Is there another couple like the Sussexes Part 2

[veraswaistcoat]

With this new authentic Insta post where Meghan positions herself as a go between in securing some signed merchandise I think there's still plenty to discuss.
This is a new image. No make up. Carefully edited insta. New lips. Is this influencer territory? Mention of " my husband and l " Echoes of the Queen ?

The whole vibe around ARO was meant to be organic, farmers' market-ish, homemade and high-end. Now it's going to be generic, mass-produced and sold in shopping malls. Oh dear.

https://flamingoestate.com/

I think she was trying to copy this company and got her knuckles rapped.

It takes A LOT of work, more than a full-time job, and a lot of money and a lot of time to establish something like Flamingo Estate. Meghan doesn't have what it takes. Jars of Made in China (with tarriffs on top) jam and honey on a shelf in a Netflix store (wtf is that?) in a mall in Philadelphia with poor quality and slightly-outmoded packaging, cheek by jowl with merch from crazy-successful shows, is a pretty accurate representation of where she is compared with eg GOOP or Flamingo Estate. Great encapsulation.

I think she was trying to copy this company and got her knuckles rapped.

And isn't that Meghan's problem in a nutshell? She hasn't an original idea in her head.

She tries to copy:

• Julia Roberts' looks with her plastic surgery
• Princess Diana with her 'philanthropic and humanitarian' work
• Flamingo Estate and Gwyneth P with ARO
• various hosts (eg Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath) with her Netflix show
• and of course, Catherine, Princess of Wales in so many ways.

And she thinks no-one notices!

So she gave up the chance to be 3rd lady in the realm, ranking behind only the Queen and Princess of Wales, hanging out with world leaders at state dinners and being patron of prestigious charities, in order to flog cheap jam in shopping malls in Philadelphia?

Well, tbf, I'd much rather be mistress of my own two-up-two-down, than controlled to the nth degree in a palace! Gilded cage and all that. But then I wouldn't leave that palace slamming the door behind me, go on to bitch and moan about everyone in it and falsely accuse of them of stuff, while attempting to convince people that I'm better than any of them. Not my style 😉

Yes, being royal definitely has its downside but the perks are pretty spectacular too.

If Meghan was happy living a quiet anonymous life then sure, I could see why she wouldn't want that life But she wants fame. She wants prestige. She wants people to look up to her. She craves it in fact. So it's bizarre that she gave up a life where people would literally bow to her and call her Your Royal Highness in order to slap her name on generic mass produced jam to be sold in provincial shopping malls.

I see what you're saying, but I don't think this takes account of the cultural differences between the US and the UK (I live in the US, am from the UK). People here don't really care whether you're bowed to and called Your Royal Highness: they see it as all a bit obsequious and silly, difficult to take seriously and difficult to believe that people still do that stuff! All the gilded carriages etc are just points of reference, things to be fawned over like the Mona Lisa or a Renoir. A self-made woman (like Gwyneth, for example) would be way more impressive, a modern great person. If she succeeds (which I really, really doubt), she'd have far greater prestige than 3rd lady.

She didn’t want to be 3rd , she wanted to be 1st

Indeed @Mylovelygreendress , sadly she's now not even on the board !
What a self imposed come down , and she's dragging Harry down with her!
New polls apparently don't think of him as royal anymore!
I would feel very sorry for him had he not behaved in the way he has.

And now @Mylovelygreendress she isn't even on the podium 😁.

Interesting point @Onlyonekenobe - I suppose being from and living in the UK I am thinking more of the high profile she could have had and opportunities to get involved with stuff she cared about . as per IcedPurple's post .Yes , the money would not have been self made , but being Gwyneth Paltrow hasn't quite come off yet. Good perspective though . Memo to self - broaden your lens 😂

I see what you're saying, but I don't think this takes account of the cultural differences between the US and the UK (I live in the US, am from the UK). People here don't really care whether you're bowed to and called Your Royal Highness: they see it as all a bit obsequious and silly, difficult to take seriously and difficult to believe that people still do that stuff!

Maybe 'people' don't care.

But Meghan cares.

This is a woman who insists on using her royal titles at all times. Who is using royal titles for her children. Who set up an 'Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' website.

She definitely cares.

A self-made woman (like Gwyneth, for example) would be way more impressive, a modern great person. If she succeeds (which I really, really doubt), she'd have far greater prestige than 3rd lady.

I'd hesitate to call Gwyneth 'self made' given her background, but there are lots of successful actresses and celebrities with lucrative brands. But Meghan wants to be more than that. She wants people to envy and look up to her. If all she wanted to do was be another Goop, she'd have put her energy into that from the day she 'found freedom' 5 years ago. Instead, she's been playing pretend California royal. Status matters massively to the Duchess.

