Royalty Thread #10 -Archie Phase 2 - Bold and Bald Still

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Cross-posting from a thread where apparently people think discussion of M&H belong, but it doesn't:

AxelAnnie said:
... Here I go again. Andrew and M/H have each made bad PR moves...
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BS. The media is full of it, as are some royal observers and trolls. The media loves rocking, slanting and setting a full-on negative narrative about the Sussexes. Why? Read Prince Harry's September press release. The Sussexes refuse to play the media's game, and they don't have to. In fact, with their recent suits against media outlets, M&H have drawn a line in the sand, and it's about time.

As I've pointed out a number of times: Meghan and Harry can not be bought, no matter how much the media is gangbusters trying to own and sell them because they happen to be very popular and very much in the mainstream public consciousness at the moment, as is the apparent 'obsession' with their son, Archie (as evidenced by the current thread title). Nothing sells like a love story of mythic proportions. Especially when it's about a young British prince (son of Diana PoW) in love and married to an unexpected young woman who happens to be multi-ethnic, American, a former actor, and an accomplished, beautiful, well-spoken mover & shaker.

There's news items floated about the Sussexes every day (often made up), even despite the fact they are on vacation minding their own business. The few posts we've seen on the sussexroyal Instagram while they've been on vacation are acknowledging their causes and are meant for their true fans and for decent, caring people with good sense.

The 'bad pr moves' broken record the media are blaring in connection with the Sussexes is being put on full blast because the worst tabloid outlets are being sued by the Sussexes, and because as Harry said, he and Meghan refuse to play the game that killed his mother. There will be no media kowtowing by the Sussexes. The media has no leverage against the Sussexes, so the media instead plays bs 'negative stories' hardball. And that's not going to work for the media either.
 
Again, discussion of M&H doesn't really belong in the Prince Andrew thread. I realize there is discussion there in regard to a linked Town & Country article that unnecessarily tries to make comparisons between Andrew and the Sussexes. The article was clearly written just to keep the clicks coming hard and fast while M&H are out of sight minding their own business. :drama:

Cachoo said:
...I think M&H are going through young, royal couple growing pains. They'll learn...
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Sure there are certainly a number of experiences and learning curves that any young newly married couple who are now new parents, have to go through. This is especially the case for a British royal couple who are kept in the public eye because of the large amount of worldwide interest in them, and because pictures and stories about them sell.

What is problematic is the fact that the real, substantive things M&H are having to learn are ignored in favor of negative narratives about their decisions surrounding their first child's birth and christening; about how Meghan shuts a car door; about how Meghan's love of avocados creates terrorism; about how Meghan cradled her baby bump throughout her pregnancy; about how Meghan wore a black one-shoulder gown at an event (when Kate was later praised for wearing a white one-shoulder gown, and many other royal ladies have also worn such styles); about how Meghan shouldn't have guest-edited British Vogue despite numerous members of the royal family having been involved with similar media guest-editing stints; about how Harry has no right to discuss his feelings about his own mother; about how Harry has a nerve crying over being a new father; about how M&H deciding to spend the holidays with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland is soooo wrong, even though the Queen has given her blessing and other royals do not spend every Christmas at Sandringham, etc, etc, ad nauseam.

Even the 'gotcha' story about how Meghan & Harry in particular are such hypocrites for flying on a private plane while still caring about and advocating for environmental awareness, is disingenuous on the part of most media. Why? Because the media are so hot on M&H's trail to find anything to write about and anything to 'get' them on. Why didn't we hear more stories of this nature about Prince Charles or Prince William who both also advocate for the environment and who both have often flown on private planes for security and other reasons? Why? Because the Sussexes are the ones who sell the most and stories about them receive the most clicks at the moment. And the biggest reason of all: Meghan & Harry have no intention of playing the media's game, and so the media are trying to play hardball in an attempt to make M&H 'play nice.' Which btw, isn't going to happen because the media's ploys won't work.
 
