The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Charities and Patronages

[Hallo girl]

This is important to note that the Queen herself was not top 3 in line and she is Queen, so you never know. No one knows what will happen. Considering all the Royal duties overseas - he is a plane crash as said above from being king.

Do you think he would want It?
He doesn't want royal duty, he wants to be self sufficient

 

[Hallo girl]

One things for sure our dear Queen has a voice.
She didnt need empowered.
She is maybe coming up 95, but she can sort out the youngsters.
If they thought they were going to dictate what happened next they were very much mistaken.

Our country is in crisis , her husband of over 70 years is in hospital, she obviously had enough.

Long may she reign.

 

[RandyDrx]

I just realised that they wrote "Meghan and Harry" instead of "Harry and Meghan" in their statement, I find it odd considering he's the one who was born a royal and not her.

 

[Osipi]

One things for sure our dear Queen has a voice.
She didnt need empowered.
She is maybe coming up 95, but she can sort out the youngsters.
If they thought they were going to dictate what happened next they were very much mistaken.

Our country is in crisis , her husband of over 70 years is in hospital, she obviously had enough.

Long may she reign.

She also has been "Boss" and CEO of the "Firm" for 68 years now. She knows what works and what doesn't work and what the "Firm's" aims are and how she wants the monarchy and herself to be represented. If one doesn't fall in line with the company plan, they can seek work elsewhere. Just like in any other place of business.

The Queen isn't about to use her "Firm" to pacify and accommodate the whims of "employees" that have only been with the "Firm" for a short while. That's the way a strong business operates.

It's no surprise to me whatsoever that Harry and Meghan are now "officially" gone from any connection to the "Firm" going into the future. The waiting period to "see how things go" is over, kaput, done, finis and now it's time to move on separate paths.

 

[AC21091968]

I don't think anyone is reading into either statement. If you aren't reading snark or shade into the Sussex statement- and certainly you are entitled not to, and to share that you don't, and no one questions that- you stand almost alone, as mainstream media the world over has been taken aback at the tone.

People are just calling a spade a spade this time, Pranter.

Very well said HighGoalHighDreams. Some people choose to read into the Sussex's statement as snarky, passive-aggressive or even self-centred, because their statements in the past did not come across well (to put it mildly). An obvious example was when they stated that the changes to Archie's birth certificate were "dictated by the Palace". People were rightfully to be sceptical, given that Meghan wants to portray as a strong independent women, yet willing to accept Palace decision to remove her first and middle names. Another one that sparked controversy was their statement after decision to leave as senior working royals, where they hope to "collaborate with the Queen". Some people took the wording as The Queen is at equal position as the Sussexes like company/brand partnership rather than The Queen as the head of the Firm (not as in family privatively/household, which is probably held by Prince Philip).

I would like to think that Harry & Meghan does not think and feel this way as the statement was put out. With the benefit of the doubt, I would like to think it's the person who puts out the statement that has been aggressive and petty. However, at the same time, Harry & Meghan does have an input on how the content of their statements are released. The questions are now Why do the Sussexes not object their PR team and their statements if they do disagree on each other? Do the Sussexes actually approve their PR team's "passive-aggressive" statements? Do the Sussexes really want to risk being perceived to be self-centred or even being in bad terms with the Royal Family when things don't go their way?

 

[Curryong]

I doubt that Harry regrets the loss of many of these patronages except for the Rugby ones, at which he was an enthusiastic Patron, and the Hon military patronages. There is however another member of the Royal family who still holds no less than fifteen of these, though several of his charities dropped him.

[...]

 

[Tamara77]

I rarely post, but read comments every day. I have to say, I'm very sad about these developments. I read in an article today, that Harry had really been pushing talks early to finish a deal that was puzzling to the palace. Then, the information was leaked that the Oprah interview was to take place.

That one piece of information speaks volumes. Harry was trying to perhaps con his Grandmother into an agreement that was binding and that he knew she would honor despite the interview, being the kind, loving Grandmother she is.

