January 15, 2020

"I know that Harry has been a very unhappy man ever since he came out of the army... He has felt that he's this big alpha guy and doesn't really have a place to land."

"And what's happened now is that Prince William and Prince Charles - you've got two heirs, well actually... it's very crowded at the top right now! - and we're in the twilight of the Queen's reign, let's face it, she's not going to go on forever, and they're on this really accelerated flight path now to get ready to be the King and the Prince of Wales.... I do think [the new royal portrait with the Queen and her three direct heirs made Harry feel] 'I'm being edited out'... and I think [Meghan] also minded it. So I think his feeling has been, 'Look, I'm being edited out, therefore I want out.'... The truth is that when you are in the royal family, when you join the royal family, you are an ensemble player. Everyone is supposed to be an ensemble player, you're all there to support one person. There's only one monarch and you're there as the backup troupe.... This year, Meghan and Harry were expected to do 200 royal appearances, all over the place... things like opening hospitals in Guildford... And for Meghan who has a big celebrity of her own, I think she found that a waste of herself as an asset.... [Harry] is a big asset... Harry is the second most popular person after the Queen in the royal family.... Everyone thinks this is 'Meghan has got what Meghan wants'...  I actually do think Prince Harry really wanted out too."

Says Tina Brown, the famous magazine editor who also wrote the terrific book "The Diana Chronicles" (which I read, not because I care about the royals but because I like well-done nonfiction on any subject).

It's interesting, this purported need of Harry's to be a "big alpha guy," because so many people are reacting to "Megxit" with the idea that he's a weak man, manipulated by his wife.

116 comments:

gilbar said...

a family having "an heir", and "a spare" isn't new...
It's the oldest story in the world

stevew said...

The whole royalty thing is such a black box to me. This idea of "when you join the royal family" seems silly. Harry was born into the royal family, he didn't join it. I can totally see how he is disappointed and unhappy about his position - it isn't the result of anything he did or did not do. Especially for a young, handsome, accomplished, and ambitious guy.

Pinning this on Megan is blame casting. Probably because Harry is well loved and folks don't want to believe that he wants out. Yoko didn't break up the Beatles, John's desire to move on to something else did. Likewise Harry's desire to move on from the royal family. IMHO.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne aka Doug Emhoff's Pimp Hand said...

It's interesting, this purported need of Harry's to be a "big alpha guy," because so many people are reacting to "Megxit" with the idea that he's a weak man, manipulated by his wife.

Possibly because a "big alpha guy" is supposed to do shut up and his duty?

Tina Brown's been in NYC so long I doubt she knows what "big alpha guy" really means.

JohnAnnArbor said...

Maybe he should have stayed in the army. From what I heard, he was a good officer.

tcrosse said...

Harry comes from a family full of younger siblings who are far down the order of succession. Some manage it well, like Uncle Edward and Aunt Ann, and some not well, like Uncle Andy and Great-Aunt Margaret. Maybe if he'd watched The Crown on Netflix he could have figured it out.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"Big alpha guy"

I wouldn't think less of him if I thought even half of people thought this was his decision (whether due to '2nd son' syndrome or not), but it doesn't look like this at all. Even people who know her have said she's a ruthless social climber who's been thus far unsuccessful at 'making it' until she met Harry, who let's be very frank, could've done way way better.

Piers Morgan's comments are telling, and I hate it even more because now I find myself agreeing with Piers Morgan.

rehajm said...

It's a valid point. Youthful Harry was a jovial chap. His adult role is like being Vice Vice Vice Vice Vice President. (Only five heartbeats away from the crown!) Harry could have chosen the Countess of Snowden lane or wallowed in some ceremonial military position. I'm not saying Woke Royal Kylie Jenner influencer (follow us on Instagram!) or some kind of Clinton LA-to-Vancouver-to-Frogmore corruptocrat is a better idea but at least they're trying...

Laslo Spatula said...

"He has felt that he's this big alpha guy and doesn't really have a place to land."

It's tough being the Fredo of the Royal Family.

I am Laslo.

Lucid-Ideas said...

This is a major failing of military men in general. I've seen it before.

1) The order an rationality of military life - with a logical chain-of-command and adherence to lifestyle changes - doesn't exist in the civilian world. Things don't make sense out here for a lot of guys who found discipline and congruity in the service. For guys with PTSD, it can be even worse...you're going from a shit world where at least things make sense to a less shitty world where nothing makes any sense to you at all.

2) A lot of guys do join because they think it will help them with women (absolutely THE WRONG reason to join). The old 'Mars needs Venus' trope. They end up very sorely disappointed or attached to a 'dependapotamus', miserable, and divorced in 5 years.

