General News about the Sussex Family, Part Two: April-August 2020

[Denville]

Charles is free to use his private income/assets any way he sees fit. It seems that he is not willing to support H&M in perpetuity, otherwise a lot of things would be different

As Harry's father he may wish to support him.. However i think it would be a bigger kindness to say that he will support him for a year or 2 and then its up to Harry. he wanted to leave. He and Meghan clearly see their future in the US, and not in the UK.. so let them sort it out.

 

[Osipi]

As Harry's father he may wish to support him.. However i think it would be a bigger kindness to say that he will support him for a year or 2 and then its up to Harry. he wanted to leave. He and Meghan clearly see their future in the US, and not in the UK.. so let them sort it out.

I think it would be even kinder to keep everything between them privately and tell the public absolutely nothing. Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada. Let this family business sort itself out privately. Its not for us to even begin to think of what they should do or don't do.

 

[Denville]

I think it would be even kinder to keep everything between them privately and tell the public absolutely nothing. Nil. Zero. Zip. Nada. Let this family business sort itself out privately. Its not for us to even begin to think of what they should do or don't do.

They're not telling the public anything. But they have made it public tat the situation with Harry and Meg will be reviewed in a year. Its possible that Charles and the queen hope that by the ends of the year M and H will have decided they want to come back,.. and they would like them back. However IMO They haven't shown willing to do the royal job and want to go away and work for themselves... so if that's what they want, Charles should say that there is an end to when he will support them. That may give them a push to achieve the financial independence that they want..

 

[tommy100]

You raise a good point. Why should the married ins not be allowed to continue their life and by marrying in subsume their identity. And yes this is largely women. Snowden kept his career, in fact he got more famous. Mark Phillips too. Laurence. Phillip is different. I see no reason that Meghan, or any future woman to marry in, is not encouraged to keep up their own lives and careers. And to move with the times. We are still far too masogonistic as a society. The woman are wanted because really everyone wants to take about their weight, clothes, make up. Problem with Meghan is she is too political. And that will never swing.

I think if the RF and their staff were ever to look back and reflect this is where they will see a change may be needed.

I've always maintained that in many ways Meghan may have enjoyed life more if she has simply been Harry's wife rather than a "full time royal" herself. That is to say, keeping her own work (yes probably moving to the UK but picking up acting roles or some other role she wanted, maybe even working for a NGO etc) that she could get on with as Mrs Mountabatten-Windsor most of the time and then accompanying Harry to Trooping, the odd State Banquet etc rather like Sir Tim does with Princess Anne now. That way she could have done pretty much what she wanted with the line being (as it is for Tim Zara Peter etc) she is not an official representative of HM just a member of the family.

To be perfectly honest I think if they (the Royal Family and Household) had been more willing to take this approach Harry may still be with Chelsey or Cressida, but we'll never know.

Of course opinions will differ as so why this was not a possibility, and to be honest I don't think it is what Meghan wanted, she wanted the full time, fully titled RF thing but it didn't work out. But I do think in the future we may have to see a slight softening of this - "if you marry a Prince you become a public figure" - mantra. To be honest with Charles supposed wish of a slimmed down monarchy this might be a good way to help achieve it - limit the automatically becoming a public figure approach to spouses of future sovereigns only.

 

[Denville]

I think if the RF and their staff were ever to look back and reflect this is where they will see a change may be needed.

I've always maintained that in many ways Meghan may have enjoyed life more if she has simply been Harry's wife rather than a "full time royal" herself. That is to say, keeping her own work (yes probably moving to the UK but picking up acting roles or some other role she wanted, maybe even working for a NGO etc)

Of course opinions will differ as so why this was not a possibility, and to be honest I don't think it is what Meghan wanted, she wanted the full time, fully titled RF thing but it didn't work out. But I do think in the future we may have to see a slight softening of this - "if you marry a Prince you become a public figure" - mantra. To be honest with Charles supposed wish of a slimmed down monarchy this might be a good way to help achieve it - limit the automatically becoming a public figure approach to spouses of future sovereigns only.

