Duchess of Sussex, Current Events 2: February 2019 - March 2020

[Lumutqueen]

With today’s new pics of Meghan ingratiating herself on her public engagement in Vancouver it seems opinión in Canada appears to be turning now that it dawns on them that Meghan & Harry want to act like royals in Canada:

It wasn't a public engagement. The news of the engagement came from a tweet by one of the staff members, that's how the press got a hold of the information. No press were invited or there at the actual event.

Don't bash the woman, for something she didn't do.

 

[Somebody]

If you read the article, the information came from a tweet from a worker st the centre. If you are going to leak it to the press you wouldn't leak it to the likes of ctv news.

It only raises questions as people are so quick to believe the worst of her.


Once again what should be seen as a great visit of a worthwhile charity is over shadowed by people jumping at anything to criticize. Instead of wondering if this will be her first new project in Canada.
(…).

Why? What would be the reason for the private person Meghan to visit a charity that she is not familiar with; or what was the goal of this visit? Does she intend to become a volunteer? Was she invited as a speaker or to conduct a workshop? Or is she 'playing a royal'? Normal random people don't 'visit charities'... (that is not to say that nobody ever visits a charity; but it will typically have a clear goal and not be a regular activity)

 

[HereditaryPrincess]

It's great to see Meghan keeping up with charities and causes that are close to her heart in Canada. I hope the couple will still be able to - officially or unofficially - visit charitable organisations during their stay.

 

[Eskimo]

We have no idea if she visited this charity as Meghan Markle or HRH The Duchess of Sussex. Although, we are sure she was invited to visit because she is the Duchess of Sussex.

I do not think anyone should have a problem with this visit unless she claims she was representing the Crown. In which case, she better have been formally invited by the Government of Canada or British Columbia to visit said charity.

 

[rominet09]

Very glad to see her again ! I still love her and Harry.

 

[alicia]

If it was public , certainly it was not coordinated with the Palace and I don’t expect it to appear in the Court Circular. I would be surprised too if this event was arranged in coordination with the Canadian government or the government of British Columbia.

Someone publicized it , but I can’t tell if it was just a leak or if the media was tipped off intentionally.

I am quite sure it is a very worthwhile visit, but it raises questions about the way the public agenda of the Duchess will be managed in this transition period.

This report makes it clear that a member of MM's staff contacted the centre to initiate the visit. It implies that it was organised in the name of the Duchess of Sussex. It seems to me she is looking for ways to boost her profile in Canada. The outcome is no doubt what she was looking for - self promotion as a compassionate person, which feels pretty hollow right now, in view of the lack of compassion and care she has shown to the Queen and Harry's family, the British people, and many others. I cannot help but feel very disappointed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/meghan-markle-dtes-womens-shelter-1.5427270

 

[ACO]

Meghan visited another organization yesterday as well. Justice for Girls. They just tweeted about it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1217602782779166720

 

[Eskimo]

Meghan visited another organization yesterday as well. Justice for Girls. They just tweeted about it.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1217602782779166720

Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle?

This is going to be problematic if these visits are conducted in a “royal capacity”

 

[Osipi]

We have no idea if she visited this charity as Meghan Markle or HRH The Duchess of Sussex. Although, we are sure she was invited to visit because she is the Duchess of Sussex.

I do not think anyone should have a problem with this visit unless she claims she was representing the Crown. In which case, she better have been formally invited by the Government of Canada or British Columbia to visit said charity.

Even when Harry flies somewhere and attends something in connection with the Invictus Games and with that being his own incentive and passion, it does appear in the court circular as a "royal engagement". The government of foreign countries do not need to "invite" a royal for charitable works. Its the Queen, herself, that approves or denies what goes into the court circular as "official" and representative of the monarch, the "Firm" and the Crown.

William receives the director of the Royal Foundation at Kensington Palace and it makes the court circular. Everything they do basically is reflection of themselves as "royals" and the Queen keeps tabs on them and classifies what goes in the CC or not.

