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

[Denville]

Denville, you tend to think that everything is black and white. Yes, SOME Americans are interested in the Royals, in Harry and Meghan, but MOST are not. Many Americans are interested in celebrities, but MOST are not. We are an enormous country with an enormous population, so even saying millions care about H and M means that many, many, many, many, many millions more don’t. 17 million watched the Oprah interview... That’s a strong rating for tv, but the US Population last year was 331 million. I don’t need to do any further math to prove my point.

yes I know that, 17M is a lot of people to watch a show and if most of tehm tend to be favourable towards the people on the show, then odds are that they'll watch other shows about them, or shows that they produce or buy products that they sell.

 

[Hallo girl]

It is really not all that surprising that things might be split. Despite what the press says and what not, we really have no way of knowing how people really feel. [There are many loud minorities and silent majorities in a lot of things, so why not this too.

People will watch and come to their conclusions and sometimes it can be surprising how people interpret and consume info presented to them. I think the reaction to the Sussexes is just another example of that.

That is very true, it also depends what else is going on at that time, we were in a strict lockdown listening to a millionaire couple complaining about money, kids were out of school for months so families who depend on school meals plus in some cases out of work or reduced wages were finding times hard, so it is all relevant. There are a number of variants that affect how somebody views a situation or even cares

 

[Betsypaige]

I don't recall Harry asking Charles to fully fund him. There was definitely talk of security and it was clearly shot down. They didn't care and rightfully told Harry to figure out how to keep his family safe on his own. Honestly that is his job and he figured it out with some help from friends. Literally no issue with that.

Harry made the choice to walk away from being a working royal. Now he is figuring his way. When you don't earn a dime yourself your entire life and suddenly no longer have income coming it -- it is a shellshock. Let's not act like it wouldn't be. But again they are figuring it out.



It is really not all that surprising that things might be split. Despite what the press says and what not, we really have no way of knowing how people really feel. There are many loud minorities and silent majorities in a lot of things, so why not this too.

People will watch and come to their conclusions and sometimes it can be surprising how people interpret and consume info presented to them. I think the reaction to the Sussexes is just another example of that.

I live with my parents for several reasons, so I’m not actually criticizing Harry for being supported by his father to a degree; my issue is his taking that public, taking all of his issues public.

About the polls, that’s true. That’s why it’s dangerous to read too much into social media - most people are not on-line. I find that the people who are most unhappy are the loudest - on talk radio, on social media, etc.. because they want to air their complaints. Those who are happy - or at least satisfied - don’t feel the need to shout their happiness.

I HOPE that FF isn’t updated as I fear, because if it is, I don’t see any reconciliation every truly happening. If I’m wrong, I will apologize.

 

[Denville]

The book will probably be updated, Omid is in it for the money and if he can make more money with a new edition, he'll do that. I dont really know if it will makes things any worse with the BRF. The interview itself was such a kick in the teeth that I can't imagine anything being much worse. (Unles they do another interview with even more accusations.)

 

[Betsypaige]

yes I know that, 17M is a lot of people to watch a show and if most of tehm tend to be favourable towards the people on the show, then odds are that they'll watch other shows about them, or shows that they produce or buy products that they sell.

I don’t think there’s any way to tell how many of those were/are now favorable to them, despite the hue and cry on social media. I think only their stans will support them in everything by watching all their shows, buying all their products, etc.. People who don’t like or just don’t care about H and M might still watch their shows because they’re interested in the topics, not because of H and M..

The book will probably be updated, Omid is in it for the money and if he can make more money with a new edition, he'll do that. I dont really know if it will makes things any worse with the BRF. The interview itself was such a kick in the teeth that I can't imagine anything being much worse. (Unles they do another interview with even more accusations.)

If it’s as bad as I fear, I think it will put the nail in the coffin of any hope for reconciliation - that’s why it would make things worse. More details about the racist/suicide complaints, revelations of grief-stricken family members at the funeral...the updates, if true, have the potential to be highly damaging and hurtful.

