"Spare" memoir by the Duke of Sussex (2023)

[Claire]

Did anyone note the comment about William refusing them the right to marry at Westminster and York?

 

[Denville]

Did anyone note the comment about William refusing them the right to marry at Westminster and York?

what control has William got over where they marry? It was always most likely to be Windsor, to be less expensive and convenient for the queen and Philip

 

[yukari]

I agree.

And as I said before, I do not believe that the Queen would first offer Meghan a tiara, and then refuse to loan it after Meghan chose it. So if the Greville emerald kokoshnik was among the 5 tiaras, in my opinion Meghan could have chosen it and the Queen wouldn't mind at all.

If it really was Greville emerald kokoshnik that Meghan wanted, then she was probably told about its existance in the vaults and when the Queen didn't offer it herself, Meghan asked about it. But maybe the Queen already promised Eugenie to loan it to her. I wouldn't find that strange or mean at all. Come on, how many women dreamed of their wedding day since childhood and planned it with their mothers and grandmothers!

Or if there really is an emerald tiara that was aquired in a dodgy way (and I'm sceptical about it as well untill proven differently) and the Queen didn't want the public to know, and then someone from the BRF told Meghan about it, how unreasonable would she have to be and request to wear that particular tiara, so that entire world can see it? And please don't tell me it's because she's an American and the ice cold BRF have no understanding for American customs and Meghan's feelings.

No. In this case, the most likely argument will be "it's her wedding day, as the bride she should get whatever she wants. It's her prerogative as the bride." Oh, the audacity of people who dare to advise her on anything.

what control has William got over where they marry? It was always most likely to be Windsor, to be less expensive and convenient for the queen and Philip

There'a also matter about traffic and crowd control if the wedding to be held at WA or St Paul.

 

[camelot23ca]

I have so many questions but the main one is, how was this dumpster fire allowed for publishing??
Moeheringer is a super reputable ghost writer (Agassi's autobiography is considered a masterpiece of the genre) and, while I'm sure there are some parts of the book that are wonderfully written, I'm still shocked he would land is name to it. The same goes for Penguin Random House, how could the editors say "Yep this is a good book, worth the millions we have invested"

I don’t get that part either. In addition to the excruciating subject matter, some of the excerpts read like bad fan fiction. I know the ghost writer has to make the tone and vocabulary of the book feel authentic, and obviously Harry’s not Proust, but come on!

The publisher I get - this book will be profitable for them, end of story.

 

[Princess Merena]

I just don't get it the motive for so many of these revelations. Like loaning the lipgloss. What is that supposed to show? That Catherine somehow was too neat as she didn't like it? Ok, that was before the pandemic but surely in retrospect should Harry realise why anybody would be hesitant to loan a personal beauty product to anybody else? How on earth would anybody think that this somehow would paint Catherine in a negative light (as I suppose was the meaning of it)?

Even my five-year-old knows not to share her lipbalm.

 

[JR76]

I just don't get it the motive for so many of these revelations. Like loaning the lipgloss. What is that supposed to show? That Catherine somehow was too neat as she didn't like it? Ok, that was before the pandemic but surely in retrospect should Harry realise why anybody would be hesitant to loan a personal beauty product to anybody else? How on earth would anybody think that this somehow would paint Catherine in a negative light (as I suppose was the meaning of it)?

Even my five-year-old knows not to share her lipbalm.

Bad, bad Kate for setting boundaries by not wanting to hug the first time they meet, not want to discuss what someone else perceives as a hormonal issue and not want to share her lipgloss. Harry and Meghan seems to want to try to paint her as strange, but to me it only makes her seem very normal.

 

[ppetrica]

Another thing I don't understand is why make such comments about Afghanistan. It was either utterly naive or very calculated.
I sure hope it's the first one.
Because if second is the case, that is low. The probable goal would be to prove that they need state funded security and to forse UK /BRF to do it. And the reason? Well, I'm trying to understand, but only two things come to my mind and I don't like either of them. First is their feeling of self importance. Second is that this is one of the ways to establish themselves in US high society. I mean, who else in Montecito or California or among US celebrities has state funded security? Nothing beats that (except having royal titles perhaps).

 

[An Ard Ri]

Another thing I don't understand is why make such comments about Afghanistan. It was either utterly naive or very calculated.
I sure hope it's the first one.

I feel its the latter too and I can't believe he could possibly put himself or his family at risk by making such claims.

 

[Alison H]

The Taliban are now talking about the West having no respect for human rights, thsnks to Harry snd his "chessboard" comments.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

Bad, bad Kate for setting boundaries by not wanting to hug the first time they meet, not want to discuss what someone else perceives as a hormonal issue and not want to share her lipgloss. Harry and Meghan seems to want to try to paint her as strange, but to me it only makes her seem very normal.

Is this American só far from understanding that Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge, Countess of Strathearn, Baroness Carrickfergus, a senior member of the royal family, simply maintains some decorum when she meets someone for the first time?

