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

[maria-olivia]

I stand with Lucien ! Amen

 

[An Ard Ri]

Prince Harry's ITV interview on Sunday night was beaten in the ratings by BBC One's Happy Valley when it came to viewing figures.
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/harry-interview-ratings-happy-valley-newsupdate/

 

[Granada]

I'm just reading about William meeting Meghan, with Harry for the first time in late 2016 solo, Kate was out with the kids.
Harry goes on to AGAIN diss William for "recoiling" from Meghan's hug and he claims William was freaked out.

William was a man in his late 30's, a public figure his whole life who Harry admits, didn't hug People he didn't know.
Interestingly enough Harry goes on to state that "William was a bit dressed up". He took the time to want to make a nice impression for Harry's girlfriend. Probably would have been better to be barefoot and in ripped jeans !

Didn't William deserve some kind of respect too ? I'm not saying curtsy as Harry's implies William *might* have been expecting. Another cheap shot, William The Snob.

If Meghan was say a friend of Sasha or Malia Obama and she was meeting President Obama for the first time, would She have hugged him ? Doubtful.
I expect that proper etiquette would have scrupulously been observed.

I think Meghan knew from the African getaway in the beginning that Harry was hers.....hook, line and sinker.
And the hugging bit upon meeting William was part of the "messaging", I'm IN and he's mine..... power play.

William has been trained his whole life on how to deal with People, how to engage and how to spot phonies and People out to use him or his Family for personal gain.

I think he read Meghan immediately. Sized up that this relationship would be trouble from the get go and boy was he right.

 

[camelot23ca]

Of course it was a defence mechanism. Imagine if she had shown anger or hurt. The little darlings would have had the day of their life. And I don't think the school would have stood behind her.

She did the best she could.

Thanks for keeping us informed, Lilyflo!

Harry’s not really a great advertisement for Eton - not in what he grew up to be, and not in this charming little glimpse behind the veil of school life. If Harry’s account is accurate (and to be fair that's a big if) he wasn't the only one mocking this woman and it wasn't an isolated occurrence. And it certainly doesn't take much imagination to think of what comments the women lucky enough to be deemed “hot” were subjected to.

 

[JGio]

Crown Princess Marie-Chantal has just posted an Instagram story depicting a shop window with several Spare books being exposed. What do you think she’s trying to say?

 

[suztav]

I think this sums up perfectly what most Americans think about H&M

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/09/...ytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

 

[camelot23ca]

Crown Princess Marie-Chantal has just posted an Instagram story depicting a shop window with several Spare books being exposed. What do you think she’s trying to say?

The other book seen in the window is called “How To Kill Your Family”

 

[suztav]

The other book seen in the window is called “How To Kill Your Family”

There is definitely a message she is sending! How to kill your family is spot on!

 

[An Ard Ri]

The other book seen in the window is called “How To Kill Your Family”

I doubt Harry will understand the irony of that post by Crown Princess MC

 

[Erin9]

The bit about the matron is horrible:
"Unlike other matrons, Pat wasn't hot. Pat was cold. Pat was small, mousy, frazzled and her hair fell greasily into her always tired eyes. Pat didn't seem to get much joy out of life."

Harry goes on to describe that she did enjoy catching boys being naughty and was "empathy challenged" when dealing with boys' minor cuts. He says Pat had many crosses to bear.

"The biggest being her knees and spine. The latter was crooked, the former chronically stiff. Walking was hard, stairs were torture. She'd descend backwards, glacially. Often we'd stand on the landing below her, doing antic dances, making faces. Do I need to say who did this with the most enthusiasm?"

He doesn't show any remorse but instead excuses it because he did it to make his friends laugh and he says that Pat also laughed if she caught him.
"I loved cracking up my mates but nothing quite did it for me like making the otherwise miserable Pat bust a gut."

It's astonishing isn't it that he can write this with no deeper reflection on how the poor woman must have felt to have him mock her and that her laughter might have been a defence mechanism against the bullying taunts she'd probably endured before. I wonder if she's still living or has family. Imagine the hurt to be described in this unflattering and unkind manner so publicly.

I’m appalled that he put this story in his book. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he still doesn’t seem to “get it”, has no remorse.