Now there is a "news" story about how Rod Stewart has panned H&M for not spending Christmas with the Queen. I like Rod but why does he think it appropriate to decide for anyone where they should spend Christmas? And why single out H&M? W&K have done the same thing.
 
taf2002 said:
Now there is a "news" story about how Rod Stewart has panned H&M for not spending Christmas with the Queen. I like Rod but why does he think it appropriate to decide for anyone where they should spend Christmas? And why single out H&M? W&K have done the same thing.
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I suspect it is more a case of Rod trying to say something that will be reported in the media. Rather pathetic attempt to stay relevant. Hopefully the story will just die a quiet death.
 
Let's have some holiday cheer instead:

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Plus: CP Mary looking fabulous in Indonesia.
royalcentral.co.uk

Crown Princess Mary visits Indonesia - Royal Central

Crown Princess Mary has wrapped up a three-day visit to Indonesia with the United Nations Population Fund. Joining the Executive Director of the UNFPA and the Danish Development Minister, Crown Princess Mary’s visit was to...
royalcentral.co.uk royalcentral.co.uk
 
I was a bit curious about this Rod Stewart thing, seems rather random, so I tracked down where it came from. It's deep, deep in a wide-ranging fluffy profile for the Daily Mail, complete with posed pictures, mostly talking about how he celebrates Christmas with his extended family, and supporting his latest album and UK performances. Well into it, there's this passage -

It would have been his third Royal Variety show, although he's performed for the Queen privately too. 'I'm a monarchist,' he says. 'I think the Queen is wonderful. And I know Charles quite well. He's great fun.

'I was a bit disappointed that Harry and Meghan have decided not to spend Christmas with the Queen this year. If I was Harry, I'd think there was plenty of time in the future to have Christmases on my own or with Meghan's mum.

'The Queen's 93. I flew around the world to be with my mum and dad at Christmas because I knew they didn't have many left.'
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Pretty gentle reprimand if you ask me, and my bet is he was asked about it. In an effort to create content, media often ask celebrities about random things, hoping they get a chance to turn it into a breathless "Rod Slams Meghan and Harry" or "Rod Breaks His Silence on Meghan and Harry's Rift with Royal Family" or whatever clickbait headline.
 
Jenny said:
I was a bit curious about this Rod Stewart thing, seems rather random, so I tracked down where it came from. It's deep, deep in a wide-ranging fluffy profile for the Daily Mail, complete with posed pictures, mostly talking about how he celebrates Christmas with his extended family, and supporting his latest album and UK performances. Well into it, there's this passage -



Pretty gentle reprimand if you ask me, and my bet is he was asked about it. In an effort to create content, media often ask celebrities about random things, hoping they get a chance to turn it into a breathless "Rod Slams Meghan and Harry" or "Rod Breaks His Silence on Meghan and Harry's Rift with Royal Family" or whatever clickbait headline.
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Sheds more light on why he even commented on it but why the hell would he be disappointed in what some other random person did for Christmas? It's one thing to disapprove but disappointed makes it sound personal.
 
taf2002 said:
Sheds more light on why he even commented on it but why the hell would he be disappointed in what some other random person did for Christmas? It's one thing to disapprove but disappointed makes it sound personal.
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I think that you can’t live your life assuming someone will die soon. The Queen could go on for many years, Doria could drop dead tomorrow. I realize that sounds terrible; my point is that life is not always as expected. We are also not privy to everything happening in their lives and neither is Rod. Harry and Meghan don’t owe us an explanation. They have spent two years with Harry’s family, it is time to spend time with Meghan’s family.

Perhaps Rod is disappointed he won’t be seeing them at the Royal Variety show? If that is the case he would have been better off to say that.
 
They've been married for seven years and I'm sure the pressure on them to have children has been immense. She gave an interview last year where she was asked about it (!!!) and I recognized in her answers the kind of vague "oh, well, it'd be nice someday" answers I used to give when I was struggling with fertility issues. I hope that everything goes smoothly and she and the baby are healthy and happy.
 
MLIS said:
They've been married for seven years and I'm sure the pressure on them to have children has been immense. She gave an interview last year where she was asked about it (!!!) and I recognized in her answers the kind of vague "oh, well, it'd be nice someday" answers I used to give when I was struggling with fertility issues. I hope that everything goes smoothly and she and the baby are healthy and happy.
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I honestly thought they might not be into the idea of parenthood, at least not right away. A friend of mine married in her mid-twenties and waited until she was around Stephanie's age to have her first, and that was planned.
 
