It’s interesting how positive headlines about Harry coming in from the cold are being used to mask negative ones about Sarah Ferguson

[Inotherwordspleasebetrue]

This is blatant speculation but I’m beginning to think that Harry was right all along and that the Buckingham Palace press machine uses stories about the lower ranking royals royals to protect the core of the monarchy.

So, on this occasion, to distract from damaging stories about Sarah Ferguson’s e-mails and back-tracking with Epstein, especially given the Yorks recent prominent appearance at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, my theory is that the Palace has given a tacit nod to a story about Harry coming back in from the cold, knowing that any story about Harry or Meghan will immediately hit the top slot and overshadow anything else?

Buckingham Palace must think people are very dim, or rely on the fact that they swallow this propaganda whole without questioning it?

Of course this time Harry will be happy because the headlines are favourable to him. And on a human level everyone loves a story about a reconciliation between father and son. But generally I think the British public are being played by all of this spin to cover up the type of story about financial murkiness that Andrew Lownie uncovered and wrote about in his latest book?

All of which leads me to wondering why the Royal Family and the men in grey suits are once again protecting Andrew and Sarah? Is it simply because Andrew is the King’s brother, and therefore close to the Crown, or is it because Andrew’s financial dealings are not much different to what most of them do in the RF, but just a bit more blatant and extreme?

Who knows what the truth is any more?

@Spectre8 i can’t stand the Yorks and dislike the Sussexes. The Yorks are grifters extradornaire (sp?) and Andrew is vile and shouldn’t be seen in public. Think most people agree with that.

The Sussexes are more divisive, had everything at their feet and have screwed that up imo. Other opinions are different which is what makes the conversation more interesting.

I don't think the palace is particularly invested in diverting attention away from Mandelson, but the government must be heaving a sign of relief that the story sank so quickly. The State visit utilised the royals to great effect but the main benefactors of a positive visit are politicians. I often feel with royal stories that the political machinations are overlooked. Andrew, for example, was a trade envoy for the government not the palace. I'm sure that the records have been sealed to protect them far more than the late Queen.

That is absolutely not true and you know it. Just look at my posting history. You really do reach so hard.

Sarah Ferguson discussed on this podcast from around 42 minutes in
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002jsck?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

One would hope so!

It’s hard to tell at the moment tbh!

William’s uncomfortable body language at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral is all we have to go on atm!

The more I think about the way Sarah and Andrew used that sad occasion to parade themselves about and smile and chat, the more disgusted I am with them.

In fact I don’t think any of them covered themselves in glory, Unless the news footage I watched was edited afterwards, it looked like Charles and the RF were chatting and smiling while the Duchess of Kent’s remains were being loaded in to the car and driven off. I expected all of the senior royals to stand in silence and show some respect to the Kent family, and wait for the D of K’s remains to be driven away before greeting one another and making small talk!

I chatted and smiled at my parent's funeral, so did others. It helped to have light conversations at a really heavy time. I don't see anything wrong with royal smiles on the steps of the church.

As Many of us have said , H and M are such a divisive couple plus seem to be repeatedly snatching failure from the jaws of victory that there is lots to discuss . Everyone agrees that A and S are shameless , arrogant, despicable people so there’s not a lot to discuss . Comments go “ I agree” “ me too “ and me” etc

i think it okay to share a smile, but to be fair , Andrew and Sarah were guffawing on the steps of the church, it was so disrespectful, but so very typical of them

Interesting points MrsLeonFarrell but I think the government were desperate to keep the lid on the Mandelsohn issue during Trump’s visit. They didn’t want to risk anything disrupting it.

One would hope that the main beneficiary of a trade deal would be the British people, arising out of the “£150 billion ($203 billion) worth of investment from US companies, dubbed the “Tech Prosperity Deal.”

It was indeed a great coup for Starmer and you could argue that his position would be on very shaky ground if it had all gone wrong.

Some are casting doubts on whether the deal is quite the coup everyone thinks it is but in these days of political uncertainty, war in the UK and Gaza, and very low defence budgets, it can do no harm to have Trump on side in purely pragmatic terms.

So I concede that there is some benefit to having the royals in terms of soft diplomacy. But I don’t see why the same location, pomp and ceremony, and state dinner, with an elected President as our head of state at the helm would have been any less effective?

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/18/uk/analysis-britain-relationship-trump-visit-latam-intl

And of course our elected Head of State has to be a person of integrity who isn’t enabling or covering up the corrupt and allegedly illegal behaviour of their son or brother.

I think I might have been a bit careful at looking too cheerful at a funeral if the world’s cameras were on me….

The cameras weren't on you, and I'm sure you didn't present like Andrew and SF, disrespectful airheads, taking advantage of a social occasion. As per.
I'm just glad William gave them the cold shoulder..

Yes, cross posted, but very true!

They're just so crass and vulgar.

True. Also I was thinking of the other members of the family who i saw exchanging smiles, not the gruesome twosome who I agree were making a spectacle of themselves. Sarah even held up the departures and someone had to go back and hurry her up

Lady Helen Taylor smiled at both William and Kate, I noticed, possibly in recognition of their attendance.
It's not the same as that awful pair, just acting with the usual entitled aplomb.

I read this morning that author Andrew Lownie claims that Epstein gave Ferguson £2m. We shall see what comes out.
It wouldn't surprise me.

Yes I agree with you on the Yorks. I was making a more general point to a more general comment about smiles at funerals. Although the original comment may have been more narrow in focus than I read it as.

Either way I think we can all agree that the Yorks' behaviour was inappropriate.

Sarah seems to be one of those people who are unable to keep to a budget, however large, and constantly over spend.

Exactly, TheDom

More to the point, while I realise the media will choose particular images to publish, it was very obvious that they were shoehorning themselves in with the key players - and the media can't pick images of them guffawing with Charles and William unless they were actuallly there

Blood thicker than water and he is a Prince of the blood

In this case, it really won't count

It's been her entire lifestyle for decades. Just living an extravagant life, while others pick up the tab.

I can't believe that Sarah Ferguson's attitude wasn't changed after that disastrous "cash for access" fiasco.
She was actually filmed asking for a significant sum of money for access to Prince Andrew. I didn't think she'd stoop any lower, yet here we are.

I was particularly shocked at how she didn't pay her bills from the small people. Hairdressers, trainers etc. (It's in the Lownie book)
Totally nauseating. Why anyone would want her as a patron to their charity god only knows.

Yes, I think that's just such awful behaviour. People who really can't afford to give her freebies, ordinary people who depend on customers paying. It's so low.