The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 4: April-June 2021

[Betsypaige]

From what someone - maybe Sophie? - said, although they'd been making video calls, none of the grandchildren had seen him in person, because at that point the UK vaccination programme hadn't reached under 45s. That suggests that, although they knew Philip only had weeks or months rather than years, they didn't know that the end was imminent. I hope so, anyway, because it's awful when things go on for a few days - so distressing for everyone.


But why is it necessary to leak these reports? I can only assume that Harry thinks it makes him look hard done by, but is it necessary to try to exploit his grandfather's death like this?

TMZ has sources with police...they pay for tips, from everywhere.

HighGoal: based on Twitter, it hasn’t; this will be a short-lived story - people are still very upset/angry with him.

And while I agree that it doesn't make Harry look great, it has taken focus away from some of the most incomprehensible and misguided things he has ever uttered on the public stage, to wit, implying that someone in the throes of a suicidal crisis can change their mind simply by the thoughts of the pain it would cause surviving loved ones. (Seriously, if this were the case, no one with loved ones would commit suicide, and what his comments imply for those of us who are survivors of suicide loss is appalling, as if our loved ones weren't able to just take a step back and consider what their loss would mean to us, or perhaps we should have just given them 'a cuddle' to get them past the moment.) This story taking the focus off those comments is a godsend for Harry.

 

[Erin9]

But why is it necessary to leak these reports? I can only assume that Harry thinks it makes him look hard done by, but is it necessary to try to exploit his grandfather's death like this?

I’m not sure who leaked the reports, but Meghan helped make Philip’s funeral about herself by making sure everyone knew just how thoughtful she was with the flower arrangements. And announced it as the funeral was beginning. I have stronger words for that, but I’ll stick with self centered. No one else in the family did that.

Harry just talked about how returning to London for Philip’s funeral was stressful for HIM.

So, nothing would surprise me. They’ve already exploited Philip’s death. Along with showing a stunning lack of compassion for anyone in the weeks leading up to- and following- his death.

 

[Somebody]

I dont think that he's all that concerned with helping others, its more about getting revenge on his family and making money out of the "sad and dark tales" aspect of his royal life.

Meghan's own words that all was already lost is telling in that respect. They have nothing to loose anymore in their perspective (apparently having a good relationship with your family doesn't count - if they don't give you money and the perks that come with being an active working member of the royal family you may as well do as you please without a single thought for how that might affect them and your (current and future) relationship with them), so they are in full-out revenge mode; and will tell anything that fits in that frame.

 

[Erin9]

Do you really think that theey will ever have "enough money"? And if they wanted to "lead a quiet life to protect their children", they had ample chance to do it when they left the UK. Buy a house somewhere rural, life off Diana's fortune, keep away from the press and the TV networks.. and people like Oprah. That wasn't what they wanted. Meghan's told the world that she thought of killing herself when she was having Archie. That's not going to be very nice for him to hear when he's older..

Indeed. And Harry felt compelled to add that, according to Meghan, the only reason she didn’t kill herself was out of concern for Harry. Also not nice for Archie to hear someday. I really don’t know what either one of them were thinking by announcing that, of all things, for the world and their son to hear. That assumes, I suppose, that they were really thinking at all before talking.

 

[Hallo girl]

TMZ has sources with police...they pay for tips, from everywhere.

I am still trying to figure out why the US Embassy was involved, why not the British Embassy / consulate in Los Angeles. Could somebody not have driven to their home and knocked at the door.

 

[Denville]

Meghan's own words that all was already lost is telling in that respect. They have nothing to loose anymore in their perspective (apparently having a good relationship with your family doesn't count - if they don't give you money and the perks that come with being an active working member of the royal family you may as well do as you please without a single thought for how that might affect them and your (current and future) relationship with them), so they are in full-out revenge mode; and will tell anything that fits in that frame.

But even from a purely selfish POV, why attack the goose that has the golden eggs? yes Charles has been tough with them over money, and told them that they have to pay for things themselves.. but if things go south with them.. and they have money troubles who are they going to to go for help? Doria is not well off.. they will have to go to Charles. And if he was annoyed by demands for money in 2020 he's hrardly going to feel very kindly towards them in a year or 2, if they've gone on attacking him and the RF. I dont say that he'd say "No, you're not getting a penny", but if they retained some polite relationship with him, he is likely to be more generous.

