The Duke & Duchess of Sussex with Oprah II - Interview, March 7th-9th 2021

[Fem]

Those children also didn’t set up a website publicly announcing that they wanted to be financially independent and informing their family and world what their new role in the family business was going to be.

Harry got what he claimed to want. Except he didn’t really. Like everything else with him and Meghan seemingly-everything had to be their way- or not all. Compromise is probably a word they wouldn’t understand even if they looked it up in the dictionary.

This is funny, isn't it? They put up this elaborate website, stating that they want to be financially independent, and when Charles said "okay, be financially independent" they got angry at him?

British (nor Canadian) public would never accept paying for their security when they're not working royals. Hey, they barely accept paying for security of working royals. I don't understand why this is even an issue to anyone here.

 

[Erin9]

Well Meghan claims Kate wrote her an apology letter. No doubt she kept it. Seems Meghan kept a lot of paper trails because she likely knew she might need them.

I’m not surprised the interview was a ratings hit. People love to claim they don’t care but most the time the ones who scream the loudest are the 1st to tune in.

It’s been quite the reaction though. Very fascinating debates all over the place.

I don’t think watching the interview implies people care. It indicates curiosity.

 

[Purrs]

God Save The Queen is still played though during royal tours, isn't it ?
And I believe the Governor General of Canada is normally greeted with the so-called Vice Regal Salute, which includes the first six bars of "God Save the Queen" immediately followed by the first four and last four bars of "O Canada".

Yes, it is still sung at Royal tours and that is the first few bars. However the majority of Canadians under 65 don't know the words & have never sung it. Living here in Toronto, I doubt Meghan was ever exposed to it, let alone given the opportunity to learn either the words or tune when living here. (Yes I know "My Country Tis of Thee" is the same tune but I don't know how many Americans know it.)

However, I don't understand why she didn't ask Harry to teach her how or google it if no one taught her directly when they decided to marry. Part of moving to another country is learning to adapt to their culture. Especially anyone joining the British Royal Family would have the expectation of hearing it played frequently and she should tried to learn it out of respect for the institution she was joining. I find her passivity in this area quite surprising.

 

[poppy7]

I do believe what the doctor said on Irish tv that H&M got stuck in a cycle with one another and shutting everyone else out. Sadly I don't see that ending any time soon.

I think its thr most on point thing anyone has said and smacks of absolute truth. Harry lost his Mum and through all those years could not protect her.

I think in the long term it is worrying and potentially totally damaging. I hope they continue to receive support.

I think to a certain extent William has the same thing with his wife and kids but Kate isn't damaged and had a secure upbringing and they are not clinging to eachother codependently. And codependency in parents can negatively impact on children so like I said I hope they continue to get support.

 

[Erin9]

I think he had Oprah made that clarifying statement because he knew many would think of the DoE.

People were already speculating online about Philip by the time Harry issued the statement. Philip was getting thrown under the bus. Just another example of how utterly thoughtless theses 2 are.

 

[Denville]

Early in the interview she makes a distinction between 'the family' and 'the institution'. So whoever she made the request to wasn't a family member but presumably would be someone senior enough to grant or deny her request "to go somewhere".

Nobody says "I went to the institution".. it doesn't make any sense. If she said "I went to the Private Secretary" or "I went to the queen".. it would make sense...

 

[Kellydofc]

This is funny, isn't it? They put up this elaborate website, stating that they want to be financially independent, and when Charles said "okay, be financially independent" they got angry at him?

British (nor Canadian) public would never accept paying for their security when they're not working royals. Hey, they barely accept paying for security of working royals. I don't understand why this is even an issue to anyone here.

I still can't help but think they meant financially independent of the British taxpayers so we when can work/come to the UK whenever we feel like. And keep super tight control over our image and PR. But we DON'T want to be financially independent of Charles. He can keep footing the bill forever and so can William when he becomes king.

 

[amaryllus]

Thing is some people simply don’t want to be healed and whole as being damaged gives them validation, attention and a reason to act the way they do.Being a professional victim is very lucrative as a career.

 

[Kellydofc]

I don’t think watching the interview implies people care. It indicates curiosity.

Exactly, it's the same reason people slow down on the highway to look at a car crash.

 

[poppy7]

Thing is some people simply don’t want to be healed and whole as being damaged gives them validation, attention and a reason to act the way they do.Being a professional victim is very lucrative as a career.

In which you seek a partner who needs to be needed and both are trapped in a circle that you don't want to be freed from. Unconsciously.

I think really we should just feel sorry for them and ashamed of ourselves for reading those articles.

 

[Erin9]

Nobody says "I went to the institution".. it doesn't make any sense. If she said "I went to the Private Secretary" or "I went to the queen".. it would make sense...

Meghan used the word institution on purpose. It sounds cold, remote....