3) I've seen the toughest spec-ops guys, hard as nails and willing drink their own urine for 5 days while having hand grenades thrown at them while dancing the Macarena, get dragged around by their GFs and wives. It's like they're whole different people. It is strange and eerie.

Harry made a mistake. We'll read about it in a few years.

Gahrie said...

"He has felt that he's this big alpha guy and doesn't really have a place to land."

It's tough being the Fredo of the Royal Family.


He's not even Fredo...Fredo was actually a Corelone.

Gahrie said...

Harry was born into the royal family, he didn't join it. I can totally see how he is disappointed and unhappy about his position - it isn't the result of anything he did or did not do.

Especially since he knows like the rest of us that he's not actually Charles's son in the first place.

Michael K said...

Tina Brown's been in NYC so long I doubt she knows what "big alpha guy" really means.

Bingo but Lucid has a good point.

wendybar said...

Meh. I hope they stay in Canada. We have enough haters in our country now as it is.

Lyssa said...

I know absolutely nothing about Harry or what he, personally, may want, but if I try to put myself in his shoes, this certainly makes sense. Of course, that feels like a very American point of view - if he already felt that way, it makes sense that he would marry an American (and that, after casting his lot with her and talking it out to her, he would be more emboldened in this attitude).

Heck, if this whole flap winds up proving once and for all the inanity of having even a figurehead monarch, all the better.

traditionalguy said...

Harry seems to be a guardian type man that just wants to take care of Meghan. That is only a weakness to those who are so much smarter that they would never give their lives away for another.

Time to re-watch American Sniper. Bradley Cooper, who played Chris Kyle, is a Germantown( Philadelphia) guy that played that part perfectly. And he is an exact replica of my son of the same age.

Sebastian said...

"this purported need of Harry's to be a "big alpha guy," because so many people are reacting to "Megxit" with the idea that he's a weak man, manipulated by his wife"

And so it begins, the endless twaddle about the former royals, stories served up to satisfy the needs of soap opera women, easily manipulated by prog media, a narrative to support The Narrative. (Not referring to the post and Althouse herself, of course.)

The Crack Emcee said...

"It's interesting, this purported need of Harry's to be a "big alpha guy," because so many people are reacting to "Megxit" with the idea that he's a weak man, manipulated by his wife."

No Alpha needs a wife to let his feelings be known, nor would he be so stupid as to walk away from the source of his strength - being a royal - she's manipulating him, and his money, with Oprah's coaching (After Oprah made a quack like Dr. Oz "America's Doctor" - and don't forget Dr. Phil - James Arthur Ray a murderer, Obama a worthless president, John of God a popular rapist, and put up the money for this new Central Park Five lie, I'd think y'all would've figured her out by now). Harry's easy pickin's. He once wore a Nazi armband, so they've got a LOT to work with there.

That man is no Alpha.

Bay Area Guy said...

It's really hard to care about the British Royalty. Prince Andrew is a sexual weirdo. Prince Charles is goofy.

But, I reckon if the British folks care about it, I don't mind.

CJinPA said...

No one has ever lost pop culture credibility or pop culture revenue potential by abandoning tradition. No one. The risk is solely in defending tradition.

Sebastian said...

"I hope they stay in Canada."

Will Meghan be the first lefty who actually does leave the US of A for Canada to escape the heinous Trump regime?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne aka Doug Emhoff's Pimp Hand said...

Michael K said...

Bingo but Lucid has a good point.

Maybe, but then Harry wasn't exactly junior enlisted.

robother said...

It's an old English story. Heading off to seek your fortune in America was the solution for a whole lot of second and third sons of squires (and even merchants)in seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Folks with surnames like Washington, Madison, Jefferson, Lincoln, Randolph, Lee. No one in the home country knows what became of them or their progeny, probably not much, since they were all Fredos.

CJinPA said...

I'm confident Meghan and Harry will chart their own course and grow slightly older together.

Divorced by 2025. Not to be mean, but his stock will plummet after he leaves the royalty and she already has what she probably really sought, which is celebrity.

Arashi said...

So they both want to "leave the royal duties" bit, but want to keep the money and 24/7 protection? And they want to use their "royal" status to tout products to make money and be successful?

So who wants to buy "Harry and Meghan's Royal Depends"?

Thankfully, we don't have royals, but if folks want to be enthrhralled, as long as they don't try and force it on others, go for it.

I'll be over here paying attention to the cats who share my house with me and the wife.

William said...

If he were truly alpha, he'd have William offed, divorce Meghan for Kate, and drown William's kids in a hogshead of wine. These Hanover wimps don't play the game of thrones with gusto and commitment.

wendybar said...

