The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 9: August 2023 - July 2024

[Moran]

Harry also said it would have been nice for his "distant relatives", as they had been referred to here on this site, to join him against the media "as a family". Seeking additional legitimacy from them, as he did by dragging William into his memoir - "William and I" against Papa's decision to marry his second wife. No one could have possibly loved their wife as much as he loves his great Meghan because Harry is the only one who chose his wife with his heart - but he expects support and family loyalty from these same people. "An apology to my wife" and "they were so horrible to us" - but now, he's all nostalgic and nobly said that his family "rejected" him again.


He's either living in a world of his own, or he's horribly cynical. I don't know which is worse.

There is no harm in Harry, Meghan and the kids not coming to the UK ever again, bar their distance from their grandfather - no, Zoom isn't the same - but that's HM the King's problem. This forum, though, doesn't only discuss harmful or useful things. The very existence of the fashion and style threads is a proof for this. So, I don't see why safety can't be discussed, especially if Harry brings it forth himself repeatedly.

 

[Toledo]

As an American I agree that there are many things, including the easy access to guns, that make the United States very dangerous. But I believe that the Duke of Sussex has always believed that the United Kingdom was particularly dangerous for his family, not generally as in the United States. Americans aren’t generally emotionally invested enough in the BRF in general or the Sussexes in particular to encourage the amount of press they receive in the UK (even if it is smaller than before).

Why that is and who’s to blame has been discussed before. If the Duke of Sussex finds that his family coming to Great Britain is dangerous and the Duchess of Sussex agrees with him and neither she nor their children step foot in the country again, who does it affect? What’s the harm?

What I see of the main issue in the UK is the moment she implied some sort of racism toward the family and country that welcome her with open arms, when those racist headlines and cartoons where not made by the public nor the RF but the Murdoch and counterparts nasty tabloids.
Had they not used innuendos nor involved the relatives into the fray it would have been a different outcome. The public would have sided with them and expose the intention of these tabloids was disgusting toward the couple and the child.

I doubt anyone in the UK would even care for them anymore, that bridge has burn for good. What I see on not going back as a family is that she won't get the attention and fan-Girling she gets in some USA sectors she moves about. She wants to be known as an influencer, but what's the point for one going to a place where people on the street will plainly ignore her as she walks by? The claim for security is not just for that, to keep them safe, but to go around with an escort troupe so people around think that they are still relevant in the UK. Kind of for the look-at-us-on-your streets show.

 

[Hallo girl]

@Leopoldine Hi, neighbor, I'm on the hills of Montgomery County and ours gets picked up on Mondays only and recycling plastics, glass bottles, cans and cardboards every other week. If Invictus Birmingham has a pick-up problem with trash being collected twice a month, like our recycling schedule here in Upstate NY, then that's one major budgeting problem to address before, during and after the games arrive to town. People will take pics and every corner will be on display on social media across the planet.

And another budgetary problem that needs to be addressed now and not later is these are war and army veterans. Many have physical disabilities that require special accommodations, transportation and housing for themselves and the families they will bring to support them or to assist them. From traffic and transportation to easy access to ramps, all these needs to be worked out in advance. The world, and the Royal Forums Community, will be watching.

Birmingham has a large military hospital that a number of the British veterans will have attended. This is an Invictus event that is being held in Birmingham.
I would have thought Invictus would be responsible for transportation.
The citizens of Birmingham and the UK are aware that people with disabilities require additional support, it is not a new concept for them to get their head round.
Are you monitoring the facilities in Canada , did you in the Netherlands.
The selection of Birmingham seems to be causing a stir on here. Not sure why.

 

[HRHHermione]

neither she nor their children step foot in the country again, who does it affect? What’s the harm

I think it harms the children over time. They are a British Prince and Princess and the Sussexes wanted those titles for them, but they will have no real connection to Britain or to any members of the royal family if they are never allowed to even visit their grandfather.

 

[Hallo girl]

As an American I agree that there are many things, including the easy access to guns, that make the United States very dangerous. But I believe that the Duke of Sussex has always believed that the United Kingdom was particularly dangerous for his family, not generally as in the United States. Americans aren’t generally emotionally invested enough in the BRF in general or the Sussexes in particular to encourage the amount of press they receive in the UK (even if it is smaller than before).

