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

[Lilyflo]

What evidence is there that Megahn was "ill prepared" for her new life? She was the one who spoke of "hitting the ground running" and seemed to be very confidenet in her first year as a royal. Im sure she had the same preparation as other incoming wives...

For starters, saying she was "hitting the ground running" is a clear indication that she didn't realise her best option was to take a back seat to existing working royals in order to learn more about the BRF and how best she might be able to make a contribution. Being confident is definitely an asset but any incomer to a business or institution should spend some time absorbing the culture and observing how the experienced members conduct their work.

Which other 'incoming wives' would you say had the same preparation as Meghan?

 

[Denville]

I am not sure if she had time to receive the same preparation as the other wives. Their courtship was conducted flying back and forth across the Atlantic.
They were engaged in the November and married in May. I would agree she wanted to make a difference etc etc, and indeed was very confident but just how prepared was she for the life within the palace.
This could be why William had asked whatever the question was he allegedly asked. Possibly simply based on the timescale not the person.

that's one reason why I felt (wen she was first Mooted as a bride for Harry) that she might find it hard to fit in.. because she had not spend more than a couple of holidays in the UK and didn't know the country. But people assured me that Meghan was highly intelligent and would learn everything she needed to know. And she was living in England with H for 6 months before they married.. so overall I think she had a reasonable chance to learn.. and presumably spent some of the 6 months learning about the UK and royal cutlture as well as getting her wedding dress etc.

 

[tommy100]

The latest extracts really throw W&K under the bus, saying they never liked Meghan, didn't welcome her and didn't support her.

Its really quite unsettling how much the book only ever shows H&Ms side of things and really goes for them. Given how much talk there is of bullying and unkind media attention towards Meghan if its found out there was any involvement from H&M, friends, aides or employed PR people then they will be in huge crisis. To be honest, as it stands anything short of suing the authors for breaching their privacy and telling lies will look like they endorse it.

 

[Madame Verseau]

If there were a problem with the marriage the queen should not have given consent as required by law because Harry was 5th in line to the throne at the time. As a councillor of state William should have spoken then or forever held his peace. Nor William should have agreed to be the best man. Since the queen signed off more effort should have given for the support. These snitching courtiers allegedly at the behest of royals only gave the House of Windsor a black eye.

I think Scobie and Durand's days on the royal beat are numbered or over. But I think the intent to put other BRF members in a bad light showed everyone messed up here. And the Sussexes per their rep did not contribute to the book.

 

[Hallo girl]

that's one reason why I felt (wen she was first Mooted as a bride for Harry) that she might find it hard to fit in.. because she had not spend more than a couple of holidays in the UK and didn't know the country. But people assured me that Meghan was highly intelligent and would learn everything she needed to know. And she was living in England with H for 6 months before they married.. so overall I think she had a reasonable chance to learn.. and presumably spent some of the 6 months learning about the UK and royal cutlture as well as getting her wedding dress etc.

We can agree to disagree on this one.

 

[nightsky]

I thought Omid was supposed to be a mouth piece for the Sussex’s. So far he isn’t doing them any favors!

 

[Denville]

For starters, saying she was "hitting the ground running" is a clear indication that she didn't realise her best option was to take a back seat to existing working royals in order to learn more about the BRF and how best she might be able to make a contribution. Being confident is definitely an asset but any incomer to a business or institution should spend some time absorbing the culture and observing how the experienced members conduct their work.

Which other 'incoming wives' would you say had the same preparation as Meghan?

I was surprised that Meg started with full time engagements so soon, but I put it down to the fact that the queen's getting older and wanted her granddaughters in law to be both working and taking on their royal roles...and also due ot the fact that Meg was a trained public speaker and confident... and seemed eager to get out there and start doing the job...so they let her jum pin.
I am guessing that it was considered that she was confident, that she had learned during her engagement, and would learn the rest of the job quickly...
I dont think that Kate had any more training than Meghan.. I'd say that both of them had some training during their months of being engaged.. and that Kate then did a a small programme of work in her first few years of marriage...but Meg was a more outgoing, confident, activist sort of person and felt able to get started and learn on the job.
Did she know the UK well? No, of course not.. but IMO she was if you like ovr confident and felt that she'd soon get the hang of everything and maybe change a few things she didn't like... But I dont think she was "poorly prepared"....

