112 thoughts on “Prince Harry met Rihanna in Barbados”

1. My favorite prince looking warm and genuinely engaged, wearing purple pants (a great color on him!) and with cute kids and baby turtles. What a perfect way to kick off my day! Thanks KMR! I’ll just enjoy the pics first and do the reading when I’m able to.

   1. 100% agree with you : he is so good at these engagements!

   2. What strikes me is that everyone around him is similarly relaxed. It gives impression thay are all having a fantastic time.

      Many people mimic WK’s awkwardness resulting in everyone looking stiff and awkward at their engagements and vice versa like a snake chasing it’s tail.

      1. That’s so true. People stand so far away from William when pictured and the pic of Kate with the kids, most of the kids had their hands clasped in front of them. I don’t k ow many kids that normally stand that way for pics. =(
         On the other hand, Harry and peeps all seem to be sharing a lipaugn/good time

   3. He comes across as so genuine and engaged; knows how to talk about different issues yet really listens. He should be the heir, sorry Will. Harry has the ingredients to carry on what today’s monarchy requires or it needs to be abolished. He reminds me so much of CP Vic, who totally gets what it means to have the privilege they are born with. And she too has a charismatic, loving mother.

2. He looks so natural when he is with the kids. It looks like he cares about them, which is not something that his brother or sister in law ever pull off.

   I could be wrong about November 27, but I thought it was a travel day more than a rest day because he is staying on a navy yacht to go from one island to the next.

3. What a great answer to what it feels like being a Prince. So mature and well thought out. He seems to realize how privileged he is, unlike someone we know who only ever complains ;). I just hope his actions continue to back up his words.

   Okay, the turtle photos had me melting. I am so jealous. What an incredible experience-the babies are so cute. Also, I know it is not a big deal, but I love the photo of Harry with his sunglasses sticking out of his mouth while putting a baby turtle in the ocean. It is so unroyal. The BRF seem to be so stiff sometimes that a very natural, human reaction like putting your sunglasses in your mouth makes me smile. Thanks KMR, your coverage makes me like Harry more and more.

   1. I really liked the picture with the sunglasses too. It has personality to it! Something so different from the usual pictures we get of the royals.

      1. Oh, Charles can rock a pair of Wayfarers!

      2. Overit and Miss K, I am loving that photo, too.,
         Harry is such an asset to the ROyal Family. He is so relaxed and comfortable when with people and when helping animals. THose baby turtles…..cute!

         And, when he is with babies and children, he shines.

         I liked his speech, too. He is so thoughtful and so attuned to his status and how he can use it to help others. He does know how to make a difference and I believe he is sincere in his efforts.

         Whether dressed in relaxed looks, or sporting a suit and tie, he is one GQ kind of guy. Who wouldn’t fall in love with him. I hope they auction off that awesome picture of him. We need to chip in and buy it for rhiannon.

         And, isn’t Rihanna beautiful? Wow! She is just so spectacular.

         Thank you, KMR for a nice look at Harry’s visit to the Caribbean!!!

4. 3 things:

   1) He looks amazing in that whole cricket gear and I love what he’s wearing on Day 9.
   2) His interaction with kids and turtles makes me smile so much 🙂
   3) Regarding his answer on what it is like to be a prince, I wish that he and his family implement those words more often. True he does a lot of good through the Invictus Games and Sentebale but he can definitely do a lot more. Getting a job next year, being seen in the public a lot more, helping support causes that mean something to him, instead of forming the holy trinity would see my respect levels towards him increase.

   1. “Regarding his answer on what it is like to be a prince, I wish that he and his family implement those words more often.” TOTALLY AGREE Everild. Harry often forgets he is a prince and acts like a celebrity, specially in his private life. My sincere hope is that Harry reevaluates his private life and ask himself why he gets into situations that ends up overshadowing his public work. It’s bad when all you want to read about is the tour but get Meghan Markle thrown in there. It’s not only the fault of the press. It’s his fault for being with a woman who requires press attention. He should stop blaming the press for the things that he should know better not to do. So while he is on tour Meghan’s sister is on entertainment tonight, her brother is giving interviews to tabloids and she has a insanely bizarre essay published in Elle. On entertainment tonight her sister compared Meaghan to Diana, this is freaking insane.

      1. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Meghan for the interviews being given by siblings, some of whom she didn’t grow up with. The one sister in particular ran to the papers even before the ET interview.
         Considering we just recently had articles about Carole Middleton super grandma, it’s not something that hasn’t been done before by the family of the ones who marry into the family.

         1. I agree. If the Middletons can’t control Uncle Gary, including the video from the sting operation? How is Meghan Markle supposed to control a half-sibling who is a generation older than she is?

            The Middletons have been taking PR advice from the tabloid hack for over a decade. Those pro-Middleton stories don’t just show up accidentally.

