PR disasters thread 32

[BigWillyLittleTodger]

Yet another new thread for more Sussex shenanigans!

Now H&M were very magnanimous about this incident and said they loved Susan Hussey and hated the roasting she got in the press aged 84, but it does demonstrate that the sort of advice MM was receiving may not have been entirely up to date or appropriate?

She was offered lots of advice including mentoring by Sophie and even given a special 'equerry' to help her with protocol. Meghan rejected both. She was given dossiers of info, too, which she chose to ignore.

I find that just breathtakingly arrogant. And it's nothing to do with her being a woman or needing to seem submissive. The best analogy is the 'job, work, company' one. The RF is a kind of industry and she needed a bit of humility to learn about it. If, after 5 years, she thought she knew better, then OK - start discussions but only an arrogant fool would just reject advice and mentoring for such a public role.

She considered this advice 'outdated' What? It was the RF. It's about tradition - does M even understand that? No, clearly not. She thought it was all a Hollywood production. The arrogance is stupefying - it wasn't for a Joanna-come-lately to decide what's 'outdated' or relevant to an ancient institution she knew nothing of. Silly moo.

Now stop exaggerating.

That £50K dress, though. I did have an opinion already, just about that.

It was also see through on the top , hence the careful placement of hands and pose by the photographer.

Still confused about successful career.

Which career was that?

Yes, if you pair that up with her also saying (to OW), 'I had done no research', then that one's big heap of misplaced confidence.

@Hostamenace689 To be fair I agree that we shouldn't get into butch/bitch eating crackers territory ( a phrase I recently learned and the typo 😂) M did a decent job with the Grenfell fire kirchen / cookery book imho. I think supporting Smart works was a good thing ( I have a friend who has benefited from this ) . Her Tom Bradby interview in South Africa I think was misjudged in the circumstances. So I agree , they should not be taken down for everything they do. Obviously M is a better public speaker than C. However , I do think saying (in the Fab Four interview ) she's going to hit the ground running was a mistake. The WRF are in it for the long term with their patronages. I believe it to be true that Princess Anne spent 10 years working behind the scenes with Save the Children before she spoke out publicly . She has been working with them for 50 years.

There is zero chance that Meghan walked into meeting Harry blindly. Does anyone believe she just asked ‘is he kind?’ I mean seriously. As if. Of course she researched him and the royal family.

I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s beyond the realms of possibility that Meghan came across some examples of “conscious” or “unconscious” racism when she worked for the RF.

Harry admits he “he didn't see what I now see” having been brought up within the institution.

Prince Philip was notoriously racist in public several times so heaven knows what he was like in private and no, being old and ill doesn’t excuse you, when you have lived the life he did with many opportunities to travel abroad and experience other cultures.

There was the incident involving Princess Michael of Kent who sparked public outrage in December 2017 by wearing a vintage Blackamoor brooch to a royal Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace that was also attended by Meghan Markle. I mean, honestly?

Then the Susan Hussey incident.

To be fair, Prince Charles and William have done a lot to counter this impression but you do know that some commentators see the Commonwealth as “Empire 2.0.” anc the entire institution as racist given that so much of its wealth was acquired by slavery.

And if MM did come to hear comments about her child’s appearance being under discussion. being mixed race herself , and having encountered dreadful racism in the British press, and racist threats from right wing extremists , it’s understandable that she was sensitive to them.

I don’t see why that is so outrageous or hard to understand?

Why are people still parroting lies peddled by ham that have been debunked and dismissed already?

Fair points BasiliskStare
and thank you for yours.

Catching up on the thread, but they'd have to find one prepared to work for them first, Mylovelygreendress

Norland nannies are very "high status", and while that would doubtless appeal to H&M it also means they'll get the pick of jobs and might not consider these two ideal employers

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

I'd be absolutely amazed if they hadn't learned about Meghan and her family, @JSMill, but am not sure what they could have done to prevent the marriage - especially when the caterwauls of "rayyycism" would have been deafening

My recollection is that Lady Hussey was one of three original advisers, the other 2 being Sophie Wessex and the Queen's equerry Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah (who was denigrated in Endgame, presumably with the approval of the Sussexes).