Her laughing was more than likely a defense mechanism. And who wants to be reminded of being mocked decades later? What about her family and friends?

I find it interesting that he says she was “empathy challenged”. I could say the same about him.

 

[Lilyflo]

Harry’s not really a great advertisement for Eton - not in what he grew up to be, and not in this charming little glimpse behind the veil of school life. If Harry’s account is accurate (and to be fair that's a big if) he wasn't the only one mocking this woman and it wasn't an isolated occurrence. And it certainly doesn't take much imagination to think of what comments the women lucky enough to be deemed “hot” were subjected to.

That matron was at Ludgrove not Eton but it's the adult Harry writing the account that bothers me much more than the boy who did it. The whole world now knows about Pat's looks, her twisted body and how she was mocked. It's unforgivable.

 

[An Ard Ri]

The bit about the matron is horrible:
"Unlike other matrons, Pat wasn't hot. Pat was cold. Pat was small, mousy, frazzled and her hair fell greasily into her always tired eyes. Pat didn't seem to get much joy out of life."

Harry goes on to describe that she did enjoy catching boys being naughty and was "empathy challenged" when dealing with boys' minor cuts. He says Pat had many crosses to bear.

"The biggest being her knees and spine. The latter was crooked, the former chronically stiff. Walking was hard, stairs were torture. She'd descend backwards, glacially. Often we'd stand on the landing below her, doing antic dances, making faces. Do I need to say who did this with the most enthusiasm?"

He doesn't show any remorse but instead excuses it because he did it to make his friends laugh and he says that Pat also laughed if she caught him.
"I loved cracking up my mates but nothing quite did it for me like making the otherwise miserable Pat bust a gut."

It's astonishing isn't it that he can write this with no deeper reflection on how the poor woman must have felt to have him mock her and that her laughter might have been a defence mechanism against the bullying taunts she'd probably endured before. I wonder if she's still living or has family. Imagine the hurt to be described in this unflattering and unkind manner so publicly.

Dreadful and simply horrible...Harry sinks to even more lows!

 

[lucien]

That matron was at Ludgrove not Eton but it's the adult Harry writing the account that bothers me much more than the boy who did it. The whole world now knows about Pat's looks, her twisted body and how she was mocked. It's unforgivable.

I see 93 pages of un forgivable here right now on H&Her!

Really,they are not worth it...except...they make the REAL
RF look like the great people they are,espcially in dealing with this trash.

I for one,was appalled by her insane way to show how she curtseyd to make a laughing stock of HM the late Queen Elisabeth II,while he sat there as some infantile watching her..That,was far far too much to accept,total lack of respect.I do sincerely hope karma works it´s mysterious ways,and gets them where it hurts most........the flop of their book being one....the outcry of anger from the public towards them being the 2nd,

93 Pages,are we daft or what is it?Suppose we all absolutely hate spoiled rotten brats and their cold-sides,and lies,untrustworthiness,total lack of respect and treason and them getting away with it....

For that is what this is,treason!Wish the Tower was still a place to be send to and set an example how to deal with this..

Strip them of all titles and and his british nationality.

 

[TLLK]

Interestingly enough this is more or less what they sued the Daily Mail over; the letter that Meghan sent to Thomas Markle & was published.

Was the text message supposedly the reason that Meghan was crying on the floor? While on the same day -as they write in the book- the issues with Thomas Markle were going on. As far as causality goes I would imagine the latter would be more of a cause for landing on the floor in tears.

Yes it is more or less what the lawsuit was about. Meghan's private correspondence was shared without her consent and for a financial gain. I would be curious what the Duchess' reaction would be if someone pointed this out to her and she were pressed for an answer.





From what I have read, yes the text conversation took place in a 24-30 hour time frame while the problems with Thomas Markle were going on. It was a stressful time for both women and this was an incident that has received far too much scrutiny in the past four and a half years.

 

[camelot23ca]

That matron was at Ludgrove not Eton but it's the adult Harry writing the account that bothers me much more than the boy who did it. The whole world now knows about Pat's looks, her twisted body and how she was mocked. It's unforgivable.

It's another level of cruelty. As unkind as he is to his own family, they are the British Royal Family - powerful public figures who are used to aspects of their private lives being dissected, and who have known for many months that Harry was coming for them with this book.

