Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family


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Let's assume it is true that W&K never liked Meghan. That would not be a sin in itself. After all, lots of people don't get along with their brothers or sisters-in-law. Charles' siblings , especially Princess Anne, didn't get along with Diana either and I doubt they are very warm to Camilla. The real question is to what extent W&K "conspired" to undermine Meghan and, as far as I know, there is no credible evidence to support that conspiracy theory. Moreover, W&K are not in charge of the Court (yet); the Queen and the PoW are and they were both supportive of Meghan, at least in public.


This. Further, everything we have seen and heard about Catherine demonstrates that she is a mature, thoughtful person. The idea of a W & K conspiracy is ridiculous.
 
The latest set of extracts is out and in it they talk about how Meghan and Harry asked Thomas Markle not to interact with the media - call me dumb but isn't that what they just called the RF and staff out for doing?

They also say they hated that Thomas Markle announced his plans not to attend the wedding through the media, all I can think of - isn't that a bit like announcing your leaving the RF and then putting your plans online without discussing them with the Queen first?

In the latest revelations it talks about Meghan sitting in the bath sending a message to her father - where on earth did that revelation come from?
 
I'd agree the book is not looking good for Harry or the RF but Meghan is coming up smelling as roses.

Its all Kate's fault that they weren't close, it is everyone else's fault she wasn't more prepared for Royal life, everyone is racist, the royal staff all leak completely made up stories all the time...

I would say that the intention was for H and M to look good..........but they don't, and that's because as deluded as they are about their behavior, so are the authors.

The latest set of extracts is out and in it they talk about how Meghan and Harry asked Thomas Markle not to interact with the media - call me dumb but isn't that what they just called the RF and staff out for doing?

They also say they hated that Thomas Markle announced his plans not to attend the wedding through the media, all I can think of - isn't that a bit like announcing your leaving the RF and then putting your plans online without discussing them with the Queen first?

In the latest revelations it talks about Meghan sitting in the bath sending a message to her father - where on earth did that revelation come from?

Meghan wasn't speaking to her father at this time, right? So frankly she doesn't have the right to judge him for what he said or did...

Look up hypocrisy in the dictionary and you'll find a stunning portrait of the Sussexes
 
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The latest set of extracts is out and in it they talk about how Meghan and Harry asked Thomas Markle not to interact with the media - call me dumb but isn't that what they just called the RF and staff out for doing?

That's one of their biggest problems , not just with this particular situation but in general . Meghan sued a bunch of tabloids for publishing her dad's letter and publishing (fake) stories from anonymous sources . She didn't sue People magazine and those anonymous 5 friends even after they allegedly talked behind her back to a tabloid about a private letter. And so far Harry and Meghan have claimed to have nothing to do with this book and given their track record one should expect them to sue Scobie and his co author because he's publishing private information from anonymous sources .


I would say that the intention was for H and M to look good..........but they don't, and that's because as deluded as they are about their behavior, so are the authors.

Fully agree.
 
Shots fired: the Cambridges had surrogates state they did welcome Meghan

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.da...-hit-biography-said-shunned-Meghan-Harry.html

If this is BS, KP should not have said anything, as many have contended the Sussexes should not have had friends talk. And if anyone contends Kate is human so is Meghan. This only help book sales.

I was wondering when Meghan's dad was brought into this. The tabloids said previously he was not going to be mentioned.
 
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Watching H&M self-destruct in a pique of hubris has been quite cringeworthy for me as a third party observer. I can only imagine the exhaustion of Harry's family members as they are actually emotionally invested in the dysfunctional duo. Though I hope for their sake they've already been emotionally distancing themselves from the couple.

I will say I've never been more impressed by the class of the Cambridges, I didn't realize all they were having to tolerate from this couple for the last 4 years. I certainly wouldn't have been that magnanimous if I was in their shoes, the Anmer Christmas invitations alone despite knowing that H&M were undercutting them...

If the Sussexes can ever be tempted away from gazing at their own reflections, they are going to have an arduous journey of remorse.

