The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 4: April-June 2021

[Alison H]

A royal 'expert' called Russell Myers is now speculating that Harry was so shocked by the cold reception he received from the family at the DoE's funeral, he may pull out of coming over to unveil the statue of his mother in July.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...ss-Diana-statue-trip-royal-expert-claims.html

A misleading headline, as the article makes it clear this is simply one man's opinion, and there has been no indication whatsoever Harry will do any such thing.

I do hope he decides to attend. I can't imagine it will be easy, but this is his mother's memory...

That seems a rather silly thing for Russell Myers to say. Other than William and Kate, how many members of the Royal Family are likely to be present at the unveiling of the statue? Presumably it's going to be a Spencer family thing. Diana and Charles were divorced: there's no reason for Charles or his siblings to be there.

 

[COESpiral]

I will preface this by saying Harry has never been one of my favorite royals so my opinions of him are influenced by that. Meghan, I've never known anything about as I never watched Suits, and had never heard of her before the engagement announcement.

In my opinion, Harry is morphing into the worst traits of three of his relatives: Earl Spencer, Princess Margaret, and the Duke of Windsor.

Harry is charming; people who have met him say so. He can work a room like no one's business and people walk away thinking he's funny and attentive and sympathetic. Yet, over the last two years, I don't see any of that from him anymore.

Of late, he's petulant, selfish, complaining, and I agree with someone up thread who said it feels like he's trying to extort the BRF.

He had a traumatic childhood and I sympathize with him about that, I truly do. When he chose Meghan as his wife, I figured he connected with her over her broken home as well, and maybe they could take those experiences and help lift each other up. Guess not. It seems to be an all-or-nothing viewpoint with H&M and negotiations are not welcome.

William married a woman with a stable family and great relationships with her siblings and he thrived with that encouragement. I don't blame him for trying to tell Harry to pump the brakes on his relationship with Meghan because maybe he saw there wasn't that same stability with her? I don't know.

I'm floored that Harry has become who he has become. I honestly thought he understood his place as being a helper to his Grandmother, father, and brother, but this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I don't know if there's anyone specific to blame or if this is something that's been eating at him for years and it's all come out now, but he's running out of time to repair his relationships. Otherwise, he's just going to be the bitter relative living in another country whining to any media he can find about how he was "wronged" but can never fully explain how.

 

[Blog Real]

I will preface this by saying Harry has never been one of my favorite royals so my opinions of him are influenced by that. Meghan, I've never known anything about as I never watched Suits, and had never heard of her before the engagement announcement.

In my opinion, Harry is morphing into the worst traits of three of his relatives: Earl Spencer, Princess Margaret, and the Duke of Windsor.

Harry is charming; people who have met him say so. He can work a room like no one's business and people walk away thinking he's funny and attentive and sympathetic. Yet, over the last two years, I don't see any of that from him anymore.

Of late, he's petulant, selfish, complaining, and I agree with someone up thread who said it feels like he's trying to extort the BRF.

He had a traumatic childhood and I sympathize with him about that, I truly do. When he chose Meghan as his wife, I figured he connected with her over her broken home as well, and maybe they could take those experiences and help lift each other up. Guess not. It seems to be an all-or-nothing viewpoint with H&M and negotiations are not welcome.

William married a woman with a stable family and great relationships with her siblings and he thrived with that encouragement. I don't blame him for trying to tell Harry to pump the brakes on his relationship with Meghan because maybe he saw there wasn't that same stability with her? I don't know.

I'm floored that Harry has become who he has become. I honestly thought he understood his place as being a helper to his Grandmother, father, and brother, but this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. I don't know if there's anyone specific to blame or if this is something that's been eating at him for years and it's all come out now, but he's running out of time to repair his relationships. Otherwise, he's just going to be the bitter relative living in another country whining to any media he can find about how he was "wronged" but can never fully explain how.