I dont think it would work.. She was the wife of a senior royal who was working for the firm. If she went on acting, I think it would be said that she only got acting roles because of who she was married to.. if she said anything controversial, she would be too close to the throne for there not to be comment about it. People like Tim Lawrence or Mark Phillips have mostly kept away from controversy.. got on with their work lives and were quiet people.
But Meghan isn't. (And just because of who they are, there are criticisms of say the Philipses over business issues etc because they ARE the queen's grandchildren...)
Besides as I recall Meghan said she was keen to get stuck in and hit the grounds running as a working royal.. so I don't think she really disliked the idea of being a representative of the queen and giving up "her own life". I think it only bothered her when she realised that Royal duchesses get bad press and crtiicism... the same as other people..
I think that she did go into full time royal work too soon and wondered if the queen had pushed for it, after lettings Kate have years of not being a full tiem royal... but I think that Meghan was quite keen at first...

 

[Pranter]

I think if the RF and their staff were ever to look back and reflect this is where they will see a change may be needed.

I've always maintained that in many ways Meghan may have enjoyed life more if she has simply been Harry's wife rather than a "full time royal" herself. That is to say, keeping her own work (yes probably moving to the UK but picking up acting roles or some other role she wanted, maybe even working for a NGO etc) that she could get on with as Mrs Mountabatten-Windsor most of the time and then accompanying Harry to Trooping, the odd State Banquet etc rather like Sir Tim does with Princess Anne now. That way she could have done pretty much what she wanted with the line being (as it is for Tim Zara Peter etc) she is not an official representative of HM just a member of the family.

To be perfectly honest I think if they (the Royal Family and Household) had been more willing to take this approach Harry may still be with Chelsey or Cressida, but we'll never know.

Of course opinions will differ as so why this was not a possibility, and to be honest I don't think it is what Meghan wanted, she wanted the full time, fully titled RF thing but it didn't work out. But I do think in the future we may have to see a slight softening of this - "if you marry a Prince you become a public figure" - mantra. To be honest with Charles supposed wish of a slimmed down monarchy this might be a good way to help achieve it - limit the automatically becoming a public figure approach to spouses of future sovereigns only.

I don't think working would of been or was the issue with Chelsea or Cressida. Living in the fishbowl and being trashed by the media was seemingly the major issue....also I think Chelsea and Harry were not that solid of a couple in terms of maturity.


LaRae

 

[Osipi]

They're not telling the public anything. But they have made it public tat the situation with Harry and Meg will be reviewed in a year. Its possible that Charles and the queen hope that by the ends of the year M and H will have decided they want to come back,.. and they would like them back. However IMO They haven't shown willing to do the royal job and want to go away and work for themselves... so if that's what they want, Charles should say that there is an end to when he will support them. That may give them a push to achieve the financial independence that they want..

Do we really know what the year in review is about as far as particulars? I don't think we do. All we know is that they've decided on a year in review. Thinking along those lines, if the pandemic had never happened and things progressed along the lines with the year with the Sussexes establishing themselves and a plan established as to how to go forward, an agreement may have come at the end of the year to actually implement a half in, half out kind of a situation that works for all sides.

This makes as much sense as any other supposition of what the year in review was for and what they were looking at. We can only surmise the scenarios. ?

 

[Denville]

Do we really know what the year in review is about as far as particulars? I don't think we do. All we know is that they've decided on a year in review. Thinking along those lines, if the pandemic had never happened and things progressed along the lines with the year with the Sussexes establishing themselves and a plan established as to how to go forward, an agreement may have come at the end of the year to actually implement a half in, half out kind of a situation that works for all sides.

This makes as much sense as any other supposition of what the year in review was for and what they were looking at. We can only surmise the scenarios. ?

IM sure that they would not agree to a half in half out situation. They said a very frim no, when it was mooted. If it wasn't considered workable n January I doubt if it would be considered workable next year. It didn't work for Ed and Sophie and the queen's learned from that...
I suspect they thought that they could not stop M and H leaving if they really wanted to.. but hoped that they would comes back... and suggested a review in a year, in hopes that they would not find the grass was so green in Canada or the US.. and that the couple would be Ok with coming back. And the Q adn Charles might hope that they could put them back on royal duties..and the public would not be all that keen but would tolerate it and life would return to normal.

I don't think working would of been or was the issue with Chelsea or Cressida. Living in the fishbowl and being trashed by the media was seemingly the major issue....also I think Chelsea and Harry were not that solid of a couple in terms of maturity.


