Royal family should consider paying H & M off by way of an NDA?

[ilovemoney]

Harry and Meghan had difficult childhoods. I liked Diana but she was unstable, didn't see much of them and they witnessed her being unstable or with a recent boyfriend during the rare times in the holidays they saw her. They grew up in a lot of tension and under the spotlight. Not saying it was all bad but it clearly affected Harry and i think he was troubled by the time she sadly died.

He then had issues with drink and drugs which seem quite entrenched. He was sent to Africa to get him away and off drink and drugs to no avail. Then years of therapy to no avail. I suspect he may have a personality disorder which are near impossible to treat.

The palace over the years have covered up for him and done a fabulous if a little dishonest, PR job, which i think Harry owes them for, but also the palace and family situation were in many ways had some culpability for the state he was in. They kept him well under the wing of William and Kate for example.
I also feel like they sort of should have protected him more from meeting someone with not great intentions who was also damaged.

Meghan has a really strange family who don't seem that nice and Doria was apparently in prison for many years which must have been so hard. I saw a clip of her when she was about 11 and i see a child so very unhappy.
She also owes the palace who scrubbed her internet past and no doubt organised some NDS to give her a fresh start but again some blame here on the palace as this sort of now feels a bit of a cover up as i think there was rather a lot to cover up and its one thing deleting a few pictures but another to blank this woman's past completely.

Anyway the palace knew and tried their best to manage the pair of them.
They now have both of them using their titles to tour the world and take part in charity work which is really questionable.
Harry in particular is an embarrassing wrecking ball who has the publics interest.
Apparently the palace are worried about Spare 2 and God knows what else when they run out of money.
I think they are right to be worried. At the moment it is an embarrassing car crash after car crash, Africa parks, new York taxis, cringe trip to Nigeria and on and on.

I have no doubt the RF are hurt and angry with them and a NDA would be a very hard pill to swallow but if they want them to go and live quietly and stop embarrassing the royal family i think they are going to have to pay for it to the tune of a few million a year in exchange for some clear rules.

This is absolute nonsense and in many ways defamatory. This threat should be deleted.

I think her style might be ok for California. I wouldn’t want to judge her on her personal appearance.

If she wants a successful global brand though, it has to appeal to a bigger audience than just California. I don’t think pointing out that much of what she wears on her quasi tours and appearances is ill fitting and often crumpled is judging her personal appearance. That would be more about judging what she looks like and she looks just fine in herself.

Style is about what you choose to wear and what image you portray. That is what makes people aspire to follow your brand or aesthetic. I don’t think there are many people who would aspire to looking a crumpled beige mess. I think she looks much better in her casual wear of jeans and a shirt. She really nailed it with that skirt and shirt combo in Nigeria as well. I think her image is confused. She wants to wear designer dresses, but doesn’t (or isn’t allowed to) get them tailored to fit. She also wears colours (or non colours 😆) that do nothing for her but that she seems to think show quiet luxury. Yet her best looks are casual and strong colours. So her brand has no identity and wouldn’t inspire many people to follow her look iyswim

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To be clear, no judgment from me of people commenting on her appearance, it just doesn’t bother me personally. I judge her massively on her conduct, presentation - don’t care.

I agree she has a confused brand identity, if she’s selling home styling or fashion that could be an issue. If it’s jam and candles, maybe less so.

I can buy jam and candles in any number of places within a 10 minute walk, right now. I could take my pick and probably still have change from £10. If I want to go up market, there are any number of established, reputable posh brands on the high street or online more than happy to take my money.

If Meghan is going to compete in this crowded market she will certainly need a clear brand identity. People aren't going to spend a premium for commonplace items just because she's a duchess. And she's going to need to sell a hell of a lot of candles and jam to maintain a Montecito lifestyle.

I am a bit surprised that Meghan didn't gointo the baby clothing market. Not sure of the brands in the US apart from the ???? Barn. If she put her name to stuff it would have sold like hot cakes. Think that boat has sailed now though

Would it though?

Yeah, I don't really get this idea either.

"I married a prince so please pay a premium for a babygro you can get on the high street for a few quid?"

The problem any retailer has is getting repeat business. I can see anything that ARO sells being successful in the short term but to make money it needs to be good enough to entice people back.

They do seem to dress the children like mini royals. So I think they could have gone down that route with clothes.
Although probably the people interested in that style are pro-British/royal so not a good market for them.

I doubt Meghan would be able to sell a line of children's clothing. You have to have a certain appeal for that market.

Squaddies would probably pay up.

They might but as someone said above, repeat business is key.

Also, squaddies make a lot of Sturm und Drang on Twitter, but there aren't actually that many of them. Certainly not enough to sustain a business long term. Meghan is very divisive and that's never a good thing for a commercial enterprise.

Well not much else seems to have worked. I would have thought a childrens line be it of clothes or furniture was more viable than selling jam. Is jam/jelly really a thing in the US, I don't know

Perhaps the only thing left is advertising? If they had a sense of humour about themselves they could make money, but they haven't.

Why would a children's line work when everything else has failed? She is a mother, obviously, but that doesn't qualify her to sell children's clothes. Her children are rarely seen in public, which is fine but is not going to drum up interest in a children's clothing brand.

I genuinely doubt that ARO is ever going to materialise. It will be the lifestyle brand equivalent of 'Pearl' or 'Meet me by the Lake'.

Agreed. No-one knows anything about their kids so kids things would be an odd choice

Or that "40x40" whatever that was.

Am I misremembering or did they trademark “Lili bunny” (might have the spelling wrong). I thought at the time it was a perfect brand name for a chi chi baby range.

I thought there was a trademark along the lines of 'Lilibet's closet' but I can't find anything confirming that now. Just references to the Harolds having registered domain 'lilibetdiana.com' a couple of days before her birth.

Maybe it's another one that inexplicably escaped that freakish attention to detail.

Yes I think you may be right. I’ve definitely heard Lili Bunny somewhere. Maybe it’s her pet name.

Actually that does ring a bell. Keeping the children hidden was not the original plan IMO. I think Meghan planned to keep them in the public eye as part of their brand but something changed - perhaps Harry put his foot down after Meghan read the story to Archie in the Save the Children video and trolls made nasty comments about him?

Meanwhile SS are very critical of Kate and Will’s kids and hate them getting any attention.

Indeed they do.

The jam market is pretty saturated in the US. We put it on toast and breakfast food, not on cakes.

She is no Martha Stewart. Martha's Kmart line was great. My kitchenware is still from that line. I have talks with friends about how much we miss it. Meghan doesn't have Marthas business sense.

I think the fundamental problem is their, and particularly her, image now.

To make these initiatives work you need to be popular and respected - aspirational. I have no idea how popular they actually are - I think they're both ridiculous at best - and in the UK, I would guess they don't have a big fan-base. But in the States? I may have been scared a bit by looking at Celebitchy, which I think is more US-orientated.

Yes, the SS do froth with irrational adoration, but how much of a market would thy be in reality for any children's clothing or lifestyle venture? With these things you have to want to buy into a desirable image - even if you know it's a construct - but Meghan seems to become more and more ridiculous and desperate with every appearance. But I many not be a typical or unbiased observer!! 😄

@CoffeeCantata I think I have read that Netflix are taking over WW promoting AMO etc to get more money - and promoting it internationally. I may very well be wrong. But I suspect both they and she she are looking for a very high earning programme . Not so sure how family oriented and regal sits together , but I suspect she wants to be a Martha Stewart with a title and a bit of Gwinny.

We shall see - it may very well work.