The new Sussex Royal website was made by Article, a digital media company based in Toronto. It's the same design firm that worked on The Tig, Meghan's lifestyle website.
The new Sussex Royal website was made by Article, a digital media company based in Toronto. It's the same design firm that worked on The Tig, Meghan's lifestyle website.
So they have more than likely spent their holiday planning their exit strategy. This is going to be so messy. Bonus... It’s going to make a great LMN movie one day!
Post by biscoffcookies on Jan 8, 2020 16:48:25 GMT -5
According to the website the money that they will be foregoing -- from the Sovereign Grant - only covers 5% of their expenses and is used just for their official office. The rest of the money for their office comes from Prince Charles via money derived from the Duchy of Cornwall. So while they are "financially independent," the amount of money they are officially disavowing is like a small drop in their financial bucket if I am understanding right. They aren't saying that Charles/the Queen won't provide some support, e.g. Frogmore or other funds.
I got that some impression -- but then I wasn't sure if they'd actually do that. That would be BOLD.
I feel like that’s basically the route they went in their interview. I am sure there have been behind the scenes convos, but maybe it’s not moving as quickly as Harry and Meghan would like. So, they’re just like F it! However, that approach isn’t going to help the media scrutiny they’re trying to get away from.
I think this hits the nail on the head. IMO, at this point they DGAF so much they have lost patience and are pretty much just going to do what they want to do. Idk how they don’t realize that won’t cause more media scrutiny but maybe they think moving will eliminate a lot of that.
According to the website the money that they will be foregoing -- from the Sovereign Grant - only covers 5% of their expenses and is used just for their official office. It makes it sound like all the other trappings like Frogmore, etc. come from other sources that they won't be foregoing?
This was a bit misleading. Yes the sovereign grant covers 5% of their income but the sovereign grant additionally also pays for their security, their home (Frogmore)/the upgrades they did to it etc. It’s just not part of the 5% of their income.
eta - it also seems like these are assumptions they made (about the royal family still footing the bill for the rest) when according to the statement by The Queen, nothing has been sorted out.
I know they have had their share of BS but this was all known going into it by Meghan. They want to use their famous names (famous for being famous ala Kardashians) for attention for their causes but don't want any attention?? Doesn't really work that way.
This goes back to the discussions of Meghan not being adequately prepared for life as a royal. I feel so bad for her going through this but I’m really glad Harry seems to be supporting her.
According to the website the money that they will be foregoing -- from the Sovereign Grant - only covers 5% of their expenses and is used just for their official office. It makes it sound like all the other trappings like Frogmore, etc. come from other sources that they won't be foregoing?
This was a bit misleading. Yes the sovereign grant covers 5% of their income but the sovereign grant additionally also pays for their security, their home (Frogmore)/the upgrades they did to it etc. It’s just not part of the 5% of their income.
The website says that all the fixtures/furnishings and whatnot of the Frogmore renovation were paid for by H&M privately. The website acknowledges that some of the renovation came from the Queen via Sovereign Trust, but makes it sound like her portion was the part required to keep the building in good condition (which she is required to do by virtue of holding the property in trust), but H&M paid privately for all the upgrades/customization that they wanted.
This was a bit misleading. Yes the sovereign grant covers 5% of their income but the sovereign grant additionally also pays for their security, their home (Frogmore)/the upgrades they did to it etc. It’s just not part of the 5% of their income.
The website says that all the fixtures/furnishings and whatnot of the Frogmore renovation were paid for by H&M privately. The website acknowledges that some of the renovation came from the Queen via Sovereign Trust, but makes it sound like her portion was the part required to keep the building in good condition (which she is required to do by virtue of holding the property in trust), but H&M paid privately for all the upgrades/customization that they wanted.
I missed that part and of course the site won’t load for me now!
I am interested to see how it all plays out. I’m not sure if they are just making assumptions regarding the royal family still footing the bill for the rest, because the statement by the Queen makes it seem like nothing has been figured out. I hope it plays out how they want but am not sure it will.
They weren't consulted? Or they weren't told? To me those are different words with different meanings, and it's not clear to me how it's being used here.
OMG can you imagine if the very first that the Royal Family heard about this plan or that they intended to go through with it was via Instagram post?? To be a fly on those walls....
