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


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Totally agree. At this point it's world class trolling. We know it, they know it and they are perfectly fine with that.

Meghan hasn’t moved on. That’s what her launch day says more than anything. It’s been 4 years, but she has not moved on.

We’ll see if she can restrain herself from actually badmouthing her family/the institution during her next podcast, but she’s making her feelings clear based on her launch day imo.

It’s pathetic, sad for a woman in her 40s, petty, immature…..She can certainly hold a grudge.

Meghan just does not come across as someone I’d want to know irl.
 
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The little we know about this project so far feels true to Meghan's interests before meeting Harry and something she feels genuinely passionate about. That alone I think will make it more likely to succeed. I wish her the best. It is a competitive market for these types of projects.

As for the timing... she is not obligated to plan her schedule around what her husband's distant relatives may or may not be doing. They will hate her and her family no matter what she does and I get the feeling that they don't occupy much space in her mind these days (nor should they). She's 5,000 miles away, the relationships are permanently severed, and everyone is on their own path. I think it's strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor. The media is already turning their attention to her and trying to blame her for whatever is going on with those people. She may as well take advantage of it.
 
The little we know about this project so far feels true to Meghan's interests before meeting Harry and something she feels genuinely passionate about. That alone I think will make it more likely to succeed. I wish her the best. It is a competitive market for these types of projects.

As for the timing... she is not obligated to plan her schedule around what her husband's distant relatives may or may not be doing. They will hate her and her family no matter what she does and I get the feeling that they don't occupy much space in her mind these days (nor should they). She's 5,000 miles away, the relationships are permanently severed, and everyone is on their own path. I think it's strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor. The media is already turning their attention to her and trying to blame her for whatever is going on with those people. She may as well take advantage of it.
And if people weren't so obsessively trying to align anything TRH The Sussexes did with what's happening with the BRF at any time, the so-called overshadowing wouldn't even work. Heck, the outrage over the American Riviera Orchard announcement falling at the same time as the Diana Awards have brought more eyes to it than it would have gotten otherwise.

But I see this as a huge win for people who were upset about TRH The Sussexes making a brand out of attacking the BRF. Now they're not...a huge win for everybody.
 
That is why I wish them well on this project because all they appeared to have in their bag up to now was criticism and storytelling about the RF . I hope they are now going to show us that they can stand on their own feet and build a brand without storytelling. I know they are still using the titles but to me it tells me more about them that they want to use them despite their opinion of the family rather than the King who has not removed them.
 
The little we know about this project so far feels true to Meghan's interests before meeting Harry and something she feels genuinely passionate about. That alone I think will make it more likely to succeed. I wish her the best. It is a competitive market for these types of projects.

As for the timing... she is not obligated to plan her schedule around what her husband's distant relatives may or may not be doing. They will hate her and her family no matter what she does and I get the feeling that they don't occupy much space in her mind these days (nor should they). She's 5,000 miles away, the relationships are permanently severed, and everyone is on their own path. I think it's strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor. The media is already turning their attention to her and trying to blame her for whatever is going on with those people. She may as well take advantage of it.
She isn't obligated to check the BRF schedule and yet she does, repeatedly. And this event in particular! It may be "strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor" but it speaks volumes about her intention to cash in on her association with "those people." Because that's all she has. She certainly couldn't cash in on her own.
 
The little we know about this project so far feels true to Meghan's interests before meeting Harry and something she feels genuinely passionate about. That alone I think will make it more likely to succeed. I wish her the best. It is a competitive market for these types of projects.

As for the timing... she is not obligated to plan her schedule around what her husband's distant relatives may or may not be doing. They will hate her and her family no matter what she does and I get the feeling that they don't occupy much space in her mind these days (nor should they). She's 5,000 miles away, the relationships are permanently severed, and everyone is on their own path. I think it's strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor. The media is already turning their attention to her and trying to blame her for whatever is going on with those people. She may as well take advantage of it.

I wouldn’t exactly call William a “distant” relative of Harry’s. Lol

She’s not obligated to do anything. She just looks bad imo for pointedly pulling stunts like this. But if she wants to come across as petty and pathetic and immature to many people…so be it. Her choice.
 
And if people weren't so obsessively trying to align anything TRH The Sussexes did with what's happening with the BRF at any time, the so-called overshadowing wouldn't even work. Heck, the outrage over the American Riviera Orchard announcement falling at the same time as the Diana Awards have brought more eyes to it than it would have gotten otherwise.

But I see this as a huge win for people who were upset about TRH The Sussexes making a brand out of attacking the BRF. Now they're not...a huge win for everybody.
That's exactly it. These are her well-documented interests from before her marriage to Harry. Meghan had a full life before her marriage and the fact that she's going back to her roots suggests to me she is moving on from that period of her life. Which I agree she should do. Isn't that what people have been asking for?

She isn't obligated to check the BRF schedule and yet she does, repeatedly. And this event in particular! It may be "strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor" but it speaks volumes about her intention to cash in on her association with "those people." Because that's all she has. She certainly couldn't cash in on her own.
Why for this event in particular? Her husband also was involved with the award and I doubt she would want to overshadow that for him. Plus this project is at least a year in the making. I think it is far more likely that there was already a schedule set in place for the project to launch and, if anything was moved up, it was because they knew they could get more eyes on the project given the recent media frenzy.

