#brf godparents

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

They lied on the Welby once: "no one knows this...just the 3 of us..." Perhaps Welby performed another backyard "blessing" type of Christening 3 days before THIS "SPECTACLE." -LOL

My best guess is that Welby was present in Windsor on Saturday morning (Kate allegedly photographed in blue) then attended the Synod in YORK AFTER the Christening.

The Meghans play so many PR mind games. Who can believe anything they say or do. At Wimbledon she behaved like she was off her face!

People in Windsor were disappointed: "she could have just allowed us to see the baby."

"Today [July 6, 2019] marks Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s christening, an intimate ceremony that will take place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle. The service is being conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury and images, taken by photographer Chris Allerton, will be released later this afternoon. But unlike previous royal christenings, the names of the baby’s godparents will not be announced, with Buckingham Palace describing this choice as "in keeping with [the family's] wishes."

"But Harry and Meghan did release photos taken by photographer Chris Allerton to commemorate the milestone a few hours after the ceremony."

"Chris Allerton, who also photographed Archie’s debut when he was two (2) days old and took pictures at the Sussexes’ wedding..."

"Archie's christening was an intimate affair (roughly 25 people were expected to be there) But today, Harry and Meghan shared new photos of the young royal in honor of his christening. This morning, little Archie was baptized while surrounded by family and close friends. Here's what we know about the ceremony so far."

"Members of the press were not there to capture photos of the christening or the royals going in and out of the church. While all royal christenings are private (for example, they aren't live streamed to the public, and reporters do not attend the actual ceremony), this shift in coverage of the arrivals differs from what the public has seen at recent baptisms..."

"The move is in contrast to the decision by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to let cameras capture their children at their christenings, together with the arrivals of family members and godparents, before holding private services," reporter Roya Nikkah wrote in the Sunday Times.

The Archbishop of Canterbury's name does not appear on the Synod schedule. He does publicly speak during the farewells on Monday afternoon.

https://www.churchofengland.org/about/general-synod/agendas-papers/general-synod-july-2019#na

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to share the happiness of this day, and would like to thank everyone around the world for their ongoing support," reads a statement released in honor of the day.

"They feel so fortunate to have enjoyed this special moment with family and Archie’s godparents."

Reminder:

Thursday, July 4th 2019: "Put your hat on"-Lindsay // "smile"- Genevieve [grab your friends arm-Lindsay] Wimbledon Fiasco

Saturday, July 6th 2019 : Release of Christening Photos

Guess who 🧐

"Archie was christened in the private chapel at Windsor Castle, not St. George's Chapel, where Harry and Meghan were married, as was previously rumored."

How could the Archbishop of Canterbury possibly have christened Archificial on July 6th? He was presiding at the General Synod in York that day! 

The Christening picture shows metadata as taken on May 8, 2019.  The same day as Archie doll was introduced to the public and to HM and PP.  Justin Welby was here….

Did he sneak in the christening on this day of May 8, 2019?  When yes christening was supposed to be July 6, 2018😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[hrhzaratindall]

Confirmation on Lucas Tindall’s godparents

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

We’ve come a long way from Megxit 2020 and Harry and Meghan haven’t really stopped talking in the four years.

What is your view on their approach to their children. I don’t want to talk about their children just your view from a PR perspective. Do you think they got what they wanted?

I don't know if it could be stressed enough just how badly and how much Harry and Meghan overestimated the interest in their children.

Yes, there was public interest in Harry's children, but it wasn't (and wouldn't have ever been) anywhere close to the same level or scale as the attention William and his family received or experienced, which is what Harry and Meghan expected. They expected the public to be falling all over themselves with Royal Baby Fever. They expected the world's press to camp outside the hospital for Meghan's glamorous debut. They expected the BRF to give them HRHs and Prince/Princess titles and to shut down all of central London so Harry could drive his wife and new baby home by himself without having to worry about terrorists and paparazzi chasing after them.

