Relationships between Members of the British Royal Family


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The truth is that family is family. The royal family aren’t that different than our families. They have their share of private ups and down too. It’s just Press was always going to put out this narrative of an inner-conflict between these two power couples. You could pretty write the future headlines just as soon as Harry and Meghan announced their engagement. There’s this hunger to make it seem like there’s not enough room for the Cambridge’s and Sussex’s to co-exist with each other on the royal stage. There’s gotta be this couple vs this couple.

We’ve been down this royal road before back in the 80’s and 90’s. I just wonder if this was done to Elizabeth & Philip and Margaret & Tony? Albert & Elizabeth and the Kent’s and Gloucester’s?
 
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The thing we all need to remember, though, is that the royal family is still a family and like any family they will have their ups and downs and disagreements and life will at times be wonderful and at other times not so wonderful. In accordance with them being just like any other family there will always be those within the family that naturally gravitate toward each other and those that just don't click as well. That's not only human nature but the nature of families. That said, some of the royal family will adore Meghan and some just simply won't. And that's ok, too. Whether the Cambridges fall in the group that adores her, the group that simply tolerates her, or the group that is very happy to see her in short bursts and then not again for a while, we'll never really know unless a member of that family decides to go completely off the rails and start telling everything they know to anyone that will listen.

This idea that Meghan is so saintly and wonderful and perfect that not one member of the royal family could be a bit....meh....about her just simply isn't factual. All families have differing relationships within the family and the royal family is no different. I suspect that if everyone concerned were completely 100% honest, we'd find that Meghan adores some members of the family, barely tolerates others, and still others she's very happy to see at holidays and functions and is completely fine with not being in contact with them in between.

It seems to me that we might just be starting to get the little bits about who adores who, who can barely tolerate who, and who is cordial and friendly but not overly close inside the family and those various relationships might not fit into the fairytale perfection a lot of people had in mind for these two brothers and those within their family. In some ways it makes sense that this is just starting to show now when, if they're anything at all like most families I know, they determined that they would be as friendly, cheerful, and welcoming as possible while getting to know the new member and now that the craziness of the wedding and the tour and the last couple of years has calmed the relationships have evolved into what they will likely be going forward. Just my take on it, of course, but it does seem that royal watchers are going to have to get used to the idea that the various relationships within the family may not completely align with our vision for them.
 
This idea that Meghan is so saintly and wonderful and perfect that not one member of the royal family could be a bit....meh....about her just simply isn't factual.

I do not think any (most?) of us here think this :previous: is what the story is.

There is a middle ground that is perfectly normal between the idea of the Sussexes and Cambridges being a quadruple of BFFs and the rift story being floated. I doubt they all hung out together all the time when Harry and Meghan were dating so it is not odd that they do not now. They all have their own busy lives.
 
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Shrug. I can believe there are some members that love her, others that like her and others who are indifferent or meh on her and she with them. I have no facts to back this up or say names. Not touching the Cambridge/Sussex "rifts" with a 10 foot barge pole right now.
 
Another aspect to remember along with those that Heather has pointed out is that all of these members of the family work in the same place called the "Firm". Its not a operation run by a "boss" that tells everyone what to do, how to do it and when to do it and where but its a family that has pretty much equal input into how things are done in relation to what they do.

In "Our Queen" by Robert Hardman, Andrew says of the "Firm" that "Its rather like having a business which has a number of diversified subsidiaries. We do our thing and we conduct our lives but occasionally we come back and talk to the the boss of the parent company." "We're all off doing things and then there are moments when we get together in an environment where there are lots of other people and they suddenly notice that all of us are having a conversation because we haven't actually been together for three months. Its entirely because we are performing roles in support of the Monarchy."

Its no wonder then to me that there are times in all of the royal's schedules that are set aside to actually interact as a family. The Christmas Lunch for all of the extended family, the Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, Easter at Windsor with Trooping the Color after and Ascot Week and the summer sojourn to Balmoral. These folks have to plan in advance when they all can get together simply because their lives are so filled with their work for the monarchy, their own personal endeavors and as time passes, their own families. These are people that know what they're going to be doing a six months to a year from now already as its penciled into their personal planners.

This is also a family that just doesn't "drop by" to see an aunt or a brother or a family member on a whim because chances are that the other person is slated to be somewhere doing something at that time. The Cambridges and the Sussexes may be able to "drop by" more often than most simple because they do live in close proximity to each other and have office space in common but that, too, is changing as the brothers and their spouses turn more and more into the diversified subsidiaries that Andrew was talking about. It comes with the territory to being full time senior working members of the "Firm".

