The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Step Back as Senior Royals: January 2020

[_Heather_]

William didn't work full time as an air ambulance pilot. It was a part time job. Harry was a fulltime Royal at the time of his wedding because both brothers did so due to Prince Philip's retirement from Royal duties.

I can just imagine the British media tearing into Harry and Meghan for stating that they wished to be part time royals from the start. There would have been article after article contrasting Harry and Meghan with fulltime William and Kate, who had three children. I don't think there would have been too much 'understanding'.

Ok. Full time or part time he was performing a service based job which he donated his pay for and performed royal duties at the same time. That's entirely different from cherrypicking your royal duties and earning "professional income" which is clearly intended to come from corporate deals, speaking engagements, and who knows what else. The issue of whether William worked full time or part time with the air ambulance is the least of the issues here.

As for media understanding, none of us know what the media would have been like had they made their decision at the time of their engagement or marriage AND worked with the Queen and Company to craft an appropriate statement and announcement.

 

[Betsypaige]

Interesting article.....

Especially without Harry, yes Charles will need help, but who? Referring back to the beginning of the article, I can’t say I disagree with his reasoning for a slimmer down monarchy. Lastly, I do hope he’s right about William and Harry...I think they will eventually heal the rift; they just might need space.

Harry's plan puts Charles in a ticklish spot faced by many parents, albeit on a much smaller financial scale. He is in the position to decide whether Harry and Meghan continue to receive money from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, with annual revenue of more than 20 million pounds ($26 million), once they have for the most part abandoned their royal roles.

Collateral damage has included the previously close bond between Harry and William, who hold a special place in many Britons’ hearts as the offspring of the late Princess Diana. Many remember them walking silently in her funeral cortege in 1997. William has not commented publicly on the breach, but Harry has said they are now on “different paths.”

Removing Andrew and Harry from the equation will leave the monarchy with a smaller footprint: fewer senior royals gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony to wave to the throngs at national events, fewer to open hospitals and help raise money for charities, and fewer using public funds to pay for official travel and events. There will also be fewer royal households with competing interests.

Until these recent seismic events, the royal entourage has grown along with Elizabeth’s family. She is the longest reigning monarch in British history, with four children who have started families of their own. There are grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. Some have scorned royal titles, but others have not, leading to a proliferation of princes and princesses.

Royal historian and author Hugo Vickers cautions that Charles may be misguided in his plans to shrink the monarchy because the extended family actually provides substantial help.

“I think it's most unwise because other members of the royal family help with a lot of things the monarch cannot do,” he said. “He'll soon find he needs to be helped.”

Royal rift: UK monarchy will look smaller when dust settles

Prince Charles, the future king, has long been seen as a potential modernizer who wants a more modest monarchy in line with other European royal households — and the streamlining process has already begun with the astounding developments of recent months. The trials and tribulations of Andrew...

news.yahoo.com

Whew...that’s a lot of dough. Here’s hoping that Charles will choose not to fund Harry and Meghan...

RICHARD KAY on Charles lavishing millions on sons William and Harry

RICHARD KAY: Prince Charles is 'drained' from the amount he spends on his sons. Bills he has splashed out on include the Sussex's home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[duchessrachel]

I tend to agree with you Pranter, especially your last paragraph.

I’ll add, I’ve always thought Harry had a chip on his shoulder/resentment towards his father and grandmother in the way his mother was treated during/after his parents divorce.

Who knows what goes on behind closed doors but I do think Harry has been mollycoddled where that has become his “norm”. When he married, I can’t help but think there was a sigh of relief from his elders hoping that this would see him settled in some way and building a marvelous future for himself and his bride.

Today I don’t think it’s a chip/resentment anymore. I think it’s a deep internal rage that’s now playing out in public. I think he’s a very angry young man.

I totally agree with your assessment of Harry. Before Harry met Meghan and got married, he seemed to be in a happier place. He talked about getting counseling due to William's encouragement, and I thought he was coming to a place of acceptance of his position in the Royal family. But for the past year, he has looked visibly unhappy and strained. He does seem to be carrying around a lot of anger. I can speculate on what it is and what I think he should do, but I am sure it is far more complicated than that. I hope for his sake and his relationship with his family, he can get it worked out. I don't agree with the approach he is taking, though. There is something called being responsible, living up to commitments, and not letting down the institution who supports you.