Sebastian said...
"I hope they stay in Canada."

Will Meghan be the first lefty who actually does leave the US of A for Canada to escape the heinous Trump regime?

They are claiming they won't move here until he is out of office. Great reason to vote for Trump for 4 more years, then Ivanka for 8, then DJT jr for 8, then Eric for 8, ect...ect.. hahahaha!!!

RobinGoodfellow said...


Blogger NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...
‘It's interesting, this purported need of Harry's to be a "big alpha guy," because so many people are reacting to "Megxit" with the idea that he's a weak man, manipulated by his wife.’

Possibly because a "big alpha guy" is supposed to do shut up and his duty?”

I think this is correct. He may have felt like a big alpha guy while in the army—undoubtedly he was surrounded by sycophants and lackeys in that bureaucracy—but it looks to me like his wife and her handlers are calling the shots now. There’s not much “big alpha” in that.

The Vault Dweller said...

I don't really know or follow the Royals that much, but I would be surprised if Harry was affected so much by the one photo. I'm fairly certain he has always known he would never be King. I suspect this is something every junior sibling of a royal family has figured out rather quickly going back millennia. My guess is that Meghan didn't fully grasp all the obligations that being a royal family member entail. Obviously you get a very cush lifestyle, but you have a role to play and must be there at hundreds of different functions, you have feign interest in silly things to appear attentive, and you have to be very circumspect in your behavior in public. You can not express very controversial public opinions. Now that she has experienced it for a bit, I'm guessing it feels smothering to her.

In hindsight, my guess is that Harry feels he would have been better off marrying some nice British girl, rather than an American. The British girl would have understood the obligations of being a royal better, and also probably more excited to become part of that family.

Jeff Weimer said...

Meghan is only a "big celebrity" because she married Harry. She was a supporting actress on a fairly obscure cable drama before that.

The Crack Emcee said...

CJinPA said...

"Divorced by 2025. Not to be mean, but his stock will plummet after he leaves the royalty and she already has what she probably really sought, which is celebrity."

By then, Harry will move here - which she won't as long as you-know-who is in office - to sing "Everything I dislike about my ex-wife gets fixed by Donald Trump"

In Harry's case, it'll be proximity...

Biff said...

Harry did seem to be in his element while in the military, and I recall telling my S.O. at the time that it was a mistake for him to be forced out of active duty for ribbon cuttings.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

Meg has proven she doesn't have the acting chops to successfully perform as a member of the royal family. So like most spoiled american women, she took the child and ran and will eventually use the child for a divorce-driven payday. Harry is just a bit player in Meg's Shakespearean drama. Eventually he will exeunt right, chased by a bear.

Ken B said...

Two dreadful people. Insty had a link to a good Piers Morgan colum on them.

Megthered said...

Harry is not an alpha. His history has been preached to him since birth. This is not a job he applied for, he was born into this history. Meghan thought she would be a princess, she's just a duchess, she couldn't even wear the tiara she wanted at her wedding. She doesn't understand that the Queen has the power and she has to live with that. She has to stand behind William and Katherine, she can't ever walk in front of them. Everything she does has to go through the Queen's office. She thought she would be top dog and then found she is just attached to another corgi. Harry never got over his mother's death. You notice now how they are talking about Harry's "fragile mental state". That will be used as a reason to let them go.

MayBee said...

Meghan was just about to sign a deal with Disney when they left Archie in Canada to go to the UK and announce they are going to be financially independent. The timing seems like she found out she couldn't keep the money, and wants the fame that might come with acting for Disney (currently she's signed to do voice over work). So "independence" for them seems like it means "fame" for her, but of course they have a bit of a catch-22 on their hands because she didn't have "big fame" here until she married Harry.

Did Harry want out? I don't know...he seemed to enjoy himself. I mean, he makes public appearances for a living and then goes to the Arctic Circle and hosts the invictictus games and plays polo and cricket. He traveled the world and has a lot of money and it seems like a pretty good job compared to other jobs.

I say "seem" a lot here because I obviously have no idea. But I don't really buy the poor little rich boy story for Harry. When he married Meghan is when he lost his public joie de vivre and started making announcements about only having two kids because of global warming before he jetted off on Elton John's plane.

The Little Myrmidon said...

She wants to be the Duchess of Woke.

The comments are running very heavily towards her being a narcissistic personality, a user, and maybe an abuser.

Unknown said...