The BRF will be fine, they correctly look like the rational party. The biggest victim of this "Freedom" collaboration is Archie. He's not responsible for his parents' antics but it's going to affect him very much at least for the next 17 years.
 
Sun article.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12224466/meghan-markle-prince-harry-book-biography-bloodbath/

"Harry and Meghan got what they wanted. So why do they sound so dreadfully unhappy".

Brilliant article.....

I love this....it perfectly captures Harry’s arrogance. He actually seems to HATE everything about the monarchy, the institution. He has such disdain for everything his grandmother, father, brother, etc....have done, as if their work isn’t as important as his.

I would add that I think this is an attempted bloodbath, because I think this book has only hurt H and M...


This is the gospel according to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

And it stinks of self-pity.

“I don’t need to have that movie moment where we get out of a car and wave to 100 photographers before going into a building,” Harry bleats.

But Harry — that moment is the price you pay for the lavish life you lead.

Without that moment — not, in fact, waving to the photographers but to the public who love and support the Royal Family — you are just an Old Etonian alumnus with two mediocre A levels who would have to get a real job.

Watching H&M self-destruct in a pique of hubris has been quite cringeworthy for me as a third party observer. I can only imagine the exhaustion of Harry's family members as they are actually emotionally invested in the dysfunctional duo. Though I hope for their sake they've already been emotionally distancing themselves from the couple.

I will say I've never been more impressed by the class of the Cambridges, I didn't realize all they were having to tolerate from this couple for the last 4 years. I certainly wouldn't have been that magnanimous if I was in their shoes, the Anmer Christmas invitations alone despite knowing that H&M were undercutting them...

If the Sussexes can ever be tempted away from gazing at their own reflections, they are going to have an arduous journey of remorse.

The BRF will be fine, they correctly look like the rational party. The biggest victim of this "Freedom" collaboration is Archie. He's not responsible for his parents' antics but it's going to affect him very much at least for the next 17 years.

:previous:

I’ve always loved Kate, was usually fine with William but never felt strongly about him.....now I have a great deal of affection and respect for him, for them as a family unit.

I also think the BRF will be fine. From the start of Megxit, they handled this well....and they’ve come through brilliantly during the pandemic, when people really needed them. HM is a rock, and she is supported wholeheartedly by her loving family : son, grandson, granddaughter-in-law, another son, daughter....Harry is the one who is missing out...and, yes, little Archie. It’s quite sad.
 
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Correct. The waving and smiling getting out of the car is part and parcel of what Harry used to represent. It gave him his platforms. it gave him the respect of a nation and people around the world. it gave him security that he'd never go hungry, always have a warm place to live and good food to eat and a family that loves him.

What he has now by deciding to drop down to rock bottom and throwing away anything and everything he took for granted before, he's going to have to earn on his own especially respect.

Perhaps in Harry's case, the grass that looked greener on the other side of the fence turned out to be poison ivy. ;)
 
The press can trash the Sussexes all they want; it still doesn't wash away the stench on the courtiers and the Cambridges. The usual suspects of royal reporters have been deployed to put in their two cents, showing the BRF has taken a hit with this book.
 
The press can trash the Sussexes all they want; it still doesn't wash away the stench on the courtiers and the Cambridges. The usual suspects of royal reporters have been deployed to put in their two cents, showing the BRF has taken a hit with this book.

To be honest, I’m not reading what the Cambridge’s did that was so bad. Okay, so Kate May have snubbed the Sussex’s. She’s human. William was only showing concern for Harry by telling him to slow down. I do agree with you on the men in grey, but they’ve always been awful!
 
The press can trash the Sussexes all they want; it still doesn't wash away the stench on the courtiers and the Cambridges. The usual suspects of royal reporters have been deployed to put in their two cents, showing the BRF has taken a hit with this book.

Other than what has been printed, rumored, speculated and insinuated and what came out of the mouths of not so reliable "sources", what has been stated as *fact* that the courtiers and the Cambridges have done that makes them them stinky. I'd really like to know. Seriously.
 
