Ham pr disaster thread 35! …Charles has played a blinder!

[jeffgoldblum]

A continuation of the shenanigans of our favourite non working royals! 😁

I wouldn’t blame him. That appalling mess was entirely H and M’s stupid fault. A worthy charity has suffered because of their supreme entitlement.

Public figures I take to mean an elected official or a representative of a public office.
Maybe H has joined the parish council and is elbow deep in planning applications and the problems of fly tipping.

So how would we be happy to describe them? Celebrities works for me. They are ridiculously famous, certainly in the UK, and I think trying to dismiss that as just "private citizens" is very disingenuous.

Whatever we may think of their behaviour, their success or lack thereof, there is a gulf between them and the vast majority of the population.

You have to have solid achievements to be a public figure, surely?

David Attenborough is a public figure, as is say, Stella Remington. Katie Price and that rude plump man from Gavin and Stacey are just celebrities.

Yes, they got on very well and "have a lot in common" according to the French press.

Celebrities are also private citizens. I wouldn't even call them celebrities, what has Harry ever done that's entertaining? Nothing

It's pretty clear that Harry knows what the palace means by the phrase private citizen: someone who has no official role serving society. MPs are public figures and I would argue, thinking as I type, that judges are public figures as well as Members of the working Royal family. Public figures serve the public. Harry serves himself.

Celebrities in contrast have a public profile, in the press or on social media. Celebrities come in all shapes and sizes, some through talent, like actors, some through social media, like influencers. You don't need a specific role or talent to be a celebrity, just a public profile.

Harry doesn't have to like this but if he is to have any peace he needs to accept that he is no longer a public figure but a private citizen with a celebrity profile. Being 5th in line to the throne is as irrelevant as being 35th and being the son of the monarch is not a public role. He stepped down from that section of the Mountbatten-Windsor family who are public figures.

Incidentally I agree with @My2cents1975 that he needs to be removed from the Royal website. I don't actually think it's indicative of anything more than the fact that the palace hasn't yet grasped the importance of a good website. The whole thing is a mess and not fit for purpose in the 21st century.

I think the designation ‘public figure’ is not something you call yourself! It has to be conferred by consensus.

It’s like ‘National Treasure’ - it has to be earned by achievement in some field, and implies real power, influence and gravitas.

I hope the H&m dc are at a proper school, and allowed to meet and have friends their own age away from home. At School.

The thought of these dc being stuck with only each other, at home and never going out, because of the selfish deluded demands of their publicity hungry parents, dad openly admits gaming all day, booze and drugs, dm takes to her bed - seems all wrong to me.

hopefully someone from the relevant authorities is aware of what is really going on behind the doors and wont let the dc slip through the net.

@MrsLeonFarrell

I think that’s a really good explanation.

I've worked in a celebrity adjacent industry and I would definitely class H as a public figure, by virtue of the fact he grew up as the Queen's grandson and is now son of the King and brother to the heir. We can't pretend that doesn't count.

MM's become a public figure through her marriage to a high profile public figure. Previously she was a celebrity, and still is.

But it's irrelevant how they see themselves. In the eyes of the Crown and according to the Sandringham Summit, they are to be treated as private citizens with charitable and commercial interests according to their wishes.

Clearly they want to rewrite the summit terms to broaden/soften them. But that's not on the table and never will be if William has his way. The fact they can't recognise that and choose to bleat about the very thing they consistently do to the Royals – blindside, act without notice – just shows how very, very dumb they are and how badly advised they are.

Beautifully put, MrsLeonFarrell (Today 07:48).

It’s like ‘National Treasure’ - it has to be earned by achievement in some field, and implies real power, influence and gravitas.

Indeed, CoffeeCantata
It's always horribly cringe-making when someone describes themselves as a NT. Sue Pollard did it on some quiz show.
Imagine Sir David A doing that!
And genuine public figures - as opposed to famous people - wouldn't claim that status either.
They don't need to.

I suspect they are advised by Meghan's friend Marcus and no one else really.

That is not what being a private citizen means. Huge celebrities are still private citizens! H and M are clearly now private citizens - they do not perform public duties or have responsibilities to the country. They do not represent the country in their engagements,

I want to be a size 8 and eat as many Mars bar ice creams as I want.

So they insist on titles.
They insist that they are "public figures".
Harry wants the same security as former Prime Ministers.
So, no notion of a low key, private life, eh?

You’d have to wonder why he thought hightailing it to Montecito having set fire to all behind him was a good idea 🤔

Do you have any proper info on 'what is really going on behind the doors' that would warrant intervention from 'the relevant authorities'? Or is it all scaremongering, accusatory crap based on past admissions?

Celebrities, in my view, are people who are at the top of the game in their specialist field.

So, no, it doesn't work for me. They are what my parents call "a household name" i.e. known to everyone

Don’t let us keep you. What a lovely coat you have. Here, let me get the door for you. Safe journey x

I wouldn't stay on a boring thread, personally. Perhaps scroll around, see what interests you.

Celebrities are just people who are widely known and ‘celebrated’ by the press. They may be widely known for their achievements but those achievements do not need to be anywhere near the top of the game. They can be but don’t have to be. There are plenty of minor celebrities who have come to the public and press attention for other reasons, most often reality TV.

Quoted myself because I wanted to add something.

Public figures, because they serve the public in some way, are also open to public comment and criticism. They are legitimate subjects for press articles about their conduct.

Harry doesn't want that. He wants the status without the personal responsibility and without anyone being allowed to criticise him. That isn't how it works. One aspect of "never complain, never explain" is an acknowledgement that people are going to have opinions and write articles because of the public nature of being part of the working monarchy. If you tried to respond to everything you would never have time to do anything worthwhile, as Harry is sadly proving.

These posts are so funny. You can tell reading about H&M is LoudTealHare‘s guilty pleasure. This post is the equivalent of ramming the chocolate wrapper down the back of the sofa when someone walks in the room.