Sentebale #4

[glitterturd]

Harry

The one thing I have learned from Harry's blurb and Travelyst's on their website is that the phrase "at scale" is beginning to get on my wick.

Agree.

The Royals are there by chance of birth, not because they possess any great skills.
I couldn’t care less what Williams passion projects are etc. You go where you’re told. If that means opening a new community centre in Skegness, so be it.

You’d think the way they bang on about how the Queen was such an inspiration etc…..then learn from her! She was on the throne 70 years-we never had to endure her passions: Corgi rescue centres, youth projects encouraging the enjoyment of the GGs, highlighting how Gin and Dubonnet can help with mental health.

Really pisses me off that he doesn’t get it yet. BUT, I think he will have to wise up soon because KC won’t be around forever.

I think there has been an increase in William's engagements in the last year, I'm going by Instagram not the court circular. He doesn't do as much as his father did as Prince of Wales of course, even with cancer there keep being reports that the King won't slow down. At the moment I'm onboard with their focus on their children because raising them to be emotionally resilient is something that may have been lacking in some in former generations and it's been shown to be rather important in recent years. I don't really care about the number of holidays because whilst they take more than me they seem on a par with wealthy people I know.

As the children move into the teen years and they move nearer to the crown I would hope that there will be a steady increase in their workload. We will see.

This is a good, balanced view. William is doing more. The illness of both his father and wife must have given him pause for thought. The throne may be closer than he thought so I can see it makes sense for him to make the most of his time as Prince of Wales to spend time with his family. Like his father, he has a good emotional range - statesman-like with Trump and in Estonia, lighthearted when interacting with crowds.

It was either that or a pic of meghan making crepes in the kitchen, while looking out at Harry effing and jeffing in the garden.

"At scale" is very annoying. I also dislike "At pace", especially favoured by the Civil Service.

I don't think William will be opening community centres in Skegness in the future - that doesn't seem to be the model of of being a RF that he is going for.

I know the Queen did that but times are different.

Will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

I've not read it, but am pretty sure Ms Chandauka doesn't have one - at least not as a result of her own academic efforts

Wasn't it an honorary title bestowed by some Uni ... ?

I can’t imagine the pressure William feels. Especially with young children and a wife who has been severely unwell with cancer. He has totally leaned into his role (I hate that term but still) and upheld every value that is a part of not just being royal, but actually a decent family member. Even if that family isn’t perfect. Harry has done the opposite. And to what end? You can’t leave a family, you can only create more trauma and division that is harmful to your mental health. He could have done it all so differently and yet here we are. An example of what happens when you pursue selfish goals and priorities that actively harm others

I think William is as much a sceptic of the ways of the "men in grey" and their ideas as his brother was. Not surprising, he heard all his mother's complaints and must have taken them to heart as her enemy and therefore his. I am sure I read somewhere that he tried to replace seasoned advisers with new/modern ones, and this has led to some PR gaffs and not great optics for him (eg the ill fated Jamaica trip). I'm hoping that after everything that happened with his brother's awful behaviour and events surrounding his wife's illness and the rumours of his own infidelity, compared to the relatively calm transition his dad has had since becoming king and the positive handling of media coverage of his illness, he can see that the old guard and their ways aren't so bad, and neither is being an old style royal. He can still try to break the cycle with his kids of the bad parenting of his own parents and their parents, without throwing the entire institutional framework under the bus.

“As the Queen’s grandmother Queen Mary once said to a relative, “You are a member of the British royal family. We are never tired and we all love hospitals.”

It's not all Earthshot and State Banquets 😁

I actually feel sorry for Harry despite my words. I think his mental health is fragile given the transitions and fall out. But at some point he has to LISTEN to the people that care about him and his future.

And more than that. Take responsibility for the mistakes he has made.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he was headed to some sort of rehab for his mental health.

He’s always been paranoid etc but I can’t see how he will be coping at all with this.

Agreed, and I think Charles supports him, being very aware of the problems in both his own childhood and that of William & Harry. With Charles & Diana, it wasn't just the marital issues, it was Charles always working (like his mother) and even Diana sticking to the the traditional aristocratic pattern. Yes, she was bigged up as a devoted mother, but the nannies did a lot of heavy lifting, and the boys went away to school aged 8. No criticism, that's just how it was always done.

@MrsLeonFarrell have the Charity Commission actually said they're investigating this? Last I saw they were assessing concerns?

So four engagements?

With lots of travel involved over three countries.

There are so many things that are interesting about this whole debacle aren't there? The facts seem to be:

1. Harry and pals asked Dr Sophie to resign, reasons unknown*. When she wouldn't, and when she took legal action to stop them forcing her to resign they released a statement which made it sound as if THEY'D referred Sentebale to the Charity Commission because of Dr Sophie's mismanagement and that they were all "forced" to resign.

