Meghan Markle: Family and Background - November 2017-May 2018

[Gaudete]

And not having Samantha's book published is easy, tie it up in litigation.

That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Would it be that simple I wonder? Years ago, we had the added benefit of being able to regulate news here in the UK so that the more negative aspects were kept away from our shores but appeared regularly in the foreign press. The internet has put pay to all that. But if it went to litigation, would Meghan have to appear personally in court?

This is all I mean by being prepared. Just to ask such questions and consider what a worst case scenario would be. It might be seen by some as overblown or an overly negative approach but I want this marriage to work. I think Harry and Meghan both deserve it and I would hate to see them unfairly dragged into something bigger by someone like Samantha who, quite frankly, is well past her five minutes of fame as it is. I'm sure the Palace has this under control (at least I very much hope they do) but it's hard to plan for something so uncertain. Especially at an uncertain time. I'm not trying to cause issues or to inflame things, or even to cast a downer on things. I would just like to be reassured that the RF aren't going to head back to that ridiculous mantra that prevailed at the Palace for too long: "Never complain, never explain". It's a different world and that just doesn't cut it any longer. I don't think they should do anything to encourage or highlight problems but certainly I would hope that everyone who needs to know is in the loop and prepared for what may come. And if the book is published, and I figure it probably will be then that has the potential to be bigger news and again, I would hope there has been adequate planning for that. As Churchill once said, "Make your battle plans with failure in mind and you'll always secure victory".

[Terri Terri]

Okay... Let me play devil's advocate. What can be discovered about Meghan's background that can bring down the British monarchy that we don't already know?

I like Harry and Meghan as a couple but not even I am naive enough to think that the BRF weren't worried about her as a potential wife for Harry. I would have imagined that her background was thoroughly investigated...at least I hope so.

[loonytick]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

Samantha Markle’s comments are hardly a scandal at this point. The scandals would be the young royals being caught not being honest about number of hours and days they are required to work in their private job. That’s not going to be an issue anymore. Scandals are the paradise papers, which has a direct link to the royals’ bank account. I think most people would understand difficult family members and jealousy. It’s an annoyance, not a scandal.

Scandal would be headlines screaming about Meghan trying to force her estranged sister into silence.

There will always be someone somewhere alleging something about someone in the BRF. That's just a fact of life. You'd be hard pressed to find any time in history where that hasn't been the case. Sometimes it's been valid, sometimes it's been totally baseless, sometimes it's been absolutely crazy, but there's always something. Meantime, there will always be some segment of society taking whatever's being said as fact. That's just human nature. And periodically there will be very tenuous moments for the BRF, politically speaking, to weather whatever is being said at the moment.

But when a character like Samantha is involved, there's not much you can do. Engaging with her only ramps it up, gets Meghan's hands dirty and leads wider swathe of the populace to consider that what Sam says might be true.

[Gaudete]

Originally Posted by Terri Terri

Okay... Let me play devil's advocate. What can be discovered about Meghan's background that can bring down the British monarchy that we don't already know?

I like Harry and Meghan as a couple but not even I am naive enough to think that the BRF weren't worried about her as a potential wife for Harry. I would have imagined that her background was thoroughly investigated...at least I hope so.

I wouldn't like to speculate on that because I don't know Meghan at all (who does except those closest to her?) and I can't say what may or may not be lurking. The second part of your post sums it up. If there is anything we don't know yet or that may cause problems in the future, I hope they've been looked into and a course of action decided. Having said that, I think the days of private detectives trailing potential spouses are long gone.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Gaudete

That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Would it be that simple I wonder? Years ago, we had the added benefit of being able to regulate news here in the UK so that the more negative aspects were kept away from our shores but appeared regularly in the foreign press. The internet has put pay to all that. But if it went to litigation, would Meghan have to appear personally in court?

I imagine this case would mostly be in US jurisdiction. Under the US law, there is a whole process before it can get to the court room, including deposition of various people and discovery process. They would get an order to temporarily block it when the case is ongoing, she wouldn't have to show up for that. Deposition can be arranged in different ways as she lives in another country. Courts can also seal records under certain circumstances or close it off to public. It'll be awhile before she would ever have to go to court, if ever. Most of these cases gets settled before then. We have to remember that Samantha Markle doesn't have a publishing company, I highly doubt she has lawyers that are that good. It'll just cost money.

