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The royal family

As ever#4 - As usual

1000 replies

Words · 27/02/2025 14:52

New thread!

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Uricon2 · 28/02/2025 12:44

If (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling)

If you can keep your head when Harry and Meghan
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when the Duchess doubts you,
And just ignore her doubting too;
If you can wait and keep your emails tidy,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being bullied, don’t give way to bullying,
And keeping receipts is always, always wise

If you can talk with Press and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither Scobie nor Sussex Squad can hurt you,
If all Royals count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of good PR,
Yours is the Palace and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be Jason Knauf, my son!

CoffeeCantata · 28/02/2025 12:45

User14March · 28/02/2025 12:29

@Onlyonekenobe you nail it. Meghan won’t be comfortable with entry level ‘rich’ on St George’s Hill, Surrey, writ large. If as I suspect she wants to be the ‘bestest in the barn’ the not so subtle digs of other residents will surely grate…’We’re off to our fully staffed home in St Barths & on the boat for a bit first’…’Barbados? Or we still keep the old place there’. ..If that sort of winning & materialism defines you, long days as my teens would say.

‘Ah you are building near a golf course in the Algarve? How lovely, our Portuguese housekeeper is retiring to the same development, she saw a single storey unit there in a glossy, Jose’s handicap now in single figures..we’re given them a bit of a boost in a bonus’…taps nose…’so they fit in’.

And the old money Philanthropy types will likely sneer & Harry won’t be used to that & assume all round jealousy.

Well yes - only jealousy can explain any negative feeling towards Meghan and Harry.

When will I just come out and admit it? 😂

User14March · 28/02/2025 12:46

@CoffeeCantata I think the kids will either be at school somewhere v small & exclusive or eventually entirely schooled by a Governess. Maybe at 13 plus sent off to Le Rosey - didn’t one of Yorks attend?

Someone said upthread friends are only/largely transactional for M, yes, 100 per cent. Will she forgive Jessica M? If you are close enough to have kids to be pages etc you’d think wounds could heal. Are Robbie Williams & wife & kids enduring mates?

Onlyonekenobe · 28/02/2025 12:46

And having just looked up the recipe for Portokalopita, of course I want to make it now. I do struggle with the excessive (to me) sweetness of Greek desserts: the sugar syrup is concerning me. Presumably you need a certain amount to soak through the filo pastry. I wonder if I can water it down? I know I could adopt an "a little bit goes a long way" approach but that's just not how I was raised 😂. It was sticky toffee pudding AND custard please for me!

User14March · 28/02/2025 12:50

@Onlyonekenobe she could make much more of royal connections I think. Most Americans are obsessed after all IME. Thing is H is not earning his keep currently as a cash cow, time to warm someone up in wings?

Mightymoog · 28/02/2025 12:50

South Park new episode.
Could somebody link to it please or tell me what the title is.
I've looked on paramount and can only see the worldwide privacy tour one.

IcedPurple · 28/02/2025 12:53

Onlyonekenobe · 28/02/2025 12:06

This is the nub of the issue for them. In Montecito, they're closer to entry level than at the top. It would be a bit like moving to Hampstead and buying a small, run down-ish house on not-the-most-coveted street. And then, 3 years after moving in, going on to name a lifestyle brand Heath Living, or something. There is old money in Montecito. Eye watering new money. Plenty, plenty of people don't have to work and neither to do their children and grandchildren (which is where the defensive "I've never wanted to be a woman who lunches, I've always wanted to work" comes from I think). They need the money. Their running costs for just living in that neighborhood and school two children will be eye watering, let alone security bills. If they don't secure an income stream soon that house could well end up being an albatross around their necks. Harry I think is used to living frugally. It's all gone to Meghan's head (wtf did Harry know about California and its neighborhoods before she came along?!) and she was spending money like it's water initially. Lots of big costs have been visibly cut. And, apologies for how snooty this will sound, they don't know how to be rich. They don't know how to earn it, spend it, keep. Neither of them have the first clue and to me, it shows.

I agree.

