The Duke & Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 5: June-July 2021

[Denville]

Why bother? Why not just Zoom / Facetime?

Because its not the same. He was there in Windsor, even if he couldn't go out, he could talk to her face to face for a short time...

 

[Moonmaiden23]

And Jermajesty! (That’s an example of a California name!) Not that there is anything wrong with that! But they can be unusual!

There is unusual and then there is straight up stupid and embarrassing (JERMAJESTY?!)

But yeah...the entertainment world is rife with unusual names....

 

[Erin9]

Because its not the same. He was there in Windsor, even if he couldn't go out, he could talk to her face to face for a short time...

Agreed. I don’t think there’s a substitute for face to face interaction.

Zoom/FaceTime are wonderful tools, but it’s definitely not the same.

 

[Alison H]

It's a shame that he didn't stay another couple of days and spend some time with the Queen, and catch up with some other relatives and friends. I appreciate that he probably wanted to get home, especially with a new baby, but another couple of days wouldn't have made that much difference.

 

[Denville]

It's a shame that he didn't stay another couple of days and spend some time with the Queen, and catch up with some other relatives and friends. I appreciate that he probably wanted to get home, especially with a new baby, but another couple of days wouldn't have made that much difference.

I'd say that Harry finds it stressful in the UK... now...even if some of his family welcome him..... If he really wanted to see the queen or his father, a couple of days more wouldn't make any difference...

 

[ACO]

Baby Lili is less than a month old. I don't fault him for wanting to get back immediately, especially if he has to quarantine a bit. I would assume he would just to be safe with an infant at home.

No clue if he already left or not. I guessed he would fly back today but the press doesn't seem to know any of his whereabouts after he left KP, so they are assuming he flew back.

 

[Curryong]

I thought Charles isn’t presently in London anyway. Isn’t he supposed to be in Scotland for some time? Harry wouldn’t want to be going over the border.

 

[Erin9]

It's a shame that he didn't stay another couple of days and spend some time with the Queen, and catch up with some other relatives and friends. I appreciate that he probably wanted to get home, especially with a new baby, but another couple of days wouldn't have made that much difference.

If he did indeed leave, I agree it is too bad he didn’t stay on an extra day or two to visit. I’m sure he did want to get home, especially to the new baby, but a couple of days isn’t that huge either.

Arguably- if he did just basically run in and run out- it could also speak volumes to the general state of relationships.

 

[muriel]

If he did indeed leave, I agree it is too bad he didn’t stay on an extra day or two to visit. I’m sure he did want to get home, especially to the new baby, but a couple of days isn’t that huge either.

Arguably- if he did just basically run in and run out- it could also speak volumes to the general state of relationships.

I think that is correct, staying another day to meet his grand mother would not have done him any harm.

Unless, HM is also on the negative list for Harry now, after HM allowed the press to quarry his version of events where he is meant to have sought her consent before naming is daughter!

 

[_Heather_]

Actually, this might have been William giving Harry another chance after the Gayle King incident, by talking to him about something innocuous and then seeing if it ended up in the papers. If it hadn't, maybe they'd have progressed to talking about more substantive things. But it did, so now he knows he still can't speak freely with Harry.

This actually seems highly likely. It's long been known that both William and Harry planted stories among their group of friends and acquaintances to see who talked and who didn't. It really wouldn't surprise me at all if the same tactic was being employed here after the "talks were unproductive" mess with Gayle King.

 

[Heavs]

A couple of weeks ago there were claims that HM wanted to sit down with Harry and discuss everything that had gone on. I assume that didn't happen as there doesn't seem to have been a window for a long out of quarantine talk.

I know he has a new baby and wants to get back to his family so it's understandable but it would seem that he probably didn't meet up with any old friends or extended family members on this trip, just like last time.

 

[Erin9]

I think that is correct, staying another day to meet his grand mother would not have done him any harm.

Unless, HM is also on the negative list for Harry now, after HM allowed the press to quarry his version of events where he is meant to have sought her consent before naming is daughter!

