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The royal family
Original poster

Inconsistencies in Spare over hearing about Queen Mother's death

683 replies

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 14:52

Harry writes that he found out about the Queen Mother's passing away (in March 2002):

"At Eton, while studying, I took the call. I wish I could remember whose voice was on the other end. A courtiers I believe. I recall that is was just before Easter, the weather bright and warm, light slanting through my window, filled with vivid colours. "Your Royal Highness. The Queen Mother has died." "

News reports at the time reported he was skiing in Switzerland with Charles and William. The Queen Mother died on 30 March 2002. Easter Saturday. He wouldn't have been at school.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/622457.stm

Recollections may vary, indeed! I doubt very much Harry would have taken the call if he's been with his father.

Didn't the editors do any fact checking?

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WhereYouLeftIt · 10/01/2023 23:03

JemimaTiggywinkles · 10/01/2023 19:15

Of course, SirChenjins. Some disreputable scientists do write books, often found under the rather contradictory heading “popular science” in high street bookshops. They too often fail in the basic duty of being accurate in what is written.

In all seriousness, I do find it strange that it wasn’t checked for things like this. Or maybe it was and this one slipped through the net.

So let me get this straight - if a scientist writes a book that is readable and therefore sells well - they are "disreputable"?

Showing your colours there Jemima. I shall henceforth ignore anything you say, until it is peer reviewed.

LittleBearPad · 10/01/2023 23:07

WhereYouLeftIt · 10/01/2023 23:03

So let me get this straight - if a scientist writes a book that is readable and therefore sells well - they are "disreputable"?

Showing your colours there Jemima. I shall henceforth ignore anything you say, until it is peer reviewed.

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You missed out the key bit They too often fail in the basic duty of being accurate in what is written.

BlackFriday · 10/01/2023 23:10

The point about this invented scenario is, as with much else in the book, that it is intended to make out that Charles was a cold, distant and uncaring father, leaving the palace institution to break sad family news to a poor child locked away at a harsh boarding school.
But oh, wait! Not true.

GlorianaCervixia · 10/01/2023 23:13

I saw this in an article in The Sun today, quoting the book:

He said: “We congratulated them on the renovation without holding back the compliments while feeling embarrassed of our IKEA lamps and the second-hand sofa we'd recently bought on sale with Meg's credit card on sofa.com."

I found it hard to believe Harry was buying used furniture so I looked on sofa.com and, as expected, they don't sell second-hand sofas only new. Obviously, it's a trivial detail but why didn't the publishers fact-check this book better? It took me less than thirty seconds. It's obviously intended as a contrast with the wealth of Kensington Palace but it makes the book seem sloppy.

Blossomtoes · 10/01/2023 23:18

why didn't the publishers fact-check this book better?

More to the point, why did he tell implausible lies?

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Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:19

Could he have meant a former display sofa? Why do successful millionaires have to buy cheap sofas?

Either way, the fact checking on this book has been utterly atrocious.

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StormzyinaTCup · 10/01/2023 23:25

I'm reminded of this from Oct 22:

Sources said Netflix and the series’ filmmakers have had issues with some of the comments that Harry makes in his upcoming book being at odds with what he and his wife said on camera.

“A lot in the show contradicted what Harry has written, so that was an issue,” one industry source revealed.

colour me surprised😂😂

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

LittleBearPad · 10/01/2023 23:27

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:19

Could he have meant a former display sofa? Why do successful millionaires have to buy cheap sofas?

Either way, the fact checking on this book has been utterly atrocious.

Or one that’s been returned - they do sell those. Maybe they wanted something quickly and didn’t want to wait 12 weeks

Love my sofa.com sofas! Though they weren’t ‘second hand’ Wink

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Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:29

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

Meghan paid for it. The successful, A list actor who is wealthy in her own right.

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Original poster
Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:30

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

He was 30 in 2014. 2 years before getting together with Meghan. HE had his money when they started living together.

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BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:31

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:29

Meghan paid for it. The successful, A list actor who is wealthy in her own right.

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Fair enough. But if I married into the Royal Family I would not to be expecting to subsidise my husband.

