The Duke & Duchess of Sussex with Oprah III - Post-Interview, March 9th 2021 -


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Perhaps it's the "I told you so" he may have not wanted to hear. In the sense when William told Harry to slow down with Meghan.

Perhaps he was worried about that from William - although it's hard to picture, but Charles did arrange for Diana to see specialists (sometimes against her will). Up until this interview, Charles was perceived as a loving father.
 
I don't understand this either. We know Harry's been to therapy. Diana had been to therapy. I believe I've even heard that Charles has been to therapy. Clearly William and Kate have no issue with it. So where is this coming from? Something about this feels off.



That is one of many many problems with this interview. A lot is off about it.

I really take nothing they said at pure face value.
 
I may have missed this but I read somewhere that Harry said the race comment did not come from his Grandparents but I do not recall him saying this. Just curious if someone heard him say this.
He didn't say it on screen. On a morning show, Oprah announced that Harry told her that it wasn't his grandparents.
 
Meghan herself said she wanted to go to a hospital but that she couldn't just call an uber- that inplies that she wasn't asking for anything elaborate or extravagant.
Moreover, if a senior palace official denied her request in makes sense that in the throws of her anguish and despair that she would ask for help from any logical place such as the palace's HR department. Many organizations -HR departments have employee health offices on premises(physical and mental) to assist employees.

There is also the shame stigma that comes from asking for help. Like Meghan said in the S. African interview- no one checked in on them to see if they were ok or how she was coping with it all. Moreover as she and Harry were told that they should "just get on with it". Imagine how that affects ones self esteem in the midst of a crisis.

This isn’t a naive sheltered 18 year old. This is a 39:year old strong independent feminist who had a career and managed her own life for man6 years. This is a woman who fights for women to have their own voice, and yet was incapable of taking responsibility to pick up the phone and contact her doctor for a discreet referral? She was completely dependent on other people to help her, speak for her, protect her, etc? That just doesn’t ring true for me.
 
I can understand how Diana felt helpless, I don't understand how Meghan could feel the same. She had Harry, who apparently loves her. What was he doing all the time!? His only step was to break from the family coz they didn't help her out? I don't think so. Something is very off. Is Harry using Meghan as his way out without wanting to look bad?
 
Perhaps he was worried about that from William - although it's hard to picture, but Charles did arrange for Diana to see specialists (sometimes against her will). Up until this interview, Charles was perceived as a loving father.



My perception on Charles as a father hasn’t changed. What I see is an entitled son who didn’t get that when he walked out of the family business and said he wanted financial freedom....he might just get it.
 
Perhaps it's the "I told you so" he may have not wanted to hear. In the sense when William told Harry to slow down with Meghan.


I don't think that William would have said that in a situation where Harry's wife was suicidal. Maybe Harry thought so, but if so, that would only be a further incidence of Harry having unrealistic perceptions or expectations of things. In my opinion.

Anyhow, he could have asked Charles for help (at that point they still had a better relationship, I believe) or Eugenie, who he was/ is said to be very close to.

What happened in that situation was then, but I do believe that in retrospect, he should reflect on what else could have been done. Is it truly all the staff's fault?

They always just lay all the blame at the feet of other people.
 
Meghan said that she went to one of the "most senior palace officials'" and asked if she could go somewhere to get help and was denied because it was not a good look. Meghan also said that she went to the HR department and said plainly "I need help" and was denied. Such a response for all intents and purposes needs to be investigated- if what Meghan says turns out to be true then there needs to be alot of work done on revamping policies and procedures
for when a member of the royal family needs and is seeking help.

This is heartbreaking if true. But why turn to a "senior Palace official " and not her personal physician? Ideally her obstetrician if she was pregnant at the time? A health professional recommending emergency inpatient psychiatric treatment would have carried a lot of weight.

I can't think of anyone on the verge of a breakdown going to the HR department instead of a health professional.

This one doesn't pass the smell test.:ermm:
 
All of this. And William & Harry together have been saying that you should ask someone for help. Kate has been to family therapy with her brother, we know that too.

Not to mention William, Harry and Kate started “Heads Together” campaign to erase the stigma of mental Heath challenges and encourage people to seek help and provided resources for that help. Harry waves his mental health like a saber against the media on a regular basis, and yet neither Meghan or Harry could get help for her? At what point do people stop enabling and start questioning the things these two claim?
 
