General News about the Sussex Family, Part One: May 2019 - March 2020


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In the ill-advised People Magazine article where the DoS's anonymous friends spoke on her behalf, the point was made that Meghan did not read anything about herself online, that she was happily oblivious and determined to just get on with it and block out the "noise".

So....what happened? Did she start listening to the noise or was that never true to begin with?:ermm:

I have sympathy for the Sussexes, but only up to a point. The late Diana Princess of Wales often spoke of how overwhelmed she was at the beginning of Royal life when she was being called a spoilt temperamental brat who was running away staff, jealous of the Royal nannies, screaming and throwing stuff at Prince Charles etc. She said there were times she was cowering in the limousine on the way to Royal engagements, convinced that she would be greeted by boos and jeers from the crowds who were reading the tabloids.

Then she decided it was "sink or swim, and I decided to swim" or something similar(Diana Her True Story)

Granted, this was before the horrors of social media trolls and bullies, but I am old enough to remember the tabloid headlines of "DIABOLICAL DI" and I remember how massive the circulation for that type of press was in the 80's and 90's. The princess was never booed or jeered. Her charm was utilized to the max and she became a legendary beloved figure in Britain and the world.

No one from the BRF came to HER aid publicly except for the infamous "winegums" incident a few months after the wedding.

The Sussexes are older and much more worldly than barely-out-of-her-teens Diana. I am not understanding why the BRF needs to fly to their aid en masse now. HMQ, the Prince of Wales showed incredible support to Meghan during the ugly family drama that preceded the wedding, and again at the birth of Archie with the symbolic photo of HMQ and the DoE with the baby and Meghan's mother days after birth at Windsor-a privilege that was not afforded to the Cambridges with Prince George or any of their children.

They also sat on their hands when the Cambridges were being hammered for what the press and public felt were too many family holidays with the Middletons. There was no statement or gesture of solidarity with the nude photos of Kate on the French holiday.

Meghan was greeted rapturously at her public appearance a few nights ago. The vitriol online and in the print has NOT translated to the man/woman on the street.

I think the optics of the BRF rushing to publicly hold the Sussexes hands right now will make the situation worse-not better. I think they should ignore the "noise" and get on with it and let their actions going forward do all the talking.:sad:
 
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I feel for Meghan and Harry. It cannot be nice to have horrid false stories written that you cannot refute or even when you can, either no one believes it or the fake story has so much traction the truth doesn't see the light. It has to be really frustrating.

And yes, sometimes the stories are really vile because Meghan is bi-racial. But without that element, nothing is any worse than other women in the BRF have experienced.

Most of the worst stories over the past 17 months have been at the hands of Meghan's paternal family, some media folks including the one with a vendetta, and the 20 or so online beasts that almost all false, nasty stories on social media have been traced back to.

The entire press should not be tarred with the same brush. That seems to be a mistake on H & M's part.

I am wildly speculating here, but Harry sounds too emotional to view things dispassionately. The camera click quote seems not rational. Somewhere I read that Harry is still viewing his mother through his 12 year old eyes, that seems true. Diana was not completely innocent in the media wars.

And while Meghan is an intelligent, accomplished woman--she has had enormous changes, changes that created stress--even happy changes create stress!--in her life. She moved to a new country, got married, changed jobs and had a baby in less than 2 years. She did have a couple really admirable projects--the cookbook and the clothing collection--that really made a difference. But I think overall diving in was a mistake and dipping her toes into the water, bit by bit would have been a better plan wile she got used to all the changes.
 
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O-H Anglophile said:
Somewhere I read that Harry is still viewing his mother through his 12 year old eyes, that seems true. Diana was not completely innocent in the media wars.
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I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but the idea in the quote above is something that I have been thinking about ever since I watched the documentary. The evidence seems to indicate that because Diana died when Harry was so young, his view of her and her interactions with the press are not nuanced at all, and unfortunately, that lack of perspective is carrying over into his view of and interactions with the press now. Also unfortunately, this has some implications for his and Meghan's relationship with the UK press in the long term, and I am beginning to wonder what the end point of all this is. The irony of Harry basically repeating his mother's pattern of feeding the press while at the same time loathing their intrusions and blaming them for the lack of privacy is so striking that I can hardly believe that he is missing the parallels.
 
