Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, General News 1: November 2017 - May 2018

[soapstar]

The discussion about Meghan's conversion and the Archbishop of Canterbury have been moved to the Citizenship and Religious Conversion thread.

 

[Fem]

But its the people who follow royals closely wil be her biggest fans, or at least should be. I meant it as a general rule anyway.. if you let the public - or too many people - know about things, there are bound to be those who will crtiicise things...

And if people like Meghan or Harry or any public figure doesn't let people know about anything, they are critised anyway, because surely there's something wrong and they don't want people to know!

There's no winning in this kind of situation.

 

[AlowVera]

This has always been an interesting thing for me to see people say about her. Her social media habits before Harry seems to be used against her, yet if you really think about it, she used it quite strategically. It felt like she shared quite a bit, but what did we really find out about her personal life? As a fan of Suits before this relationship and having followed her on social media before this, I’ve never seen a picture of her with her significant other EVER on social media for the years that she was on there. That’s is rare, not only considering she didn’t know she would marry a British prince, but that is actually pretty rare for even normal folks.

Social media accounts are literally required by the television production company. She shared no more or less than the other actors on the show. It was a mixture of personal, promotional, charity and lifestyle which is standard for most television celebrities. She never shared or even talked about her boyfriend or even her former husband which is highly unusual regarding Hollywood relationship which are both romantic and strategic.

 

[padams2359]

Yes, exactly. I've picked up accents from a week on vacation. Of course those faded fast, but after a year in Connecticut after moving here from Texas, a Texas friend said I didn't sound like myself anymore.

My son spent 4 months in Ireland and Scotland on an internship in college. The accent lasted about a months, but the slang continued.

Meghan will be English in no time. Real English, not Madonna English. Lol

 

[TLLK]

It was a party for The Queen’s staff. Meghan will have relatively little interaction with them going forward.

It’s only polite to introduce yourself.

Speaking of staff parties, Meghan accompanied Harry to the Kensington Palace staff Christmas party on the evening of Wednesday, 12/13/17.?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5180337/William-Kate-leave-trendy-Notting-Hill-bar.html

• Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge spotted leaving Notting Hill's Beach Blanket Babylon last night
• Exclusive London dinner venue was hired out by Kensington Palace for their annual staff Christmas party
• Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle also attended by 'left early', according to a source
  

(Article already posted in the Cambridge general news thread.)

 

[soapstar]

The wedding ring discussion has been moved to the Wedding Musings and Suggestions thread.

 

[loonytick]

It was a party for The Queen’s staff. Meghan will have relatively little interaction with them going forward.

It’s only polite to introduce yourself.

Over the next few months she'll likely have an awful lot of contact with the ones who work at Windsor or who handle special event planning. Her wedding is happening on their turf, after all. But yes, after that point she'll primarily deal with the KP staff.

 

[PetticoatLane]

Where has Meghan disappeared to? Seems very odd to introduce her to the British public for one day and then have her drop off the face of the planet. The vast majority of British people have no idea who she is, I'd have thought KP would've wanted to her to be seen much more than this at the beginning so people can get used to her.

It's not as if she'll never see her family again after she's married.

Kate had been subject to press attention for a decade before her engagement so there was less 'getting to know you' time required I suppose.

 

[Dman]

Where has Meghan disappeared to? Seems very odd to introduce her to the British public for one day and then have her drop off the face of the planet. The vast majority of British people have no idea who she is, I'd have thought KP would've wanted to her to be seen much more than this at the beginning so people can get used to her.

It's not as if she'll never see her family again after she's married.

Kate had been subject to press attention for a decade before her engagement so there was less 'getting to know you' time required I suppose.

There’s more regional tours to come. I think the couple is busy with planning their wedding, planning their official diary and getting ready for the holidays at the moment.

 

[ACO]

Where has Meghan disappeared to? Seems very odd to introduce her to the British public for one day and then have her drop off the face of the planet. The vast majority of British people have no idea who she is, I'd have thought KP would've wanted to her to be seen much more than this at the beginning so people can get used to her.

It's not as if she'll never see her family again after she's married.

Kate had been subject to press attention for a decade before her engagement so there was less 'getting to know you' time required I suppose.

I don't think it is that odd. Her having an engagement so soon was the more oddity. I assume she did a little travelling and now she back in the UK preparing for the holidays with the future in laws. We will see her this week and next. Not much of a withdrawal. There will be plenty of Meghan in the coming months and then years to come.

 

[jacqui24]

Where has Meghan disappeared to? Seems very odd to introduce her to the British public for one day and then have her drop off the face of the planet. The vast majority of British people have no idea who she is, I'd have thought KP would've wanted to her to be seen much more than this at the beginning so people can get used to her.

It's not as if she'll never see her family again after she's married.

Kate had been subject to press attention for a decade before her engagement so there was less 'getting to know you' time required I suppose.