When none of that happened, they threw tantrums. They kept Archie's birth a secret. They played keep-away with his face for a couple of months until the christening. They schemed with an American media company to broadcast the first images of their son. They refused to let their son use Harry's subsidiary title. They flipped everyone off. They refused to name the godparents. They instituted rules demanding their neighbors not speak of, look at, or touch their child. (The public's, and BRF's, apathy when Lili was born was even worse.)

Not that they had to do any of that - it was fully and totally their call to do whatever they wanted with their child. But they can't keep the public behind a gated cinderblock wall and then be upset when the public doesn't react when they're finally given a morsel of information about a kid they haven't seen - it's as The Queen said: she had to be seen to be believed. For royal babies, they have to be seen to be loved.

The Sussexes never understood that. They always assumed that the kids would be loved because they were Harry's children. But they were wrong. They were soooooooooooooo wrong and it's why there's so much doubt and speculation that the kids even exist in the first place, which is also what tanked their ability to use the kids for PR.

Which is probably a good thing. Those kids have it rough enough as it is.

[celticcrossanon]

I googled who Prince Andrew's godparents were and it certainly wasn't the deposed King of Greece whose memorial service PA just attended. I get it that the King of Greece was King Charles' second cousin but I am baffled why the BRF went to a memorial service for a deposed foreign king when there could have been a memorial service on the 1st anniversary of QE2 last fall. BTW, Edward & Sophie didn't attend this memorial service either. Not a fan of PA showing up but I guess it's a family event.

Hi Nonny,

I'm not sure why a memorial was held at Windsor Castle for King Constantine either. I have heard that it was because of his connection to Prince Philip's family, but I don't know what that connection was or why it was so important that the BRF would hold a memorial service for him. I have put it down as 'Stuff the BRF do that I don't understand".

I am still fuming that The King decided not to hold a public memorial service for Her Late Majesty, so I am going to refrain from commenting on that.

The Memorial Event appeared in the Court Circular AFAIK and it also had some important guests (again AFAIK). That doesn't sound like a quiet family service to me, but I could be wrong. I don't understand the reason for Prince Andrew attending the memorial either. I do understand that this is part of King Charles letting Prince Andrew come back into the public eye, and I have very mixed feelings about that.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Lilibet's Godfather about to get #MeToo'd? Why are all the people who support HM so shady? by u/snappopcrackle

Lilibet's Godfather about to get #MeToo'd? Why are all the people who support H+M so shady? Last weekend the actor Christian Keyes said he was assaulted by a powerful man. Most guesses on Twitter were Tyler Perry.Today Crazy Days and Nights had a blind that also sounds like a group of men will be coming out against Perry. Great choice for godparent to your only daughter!Oprah, Ellen, Perry: all the couple's friends are abusers and bullies themselves. Just one more reason that the BRF should stay distanced.The Root didn't accuse Perry, but they did drop his name several times in the first two paragraphs:https://ift.tt/Ujk4JKg is the CDAN blind:At least seven men are ready to talk about the bullying and coercion inflicted upon them by this movie making mogul who likes to dress up. Many kept records and are ready to go public . Pay attention to the men in his movies and you’ll see that he has a type.https://ift.tt/jnSqYgv to play dress up = Medea post link: https://ift.tt/sGVfXzm author: snappopcrackle submitted: December 21, 2023 at 01:45AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

[royaltyspeaking]

Is there a reason why the BRF is not often represented in recent years for gatherings such as this? When other European monarchs and royal families do come together? Is it because they are not as close/ entwined with the Scandinavian royal houses?

That's the question that people regularly ask. I wouldn't expect them to attend Christians' birthday, and frankly, I don't know why they would be invited. The only foreign royals to attend were Christians' godparents and those who are his age. The only people I would imagine were invited that declined due to prior commitments would be the Spanish royals (Leonor is in the middle of military training).

[world-of-wales]

Tbh I’m not sure anyone from the BRF is invited to Denmark, only godparents and Elisabeth seems to be there from the royal sphere

But I’ll join you in being delulu

Exactly, realistically it's not happening but I love being delusional so yup. Welcome to the delulu club anon ♡

[dreamofstarlight]

I mean I wonder if he was actually close to him?? There haven’t been indications over the years he was, and we know the Greek royals would’ve mentioned it in an interview like they do with Charles and etc but William?? Like someone said he didn’t even go to his funeral. However he did go to his other godfather’s funeral and memorial the 6th Duke of Westminster when he died in 2016.

