The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 3: March - April 2021

[Moran]

Chief impact officer? Is this a joke? If he had not done the interview, it could have flied but he made it obvious that he's holding onto his resentments and isn't in a good mental place right now. He's a walking sample of unresolved mental issues.



This isn't the way to establish yourself. This far, all I've seen from them is announcing this, making a buzz for a few days, then months of almost silence interrupted by big flouncy words with little meaning behind them before they jump onto announcing another thing, rinse and repeat. No consistency. This isn't the way to build something endurable. Being a fugurehead isn't a bad thing for one's finances but it cheapens their supposed own projects right now, making it clear that they'd jump onto anything for money. Never a good look for business.


Apart from all of this, good use they're going to have of someone who was too ashamed to find help for his suicidal pregnant wife. And a (supposed) leading role isn't the best place to fake it till you make it.

 

[Queen Ester]

Prince Harry has taken on a position with BetterUP Inc. Good luck to him in his new role.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/prince...02?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/iILatjXklP

Good for him, good luck!

 

[Osipi]

Chief impact officer? Is this a joke? If he had not done the interview, it could have flied but he made it obvious that he's holding onto his resentments and isn't in a good mental place right now. He's a walking sample of unresolved mental issues.



This isn't the way to establish yourself. This far, all I've seen from them is announcing this, making a buzz for a few days, then months of almost silence interrupted by big flouncy words with little meaning behind them before they jump onto announcing another thing, rinse and repeat. No consistency. This isn't the way to build something endurable. Being a fugurehead isn't a bad thing for one's finances but it cheapens their supposed own projects right now, making it clear that they'd jump onto anything for money. Never a good look for business.

On the opposite side of the coin though, a start up business needs all the help and publicity it can get to establish themselves and having Harry on board probably is a big ace in the hole that sets them apart from a gazillion other start up businesses.

A spanking new skin cream product among 1,000 other similar products will garner more interest with someone like Jennifer Aniston holding it than the other cream nobody remembers. A walk in bathtub ad featuring Pat Boone will appeal to seniors more than the 15 different features that comes with the competing walk in bathtub.

Usually too, start up businesses aren't capable of paying out the big bucks either. If I'm not mistaken, a new business can expect to take 5 years before it starts really showing profits. Then again, its been over 25 years since I was involved starting up a small business. Of course it was a computer sales and repair in the land of "I've fallen and can't program my VCR" in a predominately senior area of Florida so what do I know?

 

[Heavs]

“I intend to help create impact in people’s lives,” Prince Harry said in an emailed response to questions about why he’s taking the job. “Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness, and an all-round better life.”

I would say this is a positive step, and I hope it is. However I wasn't particularly impressed to put it mildly with how he spoke about mental health in the interview or how he seems to be holding on to resentments of more than a year ago and showed zero self awareness about anything.

If he hadn't done the interview I might have thought he could have had something to contribute since when he had spoken up before about mental health it always seemed positive.

This seems to be one of a series of word salad job titles for gaining the companies some publicity before getting lost in the shuffle. But it is better than nothing I suppose.

 

[_Heather_]

Hm. Interesting. So, I really do understand that his role is more of a figurehead than anything. I'm sure they're paying him something but, as others have stated, often start-ups aren't able to pay out the big bucks right away. That said, I doubt it's a measly $20 an hour. What that all indicates to me is that they may not be as secure as they'd like us to believe in their Netflix and Spotify deals. Even in a figurehead role this is an actual "job" albeit one that I would certainly question his qualifications for but still, a job.

 

[Moran]

Usually too, start up businesses aren't capable of paying out the big bucks either. If I'm not mistaken, a new business can expect to take 5 years before it starts really showing profits. Then again, its been over 25 years since I was involved starting up a small business. Of course it was a computer sales and repair in the land of "I've fallen and can't program my VCR" in a predominately senior area of Florida so what do I know?