I just think of it from the POV that he lives far away now, and there are no guarantees of “next time.” Particularly with older people, but just in general too.

But- if he did just go home- I do understand the desire to get home with a new baby too.

I hope that’s not a “thing”. IE- the asking/told potential naming issue.

 

[ACO]

The people talking about the English match texts between the brothers seem to be from UK press and their sources. The likes of Tominey, Wootten, and Myers all have no issues calling out what they think is US sources. And none of them are doing that. They saying "our source say" So I think it is safer to say this leak is not via the Sussexes.

HMQ returned to Windsor yesterday. We don't know what Harry did after he left KP but he could have seen his grandmother. We just don't know. If they wanted to see each other, I hope they did. But other than her why stay? His father is out of town. He saw his brother and the Spencers. He attending Wellchild Awards. That is quite a lot considering his limited time out of quarantine.

 

[ladongas]

He’s already been away from his newborn for over a week. That’s a long time, and most parents would not add any days to that.

 

[ACO]

Prince Harry was just spotted leaving Frogmore Cottage and heading towards the airport by the Daily Mail. So did stay the night and now going home.

 

[Osipi]

This is exactly what I thought Harry would do. Go to the UK and take care of stuff while he was there and head back home as soon as he could. Having a newborn at home trumps everything and is why there's such a beast as paternity leave.

I'm glad everything went smoothly, the statue was unveiled and now all the British royals will be starting their summer break. It's the way of things this time of year.

 

[camelot23ca]

A couple of weeks ago there were claims that HM wanted to sit down with Harry and discuss everything that had gone on. I assume that didn't happen as there doesn't seem to have been a window for a long out of quarantine talk.

I know he has a new baby and wants to get back to his family so it's understandable but it would seem that he probably didn't meet up with any old friends or extended family members on this trip, just like last time.

Harry was in the UK for a stretch of time when Meghan was heavily pregnant, and now he’s been back again while she’s at home with a toddler and a newborn, so I think it’s very understandable that he’d want to get back, and that she would want him back ASAP.

Also, I’m not convinced that Harry actually wants to have an in depth discussion with his grandmother or anyone else in the family about what’s gone on since he and Meghan left. It’s one thing to make accusations to a TV show or podcast host from half way around the world. It’s quite another to look your grandmother, father or brother in the eye and justify your behaviour, in a private setting where they can and will answer you back.

That said, I think with everything that’s gone on with Harry and Meghan, in addition to Phillip’s death, the family members are likely still feeling emotionally raw. Add to that Harry having a newborn and also maybe being off kilter because of feelings brought up by the statue unveiling, and you can see how this may really not be the right time for anything other than superficial chats.

At some point I hope that Harry does gather up his courage and sit down with his family to talk. Even though it will probably be a difficult thing to do, I think it would still be easier than Harry having to live with the regret of something happening to the Queen, or even Charles, while things stand the way they are now.

 

[Denville]

Harry was in the UK for a stretch of time when Meghan was heavily pregnant, and now he’s been back again while she’s at home with a toddler and a newborn, so I think it’s very understandable that he’d want to get back, and that she would want him back ASAP.


At some point I hope that Harry does gather up his courage and sit down with his family to talk. Even though it will probably be a difficult thing to do, I think it would still be easier than Harry having to live with the regret of something happening to the Queen, or even Charles, while things stand the way they are now.

AFAICR, Harry was in the UK for about 6 or 7 days when he was at Philips funeral. And really, I think that the old boy deserved his grandsons coming to the funeral if they possibley could... Meghan has staff and her mother with her...

 

[UglyAmerican]

Harry's traveled much less in the past year than he would have had to do if they'd been HIHO while based in Canada, like they originally wanted. Their supposed original plan was to divide their time 50/50, which would have had them and their children flying back and forth all the time. Two one-week trips in three months really doesn't sound so bad by comparison.

