Amused to see the media reports of the remainder of the Royals feeling ‘hurt’ over the lack of consultation.
I’ve also noted that the tv media seems to be condemning him for not consulting HRH, the media seem to be getting their panties in a twist, probably because they only see the Royals as an easy way to fill time and space on their mediums and they don’t like to see their easy ride walking away with two fingers stuck up at them. Media will just have to go out and find some news to report instead of listing what these two happen to be wearing and filling space with large pictures and souvenir editions. I expect that the lazy editors will react with a certain amount of spite.
There is completely no chance of the titles being removed, not unless they intend to try usurp the throne - because that’s the sort of level of misbehavior it would take to have them stripped of their Royalness.
Of course not, nor would Parliament or government - which is what I assume you mean by “the UK” - want or be bothered to try. This is all about family tradition. Past “outer” members of the family, like her cousins, have done jobs of various kinds, usually in public or military service careers of some kind. But the family convention was not to get private and public functions mixed up, or to risk involvement in anything with a political potential, which would make working for any old private company difficult, unless they stand completely aside from Royal Family (with initial caps) duties. And one thing the Queen had always been hot on protecting is avoidance of anything that could look like partisanship.
As an uninformed Yank, what websites, if any, are trustworthy sources of information about the royals? I assume that the Daily Mail and it’s ilk, aren’t.
Thanks for correcting my obvious typo - as I correctly noted >200 per.
And remember, you’d be digging ditches 40 hrs/week for close to minimum wage. I’d wager at least a few people would - like me - prefer to pretend to be polite 200x/year in exchange for living - literally - like a prince.
Think of what you enjoy most. For me, it would probably be music and gardening. I could choose among the most capable/personable musicians/teachers to learn from and play with, and would have access to the widest array of highest quality instruments around. I would have ready access to just about any garden or greenhouse anywhere, with the best of tools/plants to putter with myself, and the most knowledgeable gardeners/botanists to work with. I could travel the country/world to experience music/gardening elsewhere. And I could take steps to share music/gardening with whatever groups I wanted - education/enrichment for children, needy people, whomever.
Go down the list. I really like architecture and history - as Charles does. I could pursue those interests in ways unimaginable to most ditch diggers. I like cars. MAN - think of the cars I could drive. The ist goes on. Doesn’t sound too bad, in exchange for 2-3 meet-and-greets a week. And SOME of those events could be enjoyable - such as attending Ascot. Or “command performances.”
Meanwhile, I’d have “staff” to relieve me of whatever drudgery I dislike. Cooking, cleaning, shopping. Does Harry EVER have to clean a toilet or wash a floor?
How much “hounding” by the press would I be willing to put up with in exchange? :rolleyes:
And on the money questions: the Queen gets about 30% of the income from the Crown Estates to cover running costs of “Head of State duties”, from which she can if she wishes cover equivalent costs (office staff and so on) for other members of the family on public duties. (The other 70% goes into general government revenues, and some general government budgets pay for things like security).
Charles runs and has the income from the Duchy of Cornwall estates, from which he makes some sort of allowance to his sons, who also inherited money from their mother and other relatives. I doubt if they need jobs to live off. This is all about status and function, as I understand it.
As someone noted above, Balmoral and Sandringham are their private property. Windsor and the London palaces are public property for which they are the guardians and managers, some kept as private residences and offices, some open to the public on occasion and at a fee to cover the property’s running expenses…
So, I did a quick search and Harry has a current personal net worth (inheritances and money earned) of between $25M and $40M. Meghan, as someone in top 5% of actors as far as career success (the overwhelming majority of actors don’t make enough to live on), apparently came to the marriage with a net worth of about $5M.
So, they move to LA and buy a modest but very nice house for $5M. They are now sitting on, let’s say, $30M. Conservatively, 5% return on $30M is $1.5M per year. So our poor couple is condemned to life in a multi-million dollar house with a million dollar plus budget restriction. Maybe she can take in laundry to make ends meet?
Neither of them strikes me as lacking in intelligence or discipline. I suspect if they truly want to live a “quiet life” and spend their time raising a family and supporting various causes, they will somehow, someway, get by.
And despite people’s impressions of LA, it is very possible for celebrities to survive quite nicely simply by avoiding outlandish behavior and being congenial when the paparazzi are around (they sense fear). There are so many celebrities in LA, making fools of themselves or enmeshed in a scandal, that after an initial burst of interest, the boring ones just kind of fade into the background.
I’m sure they will let friendly news outlets take pictures at various times and probably donate the money to charity. People magazine and similar outlets don’t mind paying for pictures they do it all the time for celeb babies, weddings, etc.