I thought they weren't a start up business, though? They've been there since 2013? But I can understand the need for gaining publicity. What I don't understand is making Harry an officer in anything related to mental health and employment. No matter the reasons, he and Meghan couldn't keep employees long-term, they're embroiled in an investigation about bullying employees and Harry's grip of mental health and work seems to consist of "I said I wanted financial independence but my family cut me off financially!" It's a bit of a joke and I can't imagine it's a good look for any company. But that's just me. I don't think they'd go there for little to no money and I don't actually expect him to do any work since the interview confirmed he's literally challenged in these fields.

 

[Sionevar]

On the opposite side of the coin though, a start up business needs all the help and publicity it can get to establish themselves and having Harry on board probably is a big ace in the hole that sets them apart from a gazillion other start up businesses.

The new job appointment is now on the 'front page' of The Daily Mail website. The decision to hire Harry has just earned the company more exposure in a day than it might otherwise have earned in a year.

Time will tell how the job pans out. I truly hope he succeeds.

 

[poppy7]

The new job appointment is now on the 'front page' of The Daily Mail website. The decision to hire Harry has just earned the company more exposure in a day than it might otherwise have earned in a year.

Time will tell how the job pans out. I truly hope he succeeds.

I really hope he does and that they do. I do hope they build happiness. But also I would like them to leave the royal family alone.

 

[Osipi]

I thought they weren't a start up business, though? They've been there since 2013? But I can understand the need for gaining publicity. What I don't understand is making Harry an officer in anything related to mental health and employment. No matter the reasons, he and Meghan couldn't keep employees long-term, they're embroiled in an investigation about bullying employees and Harry's grip of mental health and work seems to consist of "I said I wanted financial independence but my family cut me off financially!" It's a bit of a joke and I can't imagine it's a good look for any company. But that's just me. I don't think they'd go there for little to no money and I don't actually expect him to do any work since the interview confirmed he's literally challenged in these fields.

I was going by the statement that TLLK posted earlier where it was stated "No longer a working member of the royal family, Prince Harry has a new job: executive at a Silicon Valley startup. The Duke of Sussex will become chief impact officer of BetterUp Inc., the fast-growing coaching and mental health firm, the company plans to announce Tuesday." ?

[...]

On another note, for a startup business coaching people for mental health issues, what they also have with Harry on board is a zipline to Archewell Foundation as a possible ally. That can't hurt one bit either.

 

[Moran]

I really hope he does and that they do. I do hope they build happiness. But also I would like them to leave the royal family alone.

I doubt there is a person here who don't wish for both things. We'll see soon enough, I suppose. The first sign will be for their mouthpieces to stop dropping hints and implications that everything the RF does is because of them.

 

[Moran]

[...]

On another note, for a startup business coaching people for mental health issues, what they also have with Harry on board is a zipline to Archewell Foundation as a possible ally. That can't hurt one bit either.



I was going by the statement that TLLK posted earlier where it was stated "No longer a working member of the royal family, Prince Harry has a new job: executive at a Silicon Valley startup. The Duke of Sussex will become chief impact officer of BetterUp Inc., the fast-growing coaching and mental health firm, the company plans to announce Tuesday." ?

I see. I opened the site of a company with the same name and in the same fields based in San Francisco. Still looks the same to me but I'm not proficient with companies... or the internet this much, to be fair.

 

[Fem]

Chief impact officer? Is this a joke? If he had not done the interview, it could have flied but he made it obvious that he's holding onto his resentments and isn't in a good mental place right now. He's a walking sample of unresolved mental issues.

Oh come on, they are not giving him this position with expectations he'll actually... do anything They get exposure, he gets money. It's that simple.

Though seriously, a "chief impact officer" with a hell-load of unresolved issues, complaining his dad cut him off (by giving him hundreds of thousands of pounds, no less) at almost 40 years old, keeping grudges for forever and being too ashamed to get his wife help when she was pregnant and having suicidal thoughts.

 

[RandyDrx]

This is the same man who admitted that he couldn't help his wife when she was in desperation just a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Muhler]

[...]

