Links - 24th December 2019 (1) (Meghan and Harry)

Meghan and Harry are playing a dangerous game - "Meghan Markle, otherwise known as the Duchess of Sussex, has guest-edited the September edition of Vogue. The contents of the issue are perhaps unsurprising. As well as inevitably celebrating prominent women, such as the teenaged school truant Greta Thunberg, the Duchess has also set out to prove that women don’t need men to give them status. Something she has done by including an interview with her husband, Prince Harry.This in itself has drawn a certain amount of comment, and will not have calmed fears some people had that a highly political figure marrying into the nation’s most necessarily non-politically opinionated family might cause problems down the line. The fact that Meghan Markle’s pre-Harry politics might be best described as ‘woke’ is in some ways unimportant – a prominent Donald Trump-supporting Republican marrying into the Royal Family would raise similar concerns, to say the least. The worry was that Prince Harry’s marriage to Ms Markle would end up tipping him towards her political path, fears that will not have been calmed by his appearance in the high-end fashion magazine... Watching Prince Harry beginning to play the game of identifying ‘unconscious bias’ is like gazing at a hapless amateur juggling with loaded pistols... It may be, for instance, that Prince Harry suffers from a number of unconscious biases of his own, as may his wife, but then there are some biases that people are happy to highlight and politicise, and others thought best to skip over. One of the most extreme forms of – generally unconscious – bias that people demonstrate throughout their lives is towards attractive people, and not only in the selection of partners... the editor of September’s issue of Vogue would not be editing September’s edition of Vogue if, rather than the acclaimed beauty she is, she looked rather more like a member of the Addams family. Or indeed an average-looking member of the general public. There may be many reasons why Prince Harry requested Meghan Markle’s hand in marriage, but her looks must have – consciously or otherwise – at least counted in her favour on the way to the altar. Another form of bias that people express throughout their lives – again, consciously or otherwise – might be an inclination towards someone who is financially or socially secure. I should never want to accuse a Duchess – or any other member of the Royal Family – of any variety of bias. And yet it seems possible that in her search for a husband Ms Markle may have demonstrated some form of bias (unconscious or otherwise) towards thrones and their heirs... The problem with the Prince’s comments is more that they are part of a particular political and intellectual conveyor belt, and that belt goes only in one direction. After ‘unconscious bias’, in this pseudo-intellectual game of our time, comes the whole concept of ‘privilege’ and the earning or un-earning thereof. The privilege discussion decides – once the bias has been worked out – who has the right to speak, where, when and how often. It works out who might have benefited from ‘privilege’ and who might not. It then dictates the hierarchical order in which people may or may not speak and listen. It demotes people with privilege while aspiring to elevate those without... though the Sussexs may think that they are playing this one with deftness and aplomb, come the next round – the discussion about unearned privilege – it is possible that Harry of Wales, and his Duchess, may find a snake where they had imagined only to find a ladder."

Meghan Markle is a ‘difficult person’ who makes Prince Harry ‘miserable and glum’, royal expert says in shocking claim - "Royal commentator James Morrow told Sky News Australia that the Duchess of Sussex is "not all that easy to work for" after she has reportedly lost her THIRD key aide just three months after her last assistant quit. Commenting on Meghan's transition into the Royal Family, James said: "I think it is a particularly tough gig for a princess like Meghan Markle who is in fact actually fairly notorious - something of a princess in the non-royal sense of the word."Her politics are very left wing. She is always on about this cause or the other."Describing the former Suits actress as a "pretty difficult character to deal with", James acknowledged: "Yes sure, it is hard working for the royals but it would be hard working for a government ministry or working in any sort of roles."... "Every time Harry is with her, he always just looks very glum and miserable."However, every time you see a picture of him with the lads and doing something else, it is all smiles and laughter."What's more, James also accused Meghan of being a "hypocrite" for enjoying a lavish baby shower last month at "great expense". He added: "The things we have seen about Meghan Markle where she took that private jet to fly to a baby shower in New York at great expense while she is preaching about climate change and so on... Meghan's assistant private secretary Amy Pickerill is believed to stepping down from her position when the Royal couple move to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor later this month.This latest departure follows the resignation of Meghan's personal assistant Melissa Toubati who quit just since months after the former Suits actress married into the Royal Family.Earlier this week, The Sun exclusively revealed that Prince Harry hired a £6,000 helicopter to transport him around the country two days before giving a climate change speech to millennials at Wembley."