"I think this is correct. He may have felt like a big alpha guy while in the army—undoubtedly he was surrounded by sycophants and lackeys in that bureaucracy"

Brit here - that's not how Royalty and the Army work. Everybody in the armed forces are under the strictest instructions to treat Royals the same as any other recruit. Some Royals - and to be fair, Harry was one of them - find this to be a relief, others (Prince Edward) crash and burn. Harry has had a lot of credit in the army since the time he threatened to resign unless he was sent on a tour of duty to Afghanistan (a real one at that, not some form filling REMF post), he has seemed to be at something of a loss what to do since leaving.

I have to say there is a feeling over here that part of the problem is that Meghan has gone from a world (Hollywood celebrity, star of a hit TV show) where she was the most high profile person in the room to one where none if this is worth a damn and she hasn't enjoyed the transition and wants out.

narciso said...

this is the same tina brown, that slobbered over avenatti, that cheered '50 shades of grey' as a good thing, my what a tedious git,

Ray - SoCal said...

Tina Brown is part of the cultural elite that includes Hollywood, Fashion, Media, publishing, that is very woke. Meghan has made the part of her tribe, and they are defending her.

And a court trial is coming up, where H&M sued a uk newspaper. The ostracized Father may testify. Buy pop corn futures!

The ones I feel sorry for are the Queen and Philip. That’s not the right way to treat your grandparents.

tim in vermont said...

"Harry did seem to be in his element while in the military,”

If this was Shakespeare, he would be out in some dukedom raising an army, knitting alliances, etc, etc, to take what he believed should be his.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

@Aunty Trump - That would be Harry's Shakespeare. Meg's is very different. Either farce or rom com, maybe a tragedy (but only time will tell).

Kevin said...

If Harry is such an Alpha, why isn't it just "Harry wants this" or "Harry wants that"?

Why is it, "Harry and Megan want this", which raises all kinds of questions about what's happening and who's driving the decisions?

tim in vermont said...

Or the king would send him over to France with an army to have a little fun and secure more holdings based on some ancient claim. It’s an obsolete institution.

But Harry would fit right in as a prince in Much Ado About Nothing. As TOWINO points out.

tim in vermont said...

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2020/01/unskilled-foreigners-seek-move-to-canada/

Birches said...

How dare Meghan be expected to play nice at hospital openings! The shame!

These sympathizers aren't helping the cause.

Kevin said...

This looks exactly like girl marries rich guy, girl has rich guy's baby, girl uses baby to get huge payday from rich guy.

Except Harry has no money. It's all tied up in the family.

Need that other rich guy (Walt Disney?) to get the family to pony up some of their cash so they can influence some of the terms.

Someday they'll make a movie about the whole thing.

Harry will be given a Producer credit.

Kevin said...

How terrible to be forced to meet sick children in hospitals when you could be the voice of a Disney forest creature.

Someone should notify Amnesty International!

Unknown said...

Duty is Dead

n.n said...

He can be both a [alpha] man and husband. Reconcile.

Unknown said...

Born with a silver spoon

Going for the golden ring

Birches said...

Hard to see Harry as an Alpha after watching this video.

Unknown said...

Why didn't he STAY in military?

tcrosse said...

Someday they'll make a movie about the whole thing.

This whole rigmarole was predicted in the play and film King Charles III. Well, except for the appearance of the ghost of Princess Di.

narciso said...

also when he called out the army against parliament, over some libel law, the royals were a bit more entertaining with William bowing out for a season, after a loosely based Charles is out of the picture,

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Harry is a big asset...

Personally, I think all the royals are big harry assets...

Louie the Looper said...

Meghan had a child a few months ago. Has anyone in the family considered she might be experiencing post-partum depression? It’s not an uncommon condition. It’s understandable that a new mother might feel overwhelmed and want to escape or change her current situation. She might change her mind after her moods settle down. I hope she has someone she can talk to that has Meghan’s and Harry’s and the baby’s interests as a priority. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case.

Mark said...

Who the hell is Harry Mountbatten-Windsor?

He might be Mr. Arrogant, but he is certainly not Mr. Everybody's Favorite Royal.

Achilles said...

Aunty Trump said...
"Harry did seem to be in his element while in the military,”

If this was Shakespeare, he would be out in some dukedom raising an army, knitting alliances, etc, etc, to take what he believed should be his.


His wife would be doing all the work though.

Yancey Ward said...

Game of Drones.

tim in vermont said...

Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.


Or... we could fly first class to some bumfuck town and cut a ribbon on some new urgent care facility to gin up some publicity for the people who funded it.

tim in vermont said...

"His wife would be doing all the work though”

Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare covered it all.

gspencer said...

Meghan, now that she's wimpified him, laughs at his unit.

Harry, you married badly.

tim in vermont said...

