Harry & Meghan: Tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand - October 2018

[jacqui24]

Today show had additional footage of her at the market. The crowd was able to gather around close to her car as they are leaving. That tells me there definitely wasn't enough security in place. We never saw a scene where they are able to get that close to her in Australia. Even with a bigger crowd. I can see why her security became uncomfortable with the situation overall and wanted her out of there ASAP just in case. I'm just still mind-blown over how they didn't see this coming beforehand.

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status...73864303235072

We do have to take into account that she is also pregnant. What's a little bump and bruise normally can be life threatening to the baby and, given how far along she is, her. I'm not saying anyone in the crowd means any harm, all I'm saying is what is one person's enthusiasm can turn into unfortunate events when there it's a large crowd's enthusiasm without proper provisions in place.

[ACO]

The Mirror’s footage shows Samantha Cohen and Amy in conversation about the crowd with Amy waving to get her head of security’s attention. This was as they first walked in, so it seems that is when it happened. They were pointing to people standing on tables it appeared.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...mpression=true

[Pranter]

Wonder if they were concerned about getting trapped inside a mass of people...no clear way out.


LaRae

[csw]

Originally Posted by ACO

The Mirror’s footage shows Samantha Cohen and Amy in conversation about the crowd with Amy waving to get her head of security’s attention. This was as they first walked in, so it seems that is when it happened. They were pointing to people standing on tables it appeared.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...mpression=true

That video is very revealing. The people were crowding in on her. All seemed friendly but a crowd is a crowd and it can turn chaotic quickly. Even with no evil intent, a crowd can be dangerous when the ones in back don't know they are pushing the ones in front.

[duchessrachel]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

Telegraph interviewed one of the women she met with. She said Meghan was nice, but she was quiet and looked afraid. I think we can all say at this point that Meghan isn’t afraid of a crowd. But when you have people scaling walls and on roofs outside and then come inside to see a crowd with people standing on stalls in cramped areas, it’s concerning. You just don’t know what can happen then, and it can get out of control quickly. Her security made the right call.

That's so true. And it is not just her now but also a baby that I am sure could have made her even more concerned.

[Cocoasneeze]

I looked at a few videos, and immediately thought, that the people standing on tables were a security risk. Even without ill intent, one excited misstep and it could've been a drastic situation. The crowd control was also lacking, when the car was leaving, and people were able to come so near to it. The security made the right call, Jmho.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by ACO

The Mirror’s footage shows Samantha Cohen and Amy in conversation about the crowd with Amy waving to get her head of security’s attention. This was as they first walked in, so it seems that is when it happened. They were pointing to people standing on tables it appeared.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...mpression=true

So, this gave a much more accurate picture of what her staff and security was seeing as they walked in. Plus, we know the walkways are small. So, what if one of those people on a stall accidentally falls on the walkway, and everyone else thought that person just took the leap and wanted to give the Duchess the warmest welcome and they start follow suit?

BTW, there are several pictures where you can see police presence can only keep people to the side very close to her and people start crowding behind her.

On a better note, TIME write up of Meghan's speech. I like to keep a special eye out for TIME since they've been on the journey for so long. They are the ones that published Meghan's op-ed on menstruation.

Meghan Markle Has Given Her First Royal Tour Speech | Time

[loonytick]

No matter how friendly and well-meaning they are, a crowd of people all pressing towards one spot without enough “buffer zone” can become a crush all too quickly as those on the outside keep moving in and those at the center are pinned in. It could have been dangerous for everyone, not just Meghan.

It looks like they were prepared for a crowd, but not THAT big a crowd

[wartenberg7]

Did I read correctly...? "HRH Meghan Markle The Duchess of Sussex"?!
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2...0342107119.jpg


Can you imagine back in 1983 on the official menu for a state dinner in a commonwealth country "HRH Diana Spencer The Prcss of Wales"....!?!
I think Charles would have gone mad of fury....


Or wanted Meghan to keep her name despite the royal title? I´m confused...

[caethi]

The visit to the market was a solo engagement for the Duchess. We have seen that Harry sometimes intervenes with crowd/contact issues as they relate to Meghan. She is a very capable person, but without Harry, she may have been feeling a bit more vulnerable. She may also need time to trust her people and local security arrangements. That being said, the security arrangements, whatever they were, were not as effective as they should have been.

Further, this tour has been packed. Maybe the tour organizers should have taken her newness to the role more into account. The BRF "advisors" (don't know what to call them) know what they have in Meghan and Harry, and they need to avoid exploiting their popularity and overexposing them. Royal tours are meant to put a public face on the Monarchy, but they shouldn't treat their new members as sacrificial lambs. Maybe that's a bit overstated, but when I see crowds getting out of control, I feel that the tour organizers missed something in the planning.

[tommy100]

What surprises me is that some of the footage would suggest it was more Meghan and / or her aides who suggested she needed to leave. Surely if there was a real security risk the PPO would have pulled her out straight away. Anyway we do not know what happened for sure. It was hot, humid and crowded so not the best place to have a pregnant lady. Hopefully lessons will be learnt so it does not happen again.

[Muhler]

Perhaps she simply felt unwell?

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by tommy100

What surprises me is that some of the footage would suggest it was more Meghan and / or her aides who suggested she needed to leave. Surely if there was a real security risk the PPO would have pulled her out straight away. Anyway we do not know what happened for sure. It was hot, humid and crowded so not the best place to have a pregnant lady. Hopefully lessons will be learnt so it does not happen again.

