Just call me Harry. (Everything Harry & Meghan)

[canbelto]

I'm sorry, but this is quite a statement to make without at least a survey to back it up. The British tabloids ≠ the British population.

Don't the tabs reflect the population though? If this stuff didnt sell or generate clicks why would they print it?

 

[Karen-W]

Don't the tabs reflect the population though? If this stuff didnt sell or generate clicks why would they print it?

Not really. All it means is that it generates enough revenue to make it worth the effort. That doesn't mean it is representative of the view of the majority of the population.

 

[MsZem]

Don't the tabs reflect the population though? If this stuff didnt sell or generate clicks why would they print it?

No, the tabloids do not reflect "the population". They reflect a specific segment of it.

You're a teacher, IIRC - surely you teach your students to back up their statements and avoid generalizations?

 

[starrynight]

The Sun is just full of boob jobs and bikini shots of soap stars. It's pretty low brow stuff.

But that simply does not and cannot reflect the views of a diverse and multicultural nation of 66 million people.

It's sort of like how people outside the USA tend to view it as a big Trump gun loving nation. But again, that's not a fair assessment because it is also an immensely diverse nation. (Incidentally it's become a colloquial saying in Australia when something is bad to say 'oh well it could be worse I could live in America'). Again that's a huge generalisation.

 

[MsZem]

The Sun is just full of boob jobs and bikini shots of soap stars. It's pretty low brow stuff.

But that simply does not and cannot reflect the views of a diverse and multicultural nation of 66 million people.

It certainly doesn't reflect the views of the vast majority of people in Liverpool.

 

[starrynight]

I think the tabloids have disproportionate impact on the royals though, because they are the publications that report about them.

Whereas something like The Guardian is more likely to want to write articles about abolishing them than gossiping about a dress or a tiara. And other more serious papers have real news to address.

So I can understand how a royal would have a warped view of the tabloids being representative of the media and of their country. Particularly if they don't get out and about with actual real people much. Royals usually only interact with either other aristocrats or go and do charity with the very poor. They wouldn't have much at all to do with the working class/middle class.

 

[ballettmaus]

Are you American? It's completely different in other parts of the world - it's been a media saturation of these two. Where I live they are pretty much daily headlines, if every other day on a slow news week. And then on every magazine cover at the supermarket check outs. I imagine you guys have had your elections to be more concerned about, so I guess they are not in the media much in the US. I suspect that's probably want they are looking to change.

I doubt that it's their choice to appear on those magazines or that they've done anything to appear on those magazines other than exist. They're not news and I'm not sure I'd call them media. They're more like fiction. (I've lost track how often Kate was pregnant already).

 

[canbelto]

I doubt that it's their choice to appear on those magazines or that they've done anything to appear on those magazines other than exist. They're not news and I'm not sure I'd call them media. They're more like fiction. (I've lost track how often Kate was pregnant already).

But she changed her hair. She must be pregnant! (Going by this metric Kate would have been on baby #10 by now).

 

[MacMadame]

I have no idea who Harry dated casually, but the only girlfriends I'm aware of were Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas, and Davy isn't English.

Okay but my point is that he picked and stuck with Meghan for a reason. It didn't just happen. He knew she was from the US and might want to live there or do long visits.

I think people just need to remember where exactly these two get their platform from and stop making them out to be some kind of heroes.

Aftershocks has been banned. Correcting misinformation or not thinking these two are The Worst is not the same thing as worship.

I've said this before: I think they should get rid of the monarchy or at least reform it drastically. That doesn't mean I'm not fascinated by what is happening because a royal married someone like Meghan. i.e., mixed-race, older, divorced, American. There was a time when that just wouldn't have happened. So things have changed while not changing at all and it's interesting to me.

 

[MsZem]

But she changed her hair. She must be pregnant! (Going by this metric Kate would have been on baby #10 by now).

It's a competition with Slutskaya.

 

[canbelto]

It's a competition with Slutskaya.

