Prince Andrew, the Royals and the media | Page 6 | Vital Football

Prince Andrew, the Royals and the media

I get the impression that Meghan did not understand the difference between the Heir and the spare, or maybe thought she could overcome it.
Either way she ended up disappointed.
I also think the rigid protocol around the royal family would be incredibly difficult for a lot of people in this country to put up with let alone a free spirited American.
No idea what she and Harry think they are getting out of this public airing of grievences aside from money / publicity.

I must confess I find the idea of multi-millionaires whinging about how badly they have been treated and hypocritical preaching somewhat irritating.
So will ignore whatever come out over the next weeks as much as is possible.
 
TommyT Trublu said:
I get the impression that Meghan did not understand the difference between the Heir and the spare, or maybe thought she could overcome it.
Either way she ended up disappointed.
I also think the rigid protocol around the royal family would be incredibly difficult for a lot of people in this country to put up with let alone a free spirited American.
No idea what she and Harry think they are getting out of this public airing of grievences aside from money / publicity.

I must confess I find the idea of multi-millionaires whinging about how badly they have been treated and hypocritical preaching somewhat irritating.
So will ignore whatever come out over the next weeks as much as is possible.
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Good post and one I largely agree with.

In my experience Americans love the royal family and of course many girls growing up wanna marry a prince, become a princess, etc, stuff of fairy tales. It all seems kind of ideal when you’re young.

Yet most Americans I have met (maybe jokerman can either confirm or deny this) have been self centred, loud, brash and think the world revolves around them and the good ol’ US of A. Now I’m not saying they are all like this, or that MM is. But when you are brought up around people in that environment it must rub off a little.

Then, to marry into a family that have customs and traditions dating back centuries that you are expected to abide by, and realising that you aren’t able to do what you want/when you want. For someone who hasn’t experienced it before it’s gonna be a huge culture shock. Plus of course the realisation that you AINT got a chance of the top job.

She has decided to bugger off back to the fatherland and taken poor Harry with her (c*** struck is what we used to call guys like him a few years ago). TBH in some ways I don’t blame him turning his back on the Royals, Pomp and Tradition, UK media, etc. But to then want to keep the titles and benefits that goes with it all just doesn’t wash I’m afraid. And to want privacy but on our own terms (ie unless we’re getting paid for it) gets right up my hooter. That goes for whoever, Megan and Harry, Katie price, lily allen, other Z listers.......
 
On the other hand the Royal family are not all that bad. Mountbatten & Prince Phillip served in the navy during the second world war to help give us the freedom we now enjoy. Prince Charles formed the Prince's Trust which has helped members of my family to start a green business up, and we are not posh people, having come from Beatty Avenue, Gillingham.
It is so easy to lay into people for your own satisfaction, but please see the positive things they do, e.g. if you were next in line for the throne, would you bother with Beatty-ites? Charles doesn't have to do it, but he thinks more of this planet than a lot of you left wing wankers!!
 
ARFUR CONNELL said:
On the other hand the Royal family are not all that bad. Mountbatten & Prince Phillip served in the navy during the second world war to help give us the freedom we now enjoy. Prince Charles formed the Prince's Trust which has helped members of my family to start a green business up, and we are not posh people, having come from Beatty Avenue, Gillingham.
It is so easy to lay into people for your own satisfaction, but please see the positive things they do, e.g. if you were next in line for the throne, would you bother with Beatty-ites? Charles doesn't have to do it, but he thinks more of this planet than a lot of you left wing wankers!!
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How do you know he's not a left wing ****** himself?
 
Imho, this was always just a career move for Meghan. Hook a prince, separate him from his family then suck the blood out of the situation. It's just a high stakes game to her. Happens all the time. Only difference is this is ultra high profile. Reckon Harry will be back on the market when he's served his purpose.
 
Rob_b100 said:
Good post and one I largely agree with.

In my experience Americans love the royal family and of course many girls growing up wanna marry a prince, become a princess, etc, stuff of fairy tales. It all seems kind of ideal when you’re young.

Yet most Americans I have met (maybe jokerman can either confirm or deny this) have been self centred, loud, brash and think the world revolves around them and the good ol’ US of A.
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I think Americans often appear loud and brash to many Brits, although I'm not sure we've reach an international agreement on the appropriate volume level for communications between people yet. I think Brits often appear as this weird combination of feeble timidity and snooty arrogance to many Americans. It is of course the people who exhibit these respective differences whom we notice, and not the rest who tend to range across the spectrum like all people. There are noisy, thick Brits and there are quiet, smart Americans.