 

[valeas]

Somebody mentioned the live-in staff.
Do we have a source for this?
I'd think the couple cares such a lot a bout privacy and is mischievous with everyone
mirroring their own characters LOL , no seriously of course its a big house, they'd need somebody to clean and a gardener, a cook, a nanny ?
Something tells me they have very little staff and I don't think they have 24/7 security inside their protected area,
other opinions or sources welcome .

 

[Erin9]

But it makes the Sussexes look bad. They knew Philip was not long for this world, and yet they turn off their phones, and their staff aren't around to hanld any emergency calls until someone turns up and bangs on their door?

It doesn’t make them look good. Fair point.

I remember Meghan saying “staff” left a note letting them know Philip was in the hospital. It seemed an odd thing to say publicly to me. What a different, and rather odd, IMO world they live in. Was their communication with their family so poor family didn’t feel they could leave them a personal VM or text? They needed STAFF to leave them a note. Okay.

I know there’s a big time difference. I get that that they all have staff. Still. It stood out.

 

[Somebody]

But even from a purely selfish POV, why attack the goose that has the golden eggs? yes Charles has been tough with them over money, and told them that they have to pay for things themselves.. but if things go south with them.. and they have money troubles who are they going to to go for help? Doria is not well off.. they will have to go to Charles. And if he was annoyed by demands for money in 2020 he's hrardly going to feel very kindly towards them in a year or 2, if they've gone on attacking him and the RF. I dont say that he'd say "No, you're not getting a penny", but if they retained some polite relationship with him, he is likely to be more generous.

Good question. I guess when you are out for revenge logical thinking goes out of the window as well. They are probably sure that they never need the family again, reasoning that multimillionaire celebrities will pick them up/take care of them as they have done over the last year and a half, so no reason to even try to remain civil.

 

[Denville]

Somebody mentioned the live-in staff.
Do we have a source for this?
I'd think the couple cares such a lot a bout privacy and is mischievous with everyone
mirroring their own characters LOL , no seriously of course its a big house, they'd need somebody to clean and a gardener, a cook, a nanny ?
Something tells me they have very little staff and I don't think they have 24/7 security inside their protected area,
other opinions or sources welcome .

I can't imagine that they dont have live in housekeeping staff. Unless they manage with people who come in from outside each day....
I suppose it is possible but I CANNOT believe, with their concerns about privacy and their fears about security, that they dont have 24/7 security staff. Harry has always had that, and he claimed that it was his losing his security that drove him ot make a business deal.. clearly he was worried at the idea that he might not have a security officer around all the time.. if he's so concerned about his wife and child, and apparently they called the LAPD several times last year because of drones, surely he's not going to live in LA without at least one security officer on duty at all times..
so that bieng the case, surely said security officer would be there to answer urgent phone calls.....

 

[Erin9]

You’re welcome !!!

Erin, there were other excerpts I wanted to post except it was getting too long, lol.

lol. I understand. That article made so many excellent points that it was hard for me to decide which ones to focus on in one post.

 

[Denville]

Good question. I guess when you are out for revenge logical thinking goes out of the window as well. They are probably sure that they never need the family again, reasoning that multimillionaire celebrities will pick them up/take care of them as they have done over the last year and a half, so no reason to even try to remain civil.

I think that's the only reason.... I think that H remained civil to his father even when Charles and the queen told him NO he could not do the HIHO thing.. but he was peeved. Then (apparently) Char gave him some money to make a start in the US/Canada but probably warned him that the money would not last forever and that it was to start him off.. and that he'd have to meet his own costs. but Harry "Didn't think he'd lose his free security" and didn't listen.
but a rich friend (!) came to their rescue and gave them a house ot live in, for a few months. So maybe they reckon that if they are popular in the US, SOME rich businessman or movie star will come along and help out if they cant meet their mortgage or whatever

 

[Betsypaige]

lol. I understand. That article made so many excellent points that it was hard for me to decide which ones to focus on in one post.

This was the part that I wanted to include ...this man pulls no punches !

Your public outbursts seeking sympathy on the back of launching entirely misguided attacks on your family looks very much like a cynical publicity stunt based it seems on a litany of inaccuracies.

Your flirtation with wokery is likewise an entirely self-serving exercise in the promotion of “Brand Sussex”, loaded with gross hypocrisy in preaching to the world at large.

Your PR team and other strategic media embedded mouthpieces display breath-taking ignorance of our heritage and culture, a fact that you ought to know full well.

