The Duchess Of Excess

[Stargazer]

I am not impressed by the public display of her charitable largesse. I do not think the children would be excited at a bunch of flowers. This was a preplanned and thought out way to show Ms Markle's generosity. Sorry! Not impressed.

[Sqad]

Cali....LOL... I am sure you are right about her "not caring a damn" but don't under estimate the weight of opinion and "disruptive power" of the British Monarchy.

[Canary42]

Deja vu for the unfortunate Harry seeing her get the same treatment as his late mother.

[Calicogirl]

Oh I'm not Sqad, I'm fairly sure she's brave, but she might also be stupid. There's not enough money in the world to have made me marry into the English royal family with their history of 'bad luck' with disruptive wives... essentially wherever you get a huge amount of money you also get a huge amount of danger, however nice everyone seems, they have the money and thus the power to make everything go away.

[Sqad]

Cali....I agree....good post.

[retrocop]

Our Royal family are sticklers for protocol and etiquette.The Senior Management can be quite ruthless with their young arrivals. The late QM demonstrated that side a few times. If someone .preferably Prince Harry, does not have a quiet word she will probably end up like the Duchess of York although Fergie couldn't spell decorum let alone understand it.

[Bazile]

Diana was brought in to fulfill a certain job

She did the job and was redundant after that

It's different with Meghan .

[pastafreak]

I'm not sure how someone should turn their back on the culture they've known for 30+ years...and become something different.
Assimilating takes time...as I know from first hand experience. And, as cali is most likely learning also.
If the duchess *did* change quickly...as some wish or expect..dont you worry, the wolves would still be out criticising her for being false.

[bednobs]

people spend the money they have: if you have more money than someone else, you mostlikely spend more money than someone else. Are we to get annoyed at people who spend £100 on a present just because we don't have £100? am to be cross with sqad because i don't have a villa in spain and he does? am i to be annoyed with calicogirl because she can afford to fly to america and i cant at the moment? NO! it's ridiculous :)

[Sqad]

bednobs....just remind me as a part of the Royal who are you the Duchess of?........;-)

[rockyracoon]

With that post, she's the Duchess of Common Sense.

[Calicogirl]

Pasta is absolutely right, why should Megan assimiliate and lose all of her cultural identity? This is 21st century. There are many similarities in people in the US to the UK but there are many differences too and it's really, really easy to appear wrong or off just because of those small differences, and it's frightening, isolating and lonely when you sense you've done something not quite right but you're not at all sure what it is... I imagine with the scrutiny she's under Meghan has that in spades.
Bednobs is also right, the Brits do love a good dose of understated jealousy about what others have- you so often hear 'well I wouldn't pay that even if I had the money- must have more money than sense..' etc etc etc- well yes you probably would tbh, at least most people would because you do spend what you you have disposable. I always fly economy if I book anything because I'm tight, my partner flies 1st or Business because flying affects him badly and he likes to lie down and sleep if he can but the last time I booked flights I automatically looked at 1st before economy, before I slapped myself upside the head and realised what I was doing, so to the super wealthy like Amal Cloony the money sped on this was nothing...

[Sqad]

Nothing..NOTHING to do with the money, it is all to do with etiquette of our Royal Family.
What is there to understand, it is called Royal protocol and all prestigious institutions have them.

[Calicogirl]

It's interesting though don't you think Sqad, that Americans are looked down upon because they choose not to follow this protocol, but there is hardly a 'great' family in the country whose stately homes and business interests were not saved by marrying wealthy American heiresses during the 20th century? Times change because of the introduction of foreign influence and this I think is one fairly harmless example.

[Sqad]

Interesting ...Yes....but that is all, ANY foreigner joining the Royal family would be required to observe the protocols, not just the Americans.
Football is starting on TV..........I'm off ;-)

[bednobs]

our queen married a foreigner who didnt conform to what he was supposed to do think and say, but many people think of him as a loveable old goat

[bednobs]

ps i want chastising CG for flying to america, she's perfectly entitled to spend her money on whatever she wants without criticism. But therefore so should other people.

[Calicogirl]

Don't worry Bednobs I didn't take it that way at all and tbh quite early on we had a discussion that I couldn't possibly keep up with him financially, so he pays for expensive stuff and I pay for more modest stuff because you're absolutely right people spend what they have, and it was unfair of me to expect him to level down just as I couldn't level up to that extent.