This isnât a fan blog. This is about people watching. Watching those in the media, the stories behind the glossy front and the impact it has on us all. There will be more focus on some royals and celebs than others, simply because I find them more interesting to follow. I aim to fact check and check sources. My opinions are just that. Theyâre not facts, so donât get them confused! It doesnât mean I think Iâm right. Iâm always open to having opinions challenged. Everyone is welcome to submit ideas for posts, opinions or questions. Please just remember these rules: 1. Be kind 2. Be respectful 3. We are all a work in progress. Itâs ok to make mistakes, for opinions to change & to not be perfect. That means all of us and anyone I write about. 4. Opinions arenât facts.
If itâs not a love marriage, but arranged whatâs Rajwaâs interest here? She now has to give up her privacy, freedom, career as an architect
There could be all kinds of reasons. Family pressure, wanting to please, status, the title. Itâs easy to assume that someone who seems to have it all wouldnât give it up for something else, but it happens.
Rajwa had money, education, freedom and a career but she didnât have a title. Now she has an easy life, from what weâve seen. She barely needs to work, has everything provided for her and has respect simply through her position. Iâm not saying that is her reason but it would be disingenuous to suggest that some women donât seek that.
There canât be many people in the world who donât know about Jeffrey Epstein and his friendship with Prince Andrew. There canât be many people who donât know about the accusations against Prince Andrew either.
Like many people, I find it infuriating that Andrew hasnât faced any kind of real questioning. That he has been protected every single step of the way.
For any woman (or man for that matter), thinking about coming forward about sexual abuse, itâs just another situation which proves that it most likely isnât worth the psychological trauma of being disbelieved and having your name dragged through the mud, while the perpetrator claims that you must have other motives or something wrong with you.
Iâm not saying that abuse victims shouldnât come forward. Iâm simply saying that the system makes it feel like they shouldnât bother. It makes it feel like a losing battle and that those who do find the strength and courage are incredibly brave and strong characters. Even if they donât think they are, and probably donât feel as though they are, they are an inspiration for many.
So, like many people, I already knew the story when I watched the Netflix show âScoopâ. Iâd even watched the BBC interview when it first aired. Yet the show brought home something uncomfortable, which Iâd seen the topic of several social media debates.
Why do Princess Beatrice & Eugenia still seem so close to their father? Why do they insist on standing by him?
It can be hard to put ourselves in their shoes but imagine for a moment, as uncomfortable as it might seem that this kind of accusation was lobbied against one of your own parents. A person who you loved and trusted. Someone you thought you knew inside out and felt like a source of strength and safety in your life.
No doubt it would cause hugely uncomfortable feelings of doubt. You wouldnât be able to help yourself from wondering whether there was truth in it but to accept that there could be would blow apart everything you thought you knew about that person.
It would shake how you viewed everyone else around you if your view of that person had been so wrong. It would create so much self doubt. So perhaps, some people might disregard it and feel that there is no way it would be true.
Especially when you add in the next layer. Something which only somehow hit me while watching the Netflix show. Prince Andrew had taken Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein and Ghislaine Maxwell along to Princess Beatriceâs 18th birthday party. A party which was no doubt filled with lots of young women.
So many Andrew defenders will say âinnocent until proven guiltyâ but even if (and thatâs a very big IF) he is innocent, it seems highly unlikely that he didnât know about his friends penchant for young girls. He took the wolves right into the centre of a field full of prey. Prey that was his daughters and their friends.
That is a huge amount for any young woman to reckon with. Someone who they probably viewed as their rock and their safety net had in fact used them in such a vile way.
They should be angry. They should be furious. They should probably want to get as far away from him as they possibly can. But life isnât that simple. Feelings arenât that simple. Before any of that can happen, first theyâd have to accept it and like many victims, that takes a lot of time and soul searching.
How many victims of sexual abuse donât come forward to begin with because they spend so much time hating themselves first? Blaming themselves in some way? Finding it too much to admit to? Some never get past that and never come forward.
My take away from this show is that Beatrice & Eugenie are victims too. Perhaps not ever having hands laid upon them, but victims nonetheless.
Some news outlets are clearly biased. They favour one of these two ladies over the other and will write overwhelmingly positive stories, no matter what said royal is doing.
Others seem to switch things up. News could be positive for months on end, followed by negative stories for a period of time.
Debate is always rife on social media about whether Kate or Meghan are actually the most popular. Or perhaps even whether Meghan can even be classed as a royal at all.
Anyone debating this has most likely already picked a side anyway and in all likelihood will not be moved.
To make matters more confusing, itâs not like we can tell by how many followers they have or the number of fans posting in their favourite royal ladyâs support. There are simply too many bot accounts out there.
The reality is that they both have popularity. The spotlight might move from one to another, depending on what theyâre doing at the time but the shift is only ever temporary.
News outlets have their role to play in making popularity feel more important than it actually is. They want to make us feel like one of these ladies has to be more important, more popular than the other.