Zemgirl said:
I honestly thought they might not be into the idea of parenthood, at least not right away. A friend of mine married in her mid-twenties and waited until she was around Stephanie's age to have her first, and that was planned.
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And that very well may be the case, and I truly hope that they didn't feel pressure to have children before they were ready (or to have them at all!). It was just something about the interview she gave that made me wonder, although I admit I am allowing my own experiences and history to shape my reading of her words, she never came out and said anything. In any case, they seem delighted and I hope all goes well for them, whatever their journey was to this point. Her wedding dress remains one of my favourite royal wedding dresses ... so beautiful!
 
Jenny said:
Pretty gentle reprimand if you ask me, and my bet is he was asked about it.
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So what that Rod Stewart was asked about it. He should have chosen his words more carefully or deflected his response. But as someone else mentioned, maybe he couldn't resist bringing attention to himself via the hot, clickable, moneymaking topic of Meghan, Harry & Archie. I like Rod Stewart too, and he can think whatever he likes and be happy about all the Christmases he spent with his own mother. His personal feelings and sentiments have nothing to do with the Sussexes' decisions about where they are going to spend their Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays this year! No one, and I mean no one has any right even thinking they are in a position to so-called 'gently reprimand' the Sussexes. Everyone with a 'bug up their ass' complete with OTT huffy opinions about the Sussexes should back up, take several seats and worry about their own life decisions. :drama:

Meghan has already spent two Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with Harry's family. Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, deserves to have her daughter, son-in-law and grandson spend precious time with her, particularly while Archie is still in pre-toddler stage and just learning how to walk and form words. Meghan's mother does not take a backseat to anyone in Meghan's heart, and Meghan does not get to see her mother or many of her close friends often. Rod Stewart's thoughts about two people he doesn't know have no bearing on anything. What Stewart thinks doesn't matter, especially as blared by The Dail Mail!!! A media outlet btw who are being sued by Meghan for the slanderous falsehoods they've printed about her (along with the personal letter copyright violation).

The Queen is Harry's grandmother, not his mother. Meanwhile, Meghan is Doria's only child. The Queen will have plenty of other grandchildren and great-grandchildren spending the holidays with her, as she always does! Plus the Queen lives largely at Windsor and probably sees Harry, Meghan & Archie often when they are all in residence at Windsor. So the argument about the Queen being elderly and not going to be around forever is a big, so what!? That's not news.

The monarchy (and indeed Great Britain itself) are already in conflict kerfuffles over transitional matters that are making the Queen's latter years unpleasant. Meghan and Harry deciding to spend end of 2019 holidays away from England has no bearing on anything the Queen is currently dealing with. It is only the media and apparently Rod Stewart making a friggin' big deal out of nothing. None of the British royals' actual intimate family relationships and holiday decisionmaking are any of our business in the first place. Because the British monarchy is and has been like an ongoing soap opera, most recently complete with Netflix serial dramatizations, everyone and their in-laws feel they own the royals or something, especially M&H.

And let me nix the 'we pay taxes' ubiquitous complaint. Taxpayers in Britain having to pay security costs for the royals is all part of being British. If the British public don't like it, vote the lot of the royals out! It will not be the royals who end up suffering either. The British tourism and economy will suffer huge consequences. Meanwhile, the Sussexes will continue doing the good work they are and have been doing, with hopefully a measure of privacy and peace from this OTT negativity and prying interest in their every move.

mag said:
Perhaps Rod is disappointed he won’t be seeing them at the Royal Variety show? If that is the case he would have been better off to say that.
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Possibly, but that's somewhat of a stretch. If that is the case, Stewart is certainly not helping himself by uttering butthead comments disparaging Meghan and Harry for their personal holiday decisions. :rolleyes: If this is all about Mr. Stewart himself and what he wants, or about allowing himself to be used by The Daily Mail, Stewart should be at the head of the line of questionable Sussex critics who need to back up and take several seats. Or better yet, visit M&H's Instagram and be inspired to give to people in need and donate to worthy charitable causes this holiday season.