 

[ladongas]

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.

THANK YOU for saying this. Many- not all - families experience blow ups or betrayals or disappointments, and most-not all-work it out and resume a dignified and cordial relationship.

Harry and Meghan haven’t cheated in their marriage or committed crimes or behaved in boorish fashion. I think it’s likely that this is a tempest in a tea cup which will blow over when ‘peace talks’ are held. There are certainly ways to make the H & M situation tolerable for all.

With the exception of Edward VIII, the BRF has found a way to make it work when family members have strayed and stumbled.

I frankly find the criticism a bit over the top. What actually happened has been embellished in extraordinary fashion and interpreted in unrealistic fashion.

And I don’t find it at all objectionable that a wealthy parent supports and subsidizes his/her child. Quite the opposite.

 

[tommy100]

The Cambridge's (or more likely those close to them) have hit back at claims they didn't make Meghan welcome:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-hit-biography-said-shunned-Meghan-Harry.html

According to the friends, the Cambridges 'welcomed Meghan with open arms' by inviting her to Anmer Hall, their family home in Norfolk, where Kate personally cooked vegan meals for her brother-in-law's then fiance.

William and Kate also invited Meghan's friends, bridesmaids and page boys to a party before her wedding to Harry in May 2018, and keen tennis fan Kate asked Meghan to join her in the Royal Box at Wimbledon for two successive years.

'It's just completely wrong to suggest they didn't talk and plain wrong to say the Cambridges weren't welcoming,' a friend told The Mail on Sunday.

...In an indication of the mistrust that developed between the two women, a friend of the Cambridges acknowledged that Kate had 'snubbed' Meghan at the Commonwealth Service in March which marked her last appearance as a working Royal.

The friend said her actions were born 'out of sheer frustration' at Harry and Meghan's behaviour over their withdrawal from Royal life, announced on Instagram, and the launch of the Sussex Royal website.

The source acknowledged that Kate snubbed Meghan at the West Door of Westminster Abbey, but added: 'That was after the Sussexes had issued that incendiary statement and website.'

But friends of the Cambridges dismissed claims in Finding Freedom that Kate and Meghan 'barely exchanged a word' at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day last year.

In what was intended as a public show of solidarity, Harry was cheered on the polo field by Meghan and baby Archie, and William by Kate and their three children, George, seven, Charlotte, five and Louis, two.

'Everyone saw Kate and Meghan chatting. She [Meghan] had the baby and it was really sweet,' one pal insisted. 'George went up to Archie and gently stroked his head. Louis was larking around and making Meghan laugh - it was really positive and happy.'

However, allies of the Cambridges accept that the once close relationship between the brothers is now 'strained' and best described as 'on and off'.

They said William had been left 'sad' and 'disappointed' by the claims in Finding Freedom.

 

[Denville]

THANK YOU for saying this. Many- not all - families experience blow ups or betrayals or disappointments, and most-not all-work it out and resume a dignified and cordial relationship.

Harry and Meghan haven’t cheated in their marriage or committed crimes or behaved in boorish fashion. I think it’s likely that this is a tempest in a tea cup which will blow over when ‘peace talks’ are held. There are certainly ways to make the H & M situation tolerable for all.

With the exception of Edward VIII, the BRF has found a way to make it work when family members have strayed and stumbled.

I frankly find the criticism a bit over the top. What actually happened has been embellished in extraordinary fashion and interpreted in unrealistic fashion.

And I don’t find it at all objectionable that a wealthy parent supports and subsidizes his/her child. Quite the opposite.

I dont think its a good thing for wealthy parents to subsidize their children.. and esp. when the son says that he and his wife want financial independence.. it seems very odd to go on taking money from Rich Dad.

 

[Mbruno]

The latest extracts really throw W&K under the bus, saying they never liked Meghan, didn't welcome her and didn't support her.

Its really quite unsettling how much the book only ever shows H&Ms side of things and really goes for them. Given how much talk there is of bullying and unkind media attention towards Meghan if its found out there was any involvement from H&M, friends, aides or employed PR people then they will be in huge crisis. To be honest, as it stands anything short of suing the authors for breaching their privacy and telling lies will look like they endorse it.

