Relationships between Members of the British Royal Family

[duchessrachel]

At what point did Frogmore Cottage become a demotion? I haven't been following the "feud" but last I read it was billed as "The Sussex's chose it because they want to get as far away from the Cambridges as possible!" It will be a large house close to where the Queen spends a huge amount of time, in a place they love very close to London.

No doubt there's always ups and downs re roles in the family for everyone and at times they've been envious of each other's position but you can't tell anything from a few videos.


And whilst it may have been much more of an adjustment than Meghan anticipated I'm sure she knew a lot more about Harry's current and intended future positions before she got married than our speculation ever will.

Once they get moved in, I have a feeling that the Sussexes and the Queen will be seeing a lot of each other on the weekends, particularly when the Queen's eighth (is that the correct number?) great grandchild is born.

 

[Osipi]

I'm going to predict something with absolute confidence and that is that *any* of the royal family would be extremely happy if their public could focus solely on the work they do and how it pertains to the monarchy rather than worry so much about what their private lives are like.

No one is happy living under a microscope day in and day out where each facial expression, what they wear (or fail to wear) and should they sneeze (or worse), it is heard around the world in an instant and a topic of conversation for the next month.

If given the chance to live the lives that they do, I think its safe to say that after six months, I'd be ready for the booby hatch pleasantly twiddling my thumbs singing "lovely flowers on the wall.... ".

 

[Pranter]

There are clips toward the end of the walk that showed Harry/William doing just fine..really folks you can't take a handful of photos from one day and determine anything...you are getting sucked into the media narrative.


LaRae

 

[royal rob]

This whole William not speaking to Meghan is just rubbish it is likely Will did ask Harry are you sure she will be able to cope with royal life. Anyone would talk to their sibling

 

[Jacknch]

Please note that several posts have been deleted as they were off-topic, added nothing to the conversation or ignored the previous Mod note.

Discussion about Harry and Meghan moving to Frogmore Cottae can take place in the http://www.theroyalforums.com/forum...ore-cottage-and-nottingham-cottage-45791.html.

 

[tommy100]

This whole William not speaking to Meghan is just rubbish it is likely Will did ask Harry are you sure she will be able to cope with royal life. Anyone would talk to their sibling

Completely agree, hadn't they been going out for a year before getting engaged? If one of my siblings told me they were getting engaged after that amount of time I would ask if they were really sure myself.

 

[Terri Terri]

Exactly! Any close sibling would do the same thing! William knew from experience what Kate went through and most likely warned Harry about the same thing!

 

[Curryong]

Harry and Meghan began dating around June 2016. They became engaged in late November 2017. That's about 17/18 months. I've known people have shorter dating times, including those who lived in different countries and conducted long distance romances.

It depends how a sibling questions the romance doesn't it? Some people are not particularly tactful or fair-minded, can dwell on what they see as failings etc, instead of the nicer characteristics of the sibling's girlfriend.

IF it is true (and we don't know if it is) that William questioned Meghan's suitability for the BRF, we don't know how he couched any objections. If I was deeply in love with someone and a sibling started criticisms of that person after a couple of meetings, I'd probably flare up as well.

And not everyone is prepared to wait eight years plus before marriage, especially a couple in their thirties.

 

[Somebody]

Harry and Meghan began dating around June 2016. They became engaged in November 2017. That's about 17/18 months. I've known people have shorter dating times, including those who lived in different countries and conducted long distance romances.

It depends how a sibling questions the romance doesn't it? Some people are not particularly tactful or fair-minded, can dwell on what they see as failings etc, instead of the nicer characteristics of the sibling's girlfriend.

IF it is true (and we don't know if it is) that William questioned Meghan's suitability for the BRF, we don't know how he couched any objections. If I was deeply in love with someone and a sibling started criticisms of that person after a couple of meetings, I'd probably flare up as well.

And not everyone is prepared to wait eight years plus before marriage, especially a couple in their thirties.

According to their own time frame they started dating more or less in July and got engaged early November, so 17/18 months is generous. More about 16 months, which is still more than a year... So, I am fine with that although I'd say that in general when dating a prince a bit more time might be required than on average. The extremely long dating periods of some other princes and princesses I find harder to understand. Both if they finally end up married and if afterwards they get married very soon to someone else.

 

[Curryong]

Clarence House announced the engagement of Harry and Meghan on the 27th November 2017.

 

[Osipi]

If William and Harry are as close as I think they are, I would imagine that as Harry realized more and more that Meghan was "the one" for him, William (and Kate) would have been the very first to know about the relationship and probably the first of Harry's family to be introduced to Meghan. This seems even more plausible to me as we realized that Harry and Meghan spent quite a bit of time together, when they could, at Nottingham Cottage. It would have been quite easy to get together with the Cambridges and in this respect, both William and Kate got to know Meghan directly and not secondhand via Harry. Harry also got the chance then to witness first hand how Meghan gets along with kids.