But I don't know. I have a hard time envisioning Harry not at least calling up the Queen to give her a heads up -- he may not have asked her opinion, but I don't think he would have blindsided them. Unless things have deteriorated that much in their relationship with the family.
Post by mrsukyankee on Jan 8, 2020 17:02:18 GMT -5
Old white British women are having hissy fits (or at least the ones on my FB feed). They are blaming this all on Meghan, that she is pulling the strings, and also state that she's treated her father horribly and that makes her a horrible person. (racism and the Daily Mail is the real reason they hate her)
They weren't consulted? Or they weren't told? To me those are different words with different meanings, and it's not clear to me how it's being used here.
OMG can you imagine if the very first that the Royal Family heard about this plan or that they intended to go through with it was via Instagram post?? To be a fly on those walls....
But I don't know. I have a hard time envisioning Harry not at least calling up the Queen to give her a heads up -- he may not have asked her opinion, but I don't think he would have blindsided them. Unless things have deteriorated that much in their relationship with the family.
Major announcements being made via social media before the people most involved have been consulted? Gosh, no, I can’t imagine what that’s like...
(ETA: except in H&M’s case this is their life and it’s actually good for them to do as they see fit)
No wonder William has been so frosty. I'd be pissed too if my younger brother got all the trappings of wealth and power associated with being royal and then peaced out leaving me to be hounded by the press while the royal family imploded/dies.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for this for Meghan and Harry. Good for them. But I'd be so annoyed if I were William and Kate that I couldn't also GTFO. And had to sacrifice my first born to the machine as well.
Rumors are it’s partially his fault though. There was some tabloid drama in the spring/summer about exiling them to Africa and it apparently came from William. Along with other leaks.
The royal family hasn’t been helpful with all the press issues and have frequently thrown Meghan/Harry under the bus in the age old spare gets fucked cycle to cover for the heirs and other related BS.
I don’t think this happens - or at least not now - without the above family support issues.
Ultimately I think you strike while the iron is hot if you have celeb status and being able to earn money and control their own business makes so much more sense than being reliant on being on Charles’s and the. William’s good side until they die.
Their site says they're no longer going to be 'senior' royals but at least as of now still claims they're maintaining their patronages. They will forgo sovereign grant money and would be eligible to earn money independently.
This all makes sense to me for H and M, and seems to dovetail with the recent streamlining by the queen. It seems like the queen has been giving very clear signs about who is important going forward (Charles, William and family, George) with their recent portrait release and the events with George.
I'm sure it's not a _total_ surprise to BP even if it hasn't been well coordinated. My guess is that discussions were probably moving at a glacial pace and H and M were ready to force some movement.
There weren't really a lot of issues for them in Canada w/r/t overeager press while they were on holiday, was there? I didn't really see anything, so maybe they will be able to avoid the Diana paps treatment by relocating.
There weren't really a lot of issues for them in Canada w/r/t overeager press while they were on holiday, was there? I didn't really see anything, so maybe they will be able to avoid the Diana paps treatment by relocating.
This was local to me, and no besides one restaurant owner going to the press there was not much in the news about this. I spoke to my children and said if they saw H or M while we were hiking to just ignore them or politely say hello as you would anyone else you didn’t know on a trail.
There weren't really a lot of issues for them in Canada w/r/t overeager press while they were on holiday, was there? I didn't really see anything, so maybe they will be able to avoid the Diana paps treatment by relocating.
This was local to me, and no besides one restaurant owner going to the press there was not much in the news about this. I spoke to my children and said if they saw H or M while we were hiking to just ignore them or politely say hello as you would anyone else you didn’t know on a trail.
Post by themoneytree on Jan 8, 2020 19:02:28 GMT -5
I don’t know how to feel about this. Being born Royal sounds like a really bum deal, but it’s all about duty. Meghan clearly had no clue what she was doing marrying into the British Royal family and the media coverage that would come with it which was always going to be a total nightmare.
I’m not that impressed with this - I think it’s being handled horribly if they really did it without informing the Queen who has lived her whole life out of duty trying to do what is best for the country.
I don’t know - I do think it’s a no win position for Harry, but I certainly don’t have the ‘yay them’ feeling that most people here seem to have.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Being born Royal sounds like a really bum deal, but it’s all about duty. Meghan clearly had no clue what she was doing marrying into the British Royal family and the media coverage that would come with it which was always going to be a total nightmare.