Meghan knew what she was doing.

 

[Kellydofc]

I think its thr most on point thing anyone has said and smacks of absolute truth. Harry lost his Mum and through all those years could not protect her.

I think in the long term it is worrying and potentially totally damaging. I hope they continue to receive support.

I think to a certain extent William has the same thing with his wife and kids but Kate isn't damaged and had a secure upbringing and they are not clinging to each other codependently. And codependency in parents can negatively impact on children so like I said I hope they continue to get support.

I don't know how much support they're going to get from outside because celebrity is a fickle thing and I'm not sure how many celebrities are truly friends with one another. We know Meghan is cut off from all her family except her mother and I do think this interview has cause irreparable damage to Harry's relationship with his family. It might just be him and Meghan and their kids and few friends. No matter what I think it's a sad story.

 

[Heavs]

My guess is that she told a member of staff, not a doctor, that she wanted to go to a spa like place out of the UK and was told the logistics for that would be incredibly complicated and it would be better for her to see someone how could come to the palace. We also don't know by the way if Meghan told this person she was suicidal or that she was feeling depressed or blue or stressed. Their answer might have some bearing on what she told them in the first place and their feeling that it would be better handled "in house".

I still highly doubt anyone flat out told her she just could not receive any help at all. I do believe she might have been told that getting the specific help she wanted would be difficult or impractical. I can also see how she could have taken this and run with it. I do believe what the doctor said on Irish tv that H&M got stuck in a cycle with one another and shutting everyone else out. Sadly I don't see that ending any time soon.

A lot of people have also been pointing out that mental health during pregnancy is taken very seriously in the UK now even on the NHS CBT is offered right away if necessary and Meghan with her personal, hand picked team around her should have definitely been able to reach out to a doctor and have a discreet specialist at her doorstep right away.

I just don't think there's any way "The Institution" would have prevented her from getting the care she needed when we know any of them and many connected with them are or have been in therapy and they've been part of the effort to destigmatise mental health in the UK in a way that's not just perfunctory.

The might well have vetoed a health clinic in a different country for practical, logistic reasons but that's entirely different from being refused any treatment because it would look bad if she was in therapy 7 days a week.

I really do feel very sorry for her if she was feeling suicidal and in way over her head but her accusations don't really make sense except in the specifics completely without context: HR couldn't deal with it because she wasn't an employee and a clinic/retreat was vetoed.

And Harry saying he was too embarrassed to ask for help further confuses the issue.

I think Dr. Hillary was spot on which is a difficult situation for both of them. I hope they are both getting effective professional help.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I don't think it's unusual for wealthy families to financially support their children.

It may not be unusual but I don't know if it is the norm either, particularly in cases when the child has his own assets and has declared that he no longer wants to be part of the family business. Harry argued that he was born into the risk but he was also born into the wealth.

In our country, former presidents and their spouses get protection, but not family members. As poster pointed out, Members of Congress generally don't get taxpayer protection. All sorts of celebrities have to pay for their own security and that of their family.

Harry said that he only made the Netflix and Spotify deals because Charles cut him off. So if making those types of deals wasn't his plan, what was his plan? How else did he think he could make enough money to be financially independent in the style to which he wanted to live.

I was very confused by Meghan's complaints about security for Archie and their other children. As others have discussed, his taxpayer funded security did not depend on whether he was a prince. She was probably talking about the reports that Charles wants a slimmed down monarchy and it is very possible that the HRHs will be limited to William's immediate family and after that, George's.

I can understand that she and Harry are disappointed in that but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

California is expensive and I imagine the security bills for that huge mansion are very expensive. Like everyone else, Harry and Meghan will have to determine their priorities and budget accordingly. They just have a lot more money than almost everyone else. Maybe they should buy a nice private home in Nevada, close to Doria but less expensive.

 

[poppy7]

I think that the inevitable palace statement will be an acknowledgement of the difficulties experienced and the fact that they did helped as much as they felt fit and that the person within the family or indeed the entire family will be send to race re education which you know is what theybdid with Harry and the drugs, racism etc.

 

[Erin9]

I wonder if Meghan and Harry have any concept about how they sound complaining about money- while everyone knows they live in a multi million dollar mansion in California. And California is not a cheap place to live.

What a tough life they lead.

 

[poppy7]

I don't know how much support they're going to get from outside because celebrity is a fickle thing and I'm not sure how many celebrities are truly friends with one another. We know Meghan is cut off from all her family except her mother and I do think this interview has cause irreparable damage to Harry's relationship with his family. It might just be him and Meghan and their kids and few friends. No matter what I think it's a sad story.

I hope for the children's sake then Kate and Wliam can be involved. Because as it stands they may be the only potentially stable influence.