 

[Curryong]

Sorry, Heather, I don't agree. Whatever announcement had been crafted the tabloids would have had a field day with contrast and compare for months.

 

[Betsypaige]

Actually, the fuss is because William took on part time duties while he was serving in the military and while he was working full time as an air ambulance pilot for which he also donated his salary if I remember correctly. He was also newly married, not almost two years in. Had Harry and Meghan announced at the time of their marriage that they would only take on part time duties or would combine some sort of service work (such as an air ambulance pilot) with part time duties everyone would have been perfectly understanding. Instead, they've been married almost two years, took on full time duties including a high profile role with the Commonwealth, and decided to go about this in a catastrophic manner. Rather than a calm, cool, and collected statement two years ago that would have put paid to all of this right from the start, they took on the job, decided they didn't like it, and rather than allowing for the necessary time and arrangements, blew it all up in spectacular fashion and showing incredible disregard and disrespect for both HM and the RF not to mention the monarchy as an institution. That's what all the angst is about.

Yes, this....Also, if Harry always wanted to escape, why not even bring this up to his father and the Queen before the marriage? If he always wanted to escape, I figure he didn’t try very hard to teach Meghan about the Royal life or to encourage her to be patient, to reassure her that she’d “get it”. ...This end result was inevitable

 

[duchessrachel]

Harry was quite young when Charles and Divorced. William was the one that took the brunt of the drama during that time.

I agree that Harry may have been spoiled more due to not having as high expectations placed on him and due to his own charm and mischievousness. However, he has very much come into his own and done some wonderful work with his charities and with the Invicitus games. WE all hoped he had matured and was ready to settle down and use his energies to be a great asset to the BRF with his new wife. Unfortunately, it is turning out to be the opposite.

Harry is definitely an angry bitter young man, and it is not an attractive thing to witness. For a young man who has so much going for him and has so many advantages the victim role doesn't sit well and for a man who advocates Mental Health Awareness and seeking help rather than suppressing it, he is not doing the cause any favors when his solution is to have temper tantrums, stomp his feet and run away. He needs therapy in a very bad way.

Because of what William went through being Diana's confidant, I am more than shocked that he is not unstable, but he seems to have a responsible head on his shoulders. He seems very stable and self-controlled. Also, as others have said, he has been raised to be King, which is quite different to how Harry was raised. I think a lot of William's stability is due to that (probably) different approach, but I also think that William meeting Kate and her family when he was on the verge of adulthood helped to cement the stable person he has become. He spent a lot of time with her and them and was allowed privacy though an agreement with the press to experience what an everyday stable family life is. He is very blessed in that the person he fell in love with and wanted to marry is a very strong, self-confident person. I will never forget how she carried herself the day after the nude pictures of her were published by that horrible magazine. She was the epitome of grace and duty. William is very blessed to have found her early in life. It makes me wonder if there had been some sort of stabilizing influence on Harry early on, if things would have been different for him.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

William didn't work full time as an air ambulance pilot. It was a part time job. Harry was a fulltime Royal at the time of his wedding because both brothers did so due to Prince Philip's retirement from Royal duties.

I can just imagine the British media tearing into Harry and Meghan for stating that they wished to be part time royals from the start. There would have been article after article contrasting Harry and Meghan with fulltime William and Kate, who had three children. I don't think there would have been too much 'understanding'.

I think if it had been said they wanted to start a family and have Meghan adjust to all the changes in her life for a couple years as she learned her role, there would have been understanding.

 

[duchessrachel]

I saw this, found it hilarious.

It is interesting learning how one of their friends feels about the Sussex's decision. I suspect the rest of them feel the same way.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...Markle-pleases-without-asking-permission.html
Wow, she now can breath? Well, she knew what she was getting into, I would trade my life with her for a month and she could see what it is really to have your soul crash!

I think Meghan is going to soon learn she still can't do what she pleases, if she wants to retain some of the royal perks, that is. She needs a reality check. I just read that the courtiers working out the details of Harry and Meghan's "stepping back" have hit a road block. I wonder what it is...

I can't figure out all the quote functions either!


I just think it's good to keep in mind that 99 percent of what we know is what the tabloid media are telling us.


LaRae

I can't figure them out either. I accidently put my post into aquote I was reponding to. I was giving a different perspective, but when I posted it looked like I was saying one thing in the first part of my paragraph, and the opposite thing in the second part.

