Best advice for Harry going forward?

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I have all the same initial reactions as many others on MN regarding Harry i.e. whiner, grifter, stupid, entitled etc and it's easy to dole out the criticism.

However while I wouldn't say I have sympathy for him, as so much of his situation is of his own making, I actually do have some underlying feelings of concern for him and his future (and children).

He reminds me an awful lot of a relative of mine who is neurodiverse with a mild learning disability and a tendency to be self-absorbed with an overdeveloped victim complex - always lashing out, blaming others, seeing conspiracy where there is none etc.

Harry is clearly a damaged man, with childhood trauma and issues which continue to plague his mental health.
As with my relative, he has grown up with a support network which has probably quietly managed and enabled his passage through life, but when big outbursts happen (as have happened in our family too) everyone backs off and 'grey rocks' him until he has calmed down. Some people just give up, too exhausted by the constant drama of it all.

Meghan will be Liz Hurley - striking a pose in a bikini with Archie and Lilibet as acolytes.

Oh, I remember when the Robert Hardman's book first came out last year, in which he recounts QEII's reaction and upset. One American poster was adamant that Lillibet was a very common name!

Probably some sort of mother-daughter double act? Like Kris Jenner and her brood.

I’m sure the children are perfectly nice looking but I think if they were anything out of the ordinary we’d have seen a lot more of them. For their sakes it’s probably better for them that they (probably) just look like everyone else’s kids.

With regard to the Lillibet name, I can believe that Harry is so thick that he thought it would be a nice gesture and the queen would be happy. But Meghan? Not a chance. I think she saw the marketing potential in a twee, catchy name (they were already registering "Lillibet" domain names long before she was born); and it was a power move - the ultimate fuck you dressed up as a compliment.

That has just made me jump out of my skin @foreverblowingbubbless 😂

Lilibet apparently came about due to the late Queens attempts to pronounce Elizabeth when tiny (same as the Queen Mother's childhood nickname, Buffy) It is so, so personal. Elizabeth is actually my middle name and apparently I could only manage "Lizbuf" when trying to say it for years.

Agree Elizabeth Doria Diana and let the little girl/family work out any nickname that sticks herself.

ETA remembered it was actually more like "Lithbuf" as I had a lisp

Please, noooooo!

But yes, I can see at least 15 years of this sort of caper ahead.

This assumes they comply, what if they inherit Margot/Phillip/Samantha/Spencer character?

Exactly this. I saw it as a “fuck you” to the Queen the same as when Meghan declared “they don’t own the term ‘royal.’” Spiteful and smug.

Didn’t know they were registering domain names!

And still trying to balance a adult child on each hip. 🙄

I bet they wince when she’s referred to by US commentators as “Lillee-Bet” like some sort of teenage country singer.

Whatever the thought processes that went into naming their children I feel sorry for their daughter, on whom this has backfired the most.

Or Harry's character - or Meghan's ..... A & L might have cut off their own parents by then....

I agree.

I agree with you that they had different motivations.

The timing and context of this naming are very important. By then HMTLQ had already deal with their atrocious bullying behaviour of her valued staff at BP, dramas around the wedding, upset of family members, the publication of FF (which invaded HMTLQ's privacy directly by MM who lied under oath), Megxit, Sandringham Summit and ultimately in the weeks PP was on end of life care the 'bombshell' OW interview which left the racist cloud hanging over every member. HMTLQ was in deep mouring for her husband and at that time H&M's behaviour and initiatives were seen as a potential threat to the monarchy which at the end of her reign - the docuseries and Spare were still to come.

H&M were 'strategic' from the start - they decided to leapfrog two generations/hierarchy of power PW & PC and in their initial announcemen declared they were collaborating with HMTLQ. They had caused so much continued hurt, offense and stress to all members of their family but believed they were entitlled to for $$$$$$.

I do agree that PH was ignorant enough to believe he was still 'the faviourite grandchild' and could do and say as he pleased and the family would tolerate it. Remember his narrative since has been he is waiting for an apology from them - that has recently changed to 'he has forgiven them and now HE wants reconciliation' -- so deluded.

