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

[moby]

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.

Yes, Harry should pick his battles wisely, and fighting the paparazzi and celebrity rags is an odd choice, as they remain a largely first-world problem that primarily affects the elite.

 

[Maryrose]

Sorry everyone. I have a tendency to rehash things trying to make my points. Its all good.

 

[shady lady]

Yes, Harry should pick his battles wisely, and fighting the paparazzi and celebrity rags is an odd choice, as they remain a largely first-world problem that primarily affects the elite.

I honestly think that he is trying to avenge his mother's death somehow. He can't accept why it happened and move on. He's consumed with hatred, it's unhealthy and it's misplaced. Those tragic events happened nearly 30 years ago.

He should remember the saying that hatred is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. IMO he needs proper help to have any chance of ever finding any sort of peace - but he also needs to grow up and accept responsibility for his mistakes. Maybe it's too late for either, sadly.

Playing the victim ad infinitum/ad nauseam will do nothing to help him in the long run; and the irony is he's using compliant journalists to spread his distorted propaganda. Presumably the person who interviewed him for TV doesn't qualify as a "baddie" because she is doing exactly what he wants; but he is using her, and the media for his own ends when it suits him, nevertheless.

As I said before, if he seriously believes what he is saying, then he is delusional and/or under the influence - of something and/or someone. IMO he's been conditioned, programmed, brainwashed - pick your adjective. And the further he goes down this road, the harder it's going to be for him to ever come back from it.

And on that note I will go into lurk mode for the rest of the evening, I have a little cat who needs me and I need my dinner! Have a good evening everyone

 

[Hallo girl]

Sorry everyone. I have a tendency to rehash things trying to make my points. Its all good.

I must be honest, I can go down that road as well. I try hard not to.

 

[Hallo girl]

I honestly think that he is trying to avenge his mother's death somehow. He can't accept why it happened and move on. He's consumed with hatred, it's unhealthy and it's misplaced. Those tragic events happened nearly 30 years ago.

He should remember the saying that hatred is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. IMO he needs proper help to have any chance of ever finding any sort of peace - but he also needs to grow up and accept responsibility for his mistakes. Maybe it's too late for either, sadly.

Playing the victim ad infinitum/ad nauseam will do nothing to help him in the long run; and the irony is he's using compliant journalists to spread his distorted propaganda. Presumably the person who interviewed him for TV doesn't qualify as a "baddie" because she is doing exactly what he wants; but he is using her, and the media for his own ends when it suits him, nevertheless.

As I said before, if he seriously believes what he is saying, then he is delusional and/or under the influence - of something and/or someone. IMO he's been conditioned, programmed, brainwashed - pick your adjective. And the further he goes down this road, the harder it's going to be for him to ever come back from it.

And on that note I will go into lurk mode for the rest of the evening, I have a little cat who needs me and I need my dinner! Have a good evening everyone

Yes the irony that he uses the press when it suits, is not lost on royal followers.

 

[caethi]

I find it hard to believe that the late Queen supported phone hacking, (which most of Harry’s legal cases again British news organisations have been about.) And Harry has won one case against them already. A free Press should not included listening in to private conversations or using other illegal means. And to be fair, this ‘free Press’ have recognised this and paid out millions in compensation in the years since.

Or indeed that Queen Elizabeth thought that the lies, misinterpretations and downright abuse directed at his grandson’s wife (and Harry himself) in thousands of articles and opinion pieces by journalists employed by those news organisations since 2016 to the present day, were and are in any way admirable

It isn't an "either-or" situation. Of course she was likely appalled by the phone hacking. Of course she was likely appalled by any perceived or actual unfair treatment of the Duchess of Sussex by the press (which would have taken place after the phone hacking that Harry is currently challenging in court). However, even if she wasn't appalled, it wouldn't have necessarily meant that she approved of the press's action. Remember, she was the Queen of "never complain, never explain." Perhaps the Queen might have thought one should pick one's battles wisely.

