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


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I have no doubt that Harry’s application was treated with deference. Anyway he was not going to have any problems, drugs or no drugs. They say that the procedures were followed correctly, so I assume he did declare his drug consumption and was granted his visa no problem (it’s up to the officer treating the application). Lyam Paine had to wait for the extra steps, I don’t even know if he had his visa before the tragedy.
 
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According to media reports, Payne had an 'extraordinary achievement' visa, which allowed him to continue to reside in Florida with his American girlfriend. But the renewal was not granted straight away because he admitted to drug/alcohol problems and was forced to undergo psychiatric and medicals tests before the visum was finally granted.
So its very likely that Harry did admit to the drugs, had to see a doctor and that was it, especially if the process seems to be so easy. Payne was clearly an addict and had no problem to convice the doctor of the consulate in BA to give him what he wanted.
 
The Duchess of Sussex's recent trade application for "As Ever" reportedly has some errors.

Meghan said the rebranding was due to limitations in what she could sell under the name, given it was linked to a very specific location, the Californian coast. Official documents reveal the As Ever trademark application could not be verified because a statement confirming intent was left unsigned, the Telegraph reports. It has also been reported that various categories also needed updating as they were considered "indefinite or too broad". This was namely "spoons for serving jams and fruit preserves", "textile napkins" and "crystallised sugar for decoration".
 
They follow the law: the children take the surname of the father. HLMTQ and Prince Philip had theirs barreled, Mountbatten-Windsor. Anne became Philips after her first marriage and is now Lawrence, probably. The York girls have theirs husbands’ surname now. In their generation there are now only William, Harry and Louise and James who still bear Mountbatten-Windsor, as in any family.
The titles are a different story altogether. It’s the British custom.
When Anne was taken to court over one of her dogs biting a person, she was listed as "Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise Laurence." And when William and Catherine sued over the topless photos in France, it was as "William...Mountbatten-Windsor" and "Catherine Middleton" - the French do not recognize "married names" or titles in court, only birth names.
 

As per the Mail, Meghan has launched her online selection. And it features the "Windsor" dress!
 
A new photo of Meghan with her children.

A nice photo of their backs. Again.

I have no issue with celebs not wanting to show their kids faces, but it does nothing for me personally to see tons of photos of your kids backs.

I get the message that is trying to be sent. People want to sell a certain image of themselves, which includes showing them being a parent, but they want to protect their kids privacy.
 

Meghan advertising clothes on her Instagram. Apparently she gets a commission if you buy some of them - some affordable,some not, at least not to me!

Well okay then. Anything to make money, I guess. Given how Meghan’s wardrobe is analyzed, I would think a lot of this would be fairly well know information.

I’m not particularly fond of Meghan’s style most of the time. So- I’m not going to look. I assume there’s a ton of neutrals included though.
 
It seems a bit odd to me that off the back of her cooking and entertaining show she is now selling....clothes. As ever, nothing feels that well thought out or planned about it.
Quite right. One would have thought there would be food, kitchen, table linen and home items on sale first, to coincide with the Netflix show. But its clothing and shoes by the looks of it. The Windsor dress. What next, Balmoral tartan?
 
Quite right. One would have thought there would be food, kitchen, table linen and home items on sale first, to coincide with the Netflix show. But its clothing and shoes by the looks of it. The Windsor dress. What next, Balmoral tartan?
Well, they aren’t her products she’s selling. She’s doing what a lot of influencers do and promoting things she wears and uses from other brands, probably in exchange for both money and free merchandise from the designers.
 
Well, they aren’t her products she’s selling. She’s doing what a lot of influencers do and promoting things she wears and uses from other brands, probably in exchange for both money and free merchandise from the designers.
I agree, all she is doing is promoting goods from other businesses for a fee, like influencers do. But my broader point is about timing. The Netflix show was a cooking / lifestyle show, and one would have thought that the goods she would try and promote now would be cooking / kitchen / homewares. The expensive clothes, shoes and handbags could be promoted at any time, and did not need the accompanying TV show to create interest. That said, the one thing we have learnt about Meghan is that she is unpredictable, and does not follow the obvious path!
 
The article is about the trailer for Meghan's podcast, but the trailer is not playing for me.


First Listen! Meghan Markle's New Lemonada Podcast Trailer Is Here and It Promises 'Girl Talk' (Exclusive)

PEOPLE is sharing an exclusive first listen of the Duchess of Sussex's upcoming podcast, 'Confessions of a Female Founder'
Published on March 25, 2025 03:30AM EDT​
The Duchess of Sussex and As ever founder teamed up with Lemonada Media for her latest foray into podcasting, and PEOPLE is exclusively sharing the trailer.​
"I'm Meghan, and this is Confessions of a Female Founder, a show where I chat with female entrepreneurs and friends about the sleepless nights, the lessons learned and the laser focus that got them to where they are today," she says in the preview released on March 25.​
"We're diving into the highs — and the lows – and the kind of advice that turns small ideas into billion-dollar businesses," Meghan continues. "And of course, we're going to get some girl talk!"​
[...]​
 
It will always be strange to me, seeing Duchess of Sussex as a banner on these influencer pages, doing affiliate marketing. Stranger still because that type of selling is usually done by influencers with a lower number of followers. Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone A List who's currently doing that.