Truth. I agree with you. I liked Prince Harry very much. But in the past few years I have been disappointed in him.
I was shocked by the interview that the Dukes of Sussex gave Oprah.
I think Prince Harry should never have given that interview to Oprah. It was a mistake. And I think Harry is going to regret giving that interview.
I always thought that Harry wanted to help his grandmother, father and brother with their royal duties and represent the monarchy. But it seems that this is not what is happening. Harry may be happier now, living far away with his family in the neighborhood close to Hollywood celebrities. But I think part of who he was and the essence of him has disappeared. I don't know who Harry is today.
I have a feeling that Harry left his world, to go to his wife's (Meghan) world.

 

[wartenberg7]

It really amazes me how much time we still spend on this "private" couple! No other Royals, including Harry´s british relatives, get so much attention on this forum like these two. They are on an all time top at the "recent discussions" since weeks as if they were the most interesting and important people in the world.... Well, as they are concerned they succeeded: the bake the celebrity cake and we eat it!

 

[amaryllus]

I really don’t see this as that confusing: They wanted notoriety, press and to get interviews by the likes of Oprah. They wanted control of and to twist the narrative. They were not and never about communicating maturely and effectively or making amends quietly, privately with his family or they would have long ago let alone changing attitudes

 

[AC21091968]

That tweet doesn’t do anything for me. If there is to be no update, say that directly. Speak to exactly what is inaccurate. Nah, I wouldn’t have believed him anyway, lol

I agree, Omid Scobie's tweet appeared to have neither denied or confirmed that new chapters are added. For me this kind of makes everything way more confusing. And also, The Times only mentioned "new chapters" and "new edition" without specifying that it's going to be "paperback edition" (as suggested by Scobie).

Finding Freedom, a flattering biography of Harry and Meghan, giving their account of their departure from royal life via friends and Sussex sources, is being updated with new chapters. They will cover their interview with Oprah Winfrey, allegations against Meghan over the bullying of royal staff, which she denies, and Prince Philip’s death.

The updated edition is also expected*to take in their new life in America, their multimillion-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify and the Queen’s decision to strip them of all royal patronages earlier this year. Harry is understood to remain devastated by the loss of his military roles.

The book will be reissued on August 5 and is likely to exacerbate tensions between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family, particularly between Harry and William. A senior courtier said: “The Oprah interview detonated a bomb under the royal family and most of them are still reeling in shock. The book will not help.” Another senior royal source said: “After Oprah, what else is there to say?”

On the topic of Finding Freedom, Richard Eden replied to Scobie's tweet with a supposedly screenshot of the cover of the new edition (unsure about the reliability), asking on what the exclusive content is going to be. This new book cover reportedly has a new red circular sticker with the words "Exclusive New Content".

Richard Eden @richardaeden
Replying to @scobie
So what is the exclusive new content then? #royal #Meghan
11:33 PM · Apr 25, 2021·Twitter for Android​

https://twitter.com/x/status/1386312378099306499

Link to the Screenshot (again, do not know about the reliability): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ez0rwlzWUAQg-H1?format=jpg&name=medium

I just hope the new edition of the Finding Freedom does not contain content on Prince Philip's death, given that his funeral occurred a week ago. I thought the timing of the Sunday Times' reveal on Finding Freedom is terrible enough regardless on the new content.

P.s. I know that I'm late to this discussion.

 

[ACO]

Harry and Meghan are the Campaign Chairs of Global Vax Live Campaign. There will be a big concert supporting it on May 8. Quite the line up including President Biden.

"Over the past year, our world has experienced pain, loss, and struggle — together. Now we need to recover and heal — together,” said Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“We can’t leave anybody behind. We will all benefit, we will all be safer, when everyone, everywhere has equal access to the vaccine. We must pursue equitable vaccine distribution, and in that, restore faith in our common humanity. This mission couldn’t be more critical or important.”

