H&M PR disasters 52: Roundabouts and walkabouts

[bluegreygreen]

The continuing story of the Sussexes and their PR issues.

I live in a county adjoining (adjacent to!) Sussex and have heard a few rumblings from people there about the lack of interest from the Duke & Duchess. "Not our Duke" is their current motto. H&M never seem to have made any real connection with the county.

I thought it was normal Royal good practice to show special interest in the places associated with their titles

I don't want to inflict a visit on the people of Sussex but am wondering why H&M haven't tried to build a relationship with any of the many charities there?

Allow me this pls.

Only one sleep to go.

Does anybody know what M's current Visa status is? Because she can only stay here for six months if she doesn't have one and she will have to go home to Cali to apply from there - presumably she's on a tourist visa at the moment?

Afternoon all! Thanks @bluegreygreen! Only just realised there's another thread!

Can't work on a tourist visa.

Maybe they reapplied for a spousal one.

It would be awkward if they didn't bother and she was threatened with deportation.

I agree, it wouldn’t be sensible to do it yet. Give them the chance to show how inept and unpopular they are first, and no chance to say that they’re not being allowed to make amends because they’re such a threat.

My personal opinion is that there won't be a removal of titles, but that there will be a more formal announcement about removal of HRH, which will include other non-working royals.

I've never heard of royal (or non-royal) dukes paying attention to their duchy except for Cornwall. Did Andrew Windsor frequent York? Is Edward often seen in Edinburgh? The Duke of Westminster owns most of Mayfair but does he notably support charities in nearby Westminster? These are genuine questions. I've never heard of duchies being paid attention to.

The nail polish looks nice but the rings were very oddly placed.

The bulky gold ring is apparently a cover for a smart ring (counts steps, etc).

It's a real conundrum for the palace. If they do nothing, Charles is accused of being weak. If they remove titles, about the only action they can take, they look spiteful.

Tom Sykes says today that the only reason for HaM wanting state-funded securidee is so they can turn up at events like NottingHaM looking Royal. I'm not sure I agree. I think they want any outing to involve a convoy that embiggens them.

Theoretically though, she isn't working if she isn't getting paid? I don't think you can change a Visa unless you go home and re-apply. I'd be interested to know how this works, for her, because it doesn't seem the same as it works for "normal" people! I also wondered in the past about Doria and whether she was only allowed to stay for six months initially (as she was presumably on a tourist visa) and whether that had anything to do with them leaving the UK when they did?

Now there's an idea. Meghan might attract the crowds she wants if she were to be deported.

I don't think saying nothing is weak.
It can take a lot more strength of character to not respond in such circumstances than to say something - as shown by all the clap backs HAM do.

I do wonder at what point KC will be strongly advised to step in ? It strikes me that HaM are going to push and push for HIHO or some sort of official role .

They can push all they like, and talk about contracts all they like, KC and William can just go on not inviting them to things.

Given the way they've behaved, I think giving them royal duties would look disrespectful to the people they'd be interacting with - as if they were being fobbed off with the cheap option. Could you ask H to hold an investiture, as W and Anne do, for example?

Of course, one easy way to make the distinction would be to remove all titles from the Nobodies and reserve them for the Elite Force Royals.

I wonder if KC might be holding off out of respect for the older generation. The Duke of Kent and Pcess Alexandra have pretty much retired from public Iife due to age and health issues but they were always loyal supporters of HLM. And the Gloucesters still show up as required, even though they're now in their 80s.

'The late queen didn't make us sign a contract so we can so what we like' is so churlish and juvenile I can't believe anyone can trot it out. I can just imagine them giggling together and thinking they are oh so clever to come up with it.

I agree, KC is just getting on with his job. As are the others and paying no heed to the HaM performative attention seeking side show.

These are people in their 40s, unbelievable.

I was baffled as to why they came back. Now I think it’s just to stir the pot. Come back create havoc and fuck off again.

Right-O. Poor choice of theirs because there are stats to prove this untrue.

Season 1 of The Gentlemen was a massive ratings hit for Netflix, pulling in 12.2 million views worldwide in its first three days alone when it debuted in March 2024. 1, 2]_

During its premiere week, the series dominated streaming charts, logging 1.21 billion minutes viewed in the U.S. alone according to Nielsen tracking data. 1]

The show proved to have incredible staying power. When Season 2 premiered, Season 1 experienced a massive resurgence, reappearing on the global Netflix Top 10 list and bringing in an additional 8 million views in a single week as viewers caught up or rewatched the series.