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Ista said:
I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but the idea in the quote above is something that I have been thinking about ever since I watched the documentary. The evidence seem to indicate that because Diana died when Harry was so young, his view of her and her interactions with the press are not nuanced at all, and unfortunately, that lack of perspective is carrying over into his view of and interactions with the press now. Also unfortunately, this has some implications for his and Meghan's relationship with the UK press in the long term, and I am beginning to wonder what the end point of all this is. The irony of Harry basically repeating his mother's pattern of feeding the press while at the same time loathing their intrusions and blaming them for the lack of privacy is so striking that I can hardly believe that he is missing the parallels.
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Yes, Harry seems to be much like his mother and I too am seeing the similarities. I think Harry is too close to the situation to see the parallels, but I agree they are there.
 
How are Harry & Meghan responsible for the Range Rovers? There’s a whole division responsible for making decisions regarding their security. It’s comments like that which are disingenuous and hypocritical that infuriate people. It’s not even a legitimate criticism because a royal reporter or anyone with any experience in this area would know who handles all royal security protocol.
 
DuchessMia said:
How are Harry & Meghan responsible for the Range Rovers? There’s a whole division responsible for making decisions regarding their security. It’s comments like that which are disingenuous and hypocritical that infuriate people. It’s not even a legitimate criticism because a royal reporter or anyone with any experience in this area would know who handles all royal security protocol.
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Well, I have to agree with you there. That is beyond their control.
 
_Heather_ said:
But here's the thing...I would guess that at one point or another we've all been the target of a "smear campaign" or a mean-girls type situation. I know I have both at school and a work at one point or another over the years. Yes, it's hard. Yes, it makes it hard to function and takes a toll on your physical and mental health. However, coming out with a sob story and a "woe is me" kind of story, especially when it's very poorly timed (filming that in Africa after meeting limbless children was poorly timed, period) does not help your case. It makes you look whiny.

Most of us at one point or another have had to bite our lips, bide our time, and wait it out until the situation got better or we removed ourselves and found another position, a different school, etc. What they've done is basically the equivalent of coming home sad about being bullied, allowed your mother to talk to the school, the school talks to the bullies, and the bullying is made even worse than it would have been if you'd just kept your mouth shut. Is it right? No. It isn't right. But it is true. This whole sob story, feel bad for us, poor little rich girl, woe is me routine is only going to backfire if it hasn't already because of the way it was put out there, the way it was perceived, and the way they went about it (poor timing, etc.).
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Well, so have I. The difference is we didn’t have to go through it on the world stage. Also, none of us have to take a vicious smear campaign lying down either. Everyone have the right to set the record straight and fight back. The royals have that right, too.

I don’t think Harry and Meghan are trying to get anyone to feel sorry for them. They’re just living in their truth and standing up for themselves. They kept quiet about the unjust bullying for the entire summer. They didn’t say a peep. Now, we know during that time, they were at home trying to cope under the strain of the campaign and it took a heavy toll on them.

These are the same royals that are leading an anti bullying campaign called Heads Together. They are working incredibly hard to get people to talk about their problems and stop suffering in silence. In order to get the campaign started: Harry, William and Catherine decided to talk about their own personal issues and struggles —

Harry:
Talked about having a hard time dealing with his mothers death over the years and having to grieve in the public eye.

William:
He talked about his stress on seeing devastating accidents and bad situations during his time as a helicopter pilot with the Air Ambulance in Wales.

Catherine:
She talked about her struggles in dealing with being a first time mother and handling the baby alone when William was away on his part time job.

