New Meghan and Harry interview

[elprup]

JAN MOIR: She gave Harry an icy stare any husband would know - watch what you're saying, mister!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-13707697/JAN-MOIR-Harry-icy-stare-husband-watch-saying-mister.html

They just looked like twats who wanted to be seen in a castle instead of a hospital.

They (or at least Meghan) seemed determined to stake a claim on Windsor castle. What with having photos taken there and wanting a state apartment. Anyone would think she was trying to be a Disney princess 🙄😆

They just looked like twats who wanted to be seen in a castle instead of a hospital.

Also, they could control the time (so as to work best for the US breakfast shows) and the attendees, to give Gayle King of CBS a pole position among the very limited number of journalists attending.

The weirdest thing was the way Harry pressed his thumb really hard into Archie who didn't make a peep

I think she despises it and that attitude has been absorbed by him.

I think Meghan gets the blame for a lot of Harry's attitudes and choices, it's as if we find it hard to accept that Cheeky Chappy Harry was a PR construct and we are now seeing who he is.

You know when I look back I see that now. They wanted Windsor Castle. They wanted the " status" of that . A hospital was not exciting enough for them. When you look back you see all the tricks and scheming more clearly. At the time you didn't notice but as time passes, you can see it all!

My SIL got out of bed and did her hair and makeup immediately (honestly) after birth, before she'd have any photos taken. In them she looks superglam and triumphant. My brother looks like he's been exhumed.😂

I was in awe. She'd make a really good Royal TBF.

ETA she also changed into a fetching silk nightdress. Seriously, I couldn't attempt to look half as good on my best possible day, it must be a gift.

All so contrived. Her with all the hair adjusting. Hand at the side of her face. The announcement of the name with Royal names from a family that they claim to detest. Awkward!

I absolutely think that but I still think he’s a ventriloquist’s dummy.

Actually, tbf, Harry looks like he's pressing down with his thumb on the blanket to move it away from Archie's face - presumably for a better view in the photos.

I think it's a mix of both. I go through periods of thinking most of it is on Harry, he should have known better, didn't prepare her, was jealous of William, etc. Still think that but then we have Colombia and the performance there, which was all about her.

I completely agree with the decision to avoid a post-partum hospital steps moment (especially now that hospital stays are usually so short)

That's actually a very valid point about the quick discharges, @WinnieTheW0rm
Personally I've never got the need for new mums to "appear on the steps", though naturally it's their choice to make, but it seems one thing when mums were kept in hospital for days and quite another if they're expected to perform quite so soon

Of course everyone's different and some sail through labour, but I do worry if pressure's put on someone feeling a bit sub-par

I think they make certain choices to try and show up W&C by doing everything ‘differently’ and therefore ‘better’.

I think that too, but I also think they come at issues like the media from different angles: Harry: loathes the media, always has, and wishes he could jettison them entirely. Meghan: loves the media but only if they are acting as her PR factory and very much dislikes them getting unencumbered access without being subject to controls on what they write.

Yes she was definitely the centre of attention in Colombia which I'm actually fine with because it was just a celebrity self promotion visit. If she was behaving like this as a working royal I'd be less kind about it.

My understanding is that celebrity press is usually carefully controlled with PR people in the room ready to steer unwelcome questions away. No wonder she expects to be able to control the media narrative. It must be hard to adjust to the British tabloids questioning everything you do. But she made her choice and that choice has consequences in terms of press coverage and comment.

Maybe at some point both of them will do some self reflection and change how they do things, I'm not hopeful though.

I think the quasi Royal tour thing is a very uneasy mix indeed, not really doing things as proper celebs and certainly not doing them officially as Royals, but by the same token only there because Harry is a Prince. All this with a sickly "philanthropic" gloss, although it's impossible IMO to see how the wider population of Colombia benefited from the visit. It looks cheap and ersatz because actually, it is cheap and ersatz.

I would have agreed with you at one point, @Serenster , but it does appear that Harry is loving the publicity as much as his wife now; he was positively basking in all the flashes and clicks when they arrived in Nigeria. I thought it seemed like a change. I agree that the issue is that they want positive coverage, rather than none.

Yes, MrsLeonFarrell. You can easily view Meghan’s actions around Archie’s birth through that lens. The arrival of a new baby is a life event in the world of celebrity that can be leveraged for maximum coverage and PR, and she was being expected to stand on the hospital steps and give all the world’s media the money shots for free.

By saying no and doing it her way she got to use the birth announcement and the presentation of Archie for the next best thing - a choreographed show and exclusive super-flattering documentary for Gayle King and CBS. And then she also got to use the fact that the British press were annoyed by this as further grist to a victim narrative.

(I imagine this all came from Sunshine Sachs, rather than Meghan herself - but who would know?)

Yes and I expect she was being advised, if at all, by Americans who would have no idea how this would play to a British audience.

I did too. I have a lovely photo with my son when he’s barely an hour or so old and I’ve got mascara and lip gloss on. I’d had a c section, I must have got my lippy out as soon as I was out of the recovery area. 😁

Interesting. I remember someone commenting that they would have accepted an invitation to stay at Windsor Castle just before jetting off to Nigeria had it been forthcoming. I’m actually quite confused as to why Windsor Castle would have a much higher status than Buckingham Palace. Is it all about the name?

As far as I know , only the late Queen had an apartment in Windsor castle so I assume that H and M wanted to live / stay there to perpetuate the myth that they were more important than W and C who “ only “ have an apartment in KC.

@Mylovelygreendress - this, in a nutshell.

Trying to get an apartment inside Windsor Castle was one of the more strategic moves they tried and I’m not surprised it was quickly shut down.

Inviting people (A list celebrities) to visit you in a castle like Windsor - even if you only have a small apartment there - looks a lot more impressive than tiny Nott Cottage in KP or even the bigger apartment in KP.

They would also have been in ‘popping round’ distance of the Queen when she was at Windsor - which they could have used to their advantage - for actual influence or even just implied influence.

Lastly - Windsor has always been the home of the monarch - but imagine if they’d stayed and been firmly installed in Windsor by the time William came to the throne - it would have almost become ‘their patch’ - ‘their court’ - they would look like they were letting William stay occasionally in their home.

It was a power move that the Queen’s advisors saw through immediately.