Sounds nice but probably a few steps down from what they’re used to. I doubt he has ever worn an off-the-rack suit and bespoke ones cost a couple thousand. Similarly, she’s probably not wearing clothes from The Gap.
Thanks. Interesting. But I suspect your analysis grossly underestimates the “softer” sides of their true wealth. The connections, access, opportunities, and such. I suspect they could easily enjoy more comfort than the average blue-collar joe who won $35 million in the lottery.
Of course, on the flip side, there is likely some expectation that some wealthy persons spend to show a certain lifestyle. I remember reading something about how golfers new to the PGA are expressly told the benefit of keeping up appearances by tipping well, picking up at least the occasional tab, etc. There will likely be repercussions if you make a midnite dash to the liquor store in flipflops and cutoffs…
Remember, Kylie Jenner became a billionaire at 21 just because she is “famous for being famous”.
Meghan is going to put Paltrow and Goop to shame marketing stuff. Harry will be a good face for the bit about “part of the sale price goes to charity” thing.
It’s an entirely new world out there. Social “influencers” with no real name cred make incredible sums of money. These people have top notch name familiarity.
They won’t need a handout from the Crown.
From a financial point of view, this is by far the smartest thing to do. And if some bucks go to charity, why not?
this video ,(clearly with a bias), to me shows a bit of bumping going on behind the scenes. this was a bit ago, as archie had not made his appearance. it perhaps shows a what has been whispered about charles wanting to trim down the “senior royals” to just a main branch, him, william, and william’s children.
hopefully harry and meghan can go their own way, and find balance and happiness.
Anne and Charles each regularly do 500 or so engagements a year (and those numbers count only official and publicly announced events–private meetings, for example with the charities with which they are involved, aren’t listed in the Court Circular, so there’s no way to count them). William and Harry do 200+; the Queen at 93 managed 295.
More than that, it’s not just the time for the engagement itself, but all of the preparatory work. William and Kate did a major tour of Pakistan this past year; you don’t just show up in a foreign country and say, “I’m here!” While the staff will have done a lot, there’s still much prepping that W&K would have needed to do, in terms of learning who they’re meeting, what they should say, what they should NOT say, how to handle whatever incidents might arise, etc., etc. For Kate in particular, just figuring out what she’s going to wear that is culturally appropriate, will photograph well, supports British or local designers, doesn’t come with political baggage, and so forth would be enormously time-consuming, and her staff can winnow the list but she’ll still have to be involved, and she’d better not make it appear that she’s never worn a shalwar kameez before.
Also remember that you’re not just picking the charities and causes you like. You can choose your emphases, but you’ll also need to go to events because the prime minister or the Foreign Office or the Queen needs you there. If there’s a major disaster, your plans are changing so you can meet survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire or first responders at an earthquake; putting in an appearance at Royal Ascot is mandatory even if you don’t like the horses. If it’s cold and rainy and windy on Remembrance Sunday, you’re still standing outside on the balcony. If you don’t like the President of China, you’re still going to show up and smile and nod and escort his wife in to dine at the state banquet; you might have to smile and shake hands with the man who planned the assassination of your husband’s favorite uncle.
It smacks a little bit of hypocrisy to me. Their royalty has helped give them fame and wealth. Now that they have reaped all the benefits, they turn their noses up to it?
It’s like athletes/entertainers who make millions of dollars via their notoriety and popularity hating the media and the fans.
My post was prompted by the viewpoint I thought I was seeing of naïve, penniless, sheltered royals suddenly having to cope with scraping along (hey! a perfect sitcom idea! All we have to do is cast the wacky neighbor).
I think both are intelligent and not as sheltered as we’d think (particularly Meghan, who had to be tenacious, disciplined, and focused to attain, not A-list or even B-list, but certainly “That Gal… Who Was in That Thing*” status).
*A highly recommended documentary on successful working actresses that most people would think of just as that actress I saw once in that thing and probably hasn’t done anything else.
Kylie Jenner made money by selling makeup but I guess being famous was why she made so much cash. BTW if you didn’t know she sold 51% of the makeup line to Coty
Zero. Fame is my worst nightmare. I’m pretty frugal and I don’t need much. I don’t want to be known. I don’t want to be recognized. I don’t want a billionaire’s lifestyle.
Bullshit. At least in Harry’s case. Unlike athletes and entertainers, he didn’t choose that life. He just wanted to stay in the military but the press fucked that up by publishing his unit so he didn’t get to deploy with his mates. Diana died because she was acting like an ass but generally the press made her life hell. He wants out. I don’t blame him.
Er, since it was The Queen that gave Harry his title in the first place, can’t she take it away as well? Remember what her father did with Edward VIII.