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.

 

[Missjersey]

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. I think that she did consciously or unconsciously see the royal marriage as a stepping stone not to "doing different kind of charity work" but to fame and fortune.. She needed a few years of being a royal duchess to get famous enough to go back to the US and start a business career (which would also involve "glamourous philanthropy" )... She may have wanted to give it 3 to 5years, initially and to be a part time business person.. but didn't realize that she couldn't be part time. And didn't realize that she might find the UK so uncongenial that it was hard to stick out 3 to 5 years.. But IMO that's because she didnt know enough about the UK, didn't listen if anyone told her what it was like.. and possibly Harry didn't really tell her that much becuase he was so thrilled that she was marrying him..nad didn't want to put her off...

Stepping stone is what sticks with me...I’ve always thought Harry was spoiled, jealous and angry pre Meghan. These are just my opinions before you clobber me. I think he’s probably been a handful behind closed doors often over the years. Other than the military to me he seemed aimless and has used the ‘Diana card’ too often. I think he was desperate to get married.

Remember the Invictus games when someone showed up in her “husband” shirt, well, I think she was reeling him in even then. The engagement picture arched back before the interview (sounds silly I know) but strike a pose.

All the walking in front and constant hand holding doing it her/their way ad nauseam...look at some of the pics on the balcony at Trooping, she looked smug on more than one occasion...I don’t think she ever ever gave a damn about Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth but she played up to Charles in my opinion.

They both reek of being attention seekers to me. I think he was so smitten someone would have him and she played into his anger and jealousies and although I blame him alone for the “smack in the face he gave HM”, I think she’s the mastermind behind it. She does victim to the hilt and he’s not far behind.

I haven’t been on here in quite a bit because I don’t want to get into arguments because of my opinions so I chose not to log on.

I think the book will backfire on them. I wish they would lose their titles in my eyes they don’t deserve them.

So right now, they’re unemployed suing the bejesus out of anyone who’s crossed them, living in a house at the kindness of others, probably taking pappy’s allowance, maybe planning what their next “career or initiative” is besides “victim”. Nothing surprises.

I don’t think the marriage will last.

Sorry for the rant !

 

[Alison H]

The UK and US are not on different planets. I've always felt pretty much at home in the US. Lots of British people live very happily in America, and lots of Americans live very happily here. OK, they're not members of the Royal Family, but I'm struggling to believe it was all such a culture shock to Meghan. She wasn't a naïve teenage girl like Diana - surely a university-educated woman in her mid-30s can't have been that clueless.


I know people can be really touchy if they think someone's criticising their partner, but, if Harry really flew off the handle because William said "this girl", then he completely over-reacted. And cautioning him not to rush was eminently sensible, after what happened with Charles and Diana.


The people who aren't mentioned in any of this are the Spencers. I wonder what goes on with them and Harry.

 

[Denville]

Stepping stone is what sticks with me...I’ve always thought Harry was spoiled, jealous and angry pre Meghan. These are just my opinions before you clobber me. I think he’s probably been a handful behind closed doors often over the years. Other than the military to me he seemed aimless and has used the ‘Diana card’ too often. I think he was desperate to get married.

Remember the Invictus games when someone showed up in her “husband” shirt, well, I think she was reeling him in even then. The engagement picture arched back before the interview (sounds silly I know) but strike a pose.

All the walking in front and constant hand holding doing it her/their way ad nauseam...look at some of the pics on the balcony at Trooping, she looked smug on more than one occasion...I don’t think she ever ever gave a damn about Her Magesty Queen Elizabeth but she played up to Charles in my opinion.

They both reek of being attention seekers to me. I think he was so smitten someone would have him and she played into his anger and jealousies and although I blame him alone for the “smack in the face he gave HM”, I think she’s the mastermind behind it. She does victim to the hilt and he’s not far behind.

I haven’t been on here in quite a bit because I don’t want to get into arguments because of my opinions so I chose not to log on.

I think the book will backfire on them. I wish they would lose their titles in my eyes they don’t deserve them.

So right now, they’re unemployed suing the bejesus out of anyone who’s crossed them, living in a house at the kindness of others, probably taking pappy’s allowance, maybe planning what their next “career or initiative” is besides “victim”. Nothing surprises.