 

[Moran]

Actually, it isn't at all understandable to me why he'd want to get back immediately or she'd want him to if they want a reconciliation and believe he can make a step towards it now.

The explanations of Meghan's pregnancy and toddler Lily sound like a teenage mother living in abject poverty who couldn't possibly go the bathroom because there's no one to take care of the kids while she's in there. Millions of people manage to take care of a toddler and a newborn even without the resources Meghan has, and she has the best resources available. She isn't waiting for her husband to go to buy the groceries because doing it with two kids is too energy consuming. If they wanted and believed that he could make a step towards reconciliation, the baby argument doesn't hold water. A day or two isn't this much of a difference, especially when knowing that with the Covid situation, it might be six months or a year before seeing his blood family. Sometimes, seeing your healthy, cared for kid can wait for a few days if there is something more pressing.

This said, I don't believe meeting them was his priority or even desire and I can't say I blame him. This isn't a family divided by circumstances. The Oprah interview and the timing Harry chose to talk about genetic pain basically exclude any chance of peaceful talking and pretending there's nothing wrong. It's too soon. What is Harry supposed to do, pretend that nothing happened or somehow resolve it in two or three days without admitting any mistakes on his part? The best thing he could have done was not push the matter and if he didn't, good on him.

 

[A-Bik]

The people talking about the English match texts between the brothers seem to be from UK press and their sources. The likes of Tominey, Wootten, and Myers all have no issues calling out what they think is US sources. And none of them are doing that. They saying "our source say" So I think it is safer to say this leak is not via the Sussexes.

Pretty much.

And this story source is an RR in the Daily Mail.
Hardly a place any objective observer would consider Sussex friendly.

Daily Mail's R English, has close ties with both KP & BP, a fact she herself has admitted to a few times on television.

 

[rominet09]

Now I hope he can resume his five months holiday.... A holiday for us too !

 

[A-Bik]

Actually, it isn't at all understandable to me why he'd want to get back immediately or she'd want him to if they want a reconciliation and believe he can make a step towards it now.

The explanations of Meghan's pregnancy and toddler Lily sound like a teenage mother living in abject poverty w

It's not necessarily about Meghan having assistance, or their state of living.

It's more likely about Henry M-Windsor as a father.

Harry has been away from his newly born baby girl for close to 10 days and probably wants to get back to her ASAP.

For Harry it may simply be the case that Meghan, Archie and Lili are his priority now, and nothing is more pressing than that.

 

[Somebody]

It's not necessarily about Meghan having assistance, or their state of living.

It's more likely about Henry M-Windsor as a father.

Harry has been away from his newly born baby girl for close to 10 days and probably wants to get back to her ASAP.

For Harry it may simply be the case that Meghan, Archie and Lili are his priority now, and nothing is more pressing than that.

If I am not mistaken he arrived on Friday the 25th, so will have left on Thursday the 24th; and is arriving home on Friday the 2nd, so 8 days in total. So, you could as well have said that Harry had been away from his newborn daughter for a little over a week; which sounds less dramatic and would be closer to the truth.

Other than that, I don't blame Harry for wanting to return home to his daughter whom he had to leave for about a week when she was about 3 weeks old, which must be pretty though.

 

[Moran]

It's not necessarily about Meghan having assistance, or their state of living.

It's more likely about Henry M-Windsor as a father.

Harry has been away from his newly born baby girl for close to 10 days and probably wants to get back to her ASAP.

For Harry it may simply be the case that Meghan, Archie and Lili are his priority now, and nothing is more pressing than that.

That's literally what I said. But that basically disavows any arguments of Harry's enormous grief in the future when it's too late to mend bridges.

His grandfather died and Harry's reaction was to thrash him publicly about a month after his death. I can well believe his priorities lie with Meghan and the children now, with them alone, and to him no pressing factors can exist that might keep him away from them for a day or two more.

I repeat that IMO, he made the best decision since the fallout can't really be amended with a meeting or two even if he wanted to - and I don't believe he does.