"Game of Drones.”

How did all of literature, going back thousands of years to the first written story when Gilgamesh fought the fire breathing monster who who was protecting the treasure, the cedars of Lebanon, end up being subsumed by a show whose main attraction otherwise was soft core porn. Gilgamesh even had that. How did he become human? How was he changed so that he no longer could drink peaceably with the beasts of the plains, so that he no longer ate grass but became a hunter of other animals? Well, a whore was sent to him who fucked him senseless for three days, IIRC. After that Gilgamesh was a man.

There is nothing new in GoT but the production values.

FullMoon said...

Was Harry "woke" prior to marriage?

Kaepernik woke up when he hooked up.

C,mom, man, it's love.

tim in vermont said...

Isn’t he a dead ringer for Lady Di’s tennis coach anyways? If they were serious royals, they would DNA test him and execute the whole lot for treason against Charles, who would be king now.

tim in vermont said...

I like how the Gilgamesh version of the Garden of Eden got bowdlerized into the Genesis version with the Apple of Knowledge. In both cases a woman awakened his humanity and separated him from the animal kingdom, finally.

dhagood said...

when I look at all the things that are important to me, the fate of the british royal family is waaaaaay below that event horizon. I don't care about harry, his wife, or anybody associated with any part of any of it. and somehow, there is an article in every magazine, newspaper, and web site about one of them (I assume there are similar articles on tv and radio news but I pay no attention to them) on a daily basis.

isn't there an opt-out button somewhere?

Michael K said...

Isn’t he a dead ringer for Lady Di’s tennis coach anyways?

Riding master. I posted photos of the two side by side at Ricochet.

Here's another pair.

John Scott said...

The guy flew Apache helicopters in Afghanistan. I'm not going to quibble about the Alpha male thing.

But when I first read about the move the article stated that they were going to move to North America. More specifically, Canada. Reminded me of all the celebrities threatening to move there if Trump ever got elected. Funny how all these right thinking people never choose Mexico.

Michael K said...

It’s understandable that a new mother might feel overwhelmed and want to escape or change her current situation.

You mean those sleepless nights feeding the baby are getting to her ? :) :) :)

Jack Klompus said...

"Bradley Cooper, who played Chris Kyle, is a Germantown( Philadelphia) guy that played that part perfectly."

Ok, not to nitpick since I like Cooper but...!

Germantown is a pretty rough part of inner-city Philadelphia. Cooper grew up in Rydal which is a posh suburb. He attended Germantown Academy which had long, long ago relocated to a multi-acre campus in the wealthy town of Fort Washington - they just kept the name.

(We Philadelphians get butt hurt when people claim to be from Philly but are from the rich 'burbs (like that spoiled jerk Kobe Bryant!)

Skeptical Voter said...

Harry has fallen in with the legions of husbands who have accepted the message that the way to domestic tranquility is the constant use of the phrase "Yes Dear".

Now as my late grandmother once told me, "I never said No to Bill (her husband) but then I always did what I wanted." That was the secret to a 60 plus year marriage.

Prince Harry could take some advice from my late grandmother. Opening shopping centers in Manchester is a miserable gig--but being a moneyed, but unemployed layabout in Vancouver BC is worse.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne aka Doug Emhoff's Pimp Hand said...

Anonymous said...

I have to say there is a feeling over here that part of the problem is that Meghan has gone from a world (Hollywood celebrity, star of a hit TV show) where she was the most high profile person in the room to one where none if this is worth a damn and she hasn't enjoyed the transition and wants out.

She wasn't that well known here in the States, "Suits" was not that big of a hit. I'd say her profile as Mrs. Harry Windsor was much higher than it was during her Hollywood career.

Lucien said...

Interesting to see all the current references to “Alpha” and “Beta” men, given that the guy who first published the study about Alpha wolves has now debunked it. But it will live on as a triumph of truth over facts.

elkh1 said...

Meghan, a big celebrity?
Never heard of her until she hooked up with Princess Di's 2nd son.

Narr said...

Those genetic tests don't lie. Harry's no more a Windsor than I am.

Narr
I now believe they killed his mama

Left Bank of the Charles said...

A sizable portion of the British public, egged on by their tabloids, treat the Royal Family like a public park where they are free to urinate and defecate. It's high time that someone in the Royal Family told them that enough is enough.

Ralph L said...

Michael K said...
Isn’t he a dead ringer for Lady Di’s tennis coach anyways?

Riding master. I posted photos of the two side by side at Ricochet.

Here's another pair.

Um, your link comes to the conclusion that he isn't.