         2. I agree. Not fair to blame Meghan for her siblings’ loose lips – especially when there’s a bit of an estrangement there. Her parents, who she seems pretty close to, haven’t said a word. And the thing is that any woman romantically-linked to Harry – actor, barkeep, blue blood, doctor, librarian, whoever – is going to elicit “press attention.”

            1. But you can blame her for the cat and mouse games she played with the press right before Harry called foul.
               I find that very childish. It wasn’t necessary to use her relationship with Harry to catapult her further.
               Quite honestly I have never heard of her or her show before this, and I find it all suspect now that all the press is looking at her including her little essay in Elle.
               It just doesn’t seem right, but that’s just my two cents and I don’t have a leg in the game. I just think that it has been poorly mishandled by him and Meghan.

            2. Do you mean her Instagram posts? She seems to get a lot of flack for that and tbh I find the criticism a bit overblown. I mean we’re talking about a couple of pictures of her wearing a bracelet and a banana meme posted after the news broke of her relationship with Harry . Some say she was being deliberately attention-seeking or playing cat and mouse, as you said, but that’s just one possible interpretation of her behavior – the least charitable one lol.

               This relationship has obviously upped her public profile, but that’s to be expected. The Elle article shows that she’s not above capitalizing on the media’s interest in her but I don’t think that has to mean that she has bad intentions or that her feelings for Harry are any less genuine.

   2. +1 to everything, specially to #3. I said this recently on another post and I’ll say it again: Harry still has to do a lot more to earn his privilege.

   3. For your third point, did you see this article from Richard Palmer? It kind of implies that Harry will be upping his workload, including adding more formal bits, but that remains to be seen.

      http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/738039/Prince-Harry-grown-up-royal-duties-tour-Caribbean-Queen-family

      1. Why doesn’t KP stop leaking articles about upping the workload and just let them be seen doing more?

         1. Ha, my thought too. And just in case the press or public starts to expect too much too soon, the KP source said that Harry “will be fleshing out his thoughts” in the “coming weeks and months.” So, in other words, don’t hold your breath.

            1. What? Is that like Willy’s several ‘gap years’? This is a man in his 30’s.

         2. Has Jason been trawling social media again? Looks like Harry has moved to the dark side and is getting the WK treatment from Jason. I bet Harry’s so very ‘keen’ on upping that workload, too.

            Promises, promises.

            1. I actually think it would be wise for their teams to look at what’s out there to get a feeling of people’s sentiments.
               You can’t please all the people all the time but you could evaluate genuine complaints and try and make changes.

            2. Or pay major lip service to it which is what happened with WK.

      2. That article was kinda weird. I feel like they leaked it with the intention of making Harry look good but honestly it kinda makes him look dim. And I’m saying this as someone who likes Harry and thinks he has a lot of potential. But it took him to his 30s to figure out that representing the queen won’t take away the “authenticity” of his other work? Why would representing the queen ever take away the authenticity of sentebale or the invictus games? Did I misunderstand the article?

         1. I wouldn’t so much say dim as I would say selfish. Like, Harry has only wanted to do the stuff that he wants to do, that he cares about, that’s fun for him, and doing anything else wouldn’t be “authentic” because he’s too selfish to realize that sometimes you have to do things that are less interesting to you for the good of something outside of yourself and your immediate desires.

            1. I think also Harry wants to do it in his own way insofar as he isn’t a stiff, formal person. I do find it great he’s doing so much more formal representative work and investitures and the like on the tour. It is a major shift and far more what you’d expect William to be doing on a tour, not Harry.

               I’d imagine Harry is selfish in a way. How couldn’t you be, raised like he is with the biggest silver spoon.

            2. KMR, +1

               Just what I was thinking.

            3. I kind of feel like the army, in a weird way, created a bubble for Harry and when he left it was like he was a 22 year old just out of college trying to figure out his career and his life.

               Ellie, I agree it’s a good shift for Harry to be doing more investitures and formal work and it’s something William should be doing and should have already been doing for years now. Harry did an investiture on his Nepal tour and I remember being surprised about it and thinking this is the kind of work they should be doing on their tours.

            4. William does do investitures. He did the investitures at BP just the other day: http://katemiddletonreview.com/2016/11/30/does-kate-middleton-spend-her-free-time-coloring/

            5. Sorry KMR, I meant William doesn’t do any investitures on his tours, or at least I don’t think he does.

            6. Exactly right, KMR. I think Harry dabbles rather than fully commits. This takes him mostly to exotic places that are not the UK. He charms people so well but no-one knows exactly what he does, how he spends his time. In one way, he appears to be more like his brother than we have chosen to accept ie doing things on his own terms. Harry’s current romance also has unwittingly revealed that he has the time and money to travel across the world under the radar to meet when it suits; again, self-indulgent and only doable if you have no commitments on a regular basis. Harry has his mother’s easy charm but he is no longer young and needs to channel himself into some serious work. The army gave him structure and purpose. I think he has the latter to an extent but lacks the former to guide him.