 

[UglyAmerican]

To be fair, it could be that he'd like to reconcile but the rest of the family has made it abundantly clear that he can go pound sand. I wouldn't blame them. Last I heard, Charles is in Scotland, and if (big if!) the reports are to be believed, William wants nothing to do with him, and the Queen may have seen him already. If Eugenie and Jack are at Frogmore, then he's already spent plenty of time with them. Andrew ought to thank him for deflecting reporters' attention, but I doubt anyone else is eager to wade into his orbit.

 

[camelot23ca]

Harry's traveled much less in the past year than he would have had to do if they'd been HIHO while based in Canada, like they originally wanted. Their supposed original plan was to divide their time 50/50, which would have had them and their children flying back and forth all the time. Two one-week trips in three months really doesn't sound so bad by comparison.

I think HIHO for them meant they’d pick and choose their projects, control their own schedules, continue to have the bulk of their lifestyle financed by taxpayer money and/or Charles, and have the option of picking up a little extra outside work of their choosing on the side.

In that scenario they wouldn’t have been rushing back and forth across the Atlantic for work at times that were inconvenient for them. Two week long trips in three months isn’t bad at all, but under the hypothetical HIHO scenario they would have had the ability to arrange their time so that neither of them had to travel for work at all during the last part of the pregnancy and the however many months of maternity and paternity leave they decided to give themselves.

Harry travelling for his grandfather’s funeral and a memorial event in honour of his mother is different from work, obviously, and I think he did the right thing in choosing to come back for both. But I see nothing wrong with him choosing to get back to his wife and children quickly given the pregnancy and then the newborn baby.

 

[ladongas]

8 -10 days makes a huge difference with a newborn. That’s literally one quarter of her life so far. No one wishes to be away from a newborn; that’s just nature.

 

[Osipi]

Another angle to look at things and why he returned home as soon as he could is that he's stated himself that being in the UK sets off "triggers" that result in anxieties. Between the anxieties and perhaps being uncomfortable around some people would be a good reason to go home as soon as possible.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Actually, it isn't at all understandable to me why he'd want to get back immediately or she'd want him to if they want a reconciliation and believe he can make a step towards it now.

The explanations of Meghan's pregnancy and toddler Lily sound like a teenage mother living in abject poverty who couldn't possibly go the bathroom because there's no one to take care of the kids while she's in there. Millions of people manage to take care of a toddler and a newborn even without the resources Meghan has, and she has the best resources available. She isn't waiting for her husband to go to buy the groceries because doing it with two kids is too energy consuming. If they wanted and believed that he could make a step towards reconciliation, the baby argument doesn't hold water. A day or two isn't this much of a difference, especially when knowing that with the Covid situation, it might be six months or a year before seeing his blood family. Sometimes, seeing your healthy, cared for kid can wait for a few days if there is something more pressing.

This said, I don't believe meeting them was his priority or even desire and I can't say I blame him. This isn't a family divided by circumstances. The Oprah interview and the timing Harry chose to talk about genetic pain basically exclude any chance of peaceful talking and pretending there's nothing wrong. It's too soon. What is Harry supposed to do, pretend that nothing happened or somehow resolve it in two or three days without admitting any mistakes on his part? The best thing he could have done was not push the matter and if he didn't, good on him.

And especially due to having to quarantine! If he had to do that it would make sense to stay a bit longer. I’m not suggesting an extra week but two more days would not be a big deal since you know Meghan has help. It has nothing to do with being a great father like a previous poster said and everything to do with beginning the process of making amends with his family - surely they are smart enough to see how their Oprah interview has massively backfired. And if they don’t begin the process of trying to make amends they could find that their California plan will fail.

But I do agree that expecting everything to be hunky dory after the unveiling of Diana’s statue is naive and wishful thinking. In my opinion it will take a very long time before trust is reestablished. And beginning in some small ways such as staying to visit with his grandmother could be a start towards reconciliation. It will be baby steps.