The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 4: April-June 2021

[Royalist.in.NC]

I’m glad he made it back in time to comply with the Covid guidelines and be able to attend his grandfather’s funeral. Let’s hope that the focus will stay on mourning this incredible man and celebrating his life.
I was a junior in college when my own grandfather died. Final exams were the same day as his funeral. My dad insisted that my sister (a freshman) and I stay to take exams; he said that is what my grandfather would have wanted. So my sister and I didn’t go, and I’ve always felt so badly about not being there.
I’m glad Harry can be there to grieve with his family.

[Moonmaiden23]

Originally Posted by Betsypaige

This was completely unnecessary and she could have resisted......and it’s garbage, as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think William was sending a message to Harry at all, he was just expressing how he felt. Camilla’s desire to stoke the flames is ugly.

I couldn't agree more. This woman's fanciful interpretation of two very different but warm and heartfelt remembrances of their revered grandfather is as ugly as it is ridiculous.

[RandyDrx]

Originally Posted by Eskimo

Harry’s statement is in Harry’s words and not the PR friendly buzzword salad that we’ve become used to from them. I, for one, applaud him for speaking from his heart about his grandfather. Who cares if it’s not the most professional statement out there— that was a tribute to his grandfather not that launch of a professional endeavor

I agree, I was expecting word salad before I read his statement and was pleasantly surprised when it was not.

[camelot23ca]

Originally Posted by Heavs

Camilla Tominey's interpretation of two separate statements:



https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-fa...ers-different/

https://archive.ph/VqBzi

Really, I think it’s very possible to resist reading between the lines.

If there was anything more than both brothers wanting to make statements to honour their grandfather going on behind the scenes, well, the less said the better.

[Betsypaige]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

I couldn't agree more. This woman's fanciful interpretation of two very different but warm and heartfelt remembrances of their revered grandfather is as ugly as it is ridiculous.

I told her how I felt, too - though politely. I generally think she’s very good, so I was surprised that she went there.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by _Heather_

Oh, goodness. It really might be a good idea for Meghan to ask her friends to stop speaking to the press, especially right now. This article raises a whole myriad of questions that will now be dissected much in the same vein as the Oprah train wreck. It really was not a good idea to allow her friends to tell the press that Meghan left it up to Harry whether or not she would attend when a statement had already gone out that was perfectly reasonable and acceptable that it was on a doctor’s order. Combine that with some of the other things shared by this friend and I’d say that on the whole, the “friend” really did her no favors. Saying something to the effect of “Meghan advised that the family should come together” really doesn’t come across well. Granted, we can’t know for sure that this is all completely true but given past track records the chances are good that it’s somewhat accurate.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal...yal-Family/amp

In my mind, this has Sunshine Sachs writtn all over it!

[QueenMathilde]

Omar Scobie is out there saying Meghan wanted to go to the funeral [...]

[Moran]

Serious question: we know Daily Mail loves to cite sources that exist only in someone's imagination. But is it different with citing named sources? Aka, are we to think that Scobie and all the other royal experts or "experts" who are cited actually said what the paper claims they did?

[Heavs]

Originally Posted by QueenMathilde

Omar Scoobie is out there saying Meghan wanted to go to the funeral [...]

I don't know if she authorised him to say anything this time or he's just trying to fan the flames on his own to keep himself relevant. but it's not unexpected. That's why I was glad the official statement included the words "on medical advice".

I can't believe Meghan really wants to go to the funeral. Maybe she would like to support her husband but she's very pregnant, with a toddler at home, on a transatlantic flight, having to quarantine and present a united front with a family she clearly doesn't like or respect very much, many of whom are probably very upset with her. It's just better for all parties that she stayed at home and left the family to get through this without her.

[Heavs]

Originally Posted by Moran

Serious question: we know Daily Mail loves to cite sources that exist only in someone's imagination. But is it different with citing named sources? Aka, are we to think that Scobie and all the other royal experts or "experts" who are cited actually said what the paper claims they did?

If they cite a named source ie "Omid Scobie said X" then it should be evidenced based such as from his own twitter feed or an interview or they could be sued. Doesn't make what Scobie or anyone else said actually factual and quotes can be taken vastly out of context but usually even with the DM if they write "X said Y" then there is some basis in truth.

If they said "royal sources say that Prince Charles said ____" then it's much more open to question as the actual source isn't named and could be anyone from PC himself to his private secretary to the cleaning staff to completely made up.

[star84]

Originally Posted by QueenMathilde

Omar Scobie is out there saying Meghan wanted to go to the funeral [...]

Where did he say / imply that? The only quotes from him I can find are holding the party line that Meghan wanted to come but her physician didn’t give her medical clearance.

[_Heather_]

Originally Posted by Heavs

I don't know if she authorised him to say anything this time or he's just trying to fan the flames on his own to keep himself relevant. but it's not unexpected. That's why I was glad the official statement included the words "on medical advice".