LaRae

Anyone who marries a senior royal in whatever monarchy, at least in Europe gets a baptism of fire. Kate was criticked, so was Camilla.. so was Letizia in Spain or Maxima in the Netherland. There was a time when new royals got a honeymoon period, but that seems to have gone now.. with social media and the decline of deference towards the Royals...
I agree that probably Chelsea and Cressida weren't that bothered about "keeping up their careers" but they were well aware that their lives would never be private again, and that they would probably undergo some years of minute criticism by many people...
Evidently they didn't care enough for Harry to put up with that.. or they did love him but still felt that Royal status and Harry just weren't enough to compensate

 

[Mbruno]

IM sure that they would not agree to a half in half out situation. They said a very frim no, when it was mooted. If it wasn't considered workable n January I doubt if it would be considered workable next year. It didn't work for Ed and Sophie and the queen's learned from that...
I suspect they thought that they could not stop M and H leaving if they really wanted to.. but hoped that they would comes back... and suggested a review in a year, in hopes that they would not find the grass was so green in Canada or the US.. and that the couple would be Ok with coming back. And the Q adn Charles might hope that they could put them back on royal duties..and the public would not be all that keen but would tolerate it and life would return to normal.

As far as I can tell, Canada didn't work out. The Canadian government didn't agree to pay for the couple's security and Meghan has now antagonized her Canadian friends too.



They have now moved to LA, which they hope will be more promising "for business", but where they have even less of an official status than in Canada (actually no official status at all). They are basically celebrities in a city that is already full of those.

 

[Denville]

As far as I can tell, Canada didn't work out. The Canadian government didn't agree to pay for the couple's security and Meghan has now antagonized her Canadian friends too.



They have now moved to LA, which they hope will be more promising "for business", but where they have even less of an official status than in Canada (actually no official status at all). They are basically celebrities in a city that is already full of those.

I really can't guess whether LA and the US was always their ultimate aim or if they dashed there, when Canada refused to give them security indefinitely.. Perhaps they really did think that the Can govt would pay for them for life.. but since neither of them were Can Citizens they didn't even have a settled right to live and work there.
I think that perhaps they did intend to move to the US eventually but they initially settled for Canada because Meg knew it and had friends there and it was near enough to the US to "do business" in America.. ie speaking engagements, commerce or whatever.. And possibly they felt that the RF and British public would be a bit more tolerant of a move to a Commonwealth country.. so while LA was always the ultimate goal they were Ok with Canada perhaps for a few years... I dont know if Chares was aware of any notions of going to the US.
But with the Canadians refusing them free security, travel becoming more difficult, and perhaps the Canadians pointing out that there might be problems with them getting permits to live there, they panicked and hurried to LA.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Apparently Meghan's dad is trying to reach out to her

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.us...n-trying-to-get-in-touch-with-her-in-l-a/amp/

I don't if it's true but I doubt see would respond. One there is an active lawsuit where he could called a witness. Meghan contacting him could be construed as witness tampering; two. Dad turned in one letter to the press what's to stop him again?

 

[Betsypaige]

I have the book "The Quest For Queen Mary" assembled by James Pope-Hennessey and edited by Hugo Vickers.

A scene is described where she settled in at an aristocratic home for luncheon, and wouldn't leave until the hostess's staff had put a charming little table in The Queen's car for her to take home. This was late in the evening. HM wouldn't leave until she got the table. The lady of the house couldn't take the pressure.

There’s a great series on the Smithsonian Channel called An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates which just ended it’s first season. It’s hosted by American Julie Montagu, whose husband is Viscount Hitchingbrooke and the future Earl of Sandwich (his father is the current Earl). They and their family live at Mapperton House in Dorset. In the show, Julie (who’s sooo nice - I’ve spoken to her on Twitter) visits different magnificent homes and estates, chats up their owners and learns how they run these estates, which requires opening the homes to visitors and sometimes thinking outside the box in terms of other businesses.

Anyway, in one episode Julie visited Eastnor Castle in Heredforshire. One of the owners, James Hervey-Bathurst, told of how the future a Queen Mary visited in 1893. He said that she had a tendency to admire objects she saw at all the homes she visited, but laughed when he mentioned how she didn’t admire anything at Eastnor, lol. “Either we're very lucky or it's jolly humiliating."

