It’s amazing to me that she’s wiling to take Byrony Gordon to lunch in order to get absolutely zero good press because Byrony is already in Harry’s pocket, but she’s not willing to go to Mexico to visit her dad to avoid bucketloads of bad press.
So, does the fact that she’s taking a journalist out to lunch mean that money for her pr agency budget is falling low?
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.
Jess is now throwing Meghan under the bus. It’s every man for himself now, I guess.
This article is one part throwing Jess Mulroney under the bus, one part merching preview, and one part mea culpa on Meg’s fashion disasters.
Her engagements in the next few weeks are probably still make-or-break for her in the fashion world. No designer wants their pieces looking like fashion roadkill over the next five months.
Thanks for the Throwback Saturday, anon. That interview is so bizarre in retrospect. It really illustrates how Meghan SAYS all the right things, but then she doesn’t execute AT ALL.
Here she is on what she supposedly learned from the Suits wardrobe department.
That lesson didn’t stick at all. She clearly does not know what looks good on her figure.
Here she is on recycling and mixing and matching:
Another one that didn’t stick at all as we’ve had expensive new pieces on pretty much every single outing.
Here she is talking about craftsmanship:
This is the most ironic statement EVER. The “work” has spoken for itself in the past couple of months and what it has said is not nice.
Oh, and this is why she moved from blacks to pinks:
That’s why she went from blacks to pinks. She was re-enacting her Rachel Zane plot line. If only she’d re-enacted the wardrobe too.
2_there was some backlash to her Vogue pics by DeMarchelier, how she was now 100% celebrity, mastering the art of (fake) accessibility. Her lowest point was right before her death – remember Dodi was a known coke addict and womanizer, and his dad was persona non grata and a rumored arms dealer. She was playing it up. Nobody thought that would end well.
3_Even back then there was a “what is she doing” attitude about her social life, and how futile her pursuit of true love seemed when you really looked at her temperment, expectations, requirements and circumstances. She’d fall in with the Fayad-types (“Eurotrash” for want of a better word) as she did.
4_also, her antics with Tiggy were well known to the public and very unflattering, particularly as to the position it placed her boys. What elevated her in the end was what she did on AIDs, on mines, and her demeanor engaging the public whilst married to Charles, stuck. Markle’s demeanor with the public is opposite to Diana, try as she might to imitate her. Even if Markle died she’d have no chance at St. Di.
Very good points. Di’s imagine would be very different if she hadn’t died because the criticisms were piling up.
Oh, yeah. I’ve seen it before. AHPF has done a good job cataloging it. It’s so ubiquitous that we hardly even notice it now. This here is a good write-up that AHPF did back in January. I know she did some write-ups after the “statement” was released in 2016, but I just don’t have time to find them.
Generally I agree with you, but People participated in the War of the Wales 25 years ago, so yes, they will participate in royal-vs-royal attacks. They’re not printing attacks currently because it doesn’t benefit them in anyway. If they could see a benefit in it, they’d do it.
The US market is the only possible market that Megs could make work for her. She’s not sophisticated or interesting enough for the world market. Also, an American in the British royal family being “popular” feeds American narcissism about being the best, which is also why many in the US don’t second guess Megs being declared “popular” in the UK. It’s just another version of “USA #1″ in the media.
I completely agree with you that post-divorce Diana is her aim, but I do wonder how she’ll get what she wants. If she’s the more guilty party, she’ll be the most unpopular woman in the UK. If Harry’s the more guilty party, no matter what she says he’s done, he’ll get away with being foolish. I don’t think he’ll ever reach the Charles-like “villain” because so many people see him as the boy behind the coffin. We’ve had these people asking Meghan to look after him, like haribo lady.
Would it not be the same in the US? Because if she’s not liked, then the only thing she’ll have is fame/media hounding. So is it just for fame or profitability after the RF? I suppose it doesn’t quite compute in my mind because she might be aiming for Diana, but without that level of popularity wouldn’t it be so easy to fall into post-divorce Fergie?!
I was only about 4 when Diana died, but I know people who have said she only reached this “sainthood” level after she died (I really don’t mean to be offensive, I think it’s quite common for people who die young). So for Meghan to have the Diana life, rather than Fergie, would it just come down to things like photo-ops on the diving board of a yacht?
I think I’m going around in circles here! Sorry about that!
Thanks for sending this in. Diana only reached “People’s Princess” status after her death, but she had a huge post-divorce “princess finally breaks free” pr drive in the US and that’s what Meghan is likely aiming for.
Di sold her old clothes, cut her hair, toned down her makeup, got papped in jeans and gym clothes, ditched her UK charities and began doing more international humanitarian work, etc… She slammed up, got more sexy and wore the “revenge dress.” She started hanging out with celebs more.
The whole thing was spun as finally breaking free from the stifling brf and becoming a superstar on her own. That’s the Di that became popular in the US. That’s the Di Meghan wants to be.
Diana also worked the age difference between her and Charles to her advantage in the press before they were divorced.
Pt 2 ultimately though she can’t maintain public interest – brands look at the numbers and hers suck. She cannot sustain interest especially without Harry. And she does not show clothes well. Too short can’t walk in stilettos and the makeup and mistakes generate too many negatives. Notice Prada did not feature her on their IG when she wore that Prada. She tries but she really is just a zlist celeb. Givenchy took her pic off their IG when she wore the wallpaper dress. But her reps keep try
This is what I got when I did the MM + Givenchy search:
I suspect MM’s engagement on July 5th, and her engagements from July 9 through 11th are make-or-break for her on the fashion front. If she can’t look great, then I doubt she’s going to get anything else after. It’s becoming obvious to too many people that she’s a dud.
I’ve noticed. I’ve seen it mentioned over at AHPF quite a bit. I know I’ve reblogged some of it but certainly not all.
Considering how frequently she has articles getting published over nothing, that money is going to run out pretty quick. Celebitchy only does articles if something has previously been published somewhere else. Megs had TWO articles today on that site:
Considering the last one is STAR magazine, she must be running getting low on funds. She couldn’t get People magazine or US Weekly to run it. Not to mention that she doesn’t seem to want to wait until she has another engagement before having articles appear. It’s just constant bombardment. (Not a smart move.)
It may be that the UK tabs will kick in with the narrative they want to run when she can no longer pay for a pr agency to send things to US media. Like, she won’t disappear completely when her money runs out because then Fleet Street will seize their opportunity. She won’t have the funds to combat them and will be at the mercy of what the palace pr decides.
Hello dear Plant I’m sorry I don’t know how to send multiple pics, I did a research from Italy (there are some privacy laws that modify the Google search so it might be different from the States) of Vogue Paris and Meghan and you can see every time there is a press release it’s stated on the result. So it was very interesting. A lot of press releases about fashion brands, jewelry, makeup. I’ve researched also Kate on Vogue Paris and I found only one press release about her, that was the article of her and Char coordinating outfits. I will send you other pics next so you can see but you can probably do it better.
Thanks for sending these in! I think many of these are press releases from the brands themselves, but the Diana and “psychological pink” ones are coming from Meghan. They don’t really support any brand. But one reason why we are seeing so much Meghan coverage is that all her brands are sending press releases. In this pic alone we have shoe, beauty and clothing brands e-mailing stuff.
Kate does do press releases, but they are usually about family or work stuff. Also, she usually wears established UK brands that don’t scorch the earth like this.
But it’s interesting to see how it works. Thanks for sending this!
I’d say hand-holding, but it’s going to be spun as “an asset.”
The original expectation was that Meghan was going to effortlessly “nail” all of this and the spin during the “regional tour” was that she was forging ahead with her own “messy bun and black pants” version of royal style and this was The Best Thing EVER.
But her after-regional tour persona has been a complete RepliKate makeover with senior royals stepping in to show her how it’s done. I know the media is spinning this as “right hand woman” or whatever, but Kate was flipping pancakes during her engagement and doing solo charity galas after her wedding. She was completely independent.
So far, Meghan has (i) laughed at a Commonwealth Service performer, (ii) gone to a memorial service sleeveless, (iii) worn ROI colors in NI, (iv) shown up with messy hair and clothes, (v) shown up at her wedding stoned, (vi) sexily shashayed up and down, (vii) grabbed the other royals…etc… Not to mention the $75k engagement dress, the engagement interview snafus, and the mishandling of the family drama at the wedding.
I know we’re going to get a ton of “Meghan supporting HM” press, but I see this more as hand-holding and damage control. The royals don’t “bond” during engagements. They work. You don’t bring your grandson’s clueless bride to a work event so you can get to know her better. You bring her to show her how it’s done.
Thing is, while Meg’s father has been torn down from that perfect papa pedestal where he told her to check her own box & made coloured Barbie doll families for her and took her to set, told her her freckles were special stars or whatever the fuck etc. All of which was Meg’s own Instagram/humblebrag essay narratives.
Her mother, of whom we know only the same things as the father from the same sources – Meg’s Insta/humblebrag essays – has stayed untouchable. I think we all know why.
Though this is the “don’t give the milk away for free” woman who by Meg’s own admission started taking her for $100 facials at like 14, telling her that her face was the most important thing and she had to take care of it… Nobody dare see their relationship for what it is: fuckd up as hell. Like mother, like daughter.
But yeah. The humble black mother who single-handedly raised a child in near-poverty in a one-bed appartment while working all hours of the day… that makes for an irreproachable ally in Meg’s PR image. And I kid you not, the sugars are actually touting what I just wrote.
I mean, never mind the white dad who payed for everything, took her to work, whose fam got her the embassy job, who payed for her college and matching the rich girls at Kappa Kappa Gamma’s lifestyle. Nah, he’s fat, in debt and living in Mexico. Easily thrown under the bus. She don’t know that man. I do find it interesting that the Little Red Schoolhouse and her Catholic school teachers all remember “Mr Markle” and that he was always around helping out and how precious Meg was to him – but their only mention of Doria has been that one teacher said she was shocked when she finally got to see her once, and discovered that she was AM. I mean… the fuck dude?
Honestly this is the problem I have with her moms new narrative. Didn’t she go live with her father when she was younger? Then he still paid for education after she decided she was a star. I will give her fans credit for sticking to the narrative their saint gives them but it’s also really sad that none of them do research and read or listen to her old interviews. If they think this is what her life was like I can’t imagine what harry thinks. The white dad has to be the enemy because her narrative is that she’s black and the white man is only trying to keep her down, guess harry isn’t white. I’ve heard stories that Doria wasn’t as hands on when she was growing up which may be why her father was so present in her life.
Anyone else notice that every man that was in Rachel’s life now is being labeled as abusive, and the women are being labeled as jealous? Guess what she’s gonna label people during the divorce.
They just put out the stories without thinking them through. “She only met Millie three times.” Dude, how many times did she meet with Amal or even Victoria Beckham? “She healed the Windsors.” Dude, she can’t even heal her own family. “They had eight fittings.” Dude, we can see the dress doesn’t fit.
This is what we (I’m using the first person plural because I wasn’t a hard core Harry fan but I was still taken in by his pr) were smoking. I’m going to go in rough chronological order from May 2015 through December 2015
Yes, he left the army in 2015, but first they gave him a massive send-off with a big Australia tour and haka dances and crap.
Yes, this sounds ridiculous now that we know that he was actually romancing Soho House z-listers on these Africa trips, but at the tie this didn’t sound so far-fetched. After all, he had just left the Army supposedly because he loved the front lines but not the desks. It kind of made sense when they framed it that way.
No, I am not kidding when I say over the top. He was supposedly shooting poachers and maybe flying helicopters. They were uncertain about the helicopters part.
Then on his return to England he got the WWII veterans flypast, and that cute pic with the elderly pilot that he “gave up” his plane for. I remember a rumor going around that he had been grounded for goofing around on the planes and that he wasn’t actually able to fly, but the story was so cute, I wanted to believe it. Now I’m thinking he really was grounded, which would explain why they were so unclear about the helicopters in Africa part.
There were cracks in the facade, of course. He was flirting with Jenna Coleman at the Audi polo in June, and he got drunk after England was defeated in the rugby cup (disappointing a whole bunch of Aussies who were convinced after his down under tour that Australia was “the country he never had.”) The reunion with Chelsy never happened and neither did the volunteer work with the Recovery Capability Program (I think maybe he showed up once?). He also missed Charlotte’s birth and christening.
But it was all buried under elephant pics and pilot jumpsuits and kid hugs. he even released “personal photos” on the KP instagram in December to cap off the drive.
It was a looooooooong pr campaign (nine months!) and it was masterfully done. Yeah, now we can look back on it and laugh our heads off because this Hero Harry person is nothing like 2018 Harry. Would this person hang out at Soho House? Would this person fall for Meghan Markle? Would this person now look as if he can’t take a step without a pat and a burp from Mummy 2.0? Aren’t the elephant and crocodile pics suspiciously similar to the James Bond pics after the wedding? Isn’t the whole thing eerily similar to Meghan’s current “savior” press?
I’m not surprised we were all fooled.
BTW, remember this “running into an old teacher” scene in New Zealand? It was redone with Meghan during the carriage drive.
It’s been a while since my opinionated self was last teed off, but there was something in the press releases regarding the new Duchess of Sussex’s coat of arms that really annoyed me. I haven’t posted anything on the coat of arms as there is so much about it that I don’t understand or just find ridiculous. There are numerous blogs that have been posting a ton of good stuff on the topic though.
But the coat of arms in and of itself is not really what bothers me. What it does is highlight a trend that I, and I’m sure many others would have noticed over the past few months. Just look at this headline:
“Her biggest break in royal tradition yet…” What is this, a world record attempt to see how many rules or how big a rule current royals can break? I was pretty sure that I’d seen similar phrasing before, so I had a brief look to see how often this theme comes up with regards to the newly minted Sussexes.
There are literally, pages upon pages of articles listed on google about Harry and/or Meghan “Breaking Royal Tradition/Breaking Protocol”. The shot above does not even begin to illustrate how many articles there are out there with the headline being some form of “breaking tradition/protocol/rules.” And before anyone goes “it’s the media’s fault”, the BRF does have some leverage over what the media reports, especially in the UK, so I doubt that we would be inundated with so many similar articles if this wasn’t somehow linked to a PR push of sorts. (Why they push in this particular direction is beyond me.)
Rule breaking has been a recurring theme in the media for the entirety of the Sussex’s relationship. It’s almost as if they’re both stuck in a perpetual teenage phase where rule breaking is cool just because it’s rule breaking. Where is the logic in that, I do not know. But it really does seem to be just petty rule breaking for the sake of rule breaking. Because what kinds of “rules” are they breaking anyway? Here’s one right under the headline:
To name just a few of the things that the media has so nicely pointed out for us over the past few months (this last month especially), the Sussex’s “rule/tradition breaking” consists of being total rebels over things like a cake flavor, kissing for photographers on the steps of St George’s Chapel when none has ever kissed there for photographers before, having a foreigner speak at their wedding, having only very young wedding attendants, choosing their own ‘style’ of wedding music (these ones are from legit articles btw, I’m not making them up). Also, leaking on social media, not waiting until marriage to undertake tours together/issue statements on official letterheads (by the non-royal fiancee), no walking down the aisle with the bride’s father (many women do this for various reasons, but Meghan’s the progressive trendsetter y’all), not inviting family to their
wedding while inviting a ton of people they may not know very well, possibly spending taxpayer money on leisure trips together while dating, announcing that one or both are feminists on multiple occasions, etc. Real ground breaking stuff that gets touted as “modern” and “progressive”.
Now what kinds of rules did they NOT break? Here’s one example that I’ve posted about before:
The Sussexes did not see it as modern/necessary to go against rules/traditions (whether formal or just within the family) that involve bridal jewellery (the type of wedding ring for the bride and the source of materials used – the Queens vault; the bridal tiara tradition and the tiara source – again, the Queen’s vault; the Cartier wedding gifts; the Diana ring), the carriage ride (even though this is one tradition that ~30K UK citizens WANTED them to break), the multiple receptions with their dress (and suit?) changes, the acceptance of titles by the newly married couple, the receipt of a home appointed by the Crown with an upkeep that is potentially financed by the taxpayer, etc, etc. I mean, who would dare break such rules/traditions? Not the feminist, progressive modernizing-the-monarchy Sussexes of all people. SMH.
For all the rule breaking the Sussexes have done, I cannot recall them having ever broken one that “matters” in terms of making a social statement. They could’ve made really strong, positive ones about family and race issues at the wedding for example, but they fell short on that one too. They’re just happy to “break tradition” willy-nilly and be touted as “modernizing” and “progressive” as long as it doesn’t have anything (negative) to do with their bottom line or stop them from parading in front of an audience. If it costs them and not someone else, then by no means do they want to break tradition. Honestly, every time I see a title like this:
…I wonder what the hell these people are smoking. The BRF may be an ancient institution and uphold many traditions, but they are fairly modern by world standards in the way they operate. As stuffy as being a royal wife may be, these BRF women have more rights and are more involved/included/acknowledged than women in some other royal families/other parts of the world have been IMO. In all honesty, if ever there was a royal bride whose name I would consider in the same sentence as the phrase “modernizing the royal family” it would be Lalla Salma of Morocco (who sadly, the media reports as being recently divorced).
As a bit of background, prior to Lalla Salma’s wedding to the King of Morocco, Moroccan women lacked a lot of the rights that western women enjoy and were subject to the decision making of their male counterparts. The monarch had multiple wives whom he never publicly acknowledged and swapped out as he pleased. Lalla Salma, a computer science graduate, was the woman whose marriage changed the status quo. She was the first Moroccan monarch’s wife to be publicly acknowledged, champion charitable causes, accompany her husband at public events and represent him in an official capacity. She was the first woman to get a Moroccan King to promise her that she would be the only wife, and that he would not hide her away. During her tenure as consort, women within Moroccan society gained rights and privileges that were formerly restricted to men. Now that is what I call modernizing the monarchy. Modernizing a society even. That is royal leverage used well, and I say this of both Lalla Salma and her (ex?) husband. This is an example of the kind of effort a royal couple would have to put in to get the kind of acclaim the Sussexes are trying to court. But it doesn’t happen over night. It took the Moroccans years, and they’re still in the process of change.
I would also add that not all monarchies currently need modernizing IMHO. The need for modernizing stems from a cultural climate that is stuck in a system of beliefs/values/traditions that a lot of the “modern world” had already left behind. This need for “modernizing” is less pressing in the BRF where women and men are equally acknowledged and able to succeed the reigning monarch. I know it’s not as simple as that, but I honestly don’t think the British royals have it that bad. If they’re not careful, I feel they’ll modernize the UK out of a royal family altogether. There are certainly things that I would like to see the BRF change, but none of it has anything to do with cake flavors, guest-lists or proclamations of grandeur. Why “break traditions” in an attempt to modernize a monarchy in ways that really aren’t needed? (Why does it matter to the world if royals eat fruit cake or some other cake at weddings? How does the music they play/listen to better the world?…You get the picture). If they really want to “modernize the monarchy” the Sussexes had better start doing it in ways that count – and by that I mean in ways that will also benefit others and not just themselves.
My apologies for the uncomfortable length of this rant-y post. Takeaway points: I’m sick of the endless “breaking tradition/protocol/rules” and “modernizing” articles regarding the Sussexes and the BRF in general. The BRF doesn’t need modernizing and this PR push counts for squat until one of them actually does something that brings about positive change, both for the BRF and their subjects. Until then, they can lay off the PR. It’s just window dressing – horrible, tacky window dressing that does the opposite of “selling” the BRF.
Excellent post. They really aren’t breaking anything they just want everyone to believe they are trailblazers.
I hope you can answer these questions. How can PH/MM go through fertility treatments/IVF if they are (allegedly) using drugs? –> They aren’t frequent users. I don’t have a specific knowledge about, but I presume it does, since a drug acts on your central nervous system, and this net (CND) regulates your entire body. She was yripping with and that dress last night. Because she was drunk as a cow 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Also, why do you think MM will bolt? Imo, she will never have a better life that what she has now. As the wife of the 6th (5th) in line to the throne she wouldn’t get a huge divorce settlement (would she?). –> She is a fame whore, but I doubt she will please (did you realize that her career are only tips in tiny movies and/or movies that you never heard about? And deal with the bad press and scrutiny. She fucked io twice with HM (‘something borrowed’ gate and ‘curtsey’ gate) and that is something that the journos will make sure that she learns. 😘😘😘😘
Can M have private PR –> No. Yes. They all do. Oh, they do. Don’t worry 🤣🤣 I still don’t understand why Charles and Will allowed her to control KP twitter/press. –> Maybe because that dumnator got the password. Four palaces: BP, CH, St James and KP. All different staff. The last three are under BP, but side by side. Now, at least for a time of period, KP will go back to be under CH. When it will be effected? When big shots from KP start to leave. Fox is one and there are two more. These two weren’t even invited for the wedding. 😘
Yep, that’s what we’ve seen since the engagement announcement. The hot messes dig themselves into a hole and then the BRF swoops in and gives her a royal event to fix it. I think that’s going to be the way of things for a while.
Well, I don’t care how they explain it, but it’s not Meghan’s dog. It’s the Queen’s dog. She has two dorgis that she adopted from other people.
Megs just had the Daily Mail refer to it as her dog because Megs needs to divert all the attention away from none of her family being there except for her mother.
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.
“Harassed” and “pursued” my bootie. They are such fucking hypocrites. Of course they knew that Tom was working with Coleman Rayner, just like they knew that Doria was working with them too. They are all calling the paps on themselves and then running to IPSO to complain. The question is, how long will the press let them get away with it?
I am baffled by this too. They are on a “Let he who is without a gay porn ex throw the first stone” kick. It’s like they don’t realize that most people do invite family to their wedding, do keep in touch with their step-siblings, and don’t have nudes online or long-lost porn exes in their lives. They are acting like this is all normal and “relatable.” Um, yeah, sure.
We are now just over two weeks away from the wedding of His Royal
Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle. As they have
travelled around the UK in the months since their engagement last
November, Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have been incredibly grateful for
the support they have received from members of the public.
The crowds that have turned out in Nottingham, Cardiff, Brixton,
Edinburgh, Birmingham, Belfast, Bath and elsewhere have given Ms. Markle
a welcome to the United Kingdom marked by warmth, enthusiasm, and a
real sense of fun.
We said from the outset that Prince Harry and Ms. Markle were keen to
make sure that members of the public would have the opportunity to feel
part of the celebrations on their wedding day. This is their way of
expressing their gratitude for the messages of support they have
received from around the UK, the Commonwealth, Ms. Markle’s home country
of the United States, and right around the world. In today’s briefing I
want to share more details of what people can expect to see in the
day’s leading up to the wedding, and on the day itself, and explain what
the public can expect in Windsor.
The first thing I would like to share is that Prince Harry and Ms.
Markle are very much looking forward to welcoming Ms. Markle’s parents
to Windsor for the wedding. Mr. Thomas Markle and Ms. Doria Ragland will
be arriving in the UK in the week of the wedding, allowing time for
Prince Harry’s family, including The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The
Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, and The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge, to spend time with them before the big day.
Both of the bride’s parents will have important roles in the wedding.
On the morning of the wedding, Ms. Ragland will travel with Ms. Markle
by car to Windsor Castle. Mr. Markle will walk his daughter down the
aisle of St George’s Chapel. Ms. Markle is delighted to have her parents
by her side on this important and happy occasion.
In addition to having the support of The Queen, his father The Prince
of Wales, and his brother Prince William as Best Man, Prince Harry is
also keen to involve his mother’s family in his wedding. All three
siblings of Diana, Princess of Wales will be in attendance and Lady Jane
Fellowes will give the reading. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle both feel
honoured that Lady Jane will be representing her family and helping to
celebrate the memory of the late Princess on the wedding day.
As we said back in November, this wedding will be guided by
tradition, allowing everyone to celebrate what makes Royal Weddings so
special, but also one which reflects the personalities of Prince Harry
and Ms. Markle. We have been announcing details over the last couple of
months and in the final week ahead of the wedding you can expect to hear
more about the arrangements, including:
The Instrument of Consent;
Details of the Bridesmaids and Page Boys;
The work of florist Philippa Craddock and the Crown Estate gardeners
who have been growing and preparing the flowers that will fill the
church;
An update from Claire Ptak, the baker who will make the wedding
cake, and the chefs who have been working in the Palace kitchens to make
the final preparations and;
We will publish the full Order of Service on the website on Saturday
morning so members of the public can follow the service at home.
I will now take you through the high level outline of what you can
expect to see from the evening of Friday 18th May. The key moment for
the day before will be the arrival of the bride at her accommodation. We
expect this to happen early evening.
On the day itself we expect Windsor to be very busy. The council has
worked with partners including Thames Valley Police to plan what will be
a fantastic day of celebrations.
As the Royal Borough of Windsor has said, work is well underway to
ensure the occasion is a memorable and joyous one for all involved and
they are working closely with a wide range of partners.
Rail operators will be putting on extra trains and there will be park
and walk and park and float services to help people get into town.
Visitors are encouraged to plan ahead and book all travel arrangements
early so they can make the most of their trip. I would very much
appreciate the media’s assistance in spreading the message that visitors
to Windsor will have a chance to be part of a very special day, but
those who will be heading to the town really do need to plan their
journeys carefully.
The Royal Borough has confirmed that preparations include:
A 6,000 space pre-booked car parking area at the Review Ground, just off the Long Walk;
Food stalls and facilities, including big screens showing live
footage of the wedding and Procession, on the Long Walk and in Alexandra
Gardens;
Viewing areas along the whole Procession Route (Castle Hill, High
Street, Sheet Street, Kings Road, Albert Road and the Long Walk);
A team of 140 Royal Borough Ambassadors have volunteered to help steward the event and assist visitors throughout the day;
The town centre will be decorated with bunting and ceremonial banners along parts of the Procession Route and;
Live entertainment from local groups throughout the town centre.
In order to make sure everyone can get through expected traffic, the
members of the public who have been invited to be inside the grounds of
Windsor Castle for the wedding will be arriving from around 0900hrs. As a
reminder, 1,200 people have been nominated by Lord Lieutenants from
across the country for their work supporting their communities. Many of
these people are sharing their stories with their local media and
supporters – the couple are very pleased that their wedding has provided
a platform to celebrate the inspiring work of community and youth
leaders from around the UK.
The first thing these people gathered will see on the morning of the
wedding will be the arrival of guests between 0930hrs and 1100hrs.
Guests will be arriving at the Round Tower by coach and will be seen
walking to the South Door of St George’s Chapel.
Members of The Royal Family will begin to arrive from 1120hrs, and
enter St George’s Chapel via the Galilee Porch. Some will be on foot,
and others will arrive by car.
Prince Harry and his brother The Duke of Cambridge will arrive at St
George’s Chapel most likely by foot and will enter via the West Steps.
This will allow Their Royal Highnesses to acknowledge all of the people
gathered in the Castle precincts, including the 200 charity
representatives gathered in the Horseshoe Cloister at the bottom of the
steps.
Also around the time Royal Family arrivals begin, a pooled media
facility will cover Ms. Markle and Ms. Ragland’s departure from the
bride’s overnight location. We expect the journey into the Castle to
take them along part of the Long Walk, allowing members of the public
gathered there to see the car as it passes. There will also be a brief
stop at the Castle where Ms. Ragland will head onto the Chapel and Ms.
Markle will be joined by some of the Bridesmaids and Page Boys before
she continues her journey to the church, where she will enter via the
West Steps.
The Service will take around an hour, and we look forward to announcing more details of this in the weeks ahead.
After the Service has concluded, the newly married couple will
process out of the church and acknowledge the 200 representatives of
Prince Harry’s charities gathered in the Cloister. The couple are
delighted that these people who will be such an important part of their
official work in the years to come will be the first people they see
after their wedding.
As the couple step into their Carriage, close family members will
gather on the West Steps to wave them off on their Procession. As a
reminder, we expect the Carriage Procession to take just under 25
minutes. Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are very much looking forward to
this part of the day. It will be their chance to express their gratitude
for the goodwill and warm wishes they have received from all quarters
in the months since their engagement.
Members of the congregation will file out of the church onto the
grass to see the start of the Procession before walking to the reception
at St George’s Hall. All guests will be attending the reception.
The public elements of the event will be over at this stage. The
final thing you can expect to see is the Bride and Groom departing
Windsor Castle for the evening reception at Frogmore House.
In the days that follow, we will facilitate interviews with some of
those who have been involved in the wedding, as happened in 2011, for
example with the hairdresser and dressmaker.
The formal photographs, which will be taken by Alexi Lubomirski, will be released during the week.
Well it’s happening!!! I can’t wait for the nasty divorce lmao
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 My God! They need to release more details. I’m sure with William was like that too, right? NOT!
I had to read this press statement fully a second time to understand what’s going on. So,
Apparently, the press that came to the press briefing at the palace were handed this statement in full.
Notice the statement contains a bunch of “I”s: “The first thing I’d like to share…,” “I will now take you through the high level outline.” This is really a speech – a script – to be given/spoken.
Given that there was no actual press briefing given, and that the statement reads like a speech, I’m under the impression that KP press secretary is frustrated.
Handing out the entire script as a press release to me implies that someone (MM?) has been accusing the press secretary of not giving full information to the press. Hence, simply handing over the entire script verbatim.
I suddenly feel very sorry for the press secretary. It sounds as if someone is questioning his integrity, skill, and expertise.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a resignation a month after the wedding.
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.
“I really like Meghan. She’s done some great work for women.“ – Submitted by Anonymous
Wait what? Seriously (this is my serious voice) please explain. Because this is what I have.
1 – trip to Rwanda
1 – to India about pads followed with an article (haven’t seen anything else)
1 – video for UN women
1 – long ass day involving one young world
1 – one event for dove
———– 5 – that’s 5 things, some of which were not just for helping women. I’m really confused, maybe I’m missing something. I don’t count her blog because it was filled with chocolate red wine, pink water trips, living beyond your means if you are middle class or lower, and volunteerism which is disgusting (look it up). Technically Meghan works the same amount of hours Harry does at his engagements, and her character isn’t in every episode. Oh and saying she with Harry that’s why she doesn’t do anything is no excuse, her track record is pretty damn shallow before he came along. So again I like details, receipts, and please enlighten me/prove me wrong. Also, who are you comparing her work with women to?
Oh, please, people, stop buying into the crap pr. You are better than that.
This is a fandom that knows charity work. This is a fandom that counts the Cambridge’s work days. This is a fandom that calls Kate out when she skips the EACH gala because we know the fundraising is important. This is a fandom that sees straight through the KP pr bs.
Are you really buying Meghan’s “charity” work? Seriously?
Well, don’t.
It turns out you can actually quantify how devoted and effective celebrities are at their charity work. Nifty, uh?
Look to the Stars is the IMDb of charities, or maybe charity Tinder would be more accurate, as they match causes and celebrities. If a charity wants to partner with a celebrity, they can look up the profile and see if this is someone who would potentially be interested in what they do, and also works hard for his/her causes.
[Caveat: This was the only site I could find with this kind of info. If anyone knows of a better resource, please let me know]
So we can actually check and see how Meghan’s “humanitarian” work stacks up.
