2026 predictions

[Mylovelygreendress]

Anyone care to make some RF predictions for 2026 ? ( slightly lighthearted)
I will start .

Liam McGuire will leave .
Harry will lose his Court case(s)

iWith regards to William and Kate’s parenting? What were they saying about their parenting?

The pp asked whether the barrage of negative posts about Kate and William was to do with a long list of stuff about Harry and Meghan or because the Royals were so visible ‘over Xmas’, so I was addressing that time period.

Well I don’t know what the reason is - that’s the very question I put. If I knew I wouldn’t have bothered asking.

Normal patterns of engagement on the RF board means the usual pattern of discussions about the various members of the RF. I don’t know how else to explain that really. You could maybe ask ChatGPT to rephrase or translate if you are still stuck?

The barrage of negative posts started before Christmas Day, so was not due to any perception of poor parenting during the walk to the church at Sandringham.

Andrew Lownie's book has created more interest around the general workings of the monarchy, even though it was about AMW and his ex wife.

The way he's been protected by the RF over the years sparks discussion about the roles of the old queen and the current king.

That then leads to discussion about Charles 3 and his way of doing things, which then leads on to how William will do things.

Then he and Catherine are discussed and incidents such as what happened on the church walk lead to more talk about their parenting.

It's not a mystery why there's more discussion about various members of the family.

And since William and Catherine will be King and Queen next it's hardly unusual to be talking about them anyway.

Haha, I'd rather type myself than rely on Chat GPT.

My take on it is... 'normal rules of engagement' means no criticism of anyone but Harry and Meghan on the Royal family board. Except Andrew of course, he can always be criticised!
Still don't know what the 'transparent reason' is either!

I really hope her cancer doesn't. She's only in her early 40s.

I agree with you about Charles, though.

Clearly you weren’t around during the “ where’s Kate” hysteria .

The posts I’ve seen about William and Kate seem to be from posters who are expressing concern for the children which I don’t find surprising on a parenting board. Also about William not paying/declaring tax and their new forever home which seem fair and/or in the news and should be discussed.

I’ve just looked and seen one about cruelty to animals which tends to come up a few times a year on mumsnet so nothing out of the ordinary.

The issue I have is the hypocrisy. Harry and Meghan seem to take a kicking all year, some of it deserved others not imo. I don’t really care what people post about them but posters do have to accept it when others have different opinions and people they like get a kicking for a change. I’m sure there are people here on both ‘sides’ that don’t have genuine intentions but you just have to ignore that because if they’re posting within mumsnet talk guidelines, what can you do?

It appears to me that the posters who are used to having the board full of their own posts that are anti Meghan and Harry and pro Kate and William are throwing their toys out of the pram because it’s been a bit more balanced on here for a change. Personally, I hope it stays more balanced, without hate and bullying, and the discussion becomes not just about Meghan and Harry.

The board has negative stories about members of the royal family all year around.

Sometimes it’s connected to a specific recent event or revelation which is why for most of the second half of this year threads about Andrew and The Sussexes have dominated because they have been in the news for various discussion worthy reasons.

It’s not a MN phenomenon to see the dislike of Meghan though - it’s happening elsewhere where a lot - I think her media creations - Netflix shows and podcasts - were a bit annoying but I am surprised at the level of dislike against her - she topped a high profile US poll of most disliked celebrities above even someone like Sean Combes which seems harsh.

Yes to all of this. I’ve had more discussions with family and friends about the royals in the last few months than I’ve had in my life. All the stuff about Andrew, I’ve read Virginias book, I’m reading the Andrew Lownie book, stuff in the news about Charles being ill which gets us thinking about William being King and how he’ll be, his lack of transparency over tax, Kate and William’s new house is in the news, then the carol concert and the Sandringham walk where the kids were interacting with the crowd too much. It all gets people talking and mumsnet is used by people talking about things in the news, misogyny, parenting, cost of living which is relevant, and it has a dedicated RF board so they’re going to get talked about.

It shows the mentality of some people doesn’t it, for Meghan to be hated above a sexual predator who has caused harm to so many people. It also explains some of the Andrew apologists. They don’t think these crimes are so bad or will excuse them for certain people. It’s shocking.