If you were to push me on this, I think we have keener sense of humour than they do built around low expectations and not taking things too seriously. I think they are more direct, take the world as it presents itself, and just go out and do stuff. Advantages and disadvantages to both outlooks of course.

Even after 40 years in North America, I have more fun with Brits than Americans, but watching British humour on TV these days, those spoof current affairs/quiz panels eg, there's a distance creeping in. Yes, I can see what you're doing, and I'm not finding it funny. Fry, Merton, Davies and that Danish lady. Maybe everyone finds them tired now.
 
jokerman said:
I think Americans often appear loud and brash to many Brits, although I'm not sure we've reach an international agreement on the appropriate volume level for communications between people yet. I think Brits often appear as this weird combination of feeble timidity and snooty arrogance to many Americans. It is of course the people who exhibit these respective differences whom we notice, and not the rest who tend to range across the spectrum like all people. There are noisy, thick Brits and there are quiet, smart Americans.

If you were to push me on this, I think we have keener sense of humour than they do built around low expectations and not taking things too seriously. I think they are more direct, take the world as it presents itself, and just go out and do stuff. Advantages and disadvantages to both outlooks of course.

Even after 40 years in North America, I have more fun with Brits than Americans, but watching British humour on TV these days, those spoof current affairs/quiz panels eg, there's a distance creeping in. Yes, I can see what you're doing, and I'm not finding it funny. Fry, Merton, Davies and that Danish lady. Maybe everyone finds them tired now.
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ARFUR CONNELL said:
Don't be so f. daft. Go have another drink!
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Will do, I've got one hqand free.
 
ARFUR CONNELL said:
On the other hand the Royal family are not all that bad. Mountbatten & Prince Phillip served in the navy during the second world war to help give us the freedom we now enjoy. Prince Charles formed the Prince's Trust which has helped members of my family to start a green business up, and we are not posh people, having come from Beatty Avenue, Gillingham.
It is so easy to lay into people for your own satisfaction, but please see the positive things they do, e.g. if you were next in line for the throne, would you bother with Beatty-ites? Charles doesn't have to do it, but he thinks more of this planet than a lot of you left wing wankers!!
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Ha ha. Enjoyed the end of that.

As it happens there would be very few Royals I would critcise on a personal level, Andrew being one. Just disagree with the institution.

Charles can afford to indulge himself. I wonder what his carbon footprint is. On one level I actually feel sorry for the guy really.
 
It’s such a shame when a member of a family decides to wash the dirty laundry in public.
From the excerpts seen so far, all I can smell is bridges burning. Whether their version of their truth is accurate or not, a lot of damage has been done. Maybe that’s the intention but they will ultimately be the losers.

Given that Megan is estranged from her own family, her mother excepted and now Harry is well and truly estranged from his family, they may find themselves very isolated when the veneer of freedom rubs off.

I’d expect the Queen to respond with sadness about it all.
 
shotshy said:
I’d expect the Queen to respond with sadness about it all.
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I would doubt that she would speak, but her press officer may issue a statement expressing sadness.

What more could it say that will change entrenched views? Americans, and particularly Republicans, will believe Meghan is the one telling the truth (even Oprah called it "her truth"), sympathise with her and believe the Royal Family are racist.

The British, and particularly Royalists, will still see her is a manipulative self serving opportunist, not averse to bullying and loathed by her own family, apart from her mother.

More dignified for the Royal family not to respond or get involved in a quarrel. Maybe a few west coast Americans will cancel their tourist trip to London, but I would guess not many, and travel is so restricted at the moment anyway.
 
The tabloid press's attitude is just all too predictable. Piers Morgan doubling down on his criticism, because anything else would make the public opinion to sway towards Meghan and if it does, his comments for the past year would start to look very silly. This morning, he actually openly accused MM of lying about having suicidal thoughts today. With ITV spending millions on promoting mental health this year, and a year after the press spent a lot of time apologising after Caroline Flack's suicide, it's absolutely shocking he's made such comments to be honest. What a ******. If Caroline Flack had come out publicly and said she had suicidal thoughts I bet he'd have said the same to her too. What would it take for him to believe it, will he only be satisfied once MM actually does it?

