Yes I read about this woman and I do feel a bit sorry for her in a strange way. Chances are, she had no idea what her DH was up to financially. Those men are very deceptive and there is a reason they get away with it. There are many people who will spend that kind of money in a ten year period -eg in shares, property investments, art, collectors of whatever - the main thing that’s weird here is that she spent it all in one shop!
On the subject of Harrods, yes it’s all’s bit glitz and hard work - however... if you are going to buy some jewellery (as this woman has done) it definitely makes sense to buy in say, the Harrods Cartier or Boodles or whatever, as opposed to the same shop down the road. The price is the same, but you get the Harrods points which really add up. The Reward scheme there makes it well worth you making any larger purchases in store, as opposed to the same shop outside. If you spend day, £15,000, you would get about £700 back in points to spend in store. I think this woman probably got carried away with her Harrods card and that store would offer all sorts of benefits to that kind of customer - I can only imagine!
I live near Harrods, but most people just use it as a cut-through, rather than shop there. Where it gets extortionate is the food. DS was going on a French exchange and thought he’d take some tea as a gift for the host family. There were various tins, he picked up 3 - two were about £10 each, but then the third, which appeared exactly the same, just a different flavour, was £50! So they sneak these things in, hoping people don’t notice. Loads of tourists daily. There is a Quatari cafe in there where you get I think 5 mini mini cakes (think a single macaron) and a few egg cup sized teacups of coffee for £50! Who can be bothered?
Anyway, I hope this woman doesn’t end up in prison as a scapegoat because there will be far worse than her and chances are she had no idea what her husband was doing and I doubt he would have listened to her advice anyway. Those men never do.