This is reaching, it seems to me, a critical "boiling point". First, it's apparent that in response to a couple of weeks of bad optics, the duo are playing the only real card they have: victimhood. It has not been a good couple of weeks for the duo: TW's book flopping, the debacle of the child's name and the Palace making it clear that the duo lied about her and to the public, the press refusing to remove the story despite an attempt at legal threatening, and, most recently, the TIMES article suggesting via Robert Lacey's re-edited book that the bullying investigation is moving forward and has legitimacy.
Again, I strongly suspect that Lacey has sources behind the scenes who informed him that the bullying investigation had authority and would be devastating for TW's public image.
In response to these setbacks, we see the duo responding as they always do, and through the same tired channels: they circulated another "race" story, upping the ante by mentioning "a future Head of State"; then they circulated the Poor Archie May Never Be A Prince story; and now it's Poor Harry Deprived of His Military Honours story and that's the only reason he appeared on a show that everyone knew was already taped and ready to roll - it was just edited so that H could wreak his revenge for something he had no right to complain of.
Only two delusional people could have supposed that at the end of the "trial" year, with the two clearly ensconced in America and raising their two children as Americans, the mud slung at the family through Scobie's book, never again to represent Britain or the monarchy, that they would retain their royal patronages and H remain Captain-General of the Marines or any other British military position.
The interview was already done and was intended to blindside HMTQ (again). ITV leaked the news of the upcoming programme, and HM did earlier what she had intended to do at the end of March: confirm that the duo were OUT and take the bennies that are the privilege of senior working royals. This is another victim card that H knows he has no right to play. For heaven's sake, he ditched the annual Deal Memorial Service of the Royal Marines to pitch his wife for Disney voiceovers at the Lion King premiere!
As for the title: this is where we get into what I said up top may be the boiling point of what we have discussed here for so long. H's children were not entitled to HRHs at birth. Everyone has known for some time that slimming down the monarchy was being seriously considered inside the Palace. H's children are, in fact, "entitled" to nothing: the Sovereign is the "fount of all honour" and has the right to bestow or prevent any style and title s/he chooses.
But Lacey is correct in one respect, and here we get to the urgency of the matter NOW: Charles can NOT prevent H's children from becoming HRHs the moment HM dies and he accedes to the Throne. If he wishes to do something about that, he would have to issue Letters Patent after the fact - this will make the new King look petty and vengeful, and force him either to open his reign on a sour note, or let H's kids have the HRH, which hands a victory to the criminals.
This situation makes it more obvious and more imperative that HMTQ, who is 95 years old. to ensure that neither Charles nor William have to confront this issue.
HM MUST act quickly and issue those Letters Patent quickly, stating that in order to slim down the monarchy the automatic HRH, beginning with the current generation, will be restricted only to the children of direct heirs. (This would mean that Charlotte's and Louis' children, as well, will not receive HRHs). Then, she has to move to rescind Harry's ducal title.
With these last accusatory PR leaks, H's vicious blaming of his father and grandparents for his mental issues in that absurd programme, regurgitation of the race card with the Head of State mention, and their horrifying behaviour whilst the Duke of Ediburgh lay dying, never mind the disrespect to HMTQ re H's daughter's (I must say terribly twee name: would you want to be a 50 year old woman whose formal Christian name was Lilibet?!), the duo have done TQ a favour and made a strong case for her.
It is time. I pray HM will not wait longer than Diana's birthday and the statue unveiling farce is over, and not insist on waiting until the Platinum Jubilee is done.
At her advanced age, waiting risks more damage to the monarchy by forcing Charles and/or William to open their respective reigns with the shadows of the duo over their best effort.
And, (yes, I will say it again), much of this could be avoided if Charles would simply step aside. No issue re titles, the Queen would not even have to issue those Letters Patent re amending the Titles Act. The Queen would only have to rescind H's ducal title.
I do recognise the arguments against Charles stepping aside. In my view, the monarchy owes something for having followed its long tradition of not holding members accountable for bad behaviour until the barn door is closed and the horse named "Scandal" is in the next county.