Actually, from what I can see of PPO in the market. She was ready to get Meghan out. She looked pretty tense most of the time I saw her in there. I highly doubt PPO would be thinking oh, it's all good when Meghan and her staff have become alarmed. It's on their minds even more so than Meghan and Samantha and Amy.

[Pranter]

PPO's/RPO's are trained to assess and read situations...we don't know what they saw/heard to cause them to make the decision. I just assume they know what they are doing and pulled the plug for good reason.


LaRae

[Kataryn]

Originally Posted by wartenberg7

Did I read correctly...? "HRH Meghan Markle The Duchess of Sussex"?!
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2...0342107119.jpg


Can you imagine back in 1983 on the official menu for a state dinner in a commonwealth country "HRH Diana Spencer The Prcss of Wales"....!?!
I think Charles would have gone mad of fury....


Or wanted Meghan to keep her name despite the royal title? I´m confused...

The wife of the President of Fiji kept her own name as well. Maybe this is tradition there and so they wanted to honour Meghan by adding her maiden name plus her new title. It was probably done out of politeness. And why should Maghan be annoyed? It is the name she had when she made herself into a success academically and through her work.

Originally Posted by caethi

TMaybe the tour organizers should have taken her newness to the role more into account. The BRF "advisors" (don't know what to call them) know what they have in Meghan and Harry,.

Maybe "The Grey Men" like in the days of old??? LOL.

[AlowVera]

Originally Posted by csw

That video is very revealing. The people were crowding in on her. All seemed friendly but a crowd is a crowd and it can turn chaotic quickly. Even with no evil intent, a crowd can be dangerous when the ones in back don't know they are pushing the ones in front.

It was clearly a crowd control issue. Usually the royals are in a more controlled environment. Even when they went to the car the cameras where in her face and in their way. From a security stand point the situation was spriralling out of control. Again the people where fine but large crowds like yesterday need to be controlled because one fall or slip or surge could cause harm not only to the duchess but to the people themselves.

Originally Posted by jacqui24

Today show had additional footage of her at the market. The crowd was able to gather around close to her car as they are leaving. That tells me there definitely wasn't enough security in place. We never saw a scene where they are able to get that close to her in Australia. Even with a bigger crowd. I can see why her security became uncomfortable with the situation overall and wanted her out of there ASAP just in case. I'm just still mind-blown over how they didn't see this coming beforehand.

https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status...73864303235072

We do have to take into account that she is also pregnant. What's a little bump and bruise normally can be life threatening to the baby and, given how far along she is, her. I'm not saying anyone in the crowd means any harm, all I'm saying is what is one person's enthusiasm can turn into unfortunate events when there it's a large crowd's enthusiasm without proper provisions in place.

The crowds in Australia where behind barricades with snipers on the roof and the RPO's on the side and behind them. This event had no similar security which made it a hazard for Meghan and the crowds themselves.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by AlowVera

The crowds in Australia where behind barricades with snipers on the roof and the RPO's on the side and behind them. This event had no similar security which made it a hazard for Meghan and the crowds themselves.

Not only were there not snipers or security on the roof, there were spectators on the roof. And window sills.

[Fros]

In the end it was in theory a thoughtful engagement but terribly executed. If you see some of the footage Meghan is unusually quiet and IMO looks a bit overwhelmed but is still very friendly and trying to greet everyone.

She was still friendly and greeting the crowds around her as she was escorted into the car.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was a very sudden realization for her in those large crowds that she was in a foreign country alone, without her husband, in the middle of a massive crowd while pregnant.

KP made the right call to pull her out in situations like that its' not just for Meghan's safety but for the safety for the people in the crowd as well. The priority is to prevent something from happening not dealing with the aftermath later.

It was a real oversight in this leg of the tour to not have a public walkabout. Clearly there were many people who were excited to see them and were trying to use any opportunity they can to see and interact with the royals.

The couple is great at working the crowd but they aren't scheduling in enough time to greet the crowds in their schedule. You never know what size of crowds you are going to get but they should be trying to greet the public as much as possible.

I think they are scheduling their engagements too close together to allow for much flexibility.

[wartenberg7]

Originally Posted by Kataryn

The wife of the President of Fiji kept her own name as well. Maybe this is tradition there and so they wanted to honour Meghan by adding her maiden name plus her new title. It was probably done out of politeness. And why should Maghan be annoyed? It is the name she had when she made herself into a success academically and through her work.

Politeness? I think it´s pretty rude if she really gave up her maiden name at the wedding to the Duke. If she didn´t, can she be a Royal Highness, a Duchess, at all? I really don´t know how this is organised legally...?! I would say, a person with a commoner´s name cannot be a royal person at the same time.

The president´s wife is another matter. She´s not royal, and there are very different rules in Royalty. European royals never use their dynastic names as some sort of "surnames", like Elizabeth Windsor, Carl Gustaf Bernadotte or Margrethe Shleswig Holstein Sonderburg Glücksburg. Well, I think we all here know that.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Fros

KP made the right call to pull her out in situations like that its' not just for Meghan's safety but for the safety for the people in the crowd as well. The priority is to prevent something from happening not dealing with the aftermath later.

It was a real oversight in this leg of the tour to not have a public walkabout. Clearly there were many people who were excited to see them and were trying to use any opportunity they can to see and interact with the royals.

The first paragraph pretty much sums it up. Once something happens, it's already too late. The key is prevent it from getting there in the first place.

I do think they planned Fiji without as much consideration to the broad public as Australia? Perhaps they are surprised at the popularity of the Sussexes?