When the young royals first revealed their problems in a video for their Heads Together campaign, the media went nuts. They accused the young royals were whining about their problems, while having all the privileges and advantages that others don’t have. The backlash were massive for a couple of weeks.

Today, the Heads Together is off the ground and celebrities, journalists, boys, girls, and everyone you can think of have joined this campaign and are talking about their own personal mental health issues and hardships. Harry, William and Catherine has started something massively amazing and, now, people have praised them for.

Now, Harry and his wife, Meghan, have come forward with their personal hardships. Harry is still dealing with, but managing, his hardship over his mother she death and seeing his wife being horribly bullied by the mass British media. Meghan has come forward to say she’s having a having a hard time dealing with an unjust smear campaign against her.

This couple is simply doing what the Heads Together campaign is encouraging others to do. Talk about your problems, not sit in silence.

Now people want the couple to be quiet and just take the bullying? Now people want this couple to do the exact opposite of what the Heads Together campaign is encouraging others to do? I’m confused. :bang:
 
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I am tired. I am so tired of so many royal watchers and the media and the constant gaslighting of both Meghan and many (not all) POC/Black watchers trying to explain what is different about the abuse Meghan is facing.

Never once has Meghan complained about scrutiny or criticism. It is clear that legitimate criticism she is willing to take to heart. We have seen how since she has come back from maternity leave, and even before, she has made an effort to repeat more clothes and spend less. Good! Both her and Harry have said they do not mind substantive critiques.

The issue at hand remains the lies, the racial abuse, the sexism and the xenophobia. All of which are part of a clearly coordinated and dangerous campaign ran by the media. This is not what other royal women have faced---as terrible as what they faced was. I've been a royal watcher for a long time and the vitriol spewed about Meghan online and in the papers shocks even me and let me tell you, I have a pretty high threshold. The double-standards are ridiculous and there is a clear aim to damage Meghan.
 
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:previous: I agree about the exaggeration, the xenophobia and the racial abuse. I have seen it too.

But seriously and realistically, does anyone really believe it's going to stop because of a lecture by the Royals or their friends?

I am not talking about the print press. They can and should be sued for untrue stories.

But how do you halt/fight racism and xenophobia on social media? It's like dealing with dandruff or cancer.

It's part of the human condition. It will ALWAYS be part of the ugly side of life.

I don't think it's a matter of the Royal couple "laying down and taking it:'.

But to believe ingrained ignorance and bigotry can be dealt with by stomping ones' feet and bellowing CUT IT OUT! is not realistic at all.

ETA: One must make a distinction between bullying and legitimate criticism. It is not bullying to point out the unwise choices the Sussexes have made and continue to make(celebrity baby showers, diva behavior at Wimbledon etc) imo
 
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Moonmaiden23 said:
:previous: I agree about the exaggeration, the xenophobia and the racial abuse. I have seen it too.

But seriously and realistically, does anyone really believe it's going to stop because of a lecture by the Royals or their friends?

I am not talking about the print press. They can and should be sued for untrue stories.

But how do you halt/fight racism and xenophobia on social media? It's like dealing with dandruff or cancer.

It's part of the human condition. It will ALWAYS be part of the ugly side of life.

I don't think it's a matter of the Royal couple "laying down and taking it:'.

But to believe ingrained ignorance and bigotry can be dealt with by stamping ones' feet and bellowing CUT IT OUT! is not realistic at all.

ETA: One must make a distinction between bullying and legitimate criticism. It is not bullying to point out the unwise choices the Sussexes have made and continue to make(celebrity baby showers, diva behavior at Wimbledon etc) imo
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I just want to point out that the claims of diva behavior at Wimbledon were never proven and it was Meghan's security team that asked people to not take pics. We have seen her at sporting events before where she clearly didnt care if she was photographed and indeed she took photos and greeted people at Wimbledon.