But this would have come out of the blue for the former matron and her family and it doesn't help that Harry has included enough detail that her family, friends and anyone connected to the school around that time will know who he's talking about.

 

[Moran]

But Pat enjoyed catching the boys being naughty! She was no fun! If she was like Mummy who smiled at him besottedly when he was manhandling a puppy and making faces at a reporter, she would have been better!

She didn't appreciate Harry the Lad and from what he's been showing us for quite a few years, that's a hanging offence in HRH's book.

 

[moby]

Marie Chantal is reposting a tweet from @bertsbooks on Twitter which posted the photo with a "Anyway, we do have some spare copies of Spare if you want one" followed by "Seriously, we had to buy then (them?) in a box of 12 to fulfill a couple of pre-orders, so if you do want a copy, you can order it here"

 

[TLLK]

The bit about the matron is horrible:
"Unlike other matrons, Pat wasn't hot. Pat was cold. Pat was small, mousy, frazzled and her hair fell greasily into her always tired eyes. Pat didn't seem to get much joy out of life."

Harry goes on to describe that she did enjoy catching boys being naughty and was "empathy challenged" when dealing with boys' minor cuts. He says Pat had many crosses to bear.

"The biggest being her knees and spine. The latter was crooked, the former chronically stiff. Walking was hard, stairs were torture. She'd descend backwards, glacially. Often we'd stand on the landing below her, doing antic dances, making faces. Do I need to say who did this with the most enthusiasm?"

He doesn't show any remorse but instead excuses it because he did it to make his friends laugh and he says that Pat also laughed if she caught him.
"I loved cracking up my mates but nothing quite did it for me like making the otherwise miserable Pat bust a gut."

It's astonishing isn't it that he can write this with no deeper reflection on how the poor woman must have felt to have him mock her and that her laughter might have been a defence mechanism against the bullying taunts she'd probably endured before. I wonder if she's still living or has family. Imagine the hurt to be described in this unflattering and unkind manner so publicly.

I have been hoping that he'd express some remorse in this memoir for his behavior towards "Pat" but sadly it appears that he didn't share any. (However if someone does find a passage in the memoir that demonstrates that he did, I'd be happy to read it.) He's 38 years old and apparently he still is excusing himself and his classmates' behavior towards a disabled woman. Hoping that one of his Ludgrove classmates who taunted her or joined in will consider reaching out to her or her family and apologizing. She didn't deserve this treatment then when she was working at Ludgrove and she doesn't deserve to have it shared to sell copies of Spare.

 

[Denville]

I have been hoping that he'd express some remorse in this memoir for his behavior towards "Pat" but sadly it appears that he didn't share any. (However if someone does find a passage in the memoir that demonstrates that he did, I'd be happy to read it.) He's 38 years old and apparently he still is excusing himself and his classmates' behavior towards a disabled woman. Hoping that one of his Ludgrove classmates who taunted her or joined in will consider reaching out to her or her family and apologizing. She didn't deserve this treatment then when she was working at Ludgrove and she doesn't deserve to have it shared to sell copies of Spare.

I must say this is one of the worst bits of the book and God knows, it is all bad, as far as I can tell.
but every time Harry goes public, you think he can't go any lower, and yet he manages to surprise you iwth the lies and the nastiness that he displays. Its bad enough that he was a brat, but a lot of kids are heartless and bratty at a young age.. but at 38 he does not realise that he was a nasty little horror and apologise for it? that's so low, he can't get much worse than this.

 

[yukari]

But Pat enjoyed catching the boys being naughty! She was no fun! If she was like Mummy who smiled at him besottedly when he was manhandling a puppy and making faces at a reporter, she would have been better!

She didn't appreciate Harry the Lad and from what he's been showing us for quite a few years, that's a hanging offence in HRH's book.

Imagine if someone behaves like this towards Meghan then writes it for the world to read. Well, as long as everyone involved is laughing it must be okay, right Harry?

PS: more than this book, I'm more interested reading about the Sussexes' dictionary. I really want to know what their definition of "private", "compassion", "service". The way they react about the bullying allegation and then there's this "Pat" story, I guess their definition of "bullying" will be different than the common one.

