Queen Elizabeth II has summoned her grandson for a crisis meeting to discuss future arrangements for the Duke of Sussex and his wife, following the couple's shock announcement they want to step back from royal duties.

Key points:

• The senior Royals will gather to discuss concerns raised by Prince Harry and Meghan publicly last week
• The meeting will be held at the Queen's Sandringham estate on Monday, a source told Reuters
• Officials had been reportedly holding talks behind the scenes prior to the couple's announcement

 

Prince Harry's father the Prince of Wales and his elder brother the Duke of Cambridge will also attend the meeting, due to take place on Monday at the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, a Buckingham Palace source told Reuters.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will try to join via telephone from Canada where she returned earlier in the week to rejoin the couple's baby son, Archie.

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-12/queen-elizabeth-ii-calls-prince-h...

 

This crisis should evolve as democracy should: the royals get sidelined, even if they do "charitable" work to justify their existence, which is not justifiable, on any ground of democratic organisations.

Queen Elizabeth II has given her blessing to grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan's wish for a more independent future following crisis talks involving the most senior members of the Royal family.

Key points:

• The Queen and family held talks with Prince Harry at Sandringham estate
• Meghan, who is currently in Canada, is believed to have joined by phone
• The Queen said there will be a "period of transition" for the couple

 

"My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family," the 93-year-old monarch said in a statement.

"Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family."

 

Read more:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-14/queen-gives-blessing-to-prince-ha...

 

See also: he’s too heavy, he ain’t my brother any more...

Reacting swiftly to developments within the British royal family, several companies are looking to sell their merchandise while poking fun at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who managed to stir quite a storm this month by announcing their intent to step down as senior members of the British Monarchy, have attracted the attention of several prominent brands seeking to profit from the Royal bust up in a rather cheeky fashion.

Mere hours after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their plans, Ikea Italy posted an advert for cardboard moving boxes on Instagram which said: “Meghan, Harry. We understand you, we are made to change”.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/society/202001141078034429-ikea-italian-brands-p...

 

See also: he’s too heavy, he ain’t my brother any more...

 

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will no longer use the titles "royal highness" or receive public funds under a new deal the pair has struck with Buckingham Palace after announcing they would be stepping aside as senior Royals.

Giving details of the split, the palace said Harry and Meghan would cease to be working members of the Royal family.

Here are the key messages from Buckingham Palace:

• Harry and Meghan will still be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
• The couple will no longer use the titles of "royal highness", but they are not being stripped of them
• Harry will remain a prince and sixth in line to the British throne
• They will not be funded by taxpayers' money and will pay for the Frogmore Cottage renovations themselves
• They will no longer formally represent the Queen

 

Read more:

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/harry-and-meghan-markle-drop-roya...

 

 

Harry and Meghan, you are half way there, the humble court of us — the people. Welcome. Find a job? You have talents. Be a sightseeing chopper pilot, Harry, and back to acting for Meghan. If no actress job available yet, nothing wrong with a bit of waitressing... Good luck.

 

 

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To some extend, I feel bitter-sweet about lampooning the royals. We actually should lampoon ourselves for letting them be Royal in a modern democracy. Time for an Australian Republic? Sure.

 

by Tommy Sheridan

 

The headline attached to the link to an RT America interview I gave this week is certainly provocative: “Let royals die & let Scotland leave!” 

The reaction on social media from some quarters has been predictable. Royalists have been sending abusive comments and accusing me of disrespecting the monarchy. On the one hand, the comments are sad because they stink of ignorance emanating from individuals who have clearly not watched the interview but, on the other hand, I am relaxed if the furore draws attention to the fact I have no respect for the royals, the monarchy and the whole decrepit and decaying Empire they represent.

The full twenty eight minute edition of the News with Rick Sanchez show is well worth watching for an alternative and more objective analysis of important world news stories and I would recommend it to those seeking a less manufactured and US/UK spin designed to under-inform and misinform in equal measure. If you only want to watch the segment containing my comments about the royals and Scottish independence you will find them twenty minutes into the show or via the YouTube video complete with the provocative headline.

Meghan Treatment Is Laced With Racism and Rabid British Chauvinism

The overarching point in the midst of the nauseating wall to wall coverage of the Harry and Megan story in every news bulletin and TV show this last week is that the institution of the monarchy and royal family has decayed beyond repair and should be allowed to die completely when the 93 year old Queen passes away.

The multitude of lickspittles and sycophants who have been paraded in front of our screens incessantly to defend the Queen and defy any hint of racism or rabid British nationalism while they verbally assault the ‘outsider’ Meghan and remind us constantly of her ‘mixed race’ background has been gut wrenching. The continual contrast with polite and English Kate and American mixed-race Meghan is the not so subtle chauvinism and racism that underpinned the bloody British Empire’s domination of two thirds of the world’s surface at the end of a bayonet under the auspices of bringing ‘civilisation’ to unruly savages across the globe. The British Empire was built on racism and the inherent belief in entitlement to rule born from the mother of rabid chauvinism. England has just elected the ‘Piccaninnie’ PM and surely the Windrush scandal is not forgotten already?

The different treatment meted out to Kate and Meghan is simply a matter of recorded fact. It has no doubt fuelled the healthy distaste of the British press which Harry has articulated recently. One conversation on the ITV Good Morning Britain ‘Pierced Organ’ show really summed up the farce in splendid technicolour for me when one female royal groveler bemoaned the refusal of Meghan to walk a full pace behind her royal husband on formal occasions unlike the more regal and civilised Kate who knows her place… We are entering a new decade of the 21st century and still apparently well-educated adults think it is acceptable for royal wives to dutifully walk behind their Prince husbands in due deference to their rank in life. The rest of us should remember we are mere subjects and bow and curtsy like the plebs we are.

