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


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It sounds like Harry may have PTSD related to his mother's death which makes Harry's perceived safety paramount. I'm glad NYC will help coordinate Harry's safety next time he visits, moreso to alleviate his perceived fears as well as any actual real threats. I feel somewhat sorry for Harry. If Harry and Meghan hadn't behaved so ghastly to his family he might have retained some security detail and other benefits.
 
Harry is based in California and travels. What the situation is now with the UK is inform the UK authorities of his plans and they will evaluate and protect Harry and his family accordingly. If the Sussexes have to go to NYC, I suspect the same thing, alert the NYC folks and they will plan accordingly. What does that mean, it means that Harry's well paid private security may have spend even more time coordinating with the NYPD to make sure things go smoother. If that does result in better peace of mind for Harry and less hectic experiences, then good. I wonder if along with this adjustments will there be added "costs" in terms of constraints and perhaps the NYPD recommending that Harry increase his private security.
I don't get this. Harry is not in the UK anymore and is not an internationally protected person. He has no special legal or constitutional status in the United States. Why should the NYPD or any other police department in the US make special plans to protect him when he announces a visit to the ciity that is under that department's jurisdiction? Ordinary US citizens like Meghan or non-citizen residents like Harry don't get customized police protection, nor is the police under any obligation to draw up special plans for their security.

I understand that is difficult for Harry to grasp because, as the son of the heir to the throne (and now the Sovereign) of a monarchy, he has had a special status and precedence for his entire life and is used to it. But he gave up that status and precedence when he decided to leave his kingdom so that he and his wife could make a profit in commercial enterprises in the United States. One cannot have the cake and eat it and Harry must live with the consequences of his own choices.
 
It sounds like Harry may have PTSD related to his mother's death which makes Harry's perceived safety paramount. I'm glad NYC will help coordinate Harry's safety next time he visits, moreso to alleviate his perceived fears as well as any actual real threats. I feel somewhat sorry for Harry. If Harry and Meghan hadn't behaved so ghastly to his family he might have retained some security detail and other benefits.
Just for balance the security was removed because he no longer wished to be a working royal, although if and when he visits the uk it will be assessed and probably reinstated for the duration of the visit. It had nothing to do with his treatment of his family as RAVEC is independent of the monarchy or the sovereign.
What I will say is that he lost the goodwill of the British public with his personal attacks on his family. Once again public opinion doesn’t decide the security issue but the general public are now more aware of the security issue and the costs because of his court cases.
I am pretty sure that if the security is reinstated with the British taxpayer bearing the brunt of the cost it will have wide ranging consequences. Our present government continually tell us that there is a black hole to be sorted and there is no spare money.
 
Exactly. I doubt the British public knew they were paying for protection for Salmon Rushdie for many years for example. As there was a fatah on him. Or knew they were protecting Ian Paisley in the Republic of Ireland whe. He was visiting over Good Friday. Both security arrangements equivalent to the president of the United States and absolutely terrifying in the intensity.
 
Exactly. I doubt the British public knew they were paying for protection for Salmon Rushdie for many years for example. As there was a fatah on him. Or knew they were protecting Ian Paisley in the Republic of Ireland whe. He was visiting over Good Friday. Both security arrangements equivalent to the president of the United States and absolutely terrifying in the intensity.
The majority of people probably expect high profile politicians/ royales etc to receive security at the tax payers expense but do not really think about it , treat it as par for the course. It is when it is flagged up as Harry has done with his court case that the media pick up on it etc etc.
 
I don't get this. Harry is not in the UK anymore and is not an internationally protected person. He has no special legal or constitutional status in the United States. Why should the NYPD or any other police department in the US make special plans to protect him when he announces a visit to the ciity that is under that department's jurisdiction? Ordinary US citizens like Meghan or non-citizen residents like Harry don't get customized police protection, nor is the police under any obligation to draw up special plans for their security.