They aren't stable. I think that is evident and being so cut off from people who actually love you is going to be dangerous.

 

[QueenMathilde]

Didn't harry say this interview is the last we'll hear from them?

 

[Denville]

I

Iy.

Harry said that he only made the Netflix and Spotify deals because Charles cut him off. So if making those types of deals wasn't his plan, what was his plan? How else did he think he could make enough money to be financially independent in the style to which he wanted to live.

hey should buy a nice private home in Nevada, close to Doria but less expensive.

I agree, What DID he think he was going to do for the rest of his life, if he only did the Netflix deals when Charles cut off funding? THey said they wanted to leave to have a professional income. Did they not intend then to do some kind of work to earn that income? Or did they think that Dad and the British Tax payer would fund them forever, paying his security and paying him and Meghan an income for life??
or is all this a farrago of lies and misinformation?
Meghan should know that Arch would not be a Prince or HRH until Charles became king and that security has nothing to do with his race or with his having a title.. as a child he would share in their security as long as they were wroking royals.. but when he grew up, or went to school its possible that she and H would have to pay for the security.. but it has nothing to do iwht his racial origin or his having a title or not. Eugenie and Bea are HRH's but they dont have state funded security....
Did she really not understand that?? Or does she understand perfectly well but is saying this to make the RF look bad and relying on the fact that the American public wont know the finer points?

 

[Yashal]

People were already speculating online about Philip by the time Harry issued the statement. Philip was getting thrown under the bus. Just another example of how utterly thoughtless theses 2 are.

I agree. Not sure if I buy it but if he wanted to "protect" his grandparetns it was too late.

 

[Moran]

Kate made Meghan cry? I remember Meghan crying in the South African interview as well. I was not impressed then and I'm not impressed now either. Which one was the actress and which one was either pregnant with HG or a postpartum mother by the time of this exchange? BTW, the South African interview made it clear for me why Meghan did all right for herself but never made it to the top of her profession. If her tears of the time of this exchange were anything like the ones in the interview, colour me unmoved.
Did I say "this exchange"? Sorry, I meant "the supposed exchange'. FF and the "the didn't take part," "Well, they let friends speak" things sealed it for me: Meghan's relationship with truth is tenuous at best. Her relationship with "her" truth is glorious.


BTW, the first coloured member of the family remark is very telling. It fits with their entire narrative and behavior since the very first days. For two people who preach "we're linked, not ranked", they seem very fond of their titles and they want every royal distinction they can get. They want it or they play the racist card, determined not to notice the growing trend of slimming down the number of this particular distinction all over Europe. In recent years, we've seen children actually stripped of this style - children who are perfectly white. But this doesn't fit the narrative they and Oprah want to show.

 

[Mbruno]

Lol, ours has 17? verses, but we only ever sing the first ( and rarily the 6th).
Still, while I don't know the lyrics to the British anthem (something with God safe the Queen repeatedly), I do immediately recognise the music. Just as I do the US, French or German anthems. Plenty of sportsevents to get familiar with the music.

See below two verses (or stanzas?) of God Save The Queen (the second beginning with "Thy choicest gifts in store") sung during the Diamond Jubilee Service. It is not that uncommon actually to hear the two parts in the UK.

 

[Heavs]

It may not be unusual but I don't know if it is the norm either, particularly in cases when the child has his own assets and has declared that he no longer wants to be part of the family business. Harry argued that he was born into the risk but he was also born into the wealth.

In our country, former presidents and their spouses get protection, but not family members. As poster pointed out, Members of Congress generally don't get taxpayer protection. All sorts of celebrities have to pay for their own security and that of their family.

Harry said that he only made the Netflix and Spotify deals because Charles cut him off. So if making those types of deals wasn't his plan, what was his plan? How else did he think he could make enough money to be financially independent in the style to which he wanted to live.

I was very confused by Meghan's complaints about security for Archie and their other children. As others have discussed, his taxpayer funded security did not depend on whether he was a prince. She was probably talking about the reports that Charles wants a slimmed down monarchy and it is very possible that the HRHs will be limited to William's immediate family and after that, George's.

I can understand that she and Harry are disappointed in that but the line has to be drawn somewhere.

California is expensive and I imagine the security bills for that huge mansion are very expensive. Like everyone else, Harry and Meghan will have to determine their priorities and budget accordingly. They just have a lot more money than almost everyone else. Maybe they should buy a nice private home in Nevada, close to Doria but less expensive.

Some children of wealthy parents are Trust Fund Babies their entire lives but that isn't usually a compliment and many of them don't necessarily do anything with their lives. Harry has a trust fund and more might be coming later but it's apparently not enough to keep up with the mega wealthy celebrity philanthropists they want to be.