If theyâre friendly with either Kate or Meghan, their chosen lady will always be conveyed as the winner. If theyâre not, then it will shift with their mood. Theyâre tricky beasts who know that if for example, they write about Kate being the most popular royal out there, Kate fans will read it, just out of curiosity. Meghan fans will read it to complain about how bias the press is.
The same is true in reverse. If Meghan receives praise, Meghan fans will want to read the story, while Kate fans will read it and say how fake she is.
Iâm not saying that is true of all fans. Many out there will simply shrug off these stories all together and take a more relaxed view. But those who engage on social media in the debates and arguments that follow are the ones that drive these stories. Their arguments and link sharing mean that more clicks, and therefore revenue will be generated for the news outlets. It creates an endless cycle of stories, designed to keep people enraged about the way their favourite is being portrayed.
The cycle would fall apart if they were both receiving overwhelming good or bad press. There always has to be the good versus the bad. But does it reflect reality?
It happened when Prince William married Kate, itâs happened when Prince Harry married Meghan and itâs happening to Rajwa who is about to marry Prince Hussein. The wives face a huge amount of criticism for everything they do or ever have done. Nothing seems to be off limits. The way they look, the way they dress and even the way they speak.
The why is an easy one to answer for just about anyone sitting back and observing. It comes down to jealousy. It also isnât exclusive to royal wives. We see it with celebrities and we have probably encountered it in our own personal lives at some point too. The only difference is that with celebrities and royals, more people know of them, which means more people who will criticise.
The reason Iâm writing about this is because I think we need to take a closer look at ourselves sometimes. Criticism is fine but we need to question where it came from. Do we have a genuine concern or are we looking for fault in others to make ourselves feel better?
Iâve heard people criticise Kate for her accent and the way in which she delivers speeches. I can see where some of this comes from because she doesnât look comfortable. Sheâs not polished and anxiety often gets the better of her. The criticism is often based upon nothing more than observation and to balance it, there is an element of authenticity to anyone who is clearly nervous in those situations. I would not be able to deliver a speech nearly as well as she does.
Then we move into a darker area, where the genuine criticism is taken to more extreme levels. Itâs pointed out again and again, until rather than criticism, it becomes ridicule.
The same can be said of the criticism of Meghan and the inconsistencies to many of her stories. Itâs clear that not everything sheâs said is true.
To go to the extent to say that everything is untrue is not only unlikely but itâs again about demonising rather than criticising.
Worst of all, at least for me, is when I see these women being criticised for things which are completely human. For things we wouldnât care about other people doing and may even do ourselves, or for things which are beyond their control. Sometimes we have conveniently short memories or manage to twist things in such a way which means that one person should be criticised for the same behaviour that is fine for someone else. Even when a direct comparison is being drawn.
For example; Iâve lost count of the number of times Iâve seen people say that Meghan is a natural beauty, while Kate uses Botox and hair extensions. Not in a statement of facts but in a way which would imply that Botox and hair extensions somehow make Kate a bad person.
What message does that send to all the women out there who use Botox and hair extensions? How do they make someone less worthwhile? And just to point out the obvious, itâs evident that Meghan uses them too.
Looking at royal bride-to-be Rajwa, Iâve seen criticism of the way she looks and the way she dresses. Statements such as that she is not pretty enough, all the way down to the idea that sheâs forcing Prince Hussein to marry her.
The way she dresses or the way she looks arenât really an issue. There are much bigger issues in the world than what someone is wearing, unless of course itâs an âI donât careâ jacket while on a visit to meet detained immigrant children. Then perhaps it is an issue.
Most of us claim to believe in equality. Most of us know the value of being kind. So why is it that when confronted by certain situations, our values suddenly vanish into thin air?
For the most part, the negative feelings seem to arise from jealousy, but not always. I find it incredibly frustrating when I see someone have a genuine thought or criticism, which is met by responses of âyouâre just jealousâ.
This gives rise to the second reason I think we get into the realms of attacking people online. The idea that not everyone shares our beliefs. If I believe that my favourite royal couple are the perfect couple, in love and living their best lives, thatâs great but itâs fine that others donât hold that view too. I might be right, I might be wrong. One thing is for sure, I will never find the answer if I dismiss anything I donât want to hear.
(I secretly donât even have a favourite royal couple)
The third reason seems to be a level of uncertainty. We know something is wrong but canât pinpoint what it is and with that lack of certainty, we fire out anything which comes to mind, in the hope it will give rise to an explanation.
With the ongoing sibling rivalry between William & Harry, the story has become so long that itâs hard to unpick who has done what. It stands to reason that like in any case of sibling rivalry, it isnât a case of one being good and the other bad. So with this in mind, Kate and Meghan have also likely been less than perfect. We donât know the details, so throw out anything in the hope it makes sense.
I think Rajwa might be a good example of this too. She seems both happy and nervous, which is expected. Meanwhile, her future husband seems less thrilled and every interaction seems forced. People can sense that there is something âoffâ about the situation but canât find the words to explain it. Of course there will be those who are jealous too.
