Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => The Coffee Corner => Topic started by: JoeKitchen on January 18, 2020, 02:05:55 pm
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So lets get off of Trump for a little bit. I am curious to know what the overall mood on Harry & Megan are in Great Britain?
Just saw the news that they have lost their royal titles, and presumably any money and/or estate access they might have had with the royal family. Do they really have the ability and skill set to survive outside of the royal family supporting themselves?
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So lets get off of Trump for a little bit. I am curious to know what the overall mood on Harry & Megan are in Great Britain?
Just saw the news that they have lost their royal titles, and presumably any money and/or estate access they might have had with the royal family. Do they really have the ability and skill set to survive outside of the royal family supporting themselves?
Have not heard about any loss of titles over British tv news services, so I'd wait until I do before buying into that one.
Well, she can act and he has had to do just that all his life, so by now they both have it down to a fine art. Also, he understands helicopters.
Maybe a more lucrative pair of avenues than photography?
Additionally, they both understand the meaning of "freedom" and "get a life". I wouldn't be a royal for all the money in the world.
Rob
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So lets get off of Trump for a little bit. I am curious to know what the overall mood on Harry & Megan are in Great Britain?
Just saw the news that they have lost their royal titles . . .
I was watching the American cable networks go gaga over the latest news about the retiring royals while I was getting a little exercise on the treadmill this afternoon, and it occurred to me that it's a pity the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from granting titles of nobility. Otherwise, maybe Congress could make a deal with the Great Dealmaker by which he would resign the presidency, the articles of impeachment would be dropped, we would carve out a modest duchy from the state of Florida, and anoint him "His Royal Redness, the Stable Genius of Mar-a-Lago."
Oops, sorry: you said you wanted to get away from the Trump debate for a little while.
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Maybe my wife and i can borrow their titles since they don;t need it any longer. Let's see Duke Alan and his Duchess. Do I have this right? It's very catchy. Maybe I'll have to move to Canada to make this work. It's getting warmer there as it is, so why not? :)
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I was watching the American cable networks go gaga over the latest news about the retiring royals while I was getting a little exercise on the treadmill this afternoon, and it occurred to me that it's a pity the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from granting titles of nobility. Otherwise, maybe Congress could make a deal with the Great Dealmaker by which he would resign the presidency, the articles of impeachment would be dropped, we would carve out a modest duchy from the state of Florida, and anoint him "His Royal Redness, the Stable Genius of Mar-a-Lago."
Oops, sorry: you said you wanted to get away from the Trump debate for a little while.
It's okay Chris. If you cant be an adult, that's on you, not me. ;)
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Have not heard about any loss of titles over British tv news services, so I'd wait until I do before buying into that one.
Well, she can act and he has had to do just that all his life, so by now they both have it down to a fine art. Also, he understands helicopters.
Maybe a more lucrative pair of avenues than photography?
Additionally, they both understand the meaning of "freedom" and "get a life". I wouldn't be a royal for all the money in the world.
Rob
Admittedly I know very little about royalty and what it is that they do or how they are brought up. I have to wonder though, how serious is their education and how extensive is their exposure to the real world? How thick is their bubble?
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Have not heard about any loss of titles over British tv news services, so I'd wait until I do before buying into that one.
Well, she can act and he has had to do just that all his life, so by now they both have it down to a fine art. Also, he understands helicopters.
Maybe a more lucrative pair of avenues than photography?
Additionally, they both understand the meaning of "freedom" and "get a life". I wouldn't be a royal for all the money in the world.
Rob
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51164232
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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51164232
Not to use doesn't mean they don't retain. Shall wait and see; wasn't the Duke of Windsor still called a "dook" when he abdicated for love of Mrs S? I ask because I honestly don't know the answer. But we had a German neighbour who could have rolled out all the names, connections etc. much as could my mother for the royals of several countries. I guess it's similar to car guys who know all the engine formats and the years of production. If you're interested, you pick it all up naturally. Shame music isn't that easy!
Rob
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First a technical point: they have surrendered being styled as "His/Her Royal Highness", but still have their titles as duke and duchess.
Also, while giving up direct government pay, daddy (Prince Charles) is likely to continue to support his son to some significant extent, from his "own" income — meaning vast property holdings that are essentially "state property" and on which he pays no tax AFAIK, so a huge indirect government subsidy.