 

[alicia]

The thing is that no where have they stated that they'd *not* be continuing the roles they already have in place. There is no indication that any of the roles they have now will go by the wayside and need someone else to pick them up.



This is what I think is a huge misconception in all of this. They'll not walk away from any roles, charities or patronages that they already have but perhaps not take on so many more going into the future. Its explicitly stated that they plan to keep on supporting the Queen and the monarchy and also launch their foundation. There'll be more time "away" to focus on their family.

The problem is, by their recent actions they haven't exactly supported the Queen and the Monarchy. Rather, they have instead insisted that the Queen and the Monarchy support them. I tend now to take their words at face value.

 

[duchessrachel]

I'm so glad I'm not the only person who can't figure out how to do the double quote. I've screwed up so many posts trying to do it and I never get it right.

Anyhow, it's been very clear over the years from Harry's own words that he's been looking for something. I very much believe that he thought he knew what he was looking for but I'm not sure that he really did. It was clear that he was looking for a happy and stable marriage and family and someone to really be his rock, similar to what it appears his brother found with Kate and, by extension, her family. In fact, we've heard Harry refer to William and Kate's happy marriage before with what I would call longing. I think he really thought that he had found that with Meghan but I also believe that deep down he knew that there were concerns. Yes, I'm sure the desire for children was a part of his fast actions but I also believe that deep down in his gut he was always concerned that she'd get too close and then see that she couldn't handle that life and bolt. Remember, it had already happened to him twice. So he rushed into this marriage with the need for a steady, happy, settling rock. But the truth is, Meghan's never exactly been the settled and steady type. Both in her family background and in her previous life and career she was constantly on the move and on the go. She lived in South America, Canada, etc. She was by her own admission a very free-spirited type. And, as I and many others have pointed out, she was coming from not only a broken family but an incredibly dysfunctional broken family.

I honestly think Harry was putting all his needs and hopes on this both consciously and subconsciously and then when she decided she couldn't handle this he completely fell apart and crumbled. Someone above commented about how coldly or harshly he was handling this with his family and while my first instinct was a very "how could he dare" kind of feeling, the more I think about it I think we're witnessing a very angry, heartbroken, confused man who is, once again, trying to pick up the pieces in a lifetime spent trying to pick up the pieces from various traumas and come aparts. Sometimes when we're very stressed, worried, sad, and trying our best to simply hang on we become cold and harsh with those closest to us, even when we don't really intend to. I suspect this is what we're seeing with Harry. The pictures coming out of Canada look like a woman who's set free without a care in the world where, by contrast, the pictures coming from the UK look like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and I think that contrast speaks volumes.

I think your assessment makes a lot of sense. And, she should be here in the UK with him since the "stepping back" decision and what the Palace decides is going to affect her as much as him. But, there she is in Canada, all laughing and happy, looking like she does not have a care in the world, while her husband is by himself in the UK dealing with one of the most life changing decisions he has ever faced.

 

[Erin9]

It is interesting learning how one of their friends feels about the Sussex's decision. I suspect the rest of them feel the same way.

I was really surprised to see that. Shocked. I think that’s a first- or close to a first- from any of William and Harry’s close friends. And she’s been friends with both of them.

That she removed it from Instagram quickly may well speak to the fact she realized it was a bad idea. But- she made her feelings clear.

Is it just me- or did it seem slightly more aimed at Meghan? The part about yoga seemed so directed at her. It was kind of generic until that jab.

 

[duchessrachel]

Oh boy, do I agree with all you said.

The pictures.......you’re spot on. I saw the pic of Harry in the car which looked like he was using or looking at his phone and thought to myself, she’s making sure you told them bah, blah, blah, jmo.

I respect all the different opinions on the forum and understand “wait and see”, but I do think the day will come when Meghan will blindside Harry.

I could not agree more. Who would have ever imagined this "stepping back" coming less than two years after their marriage. I remember during their engagement interview she expressed excited over the work she would get to do as a member of the RF. She was ready to "hit the ground running". Meghan said one time, before she met Harry, that she would like for charity work to be her main focus and acting second. However, I believe she wants to do the charity work she wants, and not necessarily what the RF would like for her to do. Having married Harry she is world famous and has a title. The first thing she does when she gets back to Canada, leaving Harry in the UK, is a charity visit. "If" she gets the kind of deal she wants from the RF during this transition period, I believe Harry's usefulness to her will run out at some point, and she will blindside him. The sad thing is that I am afraid Harry does not even see it coming. What is scary to me, is what is going to happen if she does not get the deal she wants during these negotiations that are currently going on. All of this is JMHO.

