What did he refer to when talking about “institution” or “firm”? Why did Meghan hand over her passport after getting married? Is there really an HR department for royalty?
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VIDEO: Meghan and Harry Interview Key Reveals
The BBC clarifies some of these issues below.
What is the security plan for royalty?
The couple said that they were not offered a security troop for their newborn son Archie and therefore had to make deals to earn enough money to save him.
“While deals with Netflix and Spotify were never part of the plan,” Harry said, his father, Prince Charles, cut funds guaranteeing his livelihood last year.
The exact details of the security of royalty, which are paid for by the British public, are not widely known for security reasons, says Robert Finch, president of the Canadian Monarchy League, an organization that defends the Royalists. So there is a lot of speculation as to what the truth is.
“The degree of security depends on the seniority and visibility of a senior member. Some get protection only when they do official work, not 24 hours, 7 days a week – although some remain within a protective enclosure, such as That Palace of Palace Kensington. ”
Prince Harry and bride Meghan Markle leave the garden of Kensington Palace after announcing their engagement – Photo: AP Photo / Alagair Grant
In Scotland Yard, there is a Royal Protection Unit made up of officers with uniforms and plain uniforms.
Many suspect that there is a special command unit that oversees the palaces occupied by the queen “and possibly the homes of the next two heirs. [Príncipe Charles e William, o Duque de Cambridge] As the danger level increases or decreases, “Finch says. But that is never discussed.”
Did Meghan have to give up her passport and driver’s license?
Meghan said in the interview, “When I joined that family, it was the last time, until we came here, I gave my passport, my driver’s license, my keys.”
Buckingham Palace has not yet commented on why such items are kept.
Historian and author Robert Lacey, who advised Netflix’s The Crown series, says it was for the Duchess’s own safety. “If she had been driving alone, she would not have been protected,” says Lacey.
Meghan and Harry with their son Archie during a trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in a photo in 2019 – Photo: Henk Krueger / African News Agency / AP / Pool / Archive
Author Marlene Koenig, who runs the Royal Musling website, says royals receive special treatment when they travel. They do not pass normal passport control or wait for their luggage to be checked.
She says she has no idea why Meghan’s passport would be kept, but that it “certainly would have been requested on official visits”.
Finch says this is the first time he has heard this, “but it is presumed that valuable personal documents of royalty are kept or kept safe under the supervision of the general security of the palace.”
He says that this can be done so that documents are not lost and quickly available when a member of the royal family goes on a visit.
He says “it fits on Meghan’s story of being trapped and isolated, but it was really routine, and probably anything would be accessible to her if she wanted to”.
Is there really a human resources department?
Meghan said in the interview, “I went to HR and said, ‘I really need help,'” adding that his request was denied because he was “not a paid employee at the institute.”
“There is no human resources department for royalty in the royal business, because it is a family matter,” says BBC correspondent Johnny Diamond.
But Royal is a human resources manager for lower-level teams and palaces, as set out on the Buckingham Palace website. Not just for family or senior employees.
Buckingham Palace says the HR department recently launched an investigation into Meghan’s allegations, denying that the Duchess resigned several members of the team.
Mahal did not respond to the allegation that the same department had refused to help him.
The couple now lives in Montekito, Santa Barbara County, California, where the interview took place – Photo: Getty Images / BBC
What do they mean by ‘institution’?
Meghan and Harry refer to “firm” and “institution” when discussing the royal family. Meghan said, “This is a family business, okay? Therefore, there is family. And there are people running the institution.”
There are competing theories about the origin of the “firm”, but it is widely credited to Prince Philip.
Author Marlene Koenig states that the prince must have made this reference after marrying the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947. “It compares to marrying a family business,” she says.
Prince Philip would have made reference to ‘company’ after marrying Elizabeth in 1947 – Photo: Getty Images / BBC
But in Firm: House of Windsor’s troubled life (Firm: Turbulent Life of Windsor House, in free translation), Penny Junor writes that King George 6th, who ruled from 1936 to 1952, “first referred to the House of Windsor as the firm and the name stuck”. .
Lacey states that “firm” is a surname applied to itself by the royal family. Meghan seems to have extended this to employees, along with the word ‘institution’.
“The surname now refers to everyone from administrative staff to employees of Casa Real,” says Finch, who has “some kind of influence on the life and work of the family.” ”
He says that it is unclear who Meghan was referring to, but it may include “royal friends or people who, they know, have influence over them,” as government officials.
How many people work for the royal family?
For some who participated in the interview, references from families, support departments and staff provided their first glimpse into the way they worked behind the scenes.
Thousands of people are working to support the monarchy, including those who maintain art galleries and palaces owned by the Royal Fund.
Every year, the queen presents a traditional Christmas pudding to about 1,500 of her employees.