1. Dr Sophie didn't see it that way; she had already started to follow whistleblower procedures because of "poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir - and the coverup that ensued" and so she spoke up to defend herself.

1. Dr Sophie also says she was asked to release a statement in support of Meghan and refused to do so, whereupon Harry wrote her an "imperious" note asking why not. Sentebale agree that a note exists but say they have no authority to release it (hope it comes out soon though!)

And so, in response to serious allegations of bulling, misogyny and misogynoir, Harry, chooses to use a friend - who ACKNOWLEDGES he is speaking for Harry!! - to allege that Dr Sophie, a talented, professional, experienced black woman, qualified as a lawyer, is jealous of Meghan (a talentless, unprofessional, ex actress who married Prince Harry) because she (Dr Sophie) "was no longer the 'most important woman of colour on stage'! WTAF?

So now he's proving further that he is a misogynist, racist bully. And he's letting it be known that Alex Rayner is speaking for him. Nobody cares how "shocked" and "grief stricken" Harry says he is, this is all on him and his behaviour. His chickens are really coming home to roost.

We also know that Dr Sophie says she has documentation, of course she does, she's a lawyer who used to work for Meta, Morgan Stanley and other large organisations.

It's fascinating because it's such a study in what not to do when you're in a hole, or while Rome is burning and also, because we know there's more to come. The Charity Commission will investigate and report in about twelfty years but there may be further legal action before that, we'll see.

IANAL as we say on Mumsnet but surely Sophie has been defamed and very publicly? Does anyone know? And she won't have said anything without having proof so presumably H&M can't sue her?

*But we can guess, having heard her views, which are that the Sussex brand is toxic and was affecting Sentebale donations, plus that Harry thought he could gatecrash a charitable event with Netflix which meant they lost a cash donation (the field for the match) as a charity, plus that Harry wanted to add board members on his say so alone

It’s also an interesting moment in history to reflect on how the monarch, the heir and the future heir manage the working and ‘in training’ part of their lives.

The late Queen came to the throne so early she didn’t have the chance to explore the role of heir - she was also born into a different time in terms of deference and mystery surrounding the ‘royals’.

Then Charles had the unprecedented experience of being heir for nearly his whole life - so he had to create a way to pass that time that was both fulfilling and acceptable to the public.

William is the first heir to experience living his whole life under intense media pressure and the rise of social media giving everyone a chance at a selfie or a candid photo and endless social media commentary about his choices.

We know he had a lot of time with the Queen one on one to learn about the job, and he did the traditional military service. I wonder how or if George’s ‘training’ for the role will change or follow his father’s path.

Apologies if this has already been brought up, but Alex Rayner appears, from Companies House, to have been born in 1978, so he's 6 years older than Harry. That's to say that as boys start at Eton aged 13 and leave at 18, there's no way he could be "an old Etonian school friend of the prince", as the DM article claims.

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/UsF9qc3xZatqXWF5ahZX2nKq9NU/appointments

That DM article by Posh Alex means the okd Script ( with its "let's wait and see" and "touring the newsroom" messages) is now redundant and they're having to craft a new one.

I think the new one involve a no-holds-barred approach to SC, since her mention ofvhe Sussex PR machine has resulted in DM and Guardian at least nowcalludingbto Sussex Squad activities.

I look forward ( not) to an.8nflux of new posters declaring they're " not a Sussex fan, but ...".

That's a good point, I'm not sure.

It's really hard to know what is going on at Travalyst and what they actually do as it is set up as a company and not as a charity - so they claim an exemption as a small business from filing proper accounts and having them audited.

According to their latest financial statement filed in Feb 2025 - Travalyst made a profit of £320K last year. But there are no details of how they made their income or what they spent it on because they claim the exemption. Also Prince Harry is listed as a person of significant influence as he owns more than 75% of Travalyst's share capital.

I’d hope they would follow the King and Queen of Spain’s approach to princess Leonors path.

William didn’t really get going with Royal duties until he was 30, Princess Leonor was making speeches, with the support of her father at 14 (in two different languages)
They have gave her a clear path, guided the whole way by her father and supported by her mother and sister. She has had a great education and is now undertaking military training. They’ve done an amazing job. She understands her role because she’s been training for it for a long time.

I understand because of what happened to his mother, William was allowed to have a childhood/teen years free from duties and responsibilities but I don’t think in hindsight that was the correct approach. I think the Spanish royals and British royals are quite close though, so I’m sure W&C will be getting advice.