 

[Osipi]

Denville, you tend to think that everything is black and white. Yes, SOME Americans are interested in the Royals, in Harry and Meghan, but MOST are not. Many Americans are interested in celebrities, but MOST are not. We are an enormous country with an enormous population, so even saying millions care about H and M means that many, many, many, many, many millions more don’t. 17 million watched the Oprah interview... That’s a strong rating for tv, but the US Population last year was 331 million. I don’t need to do any further math to prove my point.

There's also the category of Americans that perceive royalty as celebrities that put on a rip roaring good show/wedding. I would even go as far as to state that a lot of Americans that watched the Oprah interview did so because a) they were stuck at home, b) it was 8 pm at night on a Sunday which equates "boring" and c) they were Oprah fans to begin with.

17 million watching the interview isn't anywhere near a person that got 74 million votes and still lost. This puts it all in perspective for me.

 

[Denville]

but the thing is that the people who watched - not ALL of them but probalby a lot of them.. believed what was said. They didn't know the finer details and since Op didn't ask any questions really, they are going to go away with a picture of "Poor Meghan" in thier minds.

 

[Sunnystar]

There's also the category of Americans that perceive royalty as celebrities that put on a rip roaring good show/wedding. I would even go as far as to state that a lot of Americans that watched the Oprah interview did so because a) they were stuck at home, b) it was 8 pm at night on a Sunday which equates "boring" and c) they were Oprah fans to begin with.

17 million watching the interview isn't anywhere near a person that got 74 million votes and still lost. This puts it all in perspective for me.

To put this into further perspective... Netflix's most successful series to date, Bridgerton, was watched by 82 million households in its first 28 days of availability. I highly doubt that anything H&M produce for them will have that level of viewership in 328 days of availability let alone the first 28 days of availability.

Yes, the Oprah interview had huge ratings for 8pm on a Sunday night when the only other options would be regular-season NBA or NHL games or possibly some NCAA March Madness games.

 

[Hallo girl]

but the thing is that the people who watched - not ALL of them but probalby a lot of them.. believed what was said. They didn't know the finer details and since Op didn't ask any questions really, they are going to go away with a picture of "Poor Meghan" in thier minds.

That is what has always annoyed me, what an unbalanced programme it was. For all we know we might have put more faith in to what they said if they had provided a fuller picture, but they didn't.

 

[Queen Ester]

yes I know that, 17M is a lot of people to watch a show and if most of tehm tend to be favourable towards the people on the show, then odds are that they'll watch other shows about them, or shows that they produce or buy products that they sell.

I would also be curious to see the demographics of the 17 million, bet you most of the viewers were from California. California is represents a completely different culture to the rest of the USA

 

[Sunnystar]

but the thing is that the people who watched - not ALL of them but probalby a lot of them.. believed what was said. They didn't know the finer details and since Op didn't ask any questions really, they are going to go away with a picture of "Poor Meghan" in thier minds.

Even if half the people watching believed - hook, line and sinker - everything that "Poor Meghan" and Harry had to say and weren't turned off by the over-reactions from Oprah to the bombshell allegations, that's, at most 2.5-3% of our population. It's like... 3rd party Presidential candidate level of support - so non-existent it doesn't even get the candidate to the presidential debates prior to the general election.

I would also be curious to see the demographics of the 17 million, bet you most of the viewers were from California. California is represents a completely different culture to the rest of the USA

I doubt it. I'd say California is no more interested in royalty than most other parts of the country (lived there for nearly 20 years before moving back to Oregon). I'd be more curious to see age, gender and race demographics of the 17 million that watched than geographic location.

 

[Queen Ester]

I doubt it. I'd say California is no more interested in royalty than most other parts of the country (lived there for nearly 20 years before moving back to Oregon). I'd be more curious to see age, gender and race demographics of the 17 million that watched than geographic location.

I meant more in terms of other celebrities and studio bosses, to gauge the their marketability.