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Hope y'alls notice where they're likely to spend most of their non-UK time. :)
Just sayin'
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In terms of Harry and Megan making a living, I have read that Harry could get $500,000 speaking fees and Megan $200,000. And she is apparently starting a fashion line. So weep not for them.
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In terms of Harry and Megan making a living, I have read that Harry could get $500,000 speaking fees and Megan $200,000. And she is apparently starting a fashion line. So weep not for them.
Ahhh, speaking fees, forgot about those things. I kind of thought the level of celebrity would certainly help them at first.
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Part of the pact has been said to include the understanding that nothing is done commercially that impinges upon the greater royal image, and rightly so.
As a person who is departing in order to avoid unwanted, often agenda-driven media attention, I wonder whether he will feel particularly inclined to sink down into after-dinner speeches and similar tawdry directions; those are perfectly okay for politicians, of course, who are seldom troubled by the desire to choose privacy over profit. I am perfectly willing to believe it as it's told: enough is sometimes enough, especially when the day job was never of your own choosing.
There will be no end of politically driven sniping, especially from those opposed to monarchy on principle. I think they, the royals, do a grand job of presenting the finer characteristics, the outward identity of the nation, especially when the alternative fillers of the slot would be politicians or actors or similar ephemera. Apart from their value to state and tourism, they offer a line of leading and representational continuity that not many nations can claim. Who would America offer in such a rôle? The Clintons? The Trumps? Yeah, right, maybe Madonna. Flashes in the pan of Time and essentially forgotten in their own time, more likely than not. Royalty is something special, and we destroy it at our peril. Royalty, as ours, does not scurry. Royalty in other countries tries hard, but in many cases does not try at all, because their ethos is entirely something else.
As I have mentioned before, it's one of the last jobs in this world that I would want to be obliged to do; i enjoy personal freedom and have long understood that wealth and position alone do not bring fulfilment nor, necessarily, happiness. Wealth usually comes wedded to the fear of loss. Avoiding that consumes a life; as the graffito says: don't waste your life earning it.
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They have a catchy brand name: Sex Royal, or something like that 😉
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One thing they don't need to do is work for pay.
Harry has inherited millions of pounds from his mother and great grandmother.
Charles gives him an annual payment of just two million pounds. He will also inherit half share of the Charles' private estate currently valued at around a billion pounds.
Maybe his father will chip in with a few quid also.
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Admittedly I know very little about royalty and what it is that they do or how they are brought up. I have to wonder though, how serious is their education and how extensive is their exposure to the real world? How thick is their bubble?
Well, it's pretty much de rigueur that the males spend time in the armed forces. They see active service in war zones too, as well as sometimes taking part in search-and-rescue chopper piloting or crewing in Britain. All in all, I think they do the best they can with their lives lived under constant scrutiny, criticism, misplaced envy and facile condemnation. So many seem to equate comparative wealth as happiness, as having a wonderful time; very often it is the opposite of that outside observation. Were it not so, can anyone think of a good reason why they often want out? It's been my lot to know some millionaires and no, I do not envy them their lives though I sometimes do their toys. Truth to tell, I envy no-one their life: until my wife died I had it all on very little.
In a broader sense, I am convinced that we need some kind of emblematic head of state that is beyond sordid electioneering and lying, cynical political promises. We have that better option, for the time being.
Rob
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One thing they don't need to do is work for pay.
Harry has inherited millions of pounds from his mother and great grandmother.
Charles gives him an annual payment of just two million pounds. He will also inherit half share of the Charles' private estate currently valued at around a billion pounds.
Maybe his father will chip in with a few quid also.
Ouch!
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Charles gives him an annual payment of just two million pounds. He will also inherit half share of the Charles' private estate currently valued at around a billion pounds.
He won't be poor, certainly, but the Duchy of Cornwall will pass in its entirety to the next Duke, which is highly likely to be William and vanishingly unlikely to be Harry.
Jeremy
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What is a duchy and what does it mean that he won't get it?
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What is a duchy and what does it mean that he won't get it?
It is a British territory that the Dutch prefer to call the Netherlands. So, no, the Ginger won’t get it.
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It is a British territory that the Dutch prefer to call the Netherlands. So, no, the Ginger won’t get it.