         2. I read it as authenticity to his ‘informal style’ in doing the Queen’s work, not an authenticity regarding the other work he does. Here is the quote pulled out for review.

            “He thinks he can do these more formal duties on behalf of the Queen while retaining an authenticity in his work meeting a wide range of people from leaders down to young people,” the aide said.

            The kind of ‘work’ that the Queen does is very formal (investiture, state dinners, receptions, military reviews, etc.) which is in direct opposition of the kind of ‘work’ Prince Harry excels at in more informal settings (young people’s sports exhibitions, children’s hospitals, veteran’s homes, etc). I think for him it’s about not losing that authentic part of himself, the charming down-to-earth charisma, while doing the more formal Queen’s stuff.

            Several have made a comment about him being selfish, and I think that probably furthest from the truth. You don’t survive in the armed forces and be selfish. You’ll scrub the latrines with a tooth brush until that behavior is gone. It’s all about teamwork in the armed forces and a lot of the time that means doing what best for the team not oneself. Besides, if Prince Harry were all about doing what I want to do, I’d imagine he be long gone to Africa permanently, nor would the Queen have requested he represent her for this tour.

            Of course, I could totally be wrong… 😉

      3. The article is weird, especially considering Palmer wrote it. Oh well. If he is upping his workload next year, I wont be complaining.

   4. But isn’t his charitable foundation and partronages his job? I was just reading that Prince Charles is patron of like 600 charities, and while that is super impressive, I just don’t know how you can do engaged, substantive work with that many organizations.

   5. I feel like too many dismiss Sentebale and Invictus lightly. He has accomplished more with Sentebale and Invictus than most royals, including heirs in many countries, ever manage to do in their lifetimes. He managed to steal away the head of OxFam to run his charity, no mean feat.

      Charles has done massive work with Prince’s Trust and turning The Duchy profitable. But what other royals have created internationally-recognized charities that end up being featured in days of programming on something like ESPN? He’s outshining William at every turn, and Harry will modulate himself and his work to make his brother look good.

      I do think he needs something on the outside, maybe making his 3 days a week with MOD official and paid. Some people won’t accept that that work “matters” until he’s paid for it. So if he’s serious, he needs to get training, and be officially hired.

      1. I agree with Prince Harry getting officially trained if he’s going to do paid work in an job. However, most places (regardless of where or who) need part time workers who are consistent with their work hours. I think this would be very hard (but not impossible) with everything else he does. ….I’m speaking from the experience with someone who has managed part-time workers in the past. Doing two part time jobs is very difficult and the sheer amount of juggling needed to accomplish it is a strain on the boss and the other workers.

         I don’t follow Prince Harry closely, but he seems like a chap who doesn’t half-a** anything, particularly what he considers a responsibility. I imagine paid work would be considered a responsibility. And I think he’s said something in the past about looking for a job but not being able to find one that fits in with royal work. (Don’t quote me on that. It could be someone else.) Personally, I think he’s better off choosing full time royal work or a full time job. I just wish he would get on with it and stop dithering about on the decision.

         1. He cannot choose full-time royal work as long as W&K refuse to be full-time royals. Harry is loyal and dutiful to a fault. If his brother will not be a full-time royal, they cannot get away with having the 5th in line to the throne be full-time. The public would scream bloody murder.

         2. I think also he can’t really ‘get on with it’ between Charles doing so much, HM and Philip not slowing down though they’d love to I’d imagine — they can’t, as they can only rely on Charles, Anne, Sophie, Edward, and definitely not on W&K. There’s a hierarchy there between W&H and it’s pretty obvious to me in how they relate, how Harry is subdued and defers to his brother in public.

            Absolutely Harry should be doing more, full time royal stuff, but I feel he’s in a catch-22 here because he can’t do a full-time job, he also can’t do a full-time ROYAL ‘job’ so to speak because of William’s reluctance. I don’t think Harry has that derision or hatred of his position and his responsibilities William has, but he sure could channel them better. At least his many meetings with Invictus are now going on the CC and you can see how passionately involved with it he is.

      2. I’m not sure that it’s people not accepting that Harry’s 3 days a week gig “matters” so much as they are skeptical that he does it consistently (or at least that’s how I am). I think it’s perfectly acceptable to be skeptical of Harry’s 3 days a week gig since everyone is skeptical of William’s EAAA gig. We get the occasional photo of William working, but at other times we’re all skeptical of whether he’s actually working or not. So while we may get the occasional social media hit that Harry is working, I think it’s perfectly fine to be skeptical of whether or not he’s actually working at other times.

         1. It’s fair to be skeptical, in fact I think it is mandatory to be more questioning of whatever is put out there by palace PR. If royals claim they are working 3 days each week, they need to be working 3 days each week. The standards for truth-telling and commitment should be the same for royals as for everyone else.