Later, the Queen's own personal assistant, Samantha Cohen, was seconded to help her.

I suspect they knew lots about Meghan's wider background generally and yes, there was no way they could stop the marriage.

Probably for the same reason that people are still parroting lies about Ham that are untrue or have been debunked or dismissed?

This is a discussion board. People are emotive and blowing off steam. They write with a sense of entitlement as if they are completely correct and can't possibly be wrong. They have in-built prejudices. They come at things from their own experience and don't stop to consider that there are other positions, or even other facts. Some want to titivate. They love the drama.

*titillate not titivate!

If that was the case then I could see them raising it within the family or telling her friends but not going on Oprah and making a documentary about it and humiliating your husband’s family not to mention the backlash for the country.

Where did the information come from that she ignored all advice though?

She may well be arrogant! I don’t know her.

Why is it not possible that MM thought some of the RF arrogant and entitled too?

Do we automatically believe everything the RF says now we know how they covered up about AMW? I am not bringing up AMW’s name to derail btw but to explain that I am not the only person who doesn’t trust what the RF says quite so readily any longer, given what we know now. Their credibility has taken a big hit,

It’s well documented that some of the traditions of the RF are fossilised and outdated given the late Queen’s long reign and KC3 not a young man himself and not a moderniser.

Why Is it so outrageous to suggest that the RF were a bad fit for Meghan and vice versa? Why is the fault all hers?

What do you mean you know who I am? On the board or IRL? Because this sounds rather ominous and uncomfortably a bit personal.

Yes, @BasiliskStare. Princess Anne referred to that in 2020, in her interview with Vanity Fair for her 70th birthday.

I think the comments she made then were very apposite.

Remarkably for someone who has always seemed so driven and confident, it took her time to find her voice on the world stage. “It took me probably 10 years before I really felt confident enough to contribute to Save the Children’s public debates, because you needed to understand how it works on the ground and that needed a very wide coverage. So my early trips were really important.”

And she worries that the younger generation of royals may be in too much of a hurry to change the royal family’s tried and tested approach when it comes to philanthropy. Describing herself as “the boring old fuddy-duddy at the back saying, ‘Don’t forget the basics,’ ” she cautions, “I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it? You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, ‘Oh, you did that?’ Or, ‘You went there?’ Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, ‘Oh let’s do it a new way.’ And I’m already at the stage, ‘Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that. Some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.’ ”

https://archive.is/bCnqL

Obviously from the board.

Of course - I bet that's right. The secret services (whatever they're called!) will have investigated her family and informed the late Queen, and maybe Harry?? It would have become apparent that they were a quarrelsome and feuding lot and a bit sketchy, as the Americans say.

But the RF couldn't do anything, because a) it was 2018 and Harry's free choice and b) allegations of racism would be hard to refute.

Now I understand the late Queen's miserable expression at the wedding. She knew trouble was coming.

Susan Hussey was treated badly and I am not sure you really want to talk about Fulani or the charity .
M was also offered help from Sophie plus a senior equery which - allegedly- she found insulting. Camilla also offered support but it was pretty clear that she wanted Catherine so they could be photographed together .

you do know that some commentators see the Commonwealth as “Empire 2.0.” anc the entire institution as racist given that so much of its wealth was acquired by slavery.

Only very ignorant commentators, especially as there are Commonwealth countries who were not previously linked to Britain via the Empire.

I don’t disagree with that as it was impulsive, unwise, naive and rash, but unfortunately damaged people do rash unwise things when they feel backed in to a corner. And when forced to make an appointment with their own father 28 days in advance!

I feel that some but not all of the blame should lie with how BP handled this situation. They have enough staff fhs who are former diplomats, civil servants and military personnel, well versed in people skills. They should have handled it better.