If supporters of each of these women are right and their marriages are genuinely loving and happy ones, thatâs great. If theyâre not, then surely these women deserve support and compassion? Question and criticise away, but make sure the intentions behind it are coming from the right place.
With just a couple of days to go until the wedding of Jordanâs Crown Prince Hussein & Rajwa Al Saif, wedding promotion is in full swing on social media.
All over social media, Iâve noticed posts by both media and fans alike which are positive about the union. The negative posts are few and far between.
The Hashemites donât have a particularly large following outside the Arab world, when compared to other monarchies or sheikhdoms. CP Hussein is perhaps the most popular and yet most people in the western world have no idea who he is. It is therefore, unsurprising that there are few western fans getting excited about the wedding.
The engagement itself came out of the blue. There were no clues in the months leading up to the event that Hussein was ready for marriage. In fact, barely a year before he had said in a TV interview that he was single.
As soon as the engagement photos were released, many people began to comment that it looked like an arranged marriage. The photos and video looked awkward. Rajwa looked genuinely happy, while Hussein looked like he was conducting a business meeting.
People immediately began to speculate about the reasoning behind this arrangement (if it is in fact an arrangement). Details about Rajwa were released. Her father is a Saudi billionaire property developer and her mother is the second cousin of Mohammed Bin Salman. The reason most people concluded was behind this marriage was money. The Hashemites have been caught up in various money related scandals, so it made sense.
Before too long, this descended into hatred and criticism of Rajwa, which I will cover in another post. It also changed from being arranged to forced, which are two very different things.
Meanwhile, something interesting was happening. Negative comments or anything remotely suggested an arrangement were either being removed or bombarded with pro-wedding replies, often from accounts with no posts. People were going out of their way to find accounts with negative comments and counter them.
Even if I explained away the engagement photos as nerves, the behaviour that followed actually only increased suspicion. I mean, when a royal or celeb gets engaged, there will always be unhappy fans. There will always be rumours and criticism. Itâs unpleasant but it runs its course.
Unless of course, you do actually have something to hide. Which brings us to the fact that someone had gone to great lengths to remove everything from the internet about Rajwa prior to her engagement to Hussein. Not an easy task, considering the internet never forgets!
Since the internet never forgets, the more dedicated fans out there did still manage to dig up a little more info and a few old photos but nothing significant, to my knowledge. Another interesting side note is that these seem to have come from sources such as Facebook and Twitter. Much more difficult sites to remove photos and information from unless youâre the account holder who originally posted them.
In the months that followed, we saw an obvious PR push from the RHC to promote the union and Rajwa in particular. The PR never said that it was a love story as such, yet that is the vibe they were pushing. Especially with comments from Queen Rania about how she is like a third daughter to her.
Most people commenting on social media added to the love story narrative, continuing to do battle with the minority who were suggesting otherwise.
CP Hussein even discussed how theyâd met at an event for his foundation, saying it was through a friend. He said theyâd met once and some time had past before he was reminded of her by someone. They exchanged some messages and the engagement happened quickly.
Again, many took to social media to say that it was clear how much he loved her and that theyâd met through a friend, therefore it wasnât an arranged marriage.
Others pointed out how obvious this story sounded and how unlikely it was to have suddenly fallen in love and become engaged in such a short amount of time.
(I might go into my thoughts about that in another post because I find it an interesting point)
Unlikely it certainly is, but not impossible. Still, I think many people have overlooked something else which makes this union not only suspect but also concerning.
Just over a year before the engagement was the sedition case in Jordan. I wonât go into detail because itâs a long story but certainly worth looking into it youâre curious. The very short version is that King Abdullahâs brother, Prince Hamza (former CP of Jordan) was accused of an attempted coup with the help of a few others. It was immensely problematic and tied to a few other countries. Saudi Arabia being one of those counties and one of Mohammed Bin Salmanâs senior advisors working with Hamza. Of course, Saudi Arabia denied having anything to do with it.
If true, (check the details and decide for yourself what you think) this canât have been good news for King Abdullah. Heâs always had a tumultuous relationship with MBS and accusations like that wonât have gone down well with MBS either way. Not to mention rumours that as custodian of two of Islam's most holy sites, MBS was keen to gain custodianship of Al-Aqsa too, which the Hashemites are currently custodians of. There have been some interesting moves made between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which put Jordan in a precarious position.
So, what are the odds that shortly after these events, the single Crown Prince meets and falls in love with a relative of MBS? If true, itâs reminiscent of Romeo & Juliette but in reality, I suspect that thereâs a lot more to this story and that love isnât the driving force behind it.
Links for further reading:
Amman fears warming Israel-Saudi relations may threaten its hold on holy Islamic site
The lightning-quick, equally roughshod trial, with seven sessions over just three weeks, may have ended a perceived threat to Jordan's monar
andulkaphoto
discoholicmusic
annaxmalina
tangentwithtanner
prguitarman
baratheonpilled