The culprit I think in all the changes that are coming about is not the interpersonal relationships between William and Harry and their spouses is totally due, I believe, in the changes these people have had to make in taking on their roles as full time senior working royals. They're no longer really going to be walking the same paths as before when we've seen the unity of the Royal Foundation but taking on diversified roles of their own along with remaining strong within the Royal Foundation.

It's interesting to watch them grow and expand and to me, its all part of a soft transition to prepare to continue seamlessly as the new reign becomes a reality that is going to be sooner rather than later. It points to a well oiled machine that knows where its going and how it wants to do things and is prepared for any event that may come.

This is the "normal" of the British Royal Family. Its not quite the "normal" that we know family to be. :D
 
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Things we know:

Harry told his grandparents (ie the Queen and DoE) about Meghan before anyone else.

They were engaged a couple weeks or so before they officially announced (shortly after she moved here).

They were dating about 16 months when they got engaged.

Harry and Meghan sat down and discussed what she would be taking on early in the relationship.

They spent most of their time together inside hanging out. Both of them suggested this was a great way to get to know the person. (There are no buffers).

They have both said his family was hugely supportive, more than once.

William has always been supportive of this relationship as far as we know...he made a statement on their behalf/Meghan's behalf and he's publically been very specific in how he's included her during the engagement etc.

They all have disagreements...they've been pretty open about that. That doesn't mean they devolve into nastiness and grudges.

Everything else is speculative and most likely made up by the media and/or distorted by them.


LaRae
 
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Shrug. I can believe there are some members that love her, others that like her and others who are indifferent or meh on her and she with them. I have no facts to back this up or say names. Not touching the Cambridge/Sussex "rifts" with a 10 foot barge pole right now.

I'd also like to add another reason to what you've listed about other members of the family's relationship to Meghan. There are quite a few of them that perhaps really haven't had the time or the opportunity to really get to know Meghan well at all.

Someone asked once what the potential was of the relationship between Meghan and Princess Michael of Kent would be. To be honest, I don't see where there would really have been a lot of opportunity for those two to actually spend enough time together to even form a relationship. They've probably met in passing at the Christmas Lunch or on a "hi, how are you, and goodbye" basis at Kensington Palace walking Guy but as their lives are so diversified with doing different things and, of course, the age gap, I seriously don't believe they've spent any amount of time together to really get to know each other. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to form an opinion on how well Harry and Princess Michael of Kent get along.

Such is the way of things with members of a family. I was closer to some of my cousins (the ones that liked to sneak off into the woods and smoke the forbidden cigarette) than others that I shared no interests with. Some of my extended family I'd see only at family gatherings when my grandmother was still alive and haven't heard of or seen them since my grandmother passed away.

Families sometimes are just like acquaintances and co-workers. We know them but there's just not anything there that sparks the common interests that leads to a closer relationship. :D
 
What a weird bunch of robots the BRF would be if they didn't have disagreements & the occasional row.

There are a lot of great stories about the Queen, but my absolute favorite is the one from their world tour:
The reporters were standing outside the house on some tropical island when suddenly the door opens and Prince Philip runs out with the Queen going after him and throwing shoes at him:ROFLMAO:?

Of course, those were different times and the journalists never reported this and the Queen appologised to them in private.

This story always gave me hope that despite all constrains their life puts on them the royals are able to have screaming rows behind closed doors and just be normal humans with normal emotions.
 
I have not seen any reports that William questioned Meghan's suitability. I have seen speculation that he was concerned about the speed at which it was all happening.


If that is true, it's understandable. My family asked if "I was sure" when I got married in less than a year of knowing my husband. I wasn't offended, it was a natural question.


Media are desperate for the BIG story.
 
I have not seen any reports that William questioned Meghan's suitability. I have seen speculation that he was concerned about the speed at which it was all happening.


If that is true, it's understandable. My family asked if "I was sure" when I got married in less than a year of knowing my husband. I wasn't offended, it was a natural question.


Media are desperate for the BIG story.

The media want those old royal sagas back. I completely agree with the Duke of Cambridge on this.
 
Their Family [like mine, and MANY others] run as a sort of 'autonomous collective'.. we meet periodically, and are 'linked' [by blood and by background]. We care for one another [obv] and help where needed, but otherwise just live our own lives.
 
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I'm finding it hard to believe most have to "tolerate" each other. Meghan certainly hasn't been around long enough for the tolerate part. They might not care either way, but tolerate says not getting along and put up with each other because they have to. Here's my take on this, while BRF is a big family that get together, it's like two or three times a year. What kind of tiff can you get into after a handful of times while many others are also around?

Their Family [like mine, and MANY others] run as a sort of 'autonomous collective'.. we meet periodically, and are 'linked' [by blood and by background]. We care for one another [obv] and help where needed, but otherwise just live our own lives.

