Thursday, January 05, 2023

Links - 5th January 2023 (2 - Meghan & Harry)

Prince Harry’s war on the media - "Harry is no Greta Garbo, the 1930s film star who wanted to be completely left alone. Harry wants to have his celebrity cake and eat it. It’s not total privacy he wants, but control over his privacy. He wants to sell bits of his personal life in return for millions of dollars from Netflix, Spotify and Apple. And he also wants to keep other aspects off-limits, perhaps to commodify and sell access to at a future date. But the calculated selling of his private life is more than just an issue of monetisation. Prince Harry is trying to ensure that the press cannot just say what it wants about his private life and profit from it. Harry and Meghan are trying to ensure that if the press wants to hold them, as powerful people, to account, it will only be able to do so on their terms.   Because make no mistake, Harry and Meghan are powerful. On their Sussex Royal website, they write that they, ‘like every member of society, value privacy as individuals and as a family’. They are correct that the right to privacy is an important freedom for all of us to have, whether prince or pauper. Yet people’s private lives are not of equal public interest. The Sussexes’ wealth, media access and social position puts them at the top of society. It means their lives ought to be subject to more scrutiny than those not in positions of privilege and power. But Harry and Meghan want to control this accountability. They want the press to scrutinise them on their own terms. As their website states, they welcome ‘being held to account if appropriate’ (my italics)... Given the Sussexes’ attempts to demonise the press, it is hardly a surprise that Harry recently described the US First Amendment as ‘bonkers’. He clearly sees freedom of speech and freedom of the press as a threat to his power and privilege."

SARAH VINE: Prince Harry is playing a foolish game - "Quite what part of being given a fully refurbished cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, together with armies of staff and just about every privilege imaginable, can be described as ‘neglect’ is something perhaps ordinary commoners such as myself simply cannot grasp. As for being bullied into silence, one cannot help, at this stage, but think ‘If only’.  I suppose we will just have to take his word for it. But Harry is playing a foolish game. Because the trouble with all this public soul-searching is that, after a while, the novelty begins to wear thin.  Each revelation has less impact than the last, and instead of offering a rare glimpse behind the curtain, Harry is now in danger of over-exposing himself. If he doesn’t get a grip soon, there will reach a point where his pronouncements will become so commonplace no one will care, or take any notice. His brother, Prince William, meanwhile, is pursuing a very different strategy.  Already over the past months we have seen the intellectual and emotional abyss that now exists between the brothers, as Harry becomes ever more angry and vengeful, externalising his pain and broadcasting his rage to the world.  William, by contrast, seems to find strength and solace in his family, preferring to focus his energies on the positive rather than turning his misery into a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. While he has in the past indicated his sadness at losing his mother, he has not let it become the defining narrative of his life, thanks in large part to the support of the Duchess of Cambridge, with whom he clearly has a very happy and successful relationship. Whatever private agonies he may feel, he has kept them just that, private, choosing to maintain a dignified silence wherever possible. Which is why, when he read out a statement on Thursday in response to Lord Dyson’s investigation into the methods used by BBC reporter Martin Bashir to obtain the 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana, it blew anything his brother had to say out of the water.  The very fact that he rarely speaks out on highly personal matters already made us sit up and listen. But in the measured restraint of his delivery, in the quiet deliberation of his words, he was everything that Harry is not.  The economy of emotion and absence of melodrama (no ominous soundtrack here, unlike in the Oprah interview; no stage lighting or theatrics) made what he had to say so much more powerful.  Rather than rage, we saw sorrow. Rather than psychobabble, we saw real emotion. And rather than a child lashing out, we saw a grown man confronting the realities of a situation and dealing with them as grown men do: with courage and dignity. And yet at no point did he appear cold or uncaring... The fact that William can so clearly see the broader picture is what sets him apart from his brother, who appears to see the world through the filter of his own, fairly narrow, experience.  These are the qualities of a prince, with the wisdom and understanding needed to lead an institution like the Royal Family: perspective, authority and grace.  This week in William we saw a future king, a man with a clear and precise moral compass, who has learned to marshal his emotions and understands how to make an impact without making a spectacle of himself or his family."

