The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 3: March - April 2021

[Moran]

Yes' you'd think that harry might gently point out to the queen that his eldest son would be known as the Earl of whereever, and that Dumbarton was a name that could be made into a joke...

Perhaps he was afraid that those people who were really in charge (as opposed to the Queen) and controlled her wouldn't be understanding.

That's another detail of the interview that didn't get nearly enough attention. I would have been mortified to announce on TV that my (currently 88 year old) grandmother is a puppet in someone else's hands and basically lost a big chunk of her faculties. And my grandmother isn't a monarch. It's such a breach of loyalty that I can't even.

Funny how The Queen was totally in charge of the situation when she talked to him all the year after her handlers stopped her from meeting Harry. When he needed to fall back on her authority, it was all there. When she didn't want to see him, it was because she has lost her grip and other (evil) people had a grasp of her.

Frankly, at this stage I wondered why he wouldn't announce a holy crusade to free her. He settled for condescending on his father and brother instead.


Well, no. I'm not wondering. At the moment, if he stands against The Queen who enjoys universal respect, he's doomed to lose. And he enhances his royalty through flashing his closeness with her and Prince Philip.

 

[Denville]

So they themselves have titles they are bound and determined by which to identify, but they couldn't find or get one they liked for their son?

Something doesn't add up, and a lot of it appears to be the "refusing to play by the normal rules" shtick. It's certainly not the "wanting him to be an ordinary kid" narrative we were first given.

its hard to know what is going on in their heads. I think that they were in a huff because he wasn't Prince Archie of Sussex and maybe they were like "Ok so he 's not a prince.. and we are' think of legging it to the US anyway, so lets just call him plain Archie...that will sound good..."
Possibly a few months before A was born, they were told that he wouldn't be a prince, that the queen wans't going to issue letters patent.. and they got narky, and that was when they decided to tell the press that they wouldn't be showing him off or telling where he was born, or who ihis godparents were etc etc.. They were annoyed iwth the Palace and the queen but attacked the Press....

 

[Osipi]

They are behaving like kids in a sandbox, counting their weapons, and deciding which ones to use now or later

Along with keeping it going until they can get what they want, there's also the element of that "aHa!" moment when it sinks in that this modus operandi not only garners them attention to keep "relevant" but also could be a source of raking in the green dollars they're going to need. Perhaps, though, only as a last resort I'd hope.

Reminds me of the 70s movie title "Suppose They Gave A War And Nobody Came". With one side refusing to engage, the antagonists will soon be seen to be boring the public like a vinyl record with the needle stuck in a groove with a lot of eye rolling and "here we go again.... " It'd also be conductive to having people ignore anything else they may want to promote because they've heard enough.

I know but i would guess that that was their reason (if there was any logical one) for not calling Archie teh Earl of Dumbarton. Or maybe it was just a hissy fit because they had expected him to be made a prince.?
i can understand not wanting him called Dumbo.. but I think that the queen would not understand rude nicknames.. But If H had explained it to her before she bestowed the title, she wuold have picked another Scottish title.

Thought ran through my head that if Archie had inherited the nickname "Dumbo", it'd be a relief to Charles as, IIRC, he's been frequently dubbed with that nickname because of his ears.

 

[Denville]

Per
Welln, no. I'm not wondering. At the moment, if he stands against The Queen who enjoys universal respect, he's doomed to lose. And he enhances his royalty through flashing his closeness with her and Prince Philip.

It is amusing that the Corden interview gave a picture of them chatting to the queen and Philip and her giving Archie a waffle iron (he's a bit small for it?) and everything being hunky dory.. and then in this interview, they were cruelly treated by the RF, people made racist remarks, kept Meg locked up, wouldn't get her mental health help, Charles wouldn't give them money or take H's phone calls etc etc etc etc....

 

[Queen Ester]

This is something I've been thinking since the interview aired.

I feel like Harry has wanted out of the royal life for some time and that his wife (I don't think it's specifically Meghan, whoever he married, it would have been the same) was his ticket. He just had to make sure that she and the Family didn't get along - and with Meghan, the race issue just made it that much easier to drive a wedge between them.

