Buckingham Palace shudders at prospect of more of
Prince Harry’s truth
Past royal
efforts are tame in comparison to what Duke of Sussex could unleash on his
family
Caroline Davies
Tue 20 Jul
2021 14.39 BST
Queen Victoria did it, as did a couple of her
granddaughters. And her great-grandson, the Duke of Windsor, famously did so 15
years after his abdication.
So, the Duke of Sussex follows a well-trodden
royal path with news that he is penning his “accurate and wholly truthful”
memoirs, writing “not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become”.
As shudders, no doubt, convulse Buckingham
Palace, the book has a planned publication date in autumn 2022, perfectly timed
for the Christmas market, but perhaps not the finale the Queen would have hoped
for her platinum jubilee celebrations.
Past royal memoirs are tame in comparison to
what Prince Harry could unleash on his family, if his soul-baring screen
interviews with Oprah Winfrey are a yardstick.
His efforts are unlikely to compare with Queen
Victoria’s published journals, which were by no means scandalous, though she
was dissuaded from writing a book about John Brown, the Scottish ghillie and
personal attendant to whom she became close in widowhood.
Victoria’s granddaughters, Princess Alice,
Countess of Athlone, and Princess Marie-Louise, as well as Princess Alice,
Duchess of Gloucester, widow of the Queen’s cousin Prince Henry, all produced
“terribly interesting” accounts of royal life, said the royal historian Hugo
Vickers, though all non-controversial.
Harry’s musings can best be compared to those
of the exiled Duke of Windsor; A King’s Story, published in 1951, and an
international bestseller still available on Amazon. His wife, Wallis Simpson,
also took up the pen.
“The Duke of Windsor’s was not terribly
revelatory or scandalous,” said Vickers, adding that it was beautifully
ghostwritten. “I don’t think his or the duchess’s caused any more ructions that
you would imagine they would.”
Simpson consulted her former husband when
writing her memoirs, though he never wrote his own. “He said: ‘As far as I’m
concerned the truth lies at the bottom of the well and anyone who wants to go
and look for it is welcome to do so.’ So he did not write anything at all, or
ever tell his story,” said Vickers.
Though not especially revelatory, the Duke of
Windsor’s account was frowned on given that his mother, Queen Mary, and
brother, George VI, were still alive. “By today’s standards it might be regarded
as pretty tame,” said Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine. “But 70
years ago, it was seen as all quite shocking, disrespectful and treacherous. I
think he saw it as his opportunity to settle scores and did so.”
With Harry reportedly working with the
Pulitzer-winning ghostwriter JR Moehringer and the deadline for a first draft
rumoured to be in October, its contents are the subject of much speculation,
though experts believe that he will be under pressure to up the ante.
“The pressure must be on him to come up with
something even more sensational that what we learned from the Oprah interview,”
said Little. “It’s hard not to think that Harry would want to redress the
balance, as far as he’s concerned, in print, though it’s been done on screen.
“You would think hearts will continue to sink
at Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace. I suppose in an
ideal world they would have liked a line to be drawn after the Oprah
revelations. But clearly that isn’t Harry’s way of doing things. And so this
won’t have been great news for Harry’s family.”
He could revisit the racism allegations he has
levelled against the royal household. “Then there’s Meghan’s arrival into the
spotlight, her becoming girlfriend, then fiancee, then bride. And, of course,
he has a lot of demons still about his childhood and the treatment his mother
got both at the hand of the establishment and the media. Also, having to leave
the army much sooner that he would have liked might also manifest itself.”
Little added: “You would think it is going to
be quite a troubled read in a way. You would hope that by the end of it there
will be light at the end of the tunnel. He’s been in North America now for 15
months or so, so clearly he feels he’s turned a corner.”
Sarah, Duchess of York, was fiercely
criticised when she wrote My Story, detailing her experience at the hands of
the press and the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Andrew. She was accused
of cashing in on her royal connections. Harry’s publisher, Penguin Random
House, have said proceeds are going to charity.
For the Duke of Windsor, his memoirs brought
him back into the spotlight after years of relative obscurity. And, as with any
memoir, there are different versions of the story.
So, as Buckingham Palace awaits Harry’s book,
it will no doubt think back to the Queen’s diplomatic
words
following the Oprah revelations, when she said: “Some recollections may vary.”
