Royalty Thread #8.....A Pregnant Pause

[taf2002]

Chasing implies, at least to me, that Diana and Dodi were in danger and had to get away. What is the worst that would have happened if they had just turned around and gone back to the Ritz? His family owned the hotel for heaven sakes! They could have had all the privacy they wanted. Now maybe there was somewhere else they wanted to go, but sometimes you do get to do what you want to do. Driving at a high speed through downtown Paris was irresponsible. They could have killed a pedestrian or hit another car. The paparazzi were not going to pass them or stop them. They were following them. It was at a high speed because their driver was driving at a high speed.
I wasn’t aware of that. Unfortunately from my read of Diana’s injuries there was nothing that could be done. Catastrophic brain injuries are called catastrophic for a reason. It doesn’t excuse the lack of assistance though. How someone could stand by is just beyond me.

If I'm running fast going somewhere & you're behind me only because you want to catch up with me, not because you want to go there too then you're chasing me. Why do you have problems with the word?

Sorry, I didn't know the driver was drunk. I also thought it was awful for no one to give assistance. I don't think Diana had a brain injury though, her chest was flailed. I think Dody had a brain injury but it's been years since I read any details.

 

[mag]

If I'm running fast going somewhere & you're behind me only because you want to catch up with me, not because you want to go there too then you're chasing me. Why do you have problems with the word?

Sorry, I didn't know the driver was drunk. I also thought it was awful for no one to give assistance. I don't think Diana had a brain injury though, her chest was flailed. I think Dody had a brain injury but it's been years since I read any details.

I may have the two injuries mixed up. Either way, I certainly got the impression the there was no hope.

With “chase” I guess it sounds to me like they didn’t have any option but to drive at a crazy speed. Dodi’s driver set the pace. He alone was responsible for the high speed. Should the paparazzi have been chasing them? No. But the responsibility for the speed was the driver’s alone YMMV.

ETA: the whole thing was/is so sad and so pointless. So many bad decisions by many that lead to such a terrible outcome and two kids being left without a mother. A real lesson in how life can change in a minute.

 

[AxelAnnie]

This has always been my uderstanding.....that she might have been saved

Dr James Colthurst, 50, an independent medical practitioner, believes delays in getting her to hospital played a crucial part in her death.
As the 10th anniversary of the tragedy approaches there has been an increased focus on the events of August 31, 1997.
Dr Colthurst, who has more than 25 years medical experience, has questioned whether the French medical team could have done more to save the Princess. “My belief is that had Diana been moved more quickly, the surgeons may have had a better chance,” he said. “Her injuries of course were very serious, but there were delays in addressing those injuries that, to my mind, could have been critical.”
His argument is backed up by a number of world-leading trauma doctors, who also believe more could have been done.

If they had rushed Diana into surgery she would have lived
Dr James Colthurst​

Because of her injuries, it took the paramedics and doctors more than one and a half hours to move Diana to hospital. Instead of racing straight there, doctors attempted to administer initial first aid at the roadside.
American physician with nine years experience in one of the US’s biggest urban hospitals.
He said: “If they had got her to the operating room sooner, she would have had a far greater chance.”
In the US it is medical policy to remove a victim to a hospital at the earliest opportunity.
Dr Stephen Ramee, a leading cardiologist at the Ochsner Health System centre in New Orleans said this offered a better chance of survival.
He said: “We believe that you have a ‘golden hour’ to save someone’s life, whether it’s a traumatic injury or a heart attack. As soon as you get to the casualty, you stabilise them, then you move them as fast as possible, often by helicopter, to a centre where you can perform surgery. Some people call it ‘scoop and run’.”
Dr Ramee said the method was perfected in the Korean and Vietnam wars and research has shown that it saves lives.