At best, Harry failed Meghan in not preparing her for what she was getting into. At worst, he has straight up gaslighted her, IMO.

I don't think that Harry is that smart to hatch out a long term plan like this on his own so either he had advisers or its just another conspiracy theory

 

[US Royal Watcher]

Well, no. I'm not wondering. At the moment, if he stands against The Queen who enjoys universal respect, he's doomed to lose.

They're smart enough to know that they can't criticize the Queen. That is why Meghan mentioned the call to the Queen when Philip was hospitalized. Coupled with the great waffle iron revelation, they are trying to send the message that the Queen is very sympathetic to Harry and Meghan. The only thing that is stopping her from giving Harry and Meghan their rightful due is her advisors (along with Charles and William).

 

[Osipi]

I don't think that Harry is that smart to hatch out a long term plan like this on his own so either he had advisers or its just another conspiracy theory

Things have just bee so illogical from the get go of the public announcement of January, 2020 through the interview that I can't believe there was any kind of real strategy behind any of it. One foot tripped up and went into a rabbit hole and over time, the entire body disappeared into it. That rabbit hole has gotten quite deep by now.

 

[poppy7]

Perhaps he was afraid that those people who were really in charge (as opposed to the Queen) and controlled her wouldn't be understanding.

That's another detail of the interview that didn't get nearly enough attention. I would have been mortified to announce on TV that my (currently 88 year old) grandmother is a puppet in someone else's hands and basically lost a big chunk of her faculties. And my grandmother isn't a monarch. It's such a breach of loyalty that I can't even.

Funny how The Queen was totally in charge of the situation when she talked to him all the year after her handlers stopped her from meeting Harry. When he needed to fall back on her authority, it was all there. When she didn't want to see him, it was because she has lost her grip and other (evil) people had a grasp of her.

Frankly, at this stage I wondered why he wouldn't announce a holy crusade to free her. He settled for condescending on his father and brother instead.


Well, no. I'm not wondering. At the moment, if he stands against The Queen who enjoys universal respect, he's doomed to lose. And he enhances his royalty through flashing his closeness with her and Prince Philip.

I think that was the rationalisation of a grandchild who may not see much more of a beloved grandmother. If he ever sees her at all. And I think it may be unlikely he ever sees Philip. Easier to put it on the powers that be instead ofnh9s grandmother.

Very sad.

 

[Heavs]

If they didn't like Dumbarton or Kilkeel then they could have just used Lord Archie and said "so that he doesn't have a different title to his potential future sibling" as the reason.

There are plenty of names in the BRF that used as a nasty nickname, I've heard various for Wales, York, and Kent. There have been throughout history (there are tonnes for Saxe Coburg and Gotha). I remember people worrying that giving them Sussex would make the press start on about SusSEX but that never happened.

Since it's now clear they both cared a hell of a lot about titles my best guess is that they thought they could change the Queen's mind possibly partly using the race argument "it will look great if you do and look like you're racist if you don't" - (I wonder if Meghan has some out of context emails about that) and because Harry was one of her favourites and when nothing came of it they threw their toys out of the pram and said "nothing then! And we're not doing the photo call at the hospital either!" As well as deciding "Dumbarton" has too much potential for cruel kids and adults.

 

[Moran]

They're smart enough to know that they can't criticize the Queen. That is why Meghan mentioned the call to the Queen when Philip was hospitalized. Coupled with the great waffle iron revelation, they are trying to send the message that the Queen is very sympathetic to Harry and Meghan. The only thing that is stopping her from giving Harry and Meghan their rightful due is her advisors (along with Charles and William).

I get this but the bit about HM being prevented to see Harry was so over the top. It was cruel. There is a reason old people are perceived as more yielding to outside influence. It was a horrible thing to do to your grandmother and it was no less horrible to do to a Queen - to reduce her to the level of that old Jane who can barely put one foot before the other unless strictly told how to. He brought her down to the level of an old woman whose heirs are fightint over the will, accusing each other of taking advantage of her dotage.