 

[Denville]

Even if half the people watching believed - hook, line and sinker - everything that "Poor Meghan" and Harry had to say and weren't turned off by the over-reactions from Oprah to the bombshell allegations, that's, at most 2.5-3% of our population. It's like... 3rd party Presidential candidate level of support - so non-existent it doesn't even get the candidate to the presidential debates prior to the general election.

I suppose the question is, how many people (of those who watched) will go on to watch something they produce on Netflix? Or will watch them as the face of XYZ and pay towards their upkeep that way. America IS a huge market because of its very big population.

 

[ACO]

If it’s as bad as I fear, I think it will put the nail in the coffin of any hope for reconciliation - that’s why it would make things worse. More details about the racist/suicide complaints, revelations of grief-stricken family members at the funeral...the updates, if true, have the potential to be highly damaging and hurtful.

Remember how people really built up his book in the first place and it was painfully boring and not nearly as scandalous as expected? I mean I didn't read it but that is what I gathered from the comments here.

Again I don't think it will be anything. In fact I would place money on it being a whole lotta nothing except more coins in Omid's pocket because people were fooled yet again.

There's also the category of Americans that perceive royalty as celebrities that put on a rip roaring good show/wedding. I would even go as far as to state that a lot of Americans that watched the Oprah interview did so because a) they were stuck at home, b) it was 8 pm at night on a Sunday which equates "boring" and c) they were Oprah fans to begin with.

17 million watching the interview isn't anywhere near a person that got 74 million votes and still lost. This puts it all in perspective for me.

This I also agree with. People are curious about celebrities and royalty (which many view as one in the same). Royal watchers are a small bubble of people. We enjoy following their lives but I can honestly say that majority do not outside of major events like birth, death, weddings, and a big gathering where we might see some tiaras. That is pretty much it. Other than that they don't really give a hoot.

So yes there will be people who solely support the royals. There will be people who support Harry and Meghan. I feel no matter which side you lean there will always be curiosity. I have lost count on how many times I have heard certain sections of the media claim to not care and yet still report on every thing they ALL do. You can't have it both ways.

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. We will never know. ?

 

[Betsypaige]

There's also the category of Americans that perceive royalty as celebrities that put on a rip roaring good show/wedding. I would even go as far as to state that a lot of Americans that watched the Oprah interview did so because a) they were stuck at home, b) it was 8 pm at night on a Sunday which equates "boring" and c) they were Oprah fans to begin with.

17 million watching the interview isn't anywhere near a person that got 74 million votes and still lost. This puts it all in perspective for me.

Yes, I think many of those viewers do fall into that category. Really, I just think the vast, vast majority of Americans don’t care.

but the thing is that the people who watched - not ALL of them but probalby a lot of them.. believed what was said. They didn't know the finer details and since Op didn't ask any questions really, they are going to go away with a picture of "Poor Meghan" in thier minds.

I don’t know what they believed - on-line reaction doesn’t represent most people. Even if all 17 million believed M, it doesn’t matter; most of them still don’t care about H and M and will have moved past the interview as soon as it was over.

Remember how people really built up his book in the first place and it was painfully boring and not nearly as scandalous as expected? I mean I didn't read it but that is what I gathered from the comments here.

Again I don't think it will be anything. In fact I would place money on it being a whole lotta nothing except more coins in Omid's pocket because people were fooled yet again.




This I also agree with. People are curious about celebrities and royalty (which many view as one in the same). Royal watchers are a small bubble of people. We enjoy following their lives but I can honestly say that majority do not outside of major events like birth, death, weddings, and a big gathering where we might see some tiaras. That is pretty much it. Other than that they don't really give a hoot.

So yes there will be people who solely support the royals. There will be people who support Harry and Meghan. I feel no matter which side you lean there will always be curiosity. I have lost count on how many times I have heard certain sections of the media claim to not care and yet still report on every thing they ALL do. You can't have it both ways.

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. We will never know. ?