An ambulance arrived on the scene within seven minutes and the highly-qualified medical team began work.
She suffered her first cardiac arrest as she was being removed from the mangled Mercedes and doctors performed an external chest massage in order to re-establish a cardiac rhythm.
Eventually she was placed in the ambulance, but according to French procedure the vehicle drove extremely slowly in order to avoid jolting the patient. At one point the ambulance stopped to allow the team to administer adrenaline after a second cardiac arrest.

 

[taf2002]

ETA: the whole thing was/is so sad and so pointless. So many bad decisions by many that lead to such a terrible outcome and two kids being left without a mother. A real lesson in how life can change in a minute.

IMO one of the worst decisions is not to wear seatbelts. Can you imagine being in a car driven at that speed & not putting on your seatbelt? I admit I've never worn mine in a limo but then the driver didn't speed or drive crazy.

 

[Skittl1321]

IMO one of the worst decisions is not to wear seatbelts. Can you imagine being in a car driven at that speed & not putting on your seatbelt? I admit I've never worn mine in a limo but then the driver didn't speed or drive crazy.

I've never not worn a seat belt. But it is extremely uncommon to wear them in limos, even at highway speeds.
I have a coworker who refuses to wear one when we are in the back seats of taxis, he says the law doesn't require it. I don't understand the mindset, but it isn't like she was the first person to not wear a seat belt.

I assume Diana and Dodi did not know their driver was drunk.

 

[mag]

I have no idea what Diana and Dodi knew, but I do remember reading that the driver had a long term drinking problem so I have no doubt he would have been very good at hiding it especially from someone like Diana who had led an extremely sheltered life. From 19 years old onward everything would have been looked after for her and she would have had someone with her 24/7 looking out for her safety up until the point she fired her security detail. I think she really had no idea of the dangers or even what to look out for.

I completely understand her want to be free of “Palace people,” but it is really too bad something could not have been worked out. In many ways I think she was like a kid who is totally sheltered all through elementary school, never allowed or encouraged to develop a spidy sense, who then gets to high school, starts to party, and can’t see the dangers. It doesn’t make any of it her fault. It just makes her extremely vulnerable. As a adult it would have been very difficult for anyone to point out to her how vulnerable she really was.

Like I said up thread, what a complete and total mess and tragedy.

 

[Japanfan]

IMO one of the worst decisions is not to wear seatbelts. Can you imagine being in a car driven at that speed & not putting on your seatbelt? I admit I've never worn mine in a limo but then the driver didn't speed or drive crazy.

Was Diana not wearing a seatbelt? I've not heard that before. If not, it was indeed foolhardy - but wearing one would probably not have saved her life.

I know a semi-delusional person who never wears a seatbelt and thinks that police actually wave to her and smile when they see her drive by sans seatbelt. She walks dogs for a living and transports quite a few at a time in the back of her vehicle.

There is no way I would entrust my dog to her care.

 

[mag]

Was Diana not wearing a seatbelt? I've not heard that before. If not, it was indeed foolhardy - but wearing one would probably not have saved her life.

I remember at the time some “expert” suggesting that a seat would most likely have saved her life. No idea how realistic or reliable that is.

 

[cygnus]

I remember at the time some “expert” suggesting that a seat would most likely have saved her life. No idea how realistic or reliable that is.

Only one person in the car was wearing a seatbelt- the bodyguard Trevor Reese-Jones. He was injured, but survived the crash. The others did not have seat belts and died of their injuries.

 

[aftershocks]

There were no old school friends or family.

FYI: The media tend to get things wrong on purpose or they are parroting something they read that was made up in a British tabloid. In any case, Meghan's closest and dearest friends are her family.

