Harry & Meghan 14: The Reverse Harry - Restoring the Angevin Empire

[TN-peach]

The Daily Mail has an article about Ajay the tailor and he is interviewed saying that all 6 bridesmaids dresses had to be fixed and that he and his staff were up for three nights fixing the dresses. He also said he knows nothing about any fights and gives no information on that just wishes that his role in the wedding had remained more silent. 

[Jackie3]

33 minutes ago, SoSoNosy said:

I am assuming the lip balm story was in the documentary?  I've read along and am thinking I might have to watch it.

No, it's not in the documentary. It's barely in the book--only 9 sentences. There are more sentences than that written about it here.

Quote

Meg asked to borrow Kate's lip gloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help. Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should have been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark.

If Kate didn't want to share, why not laugh and say, "Yuck, no way! Let me send my staffer for some for you." And turned it something into they could laugh about ("You wouldn't believe what Meg wanted to borrow. . . ") soon after.

Kate doesn't really know how to treat family in a loving way. It's odd, because she's said to come from a supportive family. But if your new SIL is worried about lip gloss, lend her a hand!

[adidas]

Australian bookstores opened early to deal with the expected rush of the book release this morning … and they’re empty 🤣 nobody is buying it!

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/bookstores-empty-on-morning-of-prince-harry-memoir-release/news-story/741592e460f9529d0a843567fa4b2590

Edited January 11, 2023 by adidas
Typos

[samurai_sarah]

1 hour ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

I’m reading the book - which honestly is delightful - and I would guess that “one of those cocktail-slurping, eyeroll-causing sloths everyone avoided at family gatherings” is likely a dig at Andrew (except that he doesn’t drink).

I've only seen a few quotes, but apparently Princess Margaret could make houseplants wilt with a scowl. If I had that power, I'd never have to admit to accidentally killing a houseplant again. Oh no, the ruddy thing offended me, so I gave it a sharp look!

[Jackie3]

2 hours ago, adidas said:

Australian bookstores opened early to deal with the expected rush of the book release this morning … and they’re empty 🤣 nobody is buying it!

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/bookstores-empty-on-morning-of-prince-harry-memoir-release/news-story/741592e460f9529d0a843567fa4b2590

Sorry to disappoint, but they are buying their books online or on Kindle or on Audible. Take a look, it's #1!

On Audible too!

 

 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

I can’t believe he actually put this into a book: “What was the universe out to prove by taking my penis at the same moment it took my brother?”

[TeaGrannie]

I am dead….I cannot stop laughing. What a dramatic statement.

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

I think I need to read it now. The British reviews are hilarious 

[Loveday]

23 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

I can’t believe he actually put this into a book: “What was the universe out to prove by taking my penis at the same moment it took my brother?”

I'm at a complete loss of words for this, but I just wanted to quote it because it needs to be here more than once! 

[apandaaries]

I can’t wait for the academic crowd to count out how many times he refers to his penis (or any penis, really, since he also discusses W’s), and what percentage of the book that entails. 😂 

What else could he have titled the book? The Adventures of Aristocratic Weenies? Harry and the Two Willies — Sagas About My Brother and My Todger? Royal Peens: the Junk We Carry? 
WTAF? Imagine the poor editors! 

Edited January 11, 2023 by apandaaries

[Jackie3]

9 hours ago, WatchingTheTireFireBurn said:

I think I need to read it now. The British reviews are hilarious 

Harry has a great sense of humor.

 

8 hours ago, apandaaries said:

I can’t wait for the academic crowd to count out how many times he refers to his penis (or any penis, really, since he also discusses W’s), and what percentage of the book that entails. 😂 

What else could he have titled the book? The Adventures of Aristocratic Weenies? Harry and the Two Willies — Sagas About My Brother and My Todger? Royal Peens: the Junk We Carry? 
WTAF? Imagine the poor editors! 

You don't need an "academic crowd." I ran some simple searches. Fourteen times. 

I guess it's funny if you are in middle school, I don't really get why the word "penis" is so hysterical to an adult.

[prayawaythefundie]

2 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

I can’t believe he actually put this into a book: “What was the universe out to prove by taking my penis at the same moment it took my brother?”

I thought the universe almost took his penis on his trip to the north pole and it took William on his wedding day? Can you please explain? Am I getting the penises confused?

Edited January 11, 2023 by prayawaythefundie

[just_ordinary]