 

[TLLK]

Did anyone note the comment about William refusing them the right to marry at Westminster and York?

Was this in the book or part of the interview?
What a bizarre comment to make. William would not have any control ir influence over the location for the wedding. That decision would have been made in conjunction with the BRF, the security team, and the municipal government.

 

[Lilyflo]

I think William would have some influence over the decision about the wedding venue. The ultimate veto would have been HMQ but by 2018, Charles and William had an increasing weight in BRF decisions.

 

[Denville]

No evidence of that that i know of. It woudl be a case of a venue which was suitable for the RF and the increasingly elderly queen and P Philip, and a venue which was not too expensive, not causing a lot of disruption to the public, and could be policed as easily as possible. London was never going to be the venue, and Windsor was the most likely, as it was for Eugenie shortly afterwards. As for York why would they want to go to York?

 

[ppetrica]

The Taliban are now talking about the West having no respect for human rights, thsnks to Harry snd his "chessboard" comments.

Wow, what on earth has he done...

I was born in early 1980s in a country that had a war 10 years later, in early 1990s. That war is still a hot topic almost 3 decades later with lot of pain, wounds, hatred and PTSD still going on. But neither veterans, nor civilians, with or without PTSD, talk publicly about killing enemy the way Harry does.

 

[Claire]

Was this in the book or part of the interview?
What a bizarre comment to make. William would not have any control ir influence over the location for the wedding. That decision would have been made in conjunction with the BRF, the security team, and the municipal government.

Yep - There is a number of things that he notes Willy blocked or told him to do. Just weird as William is not the one making these decisions. It is in the book - as is William not been pleased that Harry didn't shave for his wedding.

 

[Denville]

He seems to have his knife into William in this book and to an extent he is having a go at his father and Camilla? I wonder if he's planning on attacking other royals including the late queen, in later books.

 

[TLLK]

I think William would have some influence over the decision about the wedding venue. The ultimate veto would have been HMQ but by 2018, Charles and William had an increasing weight in BRF decisions.

While I agree that he does have increased influence over decisions made to determine the future of the BRF, his brother's wedding doesn't appear to me to be
one of them. However his grandmother and father who were either contributing the necessary funds or granting permission to use the sites at Windsor Castle definitely would be major decision makers.

 

[Mbruno]

Another thing I don't understand is why make such comments about Afghanistan. It was either utterly naive or very calculated.
I sure hope it's the first one.
Because if second is the case, that is low. The probable goal would be to prove that they need state funded security and to forse UK /BRF to do it. And the reason? Well, I'm trying to understand, but only two things come to my mind and I don't like either of them. First is their feeling of self importance. Second is that this is one of the ways to establish themselves in US high society. I mean, who else in Montecito or California or among US celebrities has state funded security? Nothing beats that (except having royal titles perhaps).

How would state-funded security work in Montecito though? British police cannot operate on US soil; it is outside their jurisdiction. If they had state security, I suppose it would have to be provided by the US government. Visiting heads of state or other high-ranking foreign dignitaries get that kind of protection, but they do not reside permanently in the United States.

If it didn't work in Canada, where Harry could argue he might have some official status, I don't see how it would work in the USA where he and his family definitely have no official status at all and do not qualify as internationally protected persons.

I suppose that, at this point, they are not asking for state security, but rather expecting the King to pay for their private security.

He seems to have his knife into William in this book and to an extent he is having a go at his father and Camilla? I wonder if he's planning on attacking other royals including the late queen, in later books.

The late Queen was not perfect, but she is still revered in the UK, the Commonwealth, and throughout the world, which makes her pretty much off-limits. Harry and Meghan would have nothing to gain by attacking her.

 

[Alison H]

He's alleged that Camilla had "a long-term strategy a campaign directed at marriage and, with time, the Crown". What rubbish. Charles made it clear that Camilla was a non-negiotiable part of his life, and so the relationship had to be formally regularised by marriage. He's also said he was "petrified" of Camilla being compared to Diana, which doesn't even make sense.

 

[Denville]

H

I suppose that, at this point, they are not asking for state security, but rather expecting the King to pay for their private security.

They could ask but it wasn't going to happen. It seems that that became the sticking point where Harry ended up with Ch refusing to take his calls. Charles clearly felt that he did not want to pay for private security for his son and H felt that he should have it and not have to pay himself for it.
I think that Harry wanted heavy duty security which was going to cost a lot, and Charles felt that if his son had left the UK to make money, it was up to him to provide his own staff, and pay his own bills.

 

[Denville]

He's alleged that Camilla had "a long-term strategy a campaign directed at marriage and, with time, the Crown". What rubbish. Charles made it clear that Camilla was a non-negiotiable part of his life, and so the relationship had to be formally regularised by marriage. He's also said he was "petrified" of Camilla being compared to Diana, which doesn't even make sense.

why would he be bothered about that? Camilla was never going to be popular in the way that Diana had been. She wasnt starting from a good place and she was not young or pretty or fashionable.