According to DM, Harry has been employed as a "chief impact officer" for the company BetterUp.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...cisco-based-mental-health-firm-Better-Up.html

He is basically going to promote an app, developed by BetterUp, that is aimed at improving the mental well being of employees.

- Surely that's a good thing? Earning his own money. Having something to do.

 

[Queen Ester]

[...]

According to DM, Harry has been employed as a "chief impact officer" for the company BetterUp.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...cisco-based-mental-health-firm-Better-Up.html

He is basically going to promote an app, developed by BetterUp, that is aimed at improving the mental well being of employees.

- Surely that's a good thing? Earning his own money. Having something to do.

Does his visa status allow him to work in the US?

 

[Denville]

I doubt there is a person here who don't wish for both things. We'll see soon enough, I suppose. The first sign will be for their mouthpieces to stop dropping hints and implications that everything the RF does is because of them.

Isn't this the man who wasn't abel to help his wife when SHE had mental health issues? Seems quite ridiculous

 

[Osipi]

Does his visa status allow him to work in the US?

That's a good question. I would imagine they've worked all that out before announcing that he's taken the position though.

Basically, though, I don't see this being a 9-5 job 5 days a week but signing on with the company kind of like Pat Boone or Eric Roberts signing on to promote a walk in bathtub. They get paid compensation for allowing their name and image to promote a product. Next up: Will we see Harry in a TV ad promoting the app like Michael Phelps did for TalkSpace? This isn't a new and innovative concept at all.

 

[cathy50]

Oh come on, they are not giving him this position with expectations he'll actually... do anything They get exposure, he gets money. It's that simple.

Though seriously, a "chief impact officer" with a hell-load of unresolved issues, complaining his dad cut him off (by giving him hundreds of thousands of pounds, no less) at almost 40 years old, keeping grudges for forever and being too ashamed to get his wife help when she was pregnant and having suicidal thoughts.

let's hope Harry's impact will be kept as small as possible
seriously how can a company make such a choice? If I was a client I'd find someone else to "advise" me as soon as such a clown was employed.
But this will not last long I suppose anyway though doing a real job once in his lifetime wasn't the worst thing for a man nearly 40.

 

[Denville]

Its hardly a real job.. he'll do a bit of Public appearances.. get paid.. probably move on to something else before long, or they'll find that he's not all that popular as a figurehead adn lose him...

 

[amaryllus]

You know what? Though I have the same lack of confidence as you all I wish him the best! After all everyone has something somewhere they are good at and This kind of thing may get him a direction.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I think this is positive - it's not like he is selling luxury goods. He's going to make money anyway, this is the type of thing he should be doing. As long as he acknowledges that he has had a learning curve and not blame his family for his inability to get help for Meghan, he could very effectively encourage people not to make the same mistakes he did.

 

[_Heather_]

I think this is positive - it's not like he is selling luxury goods. He's going to make money anyway, this is the type of thing he should be doing. As long as he acknowledges that he has had a learning curve and not blame his family for his inability to get help for Meghan, he could very effectively encourage people not to make the same mistakes he did.

This is an excellent point. If he were to use this as an example to stand up publicly and say "I was too ashamed to admit that my wife was struggling and too embarrassed to get the help she needed. However, through BetterApp I've found ways to help us both. Blah blah blah....." it would be a terrific use of his name and notoriety. This could be a fabulous way to actually make this into a positive and really help people. Do I think he will? Nope, never. I think he'll continue to blame everyone else for his lack of action. But I do absolutely think you make a very important point here about what could be.

 

[Erin9]

She will probably say she didn't lie, but rather simply misunderstood their personal exchange of vows for an actual marriage ceremony, which is really surprising, but I guess not impossible.

Her "misunderstanding" obviously caused an embarrassment for the Archbishop, but other misunderstandings may be more serious. For example, she may have misled many people, especially in America, into believing that the rules for the use of royal titles and styles in the United Kingdom include race-based criteria, which is not true and a serious accusation considering that those rules are part of British public law.

