I thought they were still technically HRH, just can’t use the honorific if they aren’t working.
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They gave up their HRH when they left their royal duties.
Royals have personal assistants just like actors or any famous celebrities do. To guide and inform them of what is expected or not.
Meghan just didn’t want to listen to things that she found inconvenient
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I swear I read that they still retain them, they just can’t use them.
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Nope.
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I did read that Meghan does have to curtesy to Kate as William is heir.
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That makes sense. They won’t use the HRH but it wasn’t formally stripped.
I think that is if Kate is with William? Maybe different now that Kate is Princess of Wales (curtsy all the time?)
And Meghan and H will have to curtsy/bow to George too at some point. Rank.
I think they all do it so automatically that it doesn’t even register with them. It was new to Meghan
You are correct.
I think the same thing. He could have cleared some of the things up that stumped her (the curtsey issue, the tiara, what color clothes she can wear, etc.) The color of her clothes is a head scratcher because since hearing her claim that she can’t wear the same color as “major” royals, I now notice what people are wearing in any royal blurbs that I see, and there are all kinds of colors. The Queen seemed to wear a lot of light pastel-y blues and greens, so maybe stay away from those. It’s hard to believe that her (possibly) self-imposed limitation of wearing neutrals for public events could be viewed as oppressive. Everything I saw her in was stunning, regardless of the color.
Her undoing was her unwillingness to bend to royal protocol. Her insistence to do things her way. Her inability to stay mum on the things the press said about her. Perhaps one of the biggest nails in the coffin was when she refused to come out for pictures at the hospital after Archie was born. A barbaric practice for sure, but one that royals have partaken in for decades. Thousands of British citizens in the streets excited for the birth and anxiously waiting for news and to see the baby, and M says she’s going to do it her way, days later at another location.
A secondary issue, but one that Meghan could have capitalized on if she played it right, was that she’s more likeable than Kate. Meghan comes across as warm and welcoming in her public appearances, while Kate looks cold and that she’d rather be anywhere but where she is. She and William look like they don’t even like each other, let alone love each other. The chemistry between H & M is palpable, and further highlights the coldness between Kate & William. With William & Kate on deck as future king & queen, Harry & Meghan being more popular just won’t do. I believe that institution unleashed the press on Meghan in an attempt to teach her where her place was in the royal pecking order. They needed her to be seen and not heard.
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I haven’t participated in this thread because I don’t follow Harry and Meghan, other than seeing the headlines and photos that appear in my news feeds, and have little interest in them. But apparently I have an interest in what CCers think about them, because I’ve been reading this thread off and on 
.
I do feel compelled to comment on the quoted text though, since my impressions are so completely different. I have never gotten the sense that Kate is cold, or bored, or that she and William are distant and unloving towards each other. Perhaps Meghan is more outwardly warm, and certainly H & M engage in more PDAs. Kate’s expressions may be more subtle. I would simply chalk that up to different personalities, and probably cultures. Meghan is American unlike Kate; the British aren’t exactly known for their bubbly extroverted personas. I’ve never equated that with coldness, simply a more reserved and self-contained bearing in public, which I’m sure goes doubly for royals. At any rate, for those of us who don’t know them personally, all we ever see is their public demeanor. They may all (including H & M) be completely different in private.
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I don’t get Meghan assuming everyone else wants a hug on first meeting. I don’t (and I couldn’t be more American, born on the 4th of July). Would she expect to hug the Queen, the President, Katherine Hepburn at any time, never mind on first meeting? Why should Kate expect to be hugged by a stranger? I met my daughter’s boyfriend’s mother a week ago and she hugged me. Yes, our kids have been dating for 7 years, yes I’ve met her husband and she’s met my other daughter, but it was too soon for me comfort wise.
Meghan’s expectations were just off. If she were in Japan, for example, she’d adopt that culture of a bow instead of a handshake. She was confused that just because they speak English in England, it was just an extension of America.
If she doesn’t want to curtsy, don’t, but there will be those who criticize. Diana had to curtsy to everyone royal until she married into the family. Thems the rules, and she followed them. I thought Meghan was just Diana II, practically an identical twin?