To me, that is despicable. In my opinion, these decisions had to be made and acted upon by the Queen.

Tonight, I pray for her. Her husband Prince Phillip is in hospital. What a very tough time for her. And to have this happen on top of that development must be breaking her heart, as close as she was to Harry.

Very sad. I don't know where Harry's head is in all of this. Meghan is costing him everything. I hope the love he has for her is worth the loss. I pray there is no divorce. Where would he be then?

I know others will disagree with me. But no matter how you look at this, it is terrible.

 

[poppy7]

[...] In time too I think Invictus will be passed to his nephews or niece or otherwise to a managing team. If it continues.

 

[Hallo girl]

IMO there was also an element of sorting things out before the Oprah interview as it could look like they were being punished.
They have used the media this week, first the pregnancy photograph closely followed by the Oprah interview. They are keeping themselves in the media that they detest so much.
Have you seen the front page of the Star.

 

[Osipi]

You could accuse anyone of anything and the situations are different.

And that is pretty much all of them...ones you mentioned. In time too I think Invictus will be passed to his nephews or niece or otherwise to a managing team. If it continues.

The Invictus Games are solely Harry's and has never been a "royal official" patronage in connection with the "Firm". Same with Sentebale. They're both Harry's personal patronages and passions. ?

 

[Duchess_Watcher]

This is all very sad to me for Harry. He lived his whole life just to turn against his own family again for a woman he hasn't known for a decade.

 

[ACO]

You could accuse anyone of anything and the situations are different.

And that is pretty much all of them...ones you mentioned. In time too I think Invictus will be passed to his nephews or niece or otherwise to a managing team. If it continues.

[...]

The royal family has nothing to do with Sentebale or Invictus outside of Harry founding it. If he passes it on to anyone it will be his own children.

 

[poppy7]

The Invictus Games are solely Harry's and has never been a "royal official" patronage in connection with the "Firm". Same with Sentebale. They're both Harry's personal patronages and passions. ?

He won't be around forever and of he envisages longevity contingency plans will have to be enabled. And Archie or other children, as not public people won't be an option. Unless of cpurse they totally turn th3m into public figures. Which would be interesting...but to survive they would be moved away from the cult of personality that is Harry. All things formed by one person eventually have to.

 

[Pranter]

This is all very sad to me for Harry. He lived his whole life just to turn against his own family again for a woman he hasn't known for a decade.

He has not turned against his family. Harry has publicly stated more than once he had issues with the life he was born into, long before Meghan, he said he thought of leaving, he was not happy etc.



LaRae

 

[Pranter]

He won't be around forever and of he envisages longevity contingency plans will have to be enabled. And Archie or other children, as not public people won't b3 an option.

Archie and/or his sibling do not have to be public figures in order to be involved with any charity.


LaRae

 

[poppy7]

Archie and/or his sibling do not have to be public figures in order to be involved with any charity.


LaRae

Ah to run such an event as the figurehead...they do.

 

[Osipi]

He won't be around forever and of he envisages longevity contingency plans will have to be enabled. And Archie or other children, as not public people won't b3 an option.

My guess is that it'll have a permanent place then with the Archewell Foundation. Not passed on to any "royal" or others in the UK . It's up to Harry to decide the future plans of the Invictus Games with the board of directors involved with those games and with Prince Seeiso as far as Sentebale goes. ?

It may even end up that the Invictus Games will end up being a stand alone operation in and of itself with no "patron" but a ruling board of directors like it already has for day to day running of the organization. It'll always be associated with Harry as its founding patron no matter how it goes into the future.

 

[Pranter]

Ah to run such an event as the figurehead...they do.

And maybe they will ...none of us know. You cannot state they wont be public figures as adults. You have no way of knowing...Archie is not even 2


LaRae

 

[poppy7]

My guess is that it'll have a permanent place then with the Archewell Foundation. Not passed on to any "royal" or others in the UK . It's up to Harry to decide the future plans of the Invictus Games with the board of directors involved with those games and with Prince Seeiso as far as Sentebale goes. ?

