PR disasters thread 25

[BigWillyLittleTodger]

The Montecito diaries continue……..will it be Balmoral or bust?

It's fiction not history, but one of my favorite comic-with-an-edge reads is Laurie Graham's Gone With The Windsors, which has the (fictional) American school friend of Wallis Simpson arriving in London just in time to witness the whole Abdication debacle. It's very funny and sharp in its portrayal of the soon to ex royal couple. I think posters on these threads might well enjoy it.

I completely agree with @ShamedBySiri , their lives seem to be shallow and unpurposeful, no sense of direction or fulfilment.
I can’t imagine how the children will be as adults when their parents are so avaricious and selfish, it’s really sad.
God forbid that they return to Britain but I can see Harry eventually being back here when Meghan discards him.
What an enormous waste of fantastic opportunities far beyond what the reach of most people.

@ShamedBySiri

"Likewise as far as I am aware he hasn't pursued flying since leaving the army.
Yet Phillip, Charles and William have all be keen pilots, long after the end of their army/navy/airforce careers. Though I wonder if a. he might realise he might fail any drug testing requirements and b. he genuinely doesn't have (or didn't have pre-megxit) the opportunity to fly military aircraft in the way the others have been able to due to being lower down the pecking order, and he clearly doesn't have the cash to buy his own helicopter."

There"'s no real evidence of him even actually flying anything at the local flying club though I know from posts a few weeks back there was a piece in ? Vanity Fare about HandM visiting and maybe joining the local club...great idea but I wonder if H had looked at the realities.

Despite the slightly geeky title of the website this piece does give a decent breakdown of what H would have to do to get anywhere near flying an aircraft solo again...

https://aerocadet.com/blog/converting-foreign-military-aviation-experience-to-faa-and-tcca-icao-licenses/

^^ Missed the edit window - the above applies mainly to going commercial (since it's been mentioned, such would almost certainly be needed to fly a helicopter for water bombing),.but even just picking up a FAA basic recreational licence would involve H jumping through similar hoops..it's something people do but it involves effort.

If they had genuine interests then.none of the drama would have happened. They might well have turned down the big wedding and being WRF, and if they had tried it and found it didn't suit them they could have stepped back gracefully into private life 'to focus on our family while the children are young'.

When it came down to it, none of their complaints about the RF were anything other than 'it didn't suit us' - fair enough, it wouldn't suit me. But it's hardly anything of earth shattering relevance to the wider world. It wouldn't suit me to have any major public role (not that i have ever been offered 😂 )

Just imagine having the money and connections to focus on the things that interest you, instead of having to earn a living...

Yet there are still people who think they have been wronged and see them as a wonderful 'young couple'. It defies belief really.

Great summary

Just imagine having the money and connections to focus on the things that interest you, instead of having to earn a living...

I think it's this, along with the lying and their attitude, that makes me feel annoyed with this pair. They had position and (enough) power and money to really do something with their lives and instead they've spent it whining and belittling and one-upmanship.

Yes me too. Look at the things KC has done, using his money and privilege to pursue his passions and interests. He’s actually made a difference to people’s lives. Look at Dumfries House, for example. Not only did save a stately home but he created opportunities for the community around it and provided employment and training.

My original post wasn’t suggesting PH had ideation or was making threats. It was an outline of all the risk factors and he has many (I didn’t even add the irrational outbursts and behaviours). This happened in my family similar situation and it was only after the incident that we realised he checked all the boxes for high risk - in our case he did threaten multiple times and he was abusive aggressive etc but he did it in the end. So they maybe conscious of his MH and don’t want to inflame a situation that has got worse and worse for him and will continue to do so with Sentebale etc. This doesn’t mean he needs pandering to with HIHO, security paid etc - but just not actively inflaming an already volatile situation and grey rock is working here.

l have read with interest the past from last night/early morning.

Theres no depth to them is there.
Everything they say is just word salad that has no real meaning and is sometimes blatant provable lies.
Their lives are meaningless because they haven’t got the depth of personality in them to dig deep and find meaning.

