The Duchess of Sussex and her father

I believe Norway has a smaller income range but have not checked if it is the smallest.

If we voted for a republic this year, the family would still be very wealthy , they will still own their country estates, many of the queens treasures are inherited, the art would no longer be seen by the public. Her jewellery is hers, much handed down over generations. A president would move into either Buck House or Kensington Palace, security still needed and charities would lose money. Those on zero hours contracts wouldn’t gain a thing, their employers make this decision not the Queen. A president would be involved with politics .

I fail to understand why people so admire royalty. I don't care,about them as individuals at all.

I'd sooner have Royalty than a President like Trump. At least the Queen is not so heavily involved in politics and puffed up on power that she is a complete embarrassment to the nation. It always amazes me that people with a monarchy are so scathing but people without a monarchy find ours fascinating. It must be something to do with the grass being greener!

rubbing peoples noses in it isn't the behaviour of a "caring monarch" though is it? Her vast wealth,art collection and inherited jewels all have one thing in common..they ALL came from the same sources.NONE of it was actually worked for they SHOULD belong to the country not her or her brood .Thats how it would be with a president .He would be paid ,his family wouldn't nor would they accumulate wealth at the peoples expense....Trump aside ..that how MOST Presidents are .

Are you sure about that paddyann?

1. Arnoldo Aleman, President of Nicaragua (1997 – 2002)
Amount Embezzled: $100 million | Years in Office: 5

2. Pavlo Lazarenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine (1996 – 1997)
Amount Embezzled: $114 million to $200 million | Years in Office: 1

3. Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru (1990 – 2000)
Amount Embezzled: $600 million | Years in Office: 10

4. Jean-Claude Duvalier, President of Haiti (1971 – 1986)
Amount Embezzled: $300 million to $800 million | Years in Office: 15

5. Slobodan Milosevic, President of Serbia/Yugoslavia (1989 – 2000)
Amount Embezzled: $1 billion | Years in Office: 11

6. Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia (1987 to 2011)
Amount Embezzled: $1.0 billion to $2.6 billion | Years in Office: 23

7. Sani Abacha, President of Nigeria (1993 – 1998)
Amount Embezzled: $2 billion to $5 billion | Years in Office:

8. Mobutu Sese Seko, President of Zaire now Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1965 – 1997)
Amount Embezzled: $4 to $5 billion | Years in Office: 32

9. Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines (1965 – 1986)
Amount Embezzled: $5 billion to $10 billion | Years in Office: 21

10. Mohamed Suharto, President of Indonesia (1967 – 1998)
Amount Embezzled: $15 billion to $35 billion | Years in Office: 31

Rather have our royal family personally.

Much of it does belong to the country, they are the custodians of it, but yes they do have their own personal wealth, inherited & passed on
Same as the rest of us but a bit of a difference in the value in most cases.

Goodness, haven't been on since I posted. Sciatica hit again and was not feeling up to much at all, |(it's supposed to decrease in your 50's and logged in and - pardon the pun, I seem to have hit a raw nerve!

I wrote it when I was rather cross and I feel sorry for anyone being bullied. Regardless of your opinions on having/not having a Royal family, I don't think online bullying or hounding of a pregnant woman is acceptable.

Social mores change I guess...

"Online bullying"

Hmmm. That's a difficult one.
Social.media buzzes night and day and is fuelled by billions of opinions.
Should we not have opinions?

If you are talking to someone directly, or posting messages to someone directly and you are cruel, hateful or threatening, then yes, bullying might be going on. The " victim" can choose to block you or ignore you.

Expressing an opinion about people who live in palaces in the height of luxury with 24/7 security and have very little to do with hoi polloi, we commoners, are not affected by our opinions.

In trying to prevent people having an opinion, you stifle free speech.

Some may like the new duchess, some may not and that is perfectly ok. Said Duchess may be having a spa break, or lounging in a country house with friends, or be at a cosy dinner with aristocratic pals or celeb friends. Does she care that I and millions of others haven't taken to her? No.

I don't know her. I am losing my love of the royal family set up. Is the queen having sleepless nights over it? Nope.