I understand that is difficult for Harry to grasp because, as the son of the heir to the throne (and now the Sovereign) of a monarchy, he has had a special status and precedence for his entire life and is used to it. But he gave up that status and precedence when he decided to leave his kingdom so that he and his wife could make a profit in commercial enterprises in the United States. One cannot have the cake and eat it and Harry must live with the consequences of his own choices.
It does not begin and end with IPP status. Harry and Meghan are known people who participate in public events and as such local law enforcement may need to be involved, not just to protect them but to protect the public and maintain order.

In my (rather lengthy :blush:) previous post, I did not state that the Sussexes should get customized police protection, I characterized the statement from the NYPD official that they will make adjustments to mean that perhaps they miscalculated and gave Harry and Meghan the "bronze" security package and that they should have gotten the silver or gold. So no customization, but yes a higher level of security that the NYPD is more than adept at handling.

Let's take the royal connection out of it. Harry and Meghan cut an album, or whatever it is called these days, and the album is a world-wide phenomenon, several hit songs and they need to go to cities in the US, Europe and Asia for performances and promotional activities. For this tour, their record company is handling security. The record company's security will contact the local authorities to make sure their talent is safe and order is maintained. You are not going to have it announced that Harry and Meghan will be at Paddington Station or Times Square or the Harajuku district and expect their LA based security to manage and / or be the only security presence.
 
Exactly! NYC gridlock is notorious; it takes an hour to drive around the block.
Even the mayor said a reference to a car chase is hard to believe.
Wasn't one reporter simply riding a bicycle?
The only car chases I've seen in NYC were taxicabs trying to get from a green light to the next block's red light.

And speaking of NYC just to shift gears on this car chase and back to the card and Polo, the local newspaper NY Post has not cared to report on this new accusation against the police but it sure had a lot to say about Polo and their don't-say-Christmas card:

Harry & Meghan can’t read the room — and their ‘Polo’ dud and try-hard Christmas card prove it again

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle like their holiday cheer with an extra bit of virtue signaling...They are humanitarians here to save the world, whether the world wants them or not.
...“This series offers audiences an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look into the passion and determination driving some of the world’s elite polo players, revealing the grit behind the glamour,” Prince Harry has said.
Sounds great, Harry! I love sports. I love sports documentaries... I went in with an open mind. That open mind went dark about 10 minutes into the first episode when, lulled into an ambient state, I suddenly found myself studying the inside of my eyelids.
...It does nothing to pull viewers into this rarefied world or convince them to emotionally invest in these players’ fortunes...
...These two are great at one thing: exploiting the royal family...But Harry and Meghan won’t learn any lessons. They’re too blinded by their own good deeds to admit they don’t know what they’re doing..."
 
Let the court of public opinion decide.
In 2024, “the court of public opinion” judges public figures such as Harry & Meghan based on the relentless diet of rubbish pumped out by corporate media for the sake of generating clicks and advertising revenue. Portrayals of celebrities-- whether positive or negative-- are intentionally slanted and sensationalized to ensure maximum consumption, mostly authored by strangers with absolutely no first-hand connection to the person(s) being reported on. Thanks to social media and algorithms, people are consuming a diet of garbage news and, based on that garbage, are either worshipping or spewing about a person they’ve never met, even over something as trite as their Christmas card. “The court of public opinion” has never been as intensely and deliberately manipulated as it is today. Thanks to profiling and algorithms, we will each be custom-fed whatever it might be about the Sussexes (or any other celebrity) that keeps us clicking and scrolling in search of more stories that justify our love or hatred of them.
 
In 2024, “the court of public opinion” judges public figures such as Harry & Meghan based on the relentless diet of rubbish pumped out by corporate media for the sake of generating clicks and advertising revenue. Portrayals of celebrities-- whether positive or negative-- are intentionally slanted and sensationalized to ensure maximum consumption, mostly authored by strangers with absolutely no first-hand connection to the person(s) being reported on. Thanks to social media and algorithms, people are consuming a diet of garbage news and, based on that garbage, are either worshipping or spewing about a person they’ve never met, even over something as trite as their Christmas card. “The court of public opinion” has never been as intensely and deliberately manipulated as it is today. Thanks to profiling and algorithms, we will each be custom-fed whatever it might be about the Sussexes (or any other celebrity) that keeps us clicking and scrolling in search of more stories that justify our love or hatred of them.
A great deal of what you say is correct but then there are the occasions when celebrities (Like Harry and Meghan) open their mouths or write books then it doesn’t take algorithms to know the truth then we can make our own choices.
 