I get H idea of saying- my family deliberately trashed me in the press anonymously, cowardly hiding behind “sources”, I give them a taste of their own medicine but bravely under my own name. It’s classic retaliation. Thing is, he went way way to far. And I think he is flip flopping between realising this, hence gaslighting everyone else about not having ever insinuated racism in the family (wonder what he thought the award for his fight against racism in the royal family was for) but also being so desperate for a reaction he just can’t stop. 
Apart from a few erratic fans, no one ever thought they are a happy family, full of lovely and wholesome characters. But he managed it that people picked sides and with his hysteria and constant complaining lost at least the UK. I kind of hopes he gets to keep the US sympathies because he has to live there. 
And while I think he clearly has big mental health struggles, I wonder why he admitted to still use drugs after Archie was born. He could checked himself into rehab and do some serious therapy the second they left the BRF. It’s not as if you can overcome decades (almost 20 years) of drugs just by love. Drugs might be a short term helper but over time only worsen the conditions. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is lots of damage that is still playing out. 
Lots of things are just weird. The penises. Bad auntie gifting a biro (well I guess he wished he had held in higher regard after he decided to write M a letter and didn’t have one…..). The leopard. His complete infatuation with her- which on the one hand is sweet but no one is that angelic. Not his mother. Not Meghan. That’s a lot of pressure to put on someone and a relationship. There are tons of things people will raise their eyebrows at or ridicule. He really should have put the draft in his drawer, waited 5 years and look at it with a bit of distance.

I think H believes he levelled the playing field but forgets that he can’t force the others to play. If they keep on ignoring him he has truly lost his cause. 
The whole book reads like fanfic to be honest. Written by a teenager trying to sound like the adults in a romantic movie. The idea of show don’t tell seems to be completely ignored. It’s an entertaining read though. My guess - lots of people will buy and read it but never admit it. 

[adidas]

Oh gosh, my sanity can’t hear anything else about his frostbitten, snipped ween. Why is he so obsessed?

Anyway.

Look at how he and Meghan treated her father after he leaked ‘private correspondence’. And now they’ve done the same thing with the texts. 

Surely this whole thing is an enormous joke because it can’t be serious. 

[klein_roeschen]

2 hours ago, adidas said:

Oh gosh, my sanity can’t hear anything else about his frostbitten, snipped ween. Why is he so obsessed?

Anyway.

Look at how he and Meghan treated her father after he leaked ‘private correspondence’. And now they’ve done the same thing with the texts. 

Surely this whole thing is an enormous joke because it can’t be serious. 

I find it really strange how Harry on the one hand claims he wants to bring change but on the other hand shares stories* about his penis getting frostbite and his first sexual encounter. How can these two things fit together?

*congrats Harry, I know less about the backstories of the penisses of my ex boyfriends than I know now about yours.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

8 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

I thought the universe almost took his penis on his trip to the north pole and it took William on his wedding day? Can you please explain? Am I getting the penises confused?

The North Pole trip was right before the wedding (in fact, Harry had to leave early). His dick still hurt and he hadn’t been to the doctor yet. The full passage about the wedding in Westminster Abbey - which of course represents Diana’s funeral for Harry - is actually thoughtful and sad.

[TN-peach]

Apparently, there was no one to fact check the book either.  So far people have found these discrepancies:

 

In the book, Harry says he was at Eton and it was a bright sunny day when he found out about Queen Mother's Death.  Reality - In Switzerland skiing with Charles and William.

In the book, he claims that he received an X box for a present after his mother died.  In reality, the X box wasn't released until 4-5 years later.

He also claimed to feel sorry for one of the earlier King Henry's who was his multiple-great grandfather yet actually that Henry's line died out. 

 

These details like the tailor confirming that all 6 bridesmaids dresses had to be remade because they were too big are really beginning to show that Henry may not be a reliable narrator.  If he can't get these easily checked details right, then how can he get the other details right?!

[Alisamer]

Lord. I haven't gotten to that part yet. I'm reading a (borrowed) copy. So far what I'm getting is that Harry needed deep therapy almost from birth, especially so after the divorce, he had a breakdown essentially after Diana died, and still seems to have a rather shaky grasp on reality. All made worse (and some caused, TBF) by the fact he's a royal, but you get the hand you're dealt. So far he seems to be trying to make William out as a bad guy, but it seems to me that William was more just an older brother with a personality different enough he doesn't GET Harry, who is pretty confused about what exactly Harry wants or needs from him. Maybe it changes later in the book, but so far there seems to be a lot of Harry wanting people to be what he needs without saying anything to them about it. Understandable, as a teen. As an adult? A bit less so. He's also, in the first tenth of the book, made a minimum of 3 accusations of people leaking info to the press. Including Camilla and his schoolmates. 

I agree he should have written this all out, gone through it in depth with his therapist, and then sat on it for a couple years before deciding whether he wanted it all public or not. Maybe sharing it or portions of it with his dad and brother if he felt the need. Like, I feel for his struggles. He was born into a difficult situation that just continued to get more complicated and difficult. He should feel free to share his story. But if he was mentally healthy most of this is stuff he'd be working through, not monetizing. At least not until he had a little more perspective on it, I think. He really does seem to have had the reaction of sort of "freezing" emotional development at the time of a severe trauma, which explains a lot about why so much of this comes off like a pre-teen writing fanfic.

20 minutes ago, TN-peach said:

These details like the tailor confirming that all 6 bridesmaids dresses had to be remade because they were too big are really beginning to show that Henry may not be a reliable narrator.  If he can't get these easily checked details right, then how can he get the other details right?!

He does somewhat early on admit that his memory is fuzzy on lots of things. I'll give him a little bit due to living through trauma and also using way too much weed from a young age, apparently. I do think it would have benefited from having editor's notes clarifying the easily verifiable things that are blatantly wrong. 