I can't believe Meghan really wants to go to the funeral. Maybe she would like to support her husband but she's very pregnant, with a toddler at home, on a transatlantic flight, having to quarantine and present a united front with a family she clearly doesn't like or respect very much, many of whom are probably very upset with her. It's just better for all parties that she stayed at home and left the family to get through this without her.

Honestly, I would bet very, very good money that anything that comes out of Scobie's mouth regarding Meghan and Harry, or even the RF in general, has been explicitly authorized by one or both of them. Reason being, they've quite simply been his meal ticket and they're certainly what he's made his name on. Before latching onto them he was nowhere near the household name he is now and he's not going to want to jeopardize his access to them by saying or doing anything that they might take issue with.

However, I will say that it's very, very interesting that Scobie is out this morning talking about the fact that William's statement was not a dig at Harry, we have to remember that William is a future head of state, their statements are simply reflective of who they are and aren't digs at each other, etc. when he's generally the first of the lapdogs to scream about everything being "implied digs" or "subtle snark" toward Meghan and Harry.

[Heavs]

Originally Posted by _Heather_

Honestly, I would bet very, very good money that anything that comes out of Scobie's mouth regarding Meghan and Harry, or even the RF in general, has been explicitly authorized by one or both of them. Reason being, they've quite simply been his meal ticket and they're certainly what he's made his name on. Before latching onto them he was nowhere near the household name he is now and he's not going to want to jeopardize his access to them by saying or doing anything that they might take issue with.

However, I will say that it's very, very interesting that Scobie is out this morning talking about the fact that William's statement was not a dig at Harry, we have to remember that William is a future head of state, their statements are simply reflective of who they are and aren't digs at each other, etc. when he's generally the first of the lapdogs to scream about everything being "implied digs" or "subtle snark" toward Meghan and Harry.

Omid was introduced as a "friend of Meghan's" in his interview so I think we're supposed to assume everything he said is "true"/authorised and I think it has been.

There seems to be a lot of "Meghan wants to move forward, she loved Phillip" stuff going on in the last few hours.

[...] he's definitely pushing "she really wanted to come but simply couldn't for medical reasons" on the GMB video and there are more quotes from "friends of Meghan" (obviously take with a large grain of salt) that she wanted to come and was able to fly but she was worried about taking all the attention away from PP if she did.

I think Scobie/Meghan may have realised trying to complain about digs wouldn't get them very far this week and it's better to claim unite and that the horrible things they said and were themselves very upset about is in the past and of course she's with the family 100%. In a month's time, who knows.

[_Heather_]

Originally Posted by muriel

In my mind, this has Sunshine Sachs writtn all over it!

Agreed entirely.

Originally Posted by Heavs

Omid was introduced as a "friend of Meghan's" in his interview so I think we're supposed to assume everything he said is "true"/authorised and I think it has been.

There seems to be a lot of "Meghan wants to move forward, she loved Phillip" stuff going on in the last few hours.

[...] he's definitely pushing "she really wanted to come but simply couldn't for medical reasons" on the GMB video and there are more quotes from "friends of Meghan" (obviously take with a large grain of salt) that she wanted to come and was able to fly but she was worried about taking all the attention away from PP if she did.

I think Scobie/Meghan may have realised trying to complain about digs wouldn't get them very far this week and it's better to claim unite and that the horrible things they said and were themselves very upset about is in the past and of course she's with the family 100%. In a month's time, who knows.

I agree entirely that we can pretty much bank on anything that Scobie says or has said having the seal of approval. Whether what he says has always been the solid truth or not is a point we could argue till doomsday but I would agree that it's certainly had the okay. There's most definitely two different versions of current events floating around. One coming from Scobie's mouth, the other from unnamed "friends" but one thing is certain, past events have shown us that when it comes to Harry and Meghan, oftentimes friends both named and unnamed have been authorized to act as unofficial mouthpieces. I think Muriel probably hit the nail on the head when she stated that this seems to have the Sunshine Sachs fingerprints all over it in regard to the unnamed friends and those statements but I'd go a bit further and say that all of this has the fingerprints of Sunshine Sachs all over it. From the comments about William's statement not being a dig to the comments about the family coming together in their grief to the cloudiness over the whole "was it doctor's orders or a deliberate choice to not be the center of attention" and onto the whole "Meghan deigns to forgive the RF" and is ready to move on headlines we're seeing. It definitely all has the air of a PR push to counteract the negative headlines of the past few weeks and the "what will they do if he dies" headlines around the interview that left still-smoking ruins in its wake.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by Betsypaige

I told her how I felt, too - though politely. I generally think she’s very good, so I was surprised that she went there.

I just read her article and I agree with you Betsypaige. It was unnecessary and thank you for sharing your thoughts with the author.

[Somebody]

Wanting to move forward AFTER washing your dirty laundry in public, doesn't seem to be a good strategy. It would have been much better to try to do so INSTEAD OF washing your dirty laundry in public.