I, myself, don't see anything that points to William questioning his brother's choice. If anyone could see the change in Harry and just how over the moon happy he was after meeting Meghan, William would have witnessed it in the flesh. I also believe that William would be above putting Meghan's "suitability" for the BRF before Harry's happiness.

Therefore, its my opinion that both William and Kate were the first to warmly welcome Meghan into the family and stand beside Harry and Meghan to guide, to warn, to advise and support them the best they could. William being Harry's "best man" didn't start on the day of the wedding but was a constant along the road to the engagement and then to the marriage and now as the "Fab Four" in the Royal Foundation and will continue on through the decades come what may.

This is what makes sense to me. Of course it doesn't sell to the public that thrives on discord, negativity and "feudin'"

 

[Somebody]

Clarence House announced the engagement of Harry and Meghan on the 27th November 2017.

Yes but they got engaged several weeks prior to the announcement.

 

[Terri Terri]

In fairness, I can understand if William had concerns whether Meghan as a 36 year old woman who had lived an independent life could make the transition to a royal lifestyle.

Frankly, I found myself questioning Meghan's sanity to give up SO MUCH to marry Harry! She's the one that has made all of the sacrifices!

If William and Harry are as close as people say they are, then I can see where William may have sat Harry down and had a very frank conversation about whether Meghan could really handle the royal life.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

I find it difficult to believe that once Harry & Meghan were actually engaged, then married and now a baby coming that William and Harry would still be at odds over Meghan if William had expressed any reservations. William wants Harry to be happy.

No one was hinting at a frostiness Christmas 2017 or gone back to analyze photos of last Christmas for signs of tension. The video/photos of the brothers at the wedding don’t seem to show distance in their relationship.

And remember William did issue a statement of support in November 2016 after Harry’s letter requesting privacy was issued.

 

[Osipi]

Their courtship was not a relatively normal courtship either. They both had responsibilities that placed them on different continents. They had to scheme and plot and plan to be together and travel distances to do so. It took a lot of work on both sides to keep a long distance relationship going strong.

When they did spend time together, they made the most of it. They didn't go out partying with friends or attend concerts and the theater and dine out in exclusive restaurants. They stayed home and cooked their own meals and reveled just in the fact that they were together. Many couples dating for much longer don't do this until they're actually married. They weren't just dating, they were testing marriage to each other. They've never had to be in each other's back pockets and were able to maintain their individuality which probably made the time they did spend together even more special.

It may have been a shorter courtship than a lot of other people's but when I look at it, it was a very mature and responsible courtship that had a lot of obstacles to be met and conquered. One cannot say it was a rush, fly-by-night courtship when we look at just how they conducted it.

This is definitely a "you and me against the world" kind of couple. Its that basis that spells success for a marriage.

 

[Lilyflo]

I agree with Osipi's last comment

Also, we all know families have rows, which are usually made up fairly quickly and/or then laughed about. I recall an occasion when the RF were being filmed (the Queen, Queen Mother, Prince Charles & William were present). William referred to some disagreement with his father & then laughed as he said something about it involving "lots of family shouting".

What a weird bunch of robots the BRF would be if they didn't have disagreements & the occasional row. I know we're not supposed to discuss the media here but really, the tabloids make me sick how they try to create feuds & "baddies" out of things they know nothing about.

Unless a BRF family disagreement is so serious as to threaten the family's future, any reportage that blows things up or fabricates stories is just toxic tittle-tattle.

 

[Mbruno]

In fairness, I can understand if William had concerns whether Meghan as a 36 year old woman who had lived an independent life could make the transition to a royal lifestyle.

I haven't been following all posts in this forum, but where did those stories about William questioning Meghan's suitability come from ? Any factual evidence ?

 

[Terri Terri]

Like all discussions in this thread, it's speculative. So no, I have no factual evidence.

 

[Dman]

Their courtship was not a relatively normal courtship either. They both had responsibilities that placed them on different continents. They had to scheme and plot and plan to be together and travel distances to do so. It took a lot of work on both sides to keep a long distance relationship going strong.

When they did spend time together, they made the most of it. They didn't go out partying with friends or attend concerts and the theater and dine out in exclusive restaurants. They stayed home and cooked their own meals and reveled just in the fact that they were together. Many couples dating for much longer don't do this until they're actually married. They weren't just dating, they were testing marriage to each other. They've never had to be in each other's back pockets and were able to maintain their individuality which probably made the time they did spend together even more special.