That's absolutely not all she has. Meghan had a life before Harry with all of her own well-documented interests. She is going back to those roots. If she uses this project to talk about Harry's relatives, I'll eat my words and change my opinion. But there is no signal that she is reverting back to the days of the Oprah and Cut interviews. She has clearly moved on - it's Harry who I think has not.

If the titles are the problem, the King can resolve it. I truly hope he does.

I wouldn’t exactly call William a “distant” relative of Harry’s. Lol

She’s not obligated to do anything. She just looks bad imo for pointedly pulling stunts like this. But if she wants to come across as petty and pathetic and immature to many people…so be it. Her choice.
I mean I certainly wouldn't call them close family at this point.

The people who view her as petty, pathetic, and immature will always view her that way. And again, as I said to the poster above, I don't see this as a stunt targeting the Diana Awards, particularly given her husband's involvement.
 
With regards to HRH The Duchess of Sussex using her title in her business endeavors...maybe she's legally changed her last name to ", The Duchess of Sussex." In that regard, she's just using her last name, not her title. HRH The Duchess of Sussex would be "The Duchess of Sussex" in Great Britain and "Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex" in the US. Nobody could really stop her from using her last name anymore than I could get sued for copyright infringement if I changed my name to Mickey Mouse.
 
For clarification, the king cannot remove the title "Duke of Sussex". An act of parliament would be necessary for that - and while it seems some parliamentarians would want that (as a bill has been crafted) that might create more issues in the long run than leaving them with the title even though most people in the UK might not be happy about it.
 
Not sure why people are saying she overshadowed William and the Diana Awards. Its a matter of what you focus your attention on. I can read about 2 separate events that occur on the same day and give my attention to both.
 
I'm no Meghan fan, but I don't think rolling out her new brand was calculated to overshadow William or the Diana event. I'm sure it was timed to garner optimal media attention, but that's a very different goal from overshadowing William.
 
With regards to HRH The Duchess of Sussex using her title in her business endeavors...maybe she's legally changed her last name to ", The Duchess of Sussex." In that regard, she's just using her last name, not her title. HRH The Duchess of Sussex would be "The Duchess of Sussex" in Great Britain and "Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex" in the US. Nobody could really stop her from using her last name anymore than I could get sued for copyright infringement if I changed my name to Mickey Mouse.
That would be hilarious, and the total opposite of some implied arguments here that the title doesn’t matter because clearly it does and it matters most to Meghan herself. Otherwise she’d use her own last name or the variations of her husband’s. Also if her last name is now The Duchess of Sussex, she’d write it as Meghan The Duchess of Sussex without a comma, and she’d go around being called Mrs. The Duchess of Sussex. :D

I don’t think she’s overshadowing anyone. I don’t know if my algorithm has changed or this launch has been very low key because I had no idea she has another thing launched had I not logged in here. That would have been unthinkable in 2020.
 
That is why I wish them well on this project because all they appeared to have in their bag up to now was criticism and storytelling about the RF . I hope they are now going to show us that they can stand on their own feet and build a brand without storytelling. I know they are still using the titles but to me it tells me more about them that they want to use them despite their opinion of the family rather than the King who has not removed them.
Meghan would make a more credible case for “ standing on her own feet “ if she used Meghan Markle as her professional name. As long as she goes by “ Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex “ ( with. a capital T by the way), she is basically admitting that she needs an association with the Royal Family to draw attention to her business ventures.

I would be willing to give her a pass if she were using The Duchess of Sussex in the UK, as that is still part of her legal name there, but this title is meaningless in America and using it just makes her look unsure that she can, as you said, make it on her own.
 
I think she could have used Meghan Markle and people would definitely have recognized her and bought her products, watched her cooking/lifestyle show etc. Its her title and she can use it for this purpose I guess. Like others have said there are so many more important issues going on in the world to focus on.. I wish her success and also a speedy recovery for the Princess of Wales.
 
I think she could have used Meghan Markle and people would definitely have recognized her and bought her products, watched her cooking/lifestyle show etc. Its her title and she can use it for this purpose I guess. Like others have said there are so many more important issues going on in the world to focus on.. I wish her success and also a speedy recovery for the Princess of Wales.
I agree, lots of business / professional women continue to use their maiden name , in some cases because their professional degrees etc are in the maiden name but also actors/ musicians do not publicly change their name on marriage. I think you make a good point about recognition, by using Markle it might also have removed some of the toxicity that has risen around the titles.
 
Genuinely, good luck to her. Its very her in the sense it recreates "The Tig" but with her own products behind it rather than just promoting others. But, its a very saturated market IMO so hard to make a new brand different, especially if it goes down the "all white/beige" the instagram video shows (then it would seem to be a bit like a US version of The White Company). Price point will be interesting - too high and its hard to find enough people to buy (and those with that level of cash likely won't be too fussed by Meghan's royal links), too low and it can cheapen her "brand".
I'm not surprised to hear its been an idea she has had for a long time, it feels like it would have been great 5 years ago or so but has been rather overdone now thanks to so many social media influencers etc focussing on homeware and the like.
 