I don’t think he was (I don't know that for sure ofc) but in my opinion it's just a good diplomatic thing to go to the funeral and/or service of thanksgiving. Forgetting the he's Constantine's godson, William is the heir and it just comes off as lazy when he doesn't go to this stuff. Having Lady Gabriella go in his place - yes I know Constantine was her godfather too - who is 56th in line to the throne along with Anne and Tim Laurence is not a good look imo esp when other monarchs and heirs attended as well. Another thing is William is Alexios' godfather, I honestly think they came to that decision because they wanted to continue the idea that they are just so close to the BRF (his godparents are also Victoria, Frederik, and Felipe so they were really going for the future monarch club) despite it seeming like they are just invited to BRF events as a custom and not out of actual companionship.

[keepingupwiththeroyals]

Tiggy just rolling through straight mean mugging.

[sassyfrassboss]

List of their wrongdoings from 2017-2019:

Meghan releasing her Vanity Fair cover while Charles was on tour.

Meghan crashing Pippa's wedding with Harry's help.

Meghan talking over Kate and glaring at her at the Fab Four Forum.

Harry demanding "what Meghan wants Meghan gets."

Meghan making Kate and Charlotte cry.

Meghan commenting on Kate's "baby brain."

Meghan being so rude at Prince Charles' birthday garden party they were asked to leave.

Megan insulting the pro-life Irish.

Meghan ignoring a child who was trying to get her attention.

Meghan showing her camisole at Harry's friends wedding for merch money.

Meghan announcing her pregnancy at Eugenie's wedding.

Meghan yelling at the Governor General's wife in Australia.

Meghan making sure to stand apart so she can easily crop the photo later.

Meghan making her staff cry while on tour.

Meghan throwing a cup of hot tea at her assistant.

Meghan leaving the market after 10 minutes because of her own ego.

Meghan failing to properly curtsy the Princess of Tonga.

Meghan refusing to let go of Harry's hand so he can properly greet the Princess of Tonga.

Meghan forgetting and then turning around to curtsy to the King and Queen of Tonga.

Meghan using the AUS tour to make $$$ off of merching. Harry too...

Harry coming back from the tour and bragging to everyone how they are the better royals and everyone is jelly of them.

Meghan crying because she was mad she was not on the main balcony during the Remembrance Day parade.

Meghan starting the Rose and William rumor.

Meghan's $300k baby shower and the cost payers for her security.

Meghan refusing to follow protocol on the Morocco tour and walking ahead of Harry to greet the King.

Meghan refusing the dates offered.

Meghan forgetting to say goodbye to the Prince of Morocco and having to turn around.

Meghan making multiple surprise appearances on days when Kate had important engagements.

Meghan purposely wearing the same color as Kate on such surprise engagements.

Meghan forcing Harry to leave the departing line early of the Commonwealth Service.

Meghan going breaking protocol and going ahead of Harry in the departing line of the Commonwealth Service.

Harry for allowing Meghan to force him to stop talking and leave the guests in the departing line.

Meghan and Harry for being rude to the guests of The Queen.

Harry and Meghan for refusing to use the correct titles for the Wales kids on social media for their birthdays.

Meghan and Harry for lying about the details of Archie's birth making the BRF look like idiots.

Megan and Harry for naming their son Archie and stealing Prince George's nickname.

Meghan for crashing the polo match were she made sure to get in photos with Kate in the kids but refused to have anything to do with them.

Meghan for clearing out an entire section at Wimbledon.

Harry asking the president of Disney for a job for Meghan at the Lion King premiere.

Harry and Meghan for taking tons of private jets in just a matter of days.

Harry and Meghan for refusing to go to Balmoral for the family weekend and instead going to the South of France.