HM cannot wait long past 1 July to staunch the wound with nothing but a First Aid kit plaster. TC
Thank you once again HM. I fear it will take more than a series of negative newspaper articles to silence those two. In fact, they merely spurn TW on to more treacherous explosions, more inane comments and the complete opposite of the compassionate behaviour she advocates. I am utterly sick and saddened by it all and do think BP must act before things get completely out of hand.
The public in the UK and Commonwealth need a statement from BP to the effect that titles will be removed or used in the UK only. The duo are obviously not able or willing to comply with the rules set for them by HMTQ. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. BP must also require that proof of TCKAA and his sister‘s births be provided - without this there can be no place in the line of succession.
Of course such ‚drastic‘ measures would cause an outcry in the Sussex camp but surely a final step is preferable to the long drawn out escapades we see at the moment. They really are two spoilt children who have never learned how to behave.
Dear HM, I sincerely hope that the Buckingham Palace, The Kensington Palace, and the Clarence House are all reading/following closely with your blog and excellent articles/summaries of the duo & their activities.
Harry, so very well said!! Thank you for putting everything so many of us have been thinking and feeling for far too long into words and so eloquently.
You are right again, HM. We're often told how BP is playing the long game. Question though is the long game an adequate response in this digital age? If not, then how are they supposed to react to situations as the one with the duo without appearing reactionary? Either way, they should definitely change/modify their approach to be able to react adequately to situations like this in this new world. I hope at least today, one day, will be free of the dup's pr shenanigans.
P.S. Artemiss' profile on Twitter shows it as protective/or open only to those who follow him. I don't have a twitter account, so am able to only view unprotected tweets. Hence, unable to see any of his new tweets now. Thanks for sharing his portrait of PW. I also liked his portrait of Prince Philip. It was really well done.
Also, I saw somewhere a photo of their PR team which consists of nearly 10 people (and I don't mean a junior level staff). Why do they need so many senior level PR and how can they afford to pay them (I'm sure they don't come cheap. Are they employing so many so as to be able to hit on all fronts if necessary? What a waste of money.
Most of taxation depends on enforcement by the IRS and the states. I suspect that under the US and CA laws it would be very very easy for the IRS and CA to deem Prince Harry resident of CA and subject to all applicable taxes (Federal and State). There are pretty clear standards as to how residency for taxation is determined. States routinely challenge the residency of wealthy individuals especially if they are moving from a high tax to no tax state. Enforcement appears to be the issue the IRS and CA may simply not want to challenge the taxes of a member (even a former member) of the RF. Prince Harry can use this to his advantage. Of course being a US citizen TW is always subject to Federal taxes, however CA State taxes would depend on residency and thus enforcement by CA.
Yes, dualcitizen- True enforcement is the key and justice must be done. They must not be seen or deemed by our gvt to have “special status,” in any *diplomatic understanding” merely because they once *were* being the operative word, working members of the RF.
The fact that taxpayer funded NPR which rails against tax evasion and paying a “fair share,” now overlooks all of this and is not intellectually curious in the least speaks volumes. Ditto for espousing “equity/equality” in theory with regards to everyone else, yet defers to the address of “Meghan, THE Duchess of Sussex,” is disgusting.
Regarding the Markles’ tax situation, almost all the closely-related adults on TW’s side of the family have been lousy at managing money and had bankruptcies—some of them multiple—because of overspending far in excess of their means. Yes, TW has access to better advice and expertise, but we know she took very little of it in her brief time in the UK and now from her PR. She likes to hire them, but what comes out isn’t professional (my expertise includes PR). It reads as though she writes a lot of it, but uses the PR staff as an expensive buffer.