A reminder that discussion about stripping titles is off topic for this thread, so let's move on.
 
I agree, lots of business / professional women continue to use their maiden name , in some cases because their professional degrees etc are in the maiden name but also actors/ musicians do not publicly change their name on marriage. I think you make a good point about recognition, by using Markle it might also have removed some of the toxicity that has risen around the titles.

I agree with you, using her maiden name would have been so much smarter, as well as timing her launch so that it didn't clash with an event held in her mother-in-law's name. For a woman who wants to be seen as a strong, independent feminist etc, she hasn't demonstrated any level of standing on her own two feet. She already gets massive attention in the media, according to her most of it is unwanted. She goes for a drive holding a coffee cup and it hits the news, fgs! Her launch would have made the news and socials no matter when it was released. So why not American Riviera Orchard, by Meghan Markle? Yes, she's entitled to use her married title, but heck, she has had nothing positive to say about her in-laws. All she seems to be demonstrating is that her title and connection to a foreign royal family is all she has to ensure she remains famous. Her brand would be so much more stronger if she'd made it about her, in my opinion.
 
She isn't obligated to check the BRF schedule and yet she does, repeatedly. And this event in particular! It may be "strategically smart to take advantage of the media furor" but it speaks volumes about her intention to cash in on her association with "those people." Because that's all she has. She certainly couldn't cash in on her own.
I don't understand the timing. As far as the Catherine is concerned, the launch probably helped to distract from the ridiculous furor over the photo - but it also distracted from the Diana awards.
 
I'm glad Meghan is doing something where she's been known to do well. I hope they're starting small and adjust accordingly, since competition in the celebrity sphere is pretty stiff. There's Gwyneth's line, Kourtney Kardashian's, there's also Chrissy Teigen's cookware and food stuff--seems Gwyneth's is most successful but she started way ahead and had a clear brand from the start.

The thing I find funny though is the look and the name, it feels very 90s. The "By Meghan, Duchess of Sussex" means that at this point, she'll hold on to that title forever and will always be part of her brand. Her penchant for grandiose brand names and elaborate calligraphy has always reminded me of when I was a kid and obsessed with having a company and would scribble what I felt were grand company names and imagine them on nice stationery. It didn't matter what they were about, the name and the vibe came first. :D
Thank you for this insightful comment - I had never put the formal title and the calligraphy together! The name and the vibe come first indeed! Here in the US, people who’ve heard of her call her Meghan Markle. Even though she is obviously entitled to use the Duchess of Sussex “brand,” it is a bit stiff here in the US. Remember, we fought a war to get rid of all that sort of thing.
Best of luck to her with the cooking/lifestyle type work - I just think she’d do better if she used her given name of Meghan Markle here in the States. “The Duchess” sounds pretentious to me. Honestly, if she’d just be herself and not remind people who she’s married to, I think she’d be better received. When they first moved here, I believe people treated them deferentially. I doubt that’s the case anymore - the bloom is off the rose (I’m probably mangling this expression; sorry, it’s late!)
 
Timing wise I defo think it was purposefully done - whether to overshadow William or just to make most of the Diana Legacy awards who knows. They have done similar too many times for it to be coincidental IMO but I've never got the point of it. A decent PR person would surely be advising them its better to wait for the summer hols or the post Christmas break when the RF are quiet and they aren't competing for coverage. Right now her launch is getting coverage but not as much because the media is still full of the other issues going on in the RF. But then again maybe they aren't listening to advice again.
 
^With all due respect Tommy100 she is launching a new business venture so she doesnt have to wait for the royal family to go on summer holidays or there be a lull in their schedules to do this. This has been in the works for awhile. I don't believe she overshadowed anything. If she were hosting an award ceremony on the same day maybe,but 1 thing has nothing to do with the other.
 
You have to admire the sheer determination. One thing doesn't work - let's do another. For that at least. Lots of people would have given up and cried.
 
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^With all due respect Tommy100 she is launching a new business venture so she doesnt have to wait for the royal family to go on summer holidays or there be a lull in their schedules to do this. This has been in the works for awhile. I don't believe she overshadowed anything. If she were hosting an award ceremony on the same day maybe,but 1 thing has nothing to do with the other.
Can we stop the sheer hypocrisy for one minute ? It was done on purpose because, let's face it, the Sussexes and the Wales bloody HATE each other. Period.

We can put sugar on everything and look with awe and rose tinted grasses whatever the two camps are doing ( because there are two camps) , facts are facts : the level of hartred, jealousy, anger, frustration etc is, at this point, properly staggering.

And for the Royal Watchers that we are , this situation mixing , somewhat from the start, frustations among this community tinted with cultural differences, race, pro Diana/anti Charles and Camilla feelings and even anti-Monarchy flavours is equally explosive.

Two teams there are, and two teams there will be, i guess for a very long time.
 
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