@JSMill Meghan hasn't even got the largest following of ex suits members.

@IcedPurple . I think you're right - the trouble is she wants the Royal status AND to be Gwyneth and the late Queen knocked that on the head. I think she's fallen between two stools , neither one nor t'other. Neither the temperament nor desire to be a working royal nor (thus far - never say never) the ability to make riches beyond Croesus herself.

You have absolutely no idea if that's true or not. For all we know, the titles thing is entirely led by Harry as his children's birth right. But hey! Let's bash the woman anyway.

Yes I agree with all of that @IcedPurple , but would say that she clings onto the titles and status not because she cares about being a duchess (something meaningful in the UK and most definitely not here), but because that's all she has to stand out from the crowd. It's not the best thing to have here, much rather be a Meryl Streep or an Adele (you know, someone with actual talent), but anything is better than nothing.

This is why her behaviour is all about clinging onto Harry and the RF: they're all she has. And why she keeps going on about wanting the world to see the real her, because she wants to move away from needing Harry and the titles into being free and envied and adored for being herself, like the women she aspires to be like. She wants the status, definitely, but she hasn't put in the hard work to earn it in her own right. Everyone knows she has it through marriage, and that's not something anyone respects here. So for as long as she doesn't make it by herself, she's not going to give up Harry or anything associated with him.

A 'birth right' that they were not born with?

@Onlyonekenobe we are all entitled to our point of view but according to my American relatives, when H and M first got married, there was a lot of excitement about having an American 'princess'.

I think there was! At that time, people thought she'd be standing next to Katherine at all the fancy schmancy events, on the balcony, wearing a tiara and grand gowns etc. Verrrrry different to how things panned out!

If she'd had any sense she would have aimed to be sort of an American Zara Tindall. Only better, as she's married to the son of the King. She wouldn't need titles or royal duties for that. Just be seen occasionally at royal events and keep up a good relationship with the family. With a good marketing team, she could have created some sort of 'American royal' brand that way. But she wants the titles. She wants the status. But without royal adjacency, those titles mean very little. I don't think she gets this.

Neither she nor Harry need to use their titles.
Lady Frederick Windsor manages to have a successful career as Sophie Winkleman and remain married .
The Duchess of Kent taught piano as Mrs Kent.
The fact that Meghan changed her new Instagram name from simply Meghan to The DOS speaks volumes .
And why so agitated on OW if she wasn’t bothered about her DC having titles ?

But all those people have a talent! Zara Tindall with horses (not sure what she does but think she has an Olympic medal?). Sophie Winkleman arguably a better and more successful actress than Meghan. Duchess of Kent a pianist good enough to teach. Meghan has no discernible talent. I don't mean that bitchily. I mean it factually. She has nothing other than the titles and her associations through marriage. But as @IcedPurple says, without royal adjacency those titles are meaningless - so the clock is ticking before she falls back into irrelevance. The children will be fine, as they'll always have Harry's connections. But if he divorces her, she's back where she started.

But all those people have a talent! Zara Tindall with horses (not sure what she does but think she has an Olympic medal?).

Sure, but horse riding is a pretty niche sport and Zara's career is years in the past. Most people couldn't name an equestrian to save their lives. Zara would not be getting magazine covers and lucrative endorsement deals if she were not a member of the royal family.

Meghan could have built up some sort of post royal 'brand'. Maybe launch a less cringey NF series 4 years ago? Be active on social media? Appear on talk shows? I don't think she was ever going to make the fortune she seemed to think she would, but she could have done a lot better than putting her name to a few rebranded jam jars in a mall in Philadelphia.

Yes, a Disney princess, a Cinderella. Title might not matter but Disney is massive, people dream of princes and princesses.
But for a title to matter in America I think it has to be wrapped up in all that is British. They want castles and carriages and an escapism to an old fashioned way of life. They want Cinderella.

I toitally agree without royal adjacency the titles will become meaningless, if not a burden and a lot of doors have clanged shut on them already, more so if as suspected Netflix don't renew. Harry's what is it $1 million a year from BetterUp won't go far with the current lifestyle. Invitations to appear on the podcast were rejected by the likes of Taylor Swift who would have got huge listening figures and although I'm trying to keep an open mind about the forthcoming style/whatever series, I can't see it being a raging success. Then we have Polo and ARO.

Harry was actually really bloody lucky that Spare came out well before the King and Kate were treated for cancer, because had it appeared at that time the opprobrium would have been monumental. I can't see him risking another tell all tome at this point, for that reason, how crass it would seem.

It rather begs the question of what they can actually do to generate serious amounts of money. I for one am stumped, based on the King Midas in reverse track record thus far.