It may have been a shorter courtship than a lot of other people's but when I look at it, it was a very mature and responsible courtship that had a lot of obstacles to be met and conquered. One cannot say it was a rush, fly-by-night courtship when we look at just how they conducted it.

This is definitely a "you and me against the world" kind of couple. Its that basis that spells success for a marriage.

You guys are producing some great posts and this is one of them.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

I haven't been following all posts in this forum, but where did those stories about William questioning Meghan's suitability come from ? Any factual evidence ?

I think mostly speculative, trying to come up with ideas to explain this supposed rift between the brothers that is the current story.

 

[Queen Claude]

I haven't been following all posts in this forum, but where did those stories about William questioning Meghan's suitability come from ? Any factual evidence ?

The main story was likely this story by Emily Andrews in The Sun, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/79279...ud-relationship-meghan-markle-kate-middleton/ where "a well-placed source" was quoted that William, after being introduced to Meghan, sat Harry down to express concerns and Harry did not take it well and "the brothers’ relationship has not really recovered".

William did not really know Meghan, and this story does not seem to be about William having specific issues with Meghan, but wanting Harry "to take it slowly".

 

[Osipi]

OK. So now I know the synopsis of a Sun's reporter's take on what happened. I think any one of us could jump in and state a gazillion different "takes" on this kind of thing and every one of us could be getting it all wrong.

OK. So my take on what could have happened is totally different than Andrews. I don't think William would have sat down with Harry and expressed concerns in a tete-a-tete but it would come out in an open conversation with both Harry and Meghan. If these couples did get together frequently before the engagement as I surmised a few posts ago, most likely they all regaled Meghan with stories of the pitfalls, the mistakes made and other anecdotes that would give Meghan a clear picture of what royal life in the fishbowl is *really* like. The good times, the bad times and the ugly all rolled into stories about coping with the life and what she could expect should she decide to "take Harry on" and his lifestyle along with him. Harry, himself, has even expressed verbally what an onus the lifestyle was in finding someone to be his partner for life.

Sure there were concerns but I think the concerns were more to enhance the relationship between Harry and Meghan because knowledge is power and knowing what one is getting into helps for a wise decision when it comes to marriage. I believe that when the time came and Meghan said "yes", she did it with her eyes wide open knowing just what she was committing to for life and obviously, she felt Harry was well worth that commitment.

She also most likely found out that no matter what happened (and a lot happened since the engagement), she had a strong support system not only in Harry but also in Harry's family. Perhaps this is what Harry was referring to at Christmastime 2016 with the statement that Meghan has "the family she never had". The all for one and one for all kind of thing that wasn't present in Meghan's life up until she became involved as part of the BRF.

To me, its totally strange how much difference there is between Christmas 2017 and 2018. From total acceptance into a warm family to nothing but reports of family feuding in the style of the Hatfields and McCoys. It just reinforces my belief that someone, somewhere, is playing fast and loose with "palace sources" to promote their own narratives.

 

[Dman]

Harry and William are extremely close and Harry already let us know how supportive the family has been to him and Meghan during their courtship. For some reason that’s not enough for some people.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

Osipi-your last paragraph says exactly why I have trouble believing this narrative of a long standing rift between the brothers.
If it occurred more than two years ago, it would have been there Christmas 2017 as well as Christmas 2018.
And Harry & Meghan were already engaged Christmas 2017 so any counseling of Harry by William to “take the relationship slow” was long before, if it even happened. But things were great Christmas 2017?

 

[jacqui24]

Here’s my issue with this. Let’s say this conversation did happen between the brothers. They are obviously not going to have the conversation in front of others. Who would they tell that would then become this source? I mean this isn’t as if they got into it at the office over something. Both brothers are notoriously private. They’ve even planted stories to see who they can and cannot trust among their friends. So I’m really hesitant to believe that they’d spilling their guts to anyone about this. They are all adults, and living in this fishbowl, they don’t need to whine about their sibling because they had a fight.

And then subsequently, how do they know they’ve never recovered from it? William was Harry’s best man at the wedding when he could’ve easily forego that step as Meghan decided not to have a maid/matron of honor. Unless one of them has been saying I can’t love my brother the same since then, I’m baffled by how it’s not the same? Are they more serious? Meh, I’ve seen them joke around with each other still. William certainly was tagging along, while Kate was on maternity leave, at events he attended with Meghan and Harry. He greeted Meghan pretty warmly as they arrive at WA for ANZAC and then all three rode together to Queen’s birthday concert. We saw a brief photo from pretty far away where Meghan was sitting in the middle in the backseat with William and Harry on each side. So it seems to me that while some things are changing, there are things that haven’t. It’s just hard to have things like that when it’s more people. Like it was easy for Harry to hitch a ride with his brother to Queen’s Christmas lunch when he’s a bachelor. Kate just squeezed in the backseat with George and Charlotte. But then now Harry has a wife, and eventually children of his own, it just becomes easier to do this separately. Does that they are not as close as they used to be? They are certainly not spending that time together or have to spend time coordinating with each other, but it’s more of natural progression as Harry and Meghan create their own family than any rift.

