few comments on the IRE tour. The reason royals go to IRE (PC goes at least twice each year) is to advance the reconciliation process. It is hard for someone not familiar with the history to understand the bitterness and ambivalence towards reconciliation with the English especially. But since they share common challenges and a deeply integrated economy it is vital to both countries to move on. PC and HM are admired because they have made serious efforts with some personal cost to advance this very important process. Nothing Harry and Meghan did contributed to this effort. Harry seemed unprepared several times. Meghan seemed more interested in posing. The mistakes made were serious ones – a Brit Duchess commenting on the politics of the Republic? Harry ham fisted insensitive remarks at the Memorial. That was shocking as if none of his aides actually knew what caused almost 2 mil deaths? The extravagant cost of her clothes. Shutting down high traffic tourist sites.
The only reason for this visit seems to have been to allow Markle to march around merching. The novelty of the location perhaps getting her the media coverage that has been lagging. The notion it was an “overseas” tour is absurd – people commute between the two islands for work. It seems to me IRE got chosen cause she wanted an overseas tour and no visa issues because there is no border between the UK and IRE. A trip to the continent would have required visas for the American Duchess.
Thanks for sending this in!
Agree except on the visas for an American. Not true.
“However, one obvious missing link in an otherwise flawless tour de couture was the glaring lack of Irish designers incorporated anywhere into her wardrobe. Wearing forest green for your first night just won’t suffice as flying the Irish fashion flag when you’ve displayed outfits worth over €10,000 over the course of 36 hours.”
At least someone noticed. I don’t know why she missed this incredibly obvious thing. It’s particularly glaring when she did local designers during her “regional tour” and the “Meghan Effect” was touted everywhere. Yes, they were all put forward by the London Fashion Council, but it’s not that hard to google for a local bag or necklace. Heck, the press was making lists for her.
It’s also going to look horrible if she “champions” Australian designers during Invictus.
Well, Scotland isn’t Ireland by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t care how Celtic it may be. It’s a different country. They were also the only UK designer she wore, no?
The tour is over, but they may do a photo at the airport saying goodbye. I’m kind of shocked that there wasn’t even one Irish designer. I thought that was a given and the tabs and People were making lists of designers that she may choose.
Can you imagine the shitstorm if her father actually did die this summer while this is already going on? You know, it’s already a new celebrity death every day…
I agree re: Tom and Meghan two peas in a pod. No sympathy for either. But Meghan if she had two IQ points to rub together should have known she had to handle them. During the “affair” phase of this scam it benefitted her to let the family carry on because it was the one thing that gained her sympathy. So she allowed it. But once the wedding was on she had to know that the family drama was not going to be helpful. And she refused to do a thing about any of them except Momma. The real family ruined her delusional ideal of family she had described in The Tig and her interviews. So she ignored them. They were an embarrassment. And her determination to avoid that embarrassment and still attempt to get the sympathy vote over rode any intelligent assessment of shutting the scandal down.
This is a woman who chose to invite people she did not know and had not even met to her wedding while ignoring all but her mother and mother’s brother. Hard to feel a whole lot of sympathy for her especially since using then discarding people has been amply demonstrated to be her style.
What is curious is that Harry or the RF did nothing until things got totally out of hand in the days before the wedding. They clearly acted as if they saw it as her responsibility and were caught flatfooted by the whole heart attack drama. Even now it seems they exert no influence on her to stop the drama. That is interesting.
Thanks for submitting this! THAT is the question. Why was this not neutralized? I think the BRF KNEW how to neutralize it. They expected Doria and Tom to arrive for the baptism and PC and Cam were ready to wine and dine them, However, the parents never showed up. Tom and Doria were expected to show up a week or two before the wedding for more wining and dining. The BRF has been charming people this way for generations. They knew what to do.
But Meghan never brought her parents. Doria only made it in two days before the wedding and the BRF had to go all out wth tea and presents and crap right before the wedding.
I think they set everything up and left it to Meghan to bring in her parents–and she never did. Meghan is in the same tough spot social climbers have been since the dawn of time. She’s built her Holly GoLightly persona and she doesn’t want the old Lulla Mae identity to contaminate her new existence. She didn’t want her parents there. She HAD to have Doria because she needed that racial cred, but that was it. Once Tom had to bow out, she was happy to let him do so.
AH well The Sun can’t let DM have all the fun. And Harry is now stomping through the halls of KP screaming at his staff “make this go away”. He deserves every bit if this. Stupid twit.
And they are already bringing up the Fergie comparisons.
My favorite statements from this column:
“I don’t think either of them [Harry and Megs] comes out of this well.”