Delaying and kicking the can down the road by the RF when it came to making and publicly declaring hard truths about the duplicitous duo was understandable while the duo were claiming a miscarriage and pregnancies. It's easy to imagine how their well paid publicity machine would have exploited any such actions during her delicate "pregnancies" to further weaken--- and ultimately destroy the institution of the monarchy. Actually Harry and TW would have loved it. It would have been a dream come true for them, like manna from heaven, guaranteeing their victimhood status. The miscarriage claim was a key tactic in the overall narrative and strategy to bring down the monarchy once they realized they couldn't grift from royal connections on their own terms, which were always to make the monarchy work for them rather than them working for the monarchy. But the pregnancies are over and healthy babies were born. Going forward, the point Harry Markle makes about proof of pregnancy and birth as a requisite for titles is critical. But if it could be proved that TW employed surrogates despite her exaggerated, over-the-top, and suspicious shows of pregnancy, that would strike a devastating blow to the pair's credibility. We can only hope that the courts and tax issues will reveal the Sussex duo for the chiselers we suspect they are----but that takes time and the will to go that route. A blow to their credibility would be quicker and less complicated.
As per usual an informative read. If only their PR was as good.
If anything offensive in this comment would appreciate being informed, as my last inoffensive one although it recieved lots of likes, but was deleted! Puzzled.
Oops also forgot! How easy it seems to avoid the tax issue, she signs it to him, he says he lives elsewhere and doesn’t pay! Surely they can check that he hasn’t left the country except for a few days in a year?
Thank you OH for saying what we should all have suspected, but you have made it clear. The publicity for them is in overdrive at the moment, but all the stories are rehashed old ones, little ones that niggle at the RF and HMTQ, and the varied recollections on these should be made public! I was also sad to hear that the bullying problem may not be made public until next year, which is a long time and may be too late for some who have been hurt or had their reputations damaged.
Also, the next year will be Queen's Platinum Jubilee. So is it fair to assume that the report will come only in the second half of the year, so as not to damage PR for Queen's jubilee?
Thank you. It took me over an hour to read the whole article. You have comprehensively detailed in one article all the essential points without any bias.
I applaud your diligence. I now only read your articles and blog as the papers and magazines are not a reliable source! Thanks again.
Tom Cullem
This is reaching, it seems to me, a critical "boiling point". First, it's apparent that in response to a couple of weeks of bad optics, the duo are playing the only real card they have: victimhood. It has not been a good couple of weeks for the duo: TW's book flopping, the debacle of the child's name and the Palace making it clear that the duo lied about her and to the public, the press refusing to remove the story despite an attempt at legal threatening, and, most recently, the TIMES article suggesting via Robert Lacey's re-edited book that the bullying investigation is moving forward and has legitimacy.
Again, I strongly suspect that Lacey has sources behind the scenes who informed him that the bullying investigation had authority and would be devastating for TW's public image.
In response to these setbacks, we see the duo responding as they always do, and through the same tired channels: they circulated another "race" story, upping the ante by mentioning "a future Head of State"; then they circulated the Poor Archie May Never Be A Prince story; and now it's Poor Harry Deprived of His Military Honours story and that's the only reason he appeared on a show that everyone knew was already taped and ready to roll - it was just edited so that H could wreak his revenge for something he had no right to complain of.
Only two delusional people could have supposed that at the end of the "trial" year, with the two clearly ensconced in America and raising their two children as Americans, the mud slung at the family through Scobie's book, never again to represent Britain or the monarchy, that they would retain their royal patronages and H remain Captain-General of the Marines or any other British military position.
The interview was already done and was intended to blindside HMTQ (again). ITV leaked the news of the upcoming programme, and HM did earlier what she had intended to do at the end of March: confirm that the duo were OUT and take the bennies that are the privilege of senior working royals. This is another victim card that H knows he has no right to play. For heaven's sake, he ditched the annual Deal Memorial Service of the Royal Marines to pitch his wife for Disney voiceovers at the Lion King premiere!
As for the title: this is where we get into what I said up top may be the boiling point of what we have discussed here for so long. H's children were not entitled to HRHs at birth. Everyone has known for some time that slimming down the monarchy was being seriously considered inside the Palace. H's children are, in fact, "entitled" to nothing: the Sovereign is the "fount of all honour" and has the right to bestow or prevent any style and title s/he chooses.
But Lacey is correct in one respect, and here we get to the urgency of the matter NOW: Charles can NOT prevent H's children from becoming HRHs the moment HM dies and he accedes to the Throne. If he wishes to do something about that, he would have to issue Letters Patent after the fact - this will make the new King look petty and vengeful, and force him either to open his reign on a sour note, or let H's kids have the HRH, which hands a victory to the criminals.