You have regrettably allowed yourself to blur the lines between celebrity and royalty, for which there is no excuse for you or even your wife for that matter.

 

[valeas]

Good question. I guess when you are out for revenge logical thinking goes out of the window as well. They are probably sure that they never need the family again, reasoning that multimillionaire celebrities will pick them up/take care of them as they have done over the last year and a half, so no reason to even try to remain civil.

And how much money do they really need?
The house seems to be paid.
The contracts with Netflix and others are made.
Staff, ok, but what else? The pandemic safed them a lot of money I guess,
no travelling, no red carpets=no expensive clothes needed.
Archies nursery, ok.
Not much more rhan anybody else would have to pay for.
And Harry is a rich man, Meghan knows how to live "normal".
Their money would be enough for quite a while.

 

[Erin9]

Meghan's own words that all was already lost is telling in that respect. They have nothing to loose anymore in their perspective (apparently having a good relationship with your family doesn't count - if they don't give you money and the perks that come with being an active working member of the royal family you may as well do as you please without a single thought for how that might affect them and your (current and future) relationship with them), so they are in full-out revenge mode; and will tell anything that fits in that frame.

I hadn’t thought of it quite that way, but good point. You sure get a good look at their priorities with that statement. Not a pretty sight IMO.

 

[Denville]

And how much money do they really need?
The house seems to be paid.
The contracts with Netflix and others are made.
Staff, ok, but what else? The pandemic safed them a lot of money I guess,
no travelling, no red carpets=no expensive clothes needed.
Archies nursery, ok.
Not much more rhan anybody else would have to pay for.
And Harry is a rich man, Meghan knows how to live "normal".
Their money would be enough for quite a while.

I doubt if the house is paid for, I think they have a mortgage.. and if they DID pay for it, all at once, it must have made a hole in the money C gave them or Diana's fortune. Security is pretty expensive, and so are the costs of running such a big house and the taxes on it.
Harry didn't say "I am a rich guy, so luckily I was able to buy this house and pay the costs".. He siad "I lost my security and was worried about that..."
And Netflix's deal may mean that they are expected to produce work, on a long term basis. So Far I think they've only got a doc on Invictus in the pipeline....

 

[Erin9]

Good question. I guess when you are out for revenge logical thinking goes out of the window as well. They are probably sure that they never need the family again, reasoning that multimillionaire celebrities will pick them up/take care of them as they have done over the last year and a half, so no reason to even try to remain civil.

You make a good point. I think they wanted to make the RF/Charles look bad when saying wealthy celebs helped them out when Charles cut them off. I thought instead it made them look ludicrously ill prepared for that financial independence that they so desired that they couldn’t work out their own arrangements. And rather pathetic if I’m being real honest. Poor multimillionaires. Good grief.

 

[Erin9]

This was the part that I wanted to include ...this man pulls no punches !





You have regrettably allowed yourself to blur the lines between celebrity and royalty, for which there is no excuse for you or even your wife for that matter.

Yeah....that part was excellent. It does feel like a publicity stunt......especially with all those pesky “ inaccuracies.”

 

[Denville]

You make a good point. I think they wanted to make the RF/Charles look bad when saying wealthy celebs helped them out when Charles cut them off. I thought instead it made them look ludicrously ill prepared for that financial independence that they so desired that they couldn’t work out their own arrangements. And rather pathetic if I’m being real honest. Poor multimillionaires. Good grief.

to be fair, Royals DO take freebies from rich friends at times, but I have not heard of anyone living for months in a house belongig to someone that I thikn they didn't even know..

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Harry implying that he didn't really give a hoot about the people he was forced to meet during his "Cheeky Harry the Lad" heyday has prompted a disturbing thought to enter my head.

Who is to say that when he reaches old age...perhaps even sooner...10, 15, 20 years down the line. .he then decides that he really felt no connection with the depressed, despairing emotionally troubled individuals he claims to be trying to "help" now?

That it was just the circumstances of his turbulent personal life that caused him to lash out?....

 

[Sunnystar]

And how much money do they really need?
The house seems to be paid.
The contracts with Netflix and others are made.
Staff, ok, but what else? The pandemic safed them a lot of money I guess,
no travelling, no red carpets=no expensive clothes needed.
Archies nursery, ok.
Not much more rhan anybody else would have to pay for.
And Harry is a rich man, Meghan knows how to live "normal".
Their money would be enough for quite a while.

