Nigeria 4!

[OneHeartySnail]

Let the conversation continue!

I think your assessment of the situation is probably correct @MummyJ12, looks like this is going to continue for many years to come, must be incredibly frustrating for William, I know how annoyed I get it, it must be torture for him and Catherine! though I suspect as they are a sensible pair that they now just treat it as white noise. I suppose it will all depend if the SS ramp up their campaign to more than just words on a page, they managed a global hate campaign against Catherine let’s hope they are not buoyed by that and don’t take things further.

According to sources as varied as the BBC and 'African Business', H&M's visit to Nigeria was at the invitation of the country’s chief of defence staff, General Christopher Musa.

Musa, a career soldier with fingers in commercial pies, has his own power base. For example, he sidestepped being held in any way responsible for the Kaduna massacre in 2015 which included the killings of women and children, buried in a mass grave. A panel of inquiry set up by the state government determined that 191 corpses were recovered at the Army Depot where Musa was in charge. 'However, he was not directly indicted in the final report. He remained in charge of the Army Depot until May 25, 2017 when he was transferred to the Army Headquarters.'

I have no idea what the First Lady thinks about him? But I'd really like to know.

https://www.theafricareport.com/197291/nigeria-10-things-about-major-general-chris-musa-leading-the-fight-against-boko-haram/

I agree. Grey rocking is the way to go, although the Nigeria 'tour' was skating pretty close to the edge.

Other than making it clear that the Sussexes do not represent the Monarchy or the United Kingdom, which they did do, nothing more could or should be done. Their relevance is going to decline anyway. Would another 'royal tour' get the same interest? I doubt it.

They're very entertaining, though. I do hope they do another tour.

The invite was issued by the Nigerian Chief of the Defence Staff, (the senior serving Officer in the Nigerian Forces, not the Minister of Defence), possibly done at a personal level, the excuse being Invictus.

The lines between mil and civil politics in Nigerian have been a bit hazy in the past but it’s just possible the elected politicians and the First Lady had little to no say in the matter.

(Apologies I see @AutumnCrow has already covered it).

This is true. They make fools of themselves with their preening, airs and graces everytime they try to play at being Royal so for an entertainment point of view yes let's have another faux tour.

See if they can keep up the hand grasping, the rictus grins and the cringey light shining speeches. One of them's got to crack soon, my money's on Harry.

BigWillyLittleTodger · Today 17:15
I think your assessment of the situation is probably correct @MummyJ12, looks like this is going to continue for many years to come, must be incredibly frustrating for William, I know how annoyed I get it, it must be torture for him and Catherine! though I suspect as they are a sensible pair that they now just treat it as white noise. I suppose it will all depend if the SS ramp up their campaign to more than just words on a page, they managed a global hate campaign against Catherine let’s hope they are not buoyed by that and don’t take things further.

I agree.

I'm really appalled at how H & M (though Omid Scobie) and their SS followers have slandered the PssoW, even before her illness became known. I'm not sure they can 'treat it as white noise', though. I think William must be beyond angry with his brother and Meghan, on a visceral level. I see no possibility of reconciliation there. Imagine being diagnosed with cancer and being the target of such spite - with no word of support or comfort from H & M (regarding their horrible SS supporters).

Yes, I do find H & M's antics amusing on one level, but on another they appall me. And in the background of all this are 2 small children who will surely suffer in some way as a result of what they've done. Currently they only have one relation other than their parents: Doria. I think what their parents have done, and continue to do, will make it very hard indeed for W & C and their cousins to just 'forgive and forget'. I see no contact with the RF there until those children are independent of their horrible parents.

sorry but I am tired of the silence from the palace, has their dignified silence actually achieved anything?

Well, it's underlined that they represent no one except themselves and removed their chance to blame the RF for more persecution - not that they need any help, because as we've seen, if the truth doesn't suit their narrative they'll just make something up

They'll also know a lot more about Harry's likely state of mind than we do, and depending on what happens in future they might want to avoid being seen to make things any worse

Charles is treading a fine line between dignified silence and looking indulgent and weak over Harry's endless provocations.

It's as if Charles et. al. are waiting for something to happen. If Charles is waiting for Harry to be kicked into the long grass by M, he'll be waiting a while.

Or has Charles had a red box containing reports on the visa issues that will shortly bring Harry's residency status to a head?

I completely agree with you.