Jessica Mulroney has known Meghan for about 8 or 9 years
Lindsay Roth has known Meghan since her college days at Northwestern (around 19 to 20 years)
Genevieve Hillis has also known Meghan since college (19 to 20 years)
Serena Williams has known Meghan for longer than people realize (they met around 9 to 10 years ago)
Markus Anderson has known Meghan for about 7 years (this bff is like an older brother to her)
Amal Clooney has known Meghan for nearly 3 years
Abigail Spencer has known Meghan for about 9 years
Misha Nonoo met Meghan in December 2014 (nearly 4 1/2 years)
Benita Litt is a long term friend of Meghan's from Los Angeles (more than 20 years)
Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King are prestigious hangers-on who met Meghan in the last year (since the royal wedding)
Priyanka Chopra (who reportedly wasn't there due to other commitments has known Meghan since her success on Suits, so they met somewhere in the last 6 years or so)
Daniel Martin (Meghan's hairdresser has known her since her Suits days, so around 8 to 9 years)
Janina Gavankar is a long term friend from Meghan's early 'going on audition' days in Hollywood, so over 12 years or more

There was said to be around 15 people on the guest list, but the full guest list has not been revealed to my knowledge.

There was a report by credible royal reporter, Omid Scobie, that Meghan will celebrate with her mother at some point in the next several weeks before she gives birth sometime in April. What with all the brouhaha over the first shower, any additional intimate shower will likely be kept under wraps in the palace. Meghan is in essence an only child, particularly as the half siblings were so much older and thus did not grow up with her. Nor were they ever really close to her. Meghan's maternal grandmother died in December 2000, and her maternal grandfather died in March 2011; her paternal grandmother died in November 2011, and her paternal grandfather died in July 1982, about a year after Meghan was born.

Apparently, Meghan grew up around her cousins on her mother's side, as well as having some association with her nephews (her half brother's children). But seemingly, over time there have been family estrangements on both the Markle and Ragland sides. Meghan has posted pictures on her Instagram of herself with her half-sister's older daughter, Ashleigh Hale, who is an attorney. Ashleigh, fortunately was raised by her paternal grandparents, not by her biological mother, Samantha Markle. It has been rumored that Ashleigh and perhaps a few other Ragland relatives may have been invited to the royal wedding, but they possibly sat anonymously in the nave, or were at the reception. Anyway if true, it was surely kept quiet so as not to give the whining Markles more fodder.

Meghan has a great many friends and professional acquaintances she's known over the years, including a number of London-based friends whom she knew pre-Harry. Likely many of Meghan's friends and even some acquaintances are still in contact with her to a degree that the media and general public would certainly not be privy to knowing. There are a lot of people Meghan knows or has worked with in the fashion and entertainment industries, as well as in politics and philanthropy, including the Trudeaus, designers Roland Mouret and Wes Gordon, Hannah Bronfman (socialite/ entrepreneur /fashionista), and Canadian model Jessica Stam, just to name a few. For all we know, Meghan may be receiving personal baby gifts from some of her friends via package delivery to the palace.

Possibly Meghan is still in touch with Sarah Rafferty from Suits, but apparently Abigail Spencer is her main bestie from those days. It doesn't seem that Meghan is still as close with Rick Hoffman and Gina Torres. But I'm sure everyone has experienced the normal waxing and waning of personal relationships. Meghan's best friend from childhood, Ninanki Priddy, ended their friendship after Meghan divorced her first husband, Trevor Engelson. Priddy has been busy selling Meghan out ever since the news broke that she was dating Prince Harry.

I'm sure it's not a surprise that when you become royally famous, you find out who your really true friends are, and unfortunately those whom you must distance yourself from due to trust issues. Or friendships may naturally lag just as a matter of changed interests and lifestyles. Meghan's estranged actual family members likely revealed their selfish, untrustworthy true selves long before Meghan left L.A. for college in Chicago.

 

[Jenny]

And on that note, here's a lovely throwback picture of the Queen. One of the many things I love about this shot is the natural brow - perhaps I should post this in the Glamourpuss thread

 

[mag]

William and Kate arrive for a two day trip to Northern Ireland.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...m-arrive-Northern-Ireland-surprise-visit.html

 

[puglover]

My mother was born in Sunderland and she really resembled the queen, both when they were younger and especially in their later years. My mother also had that soft bosom that silenced so many of my tears. I am so glad that Queen Elizabeth has lived to see so much happier times for her family, so many grands and great grands and that she has shared these years with Prince Philip.

