Opinions may Vary . A genuine question about why Meghan and Harry seem to attract such differing views.

[BasiliskStare]

I post this more in hope than experience but I would be really interested in a proper discussion about those who are fans or supporters of them , those who aren't and indeed ( of which there are many ) , those who are indifferent.

So - I'll start. There was an interesting post on another thread which said M&H come over as David and Goliath , standing up against "the Institution" - my paraphrase.

No spitting , no fighting , mind the furniture 😂

She’s respecting the monarch, not her FIL personally, in public. That’s appropriate in her role.

I don’t think ordinary mortals are expected to bow and curtsy nowadays- they mainly just greet royals as you would anyone in a formal situation. Unless they want to, of course.

Quite! It’s a common attitude that people are very respectful of other cultures’ weird customs’ but find our own weird customs ridiculous.

I love all these daft protocols - they connect us with tradition and make life more interesting! I don’t feel offended or consider myself belittled by them.

I definitely think there's a big element of 'sunk costs' in the Meghan cult fandom. They've become 'invested' in her so feel the need to defend this investment rather than cut their losses when it's become clear she's not the great world changing philanthropist they had bought into.

However, it doesn't really explain why they started being fans in the first place. It's in the nature of football that you 'pick a side'. That's the whole point of competitive sports. That's not the case with members of the royal family, or at least it wasn't until recently. I agree that in the early days Meghan might have seemed to have admirable qualities, but hardly enough, even at a generous appraisal, to inspire such fandom. And Harry of course has been famous from literally the day he was born, but nobody seemed much bothered about him one way or the other until he got with Meghan.

I do think though, that Meghan's fans thrive on the perceived victimhood by the 'RF' and the 'British media'. You see it here on this forum. They want to think that 'they' are out to get Meghan and are 'enraged' at her 'success'. Because take away that sense of victimhood and this alleged great rivalry, what have you got other than a basic Instagram influencer?

I think a lot of of people would agree with that question.

It wasn’t just U.K. viewers who found it disrespectful and rude , many US and viewers from across the world found it offensive to mock the queen too .

I think fandom is partly about belonging to a group isn’t it - there’s lots of research about the psychology of groups and their importance in human society. There are lots of benefits to group membership, like developing social identity, a feeling of belonging, social validation from fellow members, security, a ready made social circle etc. It’s also a way to compare yourself to others and define yourself in relation to them. People exhibit in-group bias, so they prefer members of their own group (there’s a really nice experiment where someone would pretend to be injured, and they’d be wearing a football shirt of either the local team or a rival). And other groups are often stereotyped and seen as competition, all part of developing the in-group bonds and identity.

I think there are the anti-establishment Fans who only support them because they are disruptors. These sorts of people will jump on any bandwagon.

The True Fans seem to be largely American -,on here I think they run their posts through a translating thing to amend spelling differences. Some were “official” (remember that one -can I name names? - well, Higher Rhymes with Alley) who posted reams of PR and links ( all miraculously to hand) and others just like belonging to a club, getting excited about their heroine and hating her enemies. These people will turn on Harry if the need arises. He is (in dog parlance) the Spare Hooman.

Yes it's the position not the person. Years ago I received my degree and Princess Anne was the chancellor (well still is). The message we got was that no doubt many would not wish to bow / curtsey but a respectful nod of the head to the Chancellor might be appropriate.

I'd say kind of. Most (real, traditional) football fans have a pretty realistic view of their club, and are quite ruthless about players and managers who don't perform. It's the club they love, the results/trophies they want. The personnel are beloved until they are not performing. The love for the players/managers is rooted in something rational: performance and tangible results. The love for the club is rooted in something bigger, the local community and what the club means to the people there, the history, childhood memories etc and is overarching. That love will survive the comings and goings of a lot of people over the years. And that's why, even when the team (players/manager) is failing and the fans fall out of love with them, the love for the club and all that means to them remains - and it's a rational love with actual foundations in reality.

For me, the love for M&H is cult like. It's not rooted in anything rational/tangible/real. It's rooted in blind faith/mythical belief/an inadequate taking on a mythical, god-like status feeding snake oil to the lost. I keep thinking of Keith Ranieri and NXIVM whenever we have these threads. It's as irrational as the people who flocked around that unimpressive little dweeb and allowed themselves to be branded by him.

The Comical Ali of the royal boards is how I used to think of that person!

Women's rights pah! Now if she were donating all of this as ever income to one of her women's charities I might see the point of that.

It was actually more Amber Heard style support, Bouzy in an article stated two he was hired by Amber and Meghan using Bot Sentinel. At the time the method was to amplify Ambers supporters and used a system called bot sentinel to remove Depps fans and those who questioned Ambers narrative or even those who saw an extremely toxic relationship with crap on both sides. No matter what lies Amber told the support never budged and became a group that often only allowed replies amongst themselves, meanwhile bouzy used his system that he did the algorithm to target accounts as bots or disruptive. Twitter was called out for sharing data but Twitter became X with a large staff removal and Bouzy lost access. I can see the similarities of meghans support on Twitter. Bouzy hosted virtual meets with both groups. I have seen the scripts on mumsnet but usually just post and run, similar to the ones who do the pregnancy crap about Meghan

Do you think she shouldn’t be trying to make money?

I didn't know that Bouzy supported Amber. He seems a strange individual who is long over due some investigative journalist looking into his methods.

I thought Harry looked so uncomfortable. I can see why he wouldn't say anything to her on film but I wonder if he ever did in private. Maybe not.

I think I am right in saying that when they meet the King and Queen, lower ranking royals greet them with a kiss (as a family member) and then bow/curtsey (acknowledging their role). So they have a method that accommodates both, and presumably everyone is happy.

The MSM made a half hearted attempt to go after him last year. See the video I linked above. I assume that's why he's been lying low until recently.

He sat there like a sack of shit while his wife took the piss out of his Grandmother! He should have felt sick in that moment.

At the time it was more interesting than the case, lawsuits, in fighting, GDPR, Bouzy shady past. The bot sentinel had isis/taliban support as positive but questioning ambers donate/pledge marked you down as disruptive/bot.

He looked uncomfortable but he obviously wasn't. He had the power to stop that clip being broadcast but didn't.

This, for me, is one of Harry's worst actions. That was not a live interview - that clip could easily have been cut. He made the decision to allow it to stay.

Exactly. For many reasons, this is one, I do not believe the narrative that poor, stupid, vulnerable, grieving Harry was resced from a dreadful life by Meghan. And I have sympathy with Meghan for ending up with an entitled, arrogant manchild who refuses to take responsibility for anything and instead blames everyone else. Eventually I'll bet good money he will turn on her as well.

But she didn't 'end up with him'. This wasn't an arranged marriage. She married him with enthusiasm and has marketed their 'love story' to the world.

To me, they're each as bad as the other and I could see either turning on the other if it suited them.

I’m surprised that people find the curtsey clip one of the worst things Meghan has done. There are so many other things to pick her up on! I can quite see why an American would think that a curtsey meant a deep court curtsey rather than the British Bob. Unless she said something rude or disrespectful?

@RandyRedHumpback - I did warn you I might not have thought it through properly. 😁

@CurlewKate - I absolutely don't have a problem with her trying to earn money. They "need" it. Some of the ways eg some of the content of the NF docuseries I dislike very much. But to be fair it is one of the things they have stood by - they wanted to become financially independent. I'm sure balcony appearances , Royal tours and carriage rides would have helped that, but not to be.