It’s actually quite astonishing - I do find her annoying on TV but not more so than Gwyneth Paltrow.

I thought the Oprah interview was manipulative and fairly awful but that was four years ago.

I’m not sure what it is that she’s doing that’s provoking such a strong reaction. It must be hard for her PR advisors to fix - maybe they should lean into it and make money from her ‘villain eta’ - at least it’s not indifference.

Can you point to evidence that Meghan is more hated than AMW ?
I have never seen anyone defending AMW.

I have never seen anyone defending AMW

I certainly have! Not in a 'I like Andrew, top bloke' way. But in plenty of other ways, a lot of sympathy for him. I posted about this the other day.

Actually looking at the poll today she’s slipped down to 14th. She was number 1 two days ago.

Top three are Sean Combes, Andrew Tate and Andrew MW - which makes more sense.

Did you miss the bit which said ‘lighthearted’?
IMO you have turned a rather harmless potentially amusing thread into something rather dark,horrible and triggering.
If you want to post about AMW possibly dying please start a separate thread.

The pp said Meghan topped a high profile US poll of most disliked celebrities above even someone like Sean Combes.

I have. If you read a lot here, you’ll notice posters making excuses for him and finding other possibilities for his wrong doing. Someone provided a list of examples they’d seen on a thread not too long ago.

Obviously the more sensible people have started voting. Phew!

How was she ever number 1 though? That’s shameful.

There are lots of comments on threads that have tried to excuse him in a covert way. Someone posted about their colleagues being offered sex workers on a foreign business trip and how it was expected that they took the opportunity, implying that’s what could have happened to Andrew. 🙄 Poor man, how could he have not just said no, it’s so hard for him. 🙄🙄 The joke was that it wasn’t the case at all, it was that Andrew who had requested the sex workers! Another person tried to justify Andrew’s email asking ‘have you found me any ‘inappropriate friends’ by saying that term could mean something else. Yeah sure it could! 🙄🙄 There are lots of examples, the worst ones blaming these young girls and women. Its sickening.

Its so bizarre as is the idea you have to be a bot if you criticise the RF.

It's bonkers and these people always feel the need to jump into threads and make the discussion about how awful William's brother and sister-in-law are. It's boring.

I hope to see the board being more balanced in future, talking about the Royals as a whole, not just Meghan and Harry, because it’s much more interesting. The anti Harry and Meghan posters have controlled and ruined this board for too long imo. I’d welcome a wider discussion which is what we’ve seen in the last few days. I hope it stays as I will engage more.

Absolutely!

It's not a mystery why there's more discussion about various members of the family

Exactly, I’m confused by the confusion or the assertion that the criticism is only an attempt to deflect. Deflect from what? I’m not particularly interested in H&M although enjoy some of Ms outfits.

We are in a COL crisis, its normal to see an increase in questioning of the RF & their role during such times.

The King is not as popular as the Queen was and then there is his health.

Andrews behaviour and all the associated Epstein releases has obviously cast a huge stain on the RF with particular focus on how they handled it.

It would be bizarre if people weren’t questioning and focusing on them tbh!

Yes it would be bizarre because they are the ones that receive taxpayer money, they are the ones who shape this country whether we like it or not, they are the ones that are continually propped up in the media with endless pictures....so why wouldn't we discuss what they do, how they handle crises, their finances and everything connected to them!

I don’t think it will ever be balanced because it’s driven by visibility in the news and online.

Harry and Meghan have been trying to get a commercial enterprise off the ground so have been deliberately putting themselves online more than a non working Royal would be.

When Mike Tindall was in IACGMOOH there were many posts about him and to an extent Zara but then they fall off the radar.

The Sussex show has unfortunately for them become a little bit of a car crash attraction with a lot of people making money on YouTube and TikTok talking about them.

Yes it would be bizarre because they are the ones that receive taxpayer money, they are the ones who shape this country whether we like it or not, they are the ones that are continually propped up in the media with endless pictures....so why wouldn't we discuss what they do, how they handle crises, their finances and everything connected to them!

I know, make it make sense! 😆

It would be good if the bullying tendencies that often occur on these threads stops in 2026 and everyone can share their opinions without getting accused of having an agenda, etc. It’s so tiresome & I have always tended to stay away from the boards because of it.