewell from May 2021 to December 2022. The article said:

”Mandana was supposed to figure out a business that makes money, but she left…but I know that she pitched Meghan on a bunch of ideas”.

The article notes that Mandana Dayani declined to comment (so take this with a pinch of salt) but I thought it did indicate that the couple know they need to come up with a solid income stream. And have plumped for retailing goods as their best bet, by the look of it.