I think they're not being entirely accurate with the truth about what deals they might have done if Charles had been bankrolling them but taking it at face value I assume their plan was (and still is) to be royals but on their terms where they can wade into politics and join the celebrity philanthropist ranks by having a Foundation and several other charities and NFPs. Maybe invest in people's businesses like the "gift" Oprah opened on camera.

But it takes a lot of money they don't seem to have to do that. That's why it's mostly people like Bill and Melinda Gates and others who have earned $100s million or more throughout their careers and not something you can just jump in to.

Where it also gets messy is that their commercial arm and foundation are both named Archewell and they'll have to be careful about separation of funds between them both.

 

[Prinsara]

Meghan used the word institution on purpose. It sounds cold, remote....

Meghan knew what she was doing.

Also vague. She's pointing fingers but not making specific accusations, and it makes it harder to refute her.

 

[QueenMathilde]

I wonder if harry thought quitting the way he did would force the family to give him what he wanted and he became angry when they didn't take the bait.

 

[Lucy Scot]

In our country, former presidents and their spouses get protection, but not family members. As poster pointed out, Members of Congress generally don't get taxpayer protection. All sorts of celebrities have to pay for their own security and that of their family.

Children of a former President get protection until they are 16 years old.
And according to this Washington Post story, President Trump extended Secret Service protection to his adult children and their spouses after he left office.

In the days before he left office, President Donald Trump instructed that his family get the best security available in the world for the next six months, at no cost — the protection of the U.S. Secret Service.

According to three people briefed on the plan, Trump issued a directive to extend post-presidency Secret Service protection to his four adult children and two of their spouses, who were not automatically entitled to receive it.

Trump also directed that three key officials leaving government continue to receive the protection for six months: former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former national security adviser Robert C. O’Brien, two people familiar with the arrangement said.

Under federal law, Trump, his wife, Melania Trump, and their 14-year-old son are the only members of his immediate family entitled to Secret Service protection after they leave office. The couple will receive it for their lifetimes, and Barron is entitled to protection until he turns 16.

Trump wanted every family member who had been protected by the Secret Service during his administration to be covered for six additional months, according to the people familiar with his directive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe security arrangements.

That means the expensive, taxpayer-funded security will continue for daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner; son Donald Trump Jr.; son Eric Trump and his wife, Lara Trump; and daughter Tiffany Trump.

The 24-hour protection will focus on Trump’s grown children, although his grandchildren will receive protection that derives from being in proximity to their parents.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...ef3e9e-5b3c-11eb-b8bd-ee36b1cd18bf_story.html

 

[Denville]

Some children of wealthy parents are Trust Fund Babies their entire lives but that isn't usually a compliment and many of them don't necessarily do anything with their lives. Harry has a trust fund and more might be coming later but it's apparently not enough to keep up with the mega wealthy celebrity philanthropists they want to be.

I think they're not being entirely accurate with the truth about what deals they might have done if Charles had been bankrolling them but taking it at face value I assume their plan was (and still is) to be royals but on their terms where they can wade into politics and join the celebrity p

Where it also gets messy is that their commercial arm and foundation are both named Archewell and they'll have to be careful about separation of funds between them both.

its very interesting... I think that Harry may have jibbed at selling toasters on the shopping channel.. (he was born a prince after all)...
but he believed that Dad would supply money, eternally.. that the tax payer would pay security.. Tthey would do an odd public appearance for money.. and would pop up now and again making a donation to charity or putting in a day at a homeless shelter.. and that they'd still (when Covid was over,) pop over to UK and do an odd royal event or charity event there.. just to keep their names alive...
AND of course they would do their little pod casts telling people to vote and commuting on American and Commonwealth politics...and Meghan will do the odd narrating a documentary job for money. but It seems like full time money earning wasn't really their plan...

 

[Lucy Scot]

It sill beggars belief that they would tell her she could not have it. It might be difficult to arrange, but they could have done it, and i find it hard to believe that having supported Harry and Diana when they had mental health issues they would not do the same for her...

Meghan mentioned that she emailed them, so she probably still has the emails.

 

[Hallo girl]

I dont know what the truth it, but I find it hard to believe that the RF and royal staff would refuse her help. If they did, why didn't Harry step in?

My feeling is that Meghan is giving one sentence out of a paragraph, what was the next part of the conversation.
The same with Archies title, she only gave half the story, the part that would cause the most headlines.
She didnt say none of the great grand children other than Williams have a title.

 

[TLLK]

I wonder if Meghan and Harry have any concept about how they sound complaining about money- while everyone knows they live in a multi million dollar mansion in California. And California is not a cheap place to live.

What a tough life they lead.

It's very expensive and I'd also to point out that they chose one of the most expensive areas of the state to live in as well. I doubt that Archie and his sister will attend public (state supported) schools, so in the future his parents will have to cover tuition costs as well.