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PR disasters thread 32

1000 replies

BigWillyLittleTodger · 28/08/2026 19:14

Yet another new thread for more Sussex shenanigans!

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AutumnCrowOnTheMold · 30/08/2026 08:04

Lunde · 29/08/2026 22:39

Is it Wace's current (3rd?) wife who is named in the Epstein black book?

Yes, Saffron Aldridge appears to be in Epstein’s little black book and the evidence is online. Page 1: ‘A’.

Moreover, rumours online are that Wace and Aldridge are now separated (tbh I thought they were a while back), and that this ‘could’ tie in with HaM’s current uncoupling.

https://epsteinsblackbook.com/names/saffron-aldridge

*(There’s that magic word ‘could’ again!)

Long tentacles, Epstein, into various royal circles around Europe and beyond.

Saffron Aldridge

Jeffrey Epstein, an American pedophile, financier, and philantropist had a huge network of rich and powerful acquaintances. Some of these were listed in a contact book found in his New York house when raided by the police. The Little Black Book is pres...

https://epsteinsblackbook.com/names/saffron-aldridge

MindThePause · 30/08/2026 08:21

It was a very, very long time ago, but I read about the realities of Salman Rushdie’s life with police protection in the face of very real and ongoing threat.

It seemed like a very limited, lonely and insecure existence. Always hiding, moving, being guarded with even those closest to him. Despite measures taken to protect him by the state.

The Italian expression “you cannot have a drunk wife and a full wine barrel” comes to mind. If a person believes they and their family are at real risk outside the gilded cage they chose to exit, they accept a small, hidden, non-static life with protection. Or, they choose to live as they please without extensive planning of every move and/or outing, despite the risk, and accept that protection in that context is prohibitively expensive, logistically a nightmare and potentially more showy than effective.

Pick your poison. Choose safety above all other considerations and live small, quiet and as a moving target that is harder to hit. Choose freedom and accept the risks that accompany that.

There is no solution that allows for both full protection and full freedom. Never was. Never has been. Personally I believe actions speak louder than words. If protecting himself and his family were his absolute priority he would have instigated a much quieter, less visible, non-provocative mode of operation off his own bat. Not least because that would give British security services something they could reasonably work with.

As it stands they would be set up to fail al, while costing a fortune, because protecting somebody who keeps lurching above the parapet, despite advice to lie low, is an onerous task.

In his wife’s shoes, if I believed his security concerns were accurate, I’d grab my kids before residency were established and high tail it off to a simple, anonymous life back home, in a backwater, using all the contacts I had to lean as lightly as possible on other’s resources for as long as possible, until the world moved on and damn near forgot my children’s existence.

Mind you, I have had the unpleasant experience of looking down the wrong end of a barrel of a rifle held by an unstable man. It was not something I’d ever be willing to risk a second go of. So I tend to take risk seriously and be very averse to it. Probability might be low, but if the stakes are high the desire to gamble sinks like a stone in my head.

I do not understand him. The gap between what he says his concerns are and what he is willing to do to generate layers of protection for his family is so vast I can’t make logical sense of it.

JSMill · 30/08/2026 08:23

AutumnCrowOnTheMold · 29/08/2026 21:11

From the Guardian. Not its usual fawning coverage. Quite jaded, in fact. Oh dear.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/29/harry-meghan-uk-return-controversy-tips-sussexes

Very sensible article. I feel the general consensus amongst commentators is that H and M are pathetic and W and C have been very dignified.

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 08:26

Very good Guardian article.

MidlyConcerned · 30/08/2026 08:29

What I really don’t get is these constant “leaks”!! I realise H&M think they are the most victimised victims EVER, and I suspect they will never change.

BUT … surely many many PR advisors and current “friends” must be telling them it’s making things worse not better.

Or do they truly suspect that all the comments on newspapers and SM are the evil MiG? All bots?

I mean even if they don’t read any media they definitely must know about the YouGov polls?

Or do they think that is a set-up too? Which I suspect they do. The media is out to get them, but really the public love them!!

They could easily have slipped into the UK and no one would be any the wiser but no, they leaked the exact time and location they were arriving and pictures.

i just don’t understand. I think that’s what makes the whole thing so riveting, none of it makes sense. It’s like a mad crazy soap opera.

DaisyDooley · 30/08/2026 08:41

https://archive.is/M3dkr

Archive DM article describing how they never became part of the montecito community and seems to describe them as , well users.

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 08:42

MidlyConcerned · 30/08/2026 08:29

What I really don’t get is these constant “leaks”!! I realise H&M think they are the most victimised victims EVER, and I suspect they will never change.

BUT … surely many many PR advisors and current “friends” must be telling them it’s making things worse not better.

Or do they truly suspect that all the comments on newspapers and SM are the evil MiG? All bots?