            Most of us understand ‘work’ as a consistent activity, not something done occasionally. When royals talk about their ‘work’ it is actually a very casual activity, undertaken in short bursts for up to a few months (in total) of any year, if that. The work is public, but not difficult; it could be argued that it is largely pleasurable given that royals are guests in any given situation and treated very well. Demands for privacy and a large PR staff work hard to obscure the reality that royals have long stretches of personal time at their disposal even though they are paid as ‘full-time’ when they most clearly are not in terms we understand as ‘full-time’. They have fought to be excluded from financial scrutiny. Their PR draws a curtain over many private activities.

            Harry, like his brother et al, has been able to live a life unburdened with consistent work, military service excepted. I think he would chafe at the reality of consistent responsibility (as William has done time and again) and this is why finding a job is difficult.

            1. +1

         2. I think a big difference is, the photos of “William at work” invariably show up when he’s in the middle of a negative PR spiral. Meaning, pretty much most of them appear to be plants to prove he is working. Or at least he showed up the day the photos were being taken.

            With Harry, it is almost as if the info of him showing up at MOD regularly is suppressed IMO. It isn’t put forward by the Palace, or hyped by Jason, so it is easier to hide it away.

            1. A lot of it is on Twitter, social media sightings, the people he meets with talking about it versus the KP machine. As if they do want to hide it.

         3. Exactly KMR. And I also want to know how many hours a day he does work for. Volunteering work can be anywhere from 2 hours to 8 hours long

5. I feel so shallow right now because the main thing I took away from all of this was: “Oh dear, poor Harry’s hair is slowly going the way of Charles’ and William’s! The Windsor genes will have out.”

   😉

   1. Since we’re being shallow:

      1) he looks really good in navy
      2) that pic of him drinking the coconut is doing things to me

      Also the look on his face meeting Rihanna is priceless.

      1. I loved the pic of him holding he wee little turtle?

   2. My tired, worn-out ovaries just can’t take anymore photos of Harry interacting with babies and small children, the poor things are trying so hard to start working again it’s making me crazy 🙂

      Paula, yeah that pic of him with the coconut is ummm…umm…yeah 🙂

   3. Oh, I know. Poor thing. Maybe he’ll be like his dad and the hair loss will be mostly in the back. If it were me, I’d do Rogaine or a hair transplant, but maybe that’s too “low brow” for a royal.

6. The quote about ‘with great privilege comes great responsibility’ isn’t new, but the part about ‘ making a change in causes’ is new. Maybe we will see him be more of an activist from now on? Regardless, I really appreciate him repeating the sentiment periodically. It reminds people he’s not all fluff.

   I really expected him to wear a uniform at least once on this tour so I’m surprised that he hasn’t worn one even though there were several opportunities where it would have been appropriate. He looks good in a uniform….so our loss.

   I didn’t follow the tour closely but it feels like the majority of the engagements were on the fluffier side from the photos and there wasn’t a lot of diplomatic ground breaking during the tour. Kind of disappointing it was set up that way, since I have a feeling that Prince Harry would be great at diplomacy and relationship building.

   1. It does look like it’s been a fluffy sort of tour, but I don’t know that there was room or even a need for political diplomacy in these particular locations. It seems he was mostly there to celebrate Independence Day in several countries. I would have loved to see some acknowledgement of the political implications of these countries breaking free from colonial rule, but I’m guessing that’s not a conversation the BRF is interested in engaging lol.

      1. A discussion about colonialism is straying into politics and that’s something our constitutional monarchy has to refrain from adding their own thoughts. It’s why they remain constitutional. Stay away from politics. Period. That’s why their charities are fashioned to look more like community programmes than govt programmes even if they are govt initiatives/programmes.

         Going back to your point, the closest Harry came to touching upon colonialism was in a speech he gave celebrating 50yrs of Barbados Independence which leaves the issue of colonialism as the silent elephant in the room.

         http://whereintheworldisprinceharry.tumblr.com/post/153890835068/a-speech-by-prince-harry-before-a-concert

         The purpose of the tour was to celebrate these islands and their various independence days. He is spending a day or 1.5 days at most on each island and is organised to be present at each of their celebrations with a few exceptions where he is throwing in some charity awareness work. He is not doing one engagement per day and back to his bunker like WK on tour. He has given speeches or read out letters from the Queen at many stops.

         1. There is a difference between diplomacy and being a diplomat. Diplomacy dealing with people sensitively (usually leading to bridge building) and can be done anywhere by any one. No political leanings required. In fact, good diplomacy often doesn’t work well if there is an political agenda. Prince Charles is excellent at diplomacy which is why his overseas tours are really successful at forming relationships with other countries. A diplomat on the other hand works in the field of international relations whether political or not and uses diplomacy as a tool in their trade.