Why that is and who’s to blame has been discussed before. If the Duke of Sussex finds that his family coming to Great Britain is dangerous and the Duchess of Sussex agrees with him and neither she nor their children step foot in the country again, who does it affect? What’s the harm?

IMO the people in the UK are fed up with drama that always surrounds them , nobody really cares anymore. Yes we do discuss the latest story in the newspaper or whatever pots of jam are being sent out to friends. All I will say is that it is neither in a caring or hateful way, it is what has he been up to now. he keeps saying they are not coming back, I am not sure if he expects the British public to rise to his defence and say he must get security, we want Harry etc etc. Well I hate to disappoint him but it aint gonna happen.
I do not like discussing the children but the British are not invested in the children as we know nothing about them, we do not view them as part of us. I am not disputing their right to keep them private , I am just making the point that there is no connection there.
Going back to Harry, We are fed up with the mixed messages, the inaccuracies of what they say, the constant references to his mother , the pap walks, the comments made about the people of the UK as well as the RF. Even people who are not particularly royalist in their outlook are disappointed that he has hit on the family knowing they will not defend themselves.
How many times is he going to give his last comment on something, what happened to it will not be discussed again. Publicity is his oxygen.
It is boring, he is boring. It isn't boring on here, but they are boring,

 

[tommy100]

The British military hasn't had military hospitals for years, decades in fact. The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine is based at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham and is where many military personnel work and where personnel are taken after being medevaced home from operations overseas. There is though no dedicated military hospital or even, at present, ward, for military personnel. The UK's approach has been to fully integrate with the NHS and as such military medical personnel work on wards and in A&E treating civilians most of the time, keeping up their skills sets for deployment overseas. (So if you end up getting taken to A&E at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham you are quite likely to be treated by a military nurse)

During operations in Afghanistan the The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine was based Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham (now closed and replaced by the new Queen Elizabeth hospital) and injured troops were medevaced there. Again, even during times of heightened action there was no dedicated hospital or even ward (though if I recall correctly after some public outrage when this was discovered and reports some injured troops were receiving verbal abuse from other patients a ward was assigned just to the military). Once well enough to leave those with life changing injuries were taken to Hedley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey. This was replaced by the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall in Loughborough which opened in 2018 - as the name suggests this is also not just soley dedicated to the military but also to civilians allowing military and civilian staff to share expertise and allow for patients to get the best care. (Side note of royal connection Stanford Hall was purchased by the late Duke of Westminster and donated to the nation specifically to allow the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre to be developed there)

Birmingham is a great choice of UK venue as indeed many veterans will have first been treated there (though not in a dedicated military hospital) and many of the military personnel and indeed, civilian personnel, who treated them are based there. It is probably one of the most logical choices from a military point of view to host Invictus. It has also hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2022, so is well use to dealing with even bigger games than Invictus. It is home to the NEC - where the 202 Invictus Games will take place which a convention centre with rail links, close to the airport, car parking with shuttle busses, hotels etc and over 2,000,000sq ft of floor space. It plays hosts to huge events every year.

I suspect the reason its choice as host city is getting talked about is a) it means Invictus is back in the UK and that was always going to generate extra interest no matter which city was chosen b) Birmingham city council was one of the first in the country of late to go bankrupt and has just announced huge cuts to services and increase in local taxes - its IMO legitimate of us and local people to ask if the games of 27 are going to receive any public money as, to be frank, Birmingham can't afford it if so. But if not, then fine, Invictus just needs to educate people to that. They did choose it at host city and should (probably have) foreseen these sorts of questions. Its not an issue or people coming down on the games its people wanting to know more. Also, the UK government is committing money to the games so again, its fair for people to ask about that.

 

[akina21]

Invoking your grandmother - who is no longer here to tell her side - to claim that you are doing the right thing; by stating that these endless litigations are what the queen wanted you to do (while it is the complete opposite of how she dealt with the media all her life) is a new low for Harry.

