The revolving EXIT door of employees chez Sussex continues

[Thedom]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13922531/Meghan-Markle-Prince-Harry-global-press-secretary-announces-major-job-change.html

Ashley was approached by other clients who were seeking the high-quality counsel she has provided to the Sussexes.

'High quality counsel' that's a bit of a stretch! she should have left when she originally quit, they clearly paid her to stay on at that time.

It's really lousy timing for this announcement, immediately after the employee bullying disclosures, and the spin they are trying to put on it is amusing. Likely the retention package expired at a very inconvenient time and she was not staying a minute longer as their employee.

You are right. Harry still seems to have projects which are all from his RF days so nothing new that has been developed since 2020. Meghan has never really had a project that has come to anything.

I don't buy Harry new 'statesman' role, but I can't see Meghan being happy about this, hence the People puff pieces to try and draw attention back to her.

I am not so sure that we will see fireworks if they separate.

MM has never discussed previous relationships - and I would hope they would both think of their DC.

PH would be more likely to kick-off publicly if he felt slighted and vexatious (he has form we have seen this with the press and the RF).

However MM's stroke of genious would be to make PH think it was his idea or his fault that they separated .... then he wouldn't blab and would feel so guilty that she would hold all the power in financial negotiations.

I think she would also hold the power of a tell-all but as a tease and could drip-feed or insinutate for years. I dont think that she would go all out dirty linen - I think she would maximise $$$ and hold interest / spotlight on her by strategically dripfeeding or insinutating in interviews, docs, etc.

I will say though,

Meghan has had a tough few weeks. First the HR, daily beast- no one of note has come out to defend her (Inc husband) just put upon staff members in USWeekly which just looks embarassing. Then we have yet another staff member jump ship. Now we have the tabloids implying that the couple are on the rocks. We had these rumours last year too. Pretty much been a PR bloodbath.

She was so upset about the newspapers commenting on her writing on bananas, cradling her bump, the way she held Archie at the polo match ….that she felt suicidal and had to leave the UK. She’s either toughened up dramatically or she must be very upset at all this bad news.

@Twistybranch - perhaps, but she's actually just reaping what she's sown, albeit publically via the papers, the very papers she wants to only publicise the Miss Perfection bollox she's given them to print; her antics are coming back to haunt her now, and bite her an the arse- in all honesty nasty little bullying manipulative, self serving glory hunters should be hung out to dry IMO - I'll bet there are ex staff and many poor people she's used and abused along the way, wiping her stiletto shoe prints off their heads and faces, feeling pleased the cracks are starting to appear and the dirty water is starting to leak out

Honestly @Twistybranch you reap what you sow. If you sow discord, unpleasantness, smugness about your wonderful, happy relationship and make cruel and baseless accusations against people who cannot respond, you can't complain when similar shit gets dumped at your door. I'm afraid I'm fresh out of fucks. If I have sympathy, it's for William and Catherine and each and every person who's been bullied and yelled at and belittled.

I know it is de rigueur to blame Meghan for the whole horrible mess, but I think with Harry she was pushing at an open door. He’s now bored, fed up, Meghan has not ‘delivered’ the perfect glittering Hollywood life…so he will be off for pastures new.

I agree. The move to CA was clearly her idea, but it's turned to shit. Nothing has worked out the way it was supposed to. It's five years since they boarded a flight to Canada to 'take a break' from royal life and duties. They've made millions, it's true, but where do they go from here? They've sold their story and earned whatever money they could from doing that. But what now?

Even when they were royals I thought Harry and Meghan both were all about short term tactics but it not very good at overall strategy. And that’s all just been played out on the global stage that they were seeking.

I can’t help thinking part fo that is because it’s a weakness on both their parts, and partly because of the advice they were getting from advisors with a direct financial interest in their projects. Imagine being Harry’s literary agent at WME who introduced him to Penguin Random House, for example. They would have known from the outset that this was likely to be a one big bestseller deal, and would have made huge amounts of money personally from all the millions sold - but no interest whatsoever in preserving Harry’s reputation. Advisors with an interest in short terms profits rather than long term viability could well have caused them huge problems here (lest you think that’s unlikely , Marina Hyde had a great discussion on one of her recent podcasts with Richard Osman about the tribes of unscrupulous professionals that act like parasites to the rich and famous in Hollywood. Like Matthew Perry’s GP….).

I wonder who will get the Sussex Squad should there ever be a separation….?! (I think we all know the answer to that question and the U-turns will be very interesting).

They had the wind at their back when they left - there was significant public sentiment .... I thought it was refreshing for PH to 'escape' - as well as huge financial opportunities - which initially they exploited PRH, Netfix, Spotify and they were feted. They were unlucky with timing as COVID reduced their visibility in their first year.

However their behaviour since has shown that their words dont match their actions. There have been so many issues. They are both totally talentless.

They have squandered any chance of building any sort of reputation around dignity, integrity and trust which would have led to further financial gain / brand collaborations.

Dont know how much cash they have left now from their deals or how much their life in Monteceito costs annually - but I suspect the balance sheet is problematic as they have zero new revenue streams currently - unless I have missed something.