I think we bandy the word "bully" about irresponsibly.

Yo Chewbacca- great post about the wealth of elected Presidents. Thanks for that.

A president could have accumulated wealth before becoming president . The thought of yet another election every five years ? No thanks , not more political battles.

On line bullying ? who is being bullied?

I've been avoiding this thread because, as some of you have pointed out, we don't really know the individuals and probably don't know the full history either. Clearly, there has been a lot of drama in her family for years - no way we can know the root causes or the extent of it. But a few thoughts...
- I understand the dad defending himself against her friends' accusations. But why go further to tell "secrets" about Meghan's firs wedding, etc? That just proves she can't trust him with private information, as has been said.
- IMO, Meghan needs to learn to keep private issues private on her part. But she's an American actress and used to the idea of publicity/seeking publicity. And it's not easy with the media always ready to pounce, especially if one is royalty.
- If a parent came here and described this kind of situation, I'm sure they would be advised by many here to take the high road, not to strike back, to avoid making things worse by going tit-for-tat.

Oh, one more thought... I could be very wrong, but sometimes, I think her dad and sister, etc. just want to get in on the publicity. Maybe they're jealous of the fact that Meghan is now royalty, and they want to be a visible part of it. Some people welcome any attention, even if it's negative. Perhaps some of her relatives are that way.

"I see the younger generation’s habit of starting almost every sentence with ‘so’ is catching on!" SO sorry Anja for using an adverb in the wrong place - the result of my thinking this was a relaxed discussion forum and not an English grammar test

Speaking of English grammar....
Its been pointed out, in the papers today, that Meghan has "deliberately developed an English accent since marrying Harry".
So trying to fit in is to be criticised too, apparently. As is holding her bump. What she wears. Her family dynamics.

You are right oldwoman this is a conversation & as such not subject to grammar scrutiny..as long as we know what people are saying! I add in ... & !! that I would not do in letters or formal documents.

So I started a post with so, so what ?, not a hanging offence
So no upset caused , no GN rules broken , so fuss about nothing isn’t it

Great post re presidents and embezzlement, Chewbacca.

^Starlady Sun 17-Feb-19 08:57:32
Oh, one more thought... I could be very wrong, but sometimes, I think her dad and sister, etc. just want to get in on the publicity. Maybe they're jealous of the fact that Meghan is now royalty, and they want to be a visible part of it. Some people welcome any attention, even if it's negative. Perhaps some of her relatives are that way.^

It's just like when lottery winners go public and dozens of ex partners and never-heard-of relatives come out of the woodwork with their begging bowls.

Samantha, the half-sister, has changed her name back to Markle, and is releasing her "dishing the dirt" book on Meghan on the day the baby is due. If that's not spiteful, I don't know what is!!

The quote from Starlady above was supposed to be in italics. It's not my post.

Anniebach and Oldwoman - you now have to write 50 lines saying "I will check my posts for spelling and grammar before I post them"

Starlady, thinking of Americans and their admiration of the royals perhaps not jealousy but excitement , in America she is called princess Megan. The royal family are celebrities in America same as movie stars, many of those have no problem with washing their dirty linen in public.

Then the Markles realise they are a ‘no no’, hurt and anger ?

sunseeker ok

‘So I will cheque my posts for speling and gramer before posting em ‘ ?

It seems it is all about money! I can imagine a scenario: A relative that you have had a tentative relationship with, maybe even disliked, hits the big time & has way more money than you! Jealousy creeps in, $$ signs in your eyes..media offer cash for comments etc. Easy to play the cinderella story to the mean stepsister... but I do not know what is real and what is a lie. Only the people involved know that.

sunseeker please write 50 lines "I must ask myself if a poster might be dyslexic before criticising" (even jokingly)!

Having a member of my family with ‘issues’, three years ago I wasn’t invited to a family wedding, neither were my daughters and my grandchildren,it hurt so much , one of my daughters was Godmother of the bride, the bride’s mother was Godmother to one of my grandchildren and the bride’s grandmother is my sister . A few months before we all went to a family wedding and no problems with my family member with ‘issues ‘.