I don’t think the marriage will last.

Sorry for the rant !

I don't entirely disagree. I think that Harry is a very volatile person and swings around from nice to nasty or at least messed up.... and I felt a few years ago, even before I think he was with Meg, that he was a bit overly desperate to be noticed when he did royal duties. I got a vibe that he was going "Hey hey look at MEEE.. I'm a lovely friendly jolly Jack the Lad chap".. all the time. Not perhaps ill intentioned but a bit desperate to be liked.
Since marriage to Meg the " volatile look at me side" seems to have come out more..the weeping at the Award ceremony, the talking about William etc...
Its as if he has realized in the last few years before and after his marriage that he's liked fairly well but he's not going to be King..and that over time, as he gets older, he'll probably be noticed even less.
So he's clinging to Meghan because he is glad to have found someone to marry him and wants to believe its all because she loves him and will make up to him for what he's lost in losing Diana so young...and maybe feeling that he's not properly loved and appreciated.
As for Meghan I dont know if she IS a ruthless ambitious woman who has snapped hm up when he was keen to get married and always had an escape plan in the background./... Or maybe she did mean to do the job but then found that although she's a royal, it is not such a glam life as she had expected... so she's using her Royal positon to help her now to make more money...

 

[Madame Verseau]

First opinion piece

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...arkles-flaws-but-shes-been-treated-abominably

Interesting. This writer has issues with Meghan but she is not letting the tabloid press off the hook.

 

[Denville]

The UK and US are not on different planets. I've always felt pretty much at home in the US. Lots of British people live very happily in America, and lots of Americans live very happily here. OK, they're not members of the Royal Family, but I'm struggling to believe it was all such a culture shock to Meghan. She wasn't a naïve teenage girl like Diana - surely a university-educated woman in her mid-30s can't have been that clueless.


I know people can be really touchy if they think someone's criticising their partner, but, if Harry really flew off the handle because William said "this girl", then he completely over-reacted. And cautioning him not to rush was eminently sensible, after what happened with Charles and Diana.


The people who aren't mentioned in any of this are the Spencers. I wonder what goes on with them and Harry.

True that people can live abroad, but usually they have time to find their feet. If Meg had had the chance to live with H for a couple of years before they got engaged, and learned more about the RF and teh UK.. she could not say that she didn't know the press is horrible and that it can be very nasty about the rich and the royals...

 

[tommy100]

Important to remember the guardian is the only mainstream republican (i.e. abolishing the monarchy) newspaper in the UK.

 

[Missjersey]

I don't entirely disagree. I think that Harry is a very volatile person and swings around from nice to nasty or at least messed up.... and I felt a few years ago, even before I think he was with Meg, that he was a bit overly desperate to be noticed when he did royal duties. I got a vibe that he was going "Hey hey look at MEEE.. I'm a lovely friendly jolly Jack the Lad chap".. all the time. Not perhaps ill intentioned but a bit desperate to be liked.
Since marriage to Meg the " volatile look at me side" seems to have come out more..the weeping at the Award ceremony, the talking about William etc...
Its as if he has realized in the last few years before and after his marriage that he's liked fairly well but he's not going to be King..and that over time, as he gets older, he'll probably be noticed even less.
So he's clinging to Meghan because he is glad to have found someone to marry him and wants to believe its all because she loves him and will make up to him for what he's lost in losing Diana so young...and maybe feeling that he's not properly loved and appreciated.
As for Meghan I dont know if she IS a ruthless ambitious woman who has snapped hm up when he was keen to get married and always had an escape plan in the background./... Or maybe she did mean to do the job but then found that although she's a royal, it is not such a glam life as she had expected... so she's using her Royal positon to help her now to make more money...

I think the real man Meghan is after is in Hollywood and his name is Oscar.

Remember at their last event the need to walk in the procession in church. They love attention, that was remind everyone how important they are. I’m sure they reminded Pa he’s the second son and prominence has it’s place. Jealous for sure one both ends imo .

 

[ACO]

Meghan isn’t even vegan. So that’s actually comical. Also I wish they would decide what this so called “Meg made Kate cry” story is about because it changes every few months.

 

[Denville]

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.