 

[mag]

A much better overview of William and Kate’s trip so far:

https://whatkatewore.com/2019/02/27...-for-2-day-northern-ireland-visit/#more-57564

 

[MsZem]

Apologies for linking to the Daily Mail, but I am sure we can all get behind Queen Letizia's latest tiara appearance.

 

[Jenny]

Daily Mail is always good for pictures - I never actually read the articles

 

[AxelAnnie]

Apologies for linking to the Daily Mail, but I am sure we can all get behind Queen Letizia's latest tiara appearance.

OMG! Queen Letizia is absolutely gorgeous! And so is the Tiara ....do say nothing of the dress.

 

[centerstage01]

Love Kate's greenish metallic dress tonight in Northern Ireland, but dear Lord...someone has got to do a shoe intervention with her. LOL Beige pumps again? I get why she wears the style of shoe as she's got to do a lot of standing and they're probably very comfortable, but why BEIGE?

 

[mag]

@centerstage01 ITA. She has some lovely shoes so I don’t know why she chose those.
Photo: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.instyle.com/news/kate-middleton-mermaid-gown-ireland?amp=true

 

[Lorac]

Love Kate's greenish metallic dress tonight in Northern Ireland, but dear Lord...someone has got to do a shoe intervention with her. LOL Beige pumps again? I get why she wears the style of shoe as she's got to do a lot of standing and they're probably very comfortable, but why BEIGE?

I like the entire outfit including the beige shoes - it goes together well and isn't too dressy as William was dressed fairly casual. The shoes match her clutch. What other colour would you have chosen?

 

[Lorac]

Apologies for linking to the Daily Mail, but I am sure we can all get behind Queen Letizia's latest tiara appearance.

The tiara is stunning as is her dress. She looked amazing.

 

[taf2002]

@centerstage01 ITA. She has some lovely shoes so I don’t know why she chose those.
Photo: https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.instyle.com/news/kate-middleton-mermaid-gown-ireland?amp=true

To me the shoes are fine. I hate the dress. It looks like something a grandma would wear.

 

[skatesindreams]

It looks like something a grandma would wear.

Not as flattering as many of her recent choices, IMO.

 

[mag]

To me the shoes are fine. I hate the dress. It looks like something a grandma would wear.

I like the shoes, just not with that dress. I think the dress might look better in real life.

 

[mag]

Second day in Northern Ireland: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-47399339

 

[quartz]

I like the entire outfit including the beige shoes - it goes together well and isn't too dressy as William was dressed fairly casual. The shoes match her clutch. What other colour would you have chosen?

I love the dress too - I would have given her matte silver shoes/clutch.

 

[kittyjake5]

I must be color blind, her shoes and clutch look more like a very pale pink than beige.
She looks fabulous though even though the shoes don't go with her dress.

Thank you @mag for posting so much royal content, much appreciated!

 

[Lorac]

I love the dress too - I would have given her matte silver shoes/clutch.

OK I could see that - matt silver would have worked and maybe better than the shoes and clutch she wore. Still the dress was lovely - the close ups really show how pretty it is!!

 

[aftershocks]

Awww, but the nickname for Princess Charlotte is not really surprising. I guessed it:

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entert...arlotte-royal-family-nickname-kate-middleton/

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celeb...middleton-princess-charlotte-nickname-lottie/

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/03/princess-charlotte-nickname-kate-middleton

Sweet 'Lottie Poppet' though


ETA:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuPq5OVHHHP/ Too funny

 

[taf2002]

Lottie is the common nickname for Charlotte so I don't know why those articles made it appear that it's so unheard of. But it is cute.

ETA: now the speculation is that Meghan is faking her pregnancy because her face isn't fat. The poor girl can't catch a break.