Talking about laying the blame at the feet of other people, I haven’t heard one word of regret from any journalist working for a tabloid newspaper about the British Press’s behaviour towards Meghan in the time she was a new wife and a working royal. .

Not one iota of analysis of their publications for the disgusting attacks made on Meghan for all the attacks daily while she was pregnant, all the criticisms of hair, dress, clothing, etc etc, all the snide remarks about her nationality, exes, family members, holding Archie, etc etc going on and on and on.


Instead there have been regurgitations of what she said in the interview, how she might have lied, how disrespectful to the Royal Family.


And also a rewriting of history in that one or two journalists, notably Richard Kay among them who have emphasised how welcoming and happy the Press was to see her in. Britain.


Welcoming my foot! How long was it before the manipulations of truth started, the placing of the narrative of the heroine Princess versus the Villain Princess who could never measure up? A matter of weeks?


In a way it is similar to the diversionary methods the tabloids used after Diana’s death. ‘Oh My God! We might be blamed for this! Quick, must find another target the public can focus on. We mustn’t be seen to be at fault!’


On that occasion the tabloids didn’t mind attacking the Queen in deflection. ‘Show us you care, Ma’am!’ Now, in this it’s defending the monarch and ‘poor Prince Philip, lying in hospital.’ Great tactics.


I have always felt that if the British tabloids had been just a bit kind, a bit fair in their coverage and given Meghan even a year’s grace then she and Harry might have had second thoughts about leaving.
 
I think it's odd that not one private secretary, courtier, personal assistant or equerry is named in the entire interview.
 
I don't disagree, however, you have to remember that Meghan is an American. If we have a question about where to go for health care, contacting HR is pretty standard. What this all tells me is that Harry failed Meghan in not making sure she understood where to go for things like this.

In fact, this interview tells me Harry has failed Meghan in a lot of ways when it comes to succeeding as a senior member of the Royal Family.

Okay, I'm an American and I've never gone to HR in my life for health care. When I first set up my insurance yes but after that you contact your health care provider. If I needed mental healthcare I certainly wouldn't go to my work's HR. I would contact my primary care physician.
 
The Duke & Duchess of Sussex with Oprah III - Post-Interview, March 9th 2021 -

Not to mention William, Harry and Kate started “Heads Together” campaign to erase the stigma of mental Heath challenges and encourage people to seek help and provided resources for that help. Harry waves his mental health like a saber against the media on a regular basis, and yet neither Meghan or Harry could get help for her? At what point do people stop enabling and start questioning the things these two claim?



Excellent sum up. Maybe so much doesn’t make sense because it didn’t happen that way. Maybe it’s willful on Harry and Meghan’s part, maybe not. Maybe they’ve convinced themselves of certain “truths” over time to avoid responsibility for their own actions.

Furthermore- I think it’s relevant to bear in mind some of the (IMO) purposes behind this interview- trashing Harry’s family, trashing the monarchy, getting sympathy and making money in America. I don’t think the absolute truth was ever a goal here. We’re only getting one POV here: theirs. And even that isn’t consistent.
 
Last edited:
I think it's odd that not one private secretary, courtier, personal assistant or equerry is named in the entire interview.


I think it makes sense from their pov.

If they name names that person could respond- and that response might well not be favorable to them. Said person might even have evidence to back it up.

This allows them to just throw out whatever they want and say they were failed by basically everyone.
 
Honestly, I haven't watched the entire interview so I am not sure what point Harry finally took action but Meghan suffered a lot during the time he didn't. For example, I read that she was very unhappy because the staff was advising her not to go out, leaving her feeling trapped for about two months. That is a long time for a spouse not to notice that there is a serous problem.

Moreover, I don't know how often her doctor appointments were but I am surprised that the doctor didn't pick up on her depression if it lasted that long. What about Doria, certainly she talked to her daughter via Skype - and she didn't notice. I don't think the staff are the most culpable actors in this drama.

No she never said that being advised not to go out was when she was in her crisis. She used that as an example of the restrictions and unfairness that she experienced.