That's one of the reasons I deem this interview worse than Andrew's, Diana's, Sarah's, Charles' and so on. Out of all of these, Diana was the only one vengeful and let's face it, we're all more understanding of a woman who was never loved by her husband than we are of two entitled teenagers approaching, biologically, their 40s. Aside from her, Harry and Meghan were the only ones aiming to damage the monarchy - and reducing its head to the level of a well-minded but going senile granny works wonders in this respect.


This part of the interview made me think of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, as she was described in her last years. Not a good image. And the fact that HM's grandson actively pursued it to advance himself is beyond words.

 

[poppy7]

I get this but the bit about HM being prevented to see Harry was so over the top. It was cruel. There is a reason old people are perceived as more yielding to outside influence. It was a horrible thing to do to your grandmother and it was no less horrible to do to a Queen - to reduce her to the level of that old Jane who can barely put one foot before the other unless strictly told how to. He brought her down to the level of an old woman whose heirs are fightint over the will, accusing each other of taking advantage of her dotage.


That's one of the reasons I deem this interview worse than Andrew's, Diana's, Sarah's, Charles' and so on. Out of all of these, Diana was the only one vengeful and let's face it, we're all more understanding of a woman who was never loved by her husband than we are of two entitled teenagers approaching, biologically, their 40s. Aside from her, Harry and Meghan were the only ones aiming to damage the monarchy - and reducing its head to the level of a well-minded but going senile granny works wonders in this respect.


This part of the interview made me think of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, as she was described in her last years. Not a good image. And the fact that HM's grandson actively pursued it to advance himself is beyond words.

I know awful.

But he is rationisatoon it. It was of course her decision. But he doesn't want to see that.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

Since it's now clear they both cared a hell of a lot about titles my best guess is that they thought they could change the Queen's mind possibly partly using the race argument "it will look great if you do and look like you're racist if you don't" - (I wonder if Meghan has some out of context emails about that) and because Harry was one of her favourites and when nothing came of it they threw their toys out of the pram and said "nothing then! And we're not doing the photo call at the hospital either!" As well as deciding "Dumbarton" has too much potential for cruel kids and adults.

It's more than they didn't have a photo op at the hospital, I now realize that it was a bit strange to released a photo with the baby, the Queen and Philip, and Doria - not Charles. Obviously, they have a complicated relationship but that wasn't reported by their mouthpieces in Finding Freedom.

 

[Moran]

I know awful.

But he is rationisatoon it. It was of course her decision. But he doesn't want to see that.

Even if we get this emotional reason to be the right one (and I'm not at all convinced), for someone so mindful of his privacy, he was awfully inconsiderate to other people, happily exposing the grandmother he's supposedly so loving to and respectful of to worldwide scratching of chins and wondering if the old bird has gone off her rocker.


If he loved and respected her at all and he was convinced she had been prevented by her advisors from seeing him, he should have stayed silent. Instead, he threw her under the bus to pity himself for being so hard done by.

 

[Sionevar]

I know but i would guess that that was their reason (if there was any logical one) for not calling Archie teh Earl of Dumbarton. Or maybe it was just a hissy fit because they had expected him to be made a prince.?
i can understand not wanting him called Dumbo.. but I think that the queen would not understand rude nicknames.. But If H had explained it to her before she bestowed the title, she wuold have picked another Scottish title.

I've always been rather bemused by the choice of Dumbarton because it's not much of a town. My grandfather was born there, I grew up close by, it's not where I would think of first to create an earldom out of

 

[Kataryn]

They were annoyed iwth the Palace and the queen but attacked the Press....

They had enough reason to be annoyed about the press!

But I can imagine as well that this was a reason behind their decision to keep most things about Archie private. I can still not understand their anger against the fact that Archie would only get his princely title when Charles became king. For more than 100 years that's the law. Similar to Diana who had to wait for her grandfather to die before she became "Lady" Diana and the family moved to Althorp. What did they think about how old the queen would become? Surely they didn't want a nurse or other staff to call Archie "Your Royal Highness"?