Goodness, what confusion. And what a Socialist overtone!
:-)
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Rob brings up a couple of interesting questions, but he also has a misapprehension. We do, of course, have a continuing equivalent to the royals: money. Everything you can say about the royals, money does in the US. By money, I don't mean the *monied* -- I mean the actual thing: the filthy lucre, the gelt, the moolah. Greenbacks. But going the other way, with the personification of money, we also have some quite long bloodlines -- a century and a half after John D. started making the big bucks, many of his descendants are still filthy rich and effective political manipulators as well. Nelson Rockefeller was governor of New York for 14 years and later a US vice-president. Jay Rockefeller was governor of West Virginia and then a US Senator until five years ago, a hundred and seventy five years after the birth of John D (which came a year *before* the royal marriage that led to the House of Windsor.) The House of Rockefeller has a worth estimated currently at $11 billion.
As for the Royals who have now departed for Canadia, I don't think they'll be eating cat food any time soon. They had an extremely powerful weapon in their negotiations with Crown: what if Harry *did* endorse, say, a brand of cat food, or, god help us, a brand of condoms. That would certainly be unthinkable to the holders of the Royal Purse, and I'm sure they made a nice financial arrangement for the ex-royal highnesses, to prevent any such calamity.
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Rob brings up a couple of interesting questions, but he also has a misapprehension. We do, of course, have a continuing equivalent to the royals: money. Everything you can say about the royals, money does in the US. By money, I don't mean the *monied* -- I mean the actual thing: the filthy lucre, the gelt, the moolah. Greenbacks. But going the other way, with the personification of money, we also have some quite long bloodlines -- a century and a half after John D. started making the big bucks, many of his descendants are still filthy rich and effective political manipulators as well. Nelson Rockefeller was governor of New York for 14 years and later a US vice-president. Jay Rockefeller was governor of West Virginia and then a US Senator until five years ago, a hundred and seventy five years after the birth of John D (which came a year *before* the royal marriage that led to the House of Windsor.) The House of Rockefeller has a worth estimated currently at $11 billion.
As for the Royals who have now departed for Canadia, I don't think they'll be eating cat food any time soon. They had an extremely powerful weapon in their negotiations with Crown: what if Harry *did* endorse, say, a brand of cat food, or, god help us, a brand of condoms. That would certainly be unthinkable to the holders of the Royal Purse, and I'm sure they made a nice financial arrangement for the ex-royal highnesses, to prevent any such calamity.
But the huge difference with the British royals is that they may be relatively rich, but can have no actual political power; poor old Charles has only to make some discerning, usually accurate comment about architecture, for the tabloids to jump upon him and tell him to keep his nose out of it. They have a wonderful handle on mockery and the quick quip: sells their rubbish sheets for them.
British popular papers have developed the ability to love and hate the very same people entirely on whim and marketing requirements.
Rob
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But the huge difference with the British royals is that they may be relatively rich, but can have no actual political power; poor old Charles has only to make some discerning, usually accurate comment about architecture, for the tabloids to jump upon him and tell him to keep his nose out of it. They have a wonderful handle on mockery and the quick quip: sells their rubbish sheets for them.
British popular papers have developed the ability to love and hate the very same people entirely on whim and marketing requirements.
Rob
Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they were just trying to escape Brexit?
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Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they were just trying to escape Brexit?
Yes, I thought of that too. :)
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Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they were just trying to escape Brexit?
No.
Jeremy
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Has it occurred to anyone that maybe they were just trying to escape Brexit?
Yes, of course. They would be among the first Brits to starve because of the inevitable food shortages, and suffer from the collapse of social services and civil unrest.
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From guys’ angle:
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From guys’ angle:
Poor guy. She's not done yet. He'll be begging his grandmother to welcome him back into the fold.
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An update from the BBC site today.
"Currently, 95% of the couple's income comes from Prince Charles's income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a vast portfolio of property and financial investments, which brought in £21.6m last year.
It is believed the couple will continue to receive money from Prince Harry's father under the new agreement, although it is unclear whether this will come from the Duchy, his personal wealth, or a combination of the two.
However, the Sussexes will stop receiving money from the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which makes up the other 5% of their income."
"from Prince Harry's father," I wonder what the writer was thinking when he came up with this!