RICHARD KAY: Is Meghan Duchess Difficult or just defiantly different - "aides yesterday were playing down the significance of claims that Prince Harry will miss the traditional Boxing Day shoot at Sandringham, apparently to avoid upsetting his anti-bloodsports wife Meghan... Last year Harry also missed the pheasant shoot — but then he and Meghan were not yet married and his decision seemed loving and considerate.Scarcely a week goes by without the Duke and Duchess of Sussex kicking over the royal traces, from announcing plans to abandon their palace home and moving to Windsor Great Park, to sending out their highly unusual Christmas card. But then step by elegant step the former Meghan Markle is ripping up the royal rules.Nothing illustrates that more than what happened a few days ago — two royal events, two duchesses and two very different outcomes. At the Guards Chapel in Central London, a beaming Duchess of Cornwall posed for the cameras between a miniature Shetland pony and a donkey.She was attending a carol concert to support the work of an animal welfare charity. Unfussy and unglamorous — but in its simplicity the very essence of royal duty.Then, in a different part of London, the pregnant Duchess of Sussex was being greeted by whoops, cheers, even screams, as she walked onto a spotlit stage at the Royal Albert Hall to present a fashion award.She, too, posed for a picture. And in her daring Givenchy gown, exposing one bare shoulder and cradling her baby bump with black-painted finger nails, what a picture it was.Hers was a ‘photo booth’-style image taken backstage alongside Clare Waight Keller, her wedding dress designer, and actress Rosamund Pike.This picture of a radiant duchess oozed glamour and was as far removed from the down-to-earth shot of her stepmother-in-law Camilla as could be possible... the nature of traditional and mundane official visits by other members of the Royal Family in recent days underscores how flashy Meghan’s seem to be in comparison... what is so curious about the arty black-and- white picture of Meghan is that no sooner was it posted on the British Fashion Council’s Instagram account than it was abruptly deleted.Some at the palace were not impressed by her posing for such an image... In its place was posted a more conventional shot of the duchess addressing the gathering from the stage. Significantly it was identical to the shot posted on the official Kensington Palace Twitter feed recording the visit.An experienced hand at Hollywood, Meghan is a complete novice at the much more complicated business of British Royal Family public relations... no one said marrying into the Royal Family was easy.Diana was too young; the former Sarah Ferguson too headstrong and even Kate found the transition from middle-class girl to princess tricky.Kate, however, met the challenge by getting help.In the early days, the worldly Camilla took her under her wing and Kate, of course, throughout, had the sensible and practical support of her family, especially her mother Carole Middleton. Kate’s introduction to full-time royal life was gradual, cautious even, and to start with mostly as a support act to Prince William.However, Meghan has adopted a rather different approach. This was inevitable for she is surely the most extraordinary addition ever welcomed in to the Royal Family.She is three years older than Prince Harry, as well as being a divorcee and of mixed-race heritage whose ancestors were slaves in America’s Deep South.She is also articulate and sophisticated — a woman, who, before meeting Harry, was a human rights activist, clean water campaigner, a women’s advocate to the United Nations and a champion for gender equality.Before her and Harry’s wedding, she laid out her feminist credentials with confident support for the #MeToo campaign, urging women to ‘use their voice’ while promising to ‘hit the ground running’ as a working royal after marrying the Queen’s grandson. The way she is going about it, though, is beginning to raise eyebrows... the Duke and Duchess’s capable and highly-respected private secretary, Samantha Cohen would be leaving after Meghan’s baby is born next spring... she sometimes sends emails to staff at 5am. Insiders say she likes to communicate using emojis in her missives... Inside Buckingham Palace, waspish below-stairs staff jokily refer to Meghan and Harry as ‘Monica and Chandler’ after two of the characters in the long-running American sitcom Friends.In the series, control freak Monica is played by Courteney Cox and amiable but weak Chandler by Matthew Perry.A typical Monica quote was: ‘Remember: if I am harsh with you, it’s only because you’re doing it wrong.’... Adjusting to her new life has been harder by her fractured relationship with her unconventional father, Thomas Markle, and other embittered relatives... Wednesday’s palace lunch. It is the one private occasion of the year when all the royals gather en famille and is held by the Queen because there is not enough room at Sandringham to invite the entire family.Behind the scenes there will be some discreet clock-watching. Flunkeys will be checking to see how long the Sussexes spend at the festivities. Last year, they were among the last to arrive and the first to leave."