He's 100% not a reliable narrator, though. His grasp on reality is a bit shaky and his memory seems fuzzy too somewhat. 

And on the king Henry thing? He says he was so bad at English history and cared so little about it one of his teachers gave him a ruler with all the names of the English monarchs on it to keep as a cheat sheet. 

[Coconut Flan]

Another article pointing out some errors and more problems:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/spare-is-a-royal-riot-but-what-does-prince-harry-really-want

I found the different sized halves of a room interesting.  The ghost writer should have caught that one.  They aren't halves if they aren't the same size.  Words do really have meanings.  

The other one I noted was the complaint about Nott Cott all while Frogmore Cottage was being redone.  

[noseybutt]

17 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

Another article pointing out some errors and more problems:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/spare-is-a-royal-riot-but-what-does-prince-harry-really-want

I found the different sized halves of a room interesting.  The ghost writer should have caught that one.  They aren't halves if they aren't the same size.  Words do really have meanings.  

The other one I noted was the complaint about Nott Cott all while Frogmore Cottage was being redone.  

Th at article kind of makes me want to read the book because it sounds like that ghost writer wrote brilliantly—if it were in a different genre. 

[Manda]

Fox News does not spare them either:

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/prince-harrys-spare-fallout-meghan-markle-great-actress-royal-insider

Quote

 

It's said that Harry, after having a fight with his brother Prince William in Nottingham Cottage – and this is an important detail as it fills words and pages up – ran not to his family or indeed his wife, but to his therapist, who he claimed helped him, yet at the same time failed to help his wife who had suicidal thoughts and received no help.

Remember well, that is the problem. Full of inconsistencies and one-sided stories, and so like all dish-and-tell books that fail to rise, this one will be the biggest turkey in many years that Penguin has been left with. 

 

 

[noseybutt]

2 minutes ago, Manda said:

Fox News does not spare them either:

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/prince-harrys-spare-fallout-meghan-markle-great-actress-royal-insider

 

Fox has never been a fan of H&M. No surprise there.

[samurai_sarah]

As her late Majesty said "recollections may vary". But it doesn't speak to the quality of the fact-checkers that they let easily verifiable things slide.

[Antimony]

2 minutes ago, samurai_sarah said:

As her late Majesty said "recollections may vary". But it doesn't speak to the quality of the fact-checkers that they let easily verifiable things slide.

I'm likely not going to read it, but just as a point of publishing as a marketplace, memoirs are almost never really fact-checked. Likely because it often doesn't matter, or the person writing the memoir is not widely notable enough to be fact-checkable (you'd be hardpressed to go back and fact-check everything about Barbara Robinette Moss's or Jeannette Walls's memoirs). The labor required would be an worthy of an investigative journalism memoir in of itself.

But the fact that is almost never done is how we got the A Million Little Pieces scandal. 

A shockingly large amount of content in non-fiction is not fact-checked and it's a little terrifying. It really comes down, almost entirely (Penguin Random House and there is a ghostwriter invovled, so there is likely a lot more back-and-forth) on how much the author wants their work factchecked. The cost of doing so usually comes out of the author's cut of profits, not the publishers, and while that doesn't matter for Harry, it would probably be a very strange experience to have to hire a stranger to fact-check your own memoir. The whole industry relies on the idea that it us to the reader to decide if an author is credible or not, and that's obviously one thing with a memoir (plenty of people have their opinions here already) but it's a real nightmare issue for like...health and diet books, pop-history, etc.

 

[noseybutt]

1 minute ago, Antimony said:

I'm likely not going to read it, but just as a point of publishing as a marketplace, memoirs are almost never really fact-checked. Likely because it often doesn't matter, or the person writing the memoir is not widely notable enough to be fact-checkable (you'd be hardpressed to go back and fact-check everything about Barbara Robinette Moss's or Jeannette Walls's memoirs). The labor required would be an worthy of an investigative journalism memoir in of itself.

But the fact that is almost never done is how we got the A Million Little Pieces scandal. 

A shockingly large amount of content in non-fiction is not fact-checked and it's a little terrifying. It really comes down, almost entirely (Penguin Random House and there is a ghostwriter invovled, so there is likely a lot more back-and-forth) on how much the author wants their work factchecked. The cost of doing so usually comes out of the author's cut of profits, not the publishers, and while that doesn't matter for Harry, it would probably be a very strange experience to have to hire a stranger to fact-check your own memoir. The whole industry relies on the idea that it us to the reader to decide if an author is credible or not, and that's obviously one thing with a memoir (plenty of people have their opinions here already) but it's a real nightmare issue for like...health and diet books, pop-history, etc.

 

I wish they would have a category for memoir that was separate from autobiography. Memoir being “my life as experienced through my current emotional state” and “my personal truth” and clearly not fact checked.

It is why in legal world therapists do not do the psychological evaluations for the court. It is assumed that someone treating in a therapy role is not fact checking, and there are good reasons for that.

Both genres have a place. But better not to confuse the two.