Duke of Sussex : "potentially initiate a partial return to the royal fold"

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Duke of Sussex asks former aides to help plot RETURN from his US exile in first stage of 'rehabilitation' strategy: Prince's friends vow to help smooth path back and dub it 'Operation Bring Harry In From The Cold' | Daily Mail Online

After everything he has said and done........

William wasn’t the only one urging him to slow down . Charles Spencer also spoke to him ( at William’s request) as did some of his oldest friends such as Tom Inskip (?) whose punishment was to not be invited to the evening reception.

Lots of ways. Did it not occur to them that they could make money by being feted (former) members of the RF? Even if they weren’t working royals they could easily still have been popular and wanted by big luxury companies, red carpet events and a million other things. To me it would be a no-brainer to leave but use the reflected glory and stardust that the RF (rightly or wrongly) have in a benign way. But no they decided the best way forward (for a quick buck) was to pour poison on it and then be surprised when it all turned to rot. Like I said neither of them have emotional intelligence.

.if you support the concept of monarchy then that's what you get and your opinion about whether Harry 'deserves' to still be in the royal family is contradictory to the whole premise, is it not?

You, and many others, are conflating the royal family as a family with the monarchy as an institution. Harry can do what he likes as a private individual. His private relations with his family members are a matter for them. The emphasis being on private.

What people object to (if there is any truth in the speculation) is any suggestion that he can ever represent the monarchy in any capacity or take on any public role again, that he can use his connection with the monarchy to make money, that he can publicly trash the principles the late Queen lived by in her role as Queen and expect it all to be forgiven and forgotten.

I wonder really how he thought he/they thought they they were going to manage financially or if they even gave it any thought?

There is information on this point in the book 'Revenge' by Tom Bower (it's a worthwhile read for anyone who's interested in M&H and interestingly they never sued or commented on its contents and TB said he only put in what he could independently verify from I think three sources).

Anyway, when M moved to London to marry H she obviously continued to keep in touch with US friends and contacts, and regularly moaned that as a member of the RF she couldn't accept any of the gorgeous freebies she was being sent and had to send them back. She also wasn't allowed to do deals with fashion houses, handbag and shoe companies, etc and get kickbacks for all the sales she was generating by wearing their stuff. As a former influencer, this kind of thing was her bread and butter before, so along with Harry's tiny cottage and disappointing bank balance, this was all contributing to madam's dissatisfaction with life as a member of the British RF.

Said friends and contacts apparently told her repeatedly that she/they should just move to the US, where they'd be in HUGE demand and be able to monetise everything and get stinking rich. And that happened initially - they got unprecedented deals with Netflix, Spotify and Penguin Random House to produce films, cartoons, documentaries, podcasts, books - incredible for two people who had NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE of producing any of those things. So the friends were right and they must have thought initially that they were set for life and were going make a huge success out of leaving the RF. But then everyone realised what a talentless pair of grifters they are. They've still made multiple millions of dollars though - estimates are that Harry made $27 million from his book alone.

A more sensible man might have avoided the whole thing or at least taken time to understand what they were each taking on,

Or - since he's reputedly not blessed with intellect so that 'understanding' might have been beyond him - he could have taken the time to listen to his older brother, who after all only suggested that he 'slow down' on the marriage proposal and take some time to get to know Meghan better.

As opposed to framing this mild and doubtless loving suggestion as the epitome of fratenal abuse and using it as a basis to spend the next four years publicly trashing William for percieved faults such as his job, his choice of wife, and lack of hair.

Spot on lemonpepperlady and it has turned out that William's suggestion about being cautious to ensure Meghan (and Harry to an extent) knew what hey were taking on turned out to be correct. However, I think Harry was (a) desperate to be married and (b) desperate to father children and that blinded him to everything, he saw marrying Meghan as his one and only chance for the above and was not going to let anything get in the way of that. Harry seems to have airbrushed out that his own mother, despite being from the aristocracy, found Royal life and the expectations thereof difficult.

I reckon Harry couldn't believe his luck that MM was interested in too @SadOrWickedFairy. Didn't he describe her character Rachel Zane as his ideal woman or something, before they met? He was clearly absolutely crazy about her in the early days of their relationship and couldn't wait to put a ring on it before she figured out the reality of his life and the depth of his anger and dissatisfaction.

He was born in to the royal family and the line of succession.

But he could choose whether or not to be a working royal, and after his stated preference for half in/half out was deemed unacceptable, he decided to leave The Firm.

So I think it is fair to have a view, in the light of what has happened since, on whether it would be wise (or even acceptable) to have him return to the role he quit.

If some awful tragedy put him in to the direct line of succession, then we would just have to get used to the idea and hope that steps were taken to prepare him to be able to acquit himself well in the role (for indeed we would have no choice).

What people object to (if there is any truth in the speculation) is any suggestion that he can ever represent the monarchy in any capacity or take on any public role again, that he can use his connection with the monarchy to make money, that he can publicly trash the principles the late Queen lived by in her role as Queen and expect it all to be forgiven and forgotten.

Exactly, Abouttime.

I think the RF would be mad to reconcile with Harry, but if they want to do that on a personal level, that's their business. What I'd start to 'froth' about 😆is if Harry were given back any kind of official role.