People also saying that it's airing dirty laundry in public...have you seen what's been aired about them in the press without their input? Are they not entitled to defend themselves once in a while and set the record straight? You have planks like Morgan and then the Daily Hate Mail homing in on you on a daily basis - yes if you look at the media it is a daily basis. You then have millions of people slating them because of these false stories.

You can bet that a load of it is based on false allegations (i.e. the Kate crying incident - one of many examples I am sure), but you expect them to do nothing? Blimey you either are a wet wipe with no back bone or are lying if you think you would not respond and defend yourself and your family.

The press in the UK absolutely hates the fact they cant control them, and hates the fact they are calling them out on their treatment and have basically stuck the middle finger up at the media. It's a massive pie in the face for the media - so they are forced to double down on their criticism of them or they will lose face massively.

The daily mail has already lost their case regarding her father's letter. The press can't admit they are wrong here, as it would be suicide, so they are actively doing their best to discredit everything the Sussexes do on a daily basis. They seemingly can't even go to the toilet without being told it's disrespectful to someone. The bile in the news on Sunday aimed towards them before the interview was even aired, the press were just teeing themselves up to justify more criticism. The tabloid press are trying their best to control the public opinion, and judging by lots of the comments I see on here and on other social media gullible Joe Public are sucking it up as usual.

The biggest revelation for me was that actually they hold the Queen in the highest esteem still. The criticism was very much focused on 'the firm' or 'the institution' - quite separated from the Queen - seemingly deliberately so.

What this appears to me is that actually the Queen does not have as much control over what goes on as people think. I would suggest that there are some very senior palace aides who are controlling much of what occurs within the palace. It's those people that the Sussex's are focusing their anger/disappointment at.
 
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alphabet_king said:
The tabloid press's attitude is just all too predictable. Piers Morgan doubling down on his criticism, because anything else would make the public opinion to sway towards Meghan and if it does, his comments for the past year would start to look very silly. This morning, he actually openly accused MM of lying about having suicidal thoughts today. With ITV spending millions on promoting mental health this year, and a year after the press spent a lot of time apologising after Caroline Flack's suicide, it's absolutely shocking he's made such comments to be honest. What a ******. If Caroline Flack had come out publicly and said she had suicidal thoughts I bet he'd have said the same to her too. What would it take for him to believe it, will he only be satisfied once MM actually does it?

People also saying that it's airing dirty laundry in public...have you seen what's been aired about them in the press without their input? Are they not entitled to defend themselves once in a while and set the record straight? You have planks like Morgan and then the Daily Hate Mail homing in on you on a daily basis - yes if you look at the media it is a daily basis. You then have millions of people slating them because of these false stories.

You can bet that a load of it is based on false allegations (i.e. the Kate crying incident - one of many examples I am sure), but you expect them to do nothing? Blimey you either are a wet wipe with no back bone or are lying if you think you would not respond and defend yourself and your family.

The press in the UK absolutely hates the fact they cant control them, and hates the fact they are calling them out on their treatment and have basically stuck the middle finger up at the media. It's a massive pie in the face for the media - so they are forced to double down on their criticism of them or they will lose face massively.

The daily mail has already lost their case regarding her father's letter. The press can't admit they are wrong here, as it would be suicide, so they are actively doing their best to discredit everything the Sussexes do on a daily basis. They seemingly can't even go to the toilet without being told it's disrespectful to someone. The bile in the news on Sunday aimed towards them before the interview was even aired, the press were just teeing themselves up to justify more criticism. The tabloid press are trying their best to control the public opinion, and judging by lots of the comments I see on here and on other social media gullible Joe Public are sucking it up as usual.
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I agree with most of that AK, but my point is quite different.

My point really is that it's a shame both for them and their families, when someone decides, for whatever reason, to go public with such things.

Can they now be reconciled ?

So, they've said their bit and got it off their chests, for a sizable sum of money.

Now what ?

Can they ever return to the UK ?

Archie and his new sister will grow up never knowing their family on either side.

In my opinion, it's all so unnecessary.

If they want out, then fine. I have absolutely no issue with that.
She joined something that she thought could change. It will not.
So, leaving is probably for the best.
But then to publicly crave privacy, and then do a proper 'tabloid' kiss and tell ?
Really ?
 
