H and m pr disasters 34!

[jeffgoldblum]

A continuation of the exiting and entertaining shenanigans of ham….

A lot of negative press was starting before Diana died. Her parenting (or lack of) for one. She chose to spend her summer with the odious Al Fayads over her two sons. She treated Tiggy (among other women) appallingly

Exactly, in fact I wouldn't call any journalist meeting with Harry or Meghan an 'interview' - that suggests a frank discussion and questions from both sides - it's much more like "an audience with..." where the journo obediently asks the scripted questions and listens meekly to the rehearsed replies!

It's the law of unintended consequences - H&M will do a "Saint Diana" doc. It will be answered back, with a lot of salacious detail. It could open the flood gates, and frankly, the public prefer the juicy, grim, nasty details over the hagiography.

And in my previous post it should be "Diana did a lot of good" 🙈

It was really the opposite, having lived through it.

The last years of Diana's life she sold huge amounts of papers on negative press. People were happy to see her charity works, but really wanted to pick her apart, get the gossip and tut over her latest actions.

When she died that was when the Saint Diana began. Fuelled in part by Tony Blair who wanted to be seen as on the side of "the people" and not one for overlooking a good Popularity Prout moment. And partially, I suspect, from guilt from the people who poured over the negative press and wanted to persuade themselves that they hadn't encouraged the press by reading it.

But I suspect if Diana had put her head down, and just courted publicity for charity works, her death would not have been as much of a shock for people as she wouldn't have been so constantly in the news. Ironically she probably wouldn't have died either.

So I suppose you could say that her sons are splitting her publicity too: William only looks for it when he's doing something for charity. Harry wants his private life out there, as revenge, to show the RF how well he's doing.

Absolutely!

True; also for Harry, it's the only thing he can sell.
William doesn't wish to or need to sell it, Harry chooses to.

The issue is (which honestly I'm amazed that Harry doesn't anticipate) is that stirring it all up again after 30 years might well bring out some stories about his mum which he'd rather not hear, or have made public

It appears that Harry anticipates/ thinks of nothing, @CoffeeCantata - at least beyond what he wants at any given moment - but while anything "unwelcome" about hie mother may well produce further tantrums, that doesn't change anymore else's right to speak

He's always been clear on the importance of "telling his truth" (though rarely saying anything that can't be instant debunked) but it seems he thinks that it's something only he should be allowed to do

It doesn't stop them having a PR machine though. They're just better at it than the Sussexes, who are either extremely stupid or machiavellian in the way they play the press. The real royals play the long game because their positions are unassailable and, by and large, they know when to let things slide; but they also have their flying monkeys out there doing positive press on their behalf, so they don't have to do the moaning.

The Sussexes' gamble was to go it alone, which meant that they had to make hay while the Sunshine Sachs was shining on their rapidly aging selves. They had to be everything and everywhere all at once. That's why their messages were/are so contradictory, confusing and hypocritical. Feminist/trad wife, victim/triumphant escape artist, statesman/drug addled born loser, war hero action man/so scared of his own shadow he can't walk down the street without armed police. Etc, etc. There's nothing organic. They have compressed many years of a normal person's personal development into an overnight "brand," and it doesn't work because it's obviously inauthentic. But the press still lap it up and don't really question it, or it has got to the point where the Sussexes simply don't care how they come across and quite enjoy the negativity, so something that should have been a busted flush 4 or 5 years ago still trundles on and on.

I see what you mean. Yes, good points.

Harry wants his private life out there, as revenge, to show the RF how well he's doing
He’s even dumber than we supposed, then.

Incredible, isn't it?

Yes, Diana was gaining a reputation during that final year for shagging gadding about, being a bit of a flighty mother and playing games with photographers, tabloids and the public.

Furthermore, since she died we’ve found out that her pal al-Fayed was a monster (sex offender and trafficker at scale). The relationship with Dodi Fayed was a stupid farce that Diana took part in for her own weird, selfish reasons. Harry needs to heed this new development about al-Fayed, and understand the reputational risk. He can’t blame this one on William.

Now there’s cocaine allegations and we’ve been reminded that Diana was in fact deeply cynical about using ‘bald children’ for sympathetic press.

Saint my arse.

It's not so much that people are interested in Diana - it's just another tool some people employ to try to attack William. Harry lives in the past. He is using his mother's status as reinforcement for his own and children's position. This will only make him look more like the grifter he is.

Sarah Ferguson will probably be looking at writing a book too.

William and Catherine could probably organise a huge exhibit with Portraits, gowns, might even get the Spencer Tiara on loan in the V&A and do a retrospective of her worm. People would loan them stuff, with the other pair they’d probably not because they’d not get it back

Good points

About Diana, or generally?

I'm in the 'should be the right demographic but not interested' camp re the Diana documentary. And to me it seems like another smokescreen for the ANL trial disaster and payments crisis. It's gone very quiet on that front.

I’m embarrassed to admit….despite posting on here …..I have never nor am I interested in watching in any royal documentaries! And I have no interest in reading the books either…..too modern to pique my interest….now Henry the eighth or further back …now I’m interested.

Me too. I remember getting up the morning that the news about Diana came out. I was sitting on a plane which switched off the engines for the silence for her ( we were at a gate!) but I don't watch very much of this stuff. For most younger people today it would be like myself having watched something about Wallis Simpson and the Abdication - it seemed like ancient history.

When did she try cocaine? I can’t find anything on Google.

I've read a few books on Edward and Wallis, they do intrigue me. Also Queen Mary (of Teck), a formidable lady! Plus Queen Victoria.
I read Burrell's book, A Royal Duty, which was quite interesting.

That's got to be the last throw of the dice cashing in on your dead Mum dare say the goon will chip in her tuppence worth.

‘If my husband’s mother had lived, she would have loved me so, so very much, so boldly, like her son, my husband, also the son of a King.’

Ad nauseum.

Has anyone here ever watched Madonna’s film W.E.? The one about Wallis and Edward that got panned - is it really that bad or worth a look?