A great deal of what you say is correct but then there are the occasions when celebrities (Like Harry and Meghan) open their mouths or write books then it doesn’t take algorithms to know the truth then we can make our own choices.
True enough, but what turns fact-based opinions into starry-eyed fandom or virulent hatred is the constant media rubbish that frames and “contextualizes” what public persons have done, said or written. From what I have observed, people don’t seem to hate the Sussexes based solely on what H & M actually said or wrote; their hatred is based on an overall perception influenced by everything that their profile has been fed for mindless consumption. That is why so many people nowdays freely mind-read, interpret, --and ascribe unknowable motives to-- public persons they have never even met. Nit-picking or divining evil intent in a family greeting card is a good example of this.
 
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It does not begin and end with IPP status. Harry and Meghan are known people who participate in public events and as such local law enforcement may need to be involved, not just to protect them but to protect the public and maintain order.
Do they get involved whenever any movie star or TV personality/ celebrity goes to New York City? I understand the NYPD getting involved if there is a Taylor Swift concert that requires public protection, but I fail to see any rationale for them to provide police escort to Harry and Meghan in this case for example. If I were a NYC resident and knew that the NYPD was doing that, I would certainly question it.

Besides, the protocol that was followed by the NYPD, sending reports to the London Metropolitan Police, suggests that they were treating Harry as an internationally protected person, which begs the question whether Harry failed to clarify his current status.

EDIT: I apologize if I sounded like I was trying to get into an argument. I am just frustrated with Harry's sense of entitlement and his insistence on claiming some special status in the USA to which he is not entitled.
 
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In 2024, “the court of public opinion” judges public figures such as Harry & Meghan based on the relentless diet of rubbish pumped out by corporate media for the sake of generating clicks and advertising revenue. Portrayals of celebrities-- whether positive or negative-- are intentionally slanted and sensationalized to ensure maximum consumption, mostly authored by strangers with absolutely no first-hand connection to the person(s) being reported on. Thanks to social media and algorithms, people are consuming a diet of garbage news and, based on that garbage, are either worshipping or spewing about a person they’ve never met, even over something as trite as their Christmas card. “The court of public opinion” has never been as intensely and deliberately manipulated as it is today. Thanks to profiling and algorithms, we will each be custom-fed whatever it might be about the Sussexes (or any other celebrity) that keeps us clicking and scrolling in search of more stories that justify our love or hatred of them.
Fair point. However, for what it is worth, it is H&M's own actions that I was referring to: their failure to recognise their supporting role in the BRF; their choosing profit over duty to the Crown; their less than dignified exit from the Firm; their Netflix show and Harry's book that, purely for profit, needlessly painted his family in a negative light; their deliberate allegations of racism against the BRF in the Oprah interview; Meghan's open threats to the BRF in the interview in The Cut and so on. These are the actions that will shape public opinion far more than any media narrative.
 
Do they get involved whenever any movie star or TV personality/ celebrity goes to New York City? I understand the NYPD getting involved if there is a Taylor Swift concert that requires public protection, but I fail to see any rationale for them to provide police escort to Harry and Meghan in this case for example. If I were a NYC resident and knew that the NYPD was doing that, I would certainly question it.

Besides, the protocol that was followed by the NYPD, sending reports to the London Metropolitan Police, suggests that they were treating Harry as an internationally protected person, which begs the question whether Harry failed to clarify his current status.