I would also like to know when he had all those talks about going after the press , because he left in late 2019 and we can count the times he was in the UK afterwards on one hand.

 

[Hallo girl]

The British military hasn't had military hospitals for years, decades in fact. The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine is based at Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham and is where many military personnel work and where personnel are taken after being medevaced home from operations overseas. There is though no dedicated military hospital or even, at present, ward, for military personnel. The UK's approach has been to fully integrate with the NHS and as such military medical personnel work on wards and in A&E treating civilians most of the time, keeping up their skills sets for deployment overseas. (So if you end up getting taken to A&E at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham you are quite likely to be treated by a military nurse)

During operations in Afghanistan the The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine was based Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham (now closed and replaced by the new Queen Elizabeth hospital) and injured troops were medevaced there. Again, even during times of heightened action there was no dedicated hospital or even ward (though if I recall correctly after some public outrage when this was discovered and reports some injured troops were receiving verbal abuse from other patients a ward was assigned just to the military). Once well enough to leave those with life changing injuries were taken to Hedley Court rehabilitation centre in Surrey. This was replaced by the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall in Loughborough which opened in 2018 - as the name suggests this is also not just soley dedicated to the military but also to civilians allowing military and civilian staff to share expertise and allow for patients to get the best care. (Side note of royal connection Stanford Hall was purchased by the late Duke of Westminster and donated to the nation specifically to allow the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre to be developed there)

Birmingham is a great choice of UK venue as indeed many veterans will have first been treated there (though not in a dedicated military hospital) and many of the military personnel and indeed, civilian personnel, who treated them are based there. It is probably one of the most logical choices from a military point of view to host Invictus.

I suspect the reason its choice as host city is getting talked about is a) it means Invictus is back in the UK and that was always going to generate extra interest no matter which city was chosen b) Birmingham city council was one of the first in the country of late to go bankrupt and has just announced huge cuts to services and increase in local taxes - its IMO legitimate of us and local people to ask if the games of 27 are going to receive any public money as, to be frank, Birmingham can't afford it if so. But if not, then fine, Invictus just needs to educate people to that. They did choose it at host city and should (probably have) foreseen these sorts of questions. Its not an issue or people coming down on the games its people wanting to know more. Also, the UK government is committing money to the games so again, its fair for people to ask about that.

I stand corrected with my wording of ' Military Hospital' it was an inappropriate statement as you have made clear, the point I was making was that the some of the veterans will be familiar with the area, as they attended the hospital there. How many times in the news during the Afghanistan war did we hear mention of injured military personnel going to Birmingham, so once again I apologise for mis naming the hospital.
As for funding , I can fully understand locals wondering about the financial situation, and how often the bins will be emptied.
I just do not recall the same interest in Canadian or Dutch local authorities on this forum.

 

[Alison H]

Getting back to Invictus Birmingham. In about 18 months or so, these residents will only have their trash picked up twice a month. Here in NYC, my garbage gets picked up twice a week. The broke city council has ordered something like 100 new garbage trucks just for food scraps. This effort is at least a year away from happening.

Birmingham has a serious deficit problem and these garbage situations are the tip of the iceberg in Brum.

Rubbish in the UK has only ever been collected once a week max. In recent years, in an effort to encourage recycling, everyone has been given 4 different bins - one for glass and plastic, one for food and garden waste, one for papers and cardboard, and one for everything else. Only one or two of these bins are emptied each week, on the grounds that, if you have 4 bins, you shouldn't be filling any of them in the space of 2 weeks. So collecting the rubbish only twice a month really isn't an different to the current situation.

I have 4 large bins in my small garden. My mum and dad live in a block of 8 flats, so they have 32 large bins outside the flats! It's a bit of a pain, but it's supposed to be saving the planet and all that ...

 

[Maryrose]

My take on this is that Harry feels if the family stood with him against the media attacks, hacking etc there would have been a different outcome. The royal family is also "the firm" which has to protect the image of those in succession and IMO others didn't need to be sacrificed for lack of a better word to give positive press to others. Family members could feel sympathy but the ultimate goal is the continuance of the monarchy and this is where I think the issue lies.

