PR disasters thread 18

[NormalAuntFanny]

Since I finished off the last one by accident here is a shiny new 999 posts which might last us until the end of the heatwave

Absolutely. So much for their life of freedom away from the "toxic" RF.
"Pa, can we have a free apartment and security?"

The BBC continues to withhold documents over the Bashir interview. See Andy Webb’s book, Dianorama.

It's absolutely shocking that any broadcaster, never mind a state funded one, should behave like this. As William said, it contributed to his mother's paranoia and her rejection of official security.
With tragic consequences.

Harry is entering himself in the Desperation Stakes with gusto.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15933837/Prince-Harry-set-Archie-Lilibet-mother-Dianas-grave-time-upcoming-UK-visit.html

Exactly. It’s the begging bowl tour.

I have to say though, that I have some grudging respect for whoever has picked up their media & coms. William’s worthy, work with charities behind closed doors, efforts, might be the direction for a future, leaner model of monarchy, but it leaves a gap for glamour and drama. Natural territory for M to invade.

The media are lapping it up, and even though H&M aren’t getting any where near proper royalling, the impression - in the US at least - is probably enough. It’s fake and it’s spin, but it seems to be having an impact.

Also, fair play to spanakopita.

I just can't see Charles Spencer giving the whole family a warm welcome, and a weekend stay. In particular he keeps Diana's grave secret and private, there is no way at all he will allow photography, and I would expect that to apply to all other parts of the estate if he is entertaining them for a visit. Personally, after all the rubbish Harry wrote in Spare about taking Meghan to the grave, I think he would do well to limit the visit to Harry alone - he must have been more than a little annoyed about what Harry wrote surely?

I might do the same. How fucking DARE they?

I still think this trip is much less significant than they are trying to make it look. I bet they don’t even want to see Charles really, they must still be ‘fewmin’ with him after the US state visit when he didn’t see or even mention them. Since then we have had Harry with his PTSD from being ignored by his father and shocked and depressed by the lack of public acknowledgement on his wedding anniversary. We’ve had the Sussex claim that Charles is paying for extra security, immediately denied. So things are evidently not great and the stories of both sides being desperate for reconciliation are wide of the mark imo. And any idea of them coming back more permanently or getting half in half out are even wider.

Harry will come (still not convinced by the rest - I think they are dangling the children to make Charles look worse if he doesn’t agree to a meeting). So they may or may not join him, depending on what PR opportunities they can get out of Charles and any other members of the family. Meghan and the children will come for photos / vids for NF with Charles and a Spencer or two, filmed trips to Diana’s grave and St George’s Chapel, maybe popping up at Wimbledon to annoy the PoW etc. If none of that turns out to be possible, ie no meetings offered or maybe even if meetings are offered but no media allowed, Harry will come on his own.

So one way or another we will all be subjected to Sussex PR on overdrive for a couple more weeks, if they don’t get everything they want they’ll seed some nasty stories, and then they’ll go home. Some of their royalishness will look impressive to Americans for about 5 mins, but Meghan’s business will still be a disaster and Harry will still be useless. The RF will grit their teeth, avoid reading the papers and look forward to the lovely press they get around Wimbledon finals week and George’s birthday. The end.

I really hope you’re right and the palace squashes this. It’s the “Royal” hospital as well, fucking grifters indeed. If I was William I’d be furious

I agree. And the links to the newspaper articles posted today have reminded me of Harry's last visit with the King. Afterwards the Sussex side claimed that the meeting showed a thawing of their relationship and an acceptance back into the royal fold.

But this idea was immediately & snarkily dismissed by “a royal insider” with the statement that they “seem to have mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles.”

Because they are arrogant and entitled.

😂😂😂

But this idea was immediately & snarkily dismissed by “a royal insider” with the statement that they “seem to have mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles.

This will never not make me laugh - top drawer snark, brilliant.🤩

I don’t think Charles is desperate to see Harry. He hasn’t seen him since they met for less than an hour last September. Before that was 18 months earlier, the fleeting visit when Charles’s cancer was announced. Before that was the coronation. So they have seen each other twice in 3 years, a total of 90 mins or so together since 2023, despite Harry being in the UK multiple times and Charles’s state visit a couple of months ago.

The Sussexes would love us to think that Charles is pining away, desperate to see his grandchildren, and it’s Harry that says no, because the UK is too dangerous and he has to keep his family safe. Absolute bollocks of course. Charles is not an idiot. He must also be deeply hurt by Harry’s behaviour. So must Camilla be. And with everything that’s coming out about Andrew, he sees what damage can be done to the RF reputation by entitled oafs. Harry is very unpopular here and even if that changes, he can’t be trusted. He lies, he gossips, he complains, he lies again, he embarrasses himself trying to make political speeches when he has no clue, he slaps an arse here, tweaks a nipple there, he lies again, he complains again, he speculates about how long his father has left, plays some Xbox, lies again, accuses Charles of collusion in an establishment stitch up, dances around pointing at his crotch, lies again.

This is not behaviour that Charles would consider appropriate for a member of the RF. Charles knows he has to be very careful managing how close Harry gets to the family and the institution, treading that line between just cutting them off, which might look callous, and letting them milk their RF connections. Tricky, but so far the RF are managing it pretty well I think.