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/me...al_vaxlive_audience&utm_content=ctalearn_link

 

[Queen Ester]

Harry and Meghan demand world leaders share vaccines to 'restore faith in humanity' amid calls for Joe Biden and Boris Johnson to give reserves to India - as couple prepare to join J.Lo and Selena Gomez at star-studded 'VaxLive' concert

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...airs-Global-Canada-Citizen-concert-event.html

 

[caethi]

Harry and Meghan demand world leaders share vaccines to 'restore faith in humanity' amid calls for Joe Biden and Boris Johnson to give reserves to India - as couple prepare to join J.Lo and Selena Gomez at star-studded 'VaxLive' concert

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...airs-Global-Canada-Citizen-concert-event.html

India needs help, no doubt about that. Demands to "give reserves to India" is a gross oversimplification of the problem, but it is the latest in a series of humanitarian tragedies that celebrities will bring attention to, and good for them. I am not surprised, therefore that H and M would jump on board. I just find their whole public persona seems rather superficial. As I have said many times, they need to do the work, quietly, and gain some credibility before appointing themselves moral guideposts. Right now I take them no more seriously than the Kardashians. Don't get me wrong, celebrities have the right and some would say responsibility to use their celebrity for good, but I thought H and M wanted to do more than just be mascots.

 

[TLLK]

Harry and Meghan are the Campaign Chairs of Global Vax Live Campaign. There will be a big concert supporting it on May 8. Quite the line up including President Biden.

"Over the past year, our world has experienced pain, loss, and struggle — together. Now we need to recover and heal — together,” said Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“We can’t leave anybody behind. We will all benefit, we will all be safer, when everyone, everywhere has equal access to the vaccine. We must pursue equitable vaccine distribution, and in that, restore faith in our common humanity. This mission couldn’t be more critical or important.”

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/me...al_vaxlive_audience&utm_content=ctalearn_link

Thank you for sharing ACO. Considering the concert date and the current COVID restrictions, I am I correct in guessing this event will be happening virtually?

 

[_Heather_]

India needs help, no doubt about that. Demands to "give reserves to India" is a gross oversimplification of the problem, but it is the latest in a series of humanitarian tragedies that celebrities will bring attention to, and good for them. I am not surprised, therefore that H and M would jump on board. I just find their whole public persona seems rather superficial. As I have said many times, they need to do the work, quietly, and gain some credibility before appointing themselves moral guideposts. Right now I take them no more seriously than the Kardashians. Don't get me wrong, celebrities have the right and some would say responsibility to use their celebrity for good, but I thought H and M wanted to do more than just be mascots.

I agree. As a cause, in general, it certainly seems like a worthy goal and a positive way to use your profile and platform. That said, nothing about the way these two have conducted themselves screams "philanthropist" while everything screams "superficial, virtue-signaling, hypocritical reality stars" much in the way that the Kardashians do. In fact, the Kardashians have long been involved in raising awareness of Armenian genocide due to their Armenian roots and Kim, in particular, has been involved in criminal justice reform. Both quite worthy causes and certainly deserving of recognition, regardless of the politics around them. However, the Kardashians aren't really taken seriously when discussing these issues because of their overall behavior, demeanor, and "brand" that is so shallow and superficial. I fear this is exactly the road that Harry and Meghan are headed down. They have the ability and the platform to be able to do serious good and be involved in some really heavy-hitting causes and issues but right now they've positioned themselves to be more of the "famous face of" rather than real players in the causes they love to say they're going to "drive change" for.

 

[UglyAmerican]

Their consistent association with politically-charged issues and campaigns makes me wonder how much we're allowed to discuss that in this thread while remaining within the rules. For example, if I were to post something like "Do H&M really think the US and UK have extra doses coming out their ears and are hoarding them just for spite?" and then the conversation evolved into people posting statistics about vaccine availability and usage in various countries, in the context of supporting their agreement or disagreement with H&M's apparent position here, would any of that be ok? I know things like that would normally be totally off-topic, but they've sort of made it on-topic.