House has a mortgage so it isn't paid, plus they'll have property taxes, insurance, and standard repairs/maintenance for years to come. Who knows how much of a down payment they made - let's say $5m and they financed $6m at 2.75% interest - that's $24,500/mo right there plus the property taxes, HOI & maintenance = somewhere between $375,000 and $400,000/yr.

The traveling & red carpets will return - and Meghan will always find a reason to wear expensive clothes - remember the Armani dress she wore for the Oprah interview in March?

The kids will both have school and activities as they grow - and they're not going to be attending the public/taxpayer funded schools in Montecito, I'm sure.

Then, there's also personal health insurance for H, M, A & Baby Girl Sussex. Without employer-covered health insurance, they're going to be paying at least $10k/month for that, which translates to $120,000/yr.

Staff - I'm not sure how much staff they have - assume they each have a personal assistant, a housekeeper, an au pair or nanny (let's be real, they can't take care of their kids all of the time between meetings & events), possibly a personal chef. I'm not sure what the median pay in SoCal is for any of those positions but, that's four, possibly five paid staff members, not to mention security would be contracted out, but even just one security officer on staff 24/7 equates to four more employees weekly. Let's say they're cheap and the average that they're paying in salary alone is $45k x 8.5 employees = $382,500/yr. Even if the PAs fall under Archewell for HR purposes, they are still paying, in most all likelihood, close to $300k for staff.

Let's say Harry hasn't touched the principal of the $30m Diana reportedly left him. What's the interest that he's collecting on that yearly? 2% interest = $600,000. Just doing the math on staff, house, insurance alone comes out to more than $900,000 yearly. And that doesn't include travel, clothing, or the children's eventual expenses.

Yes, had they chosen to remain in the UK or chosen a less-expensive part of the US in which to live, they could have easily lived within the means of Harry's private fortune. But, given the choices they have made, there's no way that they're able to live on the interest from his fortune alone. Plus, they're angry and mad that they're having to spend some of that money on things like security or house payments.

As far as the 3am Embassy phone call - seems to me that the obvious answer is Harry & Meghan had their phones off and chances are good that no one in the BRF personally had the phone #s for a personal assistant or any staff members, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I don't necessarily leap to the conclusion that Harry wasn't taking any calls from any of his family - I think it was 3am and he has a pregnant wife and a toddler, so they turned their phones off. So, the BRF reached out to the UK Embassy/Consulate in LA to get ahold of Harry - it's probably a lot more reasonable to expect that someone in the Embassy/Consulate did have the phone #s for H/M's staff or could access that information quickly or, worse case scenario, send the county sheriff around to the house.

 

[ladyjolene]

Do you really think that theey will ever have "enough money"? And if they wanted to "lead a quiet life to protect their children", they had ample chance to do it when they left the UK. Buy a house somewhere rural, life off Diana's fortune, keep away from the press and the TV networks.. and people like Oprah. That wasn't what they wanted. Meghan's told the world that she thought of killing herself when she was having Archie. That's not going to be very nice for him to hear when he's older..

Indeed. And Harry felt compelled to add that, according to Meghan, the only reason she didn’t kill herself was out of concern for Harry. Also not nice for Archie to hear someday. I really don’t know what either one of them were thinking by announcing that, of all things, for the world and their son to hear. That assumes, I suppose, that they were really thinking at all before talking.

So insensitive to Archie. I can only imagine him reading a transcript or old video of the interview.

That letter in the Daily Express is on point.

[...]

 

[valeas]

Harry implying that he didn't really give a hoot about the people he was forced to meet during his "Cheeky Harry the Lad" heyday has prompted a disturbing thought to enter my head.

Who is to say that when he reaches old age...perhaps even sooner...10, 15, 20 years down the line. .he then decides that he really felt no connection with the depressed, despairing emotionally troubled individuals he claims to be trying to "help" now?

That it was just the circumstances of his turbulent personal life that caused him to lash out?....

Well, as we all should know empathy is selective.
While many care for their cats they ignore the neighbour's suffering child,
that's cruel but human.

 

[Betsypaige]

There are quotes from people [...] but in this case, I couldn’t agree with them more.

Charlie Rae, former royal editor at the Sun, told talkRADIO this morning: "This guy was a hero in Britain and now he is the zero, I'm afraid.

"His popularity has gone right down. There was a poll the other night which showed 54 percent of people just wished he would shut up."


