The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 10: August 2024 -


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Why waste money paying rent when they will rarely (if ever) be using the house and are offered accommodation in other secure royal locations anyway?

ETA: Eh, forget it, this has been discussed ad nauseam anyway. As the saying goes, a fool and his money are soon parted.
 
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If not for the IPP status, why does he continue to flog a lame horse? What could be the ultimate goal that Harry is striving for and can only gain if he wins his case? Its hard to understand what is driving his continuing action.
I am not following the case, but I find it unlikely that Harry will win it. Hasn’t the High Court ruled against him yet? If so, the chances of the ruling being reversed by the Court of Appeal are small.
 
Harry's issue IMO seems to be that he thinks he and his family are only safe when protected by armed officers. In the UK, unlike the US, only the police, and even then, specialist armed officers, can be on duty with guns. TBH there were reports during the Cameron premiership that a large number of senior officials had their security downgraded from (expensive) armed officers to officers armed with tasers and the ability to call in armed backup if needed. It is generally believed that only the Sovereign, spouse, heir and spouse are provided with armed protection. Anne, Edward and co are provided with protection mainly only during official duties and even then by a team largely consisting of officers armed with tasers. Harry would most likely fall into this category, at most he would probably have 24/7 officers armed with tasers and armed officers for public duties with his residence expecting to largely fall within existing security perimeters (as Frogmore House did). Thus IMO Harry is suing not just for protection itself but a dictation of what sort of protection he is provided. This is why, IMO, his case will never succeed. If it does it opens the floodgates for other royals, senior ministers, spouses of PMs etc to claim they should be able to pay for armed police protection as an upgrade to the security the state deems necessary.
 
It isn't a case he will win. As the actual threat level to them is likely to be extremely low whatever they say. It It wasn't, they wouldn't have removed it. End of..It wasn't personal. It was in a business sense logical. But he has an irrational view of it.
 
I was reading early reviews on the documentary Polo, produced by the Sussex couple, and they are going from bad to worse.

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Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s $100M Netflix contract might not be renewed thanks to ‘Polo’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “Polo” docuseries, released on the streaming platform earlier this week, has been hit with a slew of negative reviews from critics in the days that followed.
The duo, who both served as executive producers on the project, made minimal appearances in the docuseries, with the promotion of the project also underdelivering.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘boring’ Netflix ‘Polo’ doc slammed by critics
“The first episode was tough to connect with, because it presents a world that not only isn’t very relatable to most people, but is boring to boot,” critic Joel Keller added...
...Harry is only seen a handful of times in the series, including a brief appearance in the opening credits and then again in episode four.
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Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Want Nothing to Do with Their Own Terrible New Show About Polo
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be galloping away from any association with their new show about polo, after it was ridiculed by critics...
...Notably, there has been no visible promotion for the show, entitled, imaginatively enough, Polo; no interviews or podcast episodes with Meghan or Harry have dropped, and records suggest there are no premieres or press events scheduled to support its launch earlier this week.

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Their next project finished filming back in July 2024:
Meghan Markle wraps filming on her new Netflix show
While details about the “Suits” alum’s new project remain scarce, the series will reportedly be centered around cooking and wellness.
That same month, the mom of two said in a statement her show will “celebrate the joys of cooking & gardening, entertaining, and friendship.”
 
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I'm trying to recall which project of H+M was sucessfull.... None? Ah, yes, one thing wasn't yet showed to tthe public- her cooking show... But I think we can already predict it won't be any success...
 
Polo's fine when it's the backdrop to one of Jilly Cooper's bonkbuster novels, or a scene in Pretty Woman, but not as a subject for a documentary.
Or possibly a one edition documentary, but 5 episodes is quite a lot to fill. You know what they say there is no such thing as bad publicity and it is not the first time that the viewers have had the opposite opinion of the professional critics. It could still surprise us.
 
Christmas Card from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex:


 
okay, i'm always the first to complain about the Monaco RF's 'sugary' cards, but a bit more family atmosphere would have been nice
but i realise this is basically their business christmas card, so it's okay for what it is :flowers:

wonder why they don't do a bit more promo for the polo documentary?
 
What’s strange about the cooking show taking so long to air is that it will probably feel quite out of date by the time it does? There’s usually not that long a lag in shows of that type.
 
What’s strange about the cooking show taking so long to air is that it will probably feel quite out of date by the time it does? There’s usually not that long a lag in shows of that type.
isn't a cooking show often seasonal? So maybe if they postpone it for a year, it'll fit right in the right seasons (cooking shows of several known chefs are often repeated, so it'll probably not be that much of a problem to postpone)
 
Lovely to see a new photo of the Sussexes including their children (and dogs.) Of course it’s a back view of Archie and Lily but that’s the same with a lot of celebs and other royals over the past few years, anyway. Two young redheads! It’s clear that Harry and Meghan adore their children and the family has a happy home life.
 
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What’s strange about the cooking show taking so long to air is that it will probably feel quite out of date by the time it does? There’s usually not that long a lag in shows of that type.
I thought the delay might be because it is linked to the ARO website which has not gone live. Possibly referring to products that you can buy etc , but at the moment you cannot because there is nothing in it. Just a thought.
 
I totally get celebs not wanting to show their kids faces. And that’s all Harry and Meghan really are now- despite the card reminding us of their titles.

However- I’m REALLY tired of the trend of celebs showing the back of their kids heads. Either take a normal picture showing their faces- or just don’t include the kids at all imo. It gets ridiculous after awhile to me. Just pick a lane.

