Why are people having such a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle want to take control of their lives in the public eye?
This week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they are "overjoyed" to be expecting their second baby and that they are to be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, famously a friend of the couple.
This came days after Meghan's legal victory against British newspaper the Mail on Sunday, after the tabloid published parts of a private letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
Their news also comes more than a year after the couple announced plans to step back as senior royals in January 2020.
At no stage have they declared plans to "live off-grid in the Canadian wilderness" – although I am sure that prospect crossed their minds when they read some of the hate and vitriol directed towards them, at Meghan in particular, on the internet.
To the contrary, in their earliest announcement about "stepping back" – the exact phrasing used in their January 8, 2020 statement – they say the decision was made in order to "raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter".
They also said they "[looked] forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course".
Hardly the vernacular of a publicity-shy couple cut off from the outside world.
At the same time, they published a vision for their new role on their website, which specified they would "provide access to credible media outlets focused on objective news reporting to cover key moments and events" and "continue to share information directly to the wider public via their official communications channels".
Fast-forward one year and that is exactly what they have done. They have announced a key, and joyous, event – that they are expecting a second baby – via their own spokesperson, sharing an image taken by a professional photographer, who also happens to be a friend.
Collaborations with media platforms have been in place long before they stepped back from the royal family. In April 2019, it was announced that Harry was working on a documentary series about mental health with Winfrey for Apple TV+. The Sussexes have since signed a Netflix deal worth a rumoured £100 million ($135 million); they have also joined forces with audio streaming giant Spotify.
I am still not seeing a publicity-shy behaviour pattern.
It makes sense that Winfrey is the TV personality that would get their first interview. Sure, she's certainly not a "grassroots media organisation", as per their original manifesto, but she has a long history of knowing the couple and working with them. She attended their 2018 wedding.
Winfrey also has a history of royal interviews – in 2011 she interviewed Sarah Ferguson, a year after she was caught by an undercover tabloid reporter taking a bribe in exchange for access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew.
Of the interview, CBS has announced: "Winfrey will speak with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure.
"Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the US and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family."
Even this remains true to their original intentions. They are giving managed insight into their life, while attempting to side-step the harassment they faced as senior royals.
Following their Valentine's Day pregnancy news, British tabloid the Daily Star splashed the Misan Harriman photograph that was released with the announcement on its cover, with the headline: "You couldn't make this up ... publicity-shy woman tells 7.67 billion people: 'I'm pregnant'."
The fact that Prince Harry is also in the photo seems to have been conveniently missed in the misogynistic reporting.
Nobody wants to hear they're the gas lighter in a relationship, but I can't help but feel that's what has happened with fractions of the British press. They have been called out for their abusive ways, and now they're acting out. The cycle of abuse could have continued this way indefinitely, if Harry and Meghan hadn't tried to put a stop to it.
Since stepping back as senior royals, the pair have remained firmly in the public eye. They have taken part in high-profile summits via Zoom, handed out meals to those in need in Los Angeles mid-pandemic and even launched a podcast.
At no stage have they behaved like people who wish to live as anonymous members of the general public. Meghan has just asked not to have private letters to her father published for the world to see.
Even the Kardashians dictate and control the lens on their lives, and they literally invited a camera crew into their homes for the best part of 14 years, documenting their every move.
Harry and Meghan, however, never asked to have every step they took documented.
Meghan was a relatively well-known woman who fell in love with one of the most famous people on the planet. A royal who has always had a fraught relationship with the media and public eye; a parent dying following a car chase with paparazzi will do that to a person, though.
Yet here we are, 23 years later, living with the same level of entitlement when it comes to watching the royals.
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
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Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
![When stepping back as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan said they wanted to 'raise [their] son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born'. Reuters](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/TS7QL7LCY5CD4TLIY22MAF4VD4.jpg?smart=true&auth=3f1536e8c33da96983e90efcd104ca58fb213a9185bd9a7ad36d8ffb2ba81644&width=800&height=534)
