The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 6: Aug. 2021- Oct. 2022

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by soapstar

Some more of the emails between Knauf and Meghan.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-fa...her-biography/

This shows a very transactional side. Depending on how favorable Omid Scobie would be, he would be either invited or not to Meghan's royal engagement. Clearly she was convinced of his positive spin on things as he was invited until the very last royal engagement.

[UglyAmerican]

Originally Posted by Somebody

This shows a very transactional side. Depending on how favorable Omid Scobie would be, he would be either invited or not to Meghan's royal engagement. Clearly she was convinced of his positive spin on things as he was invited until the very last royal engagement.

Isn't that exactly the sort of complaints she made about the royal rota? That their continued access depends on them covering events the way the palace wants, and there's something inherently dishonest in that approach?

[Heavs]

One simply doesn't "forget" that you planned with your husband and aides over many emails, texts and presumably talks that you planned to feed positive information directly to the person writing the book about you. Especially not when Harry's email explicitly says it's essential that they all need to lie to cover up the direct link between them.

It doesn't help that when the book is released there are so many intimate details (peeing in the woods, facetiming in the bath) that they can only have come from the couple or Scobie was an obsessed stalker writing fan fiction.

Then you continued to "forget" every time this came up for the the next 2 years or so. It was say she forgot or "missed the email in the search" or admit to perjury. Which ends even worse for her.

There's no doubt that Meghan was under tremendous stress at this point and anyone could sympathise with her desire for positive stories but that's not what this is about. I don't think she is helping matters with bringing in the miscarriage and "senior royals" offering bad advice or anything else. They're still complaining almost every time they appear anywhere even though they have the opportunity to live their lives away from the press if they choose now.

It also shows that their former assertations that their staff and family did nothing to help them combat bad press at this period was completely untrue.

Staff giving journalists good stories and trying to quash embarrassing ones isn't even the point, that's part of their job. It's the hypocrisy involved that the MOS is going to make the most hay. Which wouldn't be a problem if the Sussexes hadn't launched a war against "all the lies and misinformation in the world".

Meghan assuming her father was going to release a letter is completely understandable. Potentially prompting her friends to mention it months after the fact to increase the chances that he soon would destroys any claims to privacy (but not copyright).

ANL will loose on copyright but The Sussexes originally started this to try and shut the UK papers up on any negative stories about them and that certainly hasn't worked.

[Moran]

IMO, the ANL is playing the long game. By appealing, they only care about access to stories that they might have suspected about but had no evidence for. Now, they do - from Meghan's own correspondence. Plus, they get the chance to smugly throw the "well, maybe she forgot" card on the table each time Meghan says something that might provide a good story. They won't let this story die anytime soon.

That's why the RF offered the best advice - don't deal with them, To me, the letter didn't even paint Meghan in a bad light. But it gave the papers the chance people fear to give them. I doubt even the Palace could foresee the crusade against misinformation which makes the situation even worse.

Personally. I see no reason to place much trust in anything Meghan has ever said. She "forgot" when the court asked her to check. I'm a mere royal fan with far less reason to expect anything. She doesn't owe me, so I'll keep her faulty memory in mind when considering her words.

[ACO]

Meghan also said in those same emails that she didn't trust Scobie and that he writes inaccurate things. Nothing she that was presented by Knauf wasn't already in the public domain. Which I guess was her error in not remembering and thinking she wasn't saying anything new.

But she did call out him being wrong and therefore he probably did make up plenty in his book. Or got wrong details form his "sources". I remember Morton having wrong details too only to learn his early sources were the likes of Samantha Markle.

The MOS of course want to drag it out. They are enjoying the coverage but as for how people view them? I don't think any of this new info has changed much opinion of them. Just watching the morning shows and you hear people still defending and attacking. That will never change. There is really no in between for many regarding the Sussexes.

[Sunnystar]

What it all boils down to is what it has always boiled down to when it comes to the Sussexes, and especially Meghan in this regard - they think they know better than what their expert communications staff and others around them suggest. The old proverb "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" seems apropos.

[Claire]

Confused -

It the book wasn't favorable Omid would not have been provided access?
Before the book was written they could say it would be positive and positioned as a celebration of Meghan - this books publisher should be cringing?
Why direct it to an American market? This before plans for Mexgit was hatched - supposedly? And Knauf was in on it. Is the BRF press office really this concerned about American opinions of British royals?

This actually makes me wonder what the draft of this book was before it was about Mexgit? Now that Omid is basically unemployed and unemployable - wonder if he will start squawking?

[Fem]

Originally Posted by Curryong

I think it is absolutely clear that the newspaper group couldn’t have cared less what stress their lawyers put Meghan under or about any miscarriages. What they care about first and foremost is clickbait and the money from it.

Of course they don't care about how much stress it's causing to Meghan. No one here expects them to care about it.