I've said this before but when people go on about their 'expensive lifestyle' I always think that their 'lifestyle' doesn't sound that great by rich people's standards.They have a big, and in my view rather ugly, home in a very exclusive neighbourhood, but they don't go on amazing trips abroad, have lux holiday homes, attend A list events or, for all Meghan's new 'hostess' persona, they don't seem to have big parties either.

Montecito was a strange choice for them. Not only are they going to be the 'poor neighbours', but from what I know, Montecito is a place for those who have already 'made it', not for the parents of young children who are just starting out on whatever their 'career' is going to be.

CoffeeCantata · 28/02/2025 13:00

User14March · 28/02/2025 12:46

@CoffeeCantata I think the kids will either be at school somewhere v small & exclusive or eventually entirely schooled by a Governess. Maybe at 13 plus sent off to Le Rosey - didn’t one of Yorks attend?

Someone said upthread friends are only/largely transactional for M, yes, 100 per cent. Will she forgive Jessica M? If you are close enough to have kids to be pages etc you’d think wounds could heal. Are Robbie Williams & wife & kids enduring mates?

I think with Meghan there's no reconciliation or healing with regard to discarded friendships. I imagine she moves rapidly through different scenarios and stages in her upward scramble and doesn't ever want to revisit past scenes and past friends again once she's got to the next level. Lizzie Cundy was her close friend until she bagged Harry (with Cundy's help, ironically) and then LC was persona non grata to Meghan.

I get the impression that Meghan, as a narcissist, has no concept of real connection with others - she just doesn't get it. They are there, they're briefly convenient and useful and then she's gone - on to the next victim without a backward glance! She's the main character and they're not real to her.

BemusedAmerican · 28/02/2025 13:00

They bought an overly large house in a bedroom community,and the house has turned out to be a white elephant. In the "Cut" interview, M admits that the house was too pricey for them.

Edited for typos.

GiveMeSpanakopita · 28/02/2025 13:02

Onlyonekenobe · 28/02/2025 12:46

And having just looked up the recipe for Portokalopita, of course I want to make it now. I do struggle with the excessive (to me) sweetness of Greek desserts: the sugar syrup is concerning me. Presumably you need a certain amount to soak through the filo pastry. I wonder if I can water it down? I know I could adopt an "a little bit goes a long way" approach but that's just not how I was raised 😂. It was sticky toffee pudding AND custard please for me!

I'm sorry but I lost you at "I do struggle with the excessive (to me) sweetness...." Just, no. No. There is no such thing as excessive sweetness in Greek desserts. Give your head a wobble woman :-)

@Uricon2 I love that poem and I love your version! I also have an old lady crush on Jason Knauf. To be at the level he's at at his age....he's clearly just brilliant at what he does. I wish I'd had even a fraction of his PR nous and strategic ability at his age. That's truly rare talent he has. Plus, he seems to have genuine integrity, which is rare in the PR game (not as rare as people think, but certainly not terribly common).

MummyJ12 · 28/02/2025 13:08

Loving the vibe of this thread, the poetry and the recipes! 💗

There are 4.3K comments on the YouTube video of the sneak peek. I scrolled down for a long time and didn’t see one positive post. It’s going to be harder than climbing Everest in heels for her to turn this around.

User14March · 28/02/2025 13:13

IcedPurple · 28/02/2025 12:53

I agree.

I've said this before but when people go on about their 'expensive lifestyle' I always think that their 'lifestyle' doesn't sound that great by rich people's standards.They have a big, and in my view rather ugly, home in a very exclusive neighbourhood, but they don't go on amazing trips abroad, have lux holiday homes, attend A list events or, for all Meghan's new 'hostess' persona, they don't seem to have big parties either.

Montecito was a strange choice for them. Not only are they going to be the 'poor neighbours', but from what I know, Montecito is a place for those who have already 'made it', not for the parents of young children who are just starting out on whatever their 'career' is going to be.

If she felt like a poor outsider in a shallow enclave isn’t she then in danger of recreating this same unease in her kids? Possibly being ‘Royal’ changes things & if not she’s ruthless & ambitious enough to make ‘top dog’ happen? Maybe she’ll be happy with what they have if latest Netflix a success & brings praise showcases what’s good about her/him?