British Trait of Occasional Democracy

Without a brass neck in sight the same royal lickspittle sycophants who demand we respect the monarch and its unelected status wax lyrical about democracy when it suits their Brexit agenda. Democracy is all important when it serves the interests of the rich and powerful but forgotten in discussions about the monarchy and ignored when the Scots vote for the right to have a second independence referendum.

The existence of a hereditary monarchy is an offence against equality and human dignity. In Britain’s context it underpins and props up the privilege and patronage which corrupts society from top to bottom. Monarchy and the royal family belong in the dark ages. It has no place in a modern and democratic society. Two of the most powerful arguments which feed and sustain me in my pursuit of an independent Scotland are the removal of nuclear weapons and the building of a modern democratic republic. The arguments around both issues are similar in many respects.

Oppose Monarchy in Principle Not Just On Cost

My opposition to nuclear weapons is rooted in the immoral nature of them. Killing millions of people indiscriminately and destroying the very planet we inhabit in the process is what compels my intransient stand for unilateral nuclear disarmament. The fact they cost so much to build and maintain is merely an incidental but powerful supplementary argument. Over £200 billion invested in schools, hospitals and social housing over the next 30 years rather than immoral weapons of mass destruction is a slam dunk bonus but even if they were cheap and affordable I would still be implacably opposed.

The same cost/benefit argument often enters the fray in relation to the monarchy. My opposition is in principle. No man or woman should inherit power over others by virtue of birth right. Power must always be accountable and subject to democratic curtailment. My late friend and rich source of socialist inspiration, Tony Benn, taught us that the monarchy is no quaint and harmless relic of the past but a living and breathing instrument of power wielded on behalf of the powerful status quo to keep the established order in place. Everything in Britain is done in the name of the monarch and no laws can ever be enacted without their royal assent. Politicians are elected but their power is acutely conditioned by royal prerogatives and allegiance to the crown is obligatory. No MP in Westminster or MSP in Scotland can take their seat regardless of the size of their majority unless they first swear allegiance to the monarch.

Tony Benn Was Compelled To Lie To Serve in Government

Tony explained in his memoirs how he had to lie 18 times in order to serve in Parliament and cabinet such were the number of royal oaths imposed upon him by the unwritten but royalist British constitution. In any democracy worth its salt the people are supremely sovereign.

Monarchy is undemocratic and completely outdated.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/columnists/202001181078073629-when-the-queen-pas...

 

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Brexit might have overshadowed January’s bombshell news about Prince Harry and his wife, former US actress Meghan Markle, stepping away from the royal life and moving to Canada - aka Megxit - but the wound still seems sore. 

Veteran Channel 5 presenter, Jeremy Vine, sat stunned as an irate caller referred to Prince Harry’s wife Meghan with a racial slur that was allowed to air by the producers. The anchor had hosted a discussion on the couple’s decision to abandon royal life and, with the help of their own private millions, provide for themselves on their own, moving to Canada.

A caller from the West Midlands, reached the show to share his opinion that Prince Harry and Meghan should be able to earn money if they want to but, during the call, let the curse words slip out.

“He [Harry] should be able to choose if he wants to live that life from the royal family", the caller said, cited by The Sun, before making the uncensored remark: "obviously he married... and that f***ing b***h".

 

The host, in spite of the multi-second delay required on all phone-in radio programmes to avoid the network being fined by government censors after the fact - appeared to mishear the slur, and, astonishingly, asked the caller to repeat the phrase. A voice was then heard saying to Vine that what he was asking to hear again was "the f-word".

"Go now. Really sorry for that, we do everything we can to avoid bad language on the programme. I know it offends some viewers and it's rude to everyone when a caller can't control their language", he said, after shaking his head in disappointment.

 

The gaffe came hot on the heels of Harry and Meghan’s first public appearance following Megxit, as the runaway prince and his American bride spoke at a summit in the US state of Florida.

Despite facing criticism over making private jet flights while preaching eco-awareness, the couple, who became parents last year, reportedly used the investment bank JPMorgan’s private jet to fly from Vancouver, where they now reside following their departure from the royal limelight, to Palm Beach, Florida. While in Florida, the two reportedly stayed at tennis icon Serena Williams’s home. The top athlete is considered a longtime friend of Meghan's and was among the guests at their lavish 2018 wedding.

 

It is not known what penalties the network or production staff will incur in allowing the obscene language to slip through and onto the airwaves.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/uk/202002101078279815-meghan-markle-british-live...

 

 

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The trouble Prince Harry is reportedly having coming to terms with his “massive life change” has taken Meghan by surprise, it has been claimed, as he is said to have initially viewed their family move as the right choice to make.

Now that the ex-royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are trying to settle in Los Angeles after they left the UK for a personally and financially independent life, an insider cited by OK! Magazine has claimed that the couple might “end up regretting their life choice”.

“This could be the toughest test that Harry and Meghan have gone through since they got married”, the source told the edition.

Harry has reportedly been feeling “homesick” and this has taken Meghan “by surprise as he thought the move was the right decision at the start of all this”.

 

Read more:

https://sputniknews.com/society/202004231079069792-homesick-prince-harry...

 

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