I think Meghan Markle recognised in Harry a Man 'discontented with his lot' in life, looking enviously at the family life his brother enjoyed with his wife and young family, and saw [clearly] that this man, with a global reach she has LONG desired, [but not independently achieved] could provide her with that fame, and 'Global platform'..

He was 'ripe for the picking'.

Now she has the Title, the platform, the child, what need has she of him any more ?

Oh my goodness!! I just stated the same thing in a post below, and then I saw yours. We are thinking the same thing.

Rose and Hugh van Cutsem's daughter Grace was a bridesmaid in William & Kate's wedding. Grace's first cousin, Florence (daughter of Hugh's brother Nicholas and his wife Alice) was a bridesmaid in Harry & Meghan's wedding.

So, I don't see how anyone could argue that they are not really friends.

I find Rose's post...interesting.

"Verrrrrrrryyy interesting"--Arte Johnson

 

[_Heather_]

I was really surprised to see that. Shocked. I think that’s a first- or close to a first- from any of William and Harry’s close friends. And she’s been friends with both of them.

That she removed it from Instagram quickly may well speak to the fact she realized it was a bad idea. But- she made her feelings clear.

Is it just me- or did it seem slightly more aimed at Meghan? The part about yoga seemed so directed at her. It was kind of generic until that jab.

That's exactly how I felt about it. Yes, she then posted some response or jab at the DM but the post was already out there. And that response read very much like she was angry or embarrassed or maybe both that they had caught it and published an article about it. I would agree, though, that the whole "spend time with my friends, drink coffee, do yoga" bit seemed pretty directed. Especially after the pictures we've seen of Meghan over the last couple of days.

 

[Countessmeout]

Let’s try this again as it seems my last post wasn’t read

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7afFbqgRBA/?hl=en

Rose made a second post on Instagram in response to the DM article.

For all those commenting about a friend speaking. And this proof Meghan alienated him from everyone.

 

[duchessrachel]

Harry’s own brother was allowed to be a part-time royal for a number of years so as to ensure the success of his marriage and family. I’m still not sure why Harry asking for the same consideration, plus the opportunity to be financially independent, is causing all this angst. Harry is placing his family first. Just as others have done.

William and Kate did this at the beginning of their marriage. Meghan said in the engagement interview that she was ready to "hit the ground running" when it came to doing work. They seemed ready to jump right in. I think that if they had told the Queen when the got engaged that they needed time to adjust before becoming full time, I feel sure she would have given it to them. But now, they have commitments and charities who are worried about their support. It is hard to un-ring the bell.

I was really surprised to see that. Shocked. I think that’s a first- or close to a first- from any of William and Harry’s close friends. And she’s been friends with both of them.

That she removed it from Instagram quickly may well speak to the fact she realized it was a bad idea. But- she made her feelings clear.

Is it just me- or did it seem slightly more aimed at Meghan? The part about yoga seemed so directed at her. It was kind of generic until that jab.

It most definitely had to be aimed at Meghan. That just makes me believe that if friends feel this way about her, then the RF is most definitely have the same perception. This makes me think she and Harry won't get the deal they want.

 

[ACO]

It most definitely had to be aimed at Meghan. That just makes me believe that if friends feel this way about her, then the RF is most definitely have the same perception. This makes me think she and Harry won't get the deal they want.

Rose literally posted twice on her IG saying otherwise and yet people chose to ignore it for whatever reason because I guess the alternative is a better story. This is exactly why these papers do what they do.

It also doesn't matter that that business man denied that was his home. The papers still claiming it is and linking him to it. So honestly we just saying facts no longer matter and theirs people's own words mean nothing?

 

[King of the Jungle]

Also, one huge difference was that William's civil workload, training and royal roles were announced officially after the plans were carefully worked out with the Queen.
Probably, Harry and Meghan's needs could have been met, without shock and uproar, had they co-operated patiently with Buckingham Palace.

Do you think the amount of private income that Harry and Meghan hope to generate (or that they might not intend to donate earnings back to charity) was a conflicting factor in discussions initially? Or perhaps the fact that they wish to live for months, not weeks, abroad?