Charles gave Harry and Meghan ‘substantial sum’ despite financial cut off claim - "The Prince of Wales helped the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with a “substantial sum” of money after they quit as working royals, despite Harry claiming his family “literally cut me off financially”.  Accounts show Charles continued to fund the Sussexes until the summer of 2020, with a senior Clarence House spokesperson saying he allocated them the generous amount of money.  However, the duke told Oprah Winfrey he stopped getting financial support from his family in the first quarter of that year."... A spokesperson for the Sussexes insisted there was no difference in timeline, and that Harry was actually referring to the first quarter of the fiscal reporting period in the UK, which runs from April to July."
Apparently April is summer

‘Prince Harry effect’ adds to huge rise in students reporting mental health problems
When you glorify victimhood, you get more of it

Prince Harry 'regretful and embarrassed' over Oprah chat: Biographer - "A Royal biographer claims that Prince Harry is probably “regretful and embarrassed” for betraying his family in the explosive Oprah Winfrey interviewer. His wife, Meghan Markle, however, is “in her element,” claims Duncan Larcombe, author of Prince Harry: The Inside Story... Larcombe said he foresees a time when Harry rues the day the couple spilled the royal tea.  “He’s now facing the consequences. I believe he’ll regret that interview — and maybe his decision to leave the Royal Family”"

ROYAL REPORT: Prince Harry's 'happy life' a bitter illusion - "“I think what we see and hear from these interviews is a man who is desperately trying to convince himself that he has found happiness, and he has been through it all and reached the other side — that he’s finally free. I don’t think that’s the case. He and Meghan aren’t happy or free. I don’t think his move to LA has solved anything.” Meanwhile, a shocking new poll reveals that the majority of Brits want Harry and Meghan either stripped of their royal titles or should stop using them.  The poll from YouGov was conducted on May 17 after last week’s podcast in which Harry attacked his father’s and grandparents’ parenting styles and seemed baffled by free speech. A little over 60% said they should lose their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles... there was some good news for the Royals — but maybe not for publicity loving Harry and Meghan.  Insiders say Princess Beatrice’s pregnancy announcement was a “total dig” at the California couple.  Beatrice announced she was expecting her first child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi early Wednesday — on Harry and Meghan’s third wedding anniversary.  They had revealed they were expecting son Archie at Beatrice’s sister Princess Eugenie’s wedding on Oct. 12, 2018.  “It was a total dig at Harry and Meghan. They stole Eugenie’s thunder on her big day, after all, and it appears that has not been forgotten""

Prince Harry should take a leaf out of Edward VIII’s book - "The news that Prince Harry is writing “an intimate and heart-felt memoir” is yet another stinging blow for the Royal family... With woeful lack of irony, Harry says that he is “writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become”. A man whom, if he was not born a prince, would not have reportedly been paid an estimated advance of $20 million...   Harry and his edgy ghost would do well to take note of the memoir of Harry’s great great uncle, the Duke of Windsor, which he wrote at the end of the Forties. Published in September 1951, A King’s Story, The Memoirs of The Duke of Windsor, dedicated “To Wallis”, caused consternation behind palace walls. The Royal family were appalled that Edward VIII would sell his secrets for money – he earned £300,000 (roughly £3.5m today) for his bestseller. Courtiers resented the title because it was Edward’s brother, Bertie, who was on the throne thanks to his abdication. However, unlike Harry, who self-exiled from the Royal family 15 months ago, choosing love and family over monarchical duty, the Duke of Windsor waited 15 years before publishing his account of abdicating to marry Wallis Simpson. By this time, he had given up long-held hope of his wife ever being acknowledged by his family or being accorded the HRH title that he was desperate for her to receive. If the Royal family had welcomed the Windsors back into the fold, it is doubtful that the Duke would ever have consented to this blameless tome... Unlike Prince Harry’s moaning, for a man as impassioned and aggrieved as Edward was, no animosity is tangible in his prose...   In contrast with Harry's alleged book deal, the memoir was the last word that the Duke ever wrote on his life or the abdication. He died 21 years later. He did not detail his bitterness over his life in exile, nor his pain towards his unyielding family. Judging by his recent form, such restraint seems unlikely with the memoir that Harry will produce. If only the Duke of Sussex would take note. Once the royal drawbridges have gone up behind you, in literary terms, less is always more."