Prince Harry 'says he DOESN'T need Queen's
permission' to write $20m Megxit memoir as Royal aides fear more 'truth bombs'
and 'poor me introspection' in tell-all 'book by Harry, written by Meghan'
- Prince Harry has been secretly working on book for nearly year which he has sold to Penguin Random House
- He has been collaborating with a ghostwriter in a rare move from a senior member of the royal family
- First draft of manuscript, currently untitled, is said to be almost completely written with deadline in October
- Financial terms were not disclosed but Prince Harry will donate proceeds to charity, according to publisher
- But sources told DailyMail.com that the advance is likely to be in the region of $20m, one of the biggest ever
By MARTIN
ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE and REBECCA ENGLISH, ROYAL EDITOR, FOR
THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 07:55 BST, 20 July 2021 | UPDATED:
09:51 BST, 21 July 2021
Prince Harry didn't feel he needed permission
from Buckingham Palace to write his $20million Megxit memoir, his spokesman
declared today.
The decision to write a tell-all autobiography
has been branded a 'moneymaking exercise at the expense of his blood family' by
royal experts and insiders who predicted it would be 'a book by Harry, as
written by Meghan.'
Harry, 36, did not warn his grandmother,
father or brother about the tell-all book until 'moments before it became
public' in a sign that his relationship with the Royal Family did not improve
during his visit to unveil Princess Diana's statue in London earlier this
month, it was claimed today.
The
Sussexes' spokesman told the BBC that Harry would not be expected to obtain
permission for the project from Buckingham Palace - but told his family
including the Queen 'very recently' - and it is not yet clear if royal
officials will get to see the finished book before its release in late 2022 by
publisher Penguin Random House. MailOnline has asked Harry's LA team to
comment.
Harry said last night: 'I'm writing this not
as the prince I was born but as the man I have become'. Responding to his
bombshell statement signed 'Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex', broadcaster Kirstie
Allsopp replied: 'In which case stop using the title to sell books' and one
royal insider said tartly: 'A book by Harry, as written by Meghan.'
In his latest column for MailOnline, Piers
Morgan today urged the Queen to strip Harry and Meghan of all their titles,
calling the book a betrayal too far and accusing them of turning Her Majesty's
world-famous motto of 'never complain, never explain' into 'always complain,
always explain, never stop whining'.
The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William
are said to have been completely blindsided by Harry's shock announcement that
he has been secretly working on his as yet untitled memoirs with
Pulitzer-winning ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer for a year.
Another source revealed that the announcement
had provoked 'much eye-rolling', adding: 'I think everyone is just tired of
being angry when it comes to those two. They have spent the last 18 months
doing everything they promised Her Majesty they wouldn't do – making a living
off their previous lives and status as members of the Royal Family. It's
depressingly predictable, unfortunately.'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 'truth
bombing' began in March with their extraordinary 90-minute interview with Oprah
Winfrey where they accused the Royal Family of racism towards Archie and
ignoring cries for help from a depressed Meghan when she was suicidal and
pregnant.
In the chaotic aftermath of the show, watched
by almost 100million people worldwide, the couple claimed this would be their
'final word' on Megxit, only to continue talking about it in more damaging
detail over the coming months.
And now the royals will be dreading the
release of the book next year, which experts predict will be 'more 'poor me'
introspection and more excuses to justify his decision to quit royal life' and
'the last thing the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William will want to
hear'.
Royal author Phil Dampier wrote in the Express
today: 'They will be in despair that Harry - doubtless prompted by Meghan -
just won't leave it alone for a while.
It is obvious that when Harry came over for the unveiling of Diana's
statue earlier this month, no meaningful progress was made in his relationship
with his father or brother. If he respected their opinion, he wouldn't do this
book because they wouldn't approve of it.
'Harry wants to present himself as a mature
family man who has learnt from his mistakes and become a wise old sage. But I
fear many other people will see this as yet another moneymaking exercise at the
expense of his blood family'.
Harry's
biographer Angela Levin said: 'I feel he risks looking like a traitor to the
Royal Family. I don't believe it's going to be all honey and sweetness, I think
he's going to smash again. I don't know why, does he want to destroy his
family? Does he feel so revengeful that he has to take yet another knock after
Oprah and after Finding Freedom.
'I don't quite get it, why he doesn't want to
move on, enjoy his life, he's making pots of money. He's in love with his wife,
he's got two children, a girl and a boy. But why is he so negative about his
past, he can't leave it alone. It's like a cat or dog, tearing at something to
destroy it.'(…)
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