I don't know the British maternity system if she was seeing a doctor throughout the pregnancy or was it a midwife so I cannot say. Even so it is not uncommon for depression in pregnancy to be missed-never the less at her breaking point she sought help in multiple shapes and forms and was denied.
 
Okay, I'm an American and I've never gone to HR in my life for health care. When I first set up my insurance yes but after that you contact your health care provider. If I needed mental healthcare I certainly wouldn't go to my work's HR. I would contact my primary care physician.

Right. The only thing I can think of going to HR about would be to see what sort of mental health coverage my health care plan has - so I know what I would be looking at my cost as far as co-pays and prescriptions are concerned. Or, possibly changing my plan to include better mental health coverage. But, I certainly wouldn't be going to my HR department to see if I could go see someone. And, given the kind of money the BRF has, cost certainly would be the last thing on my mind if I needed help.
 
Okay, I'm an American and I've never gone to HR in my life for health care. When I first set up my insurance yes but after that you contact your health care provider. If I needed mental healthcare I certainly wouldn't go to my work's HR. I would contact my primary care physician.

It sounds like your company doesn't have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Many companies do so that an employee can go to them for help. It is a confidential program. Meghan said that her union as an actress had an EAP. So that was her frame of reference for going to Human Resources.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Classy, great response from the BRF.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that this interview has damaged the monarchy, and I don't think it will ever be the same.
 
No she never said that being advised not to go out was when she was in her crisis. She used that as an example of the restrictions and unfairness that she experienced.

I don't know the British maternity system if she was seeing a doctor throughout the pregnancy or was it a midwife so I cannot say. Even so it is not uncommon for depression in pregnancy to be missed-never the less at her breaking point she sought help in multiple shapes and forms and was denied.

I read in a book (Royals at War by Dylan Howard) that during her pregnancy she went to a very posh spa, (Heckfield Place in Hampshire) and separately also had a course of acupuncture, availed herself of massage therapy and aromatherapy, did chanting and consulted a numerologist. I don't think she was prevented from getting psychiatric help, I think that the palace didn't like her chosen venue which was probably in another country.
 
Most people in that situation need to hospitalized because adequate 24/7 supervision to prevent them from harming themselves isn't possible in their homes. In Meghan's case, it would have been. She may have felt that being hospitalized was the best option for her, and she may even have been correct, but that doesn't mean it was the only option that might have benefited her. If she'd done what she could with in-home treatment and didn't believe it was working, that's one thing. But if her response to (what she perceived as) being told "Sorry, you can't check into a hospital" was "Well, then I guess I won't have any treatment at all!" then honestly, that could reasonably be perceived as her threatening suicide to manipulate people and dropping the charade when it didn't work.



When someone is in a crisis and says they feel like they " don't want to be here anymore"hospitalized- in home treatments don't work- they need to be hospitalized. After stabilization then arrangements can be made for outpatient treatment. Meghan claimed she was begging for help and "nothing was being done" that implies they didn't even try to get her as you suggested private in-home care. Those are serious charges and like I have been saying it definitely
warrants and inquiry and procedures need to be reformed if it is in fact true.
 
It sounds like your company doesn't have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Many companies do so that an employee can go to them for help. It is a confidential program. Meghan said that her union as an actress had an EAP. So that was her frame of reference for going to Human Resources.

In 20+ years I've worked in many different industries and honestly have never run across anything run by an HR department that provided any kind of medical assistance.

Frankly Meghan should have had some frame of reference for medical care in the UK because she had obviously received OBGYN care. I have to assume she didn't go to the HR department to get that. I still honestly believe she didn't convey the severity of the situation and only asked to be sent to a facility out of the country. When that request was turned down she didn't peruse other avenues of treatment.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This isn’t a naive sheltered 18 year old. This is a 39:year old strong independent feminist who had a career and managed her own life for man6 years. This is a woman who fights for women to have their own voice, and yet was incapable of taking responsibility to pick up the phone and contact her doctor for a discreet referral? She was completely dependent on other people to help her, speak for her, protect her, etc? That just doesn’t ring true for me.

Exactly, Meghan was a strong independent woman prior to entering the royal family. That she claims to have suffered so much and was so badly broken is significant. The couple said things had to be done the way "The Firm" does them. She also spoke about how she was told sge would've been "protected "--- but eventually that didn't happen.
 