“Meghan seemed cold with a statement declaring she has always ‘cared’ for her father following the news his heart condition meant he wouldn’t walk her down the aisle.“
“The ball is very much in Meghan’s court.”
“…but these will be tricky times for the newly minted Duchess of Sussex.”
“She needs to cement her popularity in these crucial early days.”
Looks to me like this column is practically prepping the waters for what will likely come later this month and August.
I’m surprised at how much coverage it’s getting, but I was also surprised at how much coverage that video where she supposedly tries to hold Harry’s hand got. Poor girl is desperate to be known for her fashion. and instead she’s getting “dad trouble,” “protocol breach,” and “fake accent” coverage.
And it’s going to get worse before it…doesn’t get better.
She’s attending a lot of royal events, but there is no charity work and it appears there won’t be any for a long time. And when they announce something it will likely be some crap umbrella that sounds impressive, but it just means she hosts a reception once a year, or a Commonwealth initiative that justifies some travel.
But hands-on charity work is what people expected, given the image she built for herself. She was supposedly someone who was eager to do on-the-ground work with organizations, setting agendas and all that crap. Tbh, that’s what I expected too–honeymoon then lots of church basements and “learning” trips.
But that’s not what happened. She did not like the “regional tour” at all and could barely bother to brush her hair or look interested toward the end. She hates the Jenga games and kid theatre recitals. She likes royal events, posing for paps in designer clothes, and palace receptions, and that’s what they are giving her.
Showing up to these events is a kind of work, but it’s not what people were expecting. It’s probably what we should have expected though. Traveling three hours by train to visit a REC center in Nowheresford-on-the-Knoll is not what Meghan signed up for. Shopping for a 20k crap ensemble she can model for an hour in front of the world press is the kind of “work” she wanted to do.
Her pre-Harry schedule was a yearly week-long “glam humanitarian” photoshoot, lots of vacationing, and lots of shopping and posing. That seems to be her royal schedule too.
I’m glad someone said it. Everyone else is busy blaming the courtiers and even HM’s pr person for not handling Thomas correctly, but the responsibility was all Meghan’s. He’s her dad.
You said it came from Harry and not her. I suspect it came from both.
No, I don’t think she’s doing just fine. I doubt the goal here was countless articles about her protocol fails and million-dollar wardrobe, but that’s what they got. I suspect they intended it to be all “Meghan dazzles in high fashion looks as she flawlessly adjusts to royal life,” or something like that. Harry said in the engagement interview that she was going to be wonderful at the job and I think he meant it.
My caveat had more to do with Harry’s involvement in this. I do think he sold herself to Harry as the best thing since chicken nuggets and those expectations are not being met. However, I think the driving force is Meghan. She’s the one who thinks that the black-clothes-into-pink-clothes, no-fruitcake, plain-wedding-dress, tons-of-celebs strategy is absolutely brilliant. She really is a complete idiot about this. That interview the anon pulled up had a paragraph where she patted herself in the back for having American Rachel wear a “Canadian tuxedo,” because it made her look like “one of us.” That’s the kind of think she thinks is brilliant.
Do you mean “visible” instead of “invisible”? Because Will and Kate were EVERYWHERE in 2011.
My recollection of the Cambridge’s first year is that they would disappear for weeks and then we’d get some ridiculously high-profile huge-press event like meeting the Obamas or touring the US or Kate having a solo gala. The DM has a summary of their first year.
There was a ton of coverage of everything they did (including mundane stuff like shopping or talking walks), and they were credited with re-invigorating the monarchy.
I remember there was a lot of curiosity about their personal lives–honeymoon, house, shopping, Lupo, date nights, relationship with the Middletons, Kate’s shopping trips to London. Also, Kate’s fashion had a ton of coverage. The beige Reiss dress she wore to meet the Obamas, in particular, was a sensation.
Even their first anniversary dinner was a source of huge speculation.
The main difference I see between the way the couples are/were covered by the press is that with Will and Kate there was HUGE interest in their interactions and private life. Everyone wanted to know what the cottage looked like, how they interacted with each other, what Kate was cooking, what the dog’s name was, etc… There was also a ton of interest in Kate’s clothes, organic interest and not just People mag trying to sell beach cover-ups.
With the Slutsexes, there’s more interest in how Meghan is handling the royal protocol than anything else. The “fish out of water” aspect of it is taking over. Will and Kate didn’t have that kind of coverage, mainly because Kate had been part of “The Windsor Show” for so long that her official intro was seamless.
Looking back the Cambridge’s first year, what strikes me is how “fresh” their appearances were–with the Obamas at the palace, in the Canadian wilderness, playing polo in LA, playing with kids. They really looked like a young couple who were having fun and putting a new spin on what it meant to be royal. In contrast, Meghan in her off-color pantyhose and 80s Diana outfits is already looking like a Madame Tussaud’s wax figure. Actually, the official was figure looks younger than Meghan right now.
THIS!! Meghan trying to look cute with queen but Catherine behaved like a woman with whom queen can be friends!
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It took me a moment to figure out what you were talking about. Are you aware all of this markle daddy issue crap could’ve been avoided if they made an effort to actually see him. She could’ve at least went to go see her dad in person before leaking her own showmance. But because they are so desperate to stay woke, relevant, young, and diverse the only person they made an effort to have physical and public contact with was her mother. Who got her narrative of being a poc. Her father was extremely silent up until the engagement. So why wasn’t he shown the same helping hand? Why was he only given a phone call here and there? It’s one thing to hear over the phone dont talk to so and so, it’s another to physically be there in person expressing your concern and making things clear. And harry is somewhat at fault because if he is as controlling as her PR is making him out to be he should’ve said handle this crap in person or else it will bite you in the ass after the wedding. But that’s just my opinion.
LOLOLOL. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought so. There’s something very off about her behavior. Apparently she was giggling during Harry’s speech.
She has a ton of staff now, too. I guess they aren’t as good at propping up people as her prior handlers.
Well, what’s in it for the BRF if she doesn’t succeed? It doesn’t look like she’s putting in much effort anyway. Her previous pr games were a lot easier because she wouldn’t have had to do much interaction with actual people. Royal events mean you have to interact with actual people and have to follow through with something more than a giggle or planned speech.
2_SUGARS. They’re not having fun. They are probably pumping each other up in private while expressing anxiety in pms. They are a fandom – we all know how those work. They wanted to see Harry Meghan do the Cambridge stuff, make appearances, interact, be playful together, laugh together. The Cambridges didn’t cling but were clearly a unit.
3_The Sugars are not having fun because the pda with Harry and Meghan is “off” and they know it. There is no eye contact, no he says something and she laughs, she says something back and he laughs, people around them enjoying it. It’s weird. Sugars are looking for their romantic “fix” and it’s not there. Every time they have an appearance Sugars hope they’ll get more but it’s always the same.
4_so I know they are disappointed. The politics of fandom mean they can’t admit it to the whole fandom, but you know little clusters of them worry among themselves. Added to which her fashion fails, and the rest of the RF giving them the Big Chill, this is not playing as they expected.
5_Sugars may play the race card, but that would only work if Meghan truly looked great, but her looks were being picked apart anyway. Or if she were clearly doing a stellar job but getting unfairly dinged for not being robotically perfect. However, Meghan is a hot mess and they can see it for themselves, both fashion and job performance. So they are left with spinning themselves.
I can’t speak as to the politics of fandom, but I do think Meghan set some expectations that she cannot hope to meet now. That’s part of the problem.
Another part of the problem is that Meghan is “getting” stuff based on absolutely nothing. The fun part of watching the seating arrangements, events, loaned jewels, family orders, etc… is that they were supposedly based on work done, personal relationships, discretion, lack of scandals and stuff like that. Meghan is “getting” stuff based on absolutely nothing–heck, she’s likely getting them because she’s a complete fuck-up and needs the extra help–and that makes the “gets” absolutely meaningless. It’s hard to fan-girl that.
Dumb cookie? Please stop insinuating that Cookie Monster is dumb. Cookie Monster is much smarter than Megs because Cookie knows not to turn his back on the Queen.
Harry is a PR nightmare right now, and due to the fact that he’ll only listen to Megs is just furthering the case that Harry will be sidelined, quite possibly permanently. Harry will be destined to lose his privileges and rank if he keeps this up. Megs is NOT going to be popular. She’s only as popular as Charles is right now and this is before her wedding. This is still BEFORE her sex tape has been released. Once the sex tape is released, people are going to have a hard time having sympathy for Harry and Megs. He might retain some sympathy due to his constant victimhood, but no one is going to feel sorry for her. She’s going to become reviled pretty quickly, and Fleet Street will revel in publishing everything and anything about ALL of her mistakes.
Coleman Rayner paid for the pics. Coleman Rayner and TMZ are two different organizations.
But the really sad part of this is that most of the royal reporters seem to think that money is not the primary motivator for Meghan’s family. They wanted to be acknowledged. They wanted ‘human contact. They wanted respect. They were resentful because Meghan was discarding them.
That’s very sad. I think that is, in many ways, worse for Meghan than her family doing it for money. Meghan could have stopped all of this with a few phone calls and a couple of conditional invitations. She just didn’t want anything to to with them
I can’t laugh hard enough at this statement. You clearly have NO CLUE of how things went for Diana.
The significant things that Diana did happened years after she was married. That’s why things didn’t start until the War of the Waleses. Diana wasn’t whoring it up in sex tapes and yachts before her wedding. Diana had her ENTIRE family at her wedding.
Megs has ditched so many people in her life by now, and Diana hadn’t done something like that when she was getting married. There are tons of people ready to talk about Megs, and believe me, the UK press is going to give them and their stories a platform much sooner than you think.
You’re in for a rude awakening if you think Fleet Street isn’t getting ready to rip Harry and Megs new orifices on their bottoms.
The Independent getting to the heart of the matter here:
And:
“[T]o question the reliability of the royals’ communication more broadly…” LOLOLOLOLOL. KP lies people. Everyone knows what Coleman Rayner does. As soon as that tagline appeared on the pics, KP knew what Tom Markle was doing. They just chose to lie about it. It’s about time you all figured that out.
After six months of unrelenting press drive, multiple events with HM, Kate and Will, and tons of wedding hoopla, her approval rating is unchanged at 40%. That’s what she had right after the engagement.
LOL, Richard Palmer is doing somersaults trying to spin this positively. She’s “beating Harry” and she’s at 40% and he’s at 71%. LOLOLOL, I guess math is hard when you’re a royal reporter.
Oh, and William is now more popular than Harry RIGHT BEFORE HARRY’S WEDDING. That’s why we had the ANZAC kiss on the cheek and that joint event.
Only 38% of Britons plan to watch the wedding.
My favorite part of the article is this one:
“Public support for continuing the monarchy remains high at 61 per cent but only 36 per cent believe Prince Charles is the best candidate to be next head of the Commonwealth, a role he will take up when he accedes to the throne.”
LOLOLOLOL, Chuck’s 36% is bad but Meghan’s 40% is super awesome.
That’s the most amazing part of this. The reporters, the photographers, everyone has known this. They’ve known his pr is fake. They know his an insecure little shit with a crippling fear of losing the spotlight. They know all of this,
And they’ve all been playing this weird privacy kabuki with him. He pretends to be private and they pretend to chase him and meanwhile there are leaks and posed pap pic everywhere.
And they all know what this relationship is all about. She desperately wanted to be Di 2.0, and he desperately wanted a new mummy, and they both wanted endless press. Voilá, they get hitched and get press forever.
Oh my god, this wedding. She found the photogropher on Insta, the cake through her crap blog and the florist through Google.
I can’t with her “she’s a total mess but that just makes her relatable” press drive. Ugh.
“Despite being the preferred supplier for public and private events hosted by Kensington Palace, Craddock was said to have been stunned when she was contacted by a representative for the royals and informed she had been chosen.”
So, KP regularly contracts with this florist, but MM found her…
She really doesn’t understand what the job of a royal is. Truly. Attending these events will be her future job if she makes it to the altar, but she thinks they’ll all be red carpet walks.
Her fashion fail just astounds me. She really doesn’t understand what she’s dressing for. Can’t wait to see what she wears on Anzac Day at the memorial service.
I truly thought that they wouldn’t hold hands today because, you know, professionalism, but I was wrong.
MM is 100% correct is not inviting her family. It’s one thing to sell stories about her. If they attend the wedding and come in any sort of direct contact with the royal family, now they have stories to sell about the royals. If they don’t go to the wedding, then the only stories they have to sell is the one they’ve been selling, and that is getting old.
Who is going to pay for their food, shelter, and plane tickets? One or both of the half-sibs have asked for money from MM and Harry.
The father sounds unhinged. I wouldn’t trust this recluse. We don’t know his money situation.
I agree that MM uses and dumps people, but some people deserved to be dumped.
But she’s also ghosting the uncle who gave her the embassy job and other relatives who have not spoken to the press or have said only nice things. Noel is out there defending Meghan, but the phrase “I was invited” does not appear once in that article.
Even Tom Sykes thinks that the ghosting was a bad strategy.
Well, we’re one month away from the wedding and the big issues are:
1) Her family not being invited.
2) Her dad not showing up
3) No VIP’s and political figures being “snubbed.”
4) Whether William will make it to the FA Cup
Remember the Endeavor awards and how everyone was excited to see what she looked like in a glam dress? Well, she finally showed up in a glam dress and these were the covers.
Yep, this was her chance to shine without glorious pregnant Kate around and it didn’t work. It was yet another self-inflicted wound because the headlines were all about the family and politicians that they “snubbed.”
House of Brat 