Does everyone have their popcorn ready for Harry & Meghan?

Even more so when you’re the much-reviled husband of one of the cast members :woman_facepalming:t4: DF was actually more cringey than the women on the show and that is saying A LOT.

Consider yourself lucky you’ve never seen an episode :rofl:

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Prince Andrew is being pushed to move into Harry and Meghan’s old “cottage” (gift link):

The King appears to be stepping up the pressure on the Duke of York to leave the Royal Lodge after opting against ­renewing the deal with the private security guards who provide protection at the residence.

Charles, 75, has told the ten-strong team guarding his brother that their services are no longer required after their contract expires this autumn, ­according to The Sun on Sunday.

No replacement detail is thought to have been lined up.

No, but they do make a mighty fine pair, I mean pear. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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An article with some lovely photos.

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Nice pictures. I have a feeling that half the reason for this trip was so that Meghan could model the designs of Johanna Ortiz. The dresses look absolutely beautiful on her, she has definitely raised the designer’s profile over the last couple years.

At the same time, I am turned off by the following “story” that is being circulated. Not the story itself, but by Meghan talking about her daughter “finding her voice”. Her daughter is one of the most privileged human beings on this planet, and is only 3 years old for goodness sake. It is time for Meghan to learn how to acknowledge her immense privilege and not project victimhood on her kids. The tone-deafness on some of these remarks is befuddling. I can only imagine that it plays a role in the departure of so many staff.

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This article from The Telegraph is a good summary of the visit, that has led to a lot of head scratching re it’s purpose. It seems to me to be none other than a vanity project for Rachel and Henry, and for the VP of Colombia.

“The invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex brings absolutely no cultural exchange or anything of the sort.

“It is part of the showmanship of a vice-president who is disconnected from the reality of the country…"

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And what do you think she means by that? To me she is talking about parenting girls in general and parenting her daughter. The fact she said “her daughter found her voice” with a laughter means she is aware it’s a bit silly at 3. But then again I don’t read the worst into people.

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“So much of how I approach things is through the lens of less about the fight — that’s not interesting to me — and more about how do we show up in a space and wash things over with love and kindness and generosity,”

Maybe I’m reading it wrong, or it’s taken out of context in the article, but does she mean here that she just wants to show up at the end of a movement and reap the spoils, but not take part in all of the discomfort and hard work it took to get there? Tone deaf, indeed!

Perhaps because it’s in print, the self-awareness failed to come through for me. In general, I find Meghan’s self-awareness to be sorely lacking. IMO it is why she is failing to connect with American audiences, whereas in the early stages of their marriage, she had the goodwill of many Americans (and many others).

She’s a public figure who continues to place herself in the public eye. Commentary about her public events, her statements, her actions is not only 100% fair game, it is M &H’s bread and butter. If we didn’t care about her dresses or her remarks, or his childhood or polo playing, they would cease to have any money-making capability.

But I don’t assume the worst in people, if that was your implication. I actually quite like Meghan and Harry both! I’m just giving my armchair PR advice as are many others on this thread.

You seem to interpret statements in the worst light.

Her politics aren’t mine, but I still fail to comprehend the constant vitriol against her. The fact that her marriage still stands after daily assaults by the media says something.

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@Medea1 I believe we are on this thread to pass judgment on Harry & Meghan, not each other :wink:
Your judgments may be all positive, others, like mine, may be mixed or negative. Also, if you are curious about people’s negative opinions, why not just ask (nicely)?. I personally don’t see vitriol here on this thread, but I do see it in the media.
And of course and as always, if you don’t like the tone of people’s comments about Meghan, you don’t have to read them!! Feel free to mute me :smiley:

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I mean yes, vitriol is in the media, not here. As a mother it breaks my heart that their children will read all of this one day.

Nobody is passing judgment on you. But you and many others seem to have made their minds on their character based on a lot of vitriol that has been published in the media and now anything they do will always be seen in the negative light. They can do non thing right.
So they went on a tour. They were invited. They want to be visible. Is it good for the organizations they support to be visible? Yes. Did they do it because they are megalomaniacs? I have no reason to think so badly of them, yet so many all around do.

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This isn’t an accurate description of me (or many others I suspect), just FYI.

I have opinions based on what I see, and the vitriol against them in the media makes me feel compassion for them more than anything, particularly racism directed at Meghan.

I also think their PR strategy, if that’s what it is, is wobbly. Lots of potential, but I think she is struggling to find her niche, and with whether to be a full blown public figure or something more private. Again, I think she has tremendous charisma, even more than Harry, and so I watch her with interest. The same way I watch other public figures like Taylor Swift.

I’ve got lots of good things to say about Meghan, and in some areas I find her presentation to lack self-awareness.

I do think she probably has excellent taste, so I’ll probably try her jam or lemon curd too.

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I read that people are speculating that her jams will be offered for 3 figures a jar. If that’s the case, I just plain find that offensive, and it fits in with the narrative that they are out of touch wanna bes. I have to wonder whether this speculation is an anti-Meghan plant. It will be interesting to discover the facts when it hits the market.

We might have to wait a bit longer for those jams…

New York-based branding expert Norah Lawlor told The Daily Beast: “From a strategic and branding perspective, if you suggest you are going to launch something but then four months later nothing has happened, the world moves on."

I think the Sharks on Shark Tank would agree and not offer to invest.

I admit, I’m intrigued by the suggestion of her cooking & homemaking prowess. She doesn’t come across to me as the Martha Stewart/Joanna Gaines type, but I may watch the Netflix show just to see what she’s cooking/homemaking.

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“People” are pulling that number out of their butt based on some celebrity honey selling for $250. There has been no price range announced.

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The articles I read made me wonder if that was their marketing people floating the idea to see people’s reactions, or whether it was anti-Meghan PR. Or, as you suggest, just people speculating.

Martha Stewart is an interesting analogy here, because as much as Stewart does actually seem to be gifted in the art of hospitality, her steely entrepreneurial spirit is what I believe made her a success.
Contrast that with Ina Garten - also wildly successful - who traveled a similar path with a more self-effacing, anything-goes populist approach to $100 lobster rolls. And Joanna Gaines is yet another archetype, the Southern mom who does it all, in overalls…

I know “authenticity is everything” in the celebrity marketplace, but it’s hard work to come up with an authentic image to please everyone!

This is where Meghan seems to be getting stuck. Is she for everyone? Is she for the 1%? Is she aspirational?

The fact that people are even asking these questions indicates that Meghan has money-making potential, but settling on a brand image has not come easily to her or her team.

Sometimes when people are highly intelligent, which I suspect she is, their smarts can get in the way of their instincts.

Not just American Rivera Orchard and the cooking/homemaking show? What happened to the Lemonada (podcast deal)? And the movie Meet Me at the Lake?

It may just be a matter of timing: bad timing. Announcements and then nothing. And I’m not certain a deluge of finished content arriving at the same time (2025, maybe) is in their best interest either. Of course, never happening would be worse.