            What I meant about Prince Harry being good at diplomacy and being involved in diplomatic ground breaking is that he seems like such an affable person and really good at making a connection with people that I could easily see him meeting with all sorts of people in all sorts of industries and paving the way for UK relationships. This doesn’t have to revolve around political organizations or governments and he (and his team) would be the connector only. For historical reference, when the Queen did overseas tours there were often all sorts of new relationships that formed in the wake of her tours, eventually resulting in billions of dollars in trade deals for the UK. I think we would have a hard time finding anyone who would accuse Queen Elizabeth of being political in this sense. Prince Charles is the same; he opens a lot of doors for U.K. Industries after his tours. I could totally see Prince Harry having a role like this and being very successful. But in order to do that he first has to meet and mingle with people with whom the U.K. Does not have a relationship. I hope this makes sense….

            Anyway, I hope this doesn’t delve to much into politics which we’ve been asked to avoid. KMR, if it does, let me know and I’ll avoid this topic from now on. Thanks!

            1. Linds: i understood what you were saying. My response was to other poster who thought that Harry should/could have said something about colonialism whilst celebrating the various independence days.

               Whilst it is clear that he has good people skills, i think we all expect too much from him without taking into consideration that he is the spare and therefore not receiving the top tier diplomatic brief or expectations from the Islands. In other words, he is getting fluff tours or tours were status is less important with zero expectation.

               The Foreign office once said he was the most requested royal after the Queen, but the royal family isn’t using his strengths to take advantage of this piece of information.

               Instead, when they can get him to work, they send William who brings nothing to the table in charm or diplomacy.

            2. Herazeus, I think you misunderstood me, or perhaps I wasn’t clear. I know that Harry is not at liberty to talk about the legacy of colonialism and I don’t think he’d be at all inclined to discuss it even if he was able to. I would just love to see a Royal go there.

   2. He’s good with people, that doesn’t mean he’d be any good at diplomacy. He’s described himself as having three parts – military, royal, personal. He’s known to make big mistakes when he doesn’t keep those three in balance or in check.

      I think he’s better, and safer, in the glad-handing role, setting people at ease. Leave the backroom politics to those who are trained and suited for it.

      1. Nota when will you ever learn that Harry will be a full time royal especially once he is married? Once The Queen passes it will be CC, WK and Harry and his wife as the representation of the monarchy.

         1. How many people wait until their parents or grandparents pass away before they decide to do a little work? That is my big beef with all this. We keep hearing it’s for life and therefore they should just enjoy the perks now. The perks now should be a condition for them doing work now.

            1. As stated elsewhere, the problem is that Harry can’t be seen to outshine the lazy duo and so even if he wanted to take up full time Royal work, he could not because Will and Kate and no doing. As soon as the public see that Harry does more, then the concept of birth order and hereditary monarchy becomes even sillier and illogical.

               It is possible Harry doesn’t want to do full time work, but at least on the tours we see that he does more than Will and Kate ever do.

            2. Princess Anne outworks Andrew and Edward, and HM and Philip, and sometimes Charles. If Anne can outwork those above her in the line of succession, then so can Harry.

            3. @katemiddletonreview,
               +1000

            4. Charles is not jealous of his position as William is of Harry. Anne never feels she has to defer to Charles, she does her own thing and does it well; Harry is an entirely different character who bows and scrapes to his brother and knows his place in the hierarchy. I don’t think Anne and Charles are like that at all.

            5. Both Wales’ boys have been tiptoed around for so long that it will be difficult to haul them into any semblance of what comprises full-time royal work. The idea that they will do real work sometime in the future is another example of their elders putting their collective heads in the sand. Harry’s certainly of better character than his brother, but he has been able to do what he wants, when he wants, and it’s not enough. In that way, both are very similar but Harry hides it better.

            6. Harry lacking the temperament for serious diplomatic work and Harry being a full-time royal are two different things, Kitty.

               I’d love to see Charles just try to tell Anne what to do! He knows he’d never win that fight. I don’t think he’s jealous of Anne, that all seems pointed at Andrew.

               Whatever Anne does doesn’t impact him and his ego. Maybe if her work was more high-profile it would upset him, but she’s mostly ignored.

               Stories are Diana told Harry to be loyal and serve his brother, because William’s role is going to be so difficult. Harry took it to heart, as only a child could. One of her bigger mistakes, and she made plenty.

               He doesn’t set it aside and examine that idea without emotion. He doesn’t realize that he’s harming himself and others by kowtowing to William and his whims.

               As long as William the Petulant doesn’t work more, Harry won’t – at least not officially. Harry promised his mother he’d support William, and “supporting William” means not showing him up. He’ll put his time into Invictus, Sentebale, WWTW, MOD – most of which do not count in the official tallies.

               Few of the royals (of any country) work as hard as they could. That is what the Bolland quote shows. They already have loads of free time built in, which is why W&K’s insistence that they cannot work “full-time” is so disingenuous. “Full-time” might add up to something like 20hpw 6 months of the year.

               If they aren’t pouring loads of that “spare” time into running things like Prince’s Trust, Duchy, Sentebale, Invictus Games? Only showing up for 15-30 minutes per engagement like W&K do and not doing any behind-the-scenes work? It would be even less than part-part-time.