When someone is in a crisis and says they feel like they " don't want to be here anymore"hospitalized- in home treatments don't work- they need to be hospitalized. After stabilization then arrangements can be made for outpatient treatment. Meghan claimed she was begging for help and "nothing was being done" that implies they didn't even try to get her as you suggested private in-home care. Those are serious charges and like I have been saying it definitely
warrants and inquiry and procedures need to be reformed if it is in fact true.

And that's the thing. We don't know it is true. We have two people's account. Two people who no offense to you have an agenda of their own and that is to garner as much sympathy from the public as possible. Two people who knew going in that the BRF weren't going to make a huge public statement refuting what they said which means they can say pretty much whatever they wish.

Do I think Meghan made absolutely everything up? No. I think there's a kernel of truth in the narrative the Sussexes are weaving. Do I think they're HIGHLY shading and twisting things to suit their narrative, yes. There's just to many things about the whole story that don't add up for the story to be the complete and utter truth IMO.

And the reality is as much as the public may scream and shout right now this will be handled privately so we won't know if there's a change in internal procedures at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House or Kensington. Nor will Harry or Meghan because their days as working royals are over. According to their interview something they apparently never had intensions of being from the word go.
 
Last edited:
This isn’t a naive sheltered 18 year old. This is a 39:year old strong independent feminist who had a career and managed her own life for man6 years. This is a woman who fights for women to have their own voice, and yet was incapable of taking responsibility to pick up the phone and contact her doctor for a discreet referral? She was completely dependent on other people to help her, speak for her, protect her, etc? That just doesn’t ring true for me.

But this strong, independent 39-year-old feminist was not at full strength and not thinking straight; she was suffering from mental issues so serious that she was having suicidal thoughts at the time. She needed help and when she asked for it, it was denied. Leaving aside for the moment why Harry wasn't providing the help she needed, why did she go to HR? She wasn't an employee, she was a member of the royal family. Unless in fact there is some sort of employer/employee structure set up for the working royals that provides some sort of tax benefit. Maybe there really is a "Firm". That possibility only just occurred to me and would explain the approach to "HR". This whole business is making me ask questions about how the BRF actually runs: where there is a formal, legal, structure. But surely there would be a record of that. And now I need to follow that up.
 
Britain Elects with did some polls after the Oprah's interview on the 9th March with 1056 adults. This was done between J.L.Partners and the Daily Mail. The survey has a series of questions with breakdowns based on age, gender and regions in which are found in the spreadsheet. Unfortunately, I cannot attached the spreadsheet to this post.

J.L. Partners website (the first link from the top): https://www.jlpartners.co.uk/polling-results

Britain Elects has also tweeted out the overall/generalised results. I have slightly changed the spacing and formatting to make it shorter.
Britain Elects @BritainElects
Public opinion towards... (Positive / Negative)
The Queen: 79% / 15%
Prince Philip: 59% / 32%
Prince Charles: 52% / 41%
Prince William: 78% / 16%
Catherine: 71% / 15%
Prince Harry: 54% / 40%
Meghan: 41% / 49%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar
10:38 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Public opinion towards Prince Andrew:
Positive: 10%
Negative: 83%
via @JLPartnersPolls
https://jlpartners.co.uk/polling-results
10:42 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
"The monarchy should be abolished"
Agree: 29%
Disagree: 50%
Neither agree/disagree: 14%
via @JLPartnersPolls
10:47 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Do you believe that Meghan was the victim of racism within the Royal Family?
I believe: 34%
I do not believe: 41%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar
10:55 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Do you believe that Meghan was the victim of racism within the country at large?
I believe: 37%
I do not believe: 44%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar​
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1369436770388090880

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Which statement comes closest to your view?
Harry and Meghan are more out of touch than the Queen/Royal Family: 31%
The Queen/Royal Family are more out of touch than Harry and Meghan:43%
via @JLPartnersPolls
10:59 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1369437733236707334
 
Honestly, it makes zero sense for Meghan to go to "the institution's" HR for this kind of assistance. She knew, by then, since she was pregnant, that her healthcare wasn't handled by BP's HR department.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Britain Elects with did some polls after the Oprah's interview on the 9th March with 1056 adults. This was done between J.L.Partners and the Daily Mail. The survey has a series of questions with breakdowns based on age, gender and regions in which are found in the spreadsheet. Unfortunately, I cannot attached the spreadsheet to this post.