Meghan did a few engagements on her own in Vancouver keeping busy and showing that she *does* still want to be involved, active and make a difference. Wherever she goes, she is still The Duchess of Sussex. It may, however, be her own personal wish to do so and will not appear in the CC.

We have absolutely no clue how her mind works and what her motives are and to suggest that she's dead set on promoting herself, ego stroking, has ulterior motives in whatever she does and is the big, bad wolf ready to pounce on Little Red Riding Hood is actually, to me, painting Meghan with a tainted brush because we're "assuming" she's this big, bad wolf thinking of no one but herself in all of this.

Character assassination is never fun to watch.

 

[caethi]

It's great that Meghan is finding charities that interest her in BC. I hate being critical of her, because I do think she has been subjected to unfair media criticism over the months and years. In my view, however, this kind of thing exposes her to more criticism. If she really wants to connect with local agencies, she could have done so and kept it private. She and Harry kept their relationship out of the eyes of the press for months, so she knows how to do it. She could have asked staff to keep the fact of the visit confidential under the nature of her involvement could be publicly announced. It makes me question her judgment and even her motivation. This is not a good look.

 

[Curryong]

Why would Meghan go to visit these charities (helping disadvantaged women and girls, an area of such work that obviously interests her) in the name of Meghan Markle? Of course she would use her married name since she is married, perfectly legally and has been since 2018. It wasn't announced as a royal visit nor an official one, just exploratory IMO. Nor will it appear in the CC and I doubt very much that Meghan intended it to.

 

[Somebody]

This report makes it clear that a member of MM's staff contacted the centre to initiate the visit. It implies that it was organised in the name of the Duchess of Sussex. It seems to me she is looking for ways to boost her profile in Canada. The outcome is no doubt what she was looking for - self promotion as a compassionate person, which feels pretty hollow right now, in view of the lack of compassion and care she has shown to the Queen and Harry's family, the British people, and many others. I cannot help but feel very disappointed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/meghan-markle-dtes-womens-shelter-1.5427270

Interesting. So on Monday (after Harry's talks?) Meghan had her staff send out an email to two random organizations in the neighborhood supporting women to see whether she can come and visit the next day?!

 

[Curryong]

How do we know these organisations were picked 'randomly'? We know Meghan is interested in causes dealing with disadvantaged girls and women and has been for years. She may very well have been researching these for several weeks.

What is Meghan to do. Stay at the leased home, never venture out, never go anywhere that interests her that might benefit from some public exposure, never hold her head up in public again? As for the latter I can think of some British tabloid editors this could well apply to!

 

[Missjersey]

This report makes it clear that a member of MM's staff contacted the centre to initiate the visit. It implies that it was organised in the name of the Duchess of Sussex. It seems to me she is looking for ways to boost her profile in Canada. The outcome is no doubt what she was looking for - self promotion as a compassionate person, which feels pretty hollow right now, in view of the lack of compassion and care she has shown to the Queen and Harry's family, the British people, and many others. I cannot help but feel very disappointed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/meghan-markle-dtes-womens-shelter-1.5427270

Oh brother....the dust hasn’t even settled. Looking for places to make an appearance (regardless if it’s for a good cause or not) after the havoc she helped create stinks to the high heavens for me.

 

[ACO]

How do we know these organisations were picked 'randomly'? We know Meghan is interested in causes dealing with disadvantaged girls and women and has been for years. She may very well have been researching these for several weeks.

What is Meghan to do. Stay at the leased home, never venture out, never go anywhere that interests her that might benefit from some public exposure, never hold her head up in public again? As for the latter I can think of some British tabloid editors this could well apply to!

Well apparently she is only allowed to stay inside with Archie. She is to sit in a corner and know her place. Or whatever.

 

[Missjersey]

Well apparently she is only allowed to stay inside with Archie. She is to sit in a corner and know her place. Or whatever.

The timing Aco is just a little tacky for me.

 

[DuchessMia]

ACO, I’m glad she’s continuing her good works. All they asked was to not be senior royals. Not to completely stop working for their causes and for the monarchy. This organization was thrilled for the visit, the exposure and support. Not seeing the negative.

