Somehow, I doubt that will happen in Canada. Canada, and Canadians, just don’t seem to go crazy over people who are famous for being famous, like the Kardashians. Oh, some do, but not as many as in the US or UK, I’d guess. Which leads me to this:
Independent freelancers perhaps, but no mainstream Canadian journalists or photographers, I’d guess. Canadian media are typically respectful of royalty, for the most part; and go when and where they are invited–to a hospital opening, say, or a cultural celebration of some sort. Canadian media would leave them alone, and wouldn’t buy an independent freelancer’s photo of Meghan suntanning in a bikini on the back deck (“Meghan Embraces Global Warming!”), or of Harry watering the tomato plants in the back yard (“Harry Encouraging Growth Of GMO Plants!”).
The UK media might, of course, but once the British media and people realize that the Canadian people and media really don’t care about what Harry and Meghan do in Canada, then I’d suggest that eventually, Harry and Meghan would become non-newsworthy. Which is likely what they want.
It seems to me that that’s exactly what they’re trying to do–have a private life, like Prince Edward’s. Harry and Meghan have been under UK media scrutiny for a few years now: from a wedding and then a baby, to Harry’s charities and patronages and Meghan’s acting credentials, to just being who they are. And that coverage has not always been complimentary. If they want privacy, and feel that they can find it in Canada, then more power to them.
Some of the articles about Meghan have been vile. As mentioned she has several attributes that make her a target; foreign, actress, socially mobile and horror of horrors, bicracial.
But (as some have in this thread) to suggest that it is somehow unqiue to her is inaccurate. All the royal ladies have been the target of the tabloids. Kate, Camilla, Anne, Sophie and before them Diana, Fergie, Margaret. Its just, part of the deal.
There has been a lot of material claiming that the Sussexs and especially the Duchess have been employing PR people to ensure they have their own brand. Thats probably true. I can imagine it. Camilla and Kate (and Di before it all went to shyt) theoretically have the ultimate prize of becoming Queen one day to look forward to. What does Meghan have? Grin and bear it in the hope that one day a new target appears and or she becomes old and decrepit and they losem interest? And smile through endless openings, balls, galas? For the rest of her life? Yeah, no wonder she pulled the ejection handle, regarless of whether all the other claims about her are true or not.
This is the age of the Internet. They will have an immense online presence promoting stuff that will sell worldwide. That they reside in Canada most of the time is irrelevant to their future economic endeavors.
I distinctly remember Edward getting LOADS of shit in the press when he was younger and trying to work his own way - dropping out of the Marines, all those awful documentaries he made. Now he’s middle aged and balding, they moved on to fresher prey.
Spoons is correct. When the couple recently returned to Vancouver Island, the local paper did not report it. No Canadian press were on hand to photograph Harry. Pictures were published in Britain. The Vancouver Sun ran an article, but no pictures and no details of where they are staying.
The feeling among locals and the local press is “LEAVE THEM ALONE”. The Times Colonist actually ran an editorial to this effect. Their comings and goings are not newsworthy.
Of course, there will be freelancers and other scum who will still try to stalk them for a while. Locals are talking about calling the police if they see any of these skulking about.
It’s not just in Britain, though: photos and footage of Harry exiting the plane at Vancouver made USA Today’s website and the NBC morning show, never mind the American celebrity magazines (People, et al.). As long as they’re buying, freelancers will be selling.
But Kate is white. Class does not equal race. Meghan cannot change that.
What could the RF have done? If you had checked that link I posted, you would find that the press attacked Meghan exactly over the same things they praised Kate for. The Queen’s been having Andrew walk her to church and having him in the same car as her, smiling and laughing, as a show of support. Why didn’t she do that for the Sussexes?
The inference here is that the Cambridges started feeding tips to the press after the rumors about William cheating on Kate started to surface, what, last year? William has sued the press over hints that he cheated.
I gotta say, I find the people taking Thimas Markle seriously are disturbing. He and his daughter—who only started using her maiden name after the Sussex wedding----give paid interviews to the trashier British tabloids, attacking Meghan. Her father sold a letter Meghan wrote to him to the press. That’s enough, right there, to earn a few choice labels, but his television appearances really seal the deal.
For starters, the fact that Harry and Meghan declined to go to Sandringham this year makes it rather difficult for the Queen to have them ride in her car. In fact, for much of the past year Meghan has been either on maternity leave or out of the country, making joint appearances somewhat difficult.
The palace did schedule a joint appearance for Meghan and the Queen, including what was billed as an “unprecedented” trip on the Royal Train for Meghan. It made absolutely no difference to the tabs; in fact, they criticized Meghan for her fashion choices on the trip and for her “faux pas” in getting into a car ahead of the Queen. She appears with the Queen, she gets criticized; she doesn’t appear with the Queen, she gets criticized. She could not win, and neither could the rest of the family.