Meghan has two charities listed. TWO. No, Myna Mahila is not listed. She did that work for WorldVision, not the Indian group. Shoebox isn’t listed either, as she basically just wore a bracelet.
In addition, some of her “support” activities are not mentioned, like the UN speech or the period stigma essay. The site mostly lists donations and fundraiser appeals and appearances. Those are the things that bring money, which is what the charities really care about. The rest is just pr.
So, is that impressive? Can two charities and little substantive work qualify as “doing so much for women”?
Well, Look to the Stars actually ranks the celebs. That makes sense because they are trying to help charities figure out the celeb that would be the best match for their cause. This is useful because we can compare what Meghan has done to her peers.
One of Meghan’s categories is “Women.” Here are the top celebrities for that category.
So where does Meghan rank in the list of celebs connected to (that’s the site’s default ranking mode) the cause of “Women?” Well, I actually subscribed to the stupid site to get that data. Yep, I took one for the team.
She is the 772nd celeb most devoted to the cause. That’s out of 799 celebs listed.
She’s waaaaaay at the bottom.
Yep, as a women’s advocate, Meghan is ranked right below noted gender-equality supporters Albert of Monaco and Ronaldo.
Note that this is a US-centric list. We’re the only country in the world where no one knows who Ronaldo is. You have to be pretty near invisible in North America to be sandwiched between Ronaldo and Nandita Das.
Now, I didn’t expect her to outrank Oprah or Bono, but, dear heavens, this is a truly pathetic showing. The top of the list isn’t all heavy hitters, after all. Annie Lennox is there and Kathy Najimy and Bethenny Frankel…
Wait, Bethenny Frankel? That Bethenny Frankel.
She’s one of the top charity supporters for women?
Yes, she is. She does a ton. I was surprised too. She’s passionate about women starting careers and is a stalwart Dress for Success supporter.
Compare that to Meghan’s profile. Megs’ looks kind of skimpy, doesn’t it?
But what about the other categories? Maybe Meghan does better there?
Well, “gender equality” is supposedly her passion and she has been UN affiliated since 2015, so let’s check that one out. The category only has 86 celebs listed so it should be easy for her to rankin the top fifty right?
Nope. She’s 79.
But, hey, she beat Courtney Love. Kudos, and brownie points for even being on the same list as Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, who isn’t really a celeb but whatevs.
But guess who ranks higher than Megs on the “gender equality” list?
Lisa Vanderpump. Yes, that Lisa Vanderpump. She’s #59.
Turns out she’s quite active in the charity world, and she really is passionate about dogs. That wasn’t just a tagline. She has charity that works to eliminate dog torture.
So, yeah. Lisa Vanderpump has done more for the cause of gender equality than Megs and, as she says in her RHOBH intro, Lisa doesn’t even like women. She likes gays and dogs.
Let’s give this one more try.
In “Health” Meghan is 2,501 out of 2,559 celebs. Guess who vastly outranks her in this category at 706 out of 2559 celebs?
Nene Leakes. Yes, that NeNe Leakes.
Nene loves soldiers and champions for heart care. She had a heart attack a couple of years ago and has apparently dedicated herself to the American Heart Association ever since. Who knew, right?
She had a freaking feud with Star Jones on Celebrity Apprentice regarding the charity.
BTW, NeNe also beats Meghan In the “children” category, where she is 2,088 our of 2643 (it’s not one of her primary interests). Meghan (who supposedly champions “women and girls”) is number 2465. Megs barely beats Christopher Reeve and Dick Van Dyke in that category, and those guys are both dead.
She cares more about children than the dead people. We can give her credit for that.
Notice that I’m not even bringing in JLO, who shares Meghan’s publicist and leaves everyone in the dust. JLO, like Eva Longoria, is an A-lister who really cares about Latino causes. I’m not comparing Megs to Emma Watson (#4 in Women) or Miley Cyrus (#2 in Children).
I’m just using marginal celebs for this comparison. Bethenny, Lisa, and Nene are part of the Real Housewives franchise, for Pete’s sake. They are well below Meghan in the Hollywood pecking order.
In case, you don’t know, this is what the Real Housewives shows are known for.
It’s a tacky reality show full of drunken women fighting over nothing. There’s a lot of box wine and fake tanning. These gals are not exactly the poster girls for philanthropy
And yet they destroy Meghan on the charity front. Even Nene Leakes who actually reneged on a $20k pledge to Detroit Public Schools.
I wish Look to the Stars offered the data without subscription. It’s really amazing what little known celebs are doing out there. People who aren’t household names are out there championing children and animals and other causes.
The opportunities Hollywood gives them are enormous.
What Meghan has done with those opportunities, however, is pathetic. Christina Grimmie, who was famous for being in a music competition and was tragically murdered last year, did more charity work in her brief time in the limelight than Meghan did in all her years in the industry.
Yep, 772 out of 799 makes you a “civil rights crusader.” Right there with noted civil rights crusaders Prince Albert and Ronaldo.
That’s the truly offensive part. She’s doing eff-all for charity and is trying to sell herself as an “activist,” “humanitarian,” and “civil rights crusader.”
This is BS. Yes, Hollywood exaggerates. Yes, you’re allowed to toot your own own horn.
But, no, you don’t get a freaking Noble Prize for doing a photoshoot in India. Get real.