Harry's eyes are too close together, just like Charles's and Phil's, and unlike Hewitt's.

Kirk Parker said...

Lucid-Ideas @ 12:14pm,

You only hate it because you're looking at it backwards. You should adopt my approach: I absolutely love it when Piers Morgan comes around to my way of thinking!

Ann Althouse said...

Hewitt didn’t meet Diana until after Harry was born. It’s a stupid rumor.

Anonymous said...

Kevin said...
This looks exactly like girl marries rich guy, girl has rich guy's baby, girl uses baby to get huge payday from rich guy.

Except Harry has no money. It's all tied up in the family.


lots of money controlled by the Queen and a fair amount by Dad,

but he also picked up $20M from Diana's estate when he turned 30.

Amadeus 48 said...

Personally, I think Harry looks like his grandfather. What do you think?

https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/22/prince-harry-looks-uncannily-similar-to-grandfather-prince-philip-in-1957-8063553/

tcrosse said...

It used to be considered Treason to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the heir to the throne, no matter how far down the order of succession.

hombre said...

Time for a DNA test for Harry!

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

Sure, sure, they SAY Diana and Hewitt met after Harry was born. But they would say that, wouldn't they? What evidence - other than the testimony of people who already lied and dissembled about the affair - do we have that their meeting was after Harry's birth?

And really, who the hell cares who is the real father of this second son? We already know his wife is his Daddy. That's all that's relevant to today's tabloid "news".

Nichevo said...

Well that knocks that. Figured Harry knew he was Hewitt's bastard and pulled the eject handle by marrying a yachter and running things into the ground.

Amadeus 48 said...

It is never a mistake to ignore Tina Brown.

She came to America and dazzled the hicks who populate the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and the entertainment industry with charm, wit, industrial-strength flattery, and endless fountains of other peoples' money. But she had already snared one of the greatest English newspaper editors of his generation, Harold Evans, after having ridden (so to speak) a relationship with Auberon Waugh to fame and glory in her twenties.

She has the morals and talents of a first class PR babe who will make you (and her) famous with your money. She fits perfectly into the caviar gauche world of Anna Wintour, Si Newhouse, and Barry Diller.

If she had gotten to Rupert Murdoch before any of his last three wives, history might have been different.

Greg the class traitor said...

This year, Meghan and Harry were expected to do 200 royal appearances, all over the place... things like opening hospitals in Guildford... And for Meghan who has a big celebrity of her own, I think she found that a waste of herself as an asset.... [Harry] is a big asset... Harry is the second most popular person after the Queen in the royal family.... Everyone thinks this is 'Meghan has got what Meghan wants'... I actually do think Prince Harry really wanted out too."

"And for Meghan who has a big celebrity of her own"? Seriously? How many people is she known of by now, compared to before she hooked up w/ Harry? 10x? 100x? 1000x?

Her "celebrity" is a gift from the royals.

"Harry is the second most popular person after the Queen in the royal family"

No, Harry WAS 2nd. I really doubt that's true, now that he's been busy opening his ignorant mouth on politics.

It doesn't take many private plane flights, after blathering about "climate change", before your popularity heads down.

Could be it's Harry's fault. but, since AFAIK Harry only started the public woke BS after he hooked up with Meghan, she seems the more likely culprit

NorthOfTheOneOhOne aka Doug Emhoff's Pimp Hand said...

Amadeus 48 said...

Personally, I think Harry looks like his grandfather. What do you think?

He looks a lot like Diana's brother did in his younger days.

tcrosse said...

Could be it's Harry's fault. but, since AFAIK Harry only started the public woke BS after he hooked up with Meghan, she seems the more likely culprit

So he's the Colin Kaepernick of the Royal Family?

Mary Beth said...

I think Harry looks like a Spencer but with Windsor eyes.

Amadeus 48 said...

"And for Meghan who has a big celebrity of her own, I think she found that a waste of herself as an asset..."

THAT is a classic Tina Brown sentence. The irresistible hype, the souped-up praise of something less than mediocre, the flattery, the hint that something bigger and better is in the works.

Tina Brown is on maneuvers. She is angling for some role in the unveiling of the new, better-than-ever version of the junior Windsors--Meghan Markle, an American Princess of Colour who fought racism and envy in the country that planted slavery in America, and Prince Harry, who single-handedly turned the tide in Afghanistan and gave up his birthright to stand with and serve her. Watch the Obamas bend the knee before this 21st Century super-duper couple. Sasha Obama will be taken in by the Windsor-Markles to learn the graces of royalty.

I think there are some disgusting, fawning articles in the Tina-Brown-era Vanity Fair about the new leader of Manhattan society, Blaine Trump. Remember her? She was married to the Donald's brother Robert. She has kinda disappeared, hasn't she?