Radio host Kevin O'Sullivan responded: "The popularity polls for him and Meghan on both sides of the Atlantic are plummeting.

"He made the serious mistake a couple weeks back of questioning America's sacred First Amendment, which is about freedom of speech.

"Americans do not take kindly to interlopers who turn up in their country and criticise it."

Mr Rae added: "He has faced an awful lot of criticism within America.

"He made a big mistake in criticising the First Amendment.

"There has been an awful lot of traffic on social media from Americans saying 'if you don't like it here, head off back'."

https://www.express.co.uk/news/roya...arkle-latest-vn/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Erin9]

House has a mortgage so it isn't paid, plus they'll have property taxes, insurance, and standard repairs/maintenance for years to come. Who knows how much of a down payment they made - let's say $5m and they financed $6m at 2.75% interest - that's $24,500/mo right there plus the property taxes, HOI & maintenance = somewhere between $375,000 and $400,000/yr.

The traveling & red carpets will return - and Meghan will always find a reason to wear expensive clothes - remember the Armani dress she wore for the Oprah interview in March?

The kids will both have school and activities as they grow - and they're not going to be attending the public/taxpayer funded schools in Montecito, I'm sure.

Then, there's also personal health insurance for H, M, A & Baby Girl Sussex. Without employer-covered health insurance, they're going to be paying at least $10k/month for that, which translates to $120,000/yr.

Staff - I'm not sure how much staff they have - assume they each have a personal assistant, a housekeeper, an au pair or nanny (let's be real, they can't take care of their kids all of the time between meetings & events), possibly a personal chef. I'm not sure what the median pay in SoCal is for any of those positions but, that's four, possibly five paid staff members, not to mention security would be contracted out, but even just one security officer on staff 24/7 equates to four more employees weekly. Let's say they're cheap and the average that they're paying in salary alone is $45k x 8.5 employees = $382,500/yr. Even if the PAs fall under Archewell for HR purposes, they are still paying, in most all likelihood, close to $300k for staff.

Let's say Harry hasn't touched the principal of the $30m Diana reportedly left him. What's the interest that he's collecting on that yearly? 2% interest = $600,000. Just doing the math on staff, house, insurance alone comes out to more than $900,000 yearly. And that doesn't include travel, clothing, or the children's eventual expenses.

Yes, had they chosen to remain in the UK or chosen a less-expensive part of the US in which to live, they could have easily lived within the means of Harry's private fortune. But, given the choices they have made, there's no way that they're able to live on the interest from his fortune alone. Plus, they're angry and mad that they're having to spend some of that money on things like security or house payments.

As far as the 3am Embassy phone call - seems to me that the obvious answer is Harry & Meghan had their phones off and chances are good that no one in the BRF personally had the phone #s for a personal assistant or any staff members, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I don't necessarily leap to the conclusion that Harry wasn't taking any calls from any of his family - I think it was 3am and he has a pregnant wife and a toddler, so they turned their phones off. So, the BRF reached out to the UK Embassy/Consulate in LA to get ahold of Harry - it's probably a lot more reasonable to expect that someone in the Embassy/Consulate did have the phone #s for H/M's staff or could access that information quickly or, worse case scenario, send the county sheriff around to the house.

Good points.

I will add this though: Harry MIGHT have employer based health insurance via his job as Chief impact officer. I have some level of doubt that he truly puts in the time that other people would have to in order to do that particular job. But he may well have the perk of insurance out of it. And it may have been a reason to take the job. Insurance is expensive.

 

[Betsypaige]

You make a good point. I think they wanted to make the RF/Charles look bad when saying wealthy celebs helped them out when Charles cut them off. I thought instead it made them look ludicrously ill prepared for that financial independence that they so desired that they couldn’t work out their own arrangements. And rather pathetic if I’m being real honest. Poor multimillionaires. Good grief.

Did they really think Americans were going to sympathize with two rich, privileged people ? Especially during a pandemic ? With an almost 40 year old man who decided to whine about his mean, tightwad daddy because daddy decided it was time for sonny to practice that financial independence ? There’s been a lot of sympathy - relatively speaking- for Charles, having to deal with his [son].

 

[Moonmaiden23]

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor spent the 30-40 odd years of their exile being hosted by what was then called "cafe society" and financially subsidized by very wealthy friends such as Woolworth heir Jimmy Donohue. How else in the world could they have lived and entertained on that truly lavish Royal scale in the Bois du Boulogne? How did "David" afford to shower Wallis with incredible jewels? (The ones he hadn't inherited from his mother at least)

The Duke returned to England only when it was strictly necessary for him to be there...for example Royal family funerals.