It's not that odd. I know many expressed shock her first walk about was so soon, and how she was just being thrown into it. She did very well. She left London for about a week after the Dec 1 engagement. Harry really has had many engagements since then that's appropriate for her to join. December and January are typically slow months for royal engagements. We'll see her later this week and next week for Christmas. After that she'll probably start showing up to more of Harry's engagements after New Year. If they are really planning a tour around UK, then some locations might have to be added to Harry's schedule depending on what is already on there.

 

[Pranter]

She should be at the Queen's luncheon and then of course Christmas with the soon to be inlaws!


LaRae

 

[Missjersey]

She should be at the Queen's luncheon and then of course Christmas with the soon to be inlaws!


LaRae

Hopefully we’ll get a glimpse on way to luncheon. Looking forward to see the walk at church.

 

[rominet09]

Don't forget she has to learn a lot ! Her new religion, etiquette for the Royals....history of UK for example.... she must be really busy but I miss her a lot !

 

[Cocoasneeze]

Where has Meghan disappeared to? Seems very odd to introduce her to the British public for one day and then have her drop off the face of the planet. The vast majority of British people have no idea who she is, I'd have thought KP would've wanted to her to be seen much more than this at the beginning so people can get used to her.

It's not as if she'll never see her family again after she's married.

Kate had been subject to press attention for a decade before her engagement so there was less 'getting to know you' time required I suppose.

I think she's just extremely busy. Not only is the wedding in 5 months, which means wedding dress search is full on, all the other wedding planning. Added that she moved to UK just about a month ago, so she's settling that. She also has to study, learn a lot. She will be seen very soon, during the Christmas festivities. I just think her calender is absolutely packed, not much spare time, and what time she does have might be spent unwinding with Guy and Harry.

I never expected her to be seen much once she moved to the UK, except for official engagements.

 

[Pranter]

I think she's had some of this planned in her head for awhile now...she's now putting things in motion.


LaRae

 

[ACO]

Don't forget she has to learn a lot ! Her new religion, etiquette for the Royals....history of UK for example.... she must be really busy but I miss her a lot !

Pretty much. I bet preparing for these holiday events have been stressful.

 

[Countessmeout]

I don't believe knowing 'history of the UK' is a prerequisite. Not to any deep level. I don't remember any british royal having studied history. She certainly has a leg up on the religion front as well. Though yes she is being baptized, she certainly has relieved Christian education, having gone to Catholic school. And since her father is Episcopalian, the Anglican church shouldn't be too strange to her either.

But yes there is a lot of prep for the big Christmas event coming up. We know Sandringham Christmas is extremely structured for a family event.

We usually see the royals arrive for the luncheon. The only ones we don't, are those who live at Buckingham when in London, like the Wessexes.

 

[Sunnystar]

Given her educational background, I would be shocked if she doesn't already know the basics of UK history. A lot of early US history is, obviously, connected with the colonization, particularly from the UK, not to mention any basic understanding of the American Revolution is going to explore the Enlightenment and Age of Reason, so she'd have learned a great deal about the political and economic philosophies of some of the English and Scottish greats from that period. And, in HS English classes, as well as her theater background, she is likely to have read at least a few Shakespearean works, including some of his historical plays. I know I read Henry IV my freshman year of HS (I'm about 7 years older than her but I went to HS in California, taking honors classes all four years in an IB program, so I have a fairly good idea of what her HS curriculum likely encompassed), and there was definitely some historical background that we learned just from reading that play.

With her double major in IR, she'll have also probably taken at least one, if not more, courses on Imperialism and you certainly will get a large dose of British history in any class on that topic. Same with 20th century & post-WWII classes, which would also be very relevant for an IR major (I planned on double majoring in history and communication but dropped my history major when the senior seminar/paper classes for both majors were scheduled at the same time at my small, private, liberal arts college, and my minor was in politics, so again, I feel like I have a relatively good idea of the types of courses she would have taken, especially history & politics, to complete her IR major).

My guess is the early UK history is probably the area she'd need to brush up on. Once you hit the Middle Ages and the Magna Carta, she probably has a good, broad knowledge of the UK's history if her education is much like what I had in HS and college.

As far as rehearsals go - I can't imagine they won't have at least one with all of the attendants, especially the children. And it won't hurt any of those children to miss a day or two of school (if there are any Canadian or US kids in the wedding party, they'll miss more than just one day of school because of the travel involved).

 

[Denville]

I'm sure we'll see enough of her, when she and H are married..

 

[Alliec76]

Given her educational background, I would be shocked if she doesn't already know the basics of UK history. A lot of early US history is, obviously, connected with the colonization, particularly from the UK, not to mention any basic understanding of the American Revolution is going to explore the Enlightenment and Age of Reason, so she'd have learned a great deal about the political and economic philosophies of some of the English and Scottish greats from that period. And, in HS English classes, as well as her theater background, she is likely to have read at least a few Shakespearean works, including some of his historical plays. I know I read Henry IV my freshman year of HS (I'm about 7 years older than her but I went to HS in California, taking honors classes all four years in an IB program, so I have a fairly good idea of what her HS curriculum likely encompassed), and there was definitely some historical background that we learned just from reading that play.