 

[Heavs]

Seriously, I had been hoping for more to come out about the Pat story such as an apology, but it doesn't seem like it. No, "she laughed" isn't it, especially as she may well have been worried about what would happen if she complained about Prince Harry to the Headmaster.

Not to mention that we know know Harry has real insecurity over people laughing and allegedly making fun of him about being ginger. But from his mocking "Willy" over going bald, it doesn't seem like he realises his hypocrisy, but at least William's in a position of power and not a member of staff with what seems like limited further employment prospects.

 

[Denville]

I
For that is what this is,treason!Wish the Tower was still a place to be send to and set an example how to deal with this..

Strip them of all titles and and is british nationality.

It is not treason, dont exaggerate

 

[lucien]

It is not treason, dont exaggerate

No,ofcourse not,..it is a brad from kindergarten being naughty...

There was a time this was treason,in history.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

Seriously, I had been hoping for more to come out about the Pat story such as an apology, but it doesn't seem like it. No, "she laughed" isn't it, especially as she may well have been worried about what would happen if she complained about Prince Harry to the Headmaster.

Not to mention that we know know Harry has real insecurity over people laughing and allegedly making fun of him about being ginger. But from his mocking "Willy" over going bald, it doesn't seem like he realises his hypocrisy, but at least William's in a position of power and not a member of staff with what seems like limited further employment prospects.

Maybe I am being naive, but perhaps the media has decided to protect this lady by not amplifying this story. Obviously, it was reported on but I hope that he is never asked about it and never publicly apologizes. Most people won't read the book and even fewer will read this forum.

As much as Harry's despicable behavior has earned public contempt for including this anecdote, protecting this lady from further trauma is far more important.

 

[JGio]

The other book seen in the window is called “How To Kill Your Family”

Hahaha can you hear me screaming!? How not to love her. Well, I don’t live her, but she’s incredible at times.

 

[Denville]

Seriously, I had been hoping for more to come out about the Pat story such as an apology, but it doesn't seem like it. No, "she laughed" isn't it, especially as she may well have been worried about what would happen if she complained about Prince Harry to the Headmaster.

.

I doubt if she laughed, or if she did, it was probalby a defence mechanism....

 

[camelot23ca]

I have been hoping that he'd express some remorse in this memoir for his behavior towards "Pat" but sadly it appears that he didn't share any. (However if someone does find a passage in the memoir that demonstrates that he did, I'd be happy to read it.) He's 38 years old and apparently he still is excusing himself and his classmates' behavior towards a disabled woman. Hoping that one of his Ludgrove classmates who taunted her or joined in will consider reaching out to her or her family and apologizing. She didn't deserve this treatment then when she was working at Ludgrove and she doesn't deserve to have it shared to sell copies of Spare.

If he was truly remorseful he wouldn't have included the story at all. Telling the hurtful story and then going on about how sorry he was and how much he's grown would have been just as bad, if not worse, than using the woman to tell what he seems to think is a charming anecdote.

I'm hoping that the press will not publicly identify this woman, and not go looking for her or her family, but relying on the mercy of the British tabloid press isn't a position anyone wants to be in. It seems Harry only cares about press cruelty as it pertains to him and his wife.

 

[Moran]

Bad thing is, she might want to read the story. After all, she knew Harry.

If you're reading this, Pat, remember this: sometimes, cruel little trolls grow into cruel big trolls. If you feel hurt by his comments, look at his attempts to photoshop hair on his head.

I hope you could and did give him some punishment for some of his "amusing acts". God knows that from what we've seen, his parents or grandparents likely never did.

 

[Denville]

If he was truly remorseful he wouldn't have included the story at all. Telling the hurtful story and then going on about how sorry he was and how much he's grown would have been just as bad, if not worse, than using the woman to tell what he seems to think is a charming anecdote.

I'm hoping that the press will not publicly identify this woman, and not go looking for her or her family, but relying on the mercy of the British tabloid press isn't a position anyone wants to be in. It seems Harry only cares about press cruelty as it pertains to him and his wife.

He could have made a general confession, without giving details that might identify particular people, if he was genuinely sorry that he had been bratty to teachers or staff who worked for his family. but It seems that he simply included this story because he thought it was funny, still at 38 to make fun of a woman who was plain and probalby in constant pain.. but who had to work for a living.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Is Pat the Matron still alive?