Why Harry’s book is a Howler
Spare, the second-fastest-selling book to Harry Potter, is full of fury, like Hogwarts’ red letters
Prince Harry’s anger at his family is so severe, Spare reads like a Howler from Harry Potter – you know, when Ron opens one of the furious missives from his mum at Hogwarts, which gives him an earful, before bursting into flames. “I am absolutely disgusted. Your father’s facing an inquiry at work, it’s entirely your fault,” it bellows. Spare is certainly a spell-binding read, even if the Windsors must be wishing Dumbledore could magic it away.
After all the hype, we’ve read the book here at The Royal List and Kerry wrote an opinion piece on it for The Sunday Telegraph. Here are some of her thoughts:
You can’t fail to have sympathy for Harry - his pain from the loss of his mother screams from every page. But so does his fury and those are the passages which make you wince when you read it - the alleged relentless nastiness of “Willy”; the reported calculating cruelty of Camilla leaking stories; the coldness of Charles, who he says, couldn’t even cuddle him whilst informing him Diana had died; the stand-offishness of Catherine who was upset Meghan mentioned her hormones.
Anyone who thought Harry had nothing left to say after his documentaries, couldn’t have been more wrong: turns out he had all of it left to say. Every minute detail of royal life, including a lot of private conversations - Charles asking Harry and William not to make his “final years a misery” in a “raspy, fragile… old” voice, texts between Catherine and Meghan, surprising detail about his penis. No member of the Royal Family has ever been so frank about what goes on behind the Palace walls.
Meanwhile, if silence is golden, Buckingham Palace’s is platinum. “What they have to say to me and what I have to say to them will be in private, and I hope it can stay that way,” Harry said with no trace of irony, in an interview with Tom Bradby. This, despite having so successfully exploded the royal mantra “Never Complain, Never Explain”, Guy Fawkes must be applauding from his grave.
Whether his family has spoken to him in private, is not known, but they weren’t giving anything away as the King and Prince and Princess of Wales got back to public duties on Thursday. Silence keeps all the power on your side and ends up fairly tormenting the accuser, who has sleepless nights wondering what you think. It must be absolutely infuriating Harry.
“Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn,” said George Bernard Shaw, which, like Harry, Kerry found on BrainyQuote.com. The only sound coming from Buckingham Palace is that of Camilla manning the shredder processing his coronation invite.
Royals get back to business
The Prince and Princess of Wales were all smiles as they were greeted by cheering staff and patients at the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Thursday. According to the Telegraph, Sylvia Staniford, an 81-year-old patient, held William’s hand and said: “Keep going, keep going. Scousers love you.” William reportedly replied: “Yes, I will.”
Looking relaxed, the couple posed for selfies with staff, stroked a therapy dog called Rosie and thanked healthcare workers for the “fantastic” jobs they were performing. They finished their day on Merseyside with a visit to the Open Door charity, which supports young people with their mental health.
Likewise on the same day in Scotland, Charles was looking very happy wearing a hunting Stewart tartan kilt, as he visited the Aboyne and Mid-Deeside Community Shed, which boasts a workshop and community space. During the tour, the King, a big advocate of craft skills, joined a wood and stone carving group.
Charles is also busy this month working on plans for not one, but two State visits to Germany and France at the end of March. Well, looks like there’s at least one Entente Cordiale on the horizon.
Diana’s favourite perfume
One poignant passage in Spare, was where Harry talks about smelling his mother’s favourite perfume in therapy.
Diana loved the floral fragrance First, by jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels, and he says he used a bottle to help him process her death, as a child. “I read somewhere that smell is our oldest sense, and that fitted with what I experienced in that moment, images rising from what felt like the most primal part of my brain,” he wrote. First Eau de Toilette is £65 from Fenwick’s.
Diana loved the traditional scent, along with other fragrances including Houbigant’s Quelques Fleurs, which she wore on her wedding day. Quelques Fleurs l’Original Eau de Parfum, 30ml, is £60 at Liberty. She also liked Penhaligon’s Bluebell. You can find a 100ml eau de toilette, £120, at Penhaligon’s.
Happy birthday girls!
Two of our favourite royal females are celebrating this week. First up, Mia Tindall is blowing out nine candles on her birthday cake this Tuesday January 17. The eldest child of Zara and Mike, last seen with the rest of Royal Family at Sandringham this Christmas, will be partying with her younger siblings, Lena, 4, and Lucas, 1.
Meanwhile, Sophie, Countess of Wessex will definitely be thinking “TGIF” this Friday, because it’s her 58th birthday on January 20. The Wessexes live at Bagshot Park in Surrey, only 11 miles from Windsor, so maybe William and Catherine will be joining them for a slice of party cake. They may even raise a toast to King George V, whose controversial death at Sandringham happened just before midnight on Jan 20 in 1935.
The Tindalls dandy time Down Under
If you live in the UK, like we do here at The Royal List, you’re probably singing the Eurythmics Here Comes The Rain Again on a loop. Which is why we’re currently living vicariously through Zara and Mike Tindall’s working holiday pics from Australia. From polo playing with Harry’s pal Nacho Figueras to goofing about at horse races, this couple is our ray of sunshine!