She may have also misled people into thinking that holding an HRH title is a necessary requirement for personal police protection in the UK, which again is not true. In fact, being an HRH is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to get police protection in the UK.

She can say it and she might...but I don’t buy for one second Meghan was unaware of when she legally wed. She’s smarter than that. I’m sure not going with cultural misunderstanding because she’s an American. I’m an American. It’s not complicated. Personally- I think going with that would make her look pretty dense. And I doubt that’s the image she’s going for.

Agreed on the rest.

 

[Erin9]

The statement was apparently made directly to the Daily Beast that Yukari linked to this morning. So all they said was the very brief snippet. No Gayle saying how sorry they were for the confusion or anything.



https://www.thedailybeast.com/marri...ot-marry-in-their-backyard-as-they-told-oprah



I wonder if they've decided it was a mistake to have Gayle comment last week because it got them a lot less sympathy for sharing private conversations and still making themselves out to be the victims whilst winning a privacy claim themselves.

Yeah. That wasn’t a good look. They win a lawsuit on privacy- while violating their own family’s privacy. Repeatedly.

 

[Denville]

She can say it and she might...but I don’t buy for one second Meghan was unaware of when she legally wed. She’s smarter than that. I’m sure not going with cultural misunderstanding because she’s an American. I’m an American. It’s not complicated. Personally- I think going with that would make her look pretty dense. And I doubt that’s the image she’s going for.

Agreed on the rest.

I think that if you watch US TV it sometimes seems as if Americans can get married anywhere, anytime.. and make up their own ceremoneies... so I suppose that some UK people are thinking that perhaps she DIDNT realise that a wedding in the backyard with no witnesses could be not be a legal wedding...However I've seen posts commeting on the story from Americans who all say that in the US you also need 2 witnesses and that she must have known better...so yes, I think she does look pretty stupid.. or brazen. She must have known what she was saying about all sorts of things in the interview were not true and she just went ahead and siad them

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Part of Meghan's preparation for baptism, Confirmation and acceptance into the CoE would have involved very specific instruction on marriage, the solemnity and importance of it, and what constitutes valid Anglican marriage. This would have been even more important as she was preparing to marry a senior member of the BRF.

The Church of England, just like the Orthodox and Catholic, doesn't do trendy backyard ceremonies. You don't get to write your own vows. No bishop or cardinal is going to indulge your request for a secret, private wedding
followed by a public one days later.

It simply isn't done, and unless the AoC left out that information during her instruction(unlikely) Meghan knows this.

Even if it did slip her mind, the husband whose grandmother is Head of the English Church knew?

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but I can't find any way around the idea that Meghan either lied or deliberately misled in order to deliver shock and awe to Oprah and her(mostly) clueless American fanbase. The fact that Harry went along with it is not at all a good look for him, tbh.

 

[caethi]

If they had just said that at the interview then there would have been no problem, but that's not what she said originally, even if they do feel those were the more meaningful vows. I'm sure it was lovely.


And it also proves that she twists things for dramatic effect.

I agree. It was probably a very special moment for them, but she reported it as if it were more indication of disdain for the real ceremony.

 

[Heavs]

Since they called the ABC and he came and presumably gave an informal blessing, I assume he said that this could not constitute any type of valid marriage in the UK and that nor would he be able to marry them officially religiously speaking twice.

She said what she said for effect and has now had to clarify since The Sun tracked down the marriage certificate just to check and called her a liar on their front page yesterday.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

If there had been no way to view the actual marriage certificate and had Lambeth continued to maintain silence...I wonder if the Sussexes would have continued to insist that they were already married before May 19th?

 

[duchessrachel]

As far as how Americans view Meghan and Harry, I think it is difficult to say. The country seems to be split pretty much down the middle between Republicans and Democrats, with Republican media generally critical of Harry and Meghan and Democrats generally on their side, or that is how I interpret it. I think it is probably half and half.