If I recall, FF was not flattering to Charles especially, but also William and Kate. It probably fell flat in the UK because, by then, H and M were unpopular there and no one really believed them or wanted to hear what they said. Regardless, it didn’t set the world on fire, though I’m sure it hurt his family. The fair thing to do is wait and see what’s in it before getting all upset, so I’ll not freak out about it until I see excerpts that give me reason to.

 

[Sionevar]

I don’t know what they believed - on-line reaction doesn’t represent most people. Even if all 17 million believed M, it doesn’t matter; most of them still don’t care about H and M and will have moved past the interview as soon as it was over.

I saw a MASSIVE reaction on social media in the days after - almost all of it wildly inaccurate and uninformed, almost all of it extremely sympathetic to Harry and Meghan, and extremely hateful to the BRF - but the fuss is now done and gone. People have moved onto other topics, or gone back to arguing about how terrible the last episode of 'Supernatural' was.

Which repeats the points others have made - H&M are celebrities now, not royals, with all the risks and rewards that brings...

 

[US Royal Watcher]

To put this into further perspective... Netflix's most successful series to date, Bridgerton, was watched by 82 million households in its first 28 days of availability. I highly doubt that anything H&M produce for them will have that level of viewership in 328 days of availability let alone the first 28 days of availability.

As a streaming service, Netflix is interested in subscriptions, either getting new customers or keeping the customers they have. I assume that Netflix doesn't expect whatever Harry and Meghan produce will be ratings blockbusters as much as they want the publicity that will accompany any program associated with them. The media and a certain segment of the population is interested in Harry because of his royal connections.

Harry made the choice to walk away from being a working royal. Now he is figuring his way. When you don't earn a dime yourself your entire life and suddenly no longer have income coming it -- it is a shellshock. Let's not act like it wouldn't be. But again they are figuring it out.

The royal family does work. People may disagree whether the effort is worth the cost, but they do work. The Queen is 95 and goes through her box every day. Charles and Anne are still working despite being at an age when most people are retired - and there is no end in sight.

Harry was not only a member of the Armed Forces and he took his royal role seriously. The issue is that Harry apparently felt that he should continue to receive financial support and free security even after he stepped back from his royal role.

I think that alone revealed a lot about his true character - and none of it good. Harry is furious because he expected his father to fund a lavish lifestyle while he worked only when he felt like it. They gave the interview only a couple of months ago and there have been no indications that he has grown up in the interim.

If I recall, FF was not flattering to Charles especially, but also William and Kate. It probably fell flat in the UK because, by then, H and M were unpopular there and no one really believed them or wanted to hear what they said. Regardless, it didn’t set the world on fire, though I’m sure it hurt his family. The fair thing to do is wait and see what’s in it before getting all upset, so I’ll not freak out about it until I see excerpts that give me reason to.

Honestly, I have not read Finding Freedom but I think only Catherine and to a lesser extent, William, were criticized. I seem to recall that the book described Charles as a second father to Meghan. Of course, that was when he was still financially supporting them.

 

[duchessrachel]

Edit: yep, it’s true, and I was right. Good grief...

*Senior Royal sources weren’t there, so they shouldn’t be dismissing this “summit” between C, W, H and Kate, which I believe did happen.




https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...ex-hagiography-gets-a-summer-update-whwjv5g32

If anyone can post an archive of this, I’d appreciate it! This is behind a paywall. Thanks so much! ?[/QUOTE]

Here is a link: https://archive.ph/5esFi

 

[Somebody]

Harry made the choice to walk away from being a working royal. Now he is figuring his way. When you don't earn a dime yourself your entire life and suddenly no longer have income coming it -- it is a shellshock. Let's not act like it wouldn't be. But again they are figuring it out.

Of course it is quite a change. However, the main issue is that Harry and Meghan themselves stated publicly (before even reaching an agreement with the BRF) that they wanted to be independent and earn a professional income. So, if after that decision that you pushed yourself, you find out that you actually need to make a professional income, it is rather self-indulgent to complain about suddenly needing to earn a living in some way - because your father is no longer funding you because you decided to quit working for the family business.