The brother are part of the Wales neuclus family until they grow up and have their own neuclus family. Then the two families do become extended families even though the brothers are still brothers. Their daily lives is now surrounded by their new family rather than the family they grew up with. It’s normal. All that proves is that the royals are just like us. I’m sure they are still there for each other when needed, and given that they work together, it’s more often than others. But they all have their focus elsewhere now.

 

[Dman]

Osipi-your last paragraph says exactly why I have trouble believing this narrative of a long standing rift between the brothers.
If it occurred more than two years ago, it would have been there Christmas 2017 as well as Christmas 2018.
And Harry & Meghan were already engaged Christmas 2017 so any counseling of Harry by William to “take the relationship slow” was long before, if it even happened. But things were great Christmas 2017?

The thing is no one knows those intimate talks between William and Harry about Harry’s courtship with Meghan. So I really don’t think people should get sucked into believing those reports on William giving Harry warnings. What we do know that William and rest of the family were/still is supportive of the couple. How we know this? Because the couple told us from their very mouths in their engagement interview. That’s all the proof we should need, IMO.

 

[Osipi]

The thing is no one knows those intimate talks between William and Harry about Harry’s courtship with Meghan. So I really don’t think people should get sucked into believing those reports on William giving Harry warnings. What we do know that William and rest of the family were/still is supportive of the couple. How we know this? Because the couple told us from their very mouths in their engagement interview. That’s all the proof we shouldn’t need, IMO.

Absolutely. The rub is that we're a sponge of a different color than most of the general public. We actively absorb everything there is to know and have done so with Harry and Meghan's relationship practically from Day 1. For the most part, the general public may have a passing interest and some not paying attention at all to the couple until the royal wedding was in their faces everywhere they went.

It is easy to see how those that don't really know about or care about this couple or the BRF could easily buy into anything printed as gospel truth. They trust the "royal reporter" to know what they're talking about and if a "royal reporter" says it is so, then its come from the horse's mouth and people react to it as if it happened right in front of them.

That's the downside of having the "middle man" playing a game of telephone with royal related events that are strictly part of their private lives. Its rare that these stories are ever refuted because the only real "truth" lies with the royals involved and they don't care to play the game. They've better things to do with their time. ?

 

[Dman]

Absolutely. The rub is that we're a sponge of a different color than most of the general public. We actively absorb everything there is to know and have done so with Harry and Meghan's relationship practically from Day 1. For the most part, the general public may have a passing interest and some not paying attention at all to the couple until the royal wedding was in their faces everywhere they went.

It is easy to see how those that don't really know about or care about this couple or the BRF could easily buy into anything printed as gospel truth. They trust the "royal reporter" to know what they're talking about and if a "royal reporter" says it is so, then its come from the horse's mouth and people react to it as if it happened right in front of them.

That's the downside of having the "middle man" playing a game of telephone with royal related events that are strictly part of their private lives. Its rare that these stories are ever refuted because the only real "truth" lies with the royals involved and they don't care to play the game. They've better things to do with their time. ?

Yes, we rely on the royal reporters and correspondents a lot. But folks should know how to be very careful in believing the reports of extreme intimate details of private conversations between the royals. The royal family are close and private, so no knows their “pillow talks.” Harry and Meghan already let us know how welcoming the family has been to them and their courtship.

 

[jacqui24]

https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/...an-markle-is-the-perfect-choice-a3703981.html

Here's a piece by Tom Bradby from way back when the engagement was announced. It talks about how those around Harry viewed Meghan. It also talks about Cambridges. I'd take his word far more than EA's.

 

[Ista]

Listening to the royal reporters is a weird balancing act, because while they frequently (mostly?) get things wrong, often enough they get just enough right that completely ignoring them isn't an option for dedicated royal watchers. The most famous example of this is the rumors and gossip that went on for years about Charles and Diana, which turned out to largely be true, although some of the details were off the mark.

So, while I tend to shrug off the majority of the current nonsense, it's possible that there might be a very faint thread of something that the reporters heard about from a source that has then been embroidered and added to until it doesn't have much connection to reality. If William and Harry had a disagreement over something to do with their foundation, especially one that involved raised voices, that could have become the so-called rift, when in reality it was just two brothers having a vigorous discussion about something they both feel strongly about.