I believe Invictus is already run by its own foundation. I don't see that changing. Harry is essentially it's face. Same with Sentebale. But Sentable will continue anyway because of its grass roots connection. Harry isn't needed.

 

[poppy7]

And maybe they will ...none of us know. You cannot state they wont be public figures as adults. You have no way of knowing...Archie is not even 2


LaRae

No. They can do what they want but the point is Harry moved from a place of a 'family business' to one of that not being an option. The royals simply pass things on. That isn't necessarily an option for Harry.

 

[Osipi]

I believe Invictus is already run by its own foundation. I don't see that changing. Harry is essentially it's face. Same with Sentebale. But Sentable will continue anyway because of its grass roots connection. Harry isn't needed.

It always has been run as it's own entity with its own governing board of directors. Even when it was under the umbrella of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry (later The Duke and Duchess of Sussex) that even had it's own board of directors running the umbrella. Harry, as you said, is the figurehead and he will continue in that role as long as he feels he's able to. Sentebale is the same with its own board of directors that essentially run Sentebale.

I'm not going to be surprised though if the Invictus Games are under the umbrella of Archewell Foundation as a passionate cause they aid and support. Much like it was under the Royal Foundation back then. Harry will remain involved but not in the day to day running and planning and footwork that needs to be done.

 

[Fem]

He has not turned against his family. Harry has publicly stated more than once he had issues with the life he was born into, long before Meghan, he said he thought of leaving, he was not happy etc.



LaRae

I usually refrained on commenting on this, but I've seen you posting something similar to this so many times since last year... but it's not really true, is it? Yes, Harry did express his frustration with the royal life, his wish to leave it all behind, we can all find the interviews and the rumours and everything else.

But what kind of stings me here is that you're ignoring YEARS of growth for Harry, his best years, when he became one of the most likeable royals. He was responsible, dependable, he went to therapy, he confronted his demons, he felt better and settled himself into his role. It did not come easy to him, but somehow he thought it was something worth fighting for. And just because it's fitting your argument here, trying to wipe that period from his life is a huge disservice not only to Harry, but to all the people who are struggling, who might read this and think that they'll always be judged by their worst days, instead of the best ones.

 

[poppy7]

It always has been run as it's own entity with its own governing board of directors. Even when it was under the umbrella of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry (later The Duke and Duchess of Sussex) that even had it's own board of directors running the umbrella. Harry, as you said, is the figurehead and he will continue in that role as long as he feels he's able to. Sentebale is the same with its own board of directors that essentially run Sentebale.

I'm not going to be surprised though if the Invictus Games are under the umbrella of Archewell Foundation as a passionate cause they aid and support. Much like it was under the Royal Foundation back then. Harry will remain involved but not in the day to day running and planning and footwork that needs to be done.

Hmmmm the foundation would have to ask for that as a way of promoting the charity. Which is essentially what the royal foundation do. They support charities to gain a foothold and get support and many then fly the nest. Invictus will probably stay the way it is. It's board of directors are in England and it does very well.

 

[Pranter]

I usually refrained on commenting on this, but I've seen you posting something similar to this so many times since last year... but it's not really true, is it? Yes, Harry did express his frustration with the royal life, his wish to leave it all behind, we can all find the interviews and the rumours and everything else.

But what kind of stings me here is that you're ignoring YEARS of growth for Harry, his best years, when he became one of the most likeable royals. He was responsible, dependable, he went to therapy, he confronted his demons, he felt better and settled himself into his role. It did not come easy to him, but somehow he thought it was something worth fighting for. And just because it's fitting your argument here, trying to wipe that period from his life is a huge disservice not only to Harry, but to all the people who are struggling, who might read this and think that they'll always be judged by their worst days, instead of the best ones.

Because he had gotten help and seemed to be reconciled to that life does not erase the years prior either. He stated AFTER his marriage his issues with the media focus and how it was his decision to go. He left the family business he did not leave, abandon or turn his back on his family.

