PR disasters thread 32

[BigWillyLittleTodger]

Yet another new thread for more Sussex shenanigans!

I would agree with all of this but would just add that I think there is also an element of needing security because of what happened to Diana. Harry seems to conveniently ignore the facts surrounding Diana rejecting security and getting in to a car with a drunk driver etc. He also seems to be determined to feel that it was the press per se who caused Diana’s death and that he and his family are in danger from the press. This is evidently nonsense and is all the more bizarre when you consider his leaking and WhatsApp groups.

I too think this must be a demoralising and exhausting way to live. Permanent victim hood and everything everyone else’s fault or responsibility. I can see no joy at all in their life

Can you imagine the ammunition that would have given them?! 😱

And denied that fly his moment of glory…

Well Harry will always be son of monarch and/or brother of monarch.

He will never be able to escape the circumstances of his birth entirely.

I doubt terrorists decide who to attack solely based on strict order of succession. Yes it will be based partly on hierarchical status but also on who is in the news the most too, in order to gain maximum publicity.

And imho, bc a lot of threats against H&M came from right wing racists when they were originally in the UK, that adds another significant layer of threat too.

https://news.sky.com/story/neo-nazi-podcast-hosts-who-targeted-harry-and-meghans-son-archie-convicted-of-terror-offences-12916825

Having a wedding where only one member of the immediate family on one side is present is so ridiculously bizarre I don't know how the Royal Family even went along with it. And the rest of the guests were famous people both of them barely knew.

She was obviously hiding things and the only way to not have her story blown apart was to not have her family there. The MIGS almost certainly had intel on Meghan's past, I don't know why they didn't tell Harry all of it. Or maybe he knew and didn't care. And Harry not meeting Meghan's dad (and this was before all the shit hit the fan) was just really terrible on a personal level, but that's on him.

I too think this must be a demoralising and exhausting way to live. Permanent victim hood and everything everyone else’s fault or responsibility. I can see no joy at all in their life

I agree with nearly all of this @smilesy

I do think they are damaged and vindictive enough to find joy in all the disruption and unhappiness they manifest.

Even after unflattering articles and programmes highlighting all that is wrong about them, they soon appear looking supercilious and defiant.

My shit don’t stink syndrome.

Indeed.

Sir Edward Young's letter, on behalf of the Queen, called it 'imperative' that the family continued to be provided with effective security.

Even with that, she was clear also to point out that 'Of course, Her Majesty and her family recognise that these are independent processes and decisions about the provision of publicly funded security are for the UK Government, the government of Canada and any other host government.' - something that her grandson doesn't appear to have grasped.

One could argue, of course, that Harry has clearly received effective security over all these years.

Report of Queen's letter to RAVEC: https://archive.is/iOitb

So why did Anne, Andrew and Edward not have the sort of security Harry seems to want when they were the children of the monarch. Do they not merit it in the same way now they are the siblings of the monarch?

Harry is only in the news because he puts himself in the news. Why should he get security based on the fact that he behaves like a twat and telegraphs his movements to all and sundry? Do you not think he should take some responsibility for that? Have you heard what Anne is doing when she is not representing the King? No? Thought not

I can't see what power they would have over it?
H was determined to marry her. Everybody else just had to make the best of it.

Well Harry will always be son of monarch and/or brother of monarch.
He will never be able to escape the circumstances of his birth entirely.

So what? As has been pointed out many times, you don't get guaranteed security simply because you're the son or brother of the monarch, and there are several examples of this.

I doubt terrorists decide who to attack solely based on strict order of succession. Yes it will be based partly on hierarchical status but also on who is in the news the most too, in order to gain maximum publicity.

Best Harry and his wife keep as low a profile as possible then. No more giving the WhatsApp group a head's up on their travel plans.

And imho, bc a lot of threats against H&M came from right wing racists when they were originally in the UK, that adds another significant layer of threat too.

You really think RAVEC aren't aware of all this?

They will base their decisions on complex, up to the minute security assessments way more sophisticated than anyone on the internet or a long retired police officer is in possession of.

