Meghan and Harry spotted out and about - ¡Viva Colombia! Edition (Part 7)

[skullbabe]

Welcome to Part 7 of our positive threads, where we explore all things Meghan and Harry. From the causes they champion and their business ventures to Meghan’s (and occasionally Harry’s 😉) fashion moments, there’s a lot to chat about. This is a drama-free space, so let’s keep it upbeat! High five to @queentim for the original inspiration.

I don't think the little girl has much choice in the matter.

'The country has also shown that they can protect the VP from assassination attempts when she is out and about and, also, Harry and Meghan.'

Oh, my. I didn't realise there'd been an assassination attempt on them while they were in Columbia.

It's so strange they thought they were safe there but in danger in the UK. I must admit, I've never seen Harry and/or Meghan in a security convoy in the UK, having to be protected by kevlar a shield and soldiers armed to the teeth wearing combat fatigue.

There have been attempts previously on the VP’s life. The country has tight security for her now when she is out and about to ensure her safety from any attempts that might arise.

Am pretty sure it's standard in British English too.

BALDLY | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

But always room for a joke.

I absolutely love these pictures that show all the outfits together. Her best looks of the tour were the first and last outfits.

Thanks @skullbabe for your informative posts with 📸 from the tour and providing backdrop to the causes

Oooh I like that- ‘ famous couple going on a trip’

Definitely sums up how important this tour was for everyone involved.

Thank you from myself as well.

Just a naughty speculation...

I notice that Meghan wore her hair differently for the Spanish-speaking engagement. She had her hair over her ears, rather than pulled back in the usual severe style. It has been speculated that this was to cover ear-pieces (to help with her Spanish). Also - didn't she rush off stage at one point, possibly to avoid her lack of fluency being exposed in a Q and A?

No shame in not being fluent in a language unless you've boasted previously that you are. To me, it's in line with the utter fakeness of all she does.

Speculation it is. Here are DH's techy comments:

Meghan's off the cuff translation of Harry's words was surprisingly good

Her confidence with grammatical gender suggests advanced Spanish

DH was impressed by her "soft B". Apparently "hard voiced consonants give foreigners away and are very difficult for learners to master".

She hesitated between "ser / estar". DH grumbles that this is the bane of learners of Spanish regardless of level. It also means there is no way she was being prompted.

DH's verdict if that she sounds like someone who used used be fluent and is bit rusty. Which matches what we know about Meghan, regardless of how entertaining speculating can be.

Hoping the above pleases language pedants lol

I think her father paid for a good private school and university education. Competency in another language is usually an outcome from this kind of solid background.
I wonder where they'll go next.
If it's about Meghan's outfits, (as indicated by this thread) it needs to be somewhere else warm and sunny.

I dunno. I have a very good Spanish "B" but the rest of my language skills there are severely lacking. I also had an excellent accent in German when I was learning it at school but absolutely no vocab (and my grammar was sketchy). I think the soft B isn't proof of anything, tbh, but I also would agree that rusty Spanish skills is a likely scenario.

Fluent, indeed. Fluent is not being able to just speak a language. I can speak four languages. How many can I converse in? One. Fluency is being able chat, follow tv programmes and films, get jokes etc etc. it is not being able to recite a short speech. That’s very commendable but not what I’d call fluent.

I agree. I am fluent in one other language (in that I can converse spontaneously, follow tv and film and get jokes, but I also have the ability to sound convincing in a few languages because I can manage good pronunciation and accent. This does not in any way mean I am fluent. I have insufficient vocab to converse and have been caught out a few times because of this 😆. Meghan is an actor and so it should easily be within her skill set to learn correct pronunciation and how to read words in a language. That isn’t proof of fluency by a long way however

edited to add a word I missed

I don’t think Meghan claimed to be fluent.

The Markle sparkle.

www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/713341/meghan-markle-wears-mango-shirt-from-asos/

I think she should go in that direction, @LimeBiscuit , genuinely. Model for Hello! Or one of these type of magazines. She can do that and it wouldn't be merching on titles.

(well it would be, because she wouldn't have got the gig otherwise, but you know what I mean).

I really liked that skirt but felt that the blouse did not complement it. It actually looked like it was a panic decision to wear it in order to tone down the skirt. Was it even hers as it didn't fit? The real top of the skirt was not appropriate. Possibly the skirt wasn't either. A long sleeved white shirt would have looked much better imo.

It’s annoying that on a couple of fronts they seem to be moving at a snail’s pace. On one hand they announce and tease and then it’s so dam quiet afterwards. Then we have a publicity tour (not a bad thing if it helps Colombia’s profile and boosts relations and tourism). Either they are really following the advice of their publicity professionals or they are not. I am inclined to think that it is the former as there will be a lot riding on becoming successful commercially. In America if you make it commercially you are seen as a winner so regardless of them being royals they do need a commercial win that is sustainable in the long term.

I liked the outfits on her publicity tour. Including the shades of brown. The best looks, for me, were the first and last. Her face looked refreshed and rejuvenated throughout compared to her interview on CBS. Although she looked gorgeous in that interview I don’t think she was well and it showed.

The whole outfit

No different from praising someone you don't know.

And opinions are allowed to vary

'Then we have a publicity tour (not a bad thing if it helps Colombia’s profile and boosts relations and tourism).'

Will it though? We saw nothing of Columbia really, and visitors aren't going to be attracted based on most of what we did see. Especially not the dozens of security vehicles and the kevlar shields.

Why the surprise?

UK has a free press, which does not have a uniform editorial approach.

There's a new H&M documentary on Ch5 - worth watching part 1 to see how extensive the positive coverage was in her early days here.

Aside from the carping about clothes (which she got in much lighter form than most royal brides (with exception of Catherine who always looks immaculate), there was only one badly negative story - written by a US based DM journalist and roundly condemned.

The wheels only really fell off after the S Africa tour, but that was the result of the jaw-dropping comment to Tim Bradby - so it was about what she'd actually said. And of course then confirmation bias kicks in.