The Time (which is previewing the book before its release) has an interview with the authors and the section where they talk about H&M possibly being involved an giving interviews for the book is very interesting IMO:

So did Omid and Carolyn have a sit-down with Harry and Meghan? “The book doesn’t claim to have any interviews with Harry and Meghan. And nor do we,” Scobie says. But did they have them? “I don’t claim to have interviews with them.” But did he have them? “There are no interviews with Harry and Meghan.” Was there, perhaps, an off-the-record talk? “You’ve read the book. There’s no on-the-record interviews with the couple.”
Was there an off-the-record discussion with them? “No,” he says more quietly, “and I think that you can tell from the reporting, my time around the couple is enough for me to know my subjects.”


It surprises me how around the houses Omid has to go to say simply "they had absolutely nothing to do with this book whatsoever" if that is what he is trying to say.


I have to agree tommy100.

If I was the author, and the subjects of the biography I wrote had nothing to do with it, I would be very clear to say so, in very plain language.


And if I had sources I had promised to protect, I would say that too.

People are able to understand that a lot of the time, someone is only willing to talk when they are assured their anonymity is protected.

I don't have a problem with un-named sources in any book or article.

To me it makes sense people want to share, want to explain things, but without being put on public trial for having done so.

Better to say what you want to say, but to stay unknown while doing so.
 
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The latest set of extracts is out and in it they talk about how Meghan and Harry asked Thomas Markle not to interact with the media - call me dumb but isn't that what they just called the RF and staff out for doing?

They also say they hated that Thomas Markle announced his plans not to attend the wedding through the media, all I can think of - isn't that a bit like announcing your leaving the RF and then putting your plans online without discussing them with the Queen first?

In the latest revelations it talks about Meghan sitting in the bath sending a message to her father - where on earth did that revelation come from?


That's some detail to be put in any biography tommy100 ... the subject of this book was sitting in a bath at the point they did this.

I've got a picture in my mind now of the Duchess in the copper bath at Frogmore Cottage.
 
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Shots fired: the Cambridges had surrogates state they did welcome Meghan

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.da...-hit-biography-said-shunned-Meghan-Harry.html

If this is BS, KP should not have said anything, as many have contended the Sussexes should not have had friends talk. And if anyone contends Kate is human so is Meghan. This only help book sales.

I was wondering when Meghan's dad was brought into this. The tabloids said previously he was not going to be mentioned.


To me it looks like the Crown have taken off the gloves and given the Sussexes a big, hard - and public - slap to the face with this Madame Verseau.

I'm sure some very experienced, cool and calm heads, thought through all the pros and cons of presenting some sort of rebuke to the contents of the "Finding Freedom" book.

Should the Royal Family and their staff just hunker down until the mud-slinging subsides and the world moves on.

Or - as it seems - have they had enough and a line has been drawn.

I can't see the Cambridges doing this without an okay from the Queen and the Prince of Wales.

I see William and Kate leading the fight back on behalf of all who have been slurred, particularly their staff who are just working people.

This also makes me think that the Royals see collusion from the Sussexes.

I don't think they would answer back to just an independent book, books are released about the Royals all the time.

And I've not seen a book gets as much publicity as this one since the Diana/Morten book came out.

That makes me think it is having a big, really big, impact that we are yet to appreciate as it's all still early days.

Yesterday the book was being called a "chandelier rattler", now the situation is being labelled a "bloodbath".

And another day of revelations still to come, then the acutal book itself in August and what else that may still be in it.
 
So what about Meghan and Harry's assertions in their engagement interview that Kate and William had been "absolutely amazing, a wonderful support"? No way this book was written without their backing. It's their modus operandi .
The press can trash the Sussexes all they want; it still doesn't wash away the stench on the courtiers and the Cambridges. The usual suspects of royal reporters have been deployed to put in their two cents, showing the BRF has taken a hit with this book.
 
The more I've seen of them since they left I find it easer to believe that (whatever Meghan has convinced herself) her motives were not just to do "her own kind" of charity work, but to also make her own money.


AFAI can remember, that was always what you thought about her. I was away for some time and coming back to this thread, it is still the same people writing the same things. Be they negative or positive. Isn't that boring?