Going back to your first point, what SPECIFICALLY could the palace say about the stories? “You didn’t criticize Kate for eating avocados, so you’re not allowed to criticize Meghan either”? Telling the British press they’re not allowed to do something is not going to make them stop doing whatever. The palace has tried several times over the years to change the tone and tenor of coverage, and it has never worked yet. Way back in 2007, the Press Complaints Commission circulated a letter to the major newspaper editors concerning harassment of then-girlfriend Kate Middleton. They backed off only briefly, and that was actual physical harassment (reporters and photographers chasing her down the street, e.g.); they never did back off on comments about how “common” and “not up to snuff” she and her family were, not until they had new targets. If telling the press to back off didn’t work with Diana and it didn’t work with Kate, what makes you think it would have worked with Meghan?
Meghan and Harry are threatening a new lawsuit over photographs taken over the weekend in Vancouver and posted online Monday. I am not well-enough versed in Canadian privacy law even to venture an opinion on the merits of such a suit.
The Daily Mail website at the time of posting has those pictures as the splash at the top of the page. Helpfully, the Mail has annotated the pics with info about the visible bodyguards - a mixture of British CPOs and RCMP officers. A valuable public service there. :rolleyes:
One of the things that struck me was all the talk about the “firm” and the “institution” as a person / people. I got the impression she was referring to someone other than the Queen, Charles, and William. I was under the impression that the Queen was in charge of royal family matters, but it sounds like it’s actually someone else. Is there some secret power behind the throne making up the rules of the royal family?
ETA. Harry also talked about Charles and William being trapped in “the system.” While systems do exist, they aren’t independent things, they consist of the people who make them up. Although in this particular case I’m not sure who exactly that would be.
I’ve slowly grown to believe that Meghan isn’t the super sweet “white hat” victim that she paints herself to be. Based on the much publicized lives of British royalty over many years, she had to have a pretty good idea what her life was going to be like, but she married into all that fame and power and money anyway. Now, outraged, and after getting what she wanted, she files suit over a few photos posted on the Internet? Doesn’t that put her in the eye of the media even more?
Interesting, and thank you for that. It goes further than that, however. By granting this blockbuster interview to one of the most famous women in the world, she has ignited the media to a new frenzy. It was basically like throwing bloody meat to ravenous dogs. Doesn’t that seem strange for a woman who is always whining about wanting the media to leave them in peace? Meghan is a drama queen who wants her cake and eat it too.
It could be that the UK tabloid media really is a lot worse than here in the US. If you think about, family members of famous people are for the most part left alone, unless there is a particularly spectacular incident. The Clinton, Bush Jr., and Obama children were and are still not routinely hounded by the press for being children of the president. Chelsea of course went on to be in the public eye due to her own merit, like the adult children of Bush Sr. and Trump. None of them are “famous for being famous.” Even among our actors, musicians, and athletes, it seems like the press really focus on those who seek out the public eye, like the Kardashians.
Maybe she felt the need to defend herself from that press.
I’m inclined to be a little more generous, and I try and give people the benefit of the doubt in most circumstances. She has been treated just horribly by the disgusting tabloid press, and I can understand her wanting to have her say and take back some control of the narrative over her life.
But all I could think about when I heard about this interview was ‘why provoke more horrible comment’? The British tabloids are never going to let her ‘win’ - they are a bag of angry wasps, why poke it?
This was my take-away as well. I am not at all a follower of the Royals, but I had nothing better to do after dinner yesterday, and this was on, so I thought I may learn something. ISTM there is a shady cabal whose purpose is to perpetuate the myth of British Royalty, and the royals themselves are merely pawns in the enterprise; necessary figures needed to keep things going. I suspect there are a lot of people whose careers and livelihoods depend on the myth-making. Like any corporation, decisions must be made sometimes to protect the enterprise, and from what it sounded like, someone (or some part of the organization) did not take a liking to Meghan so went ahead and did things to make life more difficult for her (or at least did not take action to make life easier).
It seems there is a necessary dance with the British press where everyone gets to profit as long as the rules are followed, and people like Harry and Meghan do as they’re told, and if you do not behave, then you are dangled out over the sharks. I think Meghan was genuine when she said she “knew” about the Royal family before marrying Harry, but was unaware of the inner workings and expectations once she got behind the scenes.
I do not particularly like either of these people after the interview, but I am somewhat sympathetic to them, and hope they can use their notoriety for doing something positive in this world.
My take away was, she WAS aware it could get harsh, but they assured her they’d protect her. And then they didn’t. She implied the family refused to deny, and thereby end, incorrect reporting about her, because they’re afraid any bad publicity could end them!
I assumed the no title for Archie thing, was a choice they but made, but no, it was decreed. Why though? What could be the difference? And therefore no protection is provided for him.
Imagine suddenly finding you’ve married into this hot mess, getting daily race based hate and threats, and they then deny your child both a title he should get and protection he’s clearly going to need! Harry’s right to think history could repeat itself.
It also sounded like they wanted to stay engaged as lower key royals but the Palace was all or nothing! That’s pretty harsh.
And they had a conversation about her future child’s skin tone? Yikes, that’s gonna be hard for people to overlook, in my opinion, no matter how that conversation went, in my opinion.
I have some sympathy for them both. Glad they got out and found a happy place for their family.