Sentebale #5

[glitterturd]

As I finished the last one.

And this here is what frustrates me the most!
we keep hearing about feuds and poor Harry and awful William and Charles etc … but none of them have actually said a bad word about either of them!
the closest they have come to it is “recollections may vary “ and “we are not a racist family “ .
thats it ! That’s all the royals have said against the barrage of accusations, lies and slander!

What would you rather they do, @jeffgoldblum? They do retain the moral high ground by not reacting, and H gets more and more angry.

If they had any moral fibre, they could take the position that, whilst they do not agree with the attacks against Israel by these groups, they acknowledge that these Afghan women they have been helping have suffered and need to be supported; and the best way to bring peace between different factions is not cancellation or taking sides, but keeping an open dialogue and encouraging finding common ground between them. And to that end, they will be giving an equal donation to a Jewish charity doing similar work, and will work towards building bridges, what with them being the bestest humanitarians around.

You misunderstood me!
I believe the rf have handled this as they should, what I’m infuriated about is the insistence from some quarters that this is a feud or an equal fight!
they have nothing to apologise for , no reason to heal the breach, only h and m can fix this self imposed shit storm.

I love that expression - used it recently of my head of service in work, who keeps tripping herself up in lies!

It’s universal! , applies to all sexes and all manner of idiots, nothing to object to here! 🤣

MWC has made social media posts calling for Palestine to be free from the river to the sea which is a euphemism for the total destruction of Israel. One of their employees also allegedly made a post welcoming 7/10.

Whatever anyone's opinions on the conflicts in the Middle East (and, please, I really don't want to debate that here; the Middle East is the focus of FAR too many armchair strategists on social media as it is) British (along with EU and USA) foreign policy has always been to support Israel ultimately as a way of keeping Iran at bay. If Harry & Meghan want to continue to be associated with the RF, as they seem to do, then it's beyond stupid to ally themselves with an organisation whose views and aims are contrary to British foreign policy.

It's almost as if...H&M provide kneejerk endorsements to whatever they think will make them look good without bothering to carry out due diligence. In other words their 'life of service' is about appearances only, not actual support. Surely shome mistake!?!

When/if they finally drop the pretence of still being royal, and drop their titles, then they can support whatever organisation they like. But they can't have it both ways.

Pleased to see Knauf's appointment. He's a once in a lifetime genius imho.

It's almost as if...H&M provide kneejerk endorsements to whatever they think will make them look good without bothering to carry out due diligence. In other words their 'life of service' is about appearances only, not actual support

Never mind "almost as if", @GiveMeSpanakopita; personally I'd say that's exactlly what it is

And yes, I'm aware of what the MWC have called for, and amused (or not) that they're now trying to pretend it's about some cuddly knitting initiative for Afghan women to whom H&M are causing disadvantage
Nothing new in tthat approach though, and as you suggest H&M could have avoided the whole thing by making better choices

Nothing new there either ...

@GiveMeSpanakopita I agree with all your points. I also think that they're still claiming to be royal, doing royal type duties etc so they really ought to be very cautious with foreign policy issues. Like Harry going to Ukraine, for whatever reason.

For me, it's just yet another example which proves my thesis that they can no longer afford good PR advisers, or that good PR advisers no longer want to work with them because H&M are known to be professional nightmares/resistant to advice.

A good PR team would have hired a Kroll or similar to do proper due diligence on the organisation before H&M endorsed it; hell, if H&M couldn't afford Kroll (which they probably can't), a detailed trawl of the social media accounts associated with this organisation would have revealed that it was ethical kryptonite within a day or two.

That's the other thing that bothers me: the sloppiness. H&M are SLOPPY - you see it in their personal styling and presentation, their online assets such as their various websites, their messaging, the As Ever products and the audiovisual content they've produced.

Even relatively 'small' influencers these days are obsessively careful, conscientious and diligent about product, presentation, PR, content and the causes with which they choose to ally themselves. I know because I represent a few of them. The standards expected of influencers these days are so high and good influencers know this and take great care.

The ONLY reason why H&M can afford to be so sloppy and STILL get clicks, views and coverage is because a) Royal Family connection and b) it's a rare human being who won't take at least a peek at a slo-mo media car crash. In other words, it's got nothing to do with H&M's "talent", their intellectual gravitas (don't make me laugh) or their oft-vaunted "dedication to service" (ok now I am laughing).