And, my favourite saying is them to a T
Empty Vessels make the most noise

Slightly off topic but the PPoW have released a photo of George to celebrate his 13th birthday. I can’t believe it’s been 13 years, I remember refreshing Sky News all that summer waiting for the announcement of the birth and name 🥹 (I was a teenager with a lot of time on my hands 🤣 still do by the sounds of it 🫣)

He’s a lovely looking boy -with his grandmothers hair too.
Let’s hope he hasn’t inherited the bald gene from the Windsors!

I think that's the first birthday photo in a suit - a subtle welcome to the grown-up George?

No depth at all and I recall her saying H has a "child like wonder" . An utterly bizarre statement to say about your 40 year old husband.

HAM can't top that

I confess to being sceptical about Harry's ability to actually pilot a helicopter - mainly because I've never seen any footage of him in the air actually flying. There are any number of interviews with people who say he's a good pilot (Apache instructor for one), but that's it.

During William's stint as a search and rescue pilot there was a clip of him clearly flying and in control of an airborne craft. There are also reports from members of the public who recount being surprised to find themselves being rescued by PW.

Most people have probably seen Harry being interviewed in Afghanistan for terrestrial TV when he interrupts it, dramatically pulling off his microphone and running towards a helicopter in response to a "shout". The footage then cuts to him in the pilot's seat, helmet on, fiddling with the overhead controls, but stops short of the craft leaving the ground with him flying it.

The RF's clearly very talented (and imaginative) PR team played an absolute blinder to portray an entitled, not-too-bright and boorish character as a loveable good-hearted mischief maker. His popularity ratings pre-Meghan were right up there with the late Queen and Prince Philip.

A serious question: Is Pilot Harry just another facet of the Happy Hero Harry created by the RF's PRs?

That's so funny 😂😂😂

The gap is becoming an enormous chasm and they must know it . Their kids just can't compete with Williams kids. They shouldn't ever have been put on that position either. They played their cards so badly.

I don't think an 'Apache instructor' is less believable than a member of the public, which is what your post implies.

I think it's quite possible that Harry was a good pilot in the Army, but didn't have the interest or application to continue flying once he left.

The implication was unintended.

Yes, He's an ex soldier as well!!

What is that saying? Comparison is the Thief of Joy? It's very very unfair on HAM's children. The ridiculous back of head photos are already inviting derision. HAM are just too self absorbed, self obsessed to take this into account

Whose kids are competing and who put them all in that position? What do you think that they are they competing for and when have you witnessed this?

If Harry had shown any interest in farming/organic farming/country life he would definitely have been gifted a country estate like Highgrove/Gatcombe when he married. They could have lived quietly in the country and gently opted out of WRF except for big events like Remembrance weekend and TOC etc. He could have been a voice for farmers similar to Clarkson. But they weren't interested and didn't want that - I think they rented somewhere in the Cotswolds near the Soho house place but it didn't last long, they didn't like it. Of course it goes without saying that's not what Meghan would have wanted. I think if Harry had been developing those interests pre-Meghan he would have ended up with a different wife and his life would have followed a very different (and altogether more peaceful) course.

It's incredible really, given the wide interests of his family, the opportunities open to him, how he has ended up ignorant of and disinterested in practically everything you could think of.

People talk about Africa, and how he once talked about living in Africa, but he just wanted the old colonial style of Africa life. Ben Fogle Lives in the Wild Season 17 episode 7 featured a British couple who have set up a safari park in Zambia. Their resilience in the face of many difficulties and dangers is incredible - definitely not the life for me! And it wouldn't be the life for Harry either - he wants a Happy Valley style of life, plenty of servants, social life, big game, occasional white saviour involvement in some low effort (for him) scheme or another.

I just have no idea how they are going to occupy themselves for the next 30-40 years. They can't live a life of cosplay royals, being a constant thorn in the side and nuisance to William, a drain on the RF finances due to their big spending and inability to fund it, living on the internet looking for perceived slights and insults to clap back at. And apart from all the nastiness and bitterness, the harm they have done to the family, to let them back in - I just think aside of not trusting them, they must just be Sooo boring, totally tedious to be around. They are never going to be back in the heart of the family for that reason as much as for everything else.