I have no problem believing that the late Queen told Harry to do what he thought was best, but we don't know. That is something a parent or grandparent would say, even if their private feelings were different. Harry doesn't represent the Crown, so he would be free to take action as he saw fit. The trouble is, Harry's truth is often different from objective fact. In this interview, he is obfuscating. He uses his attack on the press's historical wrongs to cast aspersions on his living family. He claims that his war against the press is partly responsible for the family rift, but not wholly, leaving interested or gullible public to wonder about the real story.

I would love to see Harry sitting down with a journalist who is not constrained by pre-approved topics and questions. (Let's face it, if these questions weren't pre-approved, that interviewer would have no business calling themselves a journalist). I would love to see him answer questions related to the particular merits of his case, how he sees his mistreatment as different from that of his brother (who settled out of court), how much he thinks his current perspective is coloured by his mother's experience (and death) even though he says that he doesn't have many memories of her, claims made in Spare and other media, and reports that he wants to reconnect with his family, even though his family may think him untrustworthy based on his past history. I would like a reporter to present him with some facts and seek a response. That would be an interview worth watching.

Harry could have taken his payout years ago and lived a life in relative peace. He could have chosen work that was fulfilling and under the radar, and while the press attention would never stop altogether, it would gradually abate. The irony is that by writing a memoir, engaging in court battles, and doing interviews, he is feeding the press machine, and the press love it.

 

[Moran]

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.

I did give you a genuine response. Twice. If you don't want to discuss it and would rather keep asking the same question, derailing the thread, by all means do so. It's a thread where a big part of the content for discussion is provided by wide-eyed wounded innocence anyway.

 

[Hallo girl]

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?

It was William who first flagged the possibility of phone hacking, it was the palace that reported it to the police at the very beginning. So he did play his part ,

 

[fabaunty]

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.

William had better lawyers who did not pander to him . Also he gave all the compensation to charity , mainly to Invictus . He got what he wanted , an admittance of wrongdoing , the Levenson enquiry, a change in press attitude . For him , an adult that was enough .

 

[Asteria12]

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?

I can see what you are saying about constructive conversation HenRach, and I will offer my thoughts on this. Personally, I think the consequences and harm are really on Harry and is descendants, rather than on anyone else. The more he says and the more he does to play out his private grievances with his family publicly, pursue the press for tactics decades ago and make claims on whether his own countrymen are racists, the more his reputation is harmed. You can debate whether that is fair or not, but the reality is that he has far more detractors than he does supporters, so naturally he will attract negative attention rather than positive. In my opinion, the long term harm will be to that of his children and descendants, because they will forever be linked to a man to whom history will cast as notorious rather than famous. Who is to blame for their family notoriety? Harry. I think that might have been an incentive for him to not continue had he thought about the long term consequences, but personally, I don't think he has really considered this. He seems to think his anti-media/anti-BRF campaign is a good and honourable one and worth trashing his family and his fortune. Personally, I don't think is, but that is just my thoughts! I know this veers into rehashing and don't wish to derail the thread, so I won't go into it further.

 

[HenRach Dominion]

I can see what you are saying about constructive conversation HenRach, and I will offer my thoughts on this. Personally, I think the consequences and harm are really on Harry and is descendants, rather than on anyone else. The more he says and the more he does to play out his private grievances with his family publicly, pursue the press for tactics decades ago and make claims on whether his own countrymen are racists, the more his reputation is harmed. You can debate whether that is fair or not, but the reality is that he has far more detractors than he does supporters, so naturally he will attract negative attention rather than positive. In my opinion, the long term harm will be to that of his children and descendants, because they will forever be linked to a man to whom history will cast as notorious rather than famous. Who is to blame for their family notoriety? Harry. I think that might have been an incentive for him to not continue had he thought about the long term consequences, but personally, I don't think he has really considered this. He seems to think his anti-media/anti-BRF campaign is a good and honourable one and worth trashing his family and his fortune. Personally, I don't think is, but that is just my thoughts! I know this veers into rehashing and don't wish to derail the thread, so I won't go into it further.