And always minus his unpopular American wife.

I suspect it will be pretty much the same for Harry.

 

[Denville]

Y

As far as the 3am Embassy phone call - seems to me that the obvious answer is Harry & Meghan had their phones off and chances are good that no one in the BRF personally had the phone #s for a personal assistant or any staff members, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I don't necessarily leap to the conclusion that Harry wasn't taking any calls from any of his family - I think it was 3am and he has a pregnant wife and a toddler, so they turned their phones off. So, the BRF reached out to the UK Embassy/Consulate in LA to get ahold of Harry - it's probably a lot more reasonable to expect that someone in the Embassy/Consulate did have the phone #s for H/M's staff or could access that information quickly or, worse case scenario, send the county sheriff around to the house.

It still seems odd to me that no provision was made for phone calls in the middle of the night, given Phil's condition. OK maybe Harry and Meg dont want to be disturbed and turn their phones off, but they knew the old boy was very ill - or surely their PA's number was given to the RF/Embassy staff.. to contact them.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

https://www.tmz.com/2021/05/28/prin...lls-prince-philip-death-cops-home-california/

I can't imagine that the police or the embassy leaked the story, so that only leaves the Sussexes.

The story says "Law enforcement sources tell TMZ [...]".

 

[Osipi]

House has a mortgage so it isn't paid, plus they'll have property taxes, insurance, and standard repairs/maintenance for years to come. Who knows how much of a down payment they made - let's say $5m and they financed $6m at 2.75% interest - that's $24,500/mo right there plus the property taxes, HOI & maintenance = somewhere between $375,000 and $400,000/yr.

The traveling & red carpets will return - and Meghan will always find a reason to wear expensive clothes - remember the Armani dress she wore for the Oprah interview in March?

The kids will both have school and activities as they grow - and they're not going to be attending the public/taxpayer funded schools in Montecito, I'm sure.

Then, there's also personal health insurance for H, M, A & Baby Girl Sussex. Without employer-covered health insurance, they're going to be paying at least $10k/month for that, which translates to $120,000/yr.

Staff - I'm not sure how much staff they have - assume they each have a personal assistant, a housekeeper, an au pair or nanny (let's be real, they can't take care of their kids all of the time between meetings & events), possibly a personal chef. I'm not sure what the median pay in SoCal is for any of those positions but, that's four, possibly five paid staff members, not to mention security would be contracted out, but even just one security officer on staff 24/7 equates to four more employees weekly. Let's say they're cheap and the average that they're paying in salary alone is $45k x 8.5 employees = $382,500/yr. Even if the PAs fall under Archewell for HR purposes, they are still paying, in most all likelihood, close to $300k for staff.

Let's say Harry hasn't touched the principal of the $30m Diana reportedly left him. What's the interest that he's collecting on that yearly? 2% interest = $600,000. Just doing the math on staff, house, insurance alone comes out to more than $900,000 yearly. And that doesn't include travel, clothing, or the children's eventual expenses.

Yes, had they chosen to remain in the UK or chosen a less-expensive part of the US in which to live, they could have easily lived within the means of Harry's private fortune. But, given the choices they have made, there's no way that they're able to live on the interest from his fortune alone. Plus, they're angry and mad that they're having to spend some of that money on things like security or house payments.

As far as the 3am Embassy phone call - seems to me that the obvious answer is Harry & Meghan had their phones off and chances are good that no one in the BRF personally had the phone #s for a personal assistant or any staff members, which doesn't surprise me one bit. I don't necessarily leap to the conclusion that Harry wasn't taking any calls from any of his family - I think it was 3am and he has a pregnant wife and a toddler, so they turned their phones off. So, the BRF reached out to the UK Embassy/Consulate in LA to get ahold of Harry - it's probably a lot more reasonable to expect that someone in the Embassy/Consulate did have the phone #s for H/M's staff or could access that information quickly or, worse case scenario, send the county sheriff around to the house.

We can't forget, too, that they have to pay for Sunshine-Sachs, their PR people. From what I've read on here, Sunshine-Sachs is a PR firm with a reputation of representing a lot of celebrities and they are known for their scorched earth, win-at-all-cost attitude and tactics. I don't think they would come cheap.

They also most likely have a team of lawyers on retainer. As we know, they've needed them.