J.L. Partners website (the first link from the top): https://www.jlpartners.co.uk/polling-results

Britain Elects has also tweeted out the overall/generalised results. I have slightly changed the spacing and formatting to make it shorter.
Britain Elects @BritainElects
Public opinion towards... (Positive / Negative)
The Queen: 79% / 15%
Prince Philip: 59% / 32%
Prince Charles: 52% / 41%
Prince William: 78% / 16%
Catherine: 71% / 15%
Prince Harry: 54% / 40%
Meghan: 41% / 49%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar
10:38 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Public opinion towards Prince Andrew:
Positive: 10%
Negative: 83%
via @JLPartnersPolls
https://jlpartners.co.uk/polling-results
10:42 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
"The monarchy should be abolished"
Agree: 29%
Disagree: 50%
Neither agree/disagree: 14%
via @JLPartnersPolls
10:47 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Do you believe that Meghan was the victim of racism within the Royal Family?
I believe: 34%
I do not believe: 41%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar
10:55 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Do you believe that Meghan was the victim of racism within the country at large?
I believe: 37%
I do not believe: 44%
via @JLPartnersPolls, 09 Mar​
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1369436770388090880

Britain Elects @BritainElects
Which statement comes closest to your view?
Harry and Meghan are more out of touch than the Queen/Royal Family: 31%
The Queen/Royal Family are more out of touch than Harry and Meghan:43%
via @JLPartnersPolls
10:59 AM · Mar 10, 2021·TweetDeck​
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1369437733236707334

Wow that last question:

Which statement comes closest to your view?
Harry and Meghan are more out of touch than the Queen/Royal Family: 31%
The Queen/Royal Family are more out of touch than Harry and Meghan:43%
via @JLPartnersPolls
 
Wow that last question:

Which statement comes closest to your view?
Harry and Meghan are more out of touch than the Queen/Royal Family: 31%
The Queen/Royal Family are more out of touch than Harry and Meghan:43%
via @JLPartnersPolls

And yet the Queen, Philip, William & Kate all have higher approval ratings than Harry, and Harry only barely nips in ahead of Charles. Meghan's approval ratings, as well as the answers to the racism questions, are also telling. I'm not sure why this question's response seems to be such an outlier to the rest of the poll's results.
 
And yet the Queen, Philip, William & Kate all have higher approval ratings than Harry, and Harry only barely nips in ahead of Charles. Meghan's approval ratings, as well as the answers to the racism questions, are also telling. I'm not sure why this question's response seems to be such an outlier to the rest of the poll's results.

And this is why I'm puzzle by the overall flow of results :confused: ?

Unless the term "out of touch" is interpreted differently (i.e. financially rather than the royal family's opinions/action). For example, The Queen might be out of touch from British working class in terms of wealth, but she recognised her privileges and used these opportunity to serve the nation and her people. The public recognises and admires her dedication to public services as the nation's head of state and hence the high rating.

Harry and Meghan maybe more in touch and relatable with society based on the poll figures, but that does not translate to admiration. Perhaps that's the reason why they do not have a high positive opinions.

Again, this is my opinion and interpretation.
 
Last edited:
I read in a book (Royals at War by Dylan Howard) that during her pregnancy she went to a very posh spa, (Heckfield Place in Hampshire) and separately also had a course of acupuncture, availed herself of massage therapy and aromatherapy, did chanting and consulted a numerologist. I don't think she was prevented from getting psychiatric help, I think that the palace didn't like her chosen venue which was probably in another country.

There is, even with the 'heads together' campaign, a stigma about mental health. Its one thing for a member of the royal family to see a therapist. But it would be another for a member of the RF to check into some where for mental health. A therapist can quietly come to the palace or to Frogmore, a stay at a mental health hospital or retreat is another matter all together.


Sadly there may very well be members of the 'firm' who think mental health is not something to be spoken of. And certainly not to be made public.

Its one thing to go to a spa and have accupuncture. Nothing remotely 'taboo' about that. Mental health sadly is another matter. Especially if tabloids got a hold of it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom