Where is Harry?

[Rhaidimiddim]

Just that.

The issue is trust.
None of the RF are going to want H&M there while they don't trust them not to sell their stories to the press.

It's a private party, where they can let their hair down. The kids can be kids and play together. They are all people with reputations at stake, none of them can afford for it to be in the Boxing Day papers they'd had a couple of wines too many.

Did Harry claim in Spare that the RF turned on them / were cold on their return from the Australia tour - and he thinks its because they were jealous of MM star quality?

Was this not their first international tour and MM behaved really badly to staff (and PH to royal reporters) - this behaviour would have got back to HQ and I suspect that was the reason for a frosty reception when they returned.

Yes, if she did behave in the ways that were rumoured I can believe the family, or at least someone whose job it was, expressing disapproval. I can also see Harry misinterpreting their reaction in a way that absolved him of blame. It seems to be his MO.

I think they are planning out their separate lives. You can see the effects of their putting feelers out to the media to start 'socialising' the idea of them as separate free agents.

They really have failed badly at everything professional due to their poor decision making and refusal to take advice. The latest failure being American Riviera Orchard which was launched before product was on the shelf and is now languishing in trademark hell.

Harry's refusal to put out a Spare update or do any more interviews slagging his family suggests that he realises what a huge mistake it was to do it at all. His trip to Lesotho, imo, showed his longing to go back to Royal type tours - but he no longer has the Royal infrastructure behind him.

It's a good lesson for us all I think: don't hang your family out to dry in public, ever (unless your family are, like Fred and Rose West level of evil), just don't do it. And never, ever, ever get so arrogant to believe that you can do everything in life on your own - we all gain support from networks large and small, and none of us is truly indispenable.

Spot on message for all of us.

That article really sums it up "!the Sussexes' relevance is in their entertainment value" 😬
It answers the " why do you care?" people and the ones who cite how important the Sussexes are as people still talk about them. Ouch !

Exactly, the same reason people discuss soap operas, big brother etc

Yip their 'entertainment value' says it all. They are like a soap opera without the script writer. So it's a real game of what will they do next?

Many recognised their ability to make money from the Royal connections would be short lived.
Spotify have dumped them
Netflix aren't going to renew the contract.
Rumour the book deal has been cut.

The visa issue, isn't going to go away.
Archie must be starting to ask questions.
The status quo of the 4 of them huddled up in LA can't last?
Will they make up with his family or her Dad?

It's pure entertainment without the script writers.

Has been actually returned to the USA?
There's the visa issue, the PDiddy allegations are ramping up, and the house purchase in Portugal.
Maybe he's lying low in Africa or Portugal?
Also rumours about a hair transplant that's gone wrong, as well as the surf instructor rumours.
A lot going on for the poor chap.

what are the pdiddy rumours?

I think the PP means the allegations against PDiddy are increasing, and Harry has partied with him to some extent. Not that there are specific allegations against Harry during those parties

It was reported he returned to the US, surely he'd have wanted to see the kids. But that doesn't mean to say he hasn't left again.

He's named in the P Diddy papers. He's alleged to have had sex parties for years involving underage males and females. I believe the bloke who let them use his house is also linked.

That Australian article is very interesting .....

"To shamelessly borrow from the duchess’ 2019 interview, the royal family, looking at the rapturous reception that greeted Their Majesties in Sydney on Tuesday, are thriving and thriving some more."

"The same can hardly be said for the House of Sussex, which now only seems to do a regular line in bad news and PR fiascos.:

Plus Harry is friends with Corey Gamble, who has strong links to Diddy, rumoured to be one of Diddy's 'fixers' , he is Kris Jenners' boyfriend. Harry spent a weekend skiing with him and appeared to be high as a kite when he did a video call to the winners of the Diana Awards from his weekend away with Corey, apparently he was over an hour late for the call.

Really? Blimey. What are the surf instructor rumours please?

They have a huge PR problem (I know the media & PR industries as explained in previous posts so feel confident in giving the following opinion) and the problem is this: the majority of people are now tuning in to laugh at them and feel schadenfreude. This is a phenomenon of the internet age.

That's a huge problem when it happens to any celebrity and you can't come back from it really. If the main source of your celebrity is basically your personality, you can expect to have a number of people who 'hate follow' you; tune in to watch you fail. Ideally you would be aiming for a large audience of 80% genuine fans/supporters and 20% haters. The haters aren't great and can be a pain in the arse, but they still count as viewers, so you're still making money off them.

However, when you get to the point where that 80-20 golden rule is operating in reverse - as I believe it is for H&M - well, that's not good. You'll still be getting clicks and viewing numbers, but haters don't engage meaningfully with an 'positive' content you put out, so you don't get the longevity of TV and book deals, product sales, etc. To put it succinctly, if your audience is now 80% haters, theyll still follow news about you, but it'll be in a negative context: clicking on videos mocking your latest charidee endeavour, joining critical gossip threads on Tattle or Mumsnet, etc. That is not anywhere near as secure and lucrative as 80% supporters who'll stick with an entire Netflix series about polo, or buy some ridiculously overpriced jam.

When a celeb is in this invidious position, they often end up with a core of superstans who'll go to bat and defend the celeb in increasingly hysterical and aggressive tones. This can give the celeb in question the false notion that they're still adored, but unfortunately, that small core of hyperactive superstans don't translate into real revenue or proft over the long term (and a lot of them are bots anyway).

We know H&M are done as some of their previously high profile supporters (Oprah, the Clooneys, Liz Jones, Tina Brown, the Beckhams) are now openly critical or conspicuously silent.

My prediction: they'll stay famous, but it'll be an increasingly tawdry type of fame, tinged with derision and schadenfreude. And that's never going to be very lucrative in terms of income.

Rumours that Harry has been/had an affair with her.

I never thought say this, but I’m starting to feel sorry for them.

Great post @GiveMeSpanakopita thank you

That's an interesting post @GiveMeSpanakopita and I wonder if it goes some way to explain the persistence of the division into the camps of "hate" and "love", which is so roundly rejected by many posters here, who are generally looking from the pov of a long term interest in the RF, which simply does not fit that paradigm. Because the RF simply doesn't (as far as anyone can make out) look at things in that way. They have a time frame of decades (and arguably centuries, if you look at Tudor shenanigans and Richard III's reputation) and we have seen both the Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh turn around reputations that were more than 80% in tatters. Partly because they are secure in their position, and know they can move slowly and really rely on substance of what they do over time to seep through.

That's nothing like Hollywood spin, and the need to hold your position by holding people's interest (getting the articles, clicks and headlines) because your position is ephemeral. There's always the next performer ready to be the next big thing, and it could leave you with nothing.

I think that latter way of seeing things must be true (as you describe it) in the entertainment industry and that is perhaps why people who see events through that prism (and perhaps want to tip the 80/20 in the favour of the people they like) tend to assume that specific camps/teams exist and interpret what people say that way.

It's a culture clash. The British RF type of approach wouldn't work in California, and more than US hustle strikes the right note here.

@AutumnMagpies I feel for him. Hes given up so much for her, I think she's played him for a fool. He's daft and impulsive doesn't take time to think things through. And someone nipping his ear to do stuff he's gone alone with it.
He lacks the RF, calm gene, go slow 🐌, play the long game.

I dont feel for her at all. I think shes very manipulative and has manipulatied him, from the word go. Charles only knew about her existence 20mins before they did the press release.
What was the rush? Who was putting the pressure on?

@GiveMeSpanakopita
Thanks for that and teaching me a new word. I totally get what you are saying I'm amongst the followers who watches to see how it will pan out, so "hater" but I think haters is too strong a word. Because most people don't hate them in the sense of hate, or seriously dislike them.

Most would probably want to see them do well, but many just couldn't see How the business model would work.

If Harry can make a good life for himself as a tv presenter then great or breading polo ponies then great.
If Meghan landed some top films wonderful.

But as you say people would only watch because the content was good not because of it being them

@EdithWeston the Queen (Camilla) and DoE (Sophie) are partly what makes me think Harry could revamp his image within the RF.

I just don't think Meghan possibly could. She lacks the empathetic nature required for the job, her treatment of that lady at the Mothers group telling a harrowing story was absolutely awful.

If Harry can make a good life for himself as a tv presenter then great or breading polo ponies then great.

I know Harry has been violent with his polo ponies, but turning them into schnitzel seems a bit extreme even for him. Unless this is part of Meghan's cooking show?

[Apologies if this observation has already been made] I've wondered if Harry's Father's illness has been a watershed moment for him. It's often the case that we don't appreciate, or are even aware of, just how much we truly care for someone until we're faced with the possibility of losing them to serious illness. That reaffirmation (because I believe Harry does love his Father and Brother) may have prompted Harry to reflect on the entirety of the shit show of the past decade (and view it very differently).