SO we need to be cautious with what we see as "mistakes" because a lot of those have been made up by the media. Even the baby shower (which IMO had its issues) was exaggerated by the media. For example, Meghan asked to go out the back or somewhere less public at the hotel but the police department said no--according to the State Department diplomatic report.
 
:previous: It's actually a very serious question: if a major problem is social media, and lies perpetrated by people on social media, what is the recourse? I suppose Meghan and Harry could do as some Asian celebrities have begun doing (successfully in some cases): pay someone to track down the person who originated the lie on social media, and take them to court. Perhaps that might be an option if the laws in the UK would support that. But the underlying misogyny, racism, xenophobia, etc. still exist, and, sadly, are not going to go away.

If you are Harry and Meghan, how do you manage that? Aside from personal satisfaction, is there any evidence at all that their recent revelations in the documentary have done anything at all the tamp down criticism of them? Make the press kinder? As far as I can see, all it's done is feed the beast. It's shown that the story of the Sussexes is even juicier than expected, that Harry can be goaded, that if you poke him enough, he'll play the same game his mother did, which is give privileged access to a few while suffering photogenically for the masses. It's horrendous, but also the way the news cycle works. The only way to win is not to play.
 
Zaira if the Wimbledon story was fake news, the DoS or her people could have and should have refuted it. Immediately.

As for the baby shower being exaggerated..not sure how that is possible. She flew across the Atlantic for a party that was attended by an impressive list of high rollers like Amal Clooney. It took place in the most expensive hotel in Manhattan if not the country. Hundreds of thousands were spent for the party.That is not an exaggeration. It is a documented fact.

I guess I don't understand why Harry or someone didn't warn her against this in the first place?? A wealthy member of the British Royal family-of which Meghan became once she married Harry does not need a baby shower. The optics were TERRIBLE, and coming on the heels of never ending stories about the mass exodus of Sussex staff and exorbitant clothes expenses, it was a prime example of an UNFORCED ERROR.

It could have easily been avoided, and it should have been.:sad:
 
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Ista said:
:previous: It's actually a very serious question: if a major problem is social media, and lies perpetrated by people on social media, what is the recourse?...

If you are Harry and Meghan, how do you manage that?
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The answer for the practical part is asthonishing simple: To watch and protect someone's persona in the internet is a typical job of public relation firms. The could hire one or an experienced worker for that.

For the personal part: They will have to learn to deal with it, like they learned to deal with the tabloids - thick skin, stiff upper lip and all..
 
Moonmaiden23 said:
Zaira if the Wimbledon story was fake news, the DoS or her people could have and should have refuted it. Immediately.

As for the baby shower being exaggerated..not sure how that is possible. She flew across the Atlantic for a party that was attended by an impressive list of high rollers like Amal Clooney. It took place in the most expensive hotel in Manhattan if not the country. Hundreds of thousands were spent for the party.That is not an exaggeration. It is a documented fact.

I guess I don't understand why Harry or someone didn't warn her against this in the first place?? A wealthy member of the British Royal family-of which Meghan became once she married Harry does not need a baby shower. The optics were TERRIBLE, and coming on the heels of never ending stories about the mass exodus of Sussex staff and exorbitant clothes expenses, it was a prime example of an UNFORCED ERROR.

It could have easily been avoided, and it should have been.:sad:
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Well, I dont think the team acted without her consent either.....

As for the expensive baby shower ,they all act the same in some innstances entitled, I dont meant that as a dig thats how they grew up. Even if they were advised before hand, Prince Harry grew up along with other royals having lavish parties, etc Why wouldnt he do that for his family and think that normal celabrating it with excess. While its abnormal for us to spend so much its normal for them, and yes comes off wrong
 
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O-H Anglophile said:
Yes, Harry seems to be much like his mother and I too am seeing the similarities. I think Harry is too close to the situation to see the parallels, but I agree they are there.
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I noticed parallels pretty early on as well and ironically Harry and Meghan are making some similar mistakes to what Charles and Diana did by taking on too much too soon. People keep saying they are under stress because they just got married and just had a baby; well no one told them to rush to have a baby so soon after they walked down the aisle? This was a mistake Charles and Diana made which added stress to their already stressful situations; I understand Meghan was kinda on a deadline but rushing to get pregnant is something they chose to do so they could guarantee having at least one child. OTOP Meghan having her friends talk to the media on her behalf is just what Diana did in the early 90's and perhaps before then as well. I always rooted for these 2 but there were questionable things from early on about how they would function as royals most notably for me was Meghan doing that VF article; to me it screamed she just did not get the situation she was in.