But does being pregnant, a recent miscarriage or being under a huge amount of stress allows anybody, including Meghan, to lie to the court and then try to cover it up by saying she "forgot"? Me thinks not.

Meghan and Harry started this whole lawsuit, fully knowing it might bite them in the ass in the end. But while they might win the legal part of it, they were extensively exposed in their efforts to get more positive press. Wasn't their crown argument about not wanting to work with royal rota the exchange of positive spin for access? Well, they did the same thing with Scobie. The evidence shows Jason Knauf doing exactly what they wanted. It shows Harry knowingly wanting to prepare a strategy to lie about a book.

And now the tabloids will run with these new information, to no end. And to be honest, for the first time, I actually feel like the Sussexes deserve everything they get because of it.

Originally Posted by Osipi

Are we back to crocodile tears and playing the victim with a story about Royal A and Royal B (who cannot be named and also famously has the family mantra of ¨never complain, never explain¨) as whitewashing and reasoning that just somehow seems so very insincere and a last ditch effort to put the blame elsewhere than it belongs.

The MoS has the Sussexes right where they want them. Fodder for more stories and the profits keep rolling in. They´ve given Meghan enough rope and she´s nicely hanging herself with it every time she opens her mouth to ¨explain¨ things.

I think maybe now she will see why the "never explain, never complain" mentality is working.

With every new "explanation" Meghan looks worse and worse. Harry as well. And the worst part is, the Sussexes are basically doing it to themselves. There was no hacking. No breach of their privacy. They willingly put their "explanations" publicly for everyone to judge. And I'm afraid they might not like the judgement.

[Curryong]

Why is Omid Scobie charactised as ‘unemployed and unemployable’? Last I heard he was at Harpers Bazaar as Royal Editor at large, and as a journalist I read a piece by him in another publication only yesterday.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/author...7/omid-scobie/


And I doubt he is ‘squawking’ about he and Carolyn D’s sales for FF which were excellent.

Originally Posted by Fem

Of course they don't care about how much stress it's causing to Meghan. No one here expects them to care about it.



With every new "explanation" Meghan looks worse and worse. Harry as well. And the worst part is, the Sussexes are basically doing it to themselves. There was no hacking. No breach of their privacy. .

Probably there was no hacking, as far as we know. However there were certainly breaches of Meghan’s privacy when the Mail on Sunday decided to print her private letter to her father over several pages of their newspaper. In ‘the public interest’, of course. Poor lambs, they were just trying to help Meghan and her father, as always.


The whole point of Meghan’s suit was that the Fail DID breach her privacy and her copyright.

[ACO]

I mean if we being honest -- once this is done that will kind of be all she has to think about in terms of the UK press. She barely does now. This is the most interaction she has had and that is due to having to legally do it.

The coverage of this in the states has been basically non existent. And the coverage I did see still was pretty sympathetic toward her. Might be because it is the Daily Fail and her history with them in well known. The tabloids will always write about her but now she not in the thick of it.

It is wild to think this has been going on for 3 years though,

[Claire]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Why is Omid Scobie charactised as ‘unemployed and unemployable’? Last I heard he was at Harpers Bazaar as Royal Editor at large, and as a journalist I read a piece by him in another publication only yesterday.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/author...7/omid-scobie/


And I doubt he is ‘squawking’ about he and Carolyn D’s sales for FF which were excellent.

Do you think he will be given access anywhere after this or indeed a press card? All a journalist, even a tabloid journalist has is his reputation and integrity.

Originally Posted by ACO

I mean if we being honest -- once this is done that will kind of be all she has to think about in terms of the UK press. She barely does now. This is the most interaction she has had and that is due to having to legally do it.

The coverage of this in the states has been basically non existent. And the coverage I did see still was pretty sympathetic toward her. Might be because it is the Daily Fail and her history with them in well known. The tabloids will always write about her but now she not in the thick of it.

It is wild to think this has been going on for 3 years though,

It has been covered by NBC, CBS and CNN now. NBC used the word perjury. Yep - not blanket coverage.

[soapstar]

Let’s not get into a back and forth about media coverage of the lawsuit, or Omid’s employment status. Thanks.

[Royalist.in.NC]

Originally Posted by HighGoalHighDreams

It cannot be overstated the importance of the revelation that Harry has just admitted that this couple's strategy is to create situations where they can then deliberately mislead people into believing falsehoods about their actions.

It's might be important or unimportant that they cooperated with FF, depending on your view of this couple. What is of the utmost importance is that they did it with the intention of leading their own supporters into believing they did not.

This is the definition of misinformation-- deliberately creating a false impression of a situation but making it appear as truth, knowing that you are causing people to walk away from a situation with a false idea. Do we know of anyone who campaigns against this?

Yes, I agree! Unbelievable!

Originally Posted by HighGoalHighDreams

I am simply stunned beyond belief by the whole thing.