@Glooop excellent post

They really must be both thick AF to not have foreseen this. Did they really think they had anything to offer outside of the cache of the royal family? They’re just two lottery winners with no discernible talent or integrity.

I don't buy Harry new 'statesman' role

I can't imagine that anyone with sense would, @JADS, though some who swallow wholesale whatever the latest headline is may be swayed

Statesmen don't behave as Harry has done, and no matter what spin anyone tries to put on it a lot of that will follow him forever

This is night and day in comparison to the speculation about Catherine's health, I'm surprised anyone is likening the commentary on the 'rebranding' and the divvying up of the Sussex's interests, to what went on around Catherine's cancer diagnosis.

The Sussexs' are using their 'sources' to feed the media, with the spin they want to portray, , its creating a discussion, along with plenty of eyeroll, as it absolutely contradicts everything they have said and done up to this point, and, let's face it, not many people take what they say at face value due to their lack of credibility.

They have gone from full on Meghan taking center stage with Harry sidelined, to Harry stepping out on his own, and it all came hot on the heels of the confirmation that Meghan bullies her staff, while Harry was portrayed as the nice guy.

Of course people are going to wonder if there is something else going on, when you see it in context with how miserable Harry has looked and how irritated Meghan has been with him, it's going to create commentary.

Did he ever really want a perfect glittering Hollywood life? Or was it a case of what Meghan wants, Meghan gets?

That's the $64,000 question isn't it?
And whether or not he did, even living in the climate and circumstances of Eden can wear off after a while if the mindset's too frittered to appreciate good fortune

It's said that most expats go through a process of "Oh wow, this is amazing", through homesickness and being irked by the differences, and then onto acceptance of the situation in the round, but that takes insight and a certain maturity, neither of which Harry appears to possess

I see inviting the Clooneys to their wedding didn't pay off, then...

True. They have made millions, but their position seems precarious. Because they have all this wealth but it feels they are living a lifestyle beyond their means. And have already sold their story.

Reminds me of some footballers who in their career made millions, but spent it all and are now left doing the sportsman’s dinners circuit.

This feels like that. Netflix/Spare was their premier league, they are never going to keep that sort of income coming in.

Their lifestyle must cost an insane amount. I would think that would only last 10 years with the way they spend or can come up with some up with some sort of business that generates an income of at least £ 5-10 million a year for them …for the next 25 years

I doubt many people are gleeful about the thought of a couple with young children separating. But as is often said on these boards, a toxic household isn't good for children either. Or the unhappy adults.

They rushed into marriage and don't appear to have emerged from the raising toddler years as a team. They may have had more challenges than most, but are cushioned by a level of financial security most people cannot comprehend and it's fair to say that a lot of their challenges have been of their own making.

I am concerned for both of their mental health and the wellbeing of their children and hope that someone can knock enough sense in to them to avoid a couples war by media. Unfortunately, I'm not terribly optimistic that they will.

Well said @Thedom !

They rushed into marriage and don't appear to have emerged from the raising toddler years as a team.

Excellent point @Citrusandginger

It does seem that way, they were a close family and now it feels very different. But perhaps it was the pandemic that gave the illusion that they were tight

They’re just two lottery winners with no discernible talent or integrity.

But worse though - they are also both vexatious, brittle bullys - who are arrogant, entitled, deluded and grandiose.

And thin skinned

Your last paragraph is interesting. I once knew a couple of people from the UK who were at stage two. I have a friend who moved to live on the mainland of Europe many years ago, and I expect she's been at stage three for a long time. Now and again she does wonder 'if Harry is homesick'.

Quite.

I remember when they launched their Megxit Manifesto an PR guru (can't remember the name) gave an interview saying he felt they could earn hundreds of millions......but that was only if they had a very good understanding of their brand value and avoid doing 3 key things:

1. Don't do tell all interviews or write an autobiography (you need to keep the Royal Element of not baring your sole and keeping a degree of mystique)

1. Do not slag off the Royal Family. They have provided the platform you have and are key to your brand.

1. Do not slag off the UK (same reasons as above). Make sure you visit regularly and make clear your fondness for the county even if you have moved.

I'm pretty sure this was a news article they either failed to read, or decided that it was rubbish as their global superpower thus brand and ability to monetise it was solely a reflection of their own talents/personality/business savvy.

Right from the start they have always assumed they know best.

Their security is a prime example of this. That they had the right to expect this to be provided at British taxpayer expense, even if they left the country. It was never their decision to make - or that of the RF. Their lack of knowledge/research/listening to people was laid bare on this matter in the OW interview - where M conflated Archie not being a Prince with not getting security.

All it would have taken was asking "what happens to our security if we leave" to know the answer in about 5 minutes flat.

They seem to operate on a "Picard" basis of "make it so" whilst failing to communicate with Scotty in engineering whose trying to remind them that warp speed isn't possible after you decided to jettison your warp core escaping planet "Royal" en route to planet "Freedom".

Soul not sole

I thought the position on security was made clear at the “Sandringham Summit?” but Harry just didn’t want to accept it?