What I personally think they, especially Meghan, want to achieve now is getting Harry's inheritance before the queen and then his father dies. Harry because he wants the money and Meghan because she wants her husband to have money. At the moment the queen is the richest of the RF and she could take part of her investments (or even some stones from her vaults) and give it to Harry with noone the wiser. So IMHO these attacks are against the queen mostly and she reacted already. We'll see if at one point the talks stop from Meghan and Harry because the queen bought their silence.

 

[princess gertrude]

Just read where Gayle King said that H & M had an agreement with CBS and ITV that the interview would have been postponed if Prince Phillip died.

I mean are we seriously??? Gayle King really needs to stop being a mouthpiece and H & M really need to re-evaluate their life. This is getting ridiculous. They keep digging their hole deeper and deeper.

 

[poppy7]

Even if we get this emotional reason to be the right one (and I'm not at all convinced), for someone so mindful of his privacy, he was awfully inconsiderate to other people, happily exposing the grandmother he's supposedly so loving to and respectful of to worldwide scratching of chins and wondering if the old bird has gone off her rocker.


If he loved and respected her at all and he was convinced she had been prevented by her advisors from seeing him, he should have stayed silent. Instead, he threw her under the bus to pity himself for being so hard done by.

He isn't much for reflection to be honest. And this is his one way of thinking at the moment.

 

[Sionevar]

What I personally think they, especially Meghan, want to achieve now is getting Harry's inheritance before the queen and then his father dies. Harry because he wants the money and Meghan because she wants her husband to have money. At the moment the queen is the richest of the RF and she could take part of her investments (or even some stones from her vaults) and give it to Harry with noone the wiser.

There's another thing to consider - has Harry now been in the US long enough to become a US resident for tax purposes? If so, that's surely going to create another headache...

 

[Osipi]

There's another thing to consider - has Harry now been in the US long enough to become a US resident for tax purposes? If so, that's surely going to create another headache...

I would imagine that both Harry and Meghan need to file a tax return for the year 2020. Even just as employers of anyone they pay at home, their security forces etc (deductions?). I'm not a tax expert so don't quote me on this. They probably owe property tax also. Tis the season where the IRS has their hands out no matter who you are.

 

[Harald]

There's another thing to consider - has Harry now been in the US long enough to become a US resident for tax purposes? If so, that's surely going to create another headache...

This is what the IRS says concerning this matter. This is naturally alone for federal taxes.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/alien-residency-green-card-test

 

[Heavs]

Just read where Gayle King said that H & M had an agreement with CBS and ITV that the interview would have been postponed if Prince Phillip died.

I mean are we seriously??? Gayle King really needs to stop being a mouthpiece and H & M really need to re-evaluate their life. This is getting ridiculous. They keep digging their hole deeper and deeper.

I'm sure it would have. They'd have been roasted if he'd died and then a couple of days later they trashed the family and I do believe Harry cares for his grandfather. However they knew he 99 and ill and still went ahead with it.

It doesn't exactly seem great that Gayle has to "confirm" it though "oh well we *would* have cancelled if he'd died!" And I mean why are you still giving a running commentary on it.

Gayle's statements have their own xit name now - Leakxit.

 

[UglyAmerican]

There's another thing to consider - has Harry now been in the US long enough to become a US resident for tax purposes? If so, that's surely going to create another headache...

I would expect he's working his way through the process of getting a marriage-based green card (legal permanent residency). Assuming he lost whatever diplomatic credential he might have had when he quit the Firm, I don't see how else he could stay here. No one is allowed to live here permanently on a tourist visa, and he doesn't seem to have done anything that would qualify him for anything else. If that's the case, he'll definitely need to pay US taxes. It will be amusing to see if he and Meghan reconsider their political stances once they do the math on what their preferred party's support for a wealth tax will mean for their finances.

 

[Osipi]

The United States may be the land of the free and the home of the brave but you most certainly can't just get a free lunch these days unless you really, really need it and then it's there for you. Another question would be that now that Harry is a private citizen, living in the US, does he need to file a tax return in the UK as a British citizen?