BasiliskStare · 28/02/2025 13:15

@Uricon2 - fabulous 👏💐🍾

TheSecondMrsCampbellBlack · 28/02/2025 13:16

I'm going to add to the chorus of what a great thread with so many intelligent articulate posters, thank you 😙

Spectre8 · 28/02/2025 13:17

MummyJ12 · 28/02/2025 13:08

Loving the vibe of this thread, the poetry and the recipes! 💗

There are 4.3K comments on the YouTube video of the sneak peek. I scrolled down for a long time and didn’t see one positive post. It’s going to be harder than climbing Everest in heels for her to turn this around.

Any positive posts means the poor person gets jumped on. Not surprised ppl won't post positive ones. If I watch it and like it I won't be coming on here to say so or anywhere else as i know exactly the response I'd get.

Uricon2 · 28/02/2025 13:17

BasiliskStare · 28/02/2025 13:15

@Uricon2 - fabulous 👏💐🍾

I curtsy in thanks (but not in a Netflix docu way😂)

jeffgoldblum · 28/02/2025 13:21

Lovely thread indeed! Or at least it was!
💐

Serenster · 28/02/2025 13:23

I think with Meghan there's no reconciliation or healing with regard to discarded friendships. I imagine she moves rapidly through different scenarios and stages in her upward scramble and doesn't ever want to revisit past scenes and past friends again once she's got to the next level. Lizzie Cundy was her close friend until she bagged Harry (with Cundy's help, ironically) and then LC was persona non grata to Meghan.

There were quite a few people apart from Lizzie Cundy who have been open about Meghan cutting them completely after she met Harry - Millie McIntosh, Gina Nelthorpe Cowie (her UK-manger) and famously Piers Morgan.

Mightymoog · 28/02/2025 13:25

Spectre8 · 28/02/2025 13:17

Any positive posts means the poor person gets jumped on. Not surprised ppl won't post positive ones. If I watch it and like it I won't be coming on here to say so or anywhere else as i know exactly the response I'd get.

I think people would be genuinely interested in how someone found it good.
In fact go watch it now and report back.
I'm hoping you do find some positives to give a different perspective.

jeffgoldblum · 28/02/2025 13:27

www.inbella.com/927257/prince-harry-talks-fatherhood-not-voting-in-surprise-appearance/

Apparently Harry is making an effort to "work" !

Mightymoog · 28/02/2025 13:31

jeffgoldblum · 28/02/2025 13:27

he says he's never been able to vote.
There's no law that he can't, just convention so if he;d wanted to vote he could have

IcedPurple · 28/02/2025 13:38

Onlyonekenobe · 28/02/2025 12:40

Ah, but Harry has something that no number of billions can buy. As Trump showing off his letter from KC3 showed. Colour me cynical but Meghan knows, each time people show wants to know reach to shake Harry's hand first, that she needs him desperately. He's still her only currency.

I think Harry has lost a lot of that 'something' though.

Trump openly mocked Harry and his wife. He would never publicly make fun of Charles, William or Kate.

Yes, Harry is a prince by birth so will always have that. But with every year that passes without him being seen at royal events and instead being a C list California celeb, he loses more of that royal allure.

JSMill · 28/02/2025 13:50

I remember the press just assumed that Millie MacIntosh was invited to the royal wedding and she had to politely say she had been dumped. It's interesting that M decided to dump Millie when another MIC star is the brother in law of Pippa!

MaggieMistletoe · 28/02/2025 14:26

GiveMeSpanakopita · 28/02/2025 12:19

I'm very much not a psychologist but as I understand it, NPD is usually rooted in a major childhood trauma in early childhood which threw the young child's secure attachments into disarray. E.g. a parent suddenly leaving, or getting very ill, a traumatic house move, etc.

People often think a narcissist thinks very well of themselves but actually what drives them is a deep sense of total insecurity at their core. To feel OK, they have to have the feeling that they're in control of everything, and that everyone is looking at or thinking about or looking after them.