Meghan and Harry's adventures are so fascinating for so many people, I think, if I see the coverage in the British media. But here are always only the same people talking. Why don't we all give newcomers the chance to say their piece of opinion, too by not posting so much?



I will do that now but before I leave this thread again, I just want to point out a quote from an opinion piece by the Observer and The Guardian's commentator Barbara Ellen:

Under the headline of :
I'm not blind to Meghan Markle's flaws, but she's been treated abominably

she writes: "
Everything else aside, it seems to me that sectors of the press had a choice to behave absolutely impeccably on the racial front and they (not Meghan) chose not to. One particular news item, relating to her childhood, was, in my opinion, coded racism at its worst, probably not something that would even be attempted in these post-George Floyd times. It was so sly and horrible that it made me cry.
This is what matters to me. It’s why I don’t care if the Sussexes are occasionally naive, compromised or entitled or if they end up flogging royal wedding tea towels on Sussex Royal. What matters is that Meghan hasn’t “played the victim”, she is a victim, or, more accurately, a survivor. Whatever some people say, at certain points, the racism was real. And, if that had been me and my mixed-race baby, I’d have wanted to leave the country too."


You all here talk about Meghan as if she wasn't a victim of British media racism or that she simply had to get over it and when she couldn't, you claim she was only in it for the money. Maybe she was or she wasn't. You don't know and no book will be able to give proof to that. But not to see that Meghan was racially profiled by the media and some courtiers? There is no need for further discussions, IMHO.
 
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Shots fired: the Cambridges had surrogates state they did welcome Meghan

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.da...-hit-biography-said-shunned-Meghan-Harry.html

If this is BS, KP should not have said anything, as many have contended the Sussexes should not have had friends talk. And if anyone contends Kate is human so is Meghan. This only help book sales.

I was wondering when Meghan's dad was brought into this. The tabloids said previously he was not going to be mentioned.

It's a pity.
The last thing the BRF, especially W&K, needs is a proxy-war with H&M via "friends" speaking out.
The best cause of action for W&K is silence. Even if Kate is pretty much being accused of being a racist - according to the excerpts I've seen.
This book is so damaging to H&M that no counterattack is needed.

And whether the "friends" who have spoken out are just that can be debated. AFAIU W&K's closer friends are not in the habit of talking to the press.

Of course this is what the tabloids want, and no matter what they will always find a "friend" who will say what suits the agenda.

Editors are these days giving thanks to Lucifer for this book.

Watching H&M self-destruct in a pique of hubris has been quite cringeworthy for me as a third party observer. I can only imagine the exhaustion of Harry's family members as they are actually emotionally invested in the dysfunctional duo. Though I hope for their sake they've already been emotionally distancing themselves from the couple.

I will say I've never been more impressed by the class of the Cambridges, I didn't realize all they were having to tolerate from this couple for the last 4 years. I certainly wouldn't have been that magnanimous if I was in their shoes, the Anmer Christmas invitations alone despite knowing that H&M were undercutting them...

If the Sussexes can ever be tempted away from gazing at their own reflections, they are going to have an arduous journey of remorse.

The BRF will be fine, they correctly look like the rational party. The biggest victim of this "Freedom" collaboration is Archie. He's not responsible for his parents' antics but it's going to affect him very much at least for the next 17 years.

A huge amen to that!

It is indeed most unpleasant to watch for me as well.
 
Maybe I pigged out too much on BBQ ribs a while ago but I'm starting to get the distinct impression that the "war by proxy" Muhler just mentioned made me realize that so much of today's mudslinging and name calling and finger pointing is exactly that. A "war by proxy" and words with intent to influence popular opinion on any given subject. Its even affected a process here in the US to turn a "we the people " event into a schoolyard bullying session.

Perhaps Covid-19 isn't the only pandemic happening? ?
 
I've had it up to here with all this. We are in the middle of the biggest international crisis for 75 years. I do not need to hear Harry and Meghan's whingeing all over the news. I'm so sorry for the Queen and Prince Philip, who really don't need this, and for Archie, who's probably going to grow up not knowing any of his relatives apart from Doria. I'm quite sorry for Doria too: she's behaved with complete dignity throughout all this.
 