If they decide Harry doesn't need full time security, well, he doesn't need it. That's a good thing, isn't it?

Well Harry will always be son of monarch and/or brother of monarch.

At least until he becomes the uncle of the monarch, and so on ...

We know that being the son or brother of the monarch doesn't mean automatic full-time police security, as otherwise Andrew or Edward would have had it.
Edward still doesn't have it, even as a working royal and the King's brother.

That's why it is the role of RAVEC to assess the risk and provide what is needed: not based on perceived status.

That’s probably why HMQ look miserable at the wedding. I read somewhere that HMQ and PC put a lot of pressure over the summer of 2018 on M to reconcile with her df.
However I do think the Queen and Prince Charles should have made far more effort. They should have learned about the family H was marrying into. My DH is from a different country to me. I lived there and my parents got to know his whole family over the years before we married. When we got engaged, my PILs went to my home country in order to meet my extended family. They cared about who their ds was going to be related to. I think the RF massively dropped the ball there.

Edward also has been known to travel to engagements by - gasp - Public transport!!

Really? You think they should have intervened with two adults set on marrying, in a very public domain?
I think that would have been catastrophic.
God knows what they'd have said on chat shows and books.

Realistically what could they do?

Royal weddings are arranged months in advance. They're not going to cancel it because of Thomas Markle. I'm sure they did find it odd that Harry had never met any of her family other than Doria, but without the benefit of hindsight, it may not have seemed the red flag then that it does now.

Dropped the ball? I’m not so sure.

It is also entirely possible that they eventually chose to give M the optics she clearly wanted, knowing that people would think ‘hmmm - what’s happening here’ and seeing it all for the shitshow it was destined to become.

People usually take themselves down.

The bonus here was that H took himself down too.

I believe he has been a thorn in the side of the RF for many, many years.

She did them a solid.

I’m not entirely sure you can compare the RF to your family and your new extended family though. Don’t forget that a head of State or their representative visiting another country is a big deal. They are unlikely to pop over to the US on a family visit. It’s just not practicable and don’t forget that the late Queen and the then Prince Charles were actual IPP’s which puts a huge responsibility on the country they would be visiting
Anyway, isn’t it common knowledge that meetings were suggested but that the idea was always rebuffed by the Sussexes? You can only suggest something so many times before it becomes
obvious you are being ignored. Even if you are the Queen. And that’s without the danger of them
looking like they were interfering / disapproving or whatever spin could be applied

typos

That’s a very interesting point of view. So basically HMQ suspected from the beginning that it wasn’t going to work out? There is a story that when H asked for permission to marry, HMQ said ‘I suppose I shall have to say yes’ or something along those lines.

There is also a story of QEII discussing H&M with a cousin who also thought it might all fall apart, and saying, "Oh, it's when, not if..."

I was actually going to mention how things would be done where I am but decided against it because you never know who’s waiting to take pot shots at something for being very different. But that said I can still recall my birth father saying to my husband when we wanted to got engaged - I want it made very clear that I’m expecting your father to find a way to reassure me that my daughter will be welcomed into your family. Even then my FIL to be be was way too old to travel but his envoys were involved instead.

Realistically it should never have got as far as an engagement being announced without PH at the very least meeting TM. That was when it all needed to be reigned in - right from the start.

Also not unusual to see Sophie popping into the local Waitrose in sunningdale on her own.

There's also the fact that, once again, Harry simply isn't that important.

If William had wanted to marry an American actress whose family he had never met, that would definitely have rung alarm bells. But Harry? Who really cares. The notion of the monarch telling her grandson who he can or can't marry would be a very bad look in this day and age.

Agreed. Also it would seem that the late Queen was fond of Harry and he seemed desperate to find a wife and settle down. Presumably his grandmother (and by the same token his father) would have been reluctant to piss on his parade when, constitutionally, it wasn’t that important. They could
not have realistically imagined the chaos that would ensue

I imagine saying no to Harry would result in a massive earthquake of a tantrum. Especially as he'd told his mates 'she'll let you do anything' so was being led by his dick. He'd not want to give that up!