This is what drives them to adopt the dysfunctional behaviour such as lovebombing, controlling, lying about themselves or exaggerating. It can cause them to be very impulsive and grandiose, to jump feet first into big projects or life changes without thinking properly about the consequences or whether it's the right thing for them.

The most interesting (and potentially abusive) thing about a narcissist, for me, is that they view life as a zero-sum game. They regard good things, like success, wealth, joy, happiness, as being finite resources and, if they deem someone in their circle has too much of the thing, they fear that they themselves will lose some of that thing. This is why a narcissist often seems to 'have someone in their sights', to bully or undermine a target in their circle. It's driven by a subconscious fear that the person in question has too much of something the narcissist desperately wants. Happiness, let's say. So they will try to undermine that person's happiness, out of the subconscious belief that this will make them, the narc, happier.

The narcissist needs to be the most beloved, the most admired, the most successful, the happiest. But they don't understand that certain things (like happiness) originate a large part from within. They think it's a resource which they can seize more of by taking away some of another person's happiness.

Narcs also tend to be very resentful and grudge-bearing.

It's actually a very miserable way to live.

It must be exhausting to be married to one.

I think a lot of narcissists in the public eye are probably good at masking who they are when it suits them, with charm and charisma. Meghan isn't very good at this at all, which makes her easy to spot all the more compelling to watch. She reminds me of a soap opera character where the actor has make their dastardly designs fairly obvious to the audience and so you see a lot of obviously false grinning and laughing and then the second the other person looks away the grin vanishes to be instantly replaced by an evil, calculated look. I've never seen anyone do this in real life like she does. She's absolutely good at dissembling and no good at sustaining her acts for any length of time.

Baital · 28/02/2025 14:33

Walkingbacktohappiness · 28/02/2025 12:02

Yes, really interesting. It makes sense of a lot of their behaviour, like turning up at the scene of the fires recently. Not doing anything useful, not having anything helpful to say, just the idea that gracing it with their presence would be some "comfort", and people would think they seem worthy.

Personally, I always feel the really humanitarian and charitable people are the ones you never hear about. Not the ones on quasi-royal tours, or the celebs climbing Kilimanjaro (or some smaller hill) for "charity", then going back by private jet.

As so many have said, Meghan doesn't appear to want to do the royal grunt-work, but the shiny, glittery stuff. I can't forget her little-girl-lost act face in that market in Fiji. No-one was doing anything to her, she had security, but no, she had to leave. No similar issues in Nigeria or Colombo then?

Nothing they do seems real, or should I say "authentic"? It's all dabbling: her book, Archewell (can they really justify the salaries they're paying when that seems to do nothing?), the Parents' Network, to say nothing of the podcasts/TV stuff. It makes me wonder what their real life is. Are they just knocking about that huge house with no real friends?

The one thing I do agree with is not touting their children for publicity. I don't like the teaser shots, the arm/hands, the back of their heads etc, but I really wonder about the wisdom of the likes of the Beckhams and how much/often their children are in the public eye. The Beckhams say they're worried about security but frequently post photos of Harper in school uniform. It doesn't take much to work out what school she goes to. But more than that, those poor children seem to rarely go to school and have to make all their mistakes in the glare of the public eye. What if Harper wants to be a nuclear physicist? She doesn't seem to go to school enough to achieve that, because it seems more important to bolster Victoria's image as a fabulous mother by having her at all her shows. They don't seem to realise (or care?) that life isn't just about money and fame. It only takes you so far.

And we come full circle to Meghan...what will make her happy and fulfilled? Surely, surely, they must have enough money to live a decent life? Maybe not the A-list private jet life, but enough for a big place somewhere sunny, with chickens and dogs, where they could bring their children up in privacy. I just don't know.

I get the impression (Brooklyn's various career choices, Harper's public profile) the Beckham's maybe don't expect their children to have a career, except possibly in their own images of sport and fame. So education wouldn't be a high priority. But maybe a tutor travels with them to keep the children up to speed.

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