The only real mistake you can make is to take Tina Brown's hype seriously. It is a form of romance novel.

William said...

From Shakespeare to The Crown, I've always enjoyed dramatizations of the monarchy. The real monarchs much less so. The many interesting movies and series about them are more a triumph of the dramatist's arts than of the monarchs and their dull lives. It's hard to live a life of quiet desperation when you're the monarch, no matter how hard they try....I hope Harry and Meghan will overcome the obstacles of fame, good looks, and riches to go on to lead happy, constructive lives. I'm pretty sure future generations of dramatists will find their lives worthy of note. If you were a writer, who would you rather write about: Charles and Camilla or Harry and Meghan?... Well, as luck would have it, King Edward VIII and Mrs. Wallis didn't turn out to be such a great romance after all. History takes some surprising turns. I won't be around for the denouement of this fabled love, but my guess is that it will play out in unexpected ways. The future will happen.

Amadeus 48 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amadeus 48 said...


A witty and thought-provoking take on the Windsor soap opera is Mike Bartlett's 2014 play Charles III, written in blank verse to feel appropriately Shakespearean. Charles, having succeeded to the throne upon his mother's death, has a little trouble parsing the unwritten English Constitution (if the king's assent is necessary to enact an act of Parliament, may he refuse to assent, notwithstanding the iron-bound custom that the sovereign always assents?) and it leads to all sorts of problems. Harry makes an appearance in a subplot line that highlights some of the difficulties of being a royal, difficulties that the real Harry is struggling with right now.

Seeing Red said...

This is a 1000 year old institution.

After a few bloody centuries, the hereditary order is clear.

To have their noses out of joint because of continuity is ridiculous.

I loved looking at that photo. When has the Royal Family had this opportunity, 4 generations.

Seeing Red said...

Meghan got told no for Diana’s stuff, they wanted to set up their own Court -who would have footed that Bill? — and they complain they’re poor and they’re left out of a photo?

And they whine?

Mark said...

Now as my late grandmother once told me, "I never said No to Bill (her husband) but then I always did what I wanted." That was the secret to a 60 plus year marriage.

Passive-aggressiveness is the secret to a long marriage?

I think not.

Rosalyn C. said...

Initially I sympathized with Harry's dilemma of knowing he would only be second best and live in his brother's shadow, never be the star, and him wanting to strike out and do something of his own making, especially since Harry now has a family of his own. Of course I don't know his abilities or his plans and so far he's given no indication of anything specific. He'll continue to be supported by his father and I have read that he inherited millions from his mother, so he already has enough to live a very comfortable, if more modest, lifestyle. But we are being lead to believe that Harry and Meghan have much bigger ambitions. Whether they capitalize on their assets and greatly increase their wealth remains to be seen. Count me doubtful.

I did a little research on Harry's uncle Edward as well as his father Charles. I don't buy the explanation that Harry had no place to land within the family. His father offers a very substantial example of making a life time career out of being a Prince. Yes, eventually Charles will be king but he's seventy one years old and in effect he's spent the better part of his life waiting. Charles found things to do, he developed his properties, the agriculture production, advanced various other projects, worked on his art. Uncle Edward went on a independent streak for a while, investing in theatrical and television productions which were not financially successful. He's now taking on the official duties of his father, Duke of Edinburgh, return to the firm as they call it.

Harry most likely will return to royal duties eventually. He has done tremendous damage to the brand at the moment and probably personally is on shaky ground. I have no time for the monarchy however I really have been impressed by how supportive his family is being. His father will not cut him off, his grandmother wants his situation worked out. Likely Harry will be running back and forth between the UK and Canada for a while but family is so important that IMO he'll return to live permanent in the UK. What Meghan does is anybody's guess.

William said...

The American ruling class has produced its own great love stories. Remember Al and Tipper Gore and their fabled kiss at the Democratic Convention. A fairy tale romance in every way. PBS should take a page from BBC and produce a show based on the story of their great love.....Maybe a series based on the great Democratic love affairs of our era. Huma and Tony. JFK and Jackie. Bob and Ethel. There's been so many storied love affairs.....Sunrise at Campobello. That should be the model. FDR and Eleanor were in their way the model for all great subsequent Democratic love stories. It was just a shame that Greta Garbo had retired. She, not Greer Garson, was the movie star who most resembled Eleanor and was born to play the part, but it was not to be.

William said...