I agree with that. Which is why I always found it weird with the conversation that Cambridges and Sussexes have to live right next door or they are "feuding" one way or another.
 
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Their Family [like mine, and MANY others] run as a sort of 'autonomous collective'.. we meet periodically, and are 'linked' [by blood and by background]. We care for one another [obv] and help where needed, but otherwise just live our own lives.
I quite agree and, if you've got a mind for watching the media spin their wheels, a reason for the change had to be found, and so we see them trying to re-create the War of the Wales's to explain the situation. If William didn't seem really sparkling on the way back from church, perhaps he was feeling under the weather or maybe, having been under a barrage for hateful scandal making media sludge, neither Harry nor William felt anything but sanguine 'walking the gauntlet'. Their ladies, having only done it a few times, gave it their best shot.
 
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H & M did say in their engagement interview that they didn't go more than 2 weeks without seeing one another. So they managed to spend some quality time together I expect.
I am sure Catherine and William are willing and happy to support Meghans transition into the Royal family and helping her to understand the vagaries of a UK culture, all while she is being pressured by the press.
Not to mention knowing how delicate her emotions May be while being pregnant.
 
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I agree there could be family members who dislike Meghan for various reasons. I’m sure there are family members who also dislike other family members. We have had many stories of so called rifts of various members over the years. Could be true or not. We shall never know. I can totally believe the brothers having a go if William spoke down of Meghan. Harry is quite protective. Not that I believe the rumors but as pointed out we just don’t know.
 
The tabloids are still want to push a Kate vs Meghan feud. First Kate is threatened by Meghan's arrival into the Royal Family

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1068987/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-row-rift-royal-family-news

I still can't believe they made a documentary of this nonsense. Now DM is pushing the story Kate didn't invite Meghan to her private birthday party. Well Meghan didn't invite Kate to her birthday celebration in August and no scandal. Yeah they want to bring back the 90's.
 
The tabloids are still want to push a Kate vs Meghan feud. First Kate is threatened by Meghan's arrival into the Royal Family

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1068987/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-row-rift-royal-family-news

I still can't believe they made a documentary of this nonsense. Now DM is pushing the story Kate didn't invite Meghan to her private birthday party. Well Meghan didn't invite Kate to her birthday celebration in August and no scandal. Yeah they want to bring back the 90's.


I couldn't help noticing the following excerpt from The Express article:


According to a royal insider, Meghan and Kate bonded as they played board games together at the Queen's Sandringham estate.


It looks like the UK press treats the two adult duchesses as if they were 12 year-olds.
 
It was inevitable no matter who Harry married. If it had been Cressida for eg. Kate would be hating on Cressida because her sister Isabella Branson was supposedly someone William pursued (which funnily enough coincided with her own split from Sam Branson which then ended up in reconcilement and quick engagement.) And they'd be pushing "commoner vs aristocrat" to the hilt.

Mbruno, board games are quite popular and traditional in the UK over Christmas, even for adults. I tried to buy some at the last minute and they were sold out everywhere. Not that Kate and Meghan necessarily "bonded" over them of course.
 
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Whatever the story, innuendo, rumor, gossip, hearsay, fabrication or just plain letters thrown together to make sentences that fill pages or bandwidth, none of them show any kind of relationship between members of the British royal family because, in a nutshell, they don't have access to their private lives and relationships whatsoever.

I'd rather hear about Elvis being sighted in Aunt Flossie's grilled cheese sandwich somewhere in the deep recesses of the Arctic circle. I'd actually salute the photographer that hikes a gazillion miles to get a picture of that too. :whistling:
 
Catherine always celebrates her birthday with the same people. It’s a mixture of family, her friends from Marlborough College and St Andrews, along with some of William’s friends and the ‘turnip toffs’, members of their Norfolk set.
 
Catherine always celebrates her birthday with the same people. It’s a mixture of family, her friends from Marlborough College and St Andrews, along with some of William’s friends and the ‘turnip toffs’, members of their Norfolk set.

That’s right. Although, she was at Kensington Palace on the day of her Birthday. So the family might’ve had tea or dinner at KP to celebrate. The DM and other media outlets have to stop this nonsense. It’s getting extremely old, tired and it’s just dumb.
 
We don’t know that Harry and Meghan didn’t pop over the courtyard and visit Kate at KP on her actual birthday. This refers to a Sunday lunch and her birthday was in the week, so clearly she invited some friends who all know each other over to celebrate at another time and Meghan wasn’t part of that group so wasn't invited but then neither was any other member of the RF, in fact weren’t most of Kate’s family on holiday for her birthday so did they all hate each other to?
 