Prince Harry says Archie’s first words were ‘Grandma Diana’ - "the Duke of Sussex revealed how Archie’s first words after “mama” and “papa” were a reference to Harry’s late mother... The revelation comes just a few months after the Duke of Sussex told chat show host James Corden that Archie’s first word was "crocodile".  He told Corden: "My son is now over a year and a half, he is hysterical, he’s got the most amazing personality, he’s already putting two, three words together, he’s already singing songs. ‘His first word was ‘crocodile’. Three syllables!""
The credulous squad will believe this, of course

Meghan Markle 'led normal life out with pals' despite moaning she didn't leave house as royal, Diana's biographer claims - "Andrew Morton, who famously wrote Princess Diana's blockbuster biography in 1992, said friends saw Meghan going out and about as a royal.  She would go to the shops and eat out at restaurants with her pals, he claims... "friends of mine said they've seen Meghan walking from Whole Foods supermarket on Kensington High Street with bags of foods back to Kensington Palace. "It didn't seem too much like a prison. Other friends have seen her out and about with friends at restaurants, so she seems, to me, to have led a normal life."...   Royal expert Andrew Morton also pointed out that Meghan flew to New York on a private jet when celebrating her baby shower when pregnant with Archie in February 2019."

Meghan Markle relative explains why they 'won't ever talk' - "One of Meghan Markle’s family members doesn’t anticipate a warm reunion with the Duchess of Sussex, saying they likely “won’t ever talk again.”  Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the relative claimed in a new interview that Markle, 39, developed the belief that she is above her estranged family after becoming a royal in 2018.  “We’re clearly in different social classes, and we won’t ever talk again”"

God Save the Kween - "Essentially they have rehabilitated, in woke form, the laws of lèse-majesté. It is a curious irony of modern Britain that it isn’t Her Actual Majesty who is furiously protected from insult. It’s Her Woke Majesty, the chattering classes’ favourite duchess, the leading lady in the new aristocracy of ‘social justice’. Stand up when ‘God Save the Queen’ comes on and the Fisher-Price revolutionaries of the woke brigade will snigger loudly. But say a single sore word about the sainted Meghan and the very same people will be up on their feet, tears in their eyes, shouting: ‘GOD SAVE THE KWEEN!’... In truth, deference didn’t disappear – it morphed. It shifted from deference to the upper classes towards deference to expertise. From deference to God and the Bible towards deference to the cult of climate change. From deference to ‘one’s betters’ towards deference to the professional managerial elites who seek to police our emotions and govern our lives in a way that would have made the ‘betters’ of old say: ‘Is that a bit much?’ And who is it that engages in this new deference? Who is it that genuflects to ‘experts’, obeys the commandments and rituals of the climate-change religion, and curtseys to the kween? It isn’t me or you. It isn’t most ordinary people. It’s the woke set. It’s these phoney rebels. It’s the overeducated new elites. They defer more crawlingly than any cap-doffer of old did. Indeed, the reason they’re so angry these days is that the rest of us are refusing to defer. Football fans see the taking of the knee – a brazen act of deference to the politics of identity – and they say ‘BOOO’. Voters were instructed to defer to the wisdom of the EU and its wise unelected bureaucrats and we said ‘Nope’. ‘Change your whole life to offset climate change’, the eco-religionists demand, and we turn away to carry on booking our cheap flights to Malaga. Ours is an era of a new elitist form of deference, and a corresponding revolt against deference. I know who I’m with – the booing, sceptical, free-thinking crowd, rather than the creeps saying: ‘Worship our kween, ye plebs.’"