The red box scenario would be very interesting…. I do wonder what is to come of the visa debacle. No one is coming out of it looking good at the moment, it’s reflecting really badly on the Biden administration. As it was a Trump administration who let him in, isn’t Biden missing a trick here?!

It's an interesting timeline, isn't it? H&M made their 'stepping back' [to] 'carve out a progressive new role within the institution' statement on Instagram on 8th January 2020, under Trump as you rightly say; and were, after the urgently convened 'Sandringham Summit' on the 13th Jan 2020, given a year to think about it.

About four months into the transition period that QEII thought was to be spent between Canada and the UK, H&M moved to California.

Biden was inaugurated on 20th Jan 2021.

H&M confirmed they were not coming back to the UK shortly after, on 19th Feb 2021.

They obviously feel safe under Biden for whatever reason. It has never been revealed what kind of visa Harry is on. But Biden and Charles know. I rather imagine Sunak and Starmer and been briefed. As pp have said, Harry seems to be untouchable, no matter what drugs revelations etc he makes money out of, or where he goes and who he associates with, including in Nigeria. My guess is some sort of diplomatic/A1/HoS one, which will be due to expire in the next year and so, regarding his residency status, Harry has to shit or get off the pot.

If he can cease to be an Internationally Protected Person (IPP), as he did on the 31st March 2020, then he can cease to have a certain type of visa when it finally runs out.

Was this a slip of the tongue at 00:38

https://x.com/lairdofthemanor/status/1661757915177566209?s=46&t=zeqvo7Iw1m8V4kXAX7nn1A

I quite agree. I think William must be very very angry. He’s a very private person and betrayal is not forgiven in anyone. This is the person he probably most trusted after his wife and he’s been totally and utterly let down.

He looked very uncomfortable in Nigeria.

“She’s everything you’re not supposed to be”
is that the “slip of the tongue”, @CremeFresh ?
I find the woman being interviewed either vacuous or drunk though 😂

Thanks @AutumnCrow. It seems so duplicitous doesn’t it? I agree with you (as usual!) the Biden administration have been very protective and they obviously do feel safe.
As my granny used to say “it’ll all come out in the wash” 😂 hopefully. Or will Teflon Ted continue with his non-stick, untouchable invincibility….?!!

It's what she says just after that

Imagine if that really were true? The house of cards would come tumbling down before you could blink. If it is true, I’m sure someone somewhere knows .

Seems an odd thing to come out with for a slip of the tongue moment.

They may be drunk. They may be vacuous.
But are they truthful?

His furniture business definitely benefited from his position when starting up. but it's longevity is because his stuff's good.

He's stepped down from it now but he lost overall control of it years back thanks to debts he ran up. It's now controlled by an offshore trust with - true to family form- links to an alleged fraudster and as recently as 2020 was filing losses of millions.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8033591/Dividing-40m-fortune-isnt-love-split-Linleys-headache.html

I'm sure his furniture's lovely but I'm not sure the businesses longevity can be attributed entirely to its appeal.

https://nypost.com/2024/05/27/entertainment/nigerias-first-lady-slams-u-s-celebs-after-meghan-markle-visit/

Once again, comments spot on.

I read that Harry was to have inherited Highgrove from Charles.

Highgrove is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall which interestingly now makes Willy Pa's landlord and also means it's never been Pa's to bestow.

it is all happening in plain site yet their are no consequences for their abhorrent actions, sorry but I am tired of the silence from the palace, has their dignified silence actually achieved anything?, not in my opinion, in fact I would say it just makes them more and more confident and it eggs them on, they are untouchable.

I agree entirely.

The flagrant and unresisted optics of the undermining of the monarch's authority is great for me as a republican but it also raises questions about the palace agenda in the constant rolling over.

'Never complain, never explain' is increasingly inexplicable and indefensible as the circus antics heighten.

I think we all see the circus antics for what they are and judge accordingly.

I understand why the palace aren’t saying anything.

I’m not sure why the government are mute though.

I will stop criticising them when they start living a private life and stop making speeches, accepting awards for nothing at all and prancing around the world in aid of their 'causes'. Oh, and when they practise what they preach and condemn the SS for their appalling spite and cruelty to 2 cancer sufferers.

Can I add the practice of buying awards, offering transparency over the use of charitable donations, offering their stance on the Africa Parks allegations and confirming Invictus expenses incurred on their behalf?