 

[Lee-Z]

OT: garbage indeed seems no measure for the quality of the location, where i live green are collected twcie a month, paper once a month, plastic once a month, 'other' once a month, but i bet we could easily host an invictus games here (ofcourse everyone would b*** about the costs, but were dutch, it's what we do)

 

[Lee-Z]

My take on this is that Harry feels if the family stood with him against the media attacks, hacking etc there would have been a different outcome. The royal family is also "the firm" which has to protect the image of those in succession and IMO others didn't need to be sacrificed for lack of a better word to give positive press to others. Family members could feel sympathy but the ultimate goal is the continuance of the monarchy and this is where I think the issue lies.

i think the family were on his side, until Harry started to attack them by his own choice (or in his words 'tell his truth').
He doesn't seem to realize that his actions have consequences and not everybody agrees with him.

It isn't just that the media has reported about what he said, no, we have it in his own words...but he doesn't get that his words have hurt other people, who are now protecting himswlf against him

Granny's 'recollections may vary' evidently hasn't sunk in yet; he does not understand she meant she didn't agree with him

 

[Moran]

i think the family were on his side, until Harry started to attack them by his own choice (or in his words 'tell his truth').
He doesn't seem to realize that his actions have consequences and not everybody agrees with him.

We can't be sure about the family being on his side but what we can be sure about is that he made it iron-clad certain that there is no way for them to work together with him, no matter the task, for a long time. He didn't just break confidences - he did it in a way that might have caused tension between other people. Why did he need to remind the world that William was against his father's marriage to his wife of almost 20 years now? 20 years is a long time. From all we see, the relationship between William and Camilla has become a lot more cordial. Did Harry really need to dig this old dirt and possibly make everyone remember old bitterness and such? All because he couldn't stay on his own feet, he needed to be part of "Willy and I", getting additional validation - the same validation he now seeks. The RF now needs to be careful about every word they say around him - and the very fact that they collaborated with him, if they ever do, no matter or not, is a sign of reinstated contact enabling him to say whatever he wants. He just did it with HLM who suddenly became all sharp-minded when it suited him. I can't imagine the RF would want to risk a repeat performance.

 

[Hallo girl]

My take on this is that Harry feels if the family stood with him against the media attacks, hacking etc there would have been a different outcome. The royal family is also "the firm" which has to protect the image of those in succession and IMO others didn't need to be sacrificed for lack of a better word to give positive press to others. Family members could feel sympathy but the ultimate goal is the continuance of the monarchy and this is where I think the issue lies.

The hacking was many years ago , had been highlighted by William that then kicked off a chain of events resulting in the Leveson enquiry.
In what way was Harry sacrificed. ?
Yes some of the stories were embarrassing etc but how many were outright falsehoods? Is Harry annoyed because they dared to print them or because they are lies.
We live in a democracy that includes a free press, yes if they print falsehoods or use illegal methods they are entitled to be brought to account.
We cannot try and silence the press because we do not like what they say.
If he believes the palace gave out stories about him to take the heat of others then that is not a pleasant situation but if the press have printed true stories he cannot shut them up. He needs to deal with the palace if that is the case. But to be honest I am so fed up with Harry’s version of events I do not care what was said about him. He is full of inaccuracies.

 

[tommy100]

I stand corrected with my wording of ' Military Hospital' it was an inappropriate statement as you have made clear, the point I was making was that the some of the veterans will be familiar with the area, as they attended the hospital there. How many times in the news during the Afghanistan war did we hear mention of injured military personnel going to Birmingham, so once again I apologise for mis naming the hospital.
As for funding , I can fully understand locals wondering about the financial situation, and how often the bins will be emptied.
I just do not recall the same interest in Canadian or Dutch local authorities on this forum.

Please don't think I was getting at you.

Birmingham is indeed a great choice as it is home to the UK's military medical services.

In terms of questioning the cost - I assume maybe there are more UK posters on these threads than Canadian or Dutch? I'm from the UK and have hear lots about how broke Birmingham is - I am family who live there and visit every few months - so it is something that came to mind when I heard Invictus was going there. I'm not Dutch or Canadian and don't know the financial state of the cities who hosted so wouldn't have commented on them.