 

[Betsypaige]

I think if the RF and their staff were ever to look back and reflect this is where they will see a change may be needed.

I've always maintained that in many ways Meghan may have enjoyed life more if she has simply been Harry's wife rather than a "full time royal" herself. That is to say, keeping her own work (yes probably moving to the UK but picking up acting roles or some other role she wanted, maybe even working for a NGO etc) that she could get on with as Mrs Mountabatten-Windsor most of the time and then accompanying Harry to Trooping, the odd State Banquet etc rather like Sir Tim does with Princess Anne now. That way she could have done pretty much what she wanted with the line being (as it is for Tim Zara Peter etc) she is not an official representative of HM just a member of the family.

To be perfectly honest I think if they (the Royal Family and Household) had been more willing to take this approach Harry may still be with Chelsey or Cressida, but we'll never know.

Of course opinions will differ as so why this was not a possibility, and to be honest I don't think it is what Meghan wanted, she wanted the full time, fully titled RF thing but it didn't work out. But I do think in the future we may have to see a slight softening of this - "if you marry a Prince you become a public figure" - mantra. To be honest with Charles supposed wish of a slimmed down monarchy this might be a good way to help achieve it - limit the automatically becoming a public figure approach to spouses of future sovereigns only.

What your suggesting would be a tremendous break with tradition and I don’t see that ever happening. It would be essentially the half and half H and M wanted....well, really just for Meghan, which wouldn’t have helped Harry, who apparently has wanted out for an long time. Before continuing in this vein, I want to add that it’s disappointing for me that Harry chose not to continue as a working Royal, knowing that someday his father would need him.

Anyway, I don’t see why the BRF would have to soften their stance. From H’s perspective, he married the person he was supposed to be with, so it’s just as well that his previous girlfriends broke up with him. I don’t think because Harry was unhappy that the BRF has to adjust their policies, though you’re right that Charles could do that in his own reign as he has his siblings. Still, I don’t think of that as workable overall because, depending on when William becomes King, he may need all the help he can get until his kids are old enough. Then, if that policy about only spouses of future monarchs being working Royals were in place, even if all three kids are old enough, I don’t see there being nearly enough people to support William.

 

[Denville]

What your suggesting would be a tremendous break with tradition and I don’t see that ever happening. It would be essentially the half and half H and M wanted....well, really just for Meghan, which wouldn’t have helped Harry, who apparently has wanted out for an long time. Before continuing in this vein, I want to add that it’s disappointing for me that Harry chose not to continue as a working Royal, knowing that someday his father would need him.

Anyway, I don’t see why the BRF would have to soften their stance. From H’s perspective, he married the person he was supposed to be with, so it’s just as well that his previous girlfriends broke up with him. I don’t think because Harry was unhappy that the BRF has to adjust their policies, though you’re right that Charles could do that in his own reign as he has his siblings. Still, I don’t think of that as workable overall because, depending on when William becomes King, he may need all the help he can get until his kids are old enough. Then, if that policy about only spouses of future monarchs being working Royals were in place, even if all three kids are old enough, I don’t see there being nearly enough people to support William.

There will have to be cuts in the way they do their work as times goes on. they have lost 3 workers two of whom are young and could be expected to carry quite a lot of work.. but they're gone now. As Charles gets older, so do his siblings and cousins and they probably don't want to go on slogging till they are 90.. so over time as they drop out, the work will have to change and be slimmed down.
These 2 crises of the Sussexes and Andrew have probably made the public very wary about younger royal children, and they will be more reluctant to see them take on royal duties if they get into disgraceful scandals like Andrew or dont really want to do the job, like Harry.. so Charlotte and Louis can expect to be trained up for "normal" non royal life..
I suspect that Harry does not really know what he wants, does he want to be half in and half out? or fully out? If he's out, does he want to work in the US or would he secretly like Africa as he's apparently said...

 

[muriel]

I suspect that Harry does not really know what he wants, does he want to be half in and half out? or fully out? If he's out, does he want to work in the US or would he secretly like Africa as he's apparently said...

I do not get the sense that Harry really knew his mind. He clearly had unresolved issues, perhaps from his mother death or his parents divorce. He had probably enjoyed his time in the army, but was looking for more meaning in his royal role. I thought he was doing well with Invictus and Sentebale, and could have done a lot more.