EDIT: I apologize if I sounded like I was trying to get into an argument. I am just frustrated with Harry's sense of entitlement and his insistence on claiming some special status in the USA to which he is not entitled.
I think that Harry exaggerated what happened in May 2023 and then took it further by strong-arming the NYPD into investigating the incident, identifying suspects, making arrests (which has not happened), dispatching letters to the UK including revising previous versions, etc. Nevertheless I think some kind of "incident" took place.

One thing that I will amend from my previous comment is to acknowledge that the event organizers and/or the venue play a key role in making the security arrangements.

If I was a NYC resident and I needed to walk or drive along a street and I cannot get through because the paparazzi are clogging up the street and roadways trying to get pictures, I would actually be angry because the police were either not there at all or there were not enough of them.
 
their failure to recognise their supporting role in the BRF; their choosing profit over duty to the Crown; their less than dignified exit from the Firm; their Netflix show and Harry's book that, purely for profit, needlessly painted his family in a negative light; their deliberate allegations of racism against the BRF in the Oprah interview; Meghan's open threats to the BRF in the interview in The Cut and so on. These are the actions that will shape public opinion far more than any media narrative.

...good example of acribing unknowable motives and framing “actions” as one presents their preferred narrative.

What laws or commandments can any stranger prove the Sussexes have actually broken to such a degree as to warrant so much condemnation from legions of utter strangers? Finding ways to earn money? Bluntly telling their side of things? Seeming disrespectful or over-entitled? --Who has not met scores of folks who fit those categories? ...Or was it this couple’s re-confirming (for the few who don’t already know the history of Harry’s parents) the existence of nasty shenanigans & offensive attitudes going on within the Firm? Old news...

What shapes public opinion is what gets people to click more by feeding the most profitable narrative --such as making H&M greater villains than they actually legally or morally are-- even down to holding up their inane Christmas card for public ridicule and psychoanalyzing. Making H&M people whom “one loves to hate” largely serves the interests of corporate media and its advertisers. And it works: Note that even when this couple aren’t doing much of anything out of the ordinary, there are people just waiting for the next opportunity to excoriate them online. IMO it’s a little sick that this or any “celebrity couple” is reviled by many with the same level of passion with which Syrians hate the murderous Assad regime. And something is definitely out-of-kilter when the Sussexes are more a recurring thorn-in-the-side of online strangers than they are for Harry’s busy family which very likely ignores them much more than the scandal-hungry click-greedy media would have us all believe.

Yes, this couple is definitely flawed and a bit “too out there” for many of us (including myself), but the virulent hatred of them is IMO the classic example of how the media is manipulating our emotions for nefarious purposes unrelated to the Sussexes, who, being photogenic celebrities, are just a convenient tool in the relentless quest for maximal advertising income.
 
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True enough, but what turns fact-based opinions into starry-eyed fandom or virulent hatred is the constant media rubbish that frames and “contextualizes” what public persons have done, said or written. From what I have observed, people don’t seem to hate the Sussexes based solely on what H & M actually said or wrote; their hatred is based on an overall perception influenced by everything that their profile has been fed for mindless consumption. That is why so many people nowdays freely mind-read, interpret, --and ascribe unknowable motives to-- public persons they have never even met. Nit-picking or divining evil intent in a family greeting card is a good example of this.
It is not the first time a photograph has been picked over with unpleasant comments. It is social media which we can choose to read or ignore. A number of these people have no real interest in any of the royals just like to stir the pot, better to ignore than feed into it.
 
It is not the first time a photograph has been picked over with unpleasant comments. It is social media which we can choose to read or ignore. A number of these people have no real interest in any of the royals just like to stir the pot, better to ignore than feed into it.
Yes indeed, Hallo. Since we are not sharks, better for all to pass on each and every online ”feeding-frenzy.” These frenzies provide potent evidence that many people’s attitudes and emotions (about the Sussexes or anyone) can be easily stoked and manipulated to a level that is unhealthy.
 