The early Bolsheviks had some great love stories: Tolstoy's wife would tactfully arrange to be absent when Frida came over for a visit. That's all very well, but Lenin's wife showed the true revolutionary spirit. She recruited a younger friend to be Lenin's paramour. This saved the great man the trouble of shopping around on his own and gave him the time necessary to work such miracles in the Soviet Union....They always pay so much attention to the royal family's affairs of the heart whilst skipping over all these other great love stories.

tcrosse said...

Luckily as Americans we don't have to deal with this sort of foolishness, since Chelsea Clinton has figured out her own way forward in the world.

Amadeus 48 said...

William--Many say that Stalin was never the same after his second wife's suicide. She had so much to live for! Why did she do it?

So, using the analysis of today's Dems and their lickspittles in the media, she has the lives of at least 9 million Soviet people on her head, just as Trump has the passengers and crew of the Ukrainian airliner shot down over Tehran on his. I hope you are satisfied, Nadezhda! You caused all those deaths.

rcocean said...

Sorry there's no contradiction between the two. I've known plenty of Big strong he-men, who caved and did whatever their wives wanted. Being a tough guy in the locker room, doesn't mean you can stand up to your wife in the bedroom. At least with some men. Its the difference between physical courage and moral courage.

rcocean said...

Prince harry isn't the first UK Prince to be put on the back burner. He *is* the first one to go Hollywood, marry a divorced actress who's in her mid-30s, and the first to marry a Mulatto. Nobody in 2020 really buys the British Royalty thing, even the British Royalty. Britannia doesn't rule the waves, the sun sets on the British Empire, and a large number of Englishmen think the Royals should just go away.

what would've happened if Queen Liz had died in 1995, and Charles had become King? We might not have a Monarchy.

rcocean said...

"Luckily as Americans we don't have to deal with this sort of foolishness,"

Yeah, we get tabloid news about Hollywood and TV. Did you know Amy Hunstsville has left "the View" because its "Toxic"? Also, Whoopi is upset. Yeah, lucky us.

tim in vermont said...

I stand corrected. I wish I cared more.... OK, no I don’t.

tim in vermont said...

I am pretty sure that Trudeau is Castro’s bastard son though, and it’s not like his mother, who was once photographed coming out of the Rolling Stones limo bottomless was any paragon of chastity.

DanTheMan said...

>>Luckily as Americans we don't have to deal with this sort of foolishness, since Chelsea Clinton has figured out her own way forward in the world.

No more Clintons. No more Bushes. No more Kennedys. And, when the time comes, No more Trumps.

Balfegor said...

Can the Queen just appoint him Governor General of Canada?

Or perhaps that would be too much of a reward for a grandson who has behaved so ungraciously.

I think people would be more sympathetic to him and his wife if they'd behaved like adults sensible of their position and discussed it with the Palace beforehand, instead of blindsiding the Queen with a press release. I mean, I probably wouldn't be particularly sympathetic to him -- having to go around to little villages around the UK for local grand openings and suchlike is not such a terrible job. And I'm wholly unsympathetic to his wife pretty much no matter what. If she didn't want to spend her time doing that sort of thing, well, she should have gone after the heir to a mediatized princely house with no official duties at all instead. But other people probably would be. My impression is that they've blown up a lot of goodwill with their behaviour.

Balfegor said...

Re: Greg the class traitor:

I suspect Harry and Megan have no idea what "financial independence" looks like.

I'm sure Harry hasn't any idea, but why would you think Meghan doesn't? She wasn't a movie star raking in millions and blowing it on dinosaur skeletons and tropical islands. She was a C-list actress playing a supporting character in a TV show. She was apparently making a good salary, but not the kind of salary where money loses all meaning. She probably has a very good idea of how much money she needs to bring in to live in the style to which she has become accustomed.

Wince said...

A couple of heir heads.

Douglas B. Levene said...

No one is commenting on Harry and Meghan’s plans to monetize the royal family name by merchandising “Sussex Royal” whatevers. I’m sure his grandmother just loves that idea. A thousand-year-old monarchy turned into a branding company. My prediction, however, is that he’ll be forced to relinquish his titles and estates if they go through with those plans, and i wonder how much appeal “Sussex Royal” will have as the brand of two commoners.

Amadeus 48 said...

Newhouse? Althouse? It is a match made in heaven. Why Tina and not Ann?

Amadeus 48 said...

I want a Sussex Royal bedpan, and I won't settle for anything less. And a Sussex Royal dishtowel to go with the Buckingham Palace dishtowels that we use at our Michigan house.



Ralph L said...

When has the Royal Family had this opportunity, 4 generations.

Victoria and Edward VIII overlapped about 4 years, but she disliked E VII so much, I don't think a photo of 4 generations exists.