This situation makes it more obvious and more imperative that HMTQ, who is 95 years old. to ensure that neither Charles nor William have to confront this issue.
HM MUST act quickly and issue those Letters Patent quickly, stating that in order to slim down the monarchy the automatic HRH, beginning with the current generation, will be restricted only to the children of direct heirs. (This would mean that Charlotte's and Louis' children, as well, will not receive HRHs). Then, she has to move to rescind Harry's ducal title.
With these last accusatory PR leaks, H's vicious blaming of his father and grandparents for his mental issues in that absurd programme, regurgitation of the race card with the Head of State mention, and their horrifying behaviour whilst the Duke of Ediburgh lay dying, never mind the disrespect to HMTQ re H's daughter's (I must say terribly twee name: would you want to be a 50 year old woman whose formal Christian name was Lilibet?!), the duo have done TQ a favour and made a strong case for her.
It is time. I pray HM will not wait longer than Diana's birthday and the statue unveiling farce is over, and not insist on waiting until the Platinum Jubilee is done.
At her advanced age, waiting risks more damage to the monarchy by forcing Charles and/or William to open their respective reigns with the shadows of the duo over their best effort.
And, (yes, I will say it again), much of this could be avoided if Charles would simply step aside. No issue re titles, the Queen would not even have to issue those Letters Patent re amending the Titles Act. The Queen would only have to rescind H's ducal title.
I do recognise the arguments against Charles stepping aside. In my view, the monarchy owes something for having followed its long tradition of not holding members accountable for bad behaviour until the barn door is closed and the horse named "Scandal" is in the next county.
HM cannot wait long past 1 July to staunch the wound with nothing but a First Aid kit plaster. TC
Thank you once again HM. I fear it will take more than a series of negative newspaper articles to silence those two. In fact, they merely spurn TW on to more treacherous explosions, more inane comments and the complete opposite of the compassionate behaviour she advocates. I am utterly sick and saddened by it all and do think BP must act before things get completely out of hand.
The public in the UK and Commonwealth need a statement from BP to the effect that titles will be removed or used in the UK only. The duo are obviously not able or willing to comply with the rules set for them by HMTQ. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. BP must also require that proof of TCKAA and his sister‘s births be provided - without this there can be no place in the line of succession.
Of course such ‚drastic‘ measures would cause an outcry in the Sussex camp but surely a final step is preferable to the long drawn out escapades we see at the moment. They really are two spoilt children who have never learned how to behave.
Dear HM, I sincerely hope that the Buckingham Palace, The Kensington Palace, and the Clarence House are all reading/following closely with your blog and excellent articles/summaries of the duo & their activities.
Thank you for the bottom line truth.
The 👑 is very wise.
Harry, so very well said!! Thank you for putting everything so many of us have been thinking and feeling for far too long into words and so eloquently.
Thank you Harry Markel. At the end of the day, imo, everything the duplicitous duo do is unethical.
You are right again, HM. We're often told how BP is playing the long game. Question though is the long game an adequate response in this digital age? If not, then how are they supposed to react to situations as the one with the duo without appearing reactionary? Either way, they should definitely change/modify their approach to be able to react adequately to situations like this in this new world. I hope at least today, one day, will be free of the dup's pr shenanigans.
P.S. Artemiss' profile on Twitter shows it as protective/or open only to those who follow him. I don't have a twitter account, so am able to only view unprotected tweets. Hence, unable to see any of his new tweets now. Thanks for sharing his portrait of PW. I also liked his portrait of Prince Philip. It was really well done.
Also, I saw somewhere a photo of their PR team which consists of nearly 10 people (and I don't mean a junior level staff). Why do they need so many senior level PR and how can they afford to pay them (I'm sure they don't come cheap. Are they employing so many so as to be able to hit on all fronts if necessary? What a waste of money.
It's certainly not working.
That's what the donations are paying for it seems...