Harry and Meghan using taxpayer money for their lifestyle but refusing to announce Archie's godparents.

Harry and Meghan lying that Archie was too small to go to Balmoral but took him to the South of France.

Harry for lecturing about climate change but using private jets all the time claiming it was for safety reasons.

Meghan for lying to the palace about her Vogue edition.

Meghan leaving the Smartworks event early because of "feed time."

Harry and Meghan turning the SA Tour into a pity party for themselves.

Harry and Meghan for filming a documentary that was supposed to be about the tour and they made it all about themselves.

Harry and Meghan insulting the Muslim family who cooked for them by not eating anything.

Meghan by not dressing appropriately in the mosque.

Meghan complaining that no one had asked her if she was okay and then we later found out she expected special treatment during her pregnancy but afforded none to Kate.

Harry talking about his relationship with William during the SA tour.

Harry and Meghan for suing the UK press.

Harry crying at the Wellchild awards about how lucky he is to have a healthy baby while in front of kids who are dying.

Harry and Meghan for trying to torpedo William and Catherine's Pakistan Tour.

Meghan and Harry for taking attention away from Remembrance with their own plans.

Harry and Meghan for staying in a house owned by a Russian with shady connections.

Harry and Meghan for making Canadians pay for their security.

Harry and Meghan for releasing their Christmas card to overshadow the royals on 12/23.

Meghan for leaking to Omid about Megxit right after Christmas so the focus was on Harry and her the rest of the year.

These are just off the top of my head.

Also does not include all the leaking THEY did against the family or the time the purposely did things to overshadow.

If I have missed something please feel free to add.

[the-empress-7]

As a black woman in the US, TP is definitely well known but he’s mocked a lot (for anyone a fan of the Boondocks - they have a hilarious parody of his movies). He tends to write the same melodramatic movies with abused black women in horrible wigs and then throws in himself as Madea and a few other characters for cheap laughs. People like to make fun of him so there’s lots of jokes on Twitter now (even from black Sussex fans) that him and the BRF are connected forever through Lili

Thanks for this. The BRF and Tyler are in no way connected. Being a godparent to someone in the LoS doesn't confer any kind of status, plus Lili hasn't been Christened in the Anglican Church so Tyler being her Godfather means nothing to BRF.

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

The Cambridges are a lot more relaxed now. ---- do you think they loosened coz they HAD to, or because they genuinely realised that press is not so evil?

I think there are several aspects to it. First, I think they are more relaxed in their public life because they now realize that they are doing a good job and they are more confident with their royal work. I think part of this is simply aging into the job and getting better at it (and the kids being older and better able to handle the press). However, part of it is that Meghan and Harry made the Cambridges look like superstars. No one is bitching about Kate’s short skirts or flyaway hair anymore. Heck, the Mail did an article about Kate's many coats and another one about her 100k wardrobe and they just faded into obscurity. 

Another aspect (and I may be reaching here) is that they saw how the Harkles overreacted to the press coverage and how it backfired and they were smart enough to recognize that they had behaved in a similar way in the past. The christening, in particular, was probably a big eye-opener for them. Apparently Will was really upset because Harry simply didn’t understand that there were certain things you simply had to do. 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1343571/royal-baby-prince-william-archie-harrison-godparents-prince-harry

A third aspect (which may be another reach) is that they may have realized how important the royal rota is to the royal image. I’m not talking about negative stories. I was impressed by how quickly the quality of Meghan and Harry’s pics decreased as they fought with the press.  The wedding pics being the biggest example. The UK press also went to bat defending the brf from the Netflix attacks. It’s a symbiotic relationship and the Cambridges likely appreciate that now.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

He is not the end-all-be-all to William that people keep making him out to be.

People are not making him that, it's William who is making him that!

If Kate can make a speech about Heads Together without mentioning Harry's name when he was definitely part of it then what's stopping William from doing the same?

Heads Together...you mean the charity that Kate dreamt up herself and onto which Harry only cosigned?

Please, anon. Tell me: how many times has William made Harry the center of his universe?

