As Ever #2 Whatever

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

I noticed the old thread is almost full so thought we could start a new one to carry on the discussion about the rebrand and merching.

Are you an ‘As Ever’ or ‘Whatever’?

link to the old thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/5277002-as-ever

I think Charles feels much guilt and responsibility re: Harry

Why should he feel guilt?

@MissRoseDurward Diana and all that happened there.

*To add not saying that he 'should' feel any guilt but I think he does.

I think she would have struggled meeting people like Judi Dench. She only ever seemed able to talk about herself in public situations and never went to the theatre for entertainment. They both seem to have no interest in culture at all.

I never actually had the impression that Meghan wanted to be a serious actress but rather she wanted to be rich and famous .
To the best of my knowledge, she didn’t do any theatre .

I really hope Charles isn't funding Harry in the background after all the fuss they made about earning their own living and actually I doubt it (didn't Harry say his father had cut him off financially at 40 😂🎻 )
They would be fine with Harry's money , Meghan's money , what they've earned thus far , Harry' better up thing plus whatever M can make from the influencer thing (assuming Netflix not renewed ) or other projects they can come up with , and trying not to fuck up the ones they've already got on the go.

I know Harry has said he's ring fencing his inheritances for the children but that may be something he has to think about - bit like worrying abut your children's inheritance and so not turning the heating up. They would be fine if they just cut their cloth according to their (very ample ) means . BUT what the hell do I know about keeping up with the Perrys / Winfreys etc of this world. Absolutely nothing.

That said , I do agree with @CathyorClaire - we won't see Harry on his uppers. I am sure Charles would be a backstop if things really went tits up but I hope he would also ask them to be more reasonable about the lifestyle they needed if he had to sub them.

didn't Harry say his father had cut him off financially at 40

I think if I remember correctly that the royal accounts showed that Charles was still financially supporting them after they left.

I seem to recall that accounts showed he supported Harry until summer 2020 .
Of course he may have given money from private funds that we don’t know about ( although I doubt it).

To get back on topic, Meghan's show was originally supposed to launch in January, over a month ago, and was only postponed a few days before the scheduled date.

Why didn't she start promoting the brand then? If it's a 'partnership' with NF, wouldn't the obvious thing be for the line to launch around the same time as the show aired?

Even now, she seems to have no actual products to sell. It's all a bit shambolic.

I thought Queen Elizabeth's decision to make M the royal patron of the National Theatre was ill-advised, particularly after she herself had held the role for 45 years.

Was QE2 really that quickly suckered into the idea by Harry of M being some kind of serious actor and/or theatre lover? Or was QE2 taking the piss? Because it was taking the piss out of the National Theatre, which has remained stoically silent in the aftermath.

Honestly, what are the royal advisers paid to do? They seem bloody useless a lot of the time.

A bit like M's current product advisers.

I do wonder what happiness they are able to enjoy behind the scenes. Constantly stabbing at projects that come to nothing. Estranged from most of their families. Living in an enclave for rich celebrities where they appear to have no friends and don’t mix with the neighbours. Nothing of consequence to engage them . No matter how much money they have, it doesn’t sound like a happy life to me.

@sussexroyal is still on Instagram with 8.9million followers.

That’s my point.

I can see why this decision might have been made, though. Presumably, it was expected that, like other people who have joined the rf as senior royals, Meghan was going to take her duties seriously, and her patronage of various causes would be included in that. I don’t think it is unreasonable of the rf and advisors to think that Meghan would be capable of immersing herself in the National Theatre patronage. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I suppose the Queen didn’t see the grand flounce coming so she felt it an appropriate patronage to hand over. Which it would have been if Meghan could have been arsed to actually become part of the firm 🤷‍♀️

And you can't 'bring in millions simply as an influencer' just like that. There's more to it than setting up an Instagram account.

But this is the thing with Meghan I think - she's all style and no substance. She wants to put her face to things without actually engaging in any of them. ARO was exactly this - pretty Instagram posts of sending celebs baskets of jam. Nothing else. Her speeches about her pet projects showing no real grasp of them. I think she genuinely thinks she - the brand, the name - is enough.

The next few weeks are going to be interesting. She has less (US) public support now than ever before. I think As Ever will be another dud - what is she selling exactly? And if it fails - then what?

Meghan did go to the theatre a couple of times in London with Harry. I also think she went to some retirement home for actors. Told one of them that she was pregnant ( she was several months along) and the woman very drily said 'yes we know'.

@HashtagBlessedHashtagGrateful

I also think that she and Netflix thought that their titles & Harry being KC's son would do more of the heavy lifting than it has turned out. Which apart from the titles being more of a curiosity in the US ( disclaimer I don't live there ) - rushing straight in with their Oprah / Netflix / Spare thing for quick returns made for a dip in popularity , certainly in the UK and the just not seeming to have much too offer & playing the victims with all sorts people.

See, I don't think she would. There's no evidence that she had any interest in acting as a craft: it was a means to an end, the end being celebrity and fame and money. Theatre wasn't glitzy enough for her.

Meeting Harry was an unbelievable coup in that regard. Unfortunately, in the beginning it involved boring things like duty and not being the centre of attention, but she's ditched the silly old royal family and she gets to be the star now.

Harry received a lot of sympathy over the years because of his mum's death. Quite rightly. It was something awful that everyone can relate to and empathise with.

Since he left the Royal family though he has extended the victim narrative in ways that people don't really relate to: the smaller room in a castle, one less sausage in a castle, daddy cutting off his financial support at 40, not having enough money when he is a multi millionaire, people not loving his abrasive wife, not having the tax payer pay for security when he lives abroad and doesn't work for the country etc etc etc

With each unrelatable whine sympathy lessens and the trust of those he needs to be successful diminishes. People are now not as prepared to make allowances and I feel there is a definite undercurrent of "grow up" in a lot of even friendly media articles.

He doesn't have much substance and he doesn't seem to realise that to survive on style you need the type of people on board who value privacy.

Amusing article in the Guardian on the As Ever rebrand. The bit about Harry’s voice appearing momentarily in the video is spot on!

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/19/meghan-markle-rebrand-as-ever-poshness

I also think that she and Netflix thought that their titles & Harry being KC's son would do more of the heavy lifting than it has turned out

I agree. They didn't realise it is being the kings son, not Harry, that makes us interested. It is the position not the person.

Good spot, and ouch but spot on.

I also think NF were expecting some sort of 'reality' type content. Or at least for the Sussexes to be in front of the camera themselves, instead of putting their names to dreary documentaries noone cares about. Sure, the initial statement gushed about 'elevating communities' but what NF really wanted was some sort of 'American royals' content.

At least the upcoming show will feature Meghan herself, so it will likely get initial interest at least. But I don't think anyone could claim that this has been a successful partnership.

Agree @IcedPurple but even with the upcoming show, it's Meghan in a hired kitchen. The interest is more in her life that her, imo. I would be more interested if it was her Cali kitchen, I would have been really interested if it had been a royal kitchen and garden.

Yep 😬