I doubt it ever even crossed Harrys' mind to call his daughter Lilibeth, it is so out there and ridiculous, I think that was all Meghan and Harry fell for the 'tribute to your granny' theme and probably thought she was an absolute genius for coming up with that idea. Its in a similar vein to all her other kitschy and silly ideas, 'our sun', the silly interior of the hat, etc.

I called my big sister Lilibuh when I was two. I still call my other sister by the toddler pronunciation that's close to her real name. If they'd called her Elizabeth then privately called her Lilibet that would be one thing, but apart from anything else it's a nasty way to drag an innocent baby into a family feud.

One of my sisters is estranged from my parents, and my other sister wanted to name any potential daughter after both sisters - but I'd never transfer an argument to the next generation from the day they were born. Luckily she only had boys.

In fact, another friend of mine started bitching about her new niece's name, and her probable looks on the same day she was born - pitting her against her own toddler daughter.

It's a really nasty way to behave IMO, "break generational curses" my arse - they're perpetuating them.

M assumes the “love in’ emails will assume complete devotion plus. The odds are good Lilli might emerge as Princess Anne Mk 2 or even a Saffy character who doesn’t share Mum’s enthusiasm for ‘elevating the ordinary’ ;)

<a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/2025.05.14-101839/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-14710289/truth-Prince-Harry-legal-battle-palace-confidential.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://archive.ph/2025.05.14-101839/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-14710289/truth-Prince-Harry-legal-battle-palace-confidential.html

interesting! , Charles paid the first year!

Every time I see the name Lillibet, I just think what a pair of cheeky fucking stalkers they are. So greedy they even stole a pet name from a woman they hurt badly, and whose legacy they continue to shit all over

You're not alone, @RandyRedHumpback - I know people for whom H&M are barely on their radar but were still furious about that

To me it just seemed a spiteful gambit designed to signal "sod you, we can do what we want"
Not unlike the rest in fact ...

@jeffgoldblum thanks for the heads up. I found the longer programme about the security case here. Am about to take a look:

I am pretty neutral about the whole Royal Family but even I thought that this was monumentally shitty and attention seeking behaviour
Pet names like that are deeply personal whoever you are and if they wanted a nod to Harrys Grandma they could have gone with Lilly or Beth

As Lili was born only weeks after Prince Philip died, why not use a female form of his name? Phillipa, even Phyllida. If that didn't suit, how about Alice, for his (amazing) mother? Alternatives that would have real meaning and not just appropriate the poor late Queen's family nickname to merch with.

Oh cheers @RandyRedHumpback!
I will look at that too! 👍

I've been trying to work out what it is about "nobody owns the word "royal"" + naming of daughter Lilibet, that really offends. Taken in a different context, both things can be true ("royal") or flattering (Lilibet). For example, imagine a young gymnast at the next Olympics, pulling in great scores in her first appearance, showing never-before-seen promise, making everyone sit up and pay notice with her performances. If she were to say "nobody owns the word GOAT", you'd take it as bluster and bravado whilst also thinking she may actually be the next Simone Biles so let's just keep schtum. If a cherished child were to name their baby after you, even a pet name, you'd probably find it touching (if you ignore the bit where that person said publicly that her name is the only thing she has that's hers and only hers).

What offends with "nobody owns the word "royal"" is that we all know that the purpose of that was to commercialise the status, or at least use it for personal gain (status, access, relevance) and that Meghan (not Harry) just isn't royal. Had Harry said it, he would be factually accurate: no single person owns the word, there are lots of royal people in the world by one proper definition or another. But wrt Meghan, she'd been married to a royal for around 2 years, lasted a full two minutes within royalty having talked publicly about unilaterally deciding she was going to redefine the term to suit her aims, caused mayhem and havoc and subsequently flounced. It would be like that aforementioned gymnast putting on a disastrous performance, dissing all the other competitors in the media, saying she alone will redefine what GOAT actually means so that it fits her rather than the people who are actually the greatest gymnasts of all time, and then when she is ridiculed and gets no traction flounces out of the Olympics and gives tearful interviews to Oprah.

It's laughable, really.