Harry and Meghan’s war on press freedom - "There is a striking irony in The Harry and Meghan Show. This pair present themselves as a new kind of royal: chilled out, PC, green, more likely to visit a Peckham radio station run by struggling youths than a cake-making charity run by women with blue-rinsed helmet hair. And yet scrape away their chilled, chatty veneer and what we have here are two of the most elitist and snobby royals in the Windsor household. And that’s saying something. Consider Prince Harry’s outrageous statement about the tabloid press, published yesterday. Its censoriousness and elitism are staggering. It echoes the pre-1960s period in which the monarchy arrogantly assumed it could bully the media into telling only happy, agreeable stories about royal personages. It drips with contempt for the tabloid press in particular... Harry issued the statement to coincide with legal action that Meghan is taking against the Mail on Sunday for ‘unlawfully’ publishing the ‘contents of a private letter’. This pertains to the Mail on Sunday’s publication in February of a handwritten letter Meghan sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle. This is a deeply disturbing legal action. It poses a very serious threat to the freedom of the press. Reading Harry’s statement and some of the gushing coverage of it from the tabloid-hating liberal elite, you could be forgiven for thinking that hacks from the Mail on Sunday got hold of the letter by sinister, criminal means. Not so. The letter was given to the newspaper by Meghan’s father... If newspapers are to be reprimanded or punished for publishing documents freely given to them by the owners of those documents, that will represent a devastating blow for press freedom. It is astonishing and highly ill-advised that the Sussexes are taking this action; it suggests that in certain quarters of the royal family there lingers a pre-modern disdain for the right of mere mortals and cheap newspapers to question royal personages... What Harry is saying is that his wife is taking legal action against one newspaper over one incident, but she is doing so with the broader aim of effectively reprimanding an overly critical tabloid media. This is pretty unprecedented, and deeply worrying. What Harry refers to as tabloid ‘bullying’ is really just strong, colourful criticism. Criticism of Harry and Meghan’s lifestyles, of their hypocrisy (remember when they lectured us about the environment and then flew around on private jets?), of their PC nonsense, of their extravagance. This legal action seems designed to send a message that such heated coverage is unacceptable. Who do these people think they are? This is the return of the pre-1960s monarchy. Of a monarchy that presumed it could influence what the newspapers were allowed to publish. Of a monarchy so distant from everyday life and so cut off from the principles of freedom and open debate that it believes it can lecture the press – the ‘low press’ in particular – about their behaviour and their output. Behind the velvet glove of the younger PC royals there lurks the iron fist of that old-world monarchism that presumed the right to live free of the barbs and insults of the mob. Harry and Meghan might use the PC language of victimhood to assert their monarchical privilege – describing themselves as victims of bullying and racism – but the impact is the same as when earlier royals asserted their God-given right never to be criticised by the lower orders: people are shamed for daring to ridicule the royals... If you are going to be a woke royal who spouts eco-pieties from the pulpit of Vogue magazine and then takes a private jet to lounge about in Elton John’s house in France, you’re going to get a lot of flak. Suck it up."

The Queen is not impressed by the 'alleged feud' between grandsons William and Harry - "'Her Majesty does not care for the alleged feuding amongst her grandchildren William and Harry, that would make her very sad. But she would never interfere with their lives.'It is thought that the alleged feud between them started earlier this year after much speculation that their wives, the Duchess of Sussex and Cambridge, were on bad terms with each other. Rumours of a rift between Prince William and Harry were further fuelled when the news of their Royal foundation split came to light this month... Harry and Meghan will step away from the Royal Foundation, which was set up in 2009 - the final step in the division of the couples' public duties. William and Kate will remain with the original charity, which will be renamed the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge."

Kate and Meghan: Is the royal sisterhood really at breaking point?

Public goodwill towards Harry and Meghan has evaporated. They now have a chance to recapture it - "In one short year, a lot of that goodwill has evaporated. There has been a drip-feed of negative stories. Dissent between the brothers and the sisters-in-law; Harry and Meghan moving out of Kensington Palace to Windsor; dissolving the Royal Foundation, the umbrella charity they were all a part of, and going their separate ways. Their decision to keep the media and the public away from Archie’s christening; and to take a series of private jets for family holidays, while Harry lectured the rest of us about doing our bit to halt climate change. They have been acting like Hollywood A-listers, rather than members of the British Royal family, and have been pulled up for it. The problem is that Harry has spent his life trying to play down his royal title and live like a normal bloke (one of the reasons we love him so much) and Meghan has spent her life striving to be someone notable. She has certainly achieved that in marrying the Queen’s grandson, but if she is going to make a success of being a working royal, she needs to take her lead from him, and Harry needs to remember who and what used to be important to him and go back to basics."

Spare us Prince Harry’s royal hypocrisy - "Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John led a chorus of special pleading on the couple’s behalf. DeGeneres described the royal couple, sixth in line to the throne, as ‘down to earth’. We shouldn’t attack their hypocrisy because all they are doing is trying to ‘make the world a better place’, she tweeted. Elton John, who lent the royal couple his private jet to fly to the south of France, tweeted that ‘David and I wanted the young family to have a private holiday inside the safety and tranquillity of our home’."

Fortnite 'should be banned’, says Prince Harry in discussion on social media dangers - "The Duke of Sussex warned of the toxic effects of the video game and social media, describing it as “more addictive than drugs and alcohol”"

Duchess of Sussex: I'm struggling to 'thrive and feel happy' in the royal family - "In a television interview broadcast on Sunday night, the Duke of Sussex also acknowledged a "rift" with his brother Prince William for the first time... The Duchess's words, in which she insists she has “really tried” to adopt the British stiff upper lip before concluding it is “internally really damaging”, will lend weight to fears that the Sussexes are seeking a path away from traditional royal family life... “When people are saying things that are just untrue - they've been told they're untrue but they're still allowed to say them...I don’t know anyone in the world that would feel like that's okay... The Duchess did not expand on which tabloid stories, which include reports on the couple’s private jet use and public spending on Frogmore Cottage, she was referring to."
I remember a few months back this chap was insisting that the tabloids were printing rubbish about a rift between William and Harry. I guess Harry's been reading so many tabloids, he's started to believe them

Meghan says she is 'existing not living' as she struggles with the pressures of royal life - "Harry voices his desire to leave the UK and considers living in Africa one day."
Lucky he's the spare, not the heir