Goodness. How unnecessarily depressing and mawkish for those children, if true.

I wonder if they want to reprise Meghan's extraordinary gravestone performance as described in Spare?
Kneeling on the grave, clinging to the gravestone and praying to Diana for support.

Reports that they will be staying at Sandringham. I'd expect William and family to already be there after school breaks up, although I suppose they might choose to stay on in Windsor, what with Wimbledon being on and possibly other engagements to get out of the way before disappearing on holiday. William definitely won't want them on the Sandringham estate while he is there, I'd have thought he'd veto them going there ever tbh. It's also very out of the way - Harry won't want to be spending hours and hours in the car, between visits to Birmingham etc so would he get the use of a helicopter? I do hope this is just another unfounded rumour.

Same. That was quite the retort.

I think there are simply, as ever, sections of the media that will always use the lazy playbook of manipulating public emotion for clicks/comments/£££.

However, Harry & Meghan & Sussex PR would do well to remember that such a ‘strategy’ only works to some degree because of their inherent unpopularity and unerring ability to attract ridicule.

The suggestion and implication bubbling under currently are that Charles may give H&M the green light to (metaphorically) prostitute the monarchy. Very click worthy, but it really is a preposterous idea given the ‘Treaty of Versailles’ retort and H&M’s ‘PTSD’ hyperbole.

This is the media exploiting yet again H&M’s underlying unpopularity and stoking the public’s loathing of their shenanigans. I do think H&M are possibly being led into a journey to a final destination of sorts here.

Not so much ‘Project Thaw’ as ‘Project Oblivion’.

I’m not so sure, that it’s all going the Sussexes way. Something is afoot, judging by the recent threads. So could be coming back with wings curtailed and tails between their legs, but trying to hype it up.

AMW has kept trying and repeatedly been slapped down and he’s done far more damage to the monarchy.

Time will tell and yes maybe Spanakopita was right!

I think as term ends first week of July and Wimbledon is still happening at that point, they’d be likely to stay put until after Wimbledon at least.

Sandringham is a good option I think - out of the way as you say, so no danger of paparazzi or catastrophic car chases in London and and no danger of bumping into anyone else. Except Andrew of course - Sandringham is already established as the place they put the awful ones that nobody likes 😂

Definitely not going the Sussex's way and they only have themselves to blame.

If Harry goes round in a helicopter it will just prove all his paranoia is bullshit.

I am still cynical about the ‘Spanakopita was right’ suggestion. She/he may have known about the proposed appointment of royal aide Theo Ryecroft, but IMO Ryecroft has made an absolute Horlicks of the whole situation as has whoever appointed him in the first place (the new Lord Chamberlain?).

Unless Ryecroft is playing a machiavellian role, and the plan has actually been to lead Harry up the garden path to lure him in, and something really quite significant is going to happen (and I definitely do not mean H getting what he wants - more a dislocating change).

The alternative is that the Head of State is a fool, advised by fools. But did not look like a fool in the US. More likely that H is being played; or, just perhaps, although less likely, enabled to seek sanctuary in the UK via family on his own or with the children.

You're not wrong, jeff, and while the clickbait media are lashing themselves into a frenzy the store of actual facts is threadbare

And on another note, what's this nonsense with the Mail where practically every article on H&M has to be paid for? Fortunately there's always the archive thing, but do people really shell out good money to read their inventions?

This really is an avalanche of PR from them and it does smack of desperation.

I think there’s probably two things at play, firstly, as others have suggested, it’s trying to bury the fact that they’re coming back without any of the things they demanded - security on tap, an apology from the RF etc etc.

Secondly I think it’s both manifestation and an attempt to control the narrative. It’s hope that if they put out there that they’re “basically working royals” in the UK, that the palace won’t overtly contradict it, and they’ll be believed.

I don’t think this visit is really a sign that Charles has changed his position in any way (although I agree they should be off the RF website.) I think the offer to stay in a royal property is not unreasonable for a “loved family member”. The visits with Harry’s charities is also the same thing he’s been doing basically every year, it’s not something the King can step in on.

The hospital visits I find really unacceptable - on behalf of the hospitals. That’s the closest thing to faux royalling on this “tour” and allowing children and pensioners to be exploited by this pair of grifters is gross. I wonder if Meghan will merch her outfits on the shopping app, or if Harry will put his foot down to try and prove this “royalling not merching” in the UK point he is pushing. Which by the way is ridiculous - it’s not really about them making money, it’s about their behaviour being totally at odds with what is acceptable for someone representing the Crown, including making controversial political comments, and exploiting vulnerable people for commercial gain. That doesn’t change based on the geography that happened in.

I’m not surprised that they’ll visit Diana’s grave and I think it would be hard for Charles to forbid it. I assume he would request for no photos and for the moment to be kept private, just as KC will request for his meeting with the children. What will be interesting to see is whether H&M adhere to that. I suspect they’ll be torn between the desire to exploit the publicity and profile opportunity from it, and wanting to be able to regain closer ties to the RF. I’m not sure Harry and Meghan will be on the same page with regards to that either.