The reaction of the British royal family to Prince Harry’s memoir says a lot.

By Maggie On Jan 23, 2023

The reaction of the British royal family to Prince Harry’s memoir says a lot. The Duke of Sussex was a hot topic last week. The royal family will be featured this week.

Many were curious how the family would respond to being back in the spotlight after the holidays in light of the disclosures made by the troubled prince in his book, “Spare,” and in promotional media appearances.

Last week, American comedian Stephen Colbert challenged Prince Harry about this. He responded, “of course,” implying that his family and the British media are deliberately working to discredit his book. He continued, “After 38 years, they have told their tale. This is the other side of the story and may contain disturbing or frightening material to some readers.

However, things are more complex in reality. In all likelihood, several British newspapers are still publishing frequent follow-up headlines based on soundbites from analysts. Harry has claimed that a group of anonymous palace sources has been working together to disprove his complaints, but this claim has not been substantiated. And, naturally, the palace doesn’t say a word whenever the book is brought up.

As they began their official duties for the year, the Windsors were observed participating in numerous walkabouts and meetings.

Two days after “Spare” was published, King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales got things rolling. The Queen of the United Kingdom had a great time joking with the general public in Scotland at a community center designed to help people living in isolated areas.

On the same day, William and Kate visited the brand new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the mental health charity Open Door in Merseyside, northern England, and both seemed entirely at ease. Despite being asked repeatedly if they were “hurt by the statements in Harry’s book,” the couple showed no emotion when asked about their dissatisfied cousin in California.

The elder royals have been busy in the days after their visit, making appearances at schools, youth charities, and other patronages.

Since its release, the prince’s tell-all has become a runaway success, with the publisher announcing on Tuesday that it had sold over a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone. We revealed last week that SPARE was the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever on its first day of publication, and now Guinness World Records has confirmed that claim,” said Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House. It has been confirmed that its first sales week made it the best-selling memoir ever.

That had little effect on the royal family. After the book is released, they will be hyperaware of public perception. Instead of issuing announcements or postponing events to deflect attention from the soap opera, they have returned to work to regain the public’s faith.

As Harry phrased it so eloquently in his biography, “the power of our platform” is something the royal family is well aware of. They understand the importance of being in the public eye, that the impact of their greeting of the public at events they care about will be felt long after they have left, and how the royal spotlight may magnify the message and requirements of local enterprises.

Their acts this week have shown the public that they are not distracted by family strife. The spotlight has not shifted away from the British people and their difficulties as the new year begins. Another example is King Charles’s recent proposal to use some of the revenues from the Crown Estate for “the wider public good” rather than bolstering the royal coffers.

The Crown Estate on Thursday disclosed revenue from six new offshore wind energy lease agreements. An agreement signed in 1760 required the king to hand over all income from the estate to the British government in exchange for a portion known as the Sovereign Grant, which functions as the King’s budget.

According to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson, “given the offshore energy windfall, The Keeper of the Privy Purse has written to the Prime Minister and Chancellor to share The King’s wish that this windfall is directed for the wider public good, rather than to the Sovereign Grant,” by reducing the proportion of Crown Estate surplus that funds the Sovereign Grant.

The Prime Minister of India (Rishi Sunak), the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Jeremy Hunt), and the Keeper of the Privy Purse (Michael Stevens) are the royal trustees of the fund and decide on the exact amount of the award. 25% of the Crown Estate’s annual net profits go into the fund. That works up to £86.3 billion from the UK Treasury last fiscal year to pay for state visits, salaries, and maintenance at the palace.

How much money the King will provide to the government is yet to be determined. Since the award is calculated using the two fiscal years prior, the impact of the monarch’s actions will be felt in 2024-2025, which is not this year. However, at a time when families all around the country are struggling financially, this symbolic gesture will likely be very much appreciated.

King Charles demonstrated that he is aware of the ongoing cost of living problem by recognizing the difficulties people in the UK may have experienced in paying bills and “keeping their families nourished and warm” in his first Christmas broadcast.

The family has opted not to complain or offer an explanation, instead opting to focus on how they may be of service to others rather than getting into a verbal battle that would only serve to bring them down.

Table of Contents

The Press and the Prince, Hear This!

After years of tension with the British media, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have recently opted to focus their attention on the American celebrity industry instead. To understand how the duke and duchess manipulate the media to change their story, “The Assignment” host Audie Cornish talks to experts from both the traditional and social spheres this week. Mary McNamara, a culture critic for the Los Angeles Times, and Jack Royston, Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent, share their thoughts.

Just what else is going on here?

After admitting to reading the book, Prince Harry was pulled into a fight.

After alleging in his memoir that he murdered Taliban insurgents during his military career, the Duke of Sussex has found himself drawn into a disagreement between the UK and Iran over the execution of a British citizen. While fighting with the British Army in Afghanistan, Harry claimed in “Spare” that he murdered 25 members of the insurgent group. Some British security and military professionals have criticized what he said.

This week, Iran declared that after Harry’s confession, the UK has no right to lecture on human rights and that Britain is complicit in a “war crime.” “The British regime, whose royal family members see the slaughter of 25 innocent people as the removal of chess pieces and has no regrets over the problem, and those who turn a blind eye to this war crime, are in no position to educate others on human rights,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry tweeted on Monday.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had previously tweeted that Iran “would be called to account” for the murder of British-Iranian dual citizen Alireza Akbari, prompting the tweets. On the weekend, a state-affiliated media site reported that Tehran had hung Akbari on espionage and corruption charges.

Kim K. purchases a pendant in honor of Princess Diana.

The Skims’ creator and reality show star paid £163,800 (about $200,000) for the diamond-encrusted Attallah Cross pendant that Diana frequently wore, Princess of Wales. A representative for Kardashian outbid other bidders for the amethyst cross in the final five minutes of the Royal and Noble collection sale at Sotheby’s auction house in London on Wednesday. Auction house Sotheby’s reported that the object had sold for over twice its pre-sale estimate. According to the auction house, the pendant was crafted in 1920 by the royal jeweler Garrard. It boasted a cross of square-cut amethyst stones accented with circular-cut diamonds in a unique floral arrangement. Sotheby’s claims the late businessman Naim Attallah bought it from Garrard in the 1980s and gave it to his friend, Princess Diana, to wear on multiple occasions.

Gallery this week’s most famous images

In Northampton, England, many have criticized their city council for spending money on a painting of Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, claiming the artwork is an offensive caricature. The city government commissioned the artwork to celebrate Charles’s elevation to the throne.

Have you heard?

This week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex brushed off a new apology from TV host Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote a heavily criticized article about Meghan in Britain’s Sun tabloid last month. It doesn’t do enough for the couple to address “his long-running practice of authoring articles that disseminate hate language, dangerous conspiracy theories, and misogyny,” as their representative put it.

It is evident that this is not a single occurrence posted in haste but rather a series of articles shared in hate, the statement released on Monday added.

The Sussexes also refuted Clarkson’s allegation that he had written an apology letter to the duke and duchess of Sussex on Christmas Day. Clarkson proclaimed his loathing for the duchess in the letter and wrote about wanting to see a naked Meghan pelted with feces. It was addressed “solely to Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex,” according to the couple’s spokeswoman. Private and Confidential” was written across the envelope, the statement said.

The newspaper and Clarkson issued public apologies soon after the editorial appeared in print, and the column was later taken down online.