 

[Emmily]

I find it interesting Harry is so worried about security in the UK - he talked in the interview about being worried about Meghan not being safe etc. Days after his own Invictus Games announced they'll be hosted in the UK. I don't mean this to offend any US citizens here but I'd genuinely think the UK as being safer than the US. Harry obviously feels safer having protection from bodyguards with guns and he can hire those in the US, he can't here in the UK. Personally I'd see it as less safe to be in a country where most people can have guns vs one where you can't.
IMO this interview just shows there are a lot of deep deep issues going on with Harry and, for now at least, his family and the UK are bearing the brunt of them.

What you say is not offensive, tommy100. It's true!

My take is that Meghan uses the security issue as an excuse to not return to the UK. Simply my opinion, but they are not safer in the US than in the UK.

 

[Hallo girl]

Please don't think I was getting at you.

Birmingham is indeed a great choice as it is home to the UK's military medical services.

In terms of questioning the cost - I assume maybe there are more UK posters on these threads than Canadian or Dutch? I'm from the UK and have hear lots about how broke Birmingham is - I am family who live there and visit every few months - so it is something that came to mind when I heard Invictus was going there. I'm not Dutch or Canadian and don't know the financial state of the cities who hosted so wouldn't have commented on them.

I am prickly today I probably over reacted. We are adults we can move on.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

If the majority of the British people are apathetic or annoyed at best and disgusted or outraged at worst with the Sussexes and are lock-step with the current BRF, then what consequences does Harry saying that their lack of response to the media has caused a rift between them have on the British Royal Family specifically?

 

[shady lady]

Elsewhere on a Daily Telegraph podcast (not sure if it can be accessed unless you have a subscription) journalist Camilla Tominey has spoken out; I have accessed a clip on Twitter of some of her comments and I think they are worth repeating. Here they are verbatim:

(Starts by quoting PH) ""Anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press"." She continues: "No. If you are going to attack your family in a lengthy Netflix Documentary and in a book running to 400 odd pages, without giving them a right of reply, oh and by the way, going on prime time TV in America and then gasbag about them and the intimate details of their life on Oprah, we will report it.

"You're the one who has created a rift in your own family; what did you expect us to do? Look the other way and go "Oh, Harry and Meghan are saying all this stuff". I couldn't have written an article more intrusive than Spare - I literally wouldn't have been allowed by the legal department."

I think she makes some terrific points here. PH made the choice to (over)share in Spare etc. and attack his family (and the UK) with zero consequences or negative responses, and wants everyone to believe the rift is either the press and/or the BRF's fault.

Who is he trying to kid?

 

[Hallo girl]

If the majority of the British people are apathetic or annoyed at best and disgusted or outraged at worst with the Sussexes and are lock-step with the current BRF, then what consequences does Harry saying that their lack of response to the media has caused a rift between them have on the British Royal Family specifically?

The problem is that IMO nobody really cares about Harry, we do not automatically take what he says as gospel truth.
I lot of people admire the RF for just getting on with things under difficult circumstances.

 

[Maryrose]

I think a lot of these negative stories were published about Meghan before the Oprah interview and Spare. The tide turned very quickly against her after their successful trip to Australia. As for Prince William I think the issue was that he received compensation for the phone hacking instead of bringing it to trial and exposing the media. That IMO is the difference between the brothers. Harry has the means to do this so other people who can't afford to do this don't have to and just settle. While I think William can't have the media turn against him like it has against Harry.

 

[Maryrose]

I think Shady Lady that the issue was that the palace did not put out disclaimers like they had for others or had articles scrubbed. Spare was Harry's way of correcting what he saw as false stories about himself and his wife.

 

[Hallo girl]

I think a lot of these negative stories were published about Meghan before the Oprah interview and Spare. The tide turned very quickly against her after their successful trip to Australia. As for Prince William I think the issue was that he received compensation for the phone hacking instead of bringing it to trial and exposing the media. That IMO is the difference between the brothers. Harry has the means to do this so other people who can't afford to do this don't have to and just settle. While I think William can't have the media turn against him like it has against Harry.