I mean even if they don’t read any media they definitely must know about the YouGov polls?

Or do they think that is a set-up too? Which I suspect they do. The media is out to get them, but really the public love them!!

They could easily have slipped into the UK and no one would be any the wiser but no, they leaked the exact time and location they were arriving and pictures.

i just don’t understand. I think that’s what makes the whole thing so riveting, none of it makes sense. It’s like a mad crazy soap opera.

That's exactly what it is, a mad, crazy soap opera.

binkie163 · 30/08/2026 08:46

AutumnCrowOnTheMold · 29/08/2026 21:11

From the Guardian. Not its usual fawning coverage. Quite jaded, in fact. Oh dear.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/29/harry-meghan-uk-return-controversy-tips-sussexes

Ugh the picture of h face ' they love me, they really love me' his need for attention and adoration is pitiful.

AustenitesUnite · 30/08/2026 08:46

MidlyConcerned · 30/08/2026 08:29

What I really don’t get is these constant “leaks”!! I realise H&M think they are the most victimised victims EVER, and I suspect they will never change.

BUT … surely many many PR advisors and current “friends” must be telling them it’s making things worse not better.

Or do they truly suspect that all the comments on newspapers and SM are the evil MiG? All bots?

I mean even if they don’t read any media they definitely must know about the YouGov polls?

Or do they think that is a set-up too? Which I suspect they do. The media is out to get them, but really the public love them!!

They could easily have slipped into the UK and no one would be any the wiser but no, they leaked the exact time and location they were arriving and pictures.

i just don’t understand. I think that’s what makes the whole thing so riveting, none of it makes sense. It’s like a mad crazy soap opera.

I totally agree with this and, sadly, I don't think they will ever change. They demonstrate a high level of tone deafness to what else is happening in this country and the rest of the world and their sense of entitlement is off the radar

I feel it shows an unintelligent approach to life when they never learn from their mistakes. They're certainly not chess players as they can't see more than one move ahead

I'm really sorry that KC3, the POW and other members of the RF get so much criticism regarding their handling of the antics of the Sussexes. They are in a position of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" and I think HMTQ's strategy of "never complain, never explain" will stand them in good stead

MrsLeonFarrell · 30/08/2026 08:50

MidlyConcerned · 30/08/2026 08:29

What I really don’t get is these constant “leaks”!! I realise H&M think they are the most victimised victims EVER, and I suspect they will never change.

BUT … surely many many PR advisors and current “friends” must be telling them it’s making things worse not better.

Or do they truly suspect that all the comments on newspapers and SM are the evil MiG? All bots?

I mean even if they don’t read any media they definitely must know about the YouGov polls?

Or do they think that is a set-up too? Which I suspect they do. The media is out to get them, but really the public love them!!

They could easily have slipped into the UK and no one would be any the wiser but no, they leaked the exact time and location they were arriving and pictures.

i just don’t understand. I think that’s what makes the whole thing so riveting, none of it makes sense. It’s like a mad crazy soap opera.

They seem to truly believe they are the most bullied and victimised people ever, whilst bullying others.

They believe that everyone leaks against them, whilst constantly being proven to leak to the press themselves.

They tell us they are threatened and need security, whilst either telling us where they are going to be and when or coming and going completely privately when they don't brief the press in advance.

They demand apologies from "the family Meghan never had" whilst breaching that family's privacy and refusing to apologise for everything they are on record as saying against them.

They attack everyone in the institution, except the monarch, then when the monarch changes they stop attacking them and focus on everyone else

They claim to hate the press, then leak to a private what's app group of journalists.

They leak to that group and then when articles appear blame the palace.

They claim that the public life them, when polls show that only AMW is more unpopular.

This is what happens when you live in an echo chamber of 2, refuse to listen to advice and think that the world owes you a living because of who your Dad is.

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 08:54

@MrsLeonFarrell- excellent summary

AutumnCrowOnTheMold · 30/08/2026 09:19

MindThePause · 30/08/2026 08:21

It was a very, very long time ago, but I read about the realities of Salman Rushdie’s life with police protection in the face of very real and ongoing threat.

It seemed like a very limited, lonely and insecure existence. Always hiding, moving, being guarded with even those closest to him. Despite measures taken to protect him by the state.

The Italian expression “you cannot have a drunk wife and a full wine barrel” comes to mind. If a person believes they and their family are at real risk outside the gilded cage they chose to exit, they accept a small, hidden, non-static life with protection. Or, they choose to live as they please without extensive planning of every move and/or outing, despite the risk, and accept that protection in that context is prohibitively expensive, logistically a nightmare and potentially more showy than effective.

Pick your poison. Choose safety above all other considerations and live small, quiet and as a moving target that is harder to hit. Choose freedom and accept the risks that accompany that.