Surely the RF (and certainly the government in general) realise that he cannot be trusted with the sort of information the RF are privy to. They have to meet British and foreign politicians and heads of state, diplomats and civil servants, including the secret services. Harry has shown he cannot ever be trusted again with state matters. And, with his recent history and constant harping on about his poor mental health, it's highly likely that the international press would see him as a soft target and try to get him to spill more beans. And the RF would always, always be wary of him so things would never be the same even within the family.

I see Charles giving him a small cottage on a royal estate where he can see his mates, possibly play polo (paid for by Charles) and go to parties. Other than that, I don't want to see or hear anything about him if he returns to the UK. He's said enough publicly for several lifetimes!

People are supportive of a system where people are born to a specific role. Who are then annoyed when those people don't live up to their expectations. And spend thread after thread bemoaning the situation!!

Make it make sense....if you support the concept of monarchy then that's what you get and your opinion about whether Harry 'deserves' to still be in the royal family is contradictory to the whole premise, is it not?

But (newsflash) Harry isn't the monarch. Like Edward VIII, he's walked out on any kind of official royal role because he admits he doesn't have the necessady vocation or sense of duty. And of course, the whole world knows he doesn't have the judgement, intelligence or discretion that it would take anyway.

Yes - if KC or William behaved like Harry then they'd be manoeuvred out, I'm sure. And as pps have said - Harry IS 'in the royal family', as you put it. He was born into it. But he won't have an official role again even if he returns, tail between legs, a very slightly wiser man. So there isn't a constitutional problem - only a personal, family one which isn't really any of our business.

@CoffeeCantata I agree.

And another reason why I don't think he could be a working royal is that he's been so open about hating it. Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, Anne all do a decent job of pretending they really do enjoy spending a wet afternoon opening a sports centre (and I'm sure at times they do enjoy chatting to people and doing something new). But if Harry turned up to your charity event/local hospital/new sports club, you'd feel like he was there under duress and wasn't actually interested. Even if actually he was interested, it would now come across as very fake.

it's highly likely that the international press would see him as a soft target and try to get him to spill more beans.

And not just the press. His lack of discretion would make him a target for unfriendly foreign powers. It's one of the reasons people in power were glad to see the back of Edward VIII. It's also why these 'tours' by H&M are so ill-judged; they just don't see how they are open to manipulation.

I do have some sympathy for H over the issue of wanting children. It's well known he'd wanted a family. M was moving into her late thirties; if he wanted children with her, there wasn't too much time to wait around.

It feels a bit unfair to compare the Beckhams to H&M.
They’ve been incredibly successful in life, known to be popular with a tight bunch of friends including some from childhood, and have a close family of parents, siblings and now children. No comparison!

And I agree entirely with @lemonpepperlady that the Beckham don’t take themselves too seriously. That is actually H&M’s biggest flaw.

Also David and Victoria were savvy enough to get advice and take the advice they were given.

If some awful tragedy put him in to the direct line of succession, then we would just have to get used to the idea and hope that steps were taken to prepare him to be able to acquit himself well in the role (for indeed we would have no choice).

Or, we could just stop with the whole ridiculous facade and not have a King any more because it's outdated, nonsensical and archaic.

Yes. They could have made a fortune by being royal adjacent. They didn't have to be working royals visiting youth centres in Stoke on Trent. They'd still be able to attend the big events like Trooping or Christmas at Sandringham. Much better for merching opportunities anyway.

Look at Zara and Mike and how they work their royal connections. True, they both have genuine sporting achievements but the fact that she was the Queen's granddaughter has done wonders for their profile and earning power. And while the Tindalls are barely known outside of Britain, as the son of the King and the sainted Diana, with an American actress wife, Harry and Meghan could have become an international 'brand'. All this, while keeping decent relations with family and still getting to participate in some aspects of royal life.

They really could have had the best of both worlds. But their hubris and arrogance blinded them to that.

Philip was born a couple of years after many of his Russian cousins (and 2 of his grandmother's sisters) had been killed by the Bolsheviks - including those nowhere near the siccession. He grew up knowing what can happen to a RF that doesn't listen to what the public wants.

known to be popular with a tight bunch of friends including some from childhood, and have a close family of parents, siblings and now children.

Harry did have those things too. He was close to Zara and Mike Tindall, Beatrice and Eugenie, his grandmother, his grandfather, his brother and his brother's wife, there were times he appeared to be closer to his father than William was, he had many friends of many years standing. He boasted, which I thought was incredibly crass, that he was going to give Meghan the family she never had. Harry was popular not only within the circles he moved but also in the view of the wider public.

Interesting comparison to the Beckhams. The thing about them is that they knew it could all go wrong and that part of their success depended on being liked by their fans and the public.

Beckham knew how the public (well, football fans anyway) turned on him after that kick in 1996 or whenever it was (97 maybe?) - there were effigies of him hung in the streets, which was horrible. And I don't think either of them has or would publicly trash their families for financial gain. It's very unBritish!

DP was bowing and scraping over the weekend when he was sanding down and re-plastering a bathroom wall, and then he tugged his forelock to get some paint flakes out of his hair, and started frothing when some got into his mouth.

I said to him, 'when did you become a raving royalist, Fidel?' but he just looked at me like this and asked if I was absolutely sure that I wanted the bathroom painted beige.

AutumnCrow

Brilliant 👏
My compliments.

That's not strictly true, he is going to inherit millions from the late Queen Mother when he reaches 40.