It is not the first time a photograph has been picked over with unpleasant comments. It is social media which we can choose to read or ignore. A number of these people have no real interest in any of the royals just like to stir the pot, better to ignore than feed into it.
As a Californian, I'm stunned that Harry requested that Governor Newsom contact the NYPD.

The letter added that Harry planned to file a “formal complaint about the handling of the situation” and had contacted the office of Gavin Newsom, the California governor, to “assist in finding the right point of contact” in the DA’s office for “further discussions”.
 
As a Californian, I'm stunned that Harry requested that Governor Newsom contact the NYPD.
Has anyone much observed the behavior of people raised in wealthy and powerful families? It seems crazy and far-fetched, but this is what out-of-touch, privileged, well-connected people frequently do: when they get a bug up their backside, they go over people’s heads- right to the top. I personally witnessed this many times in three different careers. Here in the US, we will likely be hearing of many more examples of such behavior.
 
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Has anyone much observed the behavior of people raised in wealthy and powerful families? It seems crazy and far-fetched, but this is what out-of-touch, privileged, well-connected people frequently do: when they get a bug up their backside, they go over people’s heads- right to the top. Here in the US, we will likely be hearing of many more examples of such behavior.
The negative behavior is not caused by wealth and power but by the parents and how they raise these children born in an affluent family. For example, you never heard scandals on Bill and Melinda Gates' 3 children, or most long-running celebrities.
But when that celebrity or rich person had a lifetime of being embroiled in problems, from drugs to crime, the kids they raise pass that as normal and you see that second generation getting on their own scandals all by themselves.

You can be rich, wealthy or just living paycheck to paycheck, but the kids do what the parents do or get away with.
 
...good example of acribing unknowable motives and framing “actions” as one presents their preferred narrative.

What laws or commandments can any stranger prove the Sussexes have actually broken to such a degree as to warrant so much condemnation from legions of utter strangers? Finding ways to earn money? Bluntly telling their side of things? Seeming disrespectful or over-entitled? --Who has not met scores of folks who fit those categories? ...Or was it this couple’s re-confirming (for the few who don’t already know the history of Harry’s parents) the existence of nasty shenanigans & offensive attitudes going on within the Firm? Old news...

What shapes public opinion is what gets people to click more by feeding the most profitable narrative --such as making H&M greater villains than they actually legally or morally are-- even down to holding up their inane Christmas card for public ridicule and psychoanalyzing. Making H&M people whom “one loves to hate” largely serves the interests of corporate media and its advertisers. And it works: Note that even when this couple aren’t doing much of anything out of the ordinary, there are people just waiting for the next opportunity to excoriate them online. IMO it’s a little sick that this or any “celebrity couple” is reviled by many with the same level of passion with which Syrians hate the murderous Assad regime. And something is definitely out-of-kilter when the Sussexes are more a recurring thorn-in-the-side of online strangers than they are for Harry’s busy family which very likely ignores them much more than the scandal-hungry click-greedy media would have us all believe.

Yes, this couple is definitely flawed and a bit “too out there” for many of us (including myself), but the virulent hatred of them is IMO the classic example of how the media is manipulating our emotions for nefarious purposes unrelated to the Sussexes, who, being photogenic celebrities, are just a convenient tool in the relentless quest for maximal advertising income.
I appreciate you have a view on how the media can shape a narrative. But the examples I laid out are not about a media narrative, they are specific actions by H&M. Meghan threatening the BRF in her interview in The Cut in the weeks before the death of QE2 was not a misrepresentation of Meghan's view, nothing ambiguous about what she said. If it was to the contrary, Meghan would (and should!) have made her position clear.

Anyways, enough said.
 
It's now time to move on from the back and forth concerning the media, social media, and the Sussexes. It is becoming repetitive and off topic. Any further discussion will be removed.
 