 

[amaryllus]

Seems to me they go from one truly important cause and putting themselves forward as wanting to be leaders or spokespersons to the next hot button issue without actually making a difference to anyone or doing anything but making grand sounding statements. It has the effect of making everything seem so fly by night and faddish to them.

 

[Claire]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

 

[tausi]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

Right on!! You nailed it. There are many countries who have said bluntly that they will not accept the vaccines from developed countries because of mistrust. It's a complex issue!

 

[TLLK]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

Thank you Claire for sharing your insight on this subject.

 

[Heavs]

The UK is already involved with GAVI and COVAX.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-55795297

As we can see by some of the problems even in Europe and NI it's really not as simple as just shipping them out there and in India it's definitely not a case of just vaccinating people.

The concert is probably coming from the right place for many participants but it will possibly end up more of a feel good for those involved rather than actually helping.

I understand Harry and Meghan have a desire to help people but I'm not sure fronting every cause is going to work out in the long term.

Maybe they and others involved with this concert would do better to work with specific organisations already dealing with the problem?

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

This sounds like a great cause even though I’ve never heard of the organization Global Citizen. But the corporate sponsors are all big names (Coke, Delta, Verizon to name a few plus WW (Weight Watchers) so this most likely how they got involved - through Oprah.

 

[Kataryn]

I thought the Corden show was a huge embarrassment- well, I was embarrassed for the RF. He did not come across as royal at all. My sister (who doesn’t keep up with the royals at all) watched and thought it was funny and he was “really cute.” Again, she saw him as a celebrity.

He surely is now a celebrity, but with Royal roots. He now "earns" what Charles and Diana sew once in the US. They were loved and admired and people helped them with donations to charity. But they couldn't get them because they were foreigners just visiting the US. Now Harry, their son and his American wife are living in the US and if you want to, you can get close to them on donating.



Younger people tend to forget that many rich people still live, especially in the US "establishment", who had lived through Charles and Diana's good times. Who might have been invited to meet them. They might even have met Prince Philip during his time with the WWF for nature. These people control their own wealth or the family's foundations. They are looking to get something for themselves out of their donations beside the aim of the charities. Meeting Harry and Meghan could well be what they ever dreamed off. Diana's son, the queen's grandson! And his wifw and mother of his children, born an American.



Give H&M time to establish themselves and the society to revert back to where they were before corona. Then you will see how much money is going to float towards Harry's way.IMHO, of course.

 

[Alison H]

No-one's got spare doses of vaccines coming out of their ears. I only wish we had, but the vaccine producers are not miracle workers and can only produce so much, so quickly. It's not like anyone's got a fully vaccinated population, and a huge vaccine mountain stashed away.

What India needs most at the moment is oxygen. The UK, the US and other countries are sending assistance, but, again, it's not something that's that easy to get more of.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

Excellent post. I would also add that my organization is struggling with ensuring proper storage of the vaccine, which is very difficult in the third world. This is a very, very complicated operation.

That said, it is a great cause and highlights an important issue.

 

[ACO]

This sounds like a great cause even though I’ve never heard of the organization Global Citizen. But the corporate sponsors are all big names (Coke, Delta, Verizon to name a few plus WW (Weight Watchers) so this most likely how they got involved - through Oprah.

I doubt it has anything to do with Oprah. It is a well known organization with a major branch in Canada. They also are big supporters of Meghan and have followed her for years now. Not surprised she collaborated with them.

I've been to a few Global Citizen events in NYC. It is all about highlighting a specific causes.

 

[Estel]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

That's the whole point with India. Will the aid ever reach the people in need? Or will it end up being misused for other reasons. I'm sorry it sounds harsh, but the belief in the government is at an all time low here, even when they have gone so far as to block tweet viewing figures.

With that being said, India needs help, and I'm glad other countries are considering it. I just hope it proves to be beneficial for ordinary people.