Maybe all of Kate's kids are still in the basement with Tessa and Scott's kids.

 

[skategal]

I’d agree that the Monarchy needs to go or be reformed and I’d love to see Canada explore not being under a Monarch.

But while we have it and it exists, I’d like to see the Royals, in particular the younger popular ones, use the platform to do good in the world.

I feel like Meghan and Harry (and Will & Kate) are trying to do this.

 

[Judy]

I’d agree that the Monarchy needs to go or be reformed and I’d love to see Canada explore not being under a Monarch.

But while we have it and it exists, I’d like to see the Royals, in particular the younger popular ones, use the platform to do good in the world.

I feel like Meghan and Harry (and Will & Kate) are trying to do this.

Oh Canada will never do that. I would def like to see Will and Kate again in my city though once it is safe.

 

[starrynight]

I've said this before: I think they should get rid of the monarchy or at least reform it drastically. That doesn't mean I'm not fascinated by what is happening because a royal married someone like Meghan. i.e., mixed-race, older, divorced, American. There was a time when that just wouldn't have happened. So things have changed while not changing at all and it's interesting to me.

I think that there is currently a very delicately balanced social contract between the public and the royal family, whereby the public tolerates royalty owning vast amounts of land, assets and power because royalty creates an image that they are 'in service' to the public and are patriotic symbols of the nation and Commonwealth.

So that's why there's those charity engagements, the tabloids can treat the royal family like dollies for gossip etc. It's lip service really, but it seems to do enough (for now) to keep the public accepting of the existence of the royal family. A lot of that is to do with the Queen though. It's going to be rough when she passes.

I think it's why Harry and Meghan have been so controversial because they have rejected that social contract. Rather it has sort of been the opposite where there is a suggestion that the public owed them something, rather than the other way around. My feeling is that the royals should be grateful for every day that the public continues to accept them.

I think it should be a question of whether the royals add value to the lives of their subjects. Not if the subjects add value to the royals.

 

[overedge]

When I go to my (Canadian) supermarket, I see Harry and/or Meghan every single week on the covers of magazines published in the US, Canada, and Europe.

They may get less attention in the US because there are so many celebrities vying for attention there - especially now during the p*nd*m*c when they can't go to events, premieres, galas, etc., and get photographed there. But I don't think there's any major area of the world where there isn't at least some interest in them.

FWIW the Daily Mail website is one of the most visited websites in the entire world. That can't be from only people in the UK looking at it.

 

[manhn]

The idea that sexist and racist comments directed at Meghan are okay because their existence is paid by taxpayers...even if such a concept is accepted (uhm...), such acceptance hurts me. It has a societal and community aspect.

Not sure why such vitriol seems to be accused solely towards the tabloids. The BBC is racism free? Good to know.

I have a relatively neutral view of the monarchy and its existence, particularly in a Canadian context. But are people trying to tell me that there is no economic benefit to its existence? Places like Victoria don’t benefit? Canadians moan endlessly on taxpayers paying for their security when they visit our country, but there is no tourism benefit from their appearance? I bet Canada makes more money from the Queen visiting than Canada getting a Worlds.

 

[Jeanne7]

Excuse me? What on God's green earth does her race have to do with her Hollywood-style "philanthropic" efforts? There is no "micro-aggression" here, so you can just move that little narrative right along to the trash bin.

Meghan was very adept, before she married Harry, at building her own brand and promoting herself. I honestly think they both had an expectation, when they got married, that they would be able to build their own "Royal brand" through their Commonwealth work and they would be on equal footing with William & Kate which, unfortunately, is not how a monarchy, and especially not the BRF, works. I also think they feed off each other's narcissism and ego. So, they both had their wings clipped and then sniveled to each other about how it just wasn't fair, that they weren't getting the support they needed/deserved, and maybe they should just go off and do their own royal thing without any oversight from those meanies in Buckingham Palace or the press questioning their every last move (and that is not the same as the race-baiting, which was and is abhorrent). But, let's be real about the IQ of Meghan and Harry. Meghan is definitely the smarter of the two, and, in that regard, I do think she's the one driving the train, so to speak - everything they are doing is where her strengths laid before they got married. That's hardly a coincidence. Do I think that makes her pushy? I suppose it could, but the implication would then be that Harry is pussy-whipped. I don't think either is the case. Like I said, they're both a couple of narcissists who negatively reinforce to each other's worst perceptions, attitudes and behaviors.