There is no solution that allows for both full protection and full freedom. Never was. Never has been. Personally I believe actions speak louder than words. If protecting himself and his family were his absolute priority he would have instigated a much quieter, less visible, non-provocative mode of operation off his own bat. Not least because that would give British security services something they could reasonably work with.

As it stands they would be set up to fail al, while costing a fortune, because protecting somebody who keeps lurching above the parapet, despite advice to lie low, is an onerous task.

In his wife’s shoes, if I believed his security concerns were accurate, I’d grab my kids before residency were established and high tail it off to a simple, anonymous life back home, in a backwater, using all the contacts I had to lean as lightly as possible on other’s resources for as long as possible, until the world moved on and damn near forgot my children’s existence.

Mind you, I have had the unpleasant experience of looking down the wrong end of a barrel of a rifle held by an unstable man. It was not something I’d ever be willing to risk a second go of. So I tend to take risk seriously and be very averse to it. Probability might be low, but if the stakes are high the desire to gamble sinks like a stone in my head.

I do not understand him. The gap between what he says his concerns are and what he is willing to do to generate layers of protection for his family is so vast I can’t make logical sense of it.

Excellent points - and I’m sorry you’ve been through that trauma too. Hope you were looked after ok afterwards. It’s a bit of a lottery with police/colleagues.

HeirNspareBNB · 30/08/2026 09:32

Recklessismymiddlename · 30/08/2026 06:28

Do you know, when I see young crown princess Ingrid, after the death of her grandfather behaving with such decorum and Princess Catharina-Amalia, who had to move at a young age to Spain, due to kidnap threats from the mafia, and this man in his 40’s, goes on about his security, in full blaze of leaks, it makes me see red.

If you care about your safety don’t leak, keep your details private. It isn’t that hard. But as the saying goes you can’t argue with stupid.

And poor C-Amalia had to drop out of Amsterdam University because of security threats.

If anyone is on the Royal Style threads, Amalia’s mother, Queen Max, is one of the most adored European Royals.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/08/2026 09:41

FenellaFeldman · 29/08/2026 16:49

I think they could have had some time just to themselves, under the radar, as the late Queen suggested. They would have been married, but not doing any duties and living in the Cotswolds, not constantly in the press, just getting to know each other and for Meghan to carry on acting if she wanted to, and think about being a working royal or not.
A slower start, low key, less pressure.

A lovely idea, but I doubt that was Meghan's plan

As for needing to get married fast if they wanted kids, I could easily believe - given Harry's publicly expressed wish for a family - that she pushed that hard, but with how fast she got pregnant a sensible delay would probably have made little difference

Either way, if $$$$ and fame were the drivers, there's no denying (much as I hate to acknowledge it) that she's played a blinder

SqueakyDinosaur · 30/08/2026 09:47

This apology. What is it for? What form should it take? What specific incidents should it reference? Who needs to be involved? Is interpretive dance and appropriate medium?

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 09:51

SqueakyDinosaur · 30/08/2026 09:47

This apology. What is it for? What form should it take? What specific incidents should it reference? Who needs to be involved? Is interpretive dance and appropriate medium?

"We're sorry that Harry was born a prince and lived in palaces and castles, had the best schooling money could buy and wonderful holidays in fantastic locations . We're sorry that we welcomed Meghan and made her part of the family. We're sorry that we gave you money, security, support, opportunities, incredible roles which most people could only dream of. We're sorry that we tried to find a role for you both and considered your happiness"

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/08/2026 09:52

Thedom · 29/08/2026 18:01

I think William keeps things squeaky clean, I suspect he insists on paying his way.

I don’t think he will fall into the same trap his uncle and brother have of living the high life off of those who are wealthier. It’s one thing to be invited by friends to join a weekend away, it’s a whole other level to accept use of private jets, use of homes and yachts like Andrew and Harry.

That's certainly the image, The Dom, but wasn't it W&K who, when at Uni, played the "poor students" card to get freebie villas on Mystique?

Then there's Charles's borrowing of yachts ( one of them from Latsis I believe) and doubtless much more

Of course each donor of such favours may also have been squeaky clean, but frankly that would be a surprise

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 09:55

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/08/2026 09:52

That's certainly the image, The Dom, but wasn't it W&K who, when at Uni, played the "poor students" card to get freebie villas on Mystique?

Then there's Charles's borrowing of yachts ( one of them from Latsis I believe) and doubtless much more

Of course each donor of such favours may also have been squeaky clean, but frankly that would be a surprise

How on earth could W&K "play poor students"?
What nonsense.

janespantrydrippers · 30/08/2026 09:56

DaisyDooley · 30/08/2026 08:41

https://archive.is/M3dkr

Archive DM article describing how they never became part of the montecito community and seems to describe them as , well users.