The actual package that Harry wants will be interesting when the final plan is released.
It could be positive; here's hoping!

 

[Missjersey]

I think if it had been said they wanted to start a family and have Meghan adjust to all the changes in her life for a couple years as she learned her role, there would have been understanding.

Indeed.

I remember immediately after the engagement interview we were all discussing how they were going to hit the ground running. I just never thought it would be to Canada.

 

[Missjersey]

I could not agree more. Who would have ever imagined this "stepping back" coming less than two years after their marriage. I remember during their engagement interview she expressed excited over the work she would get to do as a member of the RF. She was ready to "hit the ground running". Meghan said one time, before she met Harry, that she would like for charity work to be her main focus and acting second. However, I believe she wants to do the charity work she wants, and not necessarily what the RF would like for her to do. Having married Harry she is world famous and has a title. The first thing she does when she gets back to Canada, leaving Harry in the UK, is a charity visit. "If" she gets the kind of deal she wants from the RF during this transition period, I believe Harry's usefulness to her will run out at some point, and she will blindside him. The sad thing is that I am afraid Harry does not even see it coming. What is scary to me, is what is going to happen if she does not get the deal she wants during these negotiations that are currently going on. All of this is JMHO.

And that could very well be a sticking point...

 

[PrincessKaimi]

Meghan’s ex-friend and business partner wrote recently about how she expressed concern to Meghan about marrying unto the BRF and the completely different lifestyle that requires...and Meghan apparently cut her off, said something to the effect that “I’m happy now” and that was it.....Meghan cut this woman out of her life. Sound familiar ?

Many of the media, who seem to personally like Harry, describe him as mercurial - so how he feels and acts may change from day to day. If he cuts himself off from his family, I’ve no doubt he’ll regret it. Of course there are phones and other ways to communicate with loved ones, but to paraphrase a famous line, “the BRF are not like you and me”. Is Harry going to just pick up the phone and call his father when he’s not used to doing that (I’m basing this on what I’ve read about how Royals communicate with each other )? Will he do that for the Queen? Philip? William ? The same goes vice versa..

What a shame that Harry has cut himself off from his friends ...he’s really isolated himself from everyone who loves him

Are you sure she "cut off" the woman? Perhaps merely distanced herself from someone who is a little too nosey? How can we know?

I do not think Harry was seeing his family members day to day, most royals don't. He will likely miss some family occasions but, as others have done, he can then go home to visit. Lots and lots of Americans prefer living a bit away from their extended family.

I'm pretty sure Archie and Meghan love Harry.

 

[Betsypaige]

I'm pretty sure Archie and Meghan love Harry

.

You’re taking me way too literally....In any case, what about his father? Brother? Grandparents? Aunts and uncles ? His extended family?

Indeed.

I remember immediately after the engagement interview we were all discussing how they were going to hit the ground running. I just never thought it would be to Canada.

They meant to say “hit the ground running....away”!

Also, one huge difference was that William's civil workload, training and royal roles were announced officially after the plans were carefully worked out with the Queen.
Probably, Harry and Meghan's needs could have been met, without shock and uproar, had they co-operated patiently with Buckingham Palace.

Do you think the amount of private income that Harry and Meghan hope to generate (or that they might not intend to donate earnings back to charity) was a conflicting factor in discussions initially? Or perhaps the fact that they wish to live for months, not weeks, abroad?

The actual package that Harry wants will be interesting when the final plan is released.
It could be positive; here's hoping!

I’m sure everything was a complicating factor, but IF they had been patient, things would have worked out as everyone wanted them to be happy. But. no, they had to act like spoiled five year olds.... they had to act like Veruca Salt :

I want the world
I want the whole world
I want to lock it
All up in my pocket
It's my bar of chocolate
Give it to me now

I want today
I want tomorrow
I want to wear 'em
Like braids in my hair and
I don't want to share 'em

I want a party with roomfuls of laughter
Ten thousand tons of ice cream
And if I don't get the things I am after
I'm going to scream

And now

Don't care how, I want it now
Don't care how, I want it nooooooooooooow

 

[Lee-Z]

imo they had not intended it and if they had sought the collaboration with the BRF they would have had a much better chance of getting what they wanted (imo helping on some royal engagements, but less than before and with more freedom to choose, esp. financially) with less amount of media fuss (which they also want (or so they say..they don't always act like it imo))

but the way they handled it...they indeed come across as 2 "Veruca Salt"'s...

