Porkies, Perfidies & Pomposity - Harry and Meghan thread 2

[YaMuvva]

I do not take credit for the title

First thread here

Shall we continue the discussion? I will not be engaging with the posters spouting damaging and unfounded gossip

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/5084429-why-do-harry-and-meghan-tell-porkies-that-are-so-easy-to-prove-wrong?page=1

Reminds me of going to Venice with a school tour (I'd never been before) and was thrilled as we approached it from the lagoon. A Cambridge-educated teacher asked genuinely 'So why's Venice so famous?' She was mid-30s and had a world-class education, but somehow had never looked into this matter

Sounds like the colleague who dismissed the Salute as 'just a big church, I'm not religious.' No, me neither, but there are layers of history and meaning that just went over her head.

@smilesy If you take on a role like that then it must really help to be prepared to take an interest in almost anything, which is entirely possible if you are open minded and keen to learn

Which is what gets me so vexed when people say the RF don't work. There is a lot of background preparation which even if they don't do the research themselves, they do at least have to read and inwardly digest

Purplebunnie · Today 13:45
@smilesy If you take on a role like that then it must really help to be prepared to take an interest in almost anything, which is entirely possible if you are open minded and keen to learn

Which is what gets me so vexed when people say the RF don't work. There is a lot of background preparation which even if they don't do the research themselves, they do at least have to read and inwardly digest

Yes - I assume people who think they only work when they're making an official appearance either have never done a demanding job, made a speech or presentation or have absolutely no imagination.

I mean, we all know teachers only work from 8.30 am to 3. pm.😃

I mean, we all know teachers only work from 8.30 am to 3. pm

It was the same when banks closed at 3pm. "oooh, must be nice to leave for the day that early!" No actually, we were balancing the department's figures for the day and couldn't leave until it did balance. And if that meant working into the early evening, that's what we did.

And vicars only work on Sunday (I've seen ours sit with my unconscious, dying friend for hours into the night).

In Tom Bower's book he mentions the fact that at university, despite studying drama, Meghan had no interest in going to see plays in her spare time. It wasn't the craft of theatre that attracted her so much as the opportunity to be a star. Similar to entering the royal family in order to be a celebrity.

Exactly, @sweetnessandlighter . The late Queen didn't understand that Meghan wanted fame, rather than valuing performance as an art.

sweetnessandlighter · Today 15:10
In Tom Bower's book he mentions the fact that at university, despite studying drama, Meghan had no interest in going to see plays in her spare time. It wasn't the craft of theatre that attracted her so much as the opportunity to be a star. Similar to entering the royal family in order to be a celebrity.

That's really interesting, and confirms the impression I get of shallowness and self-centredness. She's no Judi Dench, for sure! Judi Dench fell in love with theatre (not herself) in her youth and the years of training and playing, not to mention phenomenal talent and true humility, have produced an absolute cultural treasure. Just to hear her speak a Shakespearian sonnet.... But Meghan clearly hasn't got that depth of understanding and genuine sense of history and love of language.

When Squaddies squeal "But you don't know her!"the thing is, I've met a couple of people very like Meghan in my life, and I can hazard a pretty good guess at what she's really like. I think, to Meghan, there is only one topic of interest, and that's Meghan. I just can't imagine her wanting to talk about anything else - preferably in an expensive frock while holding a mic and with a captive audience.

You can also tell that by her poor use of English - just a lot of verbs, poor sentence structure and incorrect grammar. If she read books and went to plays etc it would improve her vocabulary and communication above superficial levels.

The pair of them are all fur coat and no knickers as my old nan used to say.

It does make you wonder why we continue to support a RF with buffoons like Harry and Andrew in it. Thick as mince, entitled, arrogant and rude.

Exactly this. It wasn't the craft as such. It was a way to move on/up/meet famous people whether as a suitcase girl, doing ads for BBQs etc. She was using her body and face to advance her career. What is her end point ? Fame? Money?

Spot on !

Not sure though. I think the Queen probably had a pretty good radar for wannabes and hangers on.

Well, QEII was certainly very generous and supportive. She gave H&M senior Commonwealth roles, and Meghan patronage of the National Theatre.
Just think what other people could have done with those amazing opportunities.

She could have been a tremendous asset for the royal family, but she didn't want that - to be a smaller part of a bigger picture. She wanted to be the whole picture.

True.

Such a shame. Imagine squandering those fantastic chances in life!

I think also true.

Actually, I am quite sad how it all turned out. I was very excited about MM joining the RF. And it all turned so toxic so fast.

It does sort of explain the Nigeria tour - not a country with long history and unique culture to explore -but just a backdrop for photo ops.

I agree they walked away from some amazing opportunities but then the commercial success seems to have been harder than anticipated but then they have more money then anyone I know will ever see so could have lived quietly in relative luxury somewhere - but they don't want that either.

It’s such a comedown, patronage of the National Theatre and senior Commonwealth roles to flogging jam and general grifting.

I think this is absolutely spot on

I don't think she ever took an interest in what being part of the RF was all about, if she had she would have known about titles and when they are/aren't given , she would have understood about the pecking order etc.
I don't know if it's a cultural difference, arrogance, personality - probably all three.

Oh, how I would love to interview this pair. No rehearsed questions, any word salad immediately cut off… and both wired up to a lie detector machine. I don’t want any of their truth - I want the truth.

You won’t get the truth though. I sometimes think they genuinely do think they were treated badly, even though it’s clear to most people that the RF bent over backwards to welcome her. The family she never had according to Harry in the engagement interview!