Brilliant response, thank you!

 

[Judy]

I’d agree that the Monarchy needs to go or be reformed and I’d love to see Canada explore not being under a Monarch.

But while we have it and it exists, I’d like to see the Royals, in particular the younger popular ones, use the platform to do good in the world.

I feel like Meghan and Harry (and Will & Kate) are trying to do this.

Well it is part of the constitution that the Queen is Head of State. It is not like we pay her money so our govt will never change it.

 

[skatfan]

Doria was a makeup artist, a travel agent and a small business owner who filed for bankruptcy in the mid-2000s.

She finally got her degree in Social Work, in 2011 once Meghan was grown and on her own, and passed the licensing exam in 2015.

Doria raised herself up to be not working class (maybe with Meghan's help) but she was certainly in that class for awhile.

I don't think Meghan grew up with many extras financially.

She went to private school for at least of her education - paid for by her now-estranged father. Not exactly living a totally deprived life.

 

[Judy]

The idea that sexist and racist comments directed at Meghan are okay because their existence is paid by taxpayers...even if such a concept is accepted (uhm...), such acceptance hurts me. It has a societal and community aspect.

Not sure why such vitriol seems to be accused solely towards the tabloids. The BBC is racism free? Good to know.

I have a relatively neutral view of the monarchy and its existence, particularly in a Canadian context. But are people trying to tell me that there is no economic benefit to its existence? Places like Victoria don’t benefit? Canadians moan endlessly on taxpayers paying for their security when they visit our country, but there is no tourism benefit from their appearance? I bet Canada makes more money from the Queen visiting than Canada getting a Worlds.

I would say definitely when Kate and William visied my city on Canada Day and did a tour of Canada.

BTW Tessa Virtue got to meet William during that visit and there is a video of it. Other Olympians were there too. You can google if you are interested .. they were chatting about the Olympics.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Well, did you ever stop to think maybe that's on the media and not them? And perhaps that's why they decided to move to the US?

Ah that pesky press. Like the media just happened to be at the LA Veterans Cemetery when H and M went to lay a wreath for their own Remembrance Day. Amazing coincidence. They got some great posed shots of the two of them.
FYi...it is common practice actors to tip off the press
About where they are going...

 

[overedge]

Ah that pesky press. Like the media just happened to be at the LA Veterans Cemetery when H and M went to lay a wreath for their own Remembrance Day. Amazing coincidence. They got some great posed shots of the two of them.
FYi...it is common practice actors to tip off the press
About where they are going...

The "media" weren't at the cemetery. M&H hired a photographer to shoot pictures of them laying the wreaths, and then M&H's people released those pictures. This was specifically described because the photographer had worked for fashion magazines, and so there was criticism of M&H being more concerned about how they looked rather than paying tribute to the deceased soldiers.

So as much as you would like it to fit your narrative, no, there were not hordes of paparazzi chasing them around the graves that day.

 

[Karen-W]

The "media" weren't at the cemetery. M&H hired a photographer to shoot pictures of them laying the wreaths, and then M&H's people released those pictures. This was specifically described because the photographer had worked for fashion magazines, and so there was criticism of M&H being more concerned about how they looked rather than paying tribute to the deceased soldiers.

So as much as you would like it to fit your narrative, no, there were not hordes of paparazzi chasing them around the graves that day.