[Gaudete]

More money than a book deal would bring in one imagines. Thanks for your post, I have no idea how the US legal system works so it seems unlikely a book could be published without a huge struggle.

[ashelen]

Harrys comment "The family she never had" Well I don't think that is true. She has a mother and father that looks both care about her and I am sure they had family reunions, christmas, thanksgiving etc..... But of course she never had a royal family, just commoners......

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Gaudete

This is all I mean by being prepared. Just to ask such questions and consider what a worst case scenario would be. It might be seen by some as overblown or an overly negative approach but I want this marriage to work. I think Harry and Meghan both deserve it and I would hate to see them unfairly dragged into something bigger by someone like Samantha who, quite frankly, is well past her five minutes of fame as it is. I'm sure the Palace has this under control (at least I very much hope they do) but it's hard to plan for something so uncertain. Especially at an uncertain time. I'm not trying to cause issues or to inflame things, or even to cast a downer on things. I would just like to be reassured that the RF aren't going to head back to that ridiculous mantra that prevailed at the Palace for too long: "Never complain, never explain". It's a different world and that just doesn't cut it any longer. I don't think they should do anything to encourage or highlight problems but certainly I would hope that everyone who needs to know is in the loop and prepared for what may come. And if the book is published, and I figure it probably will be then that has the potential to be bigger news and again, I would hope there has been adequate planning for that. As Churchill once said, "Make your battle plans with failure in mind and you'll always secure victory".

Two things. One, the Palace has resources that you or I could only imagine. And any members marrying into the family would be vetted. Especially one that is going to be a full time working royal. Really, Samantha Markle isn't an issue for them. I'm sure if it comes down to it, she has plenty of skeletons in her own closet that they could use. Skeletons that she might not even know they know. Two, I think, for the most part, the young royals choose to not respond to certain things because they've come to the realization that some things will never change and they shouldn't give it additional shelf life by engaging. However, if they ever cross the line, the young royals will not hesitate to defend those they love. We saw that with Harry's statement, and legal actions that led to MailOnline and The Sun apologizing.

Originally Posted by ashelen

Harrys comment "The family she never had" Well I don't think that is true. She has a mother and father that looks both care about her and I am sure they had family reunions, christmas, thanksgiving etc..... But of course she never had a royal family, just commoners......

If you listen to the entire thing about this. He was talking about how big their family is. And it's true that, as an only children, she hasn't had a family this massive that always spend Christmas together spanning 4 generations.

[Gaudete]

Harry’s statement in the early days of their relationship was a good step forward. I don’t think it was universally welcomed but I think it certainly set a new standard for responding to such things we hadn’t seen before and which they’ll need to make things work in the future.

On Harry’s comments made on the Today programme, that was a silly move. I think he just misspoke rather than meaning anything sinister or nasty but it did feed the beast somewhat.

[Skippy]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

If you listen to the entire thing about this. He was talking about how big their family is. And it's true that, as an only children, she hasn't had a family this massive that always spend Christmas together spanning 4 generations.

Amen to that. The guy is only barely engaged and already being reprimanded (by some). I hope he won't place his words on a golden scale from now on. He was just expressing his feelings about Meghan's first Christmas with the big ole family.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Gaudete

More money than a book deal would bring in one imagines. Thanks for your post, I have no idea how the US legal system works so it seems unlikely a book could be published without a huge struggle.

At the end of the day, it's going to be depending on what she puts in there. While there is the freedom of speech and press, but if she just starts making up stuff, there are ways to stop it. She can't even find a publisher right now. But in generally, US does like exercising our rights in the courtroom.

[Skippy]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

At the end of the day, it's going to be depending on what she puts in there. While there is the freedom of speech and press, but if she just starts making up stuff, there are ways to stop it. She can't even find a publisher right now.

Would there be a publisher anyway who would be willing to strike a deal with her?
You can't read their minds, of course, but I don't know how that works (in the US).

[Gaudete]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

At the end of the day, it's going to be depending on what she puts in there. While there is the freedom of speech and press, but if she just starts making up stuff, there are ways to stop it. She can't even find a publisher right now.