 

[Denville]

I do not get the sense that Harry really knew his mind. He clearly had unresolved issues, perhaps from his mother death or his parents divorce. He had probably enjoyed his time in the army, but was looking for more meaning in his royal role. I thought he was doing well with Invictus and Sentebale, and could have done a lot more.

I think that it was grass is greener syndrome which is why Im wondering how things will go. He loved Army life but he wouldn't stick at a desk job though he was supposed to, in order to be promoted.. and with Philip and the queen getting older he must have realised that if he gave up the army, royal duties were going to become his full time job. He would probably be positively needed n the next few years. And he knows or should know the restrictions of the royal role.. that you can't be too controversial, that you can have some freedom of choice but it is limited...that you need to fit into the slot in the RF that you're allocated.. and that Royal life cant really be done in tandem with money making... (ie no half in half out) (and that if you DO leave royal life you're going to have to give up the perks like free security .
But he and Meg come across like they dont fully understand all this. There is some excuse for her, but not so much for Harry.. He should know and convey it to his wife before they married.

 

[Eskimo]

I do not get the sense that Harry really knew his mind. He clearly had unresolved issues, perhaps from his mother death or his parents divorce. He had probably enjoyed his time in the army, but was looking for more meaning in his royal role. I thought he was doing well with Invictus and Sentebale, and could have done a lot more.

IMO, Harry needs the structure of the Armed Forces to flourish. He should have never left (or made to leave).

 

[Denville]

IMO, Harry needs the structure of the Armed Forces to flourish. He should have never left (or made to leave).

He left, AFAIK it was his own choice because he didn't like the desk job. I think that Harry did like the army but he only liked the "active" role and one can't do that for life and to get promotion he had to do a spell of desk duty, which he didn't really want to do. Also he is one of only 2 children of the future king.. Royal duties were in his future...He knew that...

So if he can only really function when he is doing an active role in the army.. well.... Its a bit hard to keep that up. He has the structure of royal life, where there are expectations and rules and people to help you and to make decisions for you.. so.. you'd think that would be an adequate substitute for army life... Not quite teh same but there are similarities...

 

[Lilyflo]

I do not get the sense that Harry really knew his mind. He clearly had unresolved issues, perhaps from his mother death or his parents divorce. He had probably enjoyed his time in the army, but was looking for more meaning in his royal role. I thought he was doing well with Invictus and Sentebale, and could have done a lot more.

I think his mother's death pulled out the rug of security he had and desperately needed. The divorce was awful of course but while they still had both parents, they were surrounded by love. After Diana's death, despite Charles' best efforts, those boys were bereft without their mother. William attached himself to Catherine and her loving, steady family very young in life but Harry never had that anchor. The army gave him discipline and purpose but he lacked what William & Catherine had and it was clear he wanted it by the way he was so much part of their lives.

If he'd married a woman like Catherine, he'd probably still be here & the two couples would be a team. I doubt there are many women like Catherine though to be honest. She had been content to mould her own life around William for all their courtship years and early married life. Only now, after 18 years together is she really striding out with her own projects. I don't see Harry's previous girlfriends being willing to do that and of course an independent woman in her 30s (eg Meghan) couldn't do that either.

It might have worked here had they gone much slower (I've said this before). I think Meghan was catapulted into the public sphere much too quickly & I still think they'd have been better served by a small wedding (as befits a divorcee) in Crathie church like Princess Anne followed by a couple of years of 'bread & butter' royal work. I've always felt that Meghan had such a lot to offer the BRF but it's been squandered by H & M's haste, impulsiveness & poor advice (or good advice from the wrong people) so this is where we are - it's a mess & they've flown away.

 

[Mbruno]

I do not get the sense that Harry really knew his mind. He clearly had unresolved issues, perhaps from his mother death or his parents divorce. He had probably enjoyed his time in the army, but was looking for more meaning in his royal role. I thought he was doing well with Invictus and Sentebale, and could have done a lot more.

I think that he personally wanted to live in Cape Town and hinted at that option in the now infamous South African documentary. But then he admitted South Africa wouldn't work out for his family, even citing, if I remember it correctly, concerns about security. My guess is that the South Africa tour was not only an official visit on behalf of the FCO, but a trial run personally for the couple (as they already wanted out back then), but it didn't make the cut for Meghan.