Meghan Markle’s Obsession with Princess Diana – Wealth Magazine - "Meghan had a copy of Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton on her bookshelf... [Ninaki] Priddy added, “I’m not shocked at all [by Meghan’s engagement to Harry]. “It’s like she has been planning this all her life.”... “She gets exactly what she wants and Harry has fallen for her play…but my advice to him is to tread cautiously.”... Another Markle family friend, Sonia Ardakani, recalls Meghan as being “obsessed” with watching video reruns of Diana’s fairy tale wedding as a child, never knowing in her wildest dreams just how close to home the video would be.  Meghan Markle ‘idolized Diana as a child,’ yet she told Oprah in their 2021 interview that she knew little of the Royal family...   According to people who knew Meghan when she was young, she was inspired by Diana’s style and compassion in her humanitarian work as a young girl. Meghan reportedly felt Princess Diana’s death in a “keenly personal way” and cried watching her funeral. In his book ‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’, renowned royal biographer Andrew Morton said that, according to family friends, Meghan was “intrigued” by Diana and saw her as a role model. She started collecting clothes and toys for less privileged children with her friend Suzy Ardakani (Sonia Ardakani’s daughter), a move that was inspired by Diana.   Meghan Markle has blatantly based her image on Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana as depicted in the images below… And it’s borderline creepy. Meghan Markle has proven herself to be a very disturbed individual, from disowning her father who treated her like a princess all her life, to threatening suicide while pregnant with Archie, to her life-long obsession with royalty and Princess Diana, and her perpetual deceit and hypocrisy that has played out in the media.  So, Meghan Markle always yearned for a royal life due to her ‘obsession’ with Diana. Her BFF said Meghan was a ‘superfan’ of the royal family and studied photos of Princess Diana. Meghan even managed to arrange her blind date with Prince Harry on Princess Diana’s 55th birthday anniversary, July 1, 2016. Poor, bamboozled Harry believes that ‘This beautiful woman just sort of tripped and fell into my life.’   Harry and Meghan are two of the most ultra-privileged people in this world of almost 8 billion people, and yet they are making a living out of being two whiny, pathetic spoiled brats complaining about how awful their families are and how bad their lives have been. Meghan has turned Harry from Prince Charming to Prince Harming, trashing his family just as she has trashed hers."

DAN WOOTTON reveals growing royal fury at Harry's tell-all book - "What has angered courtiers most is that Harry and Meghan know, whatever they say in the book, Prince Charles and Prince William, as heirs to the throne, will find it almost impossible to fight back. Insiders close to the Prince of Wales have confirmed he did not know about Harry's book, even though he has been working on it for the past year... A royal insider says: 'This is the end of any close relationship with the Duke of Cambridge. There's nothing more that can be said on that front. William believes his behaviour is shameful and tasteless.  'Harry's been going around to people saying he can't remember his childhood and his mother that much. Now he's going to write a book about it. How does that stack up?... The book's publication in 2022 has also worried courtiers because it risks overshadowing a trio of significant royal milestones.  The source explains: 'First and foremost, it's the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. That's what matters most.  'But it's also Prince William's 40th birthday and the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana.  'With that mix, it should have been a really positive year for the Royal Family.  'But Harry clearly doesn't care. He's acting like a child. We need to remember he's a nearly 37-year-old man, not a 21-year-old. He's on the cusp of middle age.'... Harry isn't at all concerned about the pushback from London. In fact, he seems to revel in it these days.  Announcing the news yesterday, he said in a statement: 'I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become. I've worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learnt – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think... even though there's general outrage within the Royal Family at Harry's move to become a bestselling author on the back of the institution, some admit he has finally proven beyond any doubt that he can be financially self-sufficient and sees no path back."