I think that the RF did make an effort to befriend Meghan.. for Harry's sake and because tehy knew she was coming in from a different culture and lifestyle. Her family were pretty awful and Im sure that they felt that they had to support her over that, so as to make it clear to the world that her family apart form her mother and at first her father - were to be ignored...and that it wasn't her fault that she had these relatives who were abusing her. So Charles made a big effort at the wedding and escorted Meg and her mother...
and H said that the RF were the family M had never had..
but possibly Will and Kate were a bit wary of this romance which seemed to have been conducted by frequent brief plane visits.. and did try to say something gently to Harry...
But I suspect that as they got to know her they didn't take to her.. and mabye she didn't take to them.... so .....

 

[Mbruno]

Stepping stone is what sticks with me...I’ve always thought Harry was spoiled, jealous and angry pre Meghan. These are just my opinions before you clobber me.

It is not unusual for a second-born royal son to be spoiled as royal parents tend to overcompensate for the fact that he is a spare. Even the Queen is said to have spoiled Andrew for example. In Harry's case, I think it was worse because people understandably felt sorry for him. He was younger than William and apparently more fragile, emotionally speaking.



The book claims Harry's fallout with his brother predates Meghan, but that is somewhat surprising to me as he and William always seemed to be very close and, even after William's wedding, Harry appeared to be close and friendly to Kate and the kids. On the other hand, as I said before, I find it very difficult to understand how Harry, having grown up in the RF, could not grasp William's distinct position as second in direct line to the Crown.

I think the real man Meghan is after is in Hollywood and his name is Oscar.

Remember at their last event the need to walk in the procession in church. They love attention, that was remind everyone how important they are. I’m sure they reminded Pa he’s the second son and prominence has it’s place. Jealous for sure one both ends imo .

Going back to my point above, Harry has seen his uncles and aunt walking behind his father since he was a child. It doesn't make sense that, all of a sudden, he would feel snubbed or demoted for waliking behind William and Kate.

 

[Denville]

I think the real man Meghan is after is in Hollywood and his name is Oscar.

Remember at their last event the need to walk in the procession in church. They love attention, that was remind everyone how important they are. I’m sure they reminded Pa he’s the second son and prominence has it’s place. Jealous for sure one both ends imo .

I dont know if she hopes to go back to the Hollywood career.. She might consider narrating documentaries and that sort of thing but not acting. She never made it big as an actress..
But anyway, I dont tink that there will be that much activitly in Hollywood for a year or 2....

 

[tommy100]

Meghan isn’t even vegan. So that’s actually comical. Also I wish they would decide what this so called “Meg made Kate cry” story is about because it changes every few months.

You can have favourite vegan meals and not be a vegan just as many people now try to have one vegetarian meal a week but aren't vegetarians.

 

[Pranter]

1) I assume we can all now agree that Omid is not a mouthpiece for the Sussexes? That the book is not going to be a cheering squad for them?

2) No one knows who is paying for what, still. It's not likely we will ever know.

3) None of the commentary I've seen so far has shown anything we haven't already heard speculated about previously.

4) Harry is not his mother. Because his mother talked to Morton doesn't mean Harry talked to Omid/Carolyn. Everyone has said 16 ways to Sunday they were not involved.

5) If The Sussexes go back to the UK (presumably to go back to work for the Firm) they would be welcomed back by the family. It's family. Unless you guys have Leave it to Beaver families then you all know how family dynamics work. That said, I don't see it happening ...but there's a small chance I think.

6) I just read about 5 pages of the same thing that has been said here 10 times previously....it's too bad that (apparently) Omid and Carolyn's book doesn't really shed new light on things.




LaRae

 

[Missjersey]

I believe Meghan was welcomed into the RF and given more than some girlfriends had as she was alone in a foreign country.

It doesn’t seem unreasonable for his family members to pull him to the side and ask “are you sure”. I actually believe they hoped that Meghan would have a calming effect on Harry, I think they all want to see him happy.

That backfired

 

[ACO]

You can have favourite vegan meals and not be a vegan just as many people now try to have one vegetarian meal a week but aren't vegetarians.

Of course but they paint it as if Meghan is vegan which I just find odd. Articles constantly do this despite her saying they made chicken during the proposal. But that’s the press for you.