One thing I am pretty sure about is that LA is not Harry's first choice for a home and that he's basically putting Meghan's wishes above his own personal preferences.

If he'd married a woman like Catherine, he'd probably still be here & the two couples would be a team. I doubt there are many women like Catherine though to be honest. She had been content to mould her own life around William for all their courtship years and early married life. Only now, after 18 years together is she really striding out with her own projects. I don't see Harry's previous girlfriends being willing to do that and of course an independent woman in her 30s (eg Meghan) couldn't do that either.

Regardless of how Catherine feels about William personally, it is easier to mould your life around someone else when the reward that comes with it is possibly becoming the Queen one day. There are many examples of very strong and independent women in similar contexts like Mary Donaldson or Maxima, who sometimes are even accused of overshadowing their husbands, but who nonetheless had to give up their previous lives , even moving to another country and learning a new language , as a result of their marriages.


As far as Harry's former girlfriends are concerned, especially Cressida, I guess they concluded Harry was not worth the effort. Of course, none of them probably thought they could do what Meghan did, i.e. get in, have a baby, and then say they wanted out in less than two years or so, but keeping Harry, royal status and their father-in-law's allowance. That kind of reasoning could only have come from an outsider like Meghan who grew up out of the British social system, unlike Harry's former girlfriends.

 

[Betsypaige]

There will have to be cuts in the way they do their work as times goes on. they have lost 3 workers two of whom are young and could be expected to carry quite a lot of work.. but they're gone now. As Charles gets older, so do his siblings and cousins and they probably don't want to go on slogging till they are 90.. so over time as they drop out, the work will have to change and be slimmed down.
These 2 crises of the Sussexes and Andrew have probably made the public very wary about younger royal children, and they will be more reluctant to see them take on royal duties if they get into disgraceful scandals like Andrew or dont really want to do the job, like Harry.. so Charlotte and Louis can expect to be trained up for "normal" non royal life..
I suspect that Harry does not really know what he wants, does he want to be half in and half out? or fully out? If he's out, does he want to work in the US or would he secretly like Africa as he's apparently said...

They could slim down the work, that’s true....

Harry, to me, is all over the place. I’m not sure he would have left had it not been what Meghan wanted or else why didn’t he do it before? I’m sure he misses his homeland, his family... but he feels fiercely protective of his own family, too. I think much of that has to do with how he lost his mother....and the bitter relationship that existed between his parents for so long. Of course he knows that both his mummy and papa loved him, but their relationship was played out in the press ....and that’s what Harry remembers. He doesn’t want any of that for himself, his wife or child, understandably so. I’m sure Charles understands this, too...and I’m sure that he and Diana regretted at the end what the War of the Wales’ cost their children. Harry might think he can’t have a Royal life without it being a giant mess....

 

[Alison H]

I doubt there are many women like Catherine though to be honest. She had been content to mould her own life around William for all their courtship years and early married life. Only now, after 18 years together is she really striding out with her own projects. I don't see Harry's previous girlfriends being willing to do that and of course an independent woman in her 30s (eg Meghan) couldn't do that either.

Yes ... I think Kate is brilliant, and perfect for the job, but it's quite strange that a university-educated young woman, whose hard-working parents built up a multi-million pound business from scratch, was content just to be William's girlfriend. Mary Donaldson worked for a year even after she'd moved to Denmark.

Maybe it would have been different if Meghan hadn't been an actress, and indeed if Sophie hadn't been in PR. If they'd had jobs with no public profile, perhaps they could have continued with them.

It's all just been such a rush. They only met 4 years ago.

 

[TLLK]

Yes ... I think Kate is brilliant, and perfect for the job, but it's quite strange that a university-educated young woman, whose hard-working parents built up a multi-million pound business from scratch, was content just to be William's girlfriend. Mary Donaldson worked for a year even after she'd moved to Denmark.

Maybe it would have been different if Meghan hadn't been an actress, and indeed if Sophie hadn't been in PR. If they'd had jobs with no public profile, perhaps they could have continued with them.

It's all just been such a rush. They only met 4 years ago.

IMHO a big difference between Mary Donaldson and Catherine Middleton was their age/stage in life when they met their respective princes.