Because the examples you, and/or the anons who think like you, keep citing actually have bigger significance:

The Windsor Walkabout: William put country and his late grandmother's memory before himself.

Reposting birthday wishes: KP was following royal protocol. If they gave 40th birthday greetings to Meghan, they're going to do it for Harry.

Mentioning Harry in a recorded interview with other people present: WIlliam acknowleding Diana's influence and work to teach them about their privilege for helping others.

#Kategate and all the wild conspiracy theories: That had nothing publicly to do with Harry and William's choice not to have KP intervene had nothing to do with Harry.

So tell me. Fill me in. You're claiming to be the expert here, so you share your evidence. Cite your sources. When has William made Harry the endgame? When has William prioritized Harry over his wife and children?

Was it the time that William let Harry make all the decisions about George and Charlotte? (That didn't happen. What actually happened was that William confronted Harry and told him that George and Charlotte weren't his responsibility?

Was it the time William allowed Harry to visit Kate after her shocking hospitalization and cancer diagnosis? (He didn't and Harry told everyone that William wouldn't take his call.)

Was it the time that William confided in Harry about Kate's cancer diagnosis? (He didn't; Harry found out the same time as the rest of the world.)

Was it the time that William refused titles and styles for his children because Harry's children didn't get them automatically at birth? (That didn't happen.)

Was it the time that William/KP leaked how Meghan made Kate cry? (Because if William was prioritizing Harry, then he would've buried that story.)

Was it the time that William rescheduled his and Kate's garden party with the cousins so they could all go to Harry's Invictus Games thing? (That didn't happen.)

Was it the time William demanded the BRF let Harry and Meghan into the official procession for the 2020 Commonwealth Service? (Because that didn't happen. That's what Harry wanted - he wanted to be in the official procession and by William and Kate sitting down, they refused to give Harry want he wanted.)

Was it when William decided not to announce his own program in conservation and environmentalism after Harry announced Travalyst? (That definitely didn't happen.)

Was it when William declined to be in a heirs photo without Harry and Archie included? (That didn't happen.)

Was it when William moved his family back to central London from Norfolk because Harry was lonely and missed him? (That didn't happen.)

Was it when William forced Kate to reschedule Charlotte's christening so Harry could be there? (That didn't happen, and Harry missed the christening because he was seconded to Australia.)

Was it when Wiliam wanted Harry to be one of his kids's godfathers, who cares what Kate wanted? (That didn't happen; Harry isn't any of the kids's godfather, which is quite a statement to make. Neither are Pippa and James godparents for the matter, anyway.)

Was it when William cleared house and fired his entire press office because Harry had concerns they were leaking to Dan Wootton? (That didn't happen, and later, William actually promoted the person Harry accused of leaking.)

So tell me, anon. When, where, and how did William make Harry the end-all-be-all to his future monarchy?

[celticcrossanon]

Hi CC! Blind Gossip says H&M are going to do another PR stunt but it will involve the Royal Family because without the Royals, H&M have nothing: "The gesture has to signal that they are being respectful and genuinely care about the family. However, they will be the only ones deriving any benefit from it." My bet is H&M will ask William and Catherine to be Lilibet's godparents. Great way to screw the Cambridges/get the royal baptism H&M wanted. blindgossip,com/family-stunt-is-being-planned/

Hi Nonny,

That is interesting. I was wondering if Harry and Meghan would be doing anything to reaffirm their royal connection after missing the memorial service. Asking the Cambridges to be godparents is definitely a clever way to trap the BRF. If that is their plan, then I hope the Cambridges have the strength to refuse and to ride out the resultant media storm that Harry and Meghan will create from the refusal.

[princesscatherinemiddleton]

My thoughts and feelings on the Great British Divorce, as written on January 18th (and updated on February 19th)

I wrote a very long and detailed essay on my feelings when the Sussexes stood down and it was super cathartic. I’ve not reread it since (although I have added one final paragraph) but I am going to make you all read it...