It was extremely naïve to think that they would only loose the 5% of the Sovereign Grant; or that they could force the BRF to agree with their initial plan by making their requirements public. Luckily the BRF showed that they cannot be blackmailed - even though it seems the Sussexes still haven't gotten that message; as their interview (and earlier messages that they had a lot to tell about the BRF...) does feel like an attempt to blackmail the BRF into going along with their demands.

 

[duchessrachel]

I don’t know what they believed - on-line reaction doesn’t represent most people. Even if all 17 million believed M, it doesn’t matter; most of them still don’t care about H and M and will have moved past the interview as soon as it was over.

Exactly, and even if many more American believed them, it does not matter whatsoever because the Monarchy represents the people of the UK and the Commonwealth. What Americans think have no bearing whatsoever on the Monarchy.

 

[TLLK]

I would also be curious to see the demographics of the 17 million, bet you most of the viewers were from California. California is represents a completely different culture to the rest of the USA

IMHO people are not really interested in royalty at all here in California and there are good sized expat communities from nations with reigning royal families: in particular: Japan, the UK, Thailand. They'll even cover Spain even though a large percentage of the followers are not from Spain but Mexico/Central and South America. Spanish language TV will cover major Spanish royal events ie: Felipe and Letizia's wedding.

 

[Eskimo]

yes I know that, 17M is a lot of people to watch a show and if most of tehm tend to be favourable towards the people on the show, then odds are that they'll watch other shows about them, or shows that they produce or buy products that they sell.

Yes as long as everything they do pull those numbers. They reran this highly watched program a week later and it was watched by about 20% of the original number, a lot of whom might have watched it the first time as well. I think that speaks to sustainable interest in them- and it’s just not there at the levels they need/want it to be in order to make major bank

 

[Betsypaige]

I saw a MASSIVE reaction on social media in the days after - almost all of it wildly inaccurate and uninformed, almost all of it extremely sympathetic to Harry and Meghan, and extremely hateful to the BRF - but the fuss is now done and gone. People have moved onto other topics, or gone back to arguing about how terrible the last episode of 'Supernatural' was.

Which repeats the points others have made - H&M are celebrities now, not royals, with all the risks and rewards that brings...

Exactly. To be honest, I stayed out if the trending topics of Oprah, H and M, etc.. I knew there was almost a trigger reaction when the political pundits I follow were tweeting hateful, vile things about the BRF - these are people that never tweet about the BRF, ever. I’m guessing they don’t even really know who Meghan is as an actress. She played her cards well, and now these people who previously didn’t care one way or the other about the BRF probably hate them...except, they still don’t care about them, lol. Like you said, it’s one and done. These people didn’t buy FF and they won’t but FF 2.0. Oprah was easy access..

Exactly, and even if many more American believed them, it does not matter whatsoever because the Monarchy represents the people of the UK and the Commonwealth. What Americans think have no bearing whatsoever on the Monarchy.

Yep....maybe H and M think that if they can garner enough sympathy it will make people buy their products, hire them for speaking engagements, etc.....but, I don’t see it. Outside of that, I can’t see what good getting any amount of Americans on their side will do.

 

[Denville]

Yep....maybe H and M think that if they can garner enough sympathy it will make people buy their products, hire them for speaking engagements, etc.....but, I don’t see it. Outside of that, I can’t see what good getting any amount of Americans on their side will do.

But it is all about money. If they get a lot of Americans following them, then these people will presumably watch what they do for Netflix, or if they start selling something "real", these Americans will buy the product because they like the sellers or compaines will hire them for public speaking, because they are liked.... They're not doing the interview solely to have a go at teh RF, its also about making money in the USA.