PIERS MORGAN: Prince Harry's tell-all memoirs are a betrayal too far for the Queen and the royals - "The Queen Mother had a strict maxim for royal conduct: 'Never complain, never explain, and rarely be heard speaking in public.'  It worked very well for her, ensuring that when she died aged 101, it was as a deeply beloved figure in Britain and around the world.  Her daughter Queen Elizabeth has followed a similar maxim, and it's worked very well for her too as she's become the most respected and longest-serving monarchs in history without ever giving a single interview. But the Queen's grandson Prince Harry sadly didn't get the discretion memo.  Or if he did, he rejected it in favour of the new strategy: 'Always complain, always explain, and never stop yapping, whining, preaching and trashing your family.' Now, just when we assumed that the man who insisted he had to leave Britain to protect his privacy had exhausted every lucrative avenue of invading his own privacy, he's written his memoirs...  it's not actually that surprising.  Why would someone whose only currency now is airing dirty laundry about his family to any media entity that will pay him enough, NOT write a book flinging yet more mud at them?  To be blunt: Harry's a sell-out, and this is just another example of him selling out.  It's sad, pathetic, and totally unnecessary, and it will obviously cause yet more pain to his grandmother who is still mourning the loss of her husband Philip.  But Harry doesn't care about that.  Like his wife Meghan, he doesn't care about anyone but himself... First, obviously, it's not the first time he's wanged on about his experiences, losses and life lessons. It's literally all Harry ever does, ad nauseum, to anyone that will write him a big enough cheque. He's been on the 'Woe-Is-Me' tour for many years now.  Second, given the disingenuous unsubstantiated nonsense that he and Meghan came out with during their 90-minute Oprah whineathon, I think the one thing we can safely assume from this book is that it won't be 'honest'. It will be Harry's 'truth' which like Meghan's 'truth' tends to bear little relation to the actual truth.  Third, what exactly is so 'inspiring, courageous and uplifting' about a guy who ditches his country, duty and family for a woman who's disowned her own family? The couple love to tell us all how compassionate they are, yet they show zero compassion to the people closest to them in the world.  Harry's own statement was even more laughable.  'I'm writing this not as the prince I was born,' he declared, but as the man I have become.'  Really?  In that case, why did the statement come from 'Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex?'  And he's not even writing it – he's got a Pulitzer Prize winning ghost-writer to do it, presumably to make him sound more intelligent... There's only one hat that hapless Harry wears these days and it's the one with 'HYPOCRITE' on it.  He wants all the hugely beneficial trappings of being a royal Prince without having to do any of the hard duty graft the rest of his family put in to earn the title. He wants to cash in on the royal status to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, whilst simultaneously bleating on about how much he hates being a royal.  He wants to lecture us all on stuff like climate change whilst using his celebrity mates' private jets like taxis.  And when he says, 'no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think', who is he trying to kid?... Harry's memoirs, for which he's being paid a reported $20 million – he says it's all going to charity, but let's keep a close eye on that claim - will be yet another chance for him to torch his family, and the institution they serve.  And every time he does this, and allows his wife to do it, he chips further away at the magic that sustains the royals in public life.  They've become a pair of petty, spiteful, bitter little grifters intent on causing as much damage as they can... I've said this before, and I now say it again: the Queen should strip Harry and Meghan of all their titles with immediate effect.  Compel them to do this malevolent, manipulative cr*p in their names, not as royals"