Thank you so much for your post, Asteria12!

Although I still remain a huge fan of the Sussexes and I always will be, even I will admit that there are some they could have handled better/could be handling better. I've always believed that the situation was much more complex than "the BRF is wrong"/"the Sussexes are wrong." Rather, the BRF responses to situations such as the media as they always have, which has worked for them. The Sussexes wanted a stronger response and feel betrayed that there wasn't one. Whether that's fair or not is a matter of opinion, especially since the BRF also have reason to feel betrayed by The Sussexes, and why would they changed the way they've interacted with the media when (for the most part) it's been working so far?

I truly do appreciate deep, complex posts like yours, even when they are against the Sussexes. I don't appreciate posts or posters, however, that try to shut down conversations that they don't want to engage in. Interacting with different viewpoints are why we have forums in the first place.

However, I have been guilty of doing so myself. For that, I apologize, and I will try to do better

 

[Hallo girl]

I have watched the programme on the Tabloids and watched Harry add his two penny worth .
He couldn’t even use Catherine’s name he referred to her as his sister in law, to be fair the question was phrased in that way but he couldn’t even say her name when responding.
It came over as cold.
He states he is doing this for the people who cannot do it and he is the best person on the world to be doing it. He is Daniel and going to slay the dragon.
He repeated that his family are not safe in this country , it could be a knife it could be acid is how he puts it. He did not clarify where the threats came from and was not asked. I think he was implying it was from newspaper articles but did not provide evidence.
I do struggle with his insistence that the LQ was in full support of his actions, they had many conversations regarding it. She knew how important it was to him, she will be looking down on him just now pleased.
Did he not say in the past that he was blocked from seeing her, she was badly advised etc.
I am not sure what to make of it, he says things but does not actually back anything up.
He needs to be careful to ensure he states his case clearly, just because he doesn’t like that a story is being published it doesn’t mean it was obtained using illegal methods. He mentions Diana.

 

[Hallo girl]

Thank you so much for your post, Asteria12!

Although I still remain a huge fan of the Sussexes and I always will be, even I will admit that there are some they could have handled better/could be handling better. I've always believed that the situation was much more complex than "the BRF is wrong"/"the Sussexes are wrong." Rather, the BRF responses to situations such as the media as they always have, which has worked for them. The Sussexes wanted a stronger response and feel betrayed that there wasn't one. Whether that's fair or not is a matter of opinion, especially since the BRF also have reason to feel betrayed by The Sussexes, and why would they changed the way they've interacted with the media when (for the most part) it's been working so far?

I truly do appreciate deep, complex posts like yours, even when they are against the Sussexes. I don't appreciate posts or posters, however, that try to shut down conversations that they don't want to engage in. Interacting with different viewpoints are why we have forums in the first place.

However, I have been guilty of doing so myself. For that, I apologize, and I will try to do better

As a great fan of Harry and Meghan at the beginning, it is difficult without rehashing old stories to identify where for me it started to go wrong.
They obviously rightly or wrongly felt aggrieved, they left.
All I will say is that it is the couples words and actions that have kept the pot boiling, with a reconciliation highly unlikely as things stand.
Harry wants an apology but he does not appear to be prepared to apologise for his words or deeds. We are at a stalemate. He is doing to his family what he is suing the tabloids for. I am not sure how this can move forward.

 

[Queen Claude]

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 agree these are his feelings but as others have stated, it may not have been a matter of right or wrong, rather a matter of handling things differently.

I am struck by the fact that Harry and Meghan, either together or separately, wanted to do things that were contrary to the personalities and methods of his family members, "the institution" or certain traditions. That's fine, but then they wanted to be supported by "the institution". Harry and Meghan are not the first to do challenge the status quo, he was preceded by his grandfather, heck even Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, and even Harry's own father and brother.