            7. I’m just going to play devil’s advocate right now because I think this is an interesting conversation…

               Can’t the whole Harry thinking he can’t outshine his brother because his brother is ahead of him in the hierarchy just be an excuse for him not to work more? Maybe he buys into it not so much because his mother told him to as a child (I mean I am sure there are plenty of things his mom told him to do that he ignores) but because he enjoys not doing something full time. After all if he had more commitments he wouldn’t be so free to go to Africa for weeks/months at a time and would have less time to travel to see his long distant girlfriend.

            8. His past behavior doesn’t show someone who likes having time on his hands. He was said to love the Army, the structure, the hard work. Just like Sandhurst. Quotes abound about it being the making of him.

               I think he needs structure, and the external structure of a job would be good for him. Even when he was in the Army, he was able to use his leave time (just like any other person in the Army) to have plenty of time off. Too much time off and he gets in trouble.

               If he could have stayed in the Army without getting a desk job, he would have. Not having that structure, he pours himself into MOD, Sentebale and Invictus. But again, the numbers he puts into that aren’t counted so it isn’t going head-to-head with his brother.

7. I have to say I’m finally putting Harry in the WK holitour category- very touristy. I am also not sure what all those endless mini-appearances are supposed to accomplish except to buttress the BRF. Must be fun to be wined and dined and entertained lavishly and all you have to do is be born a prince, in essence, a celebrity. I wonder how much it cost the taxpayers.

   As I’ve said before, I don’t see him touring extensively in the gloomy UK bringing cheer to the downtrodden and hopeful or lending a hand at an animal sanctuary or building a house in miserable weather. I think I’m pretty well done with him. My eyes have been opened, past the charm.

   Moreover, he has no job whatsoever, and that’s my bottom line.

   1. I think by that logic no one in the BRF has a job – they’re all celebrities, really. And tbh everything they do is about buttressing the Royal Family and keeping them relevant in a world that doesn’t really need them anymore.

      This trip is probably an extension of that. Yeah, it’s been sort of fluffy and a bit indulgent, but I do think the idea behind it is to assert the Queen’s…erm, ceremonial dominion over the Commonwealth Caribbean. A couple of these countries are talking about dumping her as head of state, so maybe she’s looking to make her presence felt.

      1. Well put, Lobbit. The tour – like all tours – are PR exercises for the BRF, but geez, the forelock-tugging colonial days are well and truly over. It’s cringe-worthy having independent countries kowtow to a family whose relevance has long since past. The tours are expensive for host countries who no doubt could use the funds to greater effect.

         1. It really is a bit cringeworthy, isn’t it? The red carpet entrances and the military “inspections”… it’s anachronistic and vaguely distasteful.

            1. ?? Whenever Britain hosts a foreign Head of State for a State Visit they do a military inspection upon arrival. Military inspections upon arrival happen in so many other countries as well during state visits and such. That’s very normal.

            2. Yes, I know – guard of honor, mark of respect , and all that. I get it! It’s just that I’m a massive critic of colonialism and tend to side-eye every single, theatrical vestige of it.

            3. Some countries also do formal military “awayings” when the monarch leaves for a state visit too. Ceremony, podium, soldiers at attention to wave them off on their visit. Luxembourg and Spain come to mind.

   2. I like Harry, but I agree that he should be doing more on British soil. I am an American, but I can totally understand why British taxpayers would question why W, K, and H don’t do more on British soil. I also understand why some people complain that George and Charlotte are hardly seen in England and that Australia and Canada have seen the royal kids more.

   3. Yep, Harry needs to get a proper job. Stop talking about making a difference (with an army of invisible workers) and get down daily and do it. What appears charming in one’s 20’s and early 30’s starts to look self-indulgent a couple of years later, if not now.

      Many of these events in the Caribbean appear to be fluffy time-fillers, apart from personal PR for Harry. I laughed at Richard Palmer’s latest little grovel – that Harry was just now seeing how he could step up to more diplomatic work. The BRF is decorative , expensive and long past useful; leave the diplomacy to those trained and deserving of the role.

   4. I see what your saying, but the Caribbean nations are really popular tourist destinations, and tourism is a huge part of their economy. So I doing think it’s necessarily a bad thing that’s he’s doing a ton of touristy stuff in this tour.

      1. You said it yourself- they are popular destinations. So paradises like that certainly don’t need the PR just like the BC coast which is endlessly overrun by tourists year round didn’t need the PR.

8. That picture of Harry with the baby is lovely. He really has a way with people, especially children. And judging by all of the pictures I have seen of him with Rihanna, including one where they were hugging today, I get the feeling that Harry was smitten by her.

   Having said that, I came on here to vent for one second because I just saw something on Victoria Murphy’s Twitter about Kate that upset me a bit. And since this is a Kate Middleton review site I thought you guys would be interested.