At the end of the day- the card is showing whatever image they are wanting to project. We don’t really need to see an image of them as parents showing the back of their kids heads. It’s a business Christmas card after all.

But I do understand their desire to convey an image of themselves as parents. It’s PR. And they certainly need all the positive PR they can get.
 
Lovely to see a new photo of the Sussexes including their children (and dogs.) Of course it’s a back view of Archie and Lily but that’s the same with a lot of celebs and other royals over the past few years, anyway. Two young redheads! It’s clear that Harry and Meghan adore their children and the family has a happy home life.
I must admit I m very curious about how their children look, such a cute mixture of both parents I guess. In one picture it looked like that Lilibet had dark hair, in the other one it didn't. I can understand that they want to protect their children, because of Harry's concerns with security. Too bad, it has turned out like that. We all enjoy pictures of royal kids, don't we?
 
I must admit I m very curious about how their children look, such a cute mixture of both parents I guess. In one picture it looked like that Lilibet had dark hair, in the other one it didn't. I can understand that they want to protect their children, because of Harry's concerns with security. Too bad, it has turned out like that. We all enjoy pictures of royal kids, don't we?
I could van only see one photograph of A and L , I thought the other children were from a school,
 
There is only one photo of Archie and Lili. The other shows Meghan hugging a girl on a school visit I think. And I certainly don’t believe that Harry and Meghan have released that photo for PR. I think they are probably great parents. Harry was and is brilliant with children and always wanted his own, and Meghan wanted to start a family as soon as possible. There’s no evidence at all that they don’t enjoy their family life.
 
I don't think Harry and Meghan want their children to be famous. However, they are the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and grandchildren of King Charles III.
I don't think they will be able to escape public curiosity forever.
But I understand that Harry and Meghan want to protect their children's privacy.
However, I wish they would release better photos of their children... We hardly even know their faces.
 
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That is hardly congruent with grabbing titles of Prince & Princess for them.
Also the lack of clear photographs does make them a target for unscrupulous photographers as there will be a good price paid for a clear photograph of both these children. Maybe one issued annually might have been a compromise, gives the public an insight but reduces them as a target, although I also wonder if they do not want them recognised at school and being centre of attraction. Harry would know what that was like and maybe does not want it for his kids, although I would agree titles do not help with privacy.
 
Lovely to see a new photo of the Sussexes including their children (and dogs.) Of course it’s a back view of Archie and Lily but that’s the same with a lot of celebs and other royals over the past few years, anyway. Two young redheads! It’s clear that Harry and Meghan adore their children and the family has a happy home life.
Has Harry got rid of his beard?
 
There is only one photo of Archie and Lili. The other shows Meghan hugging a girl on a school visit I think. And I certainly don’t believe that Harry and Meghan have released that photo for PR. I think they are probably great parents. Harry was and is brilliant with children and always wanted his own, and Meghan wanted to start a family as soon as possible. There’s no evidence at all that they don’t enjoy their family life.

The entire card is PR imo. And that’s fine. But that’s really all it is. They’re selling an image of themselves as wonderful parents, a happy couple, philanthropists, warm and fuzzy people, etc. How much of that is reality- IDK.

We really have no idea about the Sussex family. Just what they want us to “know.” I hope they’re happy. But I don’t think there’s evidence of anything one way or the other.
 
Christmas Card from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex:



These pictures make me think of other celebrity kids, Michael Jackson's, that spent their childhood wearing masks in public. I understand is to keep their faces away from the press, despite their parents being so press-hungry, but I don't see the need to use them on the picture at all if all we see are their backs.

I see the princely titles namedrop on the Hello caption, and company names but nothing on this card gives me a Christmas Holiday feeling, starting by avoiding saying Christmas on it. The holiday mention is because of Christmas, why the need to avoid saying it on a card considering they have implied worst things about Harry's family in books and TV shows?

Like celebrating Independence Day on every country but avoiding the word independence so non-independents don't take offense?
 
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The entire card is PR imo. And that’s fine. But that’s really all it is. They’re selling an image of themselves as wonderful parents, a happy couple, philanthropists, warm and fuzzy people, etc. How much of that is reality- IDK.
That may well be the image they want to sell. But over the last 5-6 years, their actions have demonstrated something very different: a difficult transition to royal life, a lot of unnecessary drama, a less than graceful exit from the Firm, poisonous books and TV shows that lacked credibility, openly threatening the Firm in the interview in The Cut, a podcast series where the interviewee's answers were of no interest to the interviewer, a revolving door of staff, countless (and pointless?) litigation, no credible and meaningful charitable endeavours of scale, constantly trying to undermine royal appearances with parallel appearances and announcements timed to coincide (including the launch of a lifestyle brand without products or a team to execute it), lots of vacuous PR....... the list goes on. Let the court of public opinion decide.

Also the lack of clear photographs does make them a target for unscrupulous photographers as there will be a good price paid for a clear photograph of both these children. Maybe one issued annually might have been a compromise, gives the public an insight but reduces them as a target, although I also wonder if they do not want them recognised at school and being centre of attraction. Harry would know what that was like and maybe does not want it for his kids, although I would agree titles do not help with privacy.
Surely the kids might get identified by the presence of their parents when they are dropped off and picked up at school, various activities, parties etc?
 
The photo is more than weird.... Not only we don't see the children's face but the whole photo is so blurred that it looks like Harry has shaven his beard (which would be an improvement for his look). H. is crouching (just not to tower over M.?) ) and Meghan is all white (to draw the whole attention to her I suppose) and the children have the same height despite being in different ages....
 
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