The one I feel sorry for in all this is Archie. He will never know his British family and Meghan has no family anyway.

Archie will grow up a very lonely child. Remember Meghan feels she is 'too famous' to take him to a 'mother-baby' group so she is worried he won't get to grow up with anyone other than adults.

It is already 8 months since any member of the BRF has seen Archie in person and they will probably never do so again.

After this book it is clear that there is no way back ... just as the Morton book meant no way back for Diana. This will see the Sussex's out permanently.

The monarchy as an institution will survive. The individuals are expendable - as Edward VIII learnt and Harry will now learn.
 
I don't believe its written in stone that Archie will never, ever see his dad's side of the family at all. There is no indication either that they'll *never* return to the UK at all. In fact, from what I've been reading, if it wasn't for Covid-19, they most likely would have been heading to the UK sometime this summer. There's no indication that US residency is anything but part time as originally stated.

They may be ousted permanently from the "Firm" but they're not permanently ousted from the family. They're still retaining Frogmore Cottage as a home base in the UK. If they were never, ever coming back to the UK ever again in this lifetime, they'd have given up that residence.

So saying Archie is never going to ever see his dad's side is kind of jumping the gun stemming from a whole lot of suppositions that are going around right now. :D
 
We know this? How? Its been surmised that Charles is helping out financially but there's been no credible statement that says this is so.



One reason that comes to my mind. They're family. People in families make mistakes and sometimes something that looks like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow ends up being a pot of fool's gold. Should it happen that because of the pandemic, the Sussexes come to believe that they've really bitten off way more than they can chew, I'm sure the family would welcome them back home and to the "Firm" without second thoughts.


The Duke of Windsor left the RF and the RF didn't welcome him back, so why should they welcome Harry back, especially after all the things that he had said?


The press can trash the Sussexes all they want; it still doesn't wash away the stench on the courtiers and the Cambridges. The usual suspects of royal reporters have been deployed to put in their two cents, showing the BRF has taken a hit with this book.


I think it's funny how some people think that anything negative about the Sussex is just gossip and hearsay, but anything negative about other members of the RF MUST be true.
 
:previous: Somehow I don't see H&M take up a residence in the UK for more than a few days at a time in any foreseeable future.

I don't think they will feel particularly welcome by the public.
As we saw with Canada, they were not even particularly welcome there and that was before this book!
So major Commonwealth countries may also be a no-option.

I believe they will take up permanent residence in USA, where they will be celebs with a touch of royalty, rather than national representatives and symbols. There is a huge difference between that!
Where else can they go? Dubai?

- It is sad really, because by remaining in the BRF and following the rules they could over time have had the global platform they desired in order to promote the issues they wished to champion.
Now they are destined to fade away into ragged obscurity.

Just like king Edward, who was the most well-covered man back in the 30's. Now I can't even remember his number off hand.


ADDED:
Congratulations on your first post, RandyDrx.
 
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I don't believe its written in stone that Archie will never, ever see his dad's side of the family at all. There is no indication either that they'll *never* return to the UK at all. In fact, from what I've been reading, if it wasn't for Covid-19, they most likely would have been heading to the UK sometime this summer. There's no indication that US residency is anything but part time as originally stated.

They may be ousted permanently from the "Firm" but they're not permanently ousted from the family. They're still retaining Frogmore Cottage as a home base in the UK. If they were never, ever coming back to the UK ever again in this lifetime, they'd have given up that residence.

So saying Archie is never going to ever see his dad's side is kind of jumping the gun stemming from a whole lot of suppositions that are going around right now. :D

You are right, forever is a long time, but after this book which in my opinion has their finger prints all over it, I am not sure how they could walk into a room full of the royal family and feel welcome.

The Queen and Charles must be so hurt by this.

It is War of the Wales part 2.

This is all so sad, just as the Morton book locked out Diana, IMO this one will close the door on Harry and Meghan.
 
