Show me the Money

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. Thankfully the author brought up the subject of the Proctor and Gamble dishwashing ad, the one which Meghan claimed she got changed by writing to the Company , Hillary Clinton etc and complaining it was sexist. Did she really believe she was the only female in America offended by the ad . I'm with the author and would expect they got loads of complaints about an ad that suggested only women did the dishwashing. The book does a bit of name dropping, repeats itself a bit too often and bringing up Toni Blair and the author's dislike of him was a bit of trivia. The book paints Meghan as a smart operator and grafter and it's all about making Money. Why work for the Queen and not get paid when across the pond you could cash in big time as a Royal and dress it up with a but of Philanthropy so you look caring. Meghan was the one who organised the American law and talent representatives going behind Buckingham Palace Officials. Meghan spent a considerable amount of money on cloths funded by Prince Charles. She was the one telling Harry they could makes so much Money . Marrying into the British Royal family is not for the faint hearted but according to the book, this was a stepping stone for Meghan to become much more high profile. Royals are not celebrities which Meghan was unable to adapt to. The author suggesting Meghan had dreams of becoming at some stage the President of the USA is highly fanciful and ludicrous as were a few other assertiation in the book. Harry is depicted as wanting to please his wife, desperately in love with her and willing to give up a lot for her. It is worrying that she has managed to separate him from his family and his royal life, relocate to another country via Canada and have no concrete plans of where to from here. Megan's only family is her Mum. The story is at best a very sad one for both these people. Meghan did not really try and understand the role of the Queen and her family in Britain and the Commonwealth, she never even resided long enough in the UK to become a British Citizen and Harry can not work in the USA until he get USA residency. If he becomes a citizen of the USA he loses his royal title. It is very messy and I'll conceived move even if Meghan was really struggling to cope in the UK. I enjoyed the narration of the book and the language although I disagreed with some of the assertions of the author because they were way to fanciful. What happens to Meghan, Harry and Archie is anyone's guess but I think Harry is in trouble.

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Fascinating, but slightly repetitive

Had a wonderful relaxing listen to this whilst doing a puzzle during lockdown. The narrator was wonderful - really took you into that posh ol’ world. The story was super interesting, but at times felt repetitive. Probably because you’re not suppose to sit down all day and listen to it (I had nothing better to do). Really good insights, connections and a perspective into this mysterious life of Harry and Meghan.

Balanced but repetitive.

The overall story was balanced, taking into account different players view points. I felt the story could have been edited better, as the same message was often repeated and the language was long winded. I appreciated the comparisons between current day and historical precedents. Lady C's analysis was complex reflecting the complexities of the individuals and circumstances involved. Overall an interesting take on the evolving story of Harry and Megan.

Colin Campbell's view - from a bigotted outlook?

The only thing I found interesting was some of the facts that Colin presented in (mainly the early) parts of the book. The rest was a vitriolic from a biased and mostly likely jealous point of view. She should know what ruins the Royal Family is in, an absolute disgrace. Waste of time and paper...

Insightful and balanced

A very insightful book that gives you knowledge and history of the British traditions and also the monarchy. Really balanced views. I really enjoyable read.

Mixed feelings but not bad

I began the book appreciating it: It started with Duchess Meghan's upbringing, and much of her missteps were mostly due to her misunderstandings of British Royalty and culture. I have read Scobie and Durant's book in parallel, and I've had much more sympathy for Duchess Meghan in Lady C's book. I felt her sympathy for Duchess Meghan's struggles (though not uncommon from ordinary people's). It didn't take long us and until the book criticised the Duchess' choices and actions as well as her husband, Prince Harry. I do believe that the Duchess had some level of selfishness and personal gain in all this, but I don't think she is as calculating as Lady C depicts her (or maybe she is often miscalculating, as Lady C says too.) I am unconvinced at the dim-wittedness of the Prince in the book, but I do believe the Prince was love-struck to the point of blindness. If it is the case, I sympathise with his family's worries. The book often confirms negative publicity that surrounded Duchess Meghan, but not all were elaborated, so I am reserved into believing all of them. The book often quotes Palace sources, be it Royals, staff or previous staff, which I appreciate, but I cannot be sure of those sources. Lady C by the 2nd half of the book heavily compares Duchess Meghan to Princess Diana, both as a wife to Prince Harry like Princess Diana was to Prince Charles, and as a personality in terms of manufacturing the media. The comparison was to an extent where I felt like it was additional jabs for her book about Princess Diana for the unfaithfulness she had towards the Crown, as so did Duchess Meghan. It seems that what drove Meghan away was mostly due to an inadequate expectation of foreign press, especially a press that works under a monarchy, as well as petty expectations that the Duchess didn't express to the Royal family and staff. Almost as if Duchess Meghan expected the typical Hollywood fairytale movie, where an atypical woman comes into a Royal family (not typically the second in line) and modernise their concept of monarchy, and even abandon all sense of monarchy for a democracy. It is a fairytale story only 2h movies make for manic pixie girls. The insistence of Duchess Meghan that her way was the best showed a lack of responsibility and accountability from a person thrusted into a high position that comes with immense privileges, meaning high responsibilities, accountabilities, and expectations from the people of Great Britain. The Princess dreams of opulence and all-power weren't on the menu. The book was easy to listen to, though the French words, to me, felt a bit posh and almost disdainful. Still, I understand some words are just not adequate in English, for example, "accouchement" in comparison to "giving birth" sounds much better, I guess (as a French person, I can't tell). By the second half of the book, the chronology was a bit messy to me, going back and forth between events pre-Master Archie's birth and post-Master Archie's birth. By the very end, I didn't know if it was intentional, but two paragraphs that were in previous chapters (2-3 chapter before) made another appearance, which was very confusing to me. Either it was deliberate for emphasis, or the book was quickly reviewed and edited for an expedited release that would coincide with Omid and Durant's "Finding Freedom." The performance of Lucinda Bell Howard was very well-paced and easy to listen to, though it sometimes felt like she was reading a recipe book, I might just be unknowledgeable of English accents. Howard added a lot of playfulness in her performance that made the listen very enjoyable, and wasn't shy to deliver the occasional swear words.

Detailed and factual

Beautifully written. Behind the scenes story. The drama will unfortunately continue but this book explains why.

engaging performance, just as was the story

some interesting, unbelievable realities about the hope Meghan and Harry have about their lives. with heavy dents of truth and honesty that add to tale. could not put it down. someone once told me that I could not change what another person said or thought of me, what I could do is swipe away their negativity off my skin and flick it back at them whilst walking away silently. karma would take care of the rest. some people just need constant attention and adoration because they think they are all that... so just take the attention away. the best thing the media can do is take the cameras away and point them towards those that actually deserve the merit

Deliciously Entertaining

Written in a neutral way with so many insights. A really good read. Enjoyed it immensely