 

[Pranter]

She never said she wanted to stop working. They said they plan to keep doing engagements and supporting their patronages and if they are going to be spending time in Canada several months a year, why not work with some there as well.


LaRae

 

[Mbruno]

ACO, I’m glad she’s continuing her good works. All they asked was to not be senior royals. Not to completely stop working for their causes and for the monarchy. This organization was thrilled for the visit, the exposure and support. Not seeing the negative.

She is free to continue her good works as a private citizen. However, if she does that in an official or semi-official capacity in Canada , that is as HRH The Duchess of Sussex , and without the advice and consent of the Palace and the Canadian government, then constitutional issues are raised . That was the point of the editorial in The Globe and Mail.

 

[Helen.CH]

Any Canadiens here who can tell how Meghan's visit to the women's shelter was wellcomed in the media or maybe not?
I still do not understand how/ why she could do this, as Canada is Commonwealth but not UK, and she was not on an official trip for HM.
Thank you for explaining.

 

[AdmirerUS]

Any Canadiens here who can tell how Meghan's visit to the women's shelter was wellcomed in the media or maybe not?
I still do not understand how/ why she could do this, as Canada is Commonwealth but not UK, and she was not on an official trip for HM.
Thank you for explaining.

I am assuming it was not in the CC? The Duchess went as a person. That's how she could do it.

 

[Sterling3763]

Any Canadiens here who can tell how Meghan's visit to the women's shelter was wellcomed in the media or maybe not?
I still do not understand how/ why she could do this, as Canada is Commonwealth but not UK, and she was not on an official trip for HM.
Thank you for explaining.

I'm not Canadian, so I cannot speak to how the visit is being received.

But as to how/why Meghan made the visit. Love it or hate it, I think everyone expects Harry and Meghan to still work on charitable causes post-separation from the BRF.

As for the appropriateness of her working with charities without being it being a formal "Royal patronage"/ done at The Queen's request: Beatrice and Eugenie, who are not working royals, are the patrons of several charities. https://thedukeofyork.org/about-the-duke/princess-beatrice/ So there is precedent for non-working royals to carve out "unofficial" patronages. It may be the first "unofficial" patronage for a part-time or full-time working royal, however.

 

[texankitcat]

Any Canadiens here who can tell how Meghan's visit to the women's shelter was wellcomed in the media or maybe not?
I still do not understand how/ why she could do this, as Canada is Commonwealth but not UK, and she was not on an official trip for HM.
Thank you for explaining.

Just another example of her not understanding (giving the benefit of the doubt here) her place and not considering the ramifications for the BRF and their relationships with the Common Wealth. Another reason why there needs to be strict rules on these two. Meghan may be used to running her own show, but as long as she is married to a Prince of the UK, she will need to adhere to the rules that govern him as a member of the BRF.....Senior or not.

I'm not Canadian, so I cannot speak to how the visit is being received.

But as to how/why Meghan made the visit. Love it or hate it, I think everyone expects Harry and Meghan to still work on charitable causes post-separation from the BRF.

As for the appropriateness of her working with charities without being it being a formal "Royal patronage"/ done at The Queen's request: Beatrice and Eugenie, who are not working royals, are the patrons of several charities. https://thedukeofyork.org/about-the-duke/princess-beatrice/ So there is precedent for non-working royals to carve out "unofficial" patronages. It may be the first "unofficial" patronage for a part-time or full-time working royal, however.

Correct me if I am wrong, but there appears to be a difference being that Beatrice and Eugenie are not patrons of or visiting charities in a common wealth country where there are strict rules governing Royal visits and Meghan is.

 

[Sionevar]

Any Canadiens here who can tell how Meghan's visit to the women's shelter was wellcomed in the media or maybe not?
I still do not understand how/ why she could do this, as Canada is Commonwealth but not UK, and she was not on an official trip for HM.
Thank you for explaining.