Most of taxation depends on enforcement by the IRS and the states. I suspect that under the US and CA laws it would be very very easy for the IRS and CA to deem Prince Harry resident of CA and subject to all applicable taxes (Federal and State). There are pretty clear standards as to how residency for taxation is determined. States routinely challenge the residency of wealthy individuals especially if they are moving from a high tax to no tax state. Enforcement appears to be the issue the IRS and CA may simply not want to challenge the taxes of a member (even a former member) of the RF. Prince Harry can use this to his advantage. Of course being a US citizen TW is always subject to Federal taxes, however CA State taxes would depend on residency and thus enforcement by CA.
Yes, dualcitizen- True enforcement is the key and justice must be done. They must not be seen or deemed by our gvt to have “special status,” in any *diplomatic understanding” merely because they once *were* being the operative word, working members of the RF.
The fact that taxpayer funded NPR which rails against tax evasion and paying a “fair share,” now overlooks all of this and is not intellectually curious in the least speaks volumes. Ditto for espousing “equity/equality” in theory with regards to everyone else, yet defers to the address of “Meghan, THE Duchess of Sussex,” is disgusting.
Regarding the Markles’ tax situation, almost all the closely-related adults on TW’s side of the family have been lousy at managing money and had bankruptcies—some of them multiple—because of overspending far in excess of their means. Yes, TW has access to better advice and expertise, but we know she took very little of it in her brief time in the UK and now from her PR. She likes to hire them, but what comes out isn’t professional (my expertise includes PR). It reads as though she writes a lot of it, but uses the PR staff as an expensive buffer.
Delaying and kicking the can down the road by the RF when it came to making and publicly declaring hard truths about the duplicitous duo was understandable while the duo were claiming a miscarriage and pregnancies. It's easy to imagine how their well paid publicity machine would have exploited any such actions during her delicate "pregnancies" to further weaken--- and ultimately destroy the institution of the monarchy. Actually Harry and TW would have loved it. It would have been a dream come true for them, like manna from heaven, guaranteeing their victimhood status. The miscarriage claim was a key tactic in the overall narrative and strategy to bring down the monarchy once they realized they couldn't grift from royal connections on their own terms, which were always to make the monarchy work for them rather than them working for the monarchy. But the pregnancies are over and healthy babies were born. Going forward, the point Harry Markle makes about proof of pregnancy and birth as a requisite for titles is critical. But if it could be proved that TW employed surrogates despite her exaggerated, over-the-top, and suspicious shows of pregnancy, that would strike a devastating blow to the pair's credibility. We can only hope that the courts and tax issues will reveal the Sussex duo for the chiselers we suspect they are----but that takes time and the will to go that route. A blow to their credibility would be quicker and less complicated.
As per usual an informative read. If only their PR was as good.
If anything offensive in this comment would appreciate being informed, as my last inoffensive one although it recieved lots of likes, but was deleted! Puzzled.
Speculative posts are deleted irrespective of whether they are liked or not.
What I wrote certainly wasnt speculative . So am even more confused. But appreciate your reply HM. Thank you
Thank you for all of your insight and helping us to understand the "wheels within wheels".
Oops also forgot! How easy it seems to avoid the tax issue, she signs it to him, he says he lives elsewhere and doesn’t pay! Surely they can check that he hasn’t left the country except for a few days in a year?
Exactly, it's not upto him to say where he resides, it's a fact based on number of days.
Thank you OH for saying what we should all have suspected, but you have made it clear. The publicity for them is in overdrive at the moment, but all the stories are rehashed old ones, little ones that niggle at the RF and HMTQ, and the varied recollections on these should be made public! I was also sad to hear that the bullying problem may not be made public until next year, which is a long time and may be too late for some who have been hurt or had their reputations damaged.
Also, the next year will be Queen's Platinum Jubilee. So is it fair to assume that the report will come only in the second half of the year, so as not to damage PR for Queen's jubilee?
Thank you. It took me over an hour to read the whole article. You have comprehensively detailed in one article all the essential points without any bias.
I applaud your diligence. I now only read your articles and blog as the papers and magazines are not a reliable source! Thanks again.
Should have added Thankyou Harry M as your blog is the only thing worth reading about the Markle these days