Prince Harry announces he is dating Meghan Markle

I had Meghan Markle down with Ellie Goulding, Mollie from The Saturdays, Caroline Flack, and Jenna Coleman as famous women Harry has “dated” that would never come to anything. Then, on a completely normal day when I was at work, Harry released his statement. It was completely unprecedented. Everyone in the staffroom was talking about it, saying things like “I didn’t even know he was dating/Diana would want to see him happy/Who is she?”. And I knew they would be for keeps. This one would become Mrs Harry.

Engagement announcement

Do you want to know what my initial reaction was when the engagement was announced? Fear and worry. I was so so scared that Harry’s fiancé would be put through the same awful treatment Kate had gone through. I was also worried that Meghan would be pitted against Kate and vice versa – I hadn’t spent all those years watching people drag Kate against Diana/Sophie/Camilla/[insert female royal here] to live it again with Harry’s fiancé. But, despite my fears and the initial sinking feeling of dread, I was still excited. Apart from George’s first day at school, Harry and Meghan’s engagement announcement remains the only event with no Kate appearance that has a tag on my blog. I fell in love with the brilliant, charismatic, intelligent woman in the engagement interview. I was excited for the future.

Pre-wedding engagements

My main memory of how I felt at the time was disappointment at Meghan’s outfits. Where had my stylish young professional gone? Why was she wearing these wide-legged trousers that dragged on the floor with long coats? But I genuinely thought they both did really well. Meghan came across as personable and warm and intelligent. They were clearly in sync. They were a modern young couple and the perfect counterpart to the stability of the Cambridges.

Wedding

I was at uni when the wedding happened. I took the day off work and travelled home for one day to surprise my mum and watch the wedding with her. My auntie called me minutes before Meghan appeared to talk to me because she was watching it and she “knew” I was on my own in Bournemouth. When Meghan appeared, I literally crawled in front of the TV and sat inches from the screen so I could see her emerge in her dress in all its glory (I was disappointed, ngl). I cried during her wedding. I’d spent the morning spotting celebrities and Kate was there and the bridal party was fantastic. Meghan’s tiara shone like the jewel she was. Charles, Camilla, and Doria were literally angelic. After the wedding I went to my auntie’s house to watch the FA Cup final (as a family, we always do that and have a BBQ) and I spent all my time on my phone waiting for photos of their evening outfits. I cried again when I saw Meghan’s Stella dress. It’s one of my favourite wedding outfits of all time. I’m a super fussy bitch and I had plenty of complaints with the wedding and I have aired them before but it was a truly happy and wonderful day and I was happy and content.

Post-wedding engagements

I know I’m literally only talking about Meghan but I don’t pay attention to Harry so I barely know if he’s there or not. I think Meghan hit the ground running. She did some brilliant engagements during the time post-wedding and pre-Archie. Her patronage choices were inspired and the work she did with her patronages is some of my favourite Meghan work. Obviously, she also created the Together Cookbook, which doesn’t need going into. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Meghan would have been the Anne of this generation of royals, quietly getting the numbers and doing fantastic work. Meghan was connecting with people no one else could in a way no one had since Harry himself. She quite literally made the role her own.

Faux Pas

Meghan had teething problems but, most of the time, I put them down to cultural differences. Things like talking about abortion in Ireland – any British person knows not to do that. More importantly, it was a political statement, which is, essentially, “against the rules”. I think Meghan would have grown out of these, as she was making far less of them already, in the same way Kate, Camilla, Sophie, and Diana grew out of them. I also think the general public opinion wasn’t as positive as social media has people believe. I was talking to Cece about this but the Africa documentary went down badly. If it wasn’t for Andy’s well-timed interview, I think it would have been a much bigger deal but, as it was, it was swept under the carpet. Don’t get me wrong, I think Meghan made some incredible points in the documentary that deserved being aired BUT I never heard anyone in the real world say anything positive about those decisions. I think, during their time together, both Harry and Meghan made mistakes that warranted criticism and I don’t think they ever received that criticism because…

Press treatment of Meghan

Has every royal woman received incredibly negative headlines? Yes. Has Kate and her family been treated awfully by the press? Yes. Do I find it funny when people make comments like “look, Meghan touched her baby bump and people hate her and they loved it when Kate did it” when I had to sit through people talking about what trailer trash Kate was for touching her bump in her first two pregnancies? Yes. Was Meghan compared to Kate in the same way Kate was compared to Sophie and Sarah compared to Diana? Yes. Was Meghan’s coverage actually that different from the coverage Kate got? No. Did Meghan receive worse coverage than any other British royal? Yes. Without a doubt.

