Talks about reconciliation 2

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I've never started a thread here before, but I thought some people might be interested in this take on the story by a PR podcast I listened to yesterday (started listening to this podcast as I know very little about PR!).

It would be good to know if any of the resident PR people agree.

When It Hits The Fan: A Right Royal Whodunnit

Thanks for the new thread .

I should say that they are in agreement that Harry's side leaked, that BP should have known as there are plenty of places to have a private conversation in London, and that Meredith Maines has played a blinder from a PR perpective.

Place Matting

Listened to that also. Yes firmly reckon Harry or Sussex camp leaked. Hardly a surprise.

I haven't heard this one yet but they are generally very even handed which gives more weight to their opinion that Harry leaked. I will be interested to hear why they think Meredith played a blinder because I don't see that at all.

Interesting

I agree that the leak tactic is counter productive.
It just proves once again that H&M can’t be trusted.

I think that Meredith knows that if she looked at the camera like the men, then her guilt would be too obvious.
If Meredith didn’t know then she would have looked at the pap so that she could give her client a description and warn them that they may want to make a statement. Both of the men looking at the straight at camera suggests that one of them warned the table of the photographer’s presence- if Meredith didn’t know she’d look too - even just for personal safety reasons but her hair is a wall that is hiding her expression.
The men are idiots having their meeting there but as you say, this could have been a test .
Not sure why Meredith played a blinder- who is going to want to email her never mind have meetings ?

I think from a PR perspective - that people are talking about it, and that it seems to put BP in a position where they have to be responsive.

It's a bit contradictory, Meredith playing a blinder would be having no trail back to the Sussexes for the leak. It truly depends on on the aim of the meet, if for reconciliation then I'd say Harry is in a worse position than last week and the palace have the upper hand in that Harry cannot be trusted. If the palaces wanted to show a reason why Harry can't be trusted and they leaked then it's them who have played a blinder. If this is just for publicity then it's Harry (Meredith) who has played the blinder.

edit or the palace knew it was a publicity stunt and played along they've played everyone.

They do mention trust as well, but as a separate issue.

I have listened, apparently Meredith is playing a blinder because she is briefing The Mail and that's enemy territory. I think it's hypocritical when considered in the light of that grandiose 2020 statement.

I agree with the point that the leaking wasn't a good idea, it will definitely backfire on them if this was about establishing trust.

The idea seems to be that this is Harry trying to get Charles to get his security reviewed. The late Queen couldn't do that so why can the King? He still won't accept the court case decision and still thinks he is special.

The point they haven't made is that once again the Sussexes are only communicating with the monarch and ignoring or attacking the rest of the family. It is so short sighted.

Just re-posting my post at the end of the other thread. Of course Harry's side leaked it, to their favourite Mail journalist, no less, who was gushing about this development on GB News, complete with bullshitting about this being a "war". No, love, it's a one sided attack, always has been:

Apparently Sussex friendly journey, Charlotte Griffiths, the MoS reporter who broke the story of the meeting, was tipped off about it the week before. When asked by GB news how she came across the story, she says:

"Here we are at the beginning of the end of the feud. That's all I can say. I never thought I would say these words on your show. What my sources were telling me, what they were telling me all week, was look out because a big meeting's coming and the meeting is significant. Although they didn't have a specific agenda, very much rapprochement was on the cards...that was the word on the lips of my sources, that's all we're after. It's getting the conversation going again between these two warring sides, opening the lines of communication and the very first step on the pathway towards the end of the feud."

I think we can be pretty clear where the leak has come from.

It would be good to know if any of the resident PR people agree

I would love for GivemeSpankopita to comment on all this - she predicted this after all.

If the King had leaked then I don’t think they’d say it was a reconciliation meeting. That would have to involve Harry and Charles in a room without advisors since Harry does not trust the men in grey suits. The King would have said something like Invictus or charity work imo since business matters being discussed by employees make sense.

They thought it was a great tactical win to start the narrative that the doors are being opened to reconciliation, but not really a great strategic move overall - as in by doing so they erode trust even further. Which is Meghan and Harry all over really - they don’t seem to think more than one move ahead.

(I listen to this podcast each week and it’s always interesting. It’s the little nuggets of insider information that are fascinating - like someone who has been a Head of Communications at Buckingham Palace noting that Charles’ man arrived for the meeting with a bottle of wine as a gift - which is an offering to your host in this context. I.e. it was Harry’s team that had set up the meeting at that specific location, and so arranged for the photographer to catch them going in and sitting on the balcony at the back).

I thought the bottle of wine was a nice touch, considering the launch of Meghan's rose!

I know I sound like a broken record but I am convinced that Meghan is behind the leak . Yes she denied it but we know that she has a tenuous relationship with the truth !
No way does Meghan want to move back to the U.K. She just wants the perks of being Royal adjacent. By leaking this story , it sets back any reconciliation.
@serenster described exactly where the balcony photo was taken and there is no way a US based photographer just happened to be passing .
All roads lead to Meghan in my opinion .

Not only that, @Mylovelygreendress ... the photographer was perfectly positioned at the right moment to catch their arrival at the front entrance, then, he scooted round the back and into Green Park, and aligned himself perfectly with the gaps in the hedges that allowed a view onto that particular balcony, in time to get that second shot.

And, he is a US-based photographer too, if I got that right?

It should have been a Highgrove gift bag, clearly labeled. 😁

Then Harry flies off to Angola to cosplay Diana.

The Diana cos play hasn't gone down very well from what I can see on social media.

Definitely has the Sussex hallmark of a leak, designed to coincide with the Wales attending Wimbledon, to knock them off the front page and if as some are reporting to completely blindside William who was unaware the meeting was taking place. Along with Harry being ‘busy’ in Angola, as if to say ‘who me?’.

No , especially as the mine walk is faked.

I am not seeing the longevity of the PR pushes. Harry had the RAVEC case, Ukraine and the BBC interview (Meredith), trip to Las Vegas which was in May, accompanied by media coverage. It's July and here he is again. All for a country he appears to have been happy to leave and a family he's slandered. What happened to his American dream. I also don't understand why the Waleses are even mentioned. The last disclosures led to Harry popularity plummeting and an increase for the Waleses.

The men appeared genuinely surprised by the presence of the cameras, which suggests they likely weren’t in on it. As for Meredith, it’s hard to say — we can’t see her or gauge her reaction. However, if there was a leak, I’d be more inclined to suspect her involvement over theirs.