It was Harry that said things changed after the Australia trip. He isn’t always reliable.
Why shouldn’t William accept a monetary claim. He had better things to do with his time, money he then donated to Invictus.

 

[Hallo girl]

I think Shady Lady that the issue was that the palace did not put out disclaimers like they had for others or had articles scrubbed. Spare was Harry's way of correcting what he saw as false stories about himself and his wife.

We are risking going over old ground here, but forgive me if I do not agree.

 

[Hallo girl]

I think Shady Lady that the issue was that the palace did not put out disclaimers like they had for others or had articles scrubbed. Spare was Harry's way of correcting what he saw as false stories about himself and his wife.

By revealing private conversations and text messages.

 

[Alison H]

https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity-life/rejected-and-abandoned-lady-colin-campbell-launches-fundraiser-for-meghan-markles-father-thomas-markle-senior/news-story/5b9b8a6d5e05a5489dcb48bcdd5aadaa

I'm not sure why Lady Colin Campbell has got involved with this, other than her love of having her name in the news, but she's launched a fundraiser for Thomas Markle's birthday, and it's raised £30,000. I hope he enjoys it!

 

[Moran]

If the majority of the British people are apathetic or annoyed at best and disgusted or outraged at worst with the Sussexes and are lock-step with the current BRF, then what consequences does Harry saying that their lack of response to the media has caused a rift between them have on the British Royal Family specifically?

None at all. And what consequences does the unfavourable perception of Harry's claims here, on a public forum of people who don't know each other have on the Duke of Sussex specifically? I really don't get your constant asking "But who did he harm by saying this or that?" This is a forum about what he does, not just about whom he harms. It's his own fault if the two conflate. And when they don't, it's still a public forum on which we can speak of his actions even without them harming anyone.

BTW, I'm not quite right. Harry saying this affects the BRF very much. It shows them that Harry is still a sullen teen looking for everyone else to blame, so - not to be trusted. So - more distancing, leading to more sulking and finger-pointing.

 

[Ghost]

Regarding the family joining Harry in his quest after the press: the family had a strategy about the press that Harry didn’t like and broke away from. He could very well join William in accepting compensation out of court, it was his choice to go to court. So, no, it’s not the family who didn’t play nice, it’s the other way around.

 

[Hallo girl]

Regarding the family joining Harry in his quest after the press: the family had a strategy about the press that Harry didn’t like and broke away from. He could very well join William in accepting compensation out of court, it was his choice to go to court. So, no, it’s not the family who didn’t play nice, it’s the other way around.

I also think that William appears a more contended man than Harry does at the moment. If people agree William should have went to court or Harry should have taken a payout , then that’s fine it is open to debate, I do think though that IMO William appears to have moved on and comfortable in his skin. At the moment I am not seeing that in Harry.
Court appearances are stressful, whatever the reason.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

None at all. And what consequences does the unfavourable perception of Harry's claims here, on a public forum of people who don't know each other have on the Duke of Sussex specifically? I really don't get your constant asking "But who did he harm by saying this or that?" This is a forum about what he does, not just about whom he harms. It's his own fault if the two conflate. And when they don't, it's still a public forum on which we can speak of his actions even without them harming anyone.

BTW, I'm not quite right. Harry saying this affects the BRF very much. It shows them that Harry is still a sullen teen looking for everyone else to blame, so - not to be trusted. So - more distancing, leading to more sulking and finger-pointing.

I ask this because I'm looking for genuine conversation from my fellow posters that will lead to more constructive conversations than an airing of grievances or rehash of old stuff. If you don't want to have those conversations and would rather vent, by all means don't respond to my posts.

Ultimately the BRF did what was right for them and Harry's doing what's right for him. Nothing one side does will change or influence what the other side does. It won't change how supporters see either side. It will probably drive a deeper wedge between both sides of the family.

And then what? How will this change perception of Harry? The BRF? The British press? Meghan and the children? And if the answer is not at all, then what incentive does Harry have not to continue doing what he's doing?