I appreciate the recent thoughtful replies.
I agree because I believe part of being human is being imperfect. Yet this thread which has highlighted the vitriol directed at Harry and Meghan is an example in my mind of how certain entities use that mantra to tip the scales of public opinion with a laser focus of hateful judgment. It’s tiring.
That might be worth a thread on its own! I watched the movie, which I thought was pretty good, then read about everything that’s going on. Wow.
Just want to say that I’m surprised by the depth of feeling (both positive and negative) that people seem to have about H&M!
Agreed! But, I haven’t seen vitriol on this thread.
I am too!
I approached this thread as a mom of a certain age on CC. Frankly I was surprised at the vitriol directed at Harry and Meghan and consequently found myself thinking about the “why”. The hateful comments, the negative assumptions, the bullying vibe I got concerned me.
I actually think I came to care about the topic because I kinda see it as a microcosm of a lot I see wrong in general right now…the effect of lies, racism, xenophobia, sexism.
Not liking and criticizing them is one thing. Not a big deal. It’s the extremism/fanaticism that I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around.
So this is where I’ve been coming from:
I imagined what if Meghan Markle’s mom had posted here…perhaps on the boasting thread.
DD graduated from Northwestern with a double major in theater and international studies. I hope she can be self supporting while pursuing her passions.
DD got a job on a game show. It’s a foot in the door and hopefully something good will come from it.
We would all be supporting and cheering on this community member and her DD.
In this fictitious scenario mom shares how DD is trying her best to adjust to the expectations and demands of this relationship…how she is going to quit her successful tv show and take down her popular lifestyle account.
The criticism and unkind articles about DD accelerates and “we” tell the mom it’s to be expected but will get better…hopefully it’s just a rite of passage and DD’s work in her royal role will win over some of the critics.
I could go on, but I hope I’ve gotten my point across. And unlike @Mwfan1921 I have seen what I consider to be vitriolic comments on this thread. It surprised me and so I entered the conversation.
I agree with everything you said. But it’s the time after you mentioned that I think is problematic. At least for me, the tell all was a big turn off, as is retaining the title for M. As an American, I’m not particularly fond of titles, but especially in her case where she wasn’t born to it and decided to leave the country that gave her the title. I’d love to see her proudly reclaim her name MM and her American heritage and succeed on her own 2 feet. Success is the best revenge.
My British neighbor says it’s a combination of class and race. How dare a nobody from America who happens to be black marries into their upper class precious family.
And I think republicans here use her as a symbol of all they hate in terms of leftist politics.
She really can’t do anything right. More dirt they dump on her, more sympathetic I become. I don’t need to agree with her politics to see what they have done with her as a person.
I think she had four strikes against her as far as the Royal Family was concerned. In no particular order, she is American, biracial, an actress, and divorced. Had William fallen in love with her, he never would have been allowed to marry her. The RF has a long history of choosing allowable spouses and they have not been very successful at it.
Scroll up.
The February 2025 issue of Vanity Fair has an interesting article about H & M, noting it’s been 5 years since they exited the UK. Inside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Big Business Ambitions, 5 Years After Their Royal Exit | Vanity Fair
The VF article jumped all over the place. One sentence praising, the next criticizing. A weird transition from being “hot for each other” to Meghan allegedly having talks about a post-divorce book deal. No new information and even more speculation. Not sure why VF felt the need to commission this feature.
It did show a pic of the gated exterior of their Montecito property - it looked pretty secure and privacy-proof.
I am sympathetic to Harry and Meghan, but I also feel like they went about it all wrong. I understand wanting to have your life, but everything that happened after leaving England is a master class in how to burn bridges.
Putting your famous in-laws on public blast was gathering kindling, lighting the match and adding gasoline. In my opinion, they should have just left quietly, licked their wounds and then figured out how to go about their lives (with the revelations they felt were important - hindsight is indeed 20/20). Whatever the issues were between the BRF and them, I can’t help but feel they played their part. I am not an expert, that’s just my opinion after seeing this all play out. I do not know if they hired a crisis PR team, or would have even listened.
It’s sad for the little cousins who might never know one another, thanks to the adults (on both sides).
I thought the same about the article.
I also thought they had no idea who Prince Harry was personality wise
I cannot imagine that divorce would even be an option especially for Prince Harry. His life in the states seems completely linked with Meghan; and apart from her where would he go? Most people need something that gives them relevance/significance and after five years I am not sure how he has carved out a stand alone life? Maybe the Invictus games? It seems all he is really known for is a tell-all book and Oprah interview.
There have been rumors at various times, particularly in connection with Harry’s 40th birthday last fall, that he’d like to return to royal duties in the UK. But there’s no way Meghan would move back to the UK. So that’s the choice he faces: separate and move back to the UK or stay with her and the kids in California. For the time being the latter seems much more likely.
Presumably to tie in with the launch of Meghan’s new show, which was supposed to be released this week. The article title is ”American Hustle” and the article is mostly about their mixed record of success in media ventures. And it basically ends with asking what’s next, since AFAIK that show marks the end of their current media deal with Netflix.
Vanity Fair is a magazine for the media and fashion crowd who will be making decisions about whether or not to get into business with H&M in the future, and the article goes out of its way to point out how difficult it can be to work with them. (FWIW I was interviewed and quoted by Vanity Fair for a similar story many years ago with exactly this purpose, it marked the apotheosis of that couple’s reputation, and told their rags to riches story, which was rapidly followed by polite society turning away from them - though that was because the husband lost his billions, people are more prepared to tolerate arrivistes so long as they are rich).
That’s a very interesting insight and I appreciate you giving an explanation of.
I thought the article was very good at saying how this couple can be one way when first introduced to them or interviewing with and another when working with them.
It seems to be that they (mostly her because the article didn’t seem to have much information on him) would want to play both sides of an issue, be too cautious and change their minds endlessly.
Not that they were terrible people but explaining the reasons why and how it was difficult to do business with them.
So I didn’t think it was a “hit” piece as much as an explanation of the inter workings of how they do business.
Let me know if I’m way off base in my assessment.
Gee, that comment about her being too cautious, looking at all sides of an issue and changing her mind frequently, makes me feel sorry for her. Sounds like someone who is desperate to please or desperate to have a success. Sounds like someone totally lacking in confidence.
I can understand Meghan’s lack of confidence. Given the book and interview blowback I am sure there is a lot of second guessing.
It also seems like H and M thought their “celebrity” would be enough to get projects done. I imagine Prince Harry grew up in a world where staff and advisors did most of the work for him. Being a big picture person works if you have a an organization and people that are well established.
It is a huge undertaking to replicate that kind of support in the space of a few years. I think there is/was a lot of naive assumptions.
There is no way they didn’t anticipate the blowback. They felt justified in ‘telling their truth’ and they had every right to do that, but they had to know what the fall out would be. They asked the Queen if they could go part time, and the answer was no, full time working royals or ‘we wish you well.’ They just didn’t believe it.