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Catherine always celebrates her birthday with the same people. It’s a mixture of family, her friends from Marlborough College and St Andrews, along with some of William’s friends and the ‘turnip toffs’, members of their Norfolk set.
Actually surprised that the tabloids didn't try to suggest a "rift" among Catherine and her family as they were still in the Caribbean that weekend.:whistling:
 
Actually surprised that the tabloids didn't try to suggest a "rift" among Catherine and her family as they were still in the Caribbean that weekend.:whistling:

People are more interested in Megan V Kate.....
 
The tabloids are still want to push a Kate vs Meghan feud. First Kate is threatened by Meghan's arrival into the Royal Family

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1068987/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-row-rift-royal-family-news

I still can't believe they made a documentary of this nonsense. Now DM is pushing the story Kate didn't invite Meghan to her private birthday party. Well Meghan didn't invite Kate to her birthday celebration in August and no scandal. Yeah they want to bring back the 90's.

Yeah, it would have been surprising if the Sussexes were there. To the public's knowledge Harry has never been to any of Catherine's birthday celebrations over the years. I don't think Harry and Catherine have that type of relationship, so to expect Meghan to shake-up that preexisting dynamic is rather unrealistic. It was always much more likely that she would follow her husband's lead in terms of familial relationships.
 
The only thing we know for sure, on Meghan's birthday last August, Harry and Meghan attended Harry's cousin (Celia)'s wedding. We don't know how she celebrated her birthday.

We also don't know how Kate celebrated her birthday either, or who she invited. Kate should celebrate her birthday however she wants, and invite whomever she wants.

Tabloid makes a big deal out of nothing.
 
Their birthdays are private affairs, so we don’t know how they celebrate them and who’s invited. It all would be different if there were public events. Since their birthday celebrations private and out of the public view, it gives the press room to invent stories about who attended and who didn’t attend.

What we do know: the royals are very close and they do get together at their homes for family gatherings and personal events. I hope everyone on the Royal Forums know this and try not to get sucked into the media’s narrative that the royals personal relations are very distant and cold. That’s not the reality. They have private lives outside of their public lives.

William and Harry are extremely close and Harry see Catherine as his big sister. He said this several times. He’s known her for many years. Catherine has been very welcoming to Meghan and I’m sure they get together whenever they can.
 
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The only thing we know for sure, on Meghan's birthday last August, Harry and Meghan attended Harry's cousin (Celia)'s wedding. We don't know how she celebrated her birthday.

We also don't know how Kate celebrated her birthday either, or who she invited. Kate should celebrate her birthday however she wants, and invite whomever she wants.

Tabloid makes a big deal out of nothing.

We do know who she invited for her birthday weekend as they went to church together. Whether she had ither celebrations for example on the day itself is indeed unknown.
 
Their birthdays are private affairs, so we don’t know how they celebrate them and who’s invited. It all would be different if there were public events. Since their birthday celebrations private and out of the public view, it gives the press room to invent stories about who attended and who didn’t attend.

What we do know: the royals are very close and they do get together at their homes for family gatherings and personal events. I hope everyone on the Royal Forums know this and try not to get sucked into the media’s narrative that the royals personal relations are very distant and cold. That’s not the reality. They have private lives outside of their public lives.

William and Harry are extremely close and Harry see Catherine as his big sister. He said this several times. He’s known her for many years. Catherine has been very welcoming to Meghan and I’m sure they get together whenever they can.

The bolded above is the essence of it. What we see in the press, even if it's accurate (that's a big "if") is the tip of the iceberg. The royal family, all royal families, are not performing monkeys or dolls whose sole existence is to entertain us, and who return to their cupboards in suspended animation until we see them again. In regards to Catherine's birthday, I'm sure Harry and Meghan, and Charles and Camilla, and all the other family members did whatever they usually do, and whatever is customary within the family. That might have been a phone call, a congratulatory text, a signed card, flowers, or tea and fairy cakes. Who knows? What they didn't do was give any information out to the press, so like most stories about the royals' private lives, this one is sheer speculation.
 
The bolded above is the essence of it. What we see in the press, even if it's accurate (that's a big "if") is the tip of the iceberg. The royal family, all royal families, are not performing monkeys or dolls whose sole existence is to entertain us, and who return to their cupboards in suspended animation until we see them again. In regards to Catherine's birthday, I'm sure Harry and Meghan, and Charles and Camilla, and all the other family members did whatever they usually do, and whatever is customary within the family. That might have been a phone call, a congratulatory text, a signed card, flowers, or tea and fairy cakes. Who knows? What they didn't do was give any information out to the press, so like most stories about the royals' private lives, this one is sheer speculation.

They also have their own family WhatsApp group, so they communicate through that as well. As I said before, they’re much more close than the press would like you to know.
 
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