It bothers me. I hate professional sloppiness.

Yes, that was exceptionally stupid, because who knows what the British Foreign Office's scenario planning currently looks like? Almost certainly one option under serious consideration is joining the US in forcing peace negotiations. Because let's face it, the war's been in stalemate since late 2023 and, as a wise woman (my NA sponsor) once told me, "If nothing changes...then nothing changes.").

So how does it help to have Harry gadding about there like Boris Johnson in desperate search of a photo op? Proper loose cannon stuff, they can't have a foot in both camps, they're either Royal or full-on celeb. Pick a side, guys.

Harry went without consulting the UK FCO, the EU or NATO.
His arrogance and self entitlement is off the scale. Just for a photo opportunity! That man is just desperate for publicity.

BP and the FCO might have had their feathers ruffelled by the Ukraine visit but I'm not sure the EU or NATO give a stuff or would even pick up the phone if he had called to check.

I'm more concerned how much the Lviv jaunt cost the Invictus charity (looks like there might have been biz jet hire for that) and whether that jaunt allowed Harry to effectively get Invictus to pay for the whole out and back from the West coast, including time in London for the RAVEC hearing.

@GiveMeSpanakopita
Sloppy, yes that sums them up. Everything is done in a half arsed way but they expect fulsome applause, total respect and praise. They are not serious people, serious people do thorough research and speak and act carefully. With Harry and Meghan five minutes as a parent is enough to make them experts on parenting, two minutes as a business owner is enough to make them experts on business. Nothing is in depth or thought through, and therefore it is not worthy of serious consideration.

I would except Invictus but I am pretty sure the serious work on that was done by those men in grey suits Harry so despises.

Imagine the furore if something had happened to him ? Kidnap ? Or worse .
And NO I don’t want anything bad to happen to him but he is playing a dangerous game.

Oh, me neither. It just shows that he just wants to do things for his own self aggrandisement.

I'm not convinced that Ukraine visit was that dangerous TBH, certainly not compared with what the average Ukranian is putting up with.. but it probably suited him/others to portray it that way...

There was no advance notice given to the media, he will have had local protection whilst there, and the first press reports came out after he had left the country, by which time he was possibly ensconced on a flight westbound out of Poland.

He's well protected and his movements are kept under wraps when it suits him and especially if somebody else is facilitating and paying for it all.

More dangerous than Westminster Abbey? Than a London courtroom?

Given the whole world knew he was on London for the RAVEC hearings, or certainly knew by day 2 due media coverage...whereas not a squeak publically about Ukraine until he left that's an interesting question.

I agree about the bandwagon causes. At one time they were going to facilitate covid vaccines for the whole world, I believe.

It’s like a house in the next road to mine: the banners keep on coming. Save the NHS, BLM, We Stand With Ukraine, Palestine… they must have a standing order for white sheets…

Spot on once again, GiveMeSpanakopita
As mentioned before I don't have your extensive background in PR, but like most with a few miles on the clock I recognise quality output when I see it, and this ain't it

Sloppy is the word, and while it'll doubtless fool their more credulous fans it clearly isn't enough to create the success they so badly crave

Oh my god, I've got neighbours like that; Refugees Welcome, No to Brexit, Free Palestine, Trans Rights etc etc etc. all very easy for middle class uni lecturers in a spacious detached 4 bedroom house in a pleasant, low crime suburb.

It’s interesting to watch how this is being handled by Sussex supporters given it’s one controversy that cannot be spun as anything other than an issue generated entirely by Archewell (i.e. not the British Media or the Palace). So far there is infighting amongst supporters based on what has been posted about it, and a view Harry and Meghan probably have no involvement in what has gone on, it’s all been decisions made by the employees of Archewell.

If the decision has been made by employers of Archewell, that tells us two things: 1. Meghan is not over the detail. 2. The Archewell employees are not up to the job as if they were they would have realised that the Palestine-Israel conflict makes it vital to have got H &M's sign-off before defending an Afghanistan-adjacent charity.

it’s all been decisions made by the employees of Archewell.

Have those empty acres of office space now been miraculously populated?

By tribbles perhaps?