The book had its own thread here when it was published. When people who read it commented that it was obvious that the couple had cooperated heavily in its writing, they were told repeatedly, "They couple have said they did not. So have the authors. What more do you want than a direct denial?" This was true over all other forms of social media.

So to find out all this time later that not only were the denials (by all involved parties) a lie, but the couple specifically sat down and planned it out so that they could say "we need to lie, but make it so that our lie is not technically a lie"? These are their own supporters that would be defending them in this way and would be the ones to be deceived by the lie. They were deliberately creating deception, then went about building a platform- nay, launching a "nonprofit," based on people and platforms who do this exact thing: creating deception and misconception.

What on earth does this say about this couple?

It boggles the mind that they thought this would not come out. Not a good look at all.

[Fem]

Originally Posted by Curryong

Probably there was no hacking, as far as we know. However there were certainly breaches of Meghan’s privacy when the Mail on Sunday decided to print her private letter to her father over several pages of their newspaper. In ‘the public interest’, of course. Poor lambs, they were just trying to help Meghan and her father, as always.

The whole point of Meghan’s suit was that the Fail DID breach her privacy and her copyright.

I'm not talking about the letter, as I have admitted in my post that yes, the Sussexes might win the lawsuit: "Meghan and Harry started this whole lawsuit, fully knowing it might bite them in the ass in the end. But while they might win the legal part of it, they were extensively exposed in their efforts to get more positive press."

In the matter of all of the other information released (confirmation of their cooperation with Scobie), their personal correspondence (Harry's texts to Tom Markle) and Jason Knauf's testimony (exchanging access to engagements for a positive spin), there was for sure no hacking involved - the information were shared in the court.

So yes, they might win the copywrite lawsuit, but during the legal procedings the Sussexes or other people released quite a lot of information as well, and a lot of it was not positive at all. The whole thing is widely covered by international media, also not really in a positive light, seeing as there are already a few articles pointing out a possible perjury by Meghan.

[Hallo girl]

Originally Posted by Curryong

The whole point of Meghan’s suit was that the Fail DID breach her privacy and her copyright.

But nobody is interested in that anymore, the story has shifted, The MOS has IMO already won, they have managed to get Meghan to publicly admit things she had previously denied. It does not really matter now who wins the actual court case.
I think It is all very sad.

[Curryong]

The MoS quite obviously wish to win the case in the courts, otherwise they would not have continued with the appeal but would simply have interviewed Knauf and included his emails in their articles.

This may be a big story now with the negative implications for Meghan. However, if she wins this appeal and again insists on an apology from the MoS on its front page that may well stop much of the cock a hooping among the British tabloids at the moment.

[Alison H]

Originally Posted by Curryong

This may be a big story now with the negative implications for Meghan. However, if she wins this appeal and again insists on an apology from the MoS on its front page that may well stop much of the cock a hooping among the British tabloids at the moment.

Really?

It's not that uncommon for that newspapers to be told to print an apology. It's like when a parent or a teacher tells a little kid that they've got to apologise for doing something naughty. The kid parrots "I'm very sorry and I won't do it again". Then walks off, not the slightest bit abashed or embarrassed. Everyone knows that they don't mean a word of it. It means nothing.

And the tabloids aren't "cock a hooping" at all. The Metro had a picture of Kate and a picture of Boris on today's front page. The Mail's main story was about a Member of Parliament, as was the Mirror's. Between Armistice Day, Covid, politicians and the COP26 summit, there are a lot of other things to talk about.

I think most people are sick of the whole thing.

[Erin9]

Originally Posted by Sunnystar

What it all boils down to is what it has always boiled down to when it comes to the Sussexes, and especially Meghan in this regard - they think they know better than what their expert communications staff and others around them suggest. The old proverb "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink" seems apropos.

Indeed. They didn’t take JK’s advice. And here we are.

I’ve thought for awhile that they probably ignored the expert advice they were given- and here’s clear proof.

[Erin9]

Originally Posted by Curryong

The whole point of Meghan’s suit was that the Fail DID breach her privacy and her copyright.

True. But was it worth all this? They’ve also been shown to be liars (perjurers to be specific) and to be engaging in a conspiracy to lie to the public due to this lawsuit.

Only the Sussexes can answer whether being “right” about copyright and privacy is worth what’s come out about their character- or lack thereof from my POV.

Regarding the letter- no it shouldn’t have been published. But Meghan wrote it knowing it was highly likely to be released to the public. So- how private was it ever anyway? It was written with an eye to the public possibly reading it.

[Moran]

Originally Posted by Erin9

True. But was it worth all this? They’ve also been shown to be liars and to be engaging in a conspiracy to lie to the public due to this lawsuit.

There is a difference between the ruling of court and the court of public opinion. I don't want to bring comparisons but it's definitely possible to lose one's reputation even before a trial and never regain it, no matter what the outcome of the trial is.