I’ve stayed away from talking about race too much. I am a white woman. I look like a “stereotypically” Jewish woman as my family is Jewish. A large proportion of my family is either from the Republic of Ireland or the Irish travelling community. I’ve seen my family be subject to abuse because of their ethnicity. My mum has scars because her house was set on fire as a child because her dad was Irish. Despite that, I have no idea what it is like to experience racism. I’ve had the most closeted white woman life when it comes to matters of race. None of the things I described was racism in the way Meghan experienced it and none of it means I am in a position where I can join in on this conversation. I have spent years learning about racism and every day I find myself coming across something that I hadn’t considered, like the idea that Meghan is a good mum for going back to work so quickly is a form of positive discrimination and we should tackle that. I genuinely don’t know how much I should get involved in these conversations but I also don’t want to add to emotional labour by continuously directing these conversations towards people of colour.

Coming from my position of privilege, Meghan received some truly awful and horrific treatment at the hands of the press and the public. She was humiliated, her family history and private life was raked over, she was blamed for war because she ate an avocado one time? I can only assume Harry is really good in bed because there is no way I would have stayed with him if I had to go through what Meghan went through. Announcing they were suing the press was still the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen though.

BRF & Meghan

The BRF could have – and should have – done more to protect Meghan from the press. However, I think it was naïve to ever assume they would. I could talk until I’m blue in the face about how it would have helped Meghan’s confidence (and the BRF’s PR) to make a statement like “The Queen and the royal family are greatly distressed at the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex…”. I could talk about how the BRF uses symbolism rather than statements and I watched you all talk about how the Queen loves Meghan because she went on the royal train and had a solo engagement with the Queen so don’t pretend for one minute that you all don’t know that. I could talk about William releasing a statement (which everyone glosses over but go off, I guess). I could talk about how, if the Queen did not release a statement, Kate couldn’t very well have gone off and released one on her own (also, how come it’s always The Queen, Charles, Will, and Kate, where is Camilla?). But there’s no point. They should have done more. It was a massive oversight not to consider how being a woman of colour would affect Meghan’s treatment after becoming a member of the firm and they had a duty to help protect her. But no one should ever have thought it would have happened. The BRF look after number 1 and that, right now, is the Queen. That’s how it has always been. They treated Meghan the same way they treat everyone who isn’t in the direct line (also Andrew but that’s Andrew). As Katie says, anything else would have blown up in Meghan’s face. If I was in charge of the BRF’s PR, I would not have advised them to say anything.

Archie

Archie is a precious angel and I refuse to hear otherwise.

Archie’s birth was poorly handled by Sara but I don’t care. It was cute. Archie’s christening was foolishly handled by the Sussexes. I also don’t massively care. It’s miniscule in comparison to the bigger fish at play. Despite that, the only people who would have cared who Archie’s godparents were, are on this site. By refusing to allow the small bit of access the public get to christenings, it annoyed people who barely even know who Archie is. And we’re still talking about it today. I said to a friend recently that most British people only care about royals when it comes to weddings, babies, and money. With a wedding in Windsor, not London, and on a Saturday (meaning no bank holiday), coupled with a messy birth announcement, no “Lindo Wing” appearance, and the godparent faux pas, they missed golden opportunities to help the public fall in love with them and their family. There’s a reason the Cambridge kids are always seen after a PR disaster.

Sussex Statement

My opinion on the statement? Massively poorly handled. I think the BRF knew the Sussexes wanted out but did not know the statement would be released. This doesn’t contradict anything anyone has said. Harry and Meghan are right to leave. Mentally, and also for their family. They will flourish outside of the confines of the BRF. I also think Harry messed up by releasing the statement when he did. By forcing the hand, the public was calling for them to lose their funding before a decision had to be made (and lo and behold, they lost their funding), rather than being able to release a full statement confirming how much money they would keep. TLDR; good idea, hope it all works out, awfully handled.