Meghan has so far spent ten days working on charity during 2017. She spent ten days working for charity in 2016. She spent ten days working on charity during 2015.
That’s not even a hobby. That’s a yearly vacay.
It’s thirty days TOTAL. In THREE Years.
That’s 30 days out of 1,095.
2.7%.
Those are the numbers, people, in black and white. And don’t tell me numbers don’t matter. We argue over the royals’ end of year stats every January.
No, Meghan, you don’t get to parlay your yearly volunteerism vacation into “humanitarian” status.
That’s BS.
And yet Sunshine Sachs is plastering the world with stupid “humanitarian” and “activist” headlines. You don’t see Lisa Vanderpump calling herself a gay rights “activist” and, dear lord, she was grand marshall of the Long Beach Pride Parade.
“Her last two breaks from shooting Suits” makes it sound like she spent months working for WV and the UN. She spent a week each year. Suits breaks for four months.
Or this little gem, where the publicist says Meghan was “honored” for her humanitarian work in Vanity Fair as if she’d been given an award. In reality the magazine just wrote an article on the conference.
Sorry, toots, no one who has worked on a single cause for five years ranks 772 out of 799 in the Look to the Stars “Women” category. NO ONE.
And, yes, people are going to fall for it. There’s a reason why her publicist is sneaking all of those “breaks” and “five years” into her press. She wants people to assume that Meghan has been spending all her free time cleaning latrines in Rwanda.
She hasn’t. Instead, she’s been doing this.
When you look at the numbers, she’s done way less that reality show zelebs who guzzle pinot grigio and pull off weaves.
No, I’m not kidding about the pinot grigio. It’s a staple of the show.
Don’t buy the hype, people.
It’s not real, and it’s deeply offensive that they think we’re buying it.
I’m not as familiar with Shinan’s writings as I
am with Lainey’s. I’ve only read him a few times. Generally, my impression of him is that he’s smarter than Lainey and doesn’t need to fan-girl over a celebrity in order to write about them.
I don’t disagree with much of what AHPF wrote about it except regarding Lainey’s usage of “Harry-era” friends.
I’m not convinced Lainey realizes or is going to write about how Megs uses and ditches people. Ever. It seems to me that Lainey is just dividing Megs life into pre-Harry and with-Harry. Lainey isn’t planning on there being a post-Harry at this point because she sure as hell hasn’t written about or alluded to it. All you have to do is go back and look at Lainey’s post from last December on Meghan Markle’s “friend problem.”
Lainey didn’t write at all about how Megs had no problem ditching her friend of 30 years. Her closing was “What is the friend’s end game?”
So from the get-go Lainey was out to blame the UK press and not looking deeper for why Meg’s friends wanted to sell her out to the press. I can’t recall seeing that change even now with all the shenanigans her father did with the press to get an invite. Lainey was blaming the “rogue relative” who supposedly doesn’t know anything, yet never discussing that her father was getting papped while having his measurements done outside a building in broad daylight.
Lainey clearly knows that Megs has a media strategy, but she doesn’t write it out for her readers. AT ALL. I remember listening to one of Lainey’s podcasts shortly after the engagement was announced, and I thought this exchange was interesting. (It starts at the 1:03 mark.)
Lainey: “If she is the strategist that I
think she is, and this week she’s certainly shown us that there is some game
here. That she may not in her role as a celebrity in Hollywood in show business
been able to exercise. She is certainly using that in the full force right now.
The interview was masterfully played. Their first walkabout was excellent….It’s
only been a week, but she’s killed it. She’s shown us that there were so many
sides to her that we didn’t know that we couldn’t have anticipated. Given that,
what you said a few minutes ago, I feel like she would have been laying the
ground work herself too…. Duana: Do you think she wiggled out of her
tweeting & promotional duties for season 7? Lainey: One hundred percent.
But has Lainey written about how–coincidence or conspiracy–Megs is always releasing more wedding information every time anything remotely damaging is coming out in the UK press these days? Nope. And I don’t expect her to write anything like that until this relationship between Harry and Megs goes belly-up. At that point, Lainey will write some sort of retrospective, but she’s not going to write the details most people will want to know about and can get elsewhere.
I don’t read Shinan’s column, but he seems much smarter than Lainey in what he said. Megs used her boyfriend to network:
She used Jessica Mulroney:
And he noticed that Megs is truly out for herself:
A lone-ranging shape shifter, eh? Sounds totally trustworthy, right?
OMG, the damage control on her “use-em and ditch-em” friend and family strategy has begun and it is absolutely hilarious.
She totally has very close, strong friends…who she Skypes or texts once in a while. Oh, and she will probably have to give because of her new life. These friends are totally discreet…except that they are talking to Vanity Fair and pretty much everyone else. The British paparazzi who supposedly hounded her and made her life miserable…now “adhere to agreements regarding the use of paparazzi imagery” which is why we don’t see her out and about even though we see Kate doing her school runs and Will playing football.
I love how Lainey and Giovani slip even even when trying to defend her. Lainey starts talking about Meghan’s “Harry-era” friends and Giovani calls her a “lone-ranger.” “Harry-era” friends, LOLOLOLOL. Her friends are in geological layers now.
I other damage control strategies, the muddy shoes and general dishevelment is now “relatable.”
And they even tell her to put plastic protectors on her shoes. I AM DYING.
House of Brat 