Prince Harry Feared Meghan Markle Would ‘Dump’ Him Over Racist Media Coverage - "After a relatively quiet few weeks, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle return to their customary column inch-hogging pole position this weekend. The Times of London reports that Harry feared Meghan would end their relationship if he didn’t make a strong public statement condemning what he felt was the media’s racist treatment of her at the beginning of their relationship, so he ordered his office to do just that... the couple have been approached to present an Oscar, the pick of which was up to them. The original idea was for them to present Best Actress, but then that was nixed because one of the nominees is Kristen Stewart for role as Princess Diana in the bizarro but fun to watch Spencer. So, the new idea is they’ll present the gong for Best Film.  The controversy, such as it is, is that if they do turn up at the Oscars next Sunday (on March 27), some people will be angry that they are choosing Hollywood glam over family responsibilities, Harry having already made clear he won’t be at his grandfather Prince Philip’s memorial service on Tuesday March 29, apparently due to security concerns.  Harry has, however, said he will be attending the opening of the Invictus Games on April 16 in the Netherlands, just of weeks after the memorial service. That move was said to possibly cause a raising of tension in the royal family, as well as being a “slap in the face” for the queen"

Prince Charles will not let grandson Archie be a prince: report - "Prince Charles, who is likely to be the next British king, is determined to limit the number of key royals in an effort to appease his future subjects — who he believes don’t want to pay for a bloated monarchy"
Trimming down the monarchy is good - unless it clashes with the "anti racist" agenda

Meghan Markle's presidential run appears inevitable | The Spectator - "Meghan Markle has starred in a Netflix show and married into the Royal Family, but has she got her eyes on even loftier ambitions? Since quitting the UK and moving to the United States, the Duchess of Sussex has involved herself in various soft-political campaigns. She's asked Congress to legislate paid family leave. She has also placed herself in the company of the Obamas and the Bidens. Is this all serving as a prelude to a presidential bid for the Democratic nomination?   If so, Joe Biden's sister appears to have given the game away. While Meghan has kept schtum about her political aspirations, Valerie Biden Owens has suggested president Markle might not be such a far-fetched prospect...  Is Owens just freelancing here? That seems unlikely: Biden's sister is a seasoned political operator who played a key role in her brother's successful 2020 presidential campaign. She also worked with him on his Senate campaigns and his 2008 presidential bid, which saw him bow out and grant his support to Obama in exchange for the vice-presidency. Everything that she says or does publicly, especially to a journalist during a sit-down broadcast interview, is likely to have been carefully considered. It isn't an exaggeration to say that this interview might be seen as a formal overture to Meghan from the Democratic party establishment. The message is simple: ‘Do you want to lend us your celebrity if we’re defeated by the Republicans at the next election?’...  how would Meghan handle the negative publicity that would inevitably follow any bid she makes for the top job in American politics? If she runs for public office, the media will feel licensed to pursue avenues that have previously been considered off limits, such as her first husband Trevor Engelson, who has kept a remarkably low profile since their divorce in 2013. The controversy and news stories that will inevitably emerge could make the tales involving previous presidential candidates look mild by comparison."

Meghan Markle reportedly planning to run for US president - "Meghan Markle is reportedly already networking with senior Democrats to help her ambitions to become the first female US president.  The Duchess of Sussex previously told friends about her political ambitions — and now hopes her blockbuster Oprah Winfrey interview will strengthen support in the US...   Another biographer previously insisted that the duchess does not have the “skin of a rhino to run for office,” with her sensitivity to criticism only further highlighted during her sit-down with Oprah.  “I would state categorically that she has no chance of ever running for president. She would be eaten alive,” Andrew Morton, author of “Meghan: A Hollywood Princess,” told Vanity Fair"
She and her shills can just blame her putative failure on racism and sexism

Meghan Markle Troll Makes Over $3k a Month Trashing Her on YouTube
Still nothing compared to how much Meghan and Harry make trashing his family

‘Pretending To Be A Duchess Won’t Buy Her Any Favors’: Netflix Cancels Meghan Markle Series Purportedly Based On Her Own Life - "Netflix, which reported last week it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, announced over the weekend that it was canceling development of a series created by British duchess Meghan Markle —  and some reports said the show would have been based on her own life... 'Meghan is realising that pretending to be a “Duchess” won’t buy her any favours in the cutthroat world of telly. Netflix has axed her first series Pearl - based on her own life - before it ever aired. Most likely because it was going to be worthy tosh. Back to the drawing board.'"
Liberals will say they are stupid for cutting content people want to watch