I’m not that impressed with this - I think it’s being handled horribly if they really did it without informing the Queen who has lived her whole life out of duty trying to do what is best for the country.
I don’t know - I do think it’s a no win position for Harry, but I certainly don’t have the ‘yay them’ feeling that most people here seem to have.
The queen is supporting a man who raped children. I don’t feel bad for her.
The royal press release does not say they were in the dark about H and M’s plans to step back. It just stated they were unaware the announcement would happen today. They wanted to control the narrative and most likely the timeline. H and M took their power away.
I couldn’t get their site to open, but people.com posted their Q&As. They mention the press’s Royal Rota, and they are not nice about it. They call out 4 of the 7 as tabloids. I think the announcement itself and the timing was done to take back some of their power over their lives. I don’t blame them for this announcement— the press has been awful towards Meghan. And it has seemed like the RF hasn’t been overly welcoming to her either.
It seems very poetic that Diana’s money will be setting them up for financial independence. Harry really took after her I think. $20M isn’t going to last long for them if they still want to live the upper crust life but they will both sit on boards and write/act so they’ll be fine. I think he has always felt disenchanted with the royal life. Meeting Meghan and having Archie just compounded it. I don’t really care if he exits by doing donuts on the Buckingham Palace lawn. He’s doing right by his wife and child, and his own well-being too.
I like the idea of them as Canadians. It fits. Fuck the British biddies, lol.
ETA: Also if I had to watch my family host Trump and be all gracious, I’d quit that family too. There’s no reward for Harry and Meghan sticking it out.
I don’t know how to feel about this. Being born Royal sounds like a really bum deal, but it’s all about duty. Meghan clearly had no clue what she was doing marrying into the British Royal family and the media coverage that would come with it which was always going to be a total nightmare.
I’m not that impressed with this - I think it’s being handled horribly if they really did it without informing the Queen who has lived her whole life out of duty trying to do what is best for the country.
I don’t know - I do think it’s a no win position for Harry, but I certainly don’t have the ‘yay them’ feeling that most people here seem to have.
Duty to who? Because neither HRM or the British people seem to care about having a sense of duty to protect them.
If Meghan was one of us and came in here telling us the tales of how terrible her in-laws and community have been to her. How blatantly racist and unkind no one would tell her she had a “sense of duty” to be complicit. And then add in having to hang out with Trump and Andrew and be totes cool with it? We’d all be like “Get a job and get out. Like, now.”
Post by suburbanzookeeper on Jan 8, 2020 19:46:15 GMT -5
The thought of Harry setting up a life for Charlotte to eventually visit/escape to when the spare title eventually begins to weigh her down later in life makes me happy.
I don’t understand the money part - I get that they are giving up the soverign grant but they’ll still take money from Charles’s duchy?
I'm speculating but after reading the website, it seems to be the sovereign grant that prevents them from earning independently. So maybe they will keep what they get from Charles while they build whatever they are going to do and perhaps phase that out later? Or it will just go away once he is King anyway?
The thought of Harry setting up a life for Charlotte to eventually visit/escape to when the spare title eventually begins to weigh her down later in life makes me happy.
I imagine there was no easy seamless way to go about this. After the last 2 years of BS, I don’t blame them for saying fuck your timeline, Granny.
I am happy that they have decided to do what’s best for them and the family they created. They don’t have to bring their child around racist grandpa or creepy uncle Andrew just because of royal protocol.
They both seem to care about the organizations they are affiliated with. They both seem to be less stuffy and formal than the monarchy expects royals to be.
Meghan doesn’t deserve the negative press she gets. It will probably feel amazing to be able to breath a bit more easily at some point. Hopefully soon.
I don’t understand the money part - I get that they are giving up the soverign grant but they’ll still take money from Charles’s duchy?
I'm speculating but after reading the website, it seems to be the sovereign grant that prevents them from earning independently. So maybe they will keep what they get from Charles while they build whatever they are going to do and perhaps phase that out later? Or it will just go away once he is King anyway?
Idk. If Charles et al aren’t on board with this it seems strange to expect him to continue to fund them. I mean I have no doubt that they could easily make a ton of money on their own. . .