4thtimeunlucky · 10/01/2023 23:32

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

He's been with Meghan since 2016. I'm.pretty sure he was over 30 then

Blossomtoes · 10/01/2023 23:34

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

He was 30 in 2014. They met in 2016.

BornBlonde · 10/01/2023 23:35

It's just so unbelievable about the Sofa/ikea furniture!

Boulshired · 10/01/2023 23:36

This is going to be a week of fact checking, from the Queen mother to TKMaxx it’s going to keep coming

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:36

Presumably he did not get the money at 30 then?

Blossomtoes · 10/01/2023 23:40

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:36

Presumably he did not get the money at 30 then?

Or he was too tight to spend it.

Shelefttheweb · 10/01/2023 23:45

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:26

Harry did not inherit from his mum's will until he turned 30. So until that point they were reliant on Charles or the Queen.

It is usual for things to be held in trust until the beneficiaries are old enough not to just blow it on drugs and whatever, however that doesn’t mean he didn’t have any access to the money. It would normally be made available for use under the judgement of trustees. I can’t see them saying no to a clothing budget or for reasonable priced furniture to set up a home. Though of course by the time of the Ikea trip he had access to it all.

Original poster
Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 23:47

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:31

Fair enough. But if I married into the Royal Family I would not to be expecting to subsidise my husband.

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Why not? Because you're a gold digger? I'd expect a wealthy, A list, Hollywood actress to pay her fair share into the marital purse. It's not the 1950s.

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BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:50

The inheritance is tied up except for interest and can not be released. There was an additional £100,000 that William and Harry could apply to use with agreement of Trustees. Obviously we do not know if that money had already been spent by that time.
We also do not know how much money Meghan had. She was a successful actress but not an A lister. Her savings may not have been that much.
If I married into the Royal Family I would not expect to be buying my own furniture. They are a mega rich family, furniture for a 4 bedroom cottage would not even make a tiny dint in their fortune.

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:53

@Ridemeginger That is a really unpleasant comment.
Meghan was not an A lister actress, no one has ever said that. She was an actress on a long running soap.
Being expected to subsidise a husband who is a member of a very rich family would really annoy me, that is not being a gold digger. That is more thinking wtf, most Royal Family members have major palaces and they expect me to pay for everything for me and my husband. That is mind boggling.

Original poster
Ridemeginger · 11/01/2023 00:08

BradfordGirl · 10/01/2023 23:50

The inheritance is tied up except for interest and can not be released. There was an additional £100,000 that William and Harry could apply to use with agreement of Trustees. Obviously we do not know if that money had already been spent by that time.
We also do not know how much money Meghan had. She was a successful actress but not an A lister. Her savings may not have been that much.
If I married into the Royal Family I would not expect to be buying my own furniture. They are a mega rich family, furniture for a 4 bedroom cottage would not even make a tiny dint in their fortune.

What are your sources for this statement?

Are you implying that what Harry said in the Oprah interview about Diana's money helping them escape was a lie? And this info estimating his wealth at well over £10m on his 30th Birthday and Meghans at around £5m is all guff, is it?

www.lbc.co.uk/news/explained/how-much-money-did-prince-harry-inherit-from-princess-diana/

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AnotherNewt · 11/01/2023 00:10

NewYearOldCold · 10/01/2023 18:27

That was my thought.

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Princess Margaret died on 9 February

As I noted above, 2024 has Easter on the same date as 2002

If Eton spaced its vacations at the same interval then as it does now, 9 February was the Friday they broke up for "long leave" (half term to everyone else) so someone would have been going to the school that day to pick him up

And it's only a stones throw from Windsor Castle, so not difficult for someone to go over, especially if planning to be there later in the day anyhow. Especially as the Princess had been admitted to hospital the previous day, and so it's likely they knew she was unlikely to recover from that stroke (her third?)

DerangedViper · 11/01/2023 00:13

Blossomtoes · 10/01/2023 23:18

why didn't the publishers fact-check this book better?

More to the point, why did he tell implausible lies?

Lie, or false memory?

Either way, it makes him an unreliable narrator