Makes me think of a recent exchange in the Dutch parliament after the PM had publicly been caught lying about a serious issue in the coalition formation process: The PM angrily said to the other party leader that "if they were serious about repairing the trust issue, all of you should believe what we said, that could be the start of normal political relations." to which one of the other political leaders quipped: "I would like to mark that it wasn't me who disrupted the political relations."

[Heavs]

Almost every single front page in the UK today had analysis of "two very different statements" and I can't entirely blame them after the last few months. Although some seem to agree it's just different personalities.

Originally Posted by _Heather_

I think Muriel probably hit the nail on the head when she stated that this seems to have the Sunshine Sachs fingerprints all over it in regard to the unnamed friends and those statements but I'd go a bit further and say that all of this has the fingerprints of Sunshine Sachs all over it. From the comments about William's statement not being a dig to the comments about the family coming together in their grief to the cloudiness over the whole "was it doctor's orders or a deliberate choice to not be the center of attention" and onto the whole "Meghan deigns to forgive the RF" and is ready to move on headlines we're seeing. It definitely all has the air of a PR push to counteract the negative headlines of the past few weeks and the "what will they do if he dies" headlines around the interview that left still-smoking ruins in its wake.

Probably true. I don't imagine they were close or at least as close as today's spin is claiming. They so often go over board one way or the other in their PR. I can see why they'd want to counteract a lot of the negativity but "she was really close to him she 100% wants to be there it's just that she's pregnant and too famous" is making me roll my eyes a bit, even if I assume she might want to support Harry there.

And don't get me started on the "Meghan forgives them" quotes.


I acknowledge that this is undoubtedly a very difficult week for Harry for a number of reasons.

[US Royal Watcher]

Originally Posted by Somebody

Wanting to move forward AFTER washing your dirty laundry in public, doesn't seem to be a good strategy. It would have been much better to try to do so INSTEAD OF washing your dirty laundry in public.

Makes me think of a recent exchange in the Dutch parliament after the PM had publicly been caught lying about a serious issue in the coalition formation process: The PM angrily said to the other party leader that "if they were not serious about repairing the trust issue, all of you should believe what we said, that could be the start of normal political relations." to which one of the other political leaders quipped: "I would like to mark that it wasn't me who disrupted the political relations."

I hate to say it but after the Oprah interview, I believe Meghan feels that she is on the moral high ground and would be generous to forgive the royal family. But this current PR push is due to a realization that it will look bad if she and Harry were visibly supporting the Queen at this time. There are reports that senior royals will be appearing more frequently with the Queen in public - and that will not include Harry and Meghan. If they are not more public in standing with the Queen, they will become more and more irrelevant to the British people.

Moreover, I think there is a growing realization that the Queen will not live forever and they won't be able to count on her to protect them from retaliation. I feel that both she and Harry (probably correctly) believe that Charles will be a pushover - Charles desperately wants his sons to love him. However, William is not a pushover. I believe the reports that he wanted to respond to the criticism of Catherine. William and Catherine will have a lot of influence going forward. I suspect that we are going to hear a lot more about Harry and Meghan's generous decision to forgive the royal family in the upcoming months.

[Moran]

Originally Posted by US Royal Watcher

I hate to say it but after the Oprah interview, I believe Meghan feels that she is on the moral high ground and would be generous to forgive the royal family. But this current PR push is due to a realization that it will look bad if she and Harry were visibly supporting the Queen at this time. There are reports that senior royals will be appearing more frequently with the Queen in public - and that will not include Harry and Meghan. If they are not more public in standing with the Queen, they will become more and more irrelevant to the British people.

Why would it look bad if she and Harry were visibly supporting the Queen? I know it would look bad to me but I was left with the impression that I'm in the minority. Also, I don't get the senior royals part. Surely it would look good for Harry and Meghan's royal "status" if they're seen with the Queen in public, even if in not so official settings, as the lockdown rules get relaxed?

[US Royal Watcher]

Originally Posted by Moran

Why would it look bad if she and Harry were visibly supporting the Queen? I know it would look bad to me but I was left with the impression that I'm in the minority. Also, I don't get the senior royals part. Surely it would look good for Harry and Meghan's royal "status" if they're seen with the Queen in public, even if in not so official settings, as the lockdown rules get relaxed?

I agree and didn't mean to imply that it would look bad if she and Harry were visibly supporting the Queen. I think they know it would look bad, which is why we are now hearing that Meghan is ready to forgive. They were hoping for some public penance but since that is probably not going to happen, they are going to declare victory anyway.

I suspect that we will see Harry and Meghan at as many public events (i.e. Trooping of the Color) as possible. When the restrictions are lifted, I see them spending the summer at Balmoral and Christmas and other holidays with the Queen. They will be as high profile as possible.

ETA - I corrected the typo in my original post.