I think it’s a difficult one. In terms of media attention I think it’s wise to move away from the English tabloids who murdered your mother and hack dead schoolgirls’ phones. The two recent interviews (the first main ones I can think of since they moved?) show they’re willing to be in the public eye in occasional, planned appearances.

The tough bit is should they whistleblow like this or not? They’re discussing private, family matters rather than your normal corporate issues. We normally say try sorting this out in-house or in-industry level before going to the press at the last minute. It IS in the public interest if you fall on death ears and you know others are suffering. But I don’t know if this counts as that or a family matter. Either way, it’s hardly a ‘Kiss and Tell’. We, as a football club, know the dangers of not taking racial allegations seriously, no matter how vindictive you think they are. If you say this is a Kiss and Tell then you’re part of the problem.

The nature of the allegations mean you can’t mention names or otherwise face a whole heap of issues, and without names you open yourself up to having your story fobbed off. There’s a natural inclination in this country to fob off whistleblowers as disgruntled employees out to cause trouble/make a name for themselves. When your issue is against both the royal family and the press then you have an uphill battle.

It says something that the main people frothing at the mouth over this issue are the OTT Brexiteer anti-vaxer “give Lee Rigby a statue” types.
 
shotshy said:
I agree with most of that AK, but my point is quite different.

My point really is that it's a shame both for them and their families, when someone decides, for whatever reason, to go public with such things.

Can they now be reconciled ?

So, they've said their bit and got it off their chests, for a sizable sum of money.

Now what ?

Can they ever return to the UK ?

Archie and his new sister will grow up never knowing their family on either side.

In my opinion, it's all so unnecessary.

If they want out, then fine. I have absolutely no issue with that.
She joined something that she thought could change. It will not.
So, leaving is probably for the best.
But then to publicly crave privacy, and then do a proper 'tabloid' kiss and tell ?
Really ?
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It's not a tabloid kiss and tell. It's a sit down with a respected interviewer. Diana did the same, and was widely praised for her bravery - it was one of the defining moments of her life. Was the Bashir interview a 'kiss and tell'?

It's ridiculous how similar the two situations are. The only difference is that Diana put up with the crap from the institution and the press for a fair bit longer before she spoke out. MM was not going to sit in silence for that long. Well done to her.

You say it's unnecessary. I feel it's very necessary, as the media are peddling absolute bullshit against them. They have a right to defend themselves to the public if no one else will.

What do you mean can they ever return to the UK? you mean on holiday, or to stay? I don't think they'd want to stay!

I remember when Prince Harry was public enemy number 1 of the monarchy in his younger days and was the 'wild child' the press loved to hate. He turned around the public's opinion of him massively as he grew up and before his marriage, most of the public actually preferred him and his likeability compared with William's stiff boring persona.

Once this all dies down, and after a few years when they start to actually do some good again and once we more of their personalities, I can see the public opinion of them completely turning and people criticising him now will be stating how important it was for them to do this interview etc.
 
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alphabet_king said:
The press in the UK absolutely hates the fact they cant control them, and hates the fact they are calling them out on their treatment and have basically stuck the middle finger up at the media. It's a massive pie in the face for the media - so they are forced to double down on their criticism of them or they will lose face massively.

The biggest revelation for me was that actually they hold the Queen in the highest esteem still. The criticism was very much focused on 'the firm' or 'the institution' - quite separated from the Queen - seemingly deliberately so.
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Neither the Press, the firm nor the institution have removed all their royal responsibilities and duties - the Queen has.

The B rated actress and the ginger whinger are now totally free to follow their dreams and career as well as enjoy the privacy they so craved. Good luck to them. They say that they only signed the multi million deals with Spotify and Netflix in order to pay for protection but why is that, when they are now in such a welcoming, friendly country?

Perhaps if anyone in the Royal Family has their own gripe with the couple (Kate perhaps), they can claim it made them suicidal and book the next spot on Graham Norton to air their grievances.

Originally the problem was that awful British press. By the time it came to the interview they were brave enough to claim it was unnamed members of the Royal staff. During the interview, it became an unnamed member of the actual Royal family speculating on what Archie's distinguishing features could be. I suspect there will eventually be historic tales of the racist way one of the Corgis barked at Megs.

I think "deliberately" is correct about the Queen, but I wouldn't put anything past this shameless pair if enough money for an exclusive is offered.
 
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