 

[Lee-Z]

What surprised me that a good part of those who reacted favorably to H&M's part in the Oprah interview, linked it to 'The Crown', for many the narrative in that show was confirmed by H&M (especially the negatives towards the BRF)

Everyone ofcourse is free to form their own opinion, I'm just still surprised that Harry helped kicking his family.. and i still wonder whether he really realised up front how the Oprah interview would turn out..

 

[Betsypaige]

But it is all about money. If they get a lot of Americans following them, then these people will presumably watch what they do for Netflix, or if they start selling something "real", these Americans will buy the product because they like the sellers or compaines will hire them for public speaking, because they are liked.... They're not doing the interview solely to have a go at teh RF, its also about making money in the USA.

I just don’t that’s going to happen; I think most of the support for them on-line was more latent dislike and hate for the BRF. I don’t think all of a sudden H and M are going to be at all popular here. If they gain some new fans, though, who cares? I don’t. They are never, ever going to make a real impact in this country as far as people caring about them in general. If they make money, it would be for many reasons beyond sheer popularity.

 

[Denville]

What surprised me that a good part of those who reacted favorably to H&M's part in the Oprah interview, linked it to 'The Crown', for many the narrative in that show was confirmed by H&M (especially the negatives towards the BRF)

Everyone ofcourse is free to form their own opinion, I'm just still surprised that Harry helped kicking his family.. and i still wonder whether he really realised up front how the Oprah interview would turn out..

I'm sure he realized how bad it would make the RF look (if people believed it) and it clearly didn't bother him that he had a hand in savaging his family. I think he got a bit wary the next day about Philip or the queen being seen as the "one who made the racist remarks" so he made the belated announcement that it wasn't them.... but that's probably because he knew that Philip was close to the end of his life...and it might shock people to see his grandson making remarks like that, which could apply to him. Tat is what shocks me a litlte that Jolly Happy Harry carried such anger in him...

 

[Estel]

I'm sure he realized how bad it would make the RF look (if people believed it) and it clearly didn't bother him that he had a hand in savaging his family. I think he got a bit wary the next day about Philip or the queen being seen as the "one who made the racist remarks" so he made the belated announcement that it wasn't them.... but that's probably because he knew that Philip was close to the end of his life...and it might shock people to see his grandson making remarks like that, which could apply to him. Tat is what shocks me a litlte that Jolly Happy Harry carried such anger in him...

He said he doesn't want anybody to think it was the Queen or Prince Philip who said it, but he was okay with thinking that Charles or William might have said it? That's really, really cold.

 

[Betsypaige]

What surprised me that a good part of those who reacted favorably to H&M's part in the Oprah interview, linked it to 'The Crown', for many the narrative in that show was confirmed by H&M (especially the negatives towards the BRF)

Everyone ofcourse is free to form their own opinion, I'm just still surprised that Harry helped kicking his family.. and i still wonder whether he really realised up front how the Oprah interview would turn out..

I didn’t watch the James Corden show, but in it Harry all but gave his stamp of approval to the Crown, and thus to how it portrays his father as a villain. That is unforgivable, and just incredibly disappointing. One day, I fear, Harry will awake up missing his father - and he won’t be able to apologize, or explain, or tell him he loves him. He regrets to this day the fact that he rushed his mum off the phone before she was killed. Does he really want to experience that again? Same for his feud with William, except H seems to be aiming his daggers at his father. I think he knew exactly how the interview would come off...

 

[Estel]

I didn’t watch the James Corden show, but in it Harry all but gave his stamp of approval to the Crown, and thus to how it portrays his father as a villain. That is unforgivable, and just incredibly disappointing. One day, I fear, Harry will awake up missing his father - and he won’t be able to apologize, or explain, or tell him he loves him. He regrets to this day the fact that he rushed his mum off the phone before she was killed. Does he really want to experience that again? Same for his feud with William, except H seems to be aiming his daggers at his father. I think he knew exactly how the interview would come off...

In his defence, he probably thinks that his father was really that cruel to his mother. He was really small when the War of the Walses was happening, so he might not have known that the reality is much more complicated than he cheated, she cheated.