I imagine a publisher will expect to see something a) news worthy, b) exclusive and c) with enough evidence to avoid a legal challenge. With a decent team of lawyers and publishers she could pull it off but I doubt she has that. If someone else with an interest funds it? That’s different but at this stage it would have be someone with a huge grudge and something big to gain. Doesn’t rule it out but it’s very unlikely.

[Curbside]

She could self-publish through Amazon, but that would take some work on her part. I wonder if she's running around saying she's writing a book in order to entice some publisher or ghost writer into collaborating with her.

[Skippy]

At this very moment it makes me wonder just what Meghan has done for Samantha to be so jealous of her. Would that be about Harry?

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Curbside

She could self-publish through Amazon, but that would take some work on her part. I wonder if she's running around saying she's writing a book in order to entice some publisher or ghost writer into collaborating with her.

That's likely the case. If she tries to self-publish through Amazon, that means she wouldn't have a team of lawyers behind her to fight against any of the lawyers at the royal family's disposal. It makes life easier for those at the Palace.

Originally Posted by Skippy

At this very moment it makes me wonder just what Meghan has done for Samantha to be so jealous of her. Would that be about Harry?

From what other family members have said, she's just been in general jealous of Meghan even before this. The gist I got from all of the chatty family members is that Meghan has worked hard and made something of herself, even before Harry, and Samantha just never did. She tried modeling and acting as well when she was younger, but obviously nothing came of it.

[Osipi]

For all we know, Samantha could be popping up in the media with the ulterior motive of saying "remember me?" I'm the long lost sister and I *am* family. You're going to have this huge, wonderful wedding and I want to be included.". Of course she's going about it the wrong way and even with flip flopping, she's just making things worse for herself.

No matter what is in Meghan's past, it was all BH (Before Harry). Just as what happened in Vegas was BM (Before Meghan). I seriously doubt that anything Samantha could write (how much does she actually know about Meghan's day to day life if she's been estranged for years anyways?) that Harry wouldn't know about. Anything remotely scandalous or deemed inappropriate would have already been discovered.

Like ants at a picnic, they're surefire to be there but the smart people spray the area with Yard Guard or take measures to assure they're not bothered. To even *acknowledge* Samantha's rantings and ravings gives Samantha the satisfaction that she's riled a few feathers and will go for the slaughter. Especially if she isn't invited to the wedding.

I'm in the don't poke the bear and let sleeping dogs lie camp.

[Skippy]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

From what other family members have said, she's just been in general jealous of Meghan even before this. The gist I got from all of the chatty family members is that Meghan has worked hard and made something of herself, even before Harry, and Samantha just never did. She tried modeling and acting as well when she was younger, but obviously nothing came of it.

Ah, so it appears that Meghan must pay for Samantha's failure and the latter takes the easy way out by complaining?

[Countessmeout]

Originally Posted by Denville

I am inclined to agree, which is one reason I was a bit dubious about Meghan.. she seems to have a lot of things that are "new" and may add an element of "celebrity" to the RF's image. Being an actress, not being British or familiar with Britain, being a career woman in job which tends to demand self promotion.. and her family has clearly got problems with this sister. Its not Meg's fault but it does not help. It may indeed put off older fans of the RF who are part of its "loyal fanbase". Of course every family has embarrassing members.
But I can't really see what can be done to shut the woman up other than quietly payng her to sign some kind of "stay quite" agreement.. and even tehn I suspect she might not abide by it...
In short I think that Meghan will have to work really hard to seem ultra proper and to do a good job as a Royal duchess....

And presuming she knows nothing of Britain. You don't have to be British to know about British culture and history. You commonly study the history in school. She has also visited the UK over the years as well. Its not like she is marrying into some little known country some may never have heard of.

Her career wasn't as much about self-promotion as promoting the show she was on. And why is that a bad thing? Being a royal is very much the same thing. Royals are very much public figures/celebrities. Their role in life is to promote the royal family and the charities/country they represent. Understanding public image, and the affect it can have to bring attention to needed causes, are skills actually key to being successful as a royal.

[ladongas]

...there is nothing to prevent it being published. US law does not allow prior restraint unless national security is involved. So, unless Meghan is a double super secret spy(), Samantha can write a book and may be able to get it published. If it is untruthful and defamatory, then it can be pursued through the courts.