Well, technically, a photographer who has worked for fashion magazines could be considered a member of the print media. But, I would not disagree with your assertion that there were not hordes of paparazzi chasing them around the cemetery. Having said that, I thought it was pretty distasteful that they hired a photographer to take pictures of them visiting the cemetery in honor of Remembrance Day. And then, for their PR team to release them... That's rather obvious "look at me" behavior, any way you cut it, regardless of whether they kept the paparazzi at bay that day or not.

 

[canbelto]

Well, technically, a photographer who has worked for fashion magazines could be considered a member of the print media. But, I would not disagree with your assertion that there were not hordes of paparazzi chasing them around the cemetery. Having said that, I thought it was pretty distasteful that they hired a photographer to take pictures of them visiting the cemetery in honor of Remembrance Day. And then, for their PR team to release them... That's rather obvious "look at me" behavior, any way you cut it, regardless of whether they kept the paparazzi at bay that day or not.

The BRF hires photographers for Remembrance Day. But its okay for them to do it. Hmm I wonder why?

 

[Karen-W]

The BRF hires photographers for Remembrance Day. But its okay for them to do it. Hmm I wonder why?

The last time I checked, the BRF does not hire photographers for Remembrance Day. There is a huge, national celebration at the Cenotaph in London and it is covered by the general press, with wreaths laid on behalf of the nation and the armed forces. It's similar to Memorial Day in the US where the President and VP lay wreaths at Arlington. And that gets covered by the mainstream press.

Please, at least, if you're going to try and make these leaps of logic know your facts.

 

[overedge]

Well, technically, a photographer who has worked for fashion magazines could be considered a member of the print media. But, I would not disagree with your assertion that there were not hordes of paparazzi chasing them around the cemetery. Having said that, I thought it was pretty distasteful that they hired a photographer to take pictures of them visiting the cemetery in honor of Remembrance Day. And then, for their PR team to release them... That's rather obvious "look at me" behavior, any way you cut it, regardless of whether they kept the paparazzi at bay that day or not.

I agree. The post I was responding to claimed that the media were at the cemetery and then made some comments about how did they know to be there, and saying that celebrities tip off photographers about where they're going to be. That's clearly not what happened here.

 

[kittyjake5]

Promo for the Oprah interview

Meghan Markle & Prince Harry's Explosive Oprah Interview Sneak Peek

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are ready to tell all! The couple sat down with Oprah for their first joint interview since getting engaged in 2017 – and appa...

www.youtube.com

 

[taf2002]

Promo for the Oprah interview

Meghan Markle & Prince Harry's Explosive Oprah Interview Sneak Peek

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are ready to tell all! The couple sat down with Oprah for their first joint interview since getting engaged in 2017 – and appa...

www.youtube.com

I love the part where 3 horses had their heads sticking out of the stall door but immediately 2 more came up to get their share of attention.

BTW, I am konfused by the people who have such disdain for Harry and/or Meghan (mostly Meghan) yet still haunt this thread. And of course always know their thoughts & motives.

 

[MsZem]

I can understand how a royal would have a warped view of the tabloids being representative of the media and of their country. Particularly if they don't get out and about with actual real people much. Royals usually only interact with either other aristocrats or go and do charity with the very poor. They wouldn't have much at all to do with the working class/middle class.

The patronages and appearances undertaken by the BRF bring them into contact with all sorts of people, not just the very poor. Kate has her work on the early years, William is president of the FA, they do stuff related to mental health, Camilla does literacy promotion and meets with elderly people, Sophie has been volunteering at a vaccination center, and so on.

On the other hand, these are generally time-limited engagements and not enduring relationships with people outside their social milieu.

 

[starrynight]

BTW, I am konfused by the people who have such disdain for Harry and/or Meghan (mostly Meghan) yet still haunt this thread.

It's a discussion though, isn't it? For example, the thread on Donald Trump is one of the biggest on the forum and it isn't exactly a fan fest. But plenty of people who post in that thread, despite not liking him, do it to discuss various issues or at least highlight points of concern.