Mary was a 28 year old university graduate, career woman when she met CP Frederik. Also their relationship was under the radar for quite awhile before the press found out. By contrast Catherine a university student when she began dating William and the press knew about their relationship. She was covered by the press for years when she was trying to start a business and later find a job.



In regards to Meghan and Sophie that if their former careers didn't have a public profile, perhaps they could have continued with them while combining part time royal duties.

 

[poppy7]

IMHO a big difference between Mary Donaldson and Catherine Middleton was their age/stage in life when they met their respective princes.

Mary was a 28 year old university graduate, career woman when she met CP Frederik. Also their relationship was under the radar for quite awhile before the press found out. By contrast Catherine a university student when she began dating William and the press knew about their relationship. She was covered by the press for years when she was trying to start a business and later find a job.



In regards to Meghan and Sophie that if their former careers didn't have a public profile, perhaps they could have continued with them while combining part time royal duties.

Kate made William her life. She got a job at Jigsaw. She basically asked for a job at Jigsaw and said she needed a job part time and flexible to work around her relationship with a high profile man. Later she just worked for the family.

Different from most woman now or what you would encourage a woman to do but eyes on the price. Eyes on the price.

But it is outdated, that a woman just gives up her career. To marry an h3ir to the throne is different and challenging but if you marry any other member of a royal,family you should be allowed to keep your life and identity if you wish. Women would choose to take on royal work if they wished.

 

[Pranter]

As far as I can tell, Canada didn't work out. The Canadian government didn't agree to pay for the couple's security and Meghan has now antagonized her Canadian friends too.



They have now moved to LA, which they hope will be more promising "for business", but where they have even less of an official status than in Canada (actually no official status at all). They are basically celebrities in a city that is already full of those.

What Canadian friends has she supposedly antagonized? What is this comment based on?


LaRae

 

[Pranter]

Anyone who marries a senior royal in whatever monarchy, at least in Europe gets a baptism of fire. Kate was criticked, so was Camilla.. so was Letizia in Spain or Maxima in the Netherland. There was a time when new royals got a honeymoon period, but that seems to have gone now.. with social media and the decline of deference towards the Royals...
I agree that probably Chelsea and Cressida weren't that bothered about "keeping up their careers" but they were well aware that their lives would never be private again, and that they would probably undergo some years of minute criticism by many people...
Evidently they didn't care enough for Harry to put up with that.. or they did love him but still felt that Royal status and Harry just weren't enough to compensate

Just because they are harassed by the media doesn't mean it should just be endured. Further not everyone is capable of enduring it and why should they?



LaRae

 

[Heavs]

Meghan giving up acting to focus on being a royal didn't seem to be a problem at the time. It seemed she was (and still is) eager to use her "platform" to make a difference and move into philanthropic/charity work full time. Which is why many hoped she'd be a longterm asset to The Firm.

Suits had a couple more seasons in it and her primary love interest actor was also in a long distance relationship/marriage and eager to leave to start a new life with her, as her show was also ending. She would have been thinking what next anyway. I'm not sure she could have been the Duchess of Sussex and carried on acting in the UK but that didn't seem to be a problem as she has other interests and was aging out of the bulk of Hollywood roles for women (which is horrible in your 30s). If she had wanted to theoretically continue at an art gallery like Eugenie or something that might have worked for a while. But causes that became too political or commercial branding for personal profit were always going to be out.

Perhaps the royal "work" was more restricted and less interesting than she originally hoped, maybe giving it longer would have helped, maybe dating longer would have helped (I too can't believe it's only been 4 years since they met, that is an insane amount of changes in so short a time) but she expressed enthusiasm for her new job at first, if she was pressured into giving everything up rather than her own choice it didn't show. Unlike Harry's other girlfriends who decided they didn't want to give up their lives.

There could be some adjustment in what is expected of Louis's future wife but I think George's will be expected to be a fulltime royal, should the Monarchy survive.

 

[ACO]

What Canadian friends has she supposedly antagonized? What is this comment based on?


LaRae

Yeah I am also curious about this...

 

[Mbruno]

Yeah I am also curious about this...

Jessica Mulroney for example.

 

[ACO]

Jessica Mulroney for example.

What about Jessica? She and her husband already denied the Daily Fail article. Not that it is all that surprising. So again... I am curious who you mean. You said friends -- plural.