PR Disasters part 11

[HoldMyWine]

The ongoing dramas from Montecito courtesy of H&M.

I can’t see another thread but I made the same mistake last time …

Then there's this.

Are we going to have photos of the backs of Archie and Lili's heads watching reruns of 'Life on Earth'?

https://www.instagram.com/princeandprincessofwales/p/DYFxoznjcO1/?hl=en&img_index=1

William also has a longstanding relationship with DA - he's not just jumping on the 100th birthday bandwagon

Charlotte looks awestruck!

@Thedom Thank you for the screenshots. The Invictus guy is really petulant, disrespectful and defensive.

The Sussex Squad have rolled up now, it’s really funny 😀

Tbh when Diana died i expected 1 or both of those sons to go off the rails. Go against their father. Harry is however very stupid and privileged. I think probably manipulated. Anyway. Just thought I’d say.

I think the Invictus guy has run for the hills now, he has given up 😀

Perhaps they knew everything about M - as in, realised at the start she was a player/gold-digger with NPD and just decided to give her enough rope. Then when she hauled her prize off back to Cali - as they must have known she would - they could say they gave her every chance.

She does! She's totally in awe, as I would be too if lucky enough to meet Sir David. She and her siblings will treasure that day all their lives.

Cross post.

Perhaps.

But still a bit risky entrusting prestigious Royal patronages to her, or sending her to represent the Monarchy on major overseas tours. I know the royals are a law onto themselves, but I can't think of any other situation where you'd just walk into a very 'senior' role with no experience and very little training. Mary of Denmark had extensive 'princess training' before she married Frederick. Yes I know she was a future queen so it was obviously more important, but to have Meghan just waltz into a sensitive diplomatic role seems like a very bad idea, and not just in retrospect.

Yes, that's such a good picture - as if he's saying 'I've watched you grow up, you're starting to do well'.

I'm sure Prince Philip would have been proud of Earthshot and United for Wildlife, having been one of the founders of WWF.

Totally! I had to show Sir Richard Attenborough around our local cinema when I was a teenager. I have often wished it had been his brother!

They were probably concerned they would be accused of racism if they had insisted M stay in the background while she learned the ropes x

Maybe, but it's hardly unreasonable to expect someone to do an 'apprenticeship' for such a high profile role. Especially as she was pregnant within a few months of marriage.

And turns out they got accused of racism anyway.

I think HMQ was in a difficult position

If she'd refused - there would have been screams of racism. Perhaps she also still felt guilt that her sister wasn't allowed her own choice of husband in the 1950s because the government and church opposed Princess Margaret marrying the divorced Peter Townsend. In any case the wife of the 5th in line was less important.

I think the Queen recognised that Meghan would struggle with the hierarchy and rules and even encouraged Meghan to continue acting.

Personally I think the RF should consider a Swedish style "Prince/Princess School" for marry-ins. In Sweden Prince Daniel and Princess Sofia had to do 6-18 months before the wedding as a a mandatory orientation period to learn the roles of working royals before the wedding. There is training and mentoring on subjects like diplomacy, etiquette, history, politics, languages and the organisation and workings of the royal household etc. This means that those who marry in know what to expect. It is also possible to marry in and choose not to be a working royal as Princess Madeleine's husband Chris O'Neill did and instead runs his own business - but he is banned from using her title to market his business.

But, no harm was done (that could not be repaired) to diplomatic relations. M's performance is a matter of record - the triumphs, the back-room bullying and the "nobody asked if I'm OK" moment that now defines her.

I think they knew she was off, andcwas intending to be off, as soon as she could, so played into that by giving her leading roles that they knew would only be for a short period and a world stage on which to embarrass herself, not them.

If they hadn't, the racism accusations would have been against the institution, rather than individual family members.

As an aside, the Temu tours just underline how carefully planned and managed the official RF tours are.

I don't think Margaret had anything to do with it - she was permitted to marry Townsend but had to give up Royal privileges and decided not to. He was married when they met and much older, it was infatuation.
Harry was a problem because no girlfriend he'd had was interested in being a "royal wife". It's pretty dull, let's be honest. Anyone who wants a career or a decent private life is out. You have to be on best behaviour almost all the time. There's no walking around with a pushchair and a coffee on High St Ken.
Harry really did live in a guilded cage. I think the low IQ and having been so spoilt means he can't really do much other than be manoeuvred.

Something that was clearly compulsory for everyone would be good, @Lunde.

Denmark has something similar. I remember reading about the regime that Mary (now Queen) followed; it included time in the military.

I think they’d got a bit complacent with the married ins because Kate had worked out so well, and Meghan was older, more used to public attention etc.

They’d not really appreciated that Kate’s particular type of focused heads down get on with the job energy while preferring low drama was the exception.

Complacent as in they felt they’d learned from the Diana situation.

They let William have his love match, they embraced the in-law family and didn’t isolate the new bride within the royal structure, they let the newly marrieds enjoy the first few years with as much privacy as possible. And they thought they’d cracked it.

And they have more of a relationship with DA than Harry.
Has Harry even met him?

That makes sense @wordler - and they had learned, but this was a very different lesson.

100% agree

I never really understood why Harry and Meghan turned down the opportunity to spend the early years of their marriage more privately. Although I think Meghan would have hated being an RAF wife in Anglesey or living on the Sandringham Estate

I guess looking back it was always the plan to build a brand that could be turned into a money making business...