I agree that rising above the HaM noise requires great strength. However, there are plenty of people who see Charles as weak even without this, but William is seen as strong so that could help them do nothing.

@bluegreygreen On the previous thread you asked why I believe Griffiths and Eden concocted a gala dinner fundraiser at Raffles for the Diana Award. Aside from the fact the Diana Award is incredibly unlikely to have anything like a gala dinner or have anything to do with somewhere like Raffles, the only mention anywhere of such an event was from Eden and Griffiths themselves and, subsequently, online chatter sparked by the claims in the Mail. There is no mention anywhere else of the supposed gala dinner, no advertising, no announcements, nothing. And the idea that it was abruptly cancelled beause Harry went weird or something makes absolutely no sense at all and would have resulted in huge costs for the Diana Award (the cancelled dining hall, the food and drink that had already been purchased would have had to be thrown away, the money for tickets sold returned).

On the other hand, Harry did make an appearance at a Diana Award panel in NYC on 23 September (a few days after the mystery Raffles event was supposedly scheduled). The CEO of the Diana Award ewas full of praise for Harry afterwards - unlikely if he had really left them in the lurch as claimed.

"The Duke of Sussex, 42, made an unannounced appearance at a Diana Award panel on Wednesday, Sept. 23, joining a conversation about what young people need to thrive in a rapidly changing world of work.

“Everyone was saying he was so funny. He cracked jokes on the panel,” Tessy Ojo, CEO of The Diana Award, tells PEOPLE. “He spoke about being 42 and not a spring chicken like the young people.”

https://people.com/prince-harry-jokes-not-spring-chicken-diana-award-panel-nyc-visit-12138892

It seems like Eden and Griffiths heard that Harry was doing something in September with the Diana Award but completely misunderstood what it was and somehow ended up with this idea of a gala dinner at Raffles. Supposedly they were going to "investigate" why the alleged Raffles event was cancelled but don't seem to have come up with anything for that. Perhaps because no such event was ever organised?

So, yeah, I'm rather sceptical about many of the claims made by "royal reporters" and "royal experts".

Agree. The palace continuing to ignore all the clap backs and whining just makes it seem like the Sussexes are pissing in the wind

Excellent data. M is all over the detail 😁

That's really interesting and I think I was presuming there would be a particular interest in the places associated with their titles.

A quick google check shows that Prince Edward has visited Edinburgh 5 times since he was given the title. It's a large city so I'm not sure if that number is above average for a normal number of visits

Prince William is Duke of Rothesay whilst he is in Scotland and I know he has visited the Isle of Bute recently

You are quite correct about AMW showing limited interest in York whilst he had the title but the Duke of Gloucester has built a good relationship with the city of Gloucester

I'm afraid I don't know anything about the Duke of Westminster's activities

Only time will tell whether the Sussexes will pay a visit. I don't think they'll be given a warm welcome so perhaps I've answered my own question!

I believe unpaid work is an issue if it is something someone would normally be paid for. EG visitors from overseas who have come to help their DD with her new baby/babysit for older grandchildren can get in trouble.

Just harking back to the end of the last thread:

plus the Sussexes are so…unsuited to being working royals, they could never be trusted to represent the king

I think this is the crux of the matter. They will never be ‘back’ in the way they appear to want, because they are continually demonstrating that they are fundamentally unsuited to the job. The fact they left in the first place made this abundantly clear, one of the main requirements for being a proper working royal is, after all, to do your duty, not to run away and spill all the family secrets. The working royal cosplaying will not convince KC and others that they are fit to be taken back into the fold. They would be advised to do the complete opposite of what they are currently doing - heads down, no publicity, quietly getting on with life, perhaps doing some low level but consistent charity work. Turning up in mismatched clothes with your chicken legs out isn’t what being a working royal is all about. Nor is playing with your spouse’s ponytail and behaving like a toddler on official engagements. What next? Rocking up to the State Opening of Parliament in matching polyester robes and plastic crowns with fruit gums stuck on? Neither of them seem to have a handle on what working royals do and how they behave. You’d think Harry would know, and madam has had years of pouring over Catherine’s appearances to work out the form, surely?