Sussex/BRF Resolution

I think it was the best possible solution. I’m a little shocked they are completely stepping down but, as time goes on, I’m not surprised. I think the Sussexes clearly expected to be more half in/half out because their website had a whole section dedicated to royal work and supporting the Queen and taxpayer funding. The website used their titles. There are still things to work out (Duchy funding? How will they repay the taxpayers? Will they go to Trooping? Will they answer letters? SussexRoyal) but I think it’s a good middle ground.

Overall thoughts

The Sussexes are right to leave. The way they left was messy af and I blame Harry for that. I don’t think Meghan was innocent in how they left but I blame Harry for being so trigger happy. They made some bad PR moves in the last few months: announcing they were suing the press (do it quietly or they’ll just come after you more), the documentary, the statement. I think the press will be after them even more now and I think it’s interesting looking at how many times we’ve seen Meghan papped in Canada this year compared to the times we saw her papped in the UK since 2017. I also think, long term, they will lose their star power and become Reese Witherspoon levels of famous. Everyone knows who she is, most people like her, she does some good philanthropic work, she gets freebies, that’s pretty much it. Meghan and Harry’s appeal (and this goes for every single royal) is in the fact they are royal. Without the connection to the BRF, they’re just rich people preaching.

I’m also very sad. I thought Meghan would come back, post maternity leave, with a new project and put everyone else to shame. I thought she would take on new patronages, do a solo overseas visit, and generally flourish as a young working mum. We will see far less of her than we thought we would. I doubt we’ll see little Archie much at all. As for Harry, I can officially say that the most amusing and upsetting thing to come out of this has been seeing good, kind, left-wing people brown nose a rich, privileged, racist, quite frankly dangerous white man because he married a good woman. I think he will struggle more out of the royal bubble than in it because he’s lost the little structure he had.

Harry was always going to leave the royal family. Meghan might have been a catalyst, but she is not the cause. There is nothing the BRF could have done – no statement – that would have stopped him. He did a whole interview about how much he hates being a royal and then said the public need royals. In his new life as a whatever he is now, my biggest worry is that he will spend more time talking publicly about issues like mental health, without understanding what he is saying. I hope I’m wrong and that he flourishes and becomes a force to be reckoned with. But, while I know Meghan will do brilliantly, I have no idea what he’ll do.

Meghan, Archie, I hope you flourish. I can’t wait to see what you do next. Harry. Sayonara, biatch.

A final update

I thought I should give my thoughts on this now – mid-February – after the dust has settled. I genuinely miss a lot of the people the Sussexes brought to the fandom. I miss planning outfits for Meg to wear to events, I miss predicting what Meghan’s next patronages might be. I miss seeing Meghan interacting with the public, because that was where she shone. We now know the Sussexes will formally split on March 31st, after a final set of engagements. I’m super looking forward to these engagements and judging the vibe from everyone there. We also know it’s likely they will have to rebrand (my bet is Sussex Foundation) and I’m assuming this rebrand will happen in April/May time, possibly around their anniversary. Honestly, I was expecting to see more of them. I was expecting more posts on their Instagram about private visits to charities. I was definitely not expecting them to jump straight to JP Morgan and start attending exclusive events. Rich people going to rich people, I guess. Despite that, Meghan and Harry could start a business selling rubber ducks and, quite frankly, it’s none of my business. If we never see them again, that’s their choice as private citizens and I have to respect that. I’m still fascinated to see how this will all turn out but they are now free to live their own lives and, because of that, I’m going to live and let live.

[royaltyspeaking]

Why do you think there hasn't been any christening for the BRF yet?

Covid. August was supposed to be christened this summer but it was canceled the day before when I assume one of the godparents tested positive.

As for Lucas, he may have been but we normally don't hear about the Tindall kids christenings.