Guess who's coming back?

The biggest off air soap opera with plot twists to rival anything on Eastenders or Coronation Street takes a new turn this week, in fact this is so breaking  news bits are coming in dribs and drabs as I type.

Most of us can recall what we were doing way back in 2018 when Harry and Meghan got married, the start of the spectacular failing out between Harry and Prince William and spouses that run into the Royal Family generally.

This lead to a temporary move to Canada before settling in Montecito, California in the United States where it was widely expected they and their children would stay not least having burned their bridges with the Royals and the wider UK public massively.

We now learn they are to return to the UK after a off/on visit with His Majesty King Charles III and the Queen probably settling somewhere around either Northamptonshire in the South Midlands or the Cotswolds area of Gloucestershire.

One reason it appears to be  Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's schooling which despite both having identifiable american accents and exposed to that countries culture, the couple appear anxious to have an English education and we are lead to believe school placements are booked for Autumn (Fall) term.

Other reasons include apparently the children getting along well with the Spencers, to whom Princess Diana, Harry's Mom was member of and the meeting with King Charles that seemed to turn out satisfactory.

Reaction will probably be mixed in the Country as a while, I have very mixed views on this as over the last eighteen months or so we've been getting tittle tattle suggesting the patience of the celebs in Montecito had been wearing thin and that it's hardly a inexpensive place to live before we consider how offended many of us feel about the manner their issues with the other royals were handled not least when the Duke of Edinburgh was seriously ill and indeed the period before the late Queen Elizabeth died.

They certainly did not need all this drama but maybe we might see a partial defrosting of the relationships and while I have some concerns around Prince Harry's character, he does have some strengths which can can better use over here.

We'll see.

That Photo and what's at the core of the discussion

Heading towards yet another wet weekend here.

One thing probably worth remarking upon this week is the whole issue of trust, media speculation and after image processing that the Wales's appear to have got themselves into with the release last week of a picture of them and their children for Mothering Sunday (the British Mother's Day) to the World's media after her period of being in hospital.

It didn't last twenty-four hours before being picked apart for showing some less than subtle editing which seems to be norm with many today but this ignores one important requirement which is Newspapers require an image to be an accurate indication of the event taken even if they may crop a picture themselves having received so it was retracted.

A picture has to be of the event not a composite even of many images taken at the time or in effect a photo montage upon a theme.

But then it appears they *may* be issues with a picture issued in 2022 of the late Queen and her family.

An explanation proffered was as an amateur photographer, the Princess of Wales enjoys dabbling in photo editing which is probably true - and has reflected in the controversies from time to time about rules in digital photographic competitions generally - but you need to give the press the picture "as is".

As it stands the attempt at the "perfect" picture seems to have fuelled speculation on the extent of the Princess's condition, if we're having anything held back, even bizarrely if the royal are using a body double, all of which is a long way from her intent in having and issuing that picture. 

Sometimes you just have to present the picture as taken, warts and all.

The End and a new era

Exiting the week here with a short post as I'm not feeling too great  looking back at the Queen's life, the very things we will remember her for even if the earliest were not things I personally lived through.

Time was when I had scrapbooks of Royal connected pictures and that but they've been missing for a good few decades, probably some "you won't need this" tidying up session but this is the next nearest thing.

Reminds me a bit of schools posters.

Funeral was long with separate stages beautifully choreographed, everyone with a role looking spotless, rich in symbolism even if ultimately sad as I got through a number of tissues.

Hundreds of thousands turned out to pay their respects, 26 million saw live coverage on tv, the weather held up for an event that was unmistakably British as much as others from he commonwealth to which she was Queen played a part.

We will miss her.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

Platinum Jubilee edition

 It's a different week this week and so things will be a little different on this blog.

We are marking the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which is something I believe no other reigning monarch has ever managed although in recent years Her Majesties walking ability has declined causing her to miss some events and alternatives ways found for others which at the ripe old age of ninety-six you can well expect.

Yesterday was the special Trouping the Colour which usually would be held on the Saturday rich in its centuries old pageantry, colourful uniforms, horses and carriage processions which with every going around of the Sun I get to enjoy more and more.

It's not that it's quintessentially British, so much that kind of grand event, drilled to the last degree, choreographed is something while a few aspire too only we really pull off and as Her subjects just seem to love. 

There was a massive flight pass featuring warplanes from WW2 and modern ones in a spectacular display creating the number 70 but also the Red Arrows team with the red,white and blue smoke coming from them that I loved to see at airshows when I was younger. 

Pix credit: Routers.

Everything has a price

Well this week there's been a lot of things going on, some of which are continuing  such as the uncoupling of Harry, Prince of Wales  and Meghan Markle from the Royal family of which I will say few words.

The first is when and if you find something is placing too big a strain on you that you can no longer cope with it, something I can easily understand in Harry's instance, then you do need to bear in mind that in leaving it there are costs involved not just the financial but the emotional.

I've been there. I had to give up a career because what was going on with it could not be properly resolved and I was a emotional wreak breaking down frequently that was cutting into other things I was doing.
Thing is, in doing that I had to accept that 'game' was over, done with, and move on accepting I'd no longer be in those circles, that I could never be back with them and any long term dreams involving that line of work were over with.
It hurt.

Cutting out role duties means those roles as the Queen's representative just go because they whatever they had to offer depended upon that patronage and if fulfilling that with all the media attention that comes with is "too much" or brings back bad memories you struggle to shake off then that's a cost you have to accept.

If you had merely wanted a alteration to take account a period of illness or wanting to spend the first few years more with your child then that's a different thing and could be done but that wasn't in as far as we've been told what they wanted.

There bigger thing which remains unresolved is security.
Harry is a target not just for being formerly a HRH but for being in the military but normally when you in effect leave the 'working royals' then having that paid for goes and it is clear Canadians who weren't asked if they wanted any kind of Royals living there don't see why they should pay for it plus if they are not in the UK, you can't expect much enthusiasm for the UK public paying around Three to Six million a year for it.

This is complicated further still by the idea of earning money commercially so they would be independent financially as apart from restrictions around what they could endorse for monies, the very act of re-raises the interest that lead to the pressure they were struggling with.
 And Canadian law is less useful on Privacy than the UK's.

To live they'd need over 6 million a year saying as of yesterday they were prepared to pay for that security which is a long way removed from the ordinary where perhaps Harry might get a paid post in the Military and and Meghan did a bit of acting or office work as 'regular joes' living in modest accommodation with non of the Royal or Celebratory Bubble going on bar the odd charity patronage perhaps.

That's where I get back to what I said at the start. If you find something like that something you have to leave, then there's a cost you have to be prepared to accept and I'm not sure they've got this really sorted out.

In other news my First tumblr has made 10,000 posts!