 

[Alison H]

I know that medical supplies have been flown out from the UK, and that doctors with experience of dealing with Covid are offering assistance to Indian hospitals by video - they're dealing directly, doctor-to-doctor, without any officials being involved - and that other countries are also sending supplies.


I'm old enough to remember Live Aid, but that was raising money for food, which is a lot easier to buy in wealthy countries than vaccines or oxygen are. But I suppose the concert won't hurt.

 

[Somebody]

Right on!! You nailed it. There are many countries who have said bluntly that they will not accept the vaccines from developed countries because of mistrust. It's a complex issue!

There are also many countries who would gladly take them but just cannot get ahold of them... Suriname being one of them; meaning that the vaccination effort has basically been stopped until we receive new vaccines.

 

[Elan]

Is that supposed to make it better?

If anything, that's just symptomatic of how common microaggressions are in today's culture. So much so that the victims are expected to just brush it off because of how commonplace such behaviour is. And the allegations Meghan made just speaks into that. But if we continue to silence that behaviour and expect the victims to not be "up in arms" about it, it'll never change.

At the moment, the long list of perceived microaggressions are to the point where his closest family members appear to be sole recipients of incurring damage to reputation by such allegations. A decision is made to green light a charge, knowing well the fallout that would happen to the people who both raised and supported him. 'Up in arms'...the appropriate phrase.

 

[valeas]

As someone who is neck deep in 3rd World medical charities I can tell you now that the concert is nothing but a political campaign. It should be noticed that many aid organizations from the Bill and Melinda Gates fund to the WHO organization have supplied vaccines and have already ordered vaccines for the 3rd world. Will they use it - due to rumors', internal politics and superstitions is another thing entirely. It should be noted that India is allowed to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine and supplied it to Southern Africa for free. South Africa then decided to wait on the JJ one.
This is not an issue that is resolved with a concert. I admire their efforts but it is ill judged. I can only see WHO rolling their eyes.

You want to understand the complexity of 3rd world medical health - ask John Green on how he is organizing efforts for a maternity hospital in Liberia. Read up on how the Queen's Jubilee Fund, together with Pfizer, Gates Foundation and Richard Branson foundation funded the Vision2020 goals in Gambia. You need political, social and economic cooperation and mutual respect on all side and most of all you need the 3rd World to make the decisions themselves and you, listen and assist.

Thank you! I did not want to write it myself.
But like the other thing last week African Parks,
the two make very poor choices. But I guess they consider it a big thing being named with Potus.

A question, do they always point out Harry is a prince?
It looks so odd, seeing his title and then Meghan named "only" a duchess!
or is it maybe a new pattern of their's?
Could she call herself the Princess Harry?

 

[Hallo girl]

Seems to me they go from one truly important cause and putting themselves forward as wanting to be leaders or spokespersons to the next hot button issue without actually making a difference to anyone or doing anything but making grand sounding statements. It has the effect of making everything seem so fly by night and faddish to them.

That is a fair point, they do appear to jump from the latest issue to the next, before anything is actually achieved, they appear to be under the impression that their presence in something gives it some gravitas.

Without going off topic they appear to simplify things to slogans.

 

[amaryllus]

Their proclamations are a Word salad with no meat to chew on.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I understand why some posters are a bit skeptical of Harry and Meghan's involvement but this concert is about more than asking wealthy nations to donate vaccines to nations with fewer resources, although that is certainly part of it. If it were simply about providing more doses, I would agree that the campaign would simply be a feel good event that won't really help anyone.

However, Global Citizen is also calling on wealthy nations to provide other resources, including developing cold storage capacity, which is essential to distributing the vaccine. Moreover, improved cold storage capacity in the third world will make it easier to distribute other vaccines (measles, tetanus, etc.) and even improve food distribution network in the future.

Global Citizen is not the only NGO working on this but raising awareness of this issue is a positive development that will save lives.