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle have ‘no celeb friends’, claims royal expert - "Royal write Daniela Elser’s comments come after Harry and Meghan were snubbed by David and Victoria Beckham at their son Brooklyn Beckham’s weekend wedding with Nicola Pelts. Prince William and Kate Middleton were, however, invited.  While many say that it is the ‘social snub of the year’, Elser believes it is not the first time that Prince Harry and Meghan have been left off important lists since their move to the US.  Writing for News.com.au, Elser said: “This latest Sussex-free event comes after rumours circulated earlier this year that we would see Harry and/or Meghan on the Oscars stage presenting an award, a glittering moment which obviously did not come to pass.”  She went on to further point out: “Nor were the Montecito-based royal expats on the red carpet for the Met Gala in New York or on Martha’s Vineyard for President Barack Obama’s 60th birthday last year.”"

Thomas Markle will give evidence against Meghan to support Samantha | Toronto Sun - "The 40-year-old royal is being sued for defamation by her half-sister, 57-year-old Samantha Markle, who has claimed the former ‘Suits’ actress made “false and malicious statements” about her in her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, and now the women’s father has admitted he backs his eldest daughter and would be willing to give evidence on her behalf... Samantha filed her lawsuit earlier this month and accused Meghan of spreading lies in order to promote the idea she’s overcome a difficult family situation, and highlighted the fact the former ‘Suits’ star told Oprah she was an “only child”, despite sharing the same father as Samantha and her brother, Thomas Markle Jr..  The writer also disputed Meghan’s claim in the interview that she’d last seen her half-sister “at least 18, 19 years ago and before that, 10 years before that”, and that Samantha only changed her own surname back to Markle when the former actress began generating headlines for her relationship with Harry.  Samantha claimed Meghan has fabricated stories of growing up in “virtual poverty” because her dad paid for her to attend dance and acting classes, and “elite and expensive private schools”. And despite the duchess’ claims to Oprah and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that she worked hard to put herself through university, Samantha insisted their father covered the costs of Meghan’s tuition and living expenses at Northwestern University. Samantha accused Meghan of lying about her and her childhood as part of a calculated effort so they “could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairytale life story concocted by” the duchess.  Samantha has claimed her estranged relative’s comments have damaged sales of her autobiography, ‘The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister’, prevented her from getting work, and caused emotional and mental distress."

Meghan Markle and Harry want to sell £11m mansion they 'aren't over the moon about' - "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex want to move just 18 months after buying their £11million California mansion – because they are not “over the moon” about the property."

'We didn't have a plan': Contrary to claims, Sussexes were making money deals in 2019 - "the couple spent more than a year before “Megxit” in talks with a now defunct U.S. streaming platform to make a series of 10-minute videos.   The story behind their conversations with Quibi, once hailed as the next YouTube and backed by pounds 1.3 billion of investment from the likes of Disney, NBC and Goldman Sachs, lays bare some of the apparent tensions between the Sussexes and their staff as they tried to walk the tightrope between royal duty and commercial opportunity... when they were still full-time working royals, palace aides are understood to have long harboured concerns that the couple would be accused of cashing in on their royal status because of the meetings with Quibi — or tarnished by association if it failed to take off. One source said: “Chinese walls were put up and certain amounts of information weren’t shared, which just made it difficult to protect the couple from accusations of attempting to monetise their role. It was hard for royal aides to be supportive of projects like Quibi because they knew how it might look, but the couple kept dismissing these concerns. They didn’t seem to see the pitfalls of any potential conflict of interests.” Amid talk of conflict behind the gates of Kensington Palace, with a bullying complaint submitted against the couple in October 2018, it seems that one bone of contention for royal aides was Harry and Meghan’s “secretive” conversations with her trio of US advisers."

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