Harry has made it known that there was opposition to the letter he released confirming his relationship with Meghan and went as far as to say that it was a bad look because other BRF males did not go to the same lengths as he did for his lady love. Harry himself is also the source that William cautioned him against moving too fast with his relationship with Meghan, his father said that there was not funding for Meghan to become a working royal to which Harry and Meghan successfully lobbied for her to become a working royal immediately. As also stated, family members expressed disagreement with Harry wanting to go to court as opposed to settling with the hacking claims.

I also believed that Meghan's friends doing going to People Magazine would be another area where there would have been opposition, and there is no way that I believe that interview did not happen without Meghan's knowledge, consent, and dare I say, contribution.

I think that Harry and Meghan wanted to do things their own way but did not have the intestinal fortitude to do it on their own, and wanted the BRF and/or courtiers to support them, even though Harry and Meghan repeatedly defied their advice and way of doing business.

TL : DR There is a saying in my neck of the woods and that is, "don't let your mouth write checks that your backside can't cash."

P.S. My comment posted prematurely.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

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.

This is an excellent point! As they get older they will ask questions, unfortunately they will be teased (hopefully not bullied) by other children about their titles and they will have NO concept of what any of it means because they don’t know Harry’s family

 

[Elenath]

People pointing out William donated his money from the settlement to Invictus, could you please provide evidence because I can't seem to find it. I can find evidence of the Endeavor funds transferred to Invictus. But that's it. I know a lot of people (mostly people who don't like the Sussexes) claim this, but so far I haven't seen anything that backs this up.

 

[shady lady]

This is an excellent point! As they get older they will ask questions, unfortunately they will be teased (hopefully not bullied) by other children about their titles and they will have NO concept of what any of it means because they don’t know Harry’s family

My sincere hope is that in their day to day lives they are simply Archie and Lili, two little kids who are being raised in a healthy environment and are being encouraged just to be themselves and find their own path in life; a life unburdened by their titles and styles, or by the drama H&M have created.

That's all anyone can hope for really.

 

[Ghost]

People pointing out William donated his money from the settlement to Invictus, could you please provide evidence because I can't seem to find it. I can find evidence of the Endeavor funds transferred to Invictus. But that's it. I know a lot of people (mostly people who don't like the Sussexes) claim this, but so far I haven't seen anything that backs this up.

There’s no evidence and I don’t think he did it that way, it could have been interpreted in a wrong way. It’s only the timeline that points to a coincidence, William had the settlement and soon after The Royal Foundation transfered money to Invictus as the two charities were separating.

 

[Lee-Z]

yes probably two separate topics that happened one after another, and someone did 'connect the dots'

It is nice to hear that William and Catherine donated such a large sum to Invictus, i didn't know that (don't follow donations that much)

 

[shady lady]

There’s no evidence and I don’t think he did it that way, it could have been interpreted in a wrong way. It’s only the timeline that points to a coincidence, William had the settlement and soon after The Royal Foundation transfered money to Invictus as the two charities were separating.

Yep, and it's highly likely that he gave the settlement to a good cause of some kind in any case.

 

[Elenath]

Yep, and it's highly likely that he gave the settlement to a good cause of some kind in any case.

I did find William donated money to his Earthshot Prize and Catherine's Early Years charity. I was just wondering if there was anything I'd missed. Good to hear that's not the case.

 

[Hallo girl]

People pointing out William donated his money from the settlement to Invictus, could you please provide evidence because I can't seem to find it. I can find evidence of the Endeavor funds transferred to Invictus. But that's it. I know a lot of people (mostly people who don't like the Sussexes) claim this, but so far I haven't seen anything that backs this

People pointing out William donated his money from the settlement to Invictus, could you please provide evidence because I can't seem to find it. I can find evidence of the Endeavor funds transferred to Invictus. But that's it. I know a lot of people (mostly people who don't like the Sussexes) claim this, but so far I haven't seen anything that backs this up.

I do not think there is a direct line from the compensation to Invictus, the money would have went into the Royal Foundation (I think that was what it was called then) . A donation was then made to Invictus.
I am sure in the financial records of the charity there will be information to reflect the donation. Accounts are issued.
This donation was widely reported at the time long before Meghan arrived not just recently on this forum.