Did they honestly not see that coming? Or did they see it but don't care?
Did noone advice them? Or did they get advice but choose not to listen?

On the one hand I'd like to know, on the other I'd like nothing better than the BRF and H&M arranging things behind closed doors and everyone going their own paths without much further explaining or complaining.
And hopefully for them as a family their paths will still cross from time to time..

 

[Alison H]

No-one needs to be a British citizen to be HRH. It's only in the last century that it's become usual for British citizens to marry into the Royal Family at all - and only in the last generation that the issue of divorce arose, so that's all pretty new.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

[...] It's only in the last century that it's become usual for British citizens to marry into the Royal Family at all - [...]

Before January 1, 1983, the law gave foreign women marrying British men the right to British citizenship. As a result, women marrying into the Royal Family may not have been British citizens prior to marriage, but they became British citizens upon marriage.

British Nationality Act 1948
British Nationality Act 1981

As this did not cover foreign men marrying British women, naturalization procedures were used for the men who married into the Royal Family, including Prince Philip of Greece before his marriage.

 

[wartenberg7]

Wow...what a shame that she wasn’t speaking to her mother - I didn’t know that. Of course friendships can end for various reasons, but cutting people off completely on a regular basis seems rather rough...

Princess Diana and her mother Frances had a very troubled relationship (not from the surface or in public, of course) because the mother left the family for another man. It was THE scandal in the british aristocracy in the late 1960s.
Since then, feeling obliged to take care of her even younger brother when Diana herself was in urgend need of comfort and care, she felt lonely, betrayed and let down - actually for the rest of her life - and took this into her later relationships/ friendships and, yes, marriage. I´m sure that experience was something that, deep down in her, she was never to forgive her mother, who left her beloved father.
Perhaps family history repeats itself a bit here when it comes to Harry in a modified male version of a "family pattern"? May be Harry is "mummy´s boy" when it comes to dropping friends who do not act like he expects, too? I also admired P Charles, William and Harry for getting along so well after all what happened in the early 1990s. But perhaps that´s just one side of the story.

 

[poppy7]

Princess Diana and her mother Frances had a very troubled relationship (not from the surface or in public, of course) because the mother left the family for another man. It was THE scandal in the british aristocracy in the late 1960s.
Since then, feeling obliged to take care of her even younger brother when Diana herself was in urgend need of comfort and care, she felt lonely, betrayed and let down - actually for the rest of her life - and took this into her later relationships/ friendships and, yes, marriage. I´m sure that experience was something that, deep down in her, she was never to forgive her mother, who left her beloved father.
Perhaps family history repeats itself a bit here when it comes to Harry in a modified male version of a "family pattern"? May be Harry is "mummy´s boy" when it comes to dropping friends who do not act like he expects, too? I also admired P Charles, William and Harry for getting along so well after all what happened in the early 1990s. But perhaps that´s just one side of the story.

It is way way more complex than that. Diana's father was an abusive man and her mother was basically sold into marriage. Much like her daughter would be. Earl Spencer treated her appallingly and she eventually left. Taking Diana and Charles with her. They would visit their father of course and on one such visit he refused to give them back. There was a custody hearing. Her own mother testified against her and the law showed good and proper that children were the property of their father especially when he has money and influence. Diana's anger in what was a traumatic childhood spread everywhere. She hated her stepmother. She dropped friends for disagreeing with her. At the time of her death, she was talking to her stepmother. But not to her brother, mother or sister Jane. Her father was of course dead. If Diana adored her father it was misplaced loyalty and I think we can only begin to understand how traumatised she was. Her brother too whose personal life has been rocky. She needed some much to find a loving, older partner with patience and time to help her heal and manage her difficulties. She didn't get that. Harry seems very very similar if it is to be believed he has cut off people. Who will he have Eugenie?

 

[Lumutqueen]

Please may I just put an FYI out there, this is by no means directed at anyone in particular but is just for everyone.

I know when threads get super long, and with our different time zones, you may join a thread and have up to 20 pages to read and you end up finding 6 or 7 posts that you want to comment on. Commenting on them all individually means that your posts alone can take up an entire page. On the app, this thread is currently at 300+ pages.

There's a button between QUOTE and the speech bubble that looks like "", if you click this when you find a post you like it will automatically queue it into a reply post for you. When you get to the last post you want to quote, you press the QUOTE button and all the posts you wanted to reply to will be there.