It was mentioned on all the news channels last night - very briefly, as part of the wider, ongoing H+M story. The response was good, inasmuch as I could judge it. She was doing something kind and supportive for people who need kindness and support. Don't recall any of the channels questioning appropriateness or motive.

 

[Osipi]

There is a difference between charitable works and patronages. Where the governments figure in on is for official tours which would be stated as a visit from the UK to Canada. Harry went to Toronto quite a few times in conjunction with the Invictus Games when they were held there and as it was his own patronage, the governments weren't involved at all.

We also see examples of this in the UK. President Trump (or any other head of state) could visit the UK, meet with the Queen for lunch etc, and it would be called a working visit. Official state visits are defined more as a visit from Country A to Country B and its those that the governments get involved with.

Meghan doesn't have to have permission from governments to visit an organization. However, I'm pretty sure that if she wanted to be patron, she would have to be invited to be and also have the Queen's approval. I believe this happens even with the incentives royals want to do with their foundations.

I remember vividly way back when Diana wanted to take on the issue of AIDS. I believe there were discussions with the Queen for and against Diana doing that but in the long run, Diana was cleared to take it on.

So, actually, Meghan did not break any rules by visiting the organizations that she did. It wasn't part of her "royal duties and engagements" and won't make the court circular but she had nothing holding her back from doing what she did.

 

[_Heather_]

It’s just my take on it but, as with many things when it comes to Meghan, the timing was just a bit too convenient and she clearly, once again, didn’t understand or didn’t care how it would come across.

You want to do something nice and volunteer at a charity? Sure, go right ahead. Good for you. But, there’s a massive difference between volunteering and sitting around holding a round table or visiting with those the charity serves without actually doing any “volunteer” activities. If this visit was to be a personal volunteer activity then she should have waited until the dust settled and gone in there to actually volunteer. This visit looked exactly like a visit that any member of the RF might have done but evidently wasn’t billed as such. That blurring of lines is a massive problem. As is the need to be seen. If she were truly as privacy obsessed as she claims then she’d have let the dust settle and let things calm down a bit before she stepped out and started blurring those lines right in the middle of the negotiations and transition.

 

[Osipi]

Its also very possible that Meghan didn't expect her visits to become public knowledge either. Many royals do things "on the down low" without any fanfare and publicity while doing them. We may hear about it later though because, just as Meghan's recent visits were, they were picked up and made public because someone that was actually there posted it on social media or whatnot.

How often have we heard later that so and so did a surprise visit to somewhere? Or visited with someone out of the blue and it was made public days later. Things like this are nothing new. ?

 

[wyevale]

^It looks to me as if all that matters to her, is remaining in the Public eye - we cannot be allowed to forget her [for a moment] as so many would wish to..

 

[texankitcat]

It’s just my take on it but, as with many things when it comes to Meghan, the timing was just a bit too convenient and she clearly, once again, didn’t understand or didn’t care how it would come across.

You want to do something nice and volunteer at a charity? Sure, go right ahead. Good for you. But, there’s a massive difference between volunteering and sitting around holding a round table or visiting with those the charity serves without actually doing any “volunteer” activities. If this visit was to be a personal volunteer activity then she should have waited until the dust settled and gone in there to actually volunteer. This visit looked exactly like a visit that any member of the RF might have done but evidently wasn’t billed as such. That blurring of lines is a massive problem. As is the need to be seen. If she were truly as privacy obsessed as she claims then she’d have let the dust settle and let things calm down a bit before she stepped out and started blurring those lines right in the middle of the negotiations and transition.

Agreed. Based on how poorly they have handled things thus far they really need to keep a low profile in Canada until their residency and other issues have been sorted out. Also choosing to visit charities where she is sure to be photographed and make the News while other members of the BRF are on official visits the same day is not helping their cause.

 

[Pranter]

^It looks to me as if all that matters to her, is remaining in the Public eye - we cannot be allowed to forget her [for a moment] as so many would wish to..

She didn't release the info, the organization/employees did. That happened in the UK too. It's ridiculous to expect her to never been seen doing anything.

LaRae