   Apparently, EACH Hospices had a major fundraising gala dinner last night that Kate did not attend, yet she sent a message for Sir Martyn Lewis to read on her behalf. And when I say Kate sent it, most likely it was Rebecca and Kate probably didn’t even know about the dinner.

   If Kate isn’t even going to try to pretend to give a damn about her patronages, what is the point of having a royal family? I am sorry, but that is just ridiculous. What the hell has Kate been doing? This gala could have been one of her end of the year appearances. All she had to do was put on a pretty dress (and it would have given her an excuse to buy a new one if she wanted), show up at the gala, say a few words, pose for some pictures, and pretend like she gives a damn about these sick kids and their families.

   Obviously Kate doesn’t care about her hospice patronage anymore. Most of the time she just sends a letter, like she did on world hospice day. As a princess, she could visit these kids and spend an hour with them and make them feel special. But she doesn’t give a damn. I’m sorry, but that pisses me off.

   And since this was a fundraising gala, she could have helped raise some money for this patronage. It isn’t like her itinerary is so full she couldn’t possibly make it to the dinner. She didn’t have a scheduling conflict, there is no excuse for why she shouldn’t be doing more.

   To me, ignoring dying children and their families when you made a commitment to be their patron is worse than when Kate shirked her duties in March with the Irish Guards.

   I’m sorry, but I just needed to rant about this. Kate should have been at that gala last night. Here is the link to the Tweet.

   https://twitter.com/QueenVicMirror/status/804320413258018821

   1. It is pretty disgraceful and there doesn’t seem to be a reason provided as to why she didn’t attend.
      If she is ill, she should have said so. Otherwise no excuse not to attend.
      Who sends letters anyway? At least do a video statement? Because we all know she doesn’t write the letters.

   2. Kate’s mo seems to be send letter and that equates showing up. If I were her patronages I’d be upset/frustrated with lack of interest.
      Does correspondence count on the cc?=)

      1. I agree, it has been quite the norm of late to send a message or video rather than turn up. There is a valid reason not to attend if Kate is too ill, but if that’s not the case, then it can only be viewed as disinterest and a major snub. Have we ever been convinced of Kate’s interest in any charitable work? This no-show should not come as a huge surprise to anyone. Kate’s a lazy one, for sure, but she also been enabled to stay one. She’s really not worth the trouble for any charity to bother with. Best leave her to shop, colour-in and exercise.

         1. I do wonder when people and the firm will stop giving them a pass on their lackadaisical approach to their “job”
            i find it so baffling that both the Queen and Charles seem to churn out the numbers and look engaged yet let Willaim grow up this way. Same thing with Carole. I would assume that she and her husband were hard workers themselves but their children don’t seem to have that same work ethic.

            1. I read somewhere today that, with HM’s reign coming to a close, Prince Charles is looking to overhaul the patronage system. Less ribbon cutting and tree planting, and more substantive work with a smaller roster of causes. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t push the younger set for more engagements? IDK.

            2. I think that would be a very hard sell. It is those local events that keep them popular, showing up and acting interested in the lives of the day-to-day people who pay for their ridiculous lifestyles. Take that away and you take away their key support base.

               They (all of the BRF) already do not work as much as they could, and people know it. Cutting back even further, making all of them Ivory Tower royals like W&K, and only showing up once a month to an umbrella charity meeting? That will lose them what support they have left.

               Charles is doing all of this (if he really is cutting down the family) at the same time that he is making a land grab for personal ownership of the two Duchies and the Crown Estate. SMH

               “The Windsors are very good at working three days a week, five months of the year and making it look as though they work hard.” – Mark Bolland (former BRF press officer)

            3. I’m more inclined to give Carole a pass, as she worked hard because she aspired to a lifestyle of wealth and privilege for herself and her children. That lifestyle is anachronistic and delusional, but she didn’t realize that. She never understood that privilege requires responsibility.

               The Queen and Charles did know better, and yet permit William to behave in a way that will bring down the monarchy.

   3. This is why I have a gut feeling William and Kate won’t be King and Queen in the future.

   4. Three sentences was the total of what she sent. Three.

      Shameful.

      1. Thanks to Linds below for providing the complete message–I had looked on their website and elsewhere and couldn’t find more than that abbreviated version anywhere. So sorry for stating that it was only three sentences when it was longer, and just the right length to be read by someone else. Still a shame that she did not attend.

   5. This is why don’t buy into her charity work. I know she may have impressed people recently, but they always do something to show their true colors so to speak.

   6. Typical Kate, she really will never change :(. It is obvious Kate doesn’t like being around sick people/kids, but this was a fundraiser. So she could have been seen as doing good without ‘getting her hands dirty’. She needs to start getting called out more! This is so shameful.

   7. I’d be interested in knowing whether she was invited or not. As someone who has worked with charities in planning events, there are times when charities make the decision not to have a famous person as host since it tends to attract celebrity watchers who won’t give to the charity beyond buying the tickets. That said, I see that Ed Sheeran who is an EACH ambassador was performing that night so I don’t know that having her there would have made any difference in the celebrity factor depending on how it was marketed by the charity.