I don’t blame her for wanting out, wanting to remain American (and get to vote and voice her opinion) and for her kids to be American. Fine. Then take off, go to America, wish everyone good luck. But she didn’t do that.
I do think H&M are besotted with each other (in a very immature way), and I do think they want to save the world. They need to do it with their own money and resources. They sort of are by selling their stories (don’t know how much of the money will be directed back to the charities), but they need to pay the price which is being passed over for royal events and family closeness.
I still don’t understand what H&M want. Even if all the slights were made, the family was rude to M, there were no attempts to stop the press (I don’t know what the press did), what do H&M want done now? Would the King mentioning them in the Christmas address be enough? Would seating them in the front row at the coronation be enough? Would facetiming with the kids be enough?
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True, but how they are in public is what is judged in the media and in the court of public opinion.
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I think they want their cake and eat it too. They want to be left alone and to be away from royal responsibilities, but they don’t want to give up the perks, like security, and they don’t want to lose their titles or not have titles for their children. The institution doesn’t work that way.
To hug or not to hug is such a dilemma. I don’t mind hugging or someone hugging me, but I’m not a chronic hugger (except when it comes to my kids) and I never assume someone I’m meeting for the first time wants to hug (I usually follow their lead). Not knowing whether to go in for a hug or not can end up being awkward. I find that more hugging usually happens when I see people I know at events, like weddings or funerals, rather than when I run into someone I know at Trader Joe’s.
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I agree with much of what you’re saying but I have to disagree with this:
Her undoing was her unwillingness to bend to royal protocol. Her insistence to do things her way. Her inability to stay mum on the things the press said about her. Perhaps one of the biggest nails in the coffin was when she refused to come out for pictures at the hospital after Archie was born. A barbaric practice for sure, but one that royals have partaken in for decades
At the point she delivered their baby, she had already been in a severe mental health crisis. The targeted and very racist press abuse was already far beyond anything even Diana had to endure after Charles minions turned openly on her. It’s interesting that you (and many others commenting) think that it was Meghan making all the decisions for the couple. In fact it was Harry who had been pushing back against the palace machine and who decided to get his family away from it, only after his beloved, saintly, grandmother, father, and loving brother (yes I’m being sarcastic) refused him the help he was asking for.
Unless of course you think Harry is a big liar.
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I 100% support her decision. I think it’s a crazy to ask a new mom who just delivered a baby to dress and fix hair and make-up so she can do a bizarre show-and-tell with the British public. If Harry had married a Brit, they would have been out there doing it, so I do think Meghan led that particular decision (again, in case my first sentence isn’t clear enough, bravo to her).
I completely agree with you (and don’t think Harry is a liar, big or otherwise 
) that he was actively involved in getting them out of the UK. I don’t think it was Meghan making all the decisions alone, but I do believe that she thought she could come into the institution and continue to be a strong, outspoken woman (and continue to be very American) - and that’s not the role that spouses of royals are asked to take. I wholeheartedly support their joint decision to prioritize their mental health.
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This is how I always felt about them too.
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The British public supported Meghan and Harry and the incoming baby gifts were considered lovely … not to mention the lovely maternity clothes and probably top-notch medical care and the night nanny (who didn’t last long - fired - but still) and so on.
I too wouldn’t have particularly wanted to do “a bizarre show-and-tell” but 10-15 minutes of graciousness wouldn’t have killed me.
A moment of cake and eat it too on the parts of Meghan and Harry.
I’ve also wondered why if Harry had therapy, and the public didn’t know about it at the time, Meghan couldn’t have the same. I’m sure she could have talked with her OB and certainly he should have stepped in with recommendations for help. I honestly can’t imagine he wouldn’t.
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Please don’t do that. Obviously, dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts isn’t as easy as just talking to your OB or finding a therapist. You trivialize a very serious problem.
I battled depression after the birth of my second child - it’s just something you can’t understand unless you experience it.
So “the public” sends gifts because of their weird obsession with the royals, who they adore and demean in equal parts. Who cares? People should learn a bit of empathy and grace.
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She said she would have have appeared outside of the hospital at which she wanted to deliver the baby, but that wasn’t good enough for the Royals. She wanted that hospital because it’s where her ob/gyn had privileges.
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