The Netflix Deal with Harry and Meghan is reaching an expiration in 2025, per article they have been involved in four projects since 2020. I don't recall reading here about the Live to Lead Dec 2022 project

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Article by Allison Schonter, December 30, 2024, 12:00pm
Polo marked the latest project as part of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal, which they inked in 2020 as they stepped down as working royals...The six-part documentary Harry & Meghan dropped as their first Netflix series in 2022, with Live to Lead, an interview series featuring the likes of Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, following in December 2022. Heart of Invictus, about the Invictus Games, premiered in 2023. Just like Polo, the two latter titles also failed to break into the Top 10
...With the disappointing performance of Polo, Harry and Meghan are reportedly at risk of losing their Netflix deal, which expires in 2025.
🐎
While looking for news like the one above I stumbled upon lots of silly down to irrelevant articles on how Meghan and Harry's life in 2025 could be affected by the new situation on the USA White House.​
So, to put it mildly for all non-USA forum members, it doesn't affect them at all. The level of delusion from social media, the circles that surround the Sussex couple are quite exaggerated. This couple is not even a blip on the USA celebrity radar any more than a gazillion drones flying over the state of New Jersey. His visa situation, the drama they get themselves in when they comment on local politics has absolutely no press to support their constant state of self-victimization to hit the news.​
And the irony of it all this year we all commented on that celebrity millionaires party to give awards to pilots, including Harry. Well Harry's friend and Amazon's boss, Jeff Bezos, is now getting involved in projects with the new administration to create local jobs in 2025.​
That's the nature of politics, society and social media around the circles Harry and Meghan get involved with. You can make a stand or grandstanding for the press at a party then take it all back and work it out with those you disagreed with.​
2025 for the Sussex will be their chance, like their friend Jeff Bezos is doing now, to turn the page and re-invent themselves into the world of charity + business instead of alienation to this or that political field. It's all up to them and I hope in 2025 they disconnect themselves from all these toxic celebrities that use fame to manipulate fans, and failed in the last election, and focus on the original goal they had for Archwell. They don't need the likes of Oprah, Ellen, Taylor Swift etc. and tag along as they all go into credibility downfalls.​
Best wishes for them in 2025, but it's all about learning what went wrong and turning around into another direction. They need to learn from Jeff Bezos you can have strong opinions on things but also learn to work with people that have different points of views. :unsure:
 
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The Netflix Deal with Harry and Meghan is reaching an expiration in 2025, per article they have been involved in four projects since 2020. I don't recall reading here about the Live to Lead Dec 2022 project

Article by Allison Schonter, December 30, 2024, 12:00pm
Polo marked the latest project as part of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal, which they inked in 2020 as they stepped down as working royals...The six-part documentary Harry & Meghan dropped as their first Netflix series in 2022, with Live to Lead, an interview series featuring the likes of Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, following in December 2022. Heart of Invictus, about the Invictus Games, premiered in 2023. Just like Polo, the two latter titles also failed to break into the Top 10
...With the disappointing performance of Polo, Harry and Meghan are reportedly at risk of losing their Netflix deal, which expires in 2025.
Their only real achievement , viewers wise, was gained on the back of the RF, with some questionable stories in the documentary series.
I do not see any evidence of further success in the production/ media area.
 
I'm intrigued to see Meghan using social media when they have made so much about its potentially damaging impact


A sign of desperation as her attempt to build a solid enterprise keeps falling apart because of not been able to recover from bad decisions. Basically, if you want to be the Queen of Social Media and champion of defending the underprivileged, then tone it down on the privilege to start with.

At times I come to think this charity business is like a tax write off for gowns and handbags. I don't see any progress and we are in a new year with nothing to remember her 'work' for. By the way, I hope they don't travel back to visit her #1 fan, the Vice Presidenta, if you can read news in Spanish that short visit still causing waves over there.
 
Below is the Instagram handle. The imp that sits on my shoulder wonders if months and months will go by before there is another post, or if there will be another post a la ARO. :hmm::giggle:

She styled herself as a divorcee. [...]

Otherwise her ignorance on titles isn't cute. Especially since she and Harry insisted on titles for their kids, and were extremely irked they had to wait until QE's death (hence moaning about waiting for titles on Oprah).
 
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