ETA: seeing as how Meghan (and Harry) are continually judged in this group based on their worst days (so to speak) perhaps your comments should be directed and those who continually find fault with The Sussexes and judge them for it.

LaRae

 

[MaiaMia_53]

I'm drawing a blank...has Meghan done anything with National Theater since they left the U.K.?

This is certainly putting HM and the Firm in a position they would probably prefer not to be in. Royal Patronages being held by non-working royals who aren't supposed to be actively identifying as working on HM's behalf...Yikes.

In March 2020, statements were released by the National Theater that they were working with Meghan behind-the-scenes on projects that would be revealed at some point. We have to keep in mind that the pandemic has slowed a lot of activity related to acting and theater productions.

Plus, how would we know what contact Meghan has had all along during 2020 with her U.K. charities and indeed with her close friends and family? Meghan has always been in the habit of working hard behind-the-scenes on beneficial collaborations prior to launching or revealing much of anything that's been in-the-works.

Whatever she'd been working on with the National Theater may still go ahead in some format without her continued assistance. Or, whatever was in-the-works may have already been abandoned in part due to the pandemic and the difficulty of traveling. If the latter is the case, we may never hear about her behind-the-scenes efforts at all.

It was with the Queen's consent that M&H continued to hold their U.K. patronages in a way that has always been uncertain since they stepped down from senior royal duties. There was never a question that the charities Harry specifically created he would continue to be associated with. For that reason, I thought Harry might continue with the Queen's Commonwealth Trust. To my understanding, the QCT was developed by Harry in 2016 with the aid of Sir Christopher Geidt who at that point still served as the Queen's private secretary. Geidt was forced out of his private secretary role in 2017, and he was later named in an official administrative capacity to the QCT.

The Queen does not hold any official connection with the QCT, outside of it carrying her name, and likely as a courtesy, she has some kind of authority to name people as officers and administrators. I would have thought that the QCT's Board would have more authority and leeway over their affairs. However, it's likely that M&H decided it was best to no longer be associated with the group in order to avoid further speculation and scurrilous non-stories in the U.K. tabloids every time they speak about a topic that someone decides to twist or mischaracterize.

Here are articles and quotes I remember reading about last year:
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celeb...arkle-wears-all-white-national-theatre-visit/

https://allworldreport.com/world-ne...s-business-as-usual-for-patron-meghan-markle/

"Mr Norris told The Telegraph in March 2020: ‘There has been no indication at all from [DoS] that her engagement with us would be anything other than business as usual. She has proven to be a very engaged patron and we look forward to working with her. She has star reach, and she understands the nature of what we're trying to do.'"

 

[Countessmeout]

Indeed. Help doesn't erase the past, it helps you to find healthy ways to deal with it.

Help didn't mean that it was going to make him better with the life he lived. It may, and it seems it did, help him realize he wasn't going to be healthy living like that. That he needed to find his own path and a life outside of what was causing him the stress and issues. And that is what he has found, or is on the road to finding now with his wife, son and the new baby on the way.

Harry understood he needed to find a balance. He is dedicated to his charity work like Sentebale and Invictus, but the royal role is not one he was fit for. He is finding a way to be able to do what he is passionate about, without drowing under the pressure he felt from his role. Simply because you are born to be a royal doesn't mean you are cut out for it either.

I have said it many times the British really need to embrace the way of other monarchies. The heir of the throne is the only other full time royal needed to the monarch. Other members can easily be part time royals, do patronages and the odd appearance, but have private lives. If Harry had been encouraged from day one to be like the Yorks, having a private life but with patronages, things may have turned out much different for him. Instead he chafed under the constant pressure and scrutinty of the 'full time royal' and he left.

[...]

 

[poppy7]

Because he had gotten help and seemed to be reconciled to that life does not erase the years prior either. He stated AFTER his marriage his issues with the media focus and how it was his decision to go. He left the family business he did not leave, abandon or turn his back on his family.