 

[Elenath]

I do not think there is a direct line from the compensation to Invictus, the money would have went into the Royal Foundation (I think that was what it was called then) . A donation was then made to Invictus.
I am sure in the financial records of the charity there will be information to reflect the donation. Accounts are issued.
This donation was widely reported at the time long before Meghan arrived not just recently on this forum.

This is what I can find. I can't find anything else in the financials from those years. This is not a donation, it's a transfer of funds after the split.

 

[Mirabel]

Harry seems consistently angry these days, and may as well direct that anger towards the press (an easy target, and one that is unlikely to be affected in the long-term).
If not this issue, it would probably be something else.

 

[Elenath]

I addition to my earlier post I also found this. This amount is a lot closer to the settlement William received.

 

[Hallo girl]

I addition to my earlier post I also found this. This amount is a lot closer to the settlement William received.

View attachment 304096

I didn’t think anybody knew how much he received other than as reported , a lot.
I will take your word for it though.
What I will say is that this was not made up on this forum by people getting at Harry. It was posted in good faith after seeing it reported elsewhere and if it is incorrect well so be it.

 

[Elenath]

I didn’t think anybody knew how much he received other than as reported , a lot.
I will take your word for it though.
What I will say is that this was not made up on this forum by people getting at Harry. It was posted in good faith after seeing it reported elsewhere and if it is incorrect well so be it.

I know, but as I saw it here today I was wondering if anyone knew anything I didn't.

 

[Kenya]

He repeated that his family are not safe in this country , it could be a knife it could be acid is how he puts it. He did not clarify where the threats came from and was not asked. I think he was implying it was from newspaper articles but did not provide evidence.

I can't recall any incidents in the UK where Meghan's safety was threatened. But the US is where her and Harry's "near-catastrophic" car chase occurred, where they were chased by another paparazzo (as seen in their documentary), and where a drone was flown over the home they were borrowing from Tyler Perry. It seems to me they're considerably less safe in the US, but feelings > facts, I suppose.

Harry wants an apology but he does not appear to be prepared to apologise for his words or deeds.

Well, as he said during one of his interviews promoting Spare, he would apologize if someone told him what he did wrong. Apparently, nothing's occurred to him yet.

 

[Curryong]

I posted here ages ago the interview by a London Met Police Chief, who dealt with threats to Harry and Meghan while they were living in England. He emphasised and reiterated that those threats (and there were many that were investigated) were real and dangerous. It’s been discussed on this thread several times.

https://www.businessinsider.com/threats-against-meghan-markle-disgusting-and-very-real-uk-officer-2022-11#:~:text=The%20outgoing%20Metropolitan%20Police%20assistant,family's%20safety%20in%20the%20UK.

‘Disgusting’ plots against Meghan Markle investigated by police

‘If you’d seen the stuff that was written ... you would feel under threat all the time,’ says Neil Basu

www.independent.co.uk

Also, Anybody who has been on the Internet since 2016 can write about threats made about Meghan by British people and others who quite frankly are rabid haters of the woman.

 

[yukari]

Didn't in one of his hacking lawsuits (I'm too lazy to check which one), Harry claimed that there's a "secret agreement" between "the Palace" and the press so he could only filed it after he left as his reason for passing the statute of limitation? And now in this interview he said he talked a lot with the late Queen before she passed and she gave her support. And then Harry also said that after the half-in-half-out fiasco, he'd been blocked from seeing his grandmother meaning there's no "a lot meetings", but only "few". So does this mean the "a lot of talks of support" from the Queen happened pre-2019? If the late Queen (the boss of "the Palace") gave her OK pre-2019, what's with filling the lawsuit past its time limit because "the Palace" didn't give him an OK prior?

In a way Omid's book jeopardized Meghan's privacy lawsuit, let's see whether Harry unintentionally jeopardizing his own lawsuit by doing this interview ...