ETA:
That's lovely news for the Luxembourg royals. Congrats to Guillaume & Stephanie! Hopefully, the Duchess of Sussex being an older Mom has served as a bit of inspiration, along with the Luxembourg family support and other examples of older Moms in the world. :) Surely, Stephanie will be able to cradle her baby bump if she feels like it and not have to suffer from intrusive, negative stories throughout her pregnancy.
 
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Speaking of the Sussexes' needing to 'play nice' as Zemgirl brought up in the Prince Andrew thread:

Zemgirl said:
Well, the [Town & Country] article that we all read discusses the PR woes of both Prince Andrew and the Sussexes. This does not mean that they consider "not playing nice with the press" to be equal to the alleged sexual assault of teenagers.
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The T&C article is simply spinning crap picked up from British tabloids and certain palace p.r. sources who are still trying to distract from the monarchy's real problems by throwing the Sussexes to the wolves. Meghan & Harry do NOT have to 'play nice with the press,' no matter how many people think they should.

In today's world, the Sussexes are able to speak directly to the public with their Instagram, and they have found other unique ways to promote their causes aside from going directly through the royal reporters. The Cambridges are very busy following some examples set by the Sussexes, with behind-the-scenes interactions with charitable causes, engaging in more PDA, restructuring their Instagram messages, and attending patronage and charitable events that are not reported in advance, etc. While embargoing events on occasion has been a royal practice previously, M&H have made a science out of conducting their down-to-earth public duties and private events under-the-radar, to brilliant impact.

Despite all the blather to the contrary, how the Sussexes broke the news of Archie's birth should be the British royal family's model going forward. Harry gave an unplanned, joyful announcement near the Windsor stables to a select pool group of media, and then two days later when rain forced them indoors, M&H introduced Archie in grand St. George's Hall (Windsor Castle), their earlier wedding reception venue, with a brief photo-op/Q&A. It worked royally well, without taxpayers having to unnecessarily pay for the heavy security costs associated with having crowds of people and media from all over the world camped outside a hospital disrupting traffic, hospital patients and visitors. Who really wants to give birth, particularly as an older Mom, and then have to deal with this zoo? :duh:

There have been occasions where the Sussexes have chosen responsible reporters to give news coverage and interviews to, including Omid Scobie, Alan Jones, and Bryony Gordon. These are journalists who cover news stories (not gossipy made-up stories) in a fair, balanced and professional way. I believe M&H would have been a lot more open and accommodating toward the larger media had the media chosen to be more professional and backed off of their overly negative, aggressively intrusive and blatantly false coverage.
 
taf2002 said:
William & Kate have been married 8 years & have been handling the media attention much longer. I really don't think they are taking lessons from the Succexses.
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ITA. They have also worked at forming a working relationship with the Royal Court reporters. Getting to know each other and understanding that they can work together so that both parties can reach their goals. I think we sometimes forget that the reporters in the royal gaggle are just everyday people trying to do their job and support their families.

On a different note, apparently Clarence House has issued a statement putting to rest the rumours that the Queen was getting ready to retire. Apparently that is not the case. Not hugely shocking. The Queen has said that she believes her role was ordained by god and she will do it until she dies.
 
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Long may the Queen reign - and she already has but it will be a very sad day in many homes when that is no longer the case. Even those of us who have lived a goodly time were not alive under any other monarch.
 
taf2002 said:
William & Kate have been married 8 years & have been handling the media attention much longer. I really don't think they are taking lessons from the Succexses.
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I don't know if this was deliberate or not but if it was it's very tacky.
 
canbelto said:
I don't know if this was deliberate or not but if it was it's very tacky.
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Of course you found it tacky since you've been on my case all week. I spelled it about 4 different ways & none of them looked right but I thought my last attempt was correct. I didn't see what you apparently found tacky because I don't have a dirty mind & I don't go looking for something to diss.
 
MacMadame said:
I have a dirty mind and I don't know what they are seeing either. OTOH, it doesn't look like a real word to me. I think that the plural of Sussex is Sussexes.
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I'm usually a decent speller but I sometimes get my S's & C's mixed up. I think it's time to update my ignore list.
 
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