 

[Nico]

He's alleged that Camilla had "a long-term strategy a campaign directed at marriage and, with time, the Crown". What rubbish. Charles made it clear that Camilla was a non-negiotiable part of his life, and so the relationship had to be formally regularised by marriage. He's also said he was "petrified" of Camilla being compared to Diana, which doesn't even make sense.

In other words he's whining about Bolland's CPB operation. Something absolutely everyone knew for years.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I'd be surprised if anyone in the BRF would purchase this Russian tiara. This was in the photos of the jewels confiscated by the Bolshies. Buying jewels from royal and noble refugees is one thing, but secret purchases from The Diamond Fund would be unseemly, especially for a royal family that was so careful about their image post WWI. And such a well-known and grand tiara would not be the kind of tiara the late Queen would be lending to an American bride.

I wrote here once that I thought it may have been the Youssoupov emerald bandeau tiara that Meghan saw. I've never seen it in Diamond Fund photos, and the sleek simplicity is Meghan's style.

The Yusupov jewels weren’t state jewels or jewels belonging to Romanovs, plus I don’t believe they purchased any jewels from the Yusupov family. Plus it seems no one can clearly clarify from the media to the Sussexes themselves which tiara so I think the guess game has to end.

 

[Katymcwaity]

Quote:
(...)

The*Duke of Sussex, 38, recalled in his memoir,*Spare, which hits bookshelves on Tuesday, January 10, that he received two signs that he was going to be*a first-time parent. The first one came when he and Meghan, 41, were in Scotland and stumbled upon a group of singing seals while boating.

Harry remembered his wife singing to the animals whom he claimed sang back. “She really is magic, I thought,” he wrote of*the*Suits*alum*in his book,*Us Weekly*can exclusively reveal. “Even the seals know it.”

As the “seal opera” continued, the prince decided to*count the moment as a “good omen”*and stripped down, jumped in the water and swam toward them.

He was later told that it was a “bad idea” to dive into the Scottish sea, which was allegedly “teeming with killer whales.” Harry, however, chose to see it as a “lovely fairytale.”

(...)


Please tell me this whole thing is a set up of some April Mop prank.

Not sure the sea is “teeming” with killer whales, there were 14 in 1990s and less now, not seen often. I think he was more likely to get hypothermia no matter what time of year it was!

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Plus in one of the excerpts, Harry reveals that he didn’t like Meghan’s sex scenes on suits but William and Kate liked suits. Harry you do realize the woman you married was an actress right? At some point, for many actors and actresses, depending on the genre of film or tv show, they would have done at least one sex scene in their career so.... plus if you thought her sex scenes were embarrassing, you have worse scenes from your past like getting naked in Las Vegas, now revealing what most people didn’t know that you at the age of 17 slept with a woman close in age to your mum near a pub, fighting and rolling on the floor with a journalist or photographer. Please

 

[Katymcwaity]

They take just a few minutes. Now that you mention it, that's a detail I'll have to look for when I read the book, because it doesn't make sense.

What a task you have! If I could send you a box of your favourite tipple I would!

 

[Mbruno]

Yep - There is a number of things that he notes Willy blocked or told him to do. Just weird as William is not the one making these decisions. It is in the book - as is William not been pleased that Harry didn't shave for his wedding.

Things like "William was upset that I didn't shave for the wedding", or "Kate didn't want to loan her lipgloss" make Harry look childish and immature and raise questions about his mental health again. His fixation on his late mother and his brother look a bit off to be honest.

 

[Lilyflo]

Omid Scobie's article on 'Spare':
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/harry-boo...-charles-footsteps-omid-scobie-115905887.html

 

[Katymcwaity]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Claire View Post
I agree there a something off about Willy and Harold. Especially as they are used the whole book through. William doesn’t like people calling him Wills and that is a know family nickname - Willy Not buying it and Harold less so.

It’s in the book though.

I think it’s just another way to needle William, like everything in the book, turning the screw with every revelation and slight.He know s the Press will keep bringing everything up for years to come so its stays in peoples mind how awful his brother and family are. It all appears to demean/embarrass his family and big himself and Meghan up.

Maybe this is splitting hairs but he was a co pilot, he never passed the exams to be a pilot but I guess it doesn’t sound as good. As lots have said, I am not sure what he wants to get out of this. He did acknowledge there are 2 sides to a story in a clip i heard this morning but if he expects his family to publicly respond to everything, then he is delusional. I don’t think it will happen privately either not for a good few years, if ever.

 

[Denville]

While I agree that he does have increased influence over decisions made to determine the future of the BRF, his brother's wedding doesn't appear to me to be
one of them. However his grandmother and father who were either contributing the necessary funds or granting permission to use the sites at Windsor Castle definitely would be major decision makers.

I dont think there was ever much choice. It was going to be Windsor. and I agree that Will and Charles have had a bit more input in recent years, about staff and what is going to happen in hte future wiht the RF as the queen knew she would nto go on forever, where Harry got married was not something that W would have any input into.