I think it's funny how some people think that anything negative about the Sussex is just gossip and hearsay, but anything negative about other members of the RF MUST be true.

Its not only with things negative about the Sussexes but also things that are positive whichever way a person wants to perceive what is out there. Its too extreme. Either you're in the Sussex camp or outside the Sussex camp and that leaves no room for basic compassion, understanding how families work (regardless of a family business. Business is business).

I like to think I'm in the middle of the road. I see plenty of negatives along with seeing that the negatives are being blown up, exaggerated and by the court of popular opinion, Harry and Meghan rank right up there with Bonnie and Clyde. No middle road at all. I get the feeling a lot that people seem to think the UK borders should be guarded by stormtroopers and should Harry and Meghan deem to grace the UK with their presence, they should be shot on sight.

Personally I think the public is far more concerned with all of this because the go to thing right now is to make sure the public goes to it (look at the amount of books being released. Its not being done for public interest but rather to rake in the green dollars and put prime rib on the table) and the public is eating it all up as if the plague is going to strike tomorrow. Oh! Wait.. there already *is* a pandemic and people are staying home reading stuffs. :D

I can picture it in my head. Harry and Charles talking over the phone and swapping "I can beat that story" tales and saying "next they'll dredge up you sticking your tongue out at the press at an early age and say you've been raised that way". :D
 
Osipi said:
We know this? How? Its been surmised that Charles is helping out financially but there's been no credible statement that says this is so.


Like you I do not know whether or not Charles is financially supporting the couple but IMO he will be aware of the pitfalls of them financing themselves through ' business ' or contacts. He will try to protect and support them as best he can, in whatever way he can.
 
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Like you I do not know whether or not Charles is financially supporting the couple but IMO he will be aware of the pitfalls of them financing themselves through ' business ' or contacts. He will try to protect and support them as best he can, in whatever way he can.

That's what daddies do. Harry knows he can go to Charles for advice about anything and Charles knows his dad is there for him when he needs him. Perfect example was at the wedding and Charles standing in for Mr. Markle. That wasn't done with public optics in mind. ;)
 
Harry is so ridiculously thin-skinned. I’m sure William didn’t mean anything by “this girl”..He hadn’t met Meghan and Harry hadn’t been dating her long. If H had an issue with his brother not supporting him (from his POV), then instead of getting in a huff, he should have told William how he felt. They could have had a conversation. Instead, Harry blew him off ...and didn’t even keep up his relationship with poor little George and Charlotte, who probably wondered where their uncle went. Louis is like, “Uncle Harry, who?”
I agree. What, please, is nasty about "this girl"?! William obviously didn´t say something like "are you serious..?!" or "are you mad? She will ruin you!" etc.
He just gave a brotherly and very proper (!) advice not to be rushed into things.
Harry expected William the same support he has given him when it was about Catherine? Well, you cannot possibly compare the 2 women... The Dss o Cambridge is a hands-on, down-to-earth person, despite her wealthy background who knows and understands what he job is. She comes out of a stable family. Markle is, like that notorious courtier (if that is true at all) correctly said, a "showgirl".
I was very sceptic when the couple got engaged and talked with my sister about it who was equally sceptic. I had the impression of a starlet with her lover or a fellow actor appearing on the red carpet for a premier or an award show rather than a soon royal-bride-to-be posing for a royal engagement photoshoot.

Although my first impression about a person never fails me, I soon got lulled in I must admit and thought, well, she could be a great breath of fresh air for the RF.
Nowadays I see I was right at the beginning. I don´t claim she is a bad person, but she is not made for Royalty; she has neither the motivation to achieve things for Britain or the Commonwealth nor the endurance to try hard enough. Perhaps if she had married in a deposed royal family, where she could do her own agenda, doing her pet charity, but without real responsibilities, things might have worked out better.
Some here suggest they might return at some point. I can only say, beware! Both Harry and Meghan are a bit like loose canons - but H is especially frail. The next strong wind or any critical remarks would put them off once more and they have not the strength nor the endurance needed to do the job. Unstable people cannot give the monarchy what it needs most: stabiity!
 
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