 

[Betsypaige]

The Cambridge's (or more likely those close to them) have hit back at claims they didn't make Meghan welcome:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-hit-biography-said-shunned-Meghan-Harry.html

According to the friends, the Cambridges 'welcomed Meghan with open arms' by inviting her to Anmer Hall, their family home in Norfolk, where Kate personally cooked vegan meals for her brother-in-law's then fiance.

William and Kate also invited Meghan's friends, bridesmaids and page boys to a party before her wedding to Harry in May 2018, and keen tennis fan Kate asked Meghan to join her in the Royal Box at Wimbledon for two successive years.

'It's just completely wrong to suggest they didn't talk and plain wrong to say the Cambridges weren't welcoming,' a friend told The Mail on Sunday.

...In an indication of the mistrust that developed between the two women, a friend of the Cambridges acknowledged that Kate had 'snubbed' Meghan at the Commonwealth Service in March which marked her last appearance as a working Royal.

The friend said her actions were born 'out of sheer frustration' at Harry and Meghan's behaviour over their withdrawal from Royal life, announced on Instagram, and the launch of the Sussex Royal website.

The source acknowledged that Kate snubbed Meghan at the West Door of Westminster Abbey, but added: 'That was after the Sussexes had issued that incendiary statement and website.'

But friends of the Cambridges dismissed claims in Finding Freedom that Kate and Meghan 'barely exchanged a word' at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day last year.

In what was intended as a public show of solidarity, Harry was cheered on the polo field by Meghan and baby Archie, and William by Kate and their three children, George, seven, Charlotte, five and Louis, two.

'Everyone saw Kate and Meghan chatting. She [Meghan] had the baby and it was really sweet,' one pal insisted. 'George went up to Archie and gently stroked his head. Louis was larking around and making Meghan laugh - it was really positive and happy.'

However, allies of the Cambridges accept that the once close relationship between the brothers is now 'strained' and best described as 'on and off'.

They said William had been left 'sad' and 'disappointed' by the claims in Finding Freedom.

Honestly, I believe them. Period. About the snub? I’m fine with it - Kate is only human.

I like the “professional victims” tag - that describes H and M to a tee. IMO, Meghan is not a nice person....no wedding is an excuse for driving anyone to tears. Harry is an enabler - his wife can do and say whatever she wants, apparently.

 

[Missjersey]

It is not unusual for a second-born royal son to be spoiled as royal parents tend to overcompensate for the fact that he is a spare. Even the Queen is said to have spoiled Andrew for example. In Harry's case, I think it was worse because people understandably felt sorry for him. He was younger than William and apparently more fragile, emotionally speaking.



The book claims Harry's fallout with his brother predates Meghan, but that is somewhat surprising to me as he and William always seemed to be very close and, even after William's wedding, Harry appeared to be close and friendly to Kate and the kids. On the other hand, as I said before, I find it very difficult to understand how Harry, having grown up in the RF, could not grasp William's distinct position as second in direct line to the Crown.





Going back to my point above, Harry has seen his uncles and aunt walking behind his father since he was a child. It doesn't make sense that, all of a sudden, he would feel snubbed or demoted for waliking behind William and Kate.

I agree, it’s totally perplexing to try and understand

 

[tommy100]

1) I assume we can all now agree that Omid is not a mouthpiece for the Sussexes? That the book is not going to be a cheering squad for them?

2) No one knows who is paying for what, still. It's not likely we will ever know.

3) None of the commentary I've seen so far has shown anything we haven't already heard speculated about previously.

4) Harry is not his mother. Because his mother talked to Morton doesn't mean Harry talked to Omid/Carolyn. Everyone has said 16 ways to Sunday they were not involved.

5) If The Sussexes go back to the UK (presumably to go back to work for the Firm) they would be welcomed back by the family. It's family. Unless you guys have Leave it to Beaver families then you all know how family dynamics work. That said, I don't see it happening ...but there's a small chance I think.

6) I just read about 5 pages of the same thing that has been said here 10 times previously....it's too bad that (apparently) Omid and Carolyn's book doesn't really shed new light on things.




LaRae

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...

 

[caethi]

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.

That is very very telling. It sounds exactly like the author is carefully choosing their words. In my view, given this quote, it is very likely that they gave tacit agreement for the book to be written and published.