Anyway, the podcast topic and focus sounds like a great idea, and something I would ordinarily listen to. If she manages to not make it all about her, and not shy away from difficult questions, she'd do well. I hope this would be the time she shows some personality and authenticity.
 
Anyway, the podcast topic and focus sounds like a great idea, and something I would ordinarily listen to. If she manages to not make it all about her, and not shy away from difficult questions, she'd do well. I hope this would be the time she shows some personality and authenticity.


I think Meghan as the host of this podcast might have a lot more credibility if she had done after achieving success as an entrepreneur. She has yet to demonstrate that.


It will always be strange to me, seeing Duchess of Sussex as a banner on these influencer pages, doing affiliate marketing. Stranger still because that type of selling is usually done by influencers with a lower number of followers. Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone A List who's currently doing that.

You are very right. A listers and influencers. But then, is Meghan really an "A lister" any more? I think she destroyed that position in the last 5 years.
 
The Duchess of Sussex's recent trade application for "As Ever" reportedly has some errors.
"Spoons for serving jams and fruit preserves", "textile napkins" and "crystallized sugar for decoration" are items that are available from many brands. What is the differential that would make me (or anyone else) buy those items from As Ever? I guess that is the question Meghan hasn't answered yet.

On the podcast, although the topic looks interesting, I fear that focusing on "successful women entrepreneurs" will be again less about the women who will be featured than promoting the image of Meghan as one of their peers (i.e., a successful woman entrepreneur herself). The podcast looks like indirect promotion for Meghan's new business.
 
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I think Meghan as the host of this podcast might have a lot more credibility if she had done after achieving success as an entrepreneur. She has yet to demonstrate that.
Very true, so I hope she lets the guests (who presumably have more success at being founders) speak and not hijack their stories, or use the show as a platform to gripe about her experiences. This is yet another opportunity for her, she has had so many, time to make one of them an actual success. It annoys me when people think of her as a victim when she has been given loads of opportunities that others can only dream of, just because of the family she married into.
 
IMO it’s all embarrassing. Meghan was representing the most recognizable monarchy in the world. She and Harry were faces of the Commonwealth and “the top tier of society”. And now the Duchess is schilling clothes, repacking packaged snacks and using her kids to earn quick money. What a downfall.
 
There appears to be a big push just now, something different dropping every day.
It smacks of let’s throw lots of balls in the air and hopefully something will land in the success pot.
 
It will always be strange to me, seeing Duchess of Sussex as a banner on these influencer pages, doing affiliate marketing. Stranger still because that type of selling is usually done by influencers with a lower number of followers. Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone A List who's currently doing that.

.
Who do these "Influencers" actually influence? I can't imagine making a purchase because some so-called influencer recommended it, but I suppose they are successful, or there wouldn't be so many of them.

Anyway, Meghan seems increasingly desperate, throwing everything out there to see what sticks.
 
Who do these "Influencers" actually influence? I can't imagine making a purchase because some so-called influencer recommended it, but I suppose they are successful, or there wouldn't be so many of them.

Anyway, Meghan seems increasingly desperate, throwing everything out there to see what sticks.
The owner of Bleusalt said she sold 300 T-shirts in a day after Meghan wore one on her show. New York fashion brand La Ligne saw a pair of its jeans sell out within a few days of Markle wearing them on the show...selling about 500 pairs in 2 weeks. See article from WSJ, a very serious business newspaper, covering the impact Meghan has on various brands.

 
The owner of Bleusalt said she sold 300 T-shirts in a day after Meghan wore one on her show. New York fashion brand La Ligne saw a pair of its jeans sell out within a few days of Markle wearing them on the show...selling about 500 pairs in 2 weeks. See article from WSJ, a very serious business newspaper, covering the impact Meghan has on various brands.

I do wish Meghan success in her commercial ventures, and hope she has more success as an influencer than she did as a royal, or as a paid speaker or as a podcaster or a documentary producer.
 
"Spoons for serving jams and fruit preserves", "textile napkins" and "crystallized sugar for decoration" are items that are available from many brands. What is the differential that would make me (or anyone else) buy those items from As Ever? I guess that is the question Meghan hasn't answered yet.

On the podcast, although the topic looks interesting, I fear that focusing on "successful women entrepreneurs" will be again less about the women who will be featured than promoting the image of Meghan as one of their peers (i.e., a successful woman entrepreneur herself). The podcast looks like indirect promotion for Meghan's new business.
I guess her talking about 'her friends' is an indication that she indeed wants to be seen as a peer.
 
The Duke of Sussex - and Prince Seeiso - are stepping down as Patrons of Sentebale, press reports:

(..)in a joint statement they said: “Nearly 20 years ago, we founded Sentebale in honour of our mothers. Sentebale means ‘forget-me-not’ in Sesotho, the local language of Lesotho, and it’s what we’ve always promised for the young people we’ve served through this charity.
“Today is no different. With heavy hearts, we have resigned from our roles as patrons of the organisation until further notice, in support of and solidarity with the board of trustees who have had to do the same. It is devastating that the relationship between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board broke down beyond repair, creating an untenable situation

 
The owner of Bleusalt said she sold 300 T-shirts in a day after Meghan wore one on her show. New York fashion brand La Ligne saw a pair of its jeans sell out within a few days of Markle wearing them on the show...selling about 500 pairs in 2 weeks. See article from WSJ, a very serious business newspaper, covering the impact Meghan has on various brands.
I guess there's one born every minute, as P.T. Barnum once said.
 
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