      For those interested: this is Kate’s letter. (It was included in the EACH press release on their website.)

      “Good evening everyone and thank you all so much for supporting East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, a wonderful organisation of which I am incredibly proud to be Patron. It has only been two years since I had the privilege of attending the launch of The Nook Appeal in Norwich and I am delighted to hear fundraising is going well. Congratulations to you all. EACH delivers exceptional care and support across East Anglia and The Nook is vital for their vision of further transforming children’s palliative care in Norfolk. Not only will The Nook be a very special place to receive care, it will become a central hub from which the specialist team can co-ordinate, develop and deliver vital services in hundreds of family homes. I am in no doubt The Nook will make a huge difference to thousands of children and families for many years to come. I do hope you all have an enjoyable evening and are able to continue helping EACH move ever closer to achieving their vision. Thank you again for your support.”

      Very nice in my opinion. Can anyone enlighten me to whether she is patron of the nook appeal or the charity in general?

      1. Kate is the patron of the the whole charity of EACH, but the majority of their events that she has gone to have involved the Nook appeal.

         Also, is it just me or does Kate’s letter in EACH’s press release look more like a speech? If it was supposed to be a speech, I wonder if Rebecca wrote it because she thought Kate would want to go to this event and just didn’t feel like changing it when she didn’t or if Kate was actually supposed to go and pulled out recently.

         1. Yes, the message reads like a prepared speech.

         2. Thanks. No, that’s reasonable for a message. They are often composed like a speech to be read as if the person were there, but what’s missing is something about ‘how sorry they are about being unable to attend the event.’

            Maybe she was supposed to attend and then didn’t.

            1. If she was supposed to attend and then didn’t they would have known she wasn’t attending at least a week in advance because KP announces her events 1-2 weeks in advance and they never announced that she was going to be there. So if there was a change in plans it happened with enough time for KP not to announce that she would attend.

      2. Was any reason given why Kate did not or could not attend?

      3. Rebecca did a nice job on that message/speech. It is one of the better written ones. It is too bad Kate couldn’t be bothered to attend. I am sure she was invited as this was an event to raise money and having Kate’s celebrity there would have been a help. I find it funny in the message it says “I am incredibly proud to be Patron”, yet Kate hardly does anything for this charity. If she is so proud, why couldn’t she attend this gala? It is right up her ally.

   8. Working isn’t KM’s thing.
      Caring about people isn’t her thing.
      Staying put so Mummy can take care of her is KM’s thing.

   9. Oh geez, another letter. That flippity flop can go fudge herself. She doesn’t give two flips about her charities, does she?

9. Harry and Rihanna also took public HIV tests today, to help end stigma around testing.

   http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/738782/Prince-Harry-HIV-test-Rihanna-Barbados-Caribbean-royal-tour

   1. They have great chemistry! Now that we know Harry doesn’t mind dating celebrities, I want him to hook up with rihanna! That’d be so fun!

      1. Or, hook up with rhiannon. I say, rhiannon. We need to make this happen!

   2. I apologize, KMR. I just realized your post was through Nov 30. You were going to cover today’s events in your next post about his tour!

      1. Yes, December 1’s events will be covered in a different post. I post at midnight ET so today’s events didn’t end up in this post since they hadn’t happened at time of posting.

10. I wouldn’t be surprised if the press tries shipping rhihanna and PH romantically. Just like I joked about before. A lot of their fans are already google eyed over a could be ‘romance’ between them, even though he has someone. I don’t think rhihanna would want the royal life. She’s too much of a free spirit that I doubt she’d want to give up her career. I don’t know why her fans would want her to have that life of living in a fish bowl and basically living for her husband and family.

    1. I actually don’t like Rihanna and don’t get the hype around her, her fashion, or her music, but even I know she’s way out of Harry’s league. Rihanna is internationally successful and very well known with a large, devoted fan base. She’s more successful and well known than Harry.

       1. Not a fan of either of them really, but she’s defiantly a universe away from him so to speak.

11. Harry and Rihanna looked great together, but I think he is smitten with someone else!

    He comes across so accessible and so much fun in these photos. The pictures of him with the children and with that adorable baby are wonderful! I also liked what he said about wanting to use his royal status to make a difference in the world. He seems to work hard to do so.

    He certainly does more than the Cambridges AND, with more style! As for Harry and the baby turtle — oh, so sweet!!

    1. Carry on. Loving the reviews.

12. Meghan just posted a picture on her Instagram of one of her dogs wearing a sweater with the Union Jack on it. She obviously hates all of this attention (sarcasm). Every time she posts one of these pictures we get twenty articles about it and the coverage of Harry’s tour gets lost. As a girlfriend, she doesn’t seem to respect her boyfriend or his family. If she did, she would at least try to be a little more discreet. She could have waited three days until Harry’s tour was over to post this stupid picture. Yuck.

Comments are closed.