He borrowed or rented polo ponies.

bluegreygreen · 30/08/2026 10:01

janespantrydrippers · 30/08/2026 09:56

He borrowed or rented polo ponies.

Hopefully that means they were better looked after than the ones he owned in the UK.

taylorandme · 30/08/2026 10:01

MrsLeonFarrell · 30/08/2026 08:50

They seem to truly believe they are the most bullied and victimised people ever, whilst bullying others.

They believe that everyone leaks against them, whilst constantly being proven to leak to the press themselves.

They tell us they are threatened and need security, whilst either telling us where they are going to be and when or coming and going completely privately when they don't brief the press in advance.

They demand apologies from "the family Meghan never had" whilst breaching that family's privacy and refusing to apologise for everything they are on record as saying against them.

They attack everyone in the institution, except the monarch, then when the monarch changes they stop attacking them and focus on everyone else

They claim to hate the press, then leak to a private what's app group of journalists.

They leak to that group and then when articles appear blame the palace.

They claim that the public life them, when polls show that only AMW is more unpopular.

This is what happens when you live in an echo chamber of 2, refuse to listen to advice and think that the world owes you a living because of who your Dad is.

They seem to truly believe they are the most bullied and victimised people ever, whilst bullying others.
IME, this is the usual modus operandi with bullies. They tend to feel victimised when they don't get their own way and are happy to coerce and bully people to get what they want.

bluegreygreen · 30/08/2026 10:04

AutumnCrowOnTheMold · 30/08/2026 08:04

Yes, Saffron Aldridge appears to be in Epstein’s little black book and the evidence is online. Page 1: ‘A’.

Moreover, rumours online are that Wace and Aldridge are now separated (tbh I thought they were a while back), and that this ‘could’ tie in with HaM’s current uncoupling.

https://epsteinsblackbook.com/names/saffron-aldridge

*(There’s that magic word ‘could’ again!)

Long tentacles, Epstein, into various royal circles around Europe and beyond.

Interesting name at the bottom of that page @AutumnCrowOnTheMold (I would have ignored it were it not for the address line as well).

Ratherhaveacupofteaandabiscuit · 30/08/2026 10:08

We are all trying to make sense of the senseless which is the natural response of rational people witnessing the bizarre but in this case it is a hopeless cause.

H&M have no grand strategy.

The plan, if you can dignify their latest whims with that title, changes from day to day. Sometimes even hour to hour.

They have had many expert paid advisors over the years but dispense with their services if there is any advice which is not to their liking.

So we have an intellectually and psychiatrically challenged H and a grandiose and delusional M in charge and driving the chaotic spectacle otherwise known as the Sussexes.

Angela Levin, who amongst other work wrote a pre M biography of H with his cooperation, reports that Diana involved a psychiatrist to assess H as a child because of his behaviour and especially in relation to his reaction to her new relationships.

Throughout his younger years both before and after Diana’s tragic death there are numerous incidents of highly impulsive and ill judged behaviour.

There is also much evidence, confirmed through his own words, that H was a longterm habitual drug user.

There is further evidence that he could not pass any but the most basic exams without a lot of special support both in education and in the military.

As for M, there are extensive examples of her inability to maintain relationships and of her transactional and ruthless nature with self promotion as her defining characteristic. I believe this could be indicative of a personality disorder.

However, exactly where extreme selfishness and lack of empathy and self awareness meets psychiatric disorder is debatable and I very much dislike the modern drive to pathologise all bad behaviour. It could be that they just plain stupid and nasty.

Either way, I think it is futile to try to understand the chaotic actions of this pair in a logical fashion because there is no logic. There is no rationality. There is no reason.

I feel sad for their children and although they employ nannies no member of staff can make up for the damage such narcissistic people can do as parents and undoubtedly, like the PR and communications advisors, nannies will be sacked if they dare to question their employers at all.

Hopefully school will provide some comfort and stability but head teachers could be pressured and ultimately schools changed if H&M take against them.

I wonder if H&M will find themselves on the receiving end of being cut off by their children in the future? It would not surprise me at all.

If you teach your children that family has no value, you can hardly complain when they follow your advice.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 30/08/2026 10:08

FenellaFeldman · 30/08/2026 09:55

How on earth could W&K "play poor students"?
What nonsense.

Quite easily if anyone was stupid enough - or wanted the connection enough - to believe it. I'm pretty sure it was Tom Bower who be wrote about and named the various villas, but will try to find and link

Also agree, @Thedom, that while Harry wouldn't actually want "something to happen", the impression that it might will suit him just fine
Perhaps he'll stage something to "prove" his point? After all it wouldn't be the first time, if the "near catastrophic car chase" is any guide

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