With her double major in IR, she'll have also probably taken at least one, if not more, courses on Imperialism and you certainly will get a large dose of British history in any class on that topic. Same with 20th century & post-WWII classes, which would also be very relevant for an IR major (I planned on double majoring in history and communication but dropped my history major when the senior seminar/paper classes for both majors were scheduled at the same time at my small, private, liberal arts college, and my minor was in politics, so again, I feel like I have a relatively good idea of the types of courses she would have taken, especially history & politics, to complete her IR major).

My guess is the early UK history is probably the area she'd need to brush up on. Once you hit the Middle Ages and the Magna Carta, she probably has a good, broad knowledge of the UK's history if her education is much like what I had in HS and college.

As far as rehearsals go - I can't imagine they won't have at least one with all of the attendants, especially the children. And it won't hurt any of those children to miss a day or two of school (if there are any Canadian or US kids in the wedding party, they'll miss more than just one day of school because of the travel involved).

All of those topics you mentioned are things I also learned in school here in the US. So I think you are correct in assuming Meghan probably has a decent grasp of UK history. It is so intertwined with ours, it would be hard not to. There's no way to study US History without including UK History. Now I'm sure she might have to brush up on some things because she's been out of school awhile, but it's not like she will be starting from scratch. I think it is probably more important for her to get an understanding for the UK as it is now. This will better help her with her charity work and understanding the issues facing the communities she will be going into.

As for the rehearsal I agree that will obviously happen, at least once, with all the players involved. I actually think it would be most important for any children involved. As for a "rehearsal dinner", they may not call it that, but I can absolutely see them having something the day before. Like I said, Zara and Mike had a cocktail party on the Royal yacht Brittania. And they are both as English as can be. Same with the wedding shower/Bachelorette party (actually those aren't quite the same thing.) I just can't imagine her friends not throwing her one. My guess is that will be done in the States or possibly Toronto. I'm actually more sure about that than the rehearsal dinner.

 

[jacqui24]

Meghan was spotted dining at Little House in Mayfair last night.

https://twitter.com/x/status/943053074066804736

 

[soapstar]

The discussion about the engagement photos has been moved to the Engagement thread.

 

[rominet09]

I'd like to ask something to the French speaking members here ; Je voudrais demander quelque chose aux membres francophones ici. Comment doit-on prononcer Meghan ?
Maigan ou Migan ?
How is Meghan pronounced ???

 

[Hannelore]

Hi Rominet, a simple astuce ;-): if you look at a video of the engagement interview on youtube you'll hear Harry pronounce Meghan's name.

 

[rominet09]

Hi Rominet, a simple astuce ;-): if you look at a video of the engagement interview on youtube you'll hear Harry pronounce Meghan's name.

Thank you I'll do that !

 

[Pranter]

The H is silent. The more 'traditional' way, I've seen, to spell her name is Megan.


LaRae

 

[soapstar]

A number of off-topic posts have been deleted.

I've moved the posts and video of Harry discussing Landmines. They can now be found in his Charities and Patronages thread.

The video of Meghan speaking for the "Characters Unite'' initiative, has been moved to Meghan's Family and Background thread.

 

[Rudolph]

A different view from the very respected Spectator Magazine

“Is Princess Meghan really such good news?

Prince Harry is doing the monarchy no favours by choosing a glossy actress as his bride”

The thing is,’ said my friend, after the broadcast of the engagement interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, ‘you can’t imagine actually bowing or curtseying to her, can you?’ That is pretty well the crux of the engagement issue: can you see yourself doing either in the case of the newest prospective member of the Windsor family? Personally, I would curtsey to the Queen and I have done to Prince Philip; I would draw the line at Camilla, and I wouldn’t dream of curtseying to Meghan.

My friend was in fact A.N. Wilson, biographer of,  inter alia, Queen Victoria. It was a blessed relief to talk to someone who wasn’t swimming with the tide of inutterable drivel that’s been spoken and written about the engagement since it happened. ‘It was like being in a bloody Hollywood movie,’ I said. ‘Yes,’ Mr Wilson said. ‘A very bad one.’ His view, one that I heartily subscribe to, is that in happier days, the royals would find their marriage partners from a pool of about 150 people, most of them relations of Queen Victoria. Chosen by their parents.

Read more: https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/12/is-a-princess-meghan-really-such-good-news/

 

[ACO]

If you can curtsy Kate then you can Meghan. They can't dream of it. Yeah... I wonder why That article had a very interesting tone to it but I am not really shocked by it.