 

[stunking]

M&H could have set parameters on the interview and promoted themselves and their charities. Instead they chose to it for self pity, self justification, financial gain from the RF thru money, revenge, and disrespect for Harry's family. Reconcilation, I think not.
I like Harry but I have lost respect for him as a person and a man.

 

[Lee-Z]

If they didn't like Dumbarton or Kilkeel then they could have just used Lord Archie and said "so that he doesn't have a different title to his potential future sibling" as the reason.

There are plenty of names in the BRF that used as a nasty nickname, I've heard various for Wales, York, and Kent. There have been throughout history (there are tonnes for Saxe Coburg and Gotha). I remember people worrying that giving them Sussex would make the press start on about SusSEX but that never happened.

....

I remember that here at TRF when we didn't know what their title Dukedom (don't know if it's the right word) would be, some suggested that 'Windsor' might be used, but others argued that was unlikely because of the association still held with that title.

It seems strangely fitting now..

 

[Sionevar]

The United States may be the land of the free and the home of the brave but you most certainly can't just get a free lunch these days unless you really, really need it and then it's there for you. Another question would be that now that Harry is a private citizen, living in the US, does he need to file a tax return in the UK as a British citizen?

He would not be required to file taxes in the UK once he has been out of the country for a certain amount of time, and is no longer considered a resident for tax purposes.

AFAIK, he was never exempt from paying UK taxes just because he was an HRH, but he probably had people to handle any paperwork and returns for him.

 

[rob2008]

I don't think Harry is smart enough to gaslight anyone. I think he is the one that has been systematically manipulated into removing himself from his family and friends over the past few years.


The interview was for the US audience. It is not directed anywhere else. It's purpose is to create income / job opporunities for Meghan. The only marketpplace they care about is the US.Meghan and Oprah were deliberately vague and emotional in narrating Meghan's side of the story - remember this was an entertainment programme and admitted they were not subject to journalistic standards of balanced, evidence-based reporting. (not that journalists are always balanced and factual!)

The public sphere and public opinion in the US has become more emotional and rhetorical and doesnt even bother to try to be information oriented. Newspapers and TV news is highly political. Meghan is using this emotional language to seek sympathy and partisan support for her cause. The hope is that this identity will make her rich because it is a grievance-driven against the most famous family/ group of people in the world. Kerching.

Harry is understandably taking the side of his (first) wife and child. As a Son of Britain it is a pity that he chosen to reject his ancestry and heritage - but that is his choice.

 

[Prinsara]

I remember that here at TRF when we didn't know what their title Dukedom (don't know if it's the right word) would be, some suggested that 'Windsor' might be used, but others argued that was unlikely because of the association still held with that title.

It seems strangely fitting now..

At the time, I thought people bringing it up were mad, cruel, or strangely poorly-historically informed.

Now all I can think is if they want things so much, and they want so much, give them the double dukedom. (Although it would still not be fair to Archie.)

Edit: The Windsors' interview with Kenneth Harris in 1970 is at the end of their thread. Different timeframes, but she is oddly likeable despite everything and he is a very sad, diminished man (unhappy. Not necessarily pitiable). Will this, too, play out? Who knows...

 

[Mirabel]

What I personally think they, especially Meghan, want to achieve now is getting Harry's inheritance before the queen and then his father dies. Harry because he wants the money and Meghan because she wants her husband to have money. At the moment the queen is the richest of the RF and she could take part of her investments (or even some stones from her vaults) and give it to Harry with noone the wiser. So IMHO these attacks are against the queen mostly and she reacted already. We'll see if at one point the talks stop from Meghan and Harry because the queen bought their silence.

I have the feeling that, no matter how much the Queen might give them, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy them for long.
The worst thing anyone could do is "buy silence" because, if you do it once, they'll always come back for more.

 

[Sionevar]

I have the feeling that, no matter how much the Queen might give them, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy them for long. The worst thing anyone could do is "buy silence" because, if you do it once, they'll always come back for more.

We never pay anyone Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that plays it is lost!