Anyway I for one am on the side who things Meghan flying to watch a tennis match was a bad move; her friend was just playing a game the same game she has played hundreds of times before. Its not like she needed Meghan there for her first outing; there are many other ways that she could have supported her friend especially after she and her husband went off on the environment and saving energy.

The more I think about the parallels with Diana the more that come to mind:
-Complaining about the press while courting them
-Taking on too much too soon
-Making yourself the center of attention and taking attention away from another royal
-Distracting from the cause you are trying to promote
-Using a faceless public to try and garner sympathy
Coupled with that I see a lot of things that Meghan is doing remind me a lot of Sarah Ferguson and the way the media is treating her is like Sarah as well; she could easily become the new Sarah for the press if she is not careful. I worry that the press will start treating her like Sarah in the next year because of the antics that these 2 have pulled in the last week.

Harry and Meghan definitely need to listen to the advice of others but more than anything all they have to do is look at how Harry's family acted in the late 80's and early 90's and learn from the mistakes!
 
I think this might be a more appropriate thread for this part of my comment:
_________________


The rhetoric around the BRF has really gotten rather vile with the Sussexes and the intensity at which it takes place is truly saddening at this point. I have had to take a step back from royal watching as even my mum is just disheartened by it all.

People can call it whatever they want, but this boundary, this internal voice that keeps people in check - has been seemingly non-existent with Meghan. She has not been deemed worthy of it - to be considered and treated as a human being. How ones stomach is not turning from it all is extremely concerning, tbh. Especially, if you are actually considering what the bloody heck this women is supposed to have done to inspire such intense hatred in some. Especially, if you consider that she has joined the BRF less than 18 months ago and was pregnant and then a new mum for almost the entirety of that time.

Recent developments don't seem to have led to any self reflection, if anything it seems to have reached a new level of a twisted perversion where people see the strain of the abuse and it makes them want to break the damn even more.
And then angrily blame the recipient of the abuse for 'having made them do it'.

It's all quite disturbing, tbh and I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable with people claiming to speak for the general (British) public when EVERY SINGLE official YouGov poll in the UK very much shows that the media narrative is extremely manufactured and not representative of the general public.

Examples:
poll on media treatment
poll on who in the BRF is treated the worst by the media
poll on the Sussexes' decision to take legal action

These paint a VERY clear picture and NOT the one people here are desperate to push to make their point.
 
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Thank you so much for this, Chloep.
I too have felt disheartened over the past weeks by the constant criticism of the couple coming from all sides, so much of it unfounded. These polls really do show a different picture and has made me feel much much brighter about how many Britons feel about the Sussexes.
 
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Several posts have been removed as argumentative and containing comparisons between royals.
 
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Wish it was airing in the US. Young girls need to see this. She was a voice for change from a young age and now, she’s an adult with a global stage. Very inspiring.

ETA: we have a group of young activists, in Flint, in the Native American community who started young and are doing amazing things in their communities. Much like Meghan.
 
We all have different opinions about Meghan but one think we have to give her credit for is being a huge advocate on feminism and female issues from a very early age and that's a very admirable quality - we need it even more now, especially with some of the dangerous rhetoric and threats I've been seeing - and have been on the receiving end myself - on social media (particularly Twitter).
 
What a wonderful picture, Charles looks so proud! I see a real resemblance between Harry and Charles here.
 
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