Like I said this is just a general FYI as I know a couple of posters were talking about it yesterday.

 

[Kataryn]

Before January 1, 1983, the law gave foreign women marrying British men the right to British citizenship. As a result, women marrying into the Royal Family may not have been British citizens prior to marriage, but they became British citizens upon marriage.

British Nationality Act 1948
British Nationality Act 1981

As this did not cover foreign men marrying British women, naturalization procedures were used for the men who married into the Royal Family, including Prince Philip of Greece before his marriage.

Philipp was a Briton as a descendant of the electress Sophia, but the law was so old that noone remembered it! LOL. That is changed now, too.

 

[Denville]

Harry’s own brother was allowed to be a part-time royal for a number of years so as to ensure the success of his marriage and family. I’m still not sure why Harry asking for the same consideration, plus the opportunity to be financially independent, is causing all this angst. Harry is placing his family first. Just as others have done.

Because it is completely different. William wanted to have a few years, in his earlier 30s to do a normal job and spend time with his kids while they were little. He never asked to go and live abroad, or to look for an independent income. He knew that he couldn't do that. When he had his time as a pilot, the queen and all her helpers were a bit younger, Philip was still working and it was possible for him to have some "normal life" time. Harry married when Phil had retired, the queen's now a very old lady, and the other royals who work for the Firm are all getting older.
He had had some years of freedom in the Amry and now was expected to be a fulltime Royal with the important role of Commonwealth prince... If he had issues with it, that was the time to say "Sorry Granny, I can't take on the full time royal Role.. I want to spend time with Meg and our kids and we need to earn our own money so that will mean I can only do a very part time job and maybe I'll want to live abroad as well...."
It would not be easy, to rearrange things, as I Think Charles si very reluctant to use cousins and siblings' children because it means he (AND William) will end up payng for them for the rest of their lives.. so he has hoped to do the job with the Aid of his 2 sons and their wives... It not like Ch and the queen can put an advert out for a "commonwealth Prince " or "Patron who wil cover X charities"... It CAN Be done that they can rearrange things if Harry goes, but it will take time nad wont be easy.
Harry knew this was his destiny.. I don't think he liked it but if he was willing to work at the Royal job, that was a commitment he made before and from the time of his marriage...
He knew that he and Meghan were on the full time royal roster, from ealry on.. Kate didn't do many engagements in the first years but Meghan was drafted in, early on.. and she wanted herself to "hit the ground running"....

 

[Betsypaige]

Princess Diana and her mother Frances had a very troubled relationship (not from the surface or in public, of course) because the mother left the family for another man. It was THE scandal in the british aristocracy in the late 1960s.
Since then, feeling obliged to take care of her even younger brother when Diana herself was in urgend need of comfort and care, she felt lonely, betrayed and let down - actually for the rest of her life - and took this into her later relationships/ friendships and, yes, marriage. I´m sure that experience was something that, deep down in her, she was never to forgive her mother, who left her beloved father.
Perhaps family history repeats itself a bit here when it comes to Harry in a modified male version of a "family pattern"? May be Harry is "mummy´s boy" when it comes to dropping friends who do not act like he expects, too? I also admired P Charles, William and Harry for getting along so well after all what happened in the early 1990s. But perhaps that´s just one side of the story.

It is way way more complex than that. Diana's father was an abusive man and her mother was basically sold into marriage. Much like her daughter would be. Earl Spencer treated her appallingly and she eventually left. Taking Diana and Charles with her. They would visit their father of course and on one such visit he refused to give them back. There was a custody hearing. Her own mother testified against her and the law showed good and proper that children were the property of their father especially when he has money and influence. Diana's anger in what was a traumatic childhood spread everywhere. She hated her stepmother. She dropped friends for disagreeing with her. At the time of her death, she was talking to her stepmother. But not to her brother, mother or sister Jane. Her father was of course dead. If Diana adored her father it was misplaced loyalty and I think we can only begin to understand how traumatised she was. Her brother too whose personal life has been rocky. She needed some much to find a loving, older partner with patience and time to help her heal and manage her difficulties. She didn't get that. Harry seems very very similar if it is to be believed he has cut off people. Who will he have Eugenie?

Wow, how tragic. I’m not sure if I could or would ever truly forgive if that had happened to me...Hmm, perhaps they cut people off before these people could hurt them (anymore)?