ETA: seeing as how Meghan (and Harry) are continually judged in this group based on their worst days (so to speak) perhaps your comments should be directed and those who continually find fault with The Sussexes and judge them for it.

LaRae

Depends what you think a bad day is? Depends on your value system? The most pragmatic and objective thing you could say about Meghan and Harry is: They are adults. They made choices about their lives. Choices have consequences and benefits. You must loose something in order to gain something. All change is a gamble. Nothing about anything that has happened negates that. It is the way the firm have treated them. Their behaviour throughout all this is a matter of perception. But in the end, when it all ends, when the chips are down all other members of the royal family are judged against the Queen. A person who, as Harry once said, put her DUTY before anything she may have wanted to do. He didn't. He didn't have to. He made another decision but because of that he will come up short to certain people.

 

[poppy7]

Indeed. Help doesn't erase the past, it helps you to find healthy ways to deal with it.

Help didn't mean that it was going to make him better with the life he lived. It may, and it seems it did, help him realize he wasn't going to be healthy living like that. That he needed to find his own path and a life outside of what was causing him the stress and issues. And that is what he has found, or is on the road to finding now with his wife, son and the new baby on the way.

Harry understood he needed to find a balance. He is dedicated to his charity work like Sentebale and Invictus, but the royal role is not one he was fit for. He is finding a way to be able to do what he is passionate about, without drowing under the pressure he felt from his role. Simply because you are born to be a royal doesn't mean you are cut out for it either.

I have said it many times the British really need to embrace the way of other monarchies. The heir of the throne is the only other full time royal needed to the monarch. Other members can easily be part time royals, do patronages and the odd appearance, but have private lives. If Harry had been encouraged from day one to be like the Yorks, having a private life but with patronages, things may have turned out much different for him. Instead he chafed under the constant pressure and scrutinty of the 'full time royal' and he left.
[...]

The UK is far too populated for this to work and the royal family have far to many responsibilities. And not all other monarchies work like this. Sweden has the eldest two children work for them. To basically pound the pavement and push the flesh as much as the British royals do...prepandemic...you can't get away with 4 working members. And also potentially have those people be effective parents, slow down as they age, have space for themselves. I didn't know how the Spanish royals do it but can only conclude they do not do the same amount of leg work.

Of course you change the working model you can do anything but the British royal family literally go everywhere.

 

[Fem]

Because he had gotten help and seemed to be reconciled to that life does not erase the years prior either. He stated AFTER his marriage his issues with the media focus and how it was his decision to go. He left the family business he did not leave, abandon or turn his back on his family.

ETA: seeing as how Meghan (and Harry) are continually judged in this group based on their worst days (so to speak) perhaps your comments should be directed and those who continually find fault with The Sussexes and judge them for it.

LaRae

As we have no insight into private relations between members of BRF, it's hard to say if he did - or he didn't. But between living on a different continent, a global pandemic and the way he left the family, I'd say they have every right to feel a little bit abandoned.

Well, I think Harry (and Meghan) are being judged pretty fairly here, actually. One could argue though that there haven't been a lot of "best days" for the Sussexes for quite a while... not entirely without the Sussexes' fault.

 

[Osipi]

The Queen does not hold any official connection with the QCT, outside of it carrying her name, and likely as a courtesy, she has some kind of authority to name people as officers and administrators. I would have thought that the QCT's Board with have more authority and leeway over their affairs. However, it's likely that M&H decided it was best to no longer be associated with the group in order to avoid further speculation and scurrilous non-stories in the U.K. tabloids every time they speak about a topic that someone decides to twist or mischaracterize.

HM, The Queen is the royal patron of The Queen's Commonwealth Trust. That's official. "The Queen's Commonwealth Trust, also known as the QCT, was launched on The Queen's 92nd birthday, 21 April 2018. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were subsequently appointed President and Vice President of the Trust later that week, a role which they kept until February 2021."

The Queen will still be very much associated with the QCT as it's patron. Harry and Meghan will not.