Page 3 | Inconsistencies in Spare over hearing about Queen Mother's death

Ridemeginger · 2023-01-10T14:52:49+00:00

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. [[http://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?

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 16:05

One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected

Talking through his arse. I was a child at the time but they were regarded as an impossibly glamorous and sexy couple while the queen and PP looked dowdy and dull by comparison. A lot of people were delighted she seemed to have found love again after the Townsend affair. He makes it sound like an elopement to Gretna instead of a full Abbey do. Look at the pics, she was glowing that day.

Said it before, said it again. Despicable little shit, censoriously picking apart the marriage of a woman who can't answer back and who was his GM's beloved sister, whatever her faults.

gogohmm · 10/01/2023 16:06

He could have taken the call on a landline where they were staying, mobile phones weren't as commonly used. His father could have been elsewhere at the time or literally in the bathroom!

JudgeJ · 10/01/2023 16:06

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 15:11

Well there's 2 issues.

Was he at Eton and called by a courtier? Not if the BBC report is correct.
Was he the person that took the call from London telling the Swiss party that the QM was dead? Is that likely? Isn't it more likely that an aide took it, or Prince Charles, and therefore Harry found out personally from an aide or his father. I find it hard to believe Buckingham Palace would have told an 18 year old to tell his dad and brother that Granny' dead.

It was certainly during the school holidays because we were away in Egypt!

growinggreyer · 10/01/2023 16:09

gogohmm · 10/01/2023 16:06

He could have taken the call on a landline where they were staying, mobile phones weren't as commonly used. His father could have been elsewhere at the time or literally in the bathroom!

Do you think the Palace would have forgotten their ideas about protocol on the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother? 'Oh, he's on the bog? can you tell your Dad his Nana has passed, ta.'

SantaCarlaCalifornia · 10/01/2023 16:09

H2bow · 10/01/2023 15:51

He also says him, Meghan and Archie were back home within 2 hours of him being born. He also says she has an epidural (dubious as he also says she gave birth in the water which wouldn't be possible but anyway). Considering the drive from the hospital to their home was at least 40 mins, no way she was discharged an hour and 20 minutes afterwards. Yes people can self discharge, but its so wildly unlikely unless the epidural wore off super speedily.

I had similar thoughts about the pool and epidural but assumed maybe rich people just get what they want.
I very much doubt they'd have been home within 2 hours though so it looks like yet another embellishment.

diddl · 10/01/2023 16:10

Great loves thwarted by the Palace.

Good grief!

Exuberant streaks of self-destruction splashed across the tabloids.

Could be referring to himself!

Original poster

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 16:11

gogohmm · 10/01/2023 16:06

He could have taken the call on a landline where they were staying, mobile phones weren't as commonly used. His father could have been elsewhere at the time or literally in the bathroom!

But would a palace courtier- if indeed it was a courtier rather than a member of the family breaking the news - have told the 18 year old Harry, rather than saying, can I speak to your dad/can I speak to your brother/ please ask them to call back urgently? Rather than telling a boy and leaving it for him to tell the Prince of Wales. It just doesn't ring true.

OP posts:

H2bow · 10/01/2023 16:12

SantaCarlaCalifornia · 10/01/2023 16:09

I had similar thoughts about the pool and epidural but assumed maybe rich people just get what they want.
I very much doubt they'd have been home within 2 hours though so it looks like yet another embellishment.

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I considered that but you'd hope due to the risk of infection in the line and the fact she wouldn't be mobile at all that they wouldn't allow it. Probably if he hadn't inhaled all of the gas and air she could have hah.

Original poster

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 16:13

They would also have had personal assistants with them - messages of this magnitude more likely to be passed on through them than direct to an 18 year old.

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LesLavandes · 10/01/2023 16:13

Easy to check school term dates from the past. It will show if school was open or closed!

BethJ62 · 10/01/2023 16:13

Youwhatnowbiggles · 10/01/2023 15:44

Is the ghostwriter not also starting to look like a complete twerp here….. surely he should also have been looking for corroboration of what he was being spun?

I loved his book about Agassi . Hard to believe it’s the same author.

Beees · 10/01/2023 16:13

And the more inconsistencies there are in the book the more you cannot trust anything he says in it.

This is so true. How can anyone say they believe a word he's written or any of what he has said in the interviews when there are so many examples of outright lies.

I mean some of the stuff he's lied about is so inconsequential you have to wonder why he bothered to lie at all. In my honest opinion he's clearly a compulsive liar who cannot remember which bits are real and which he's made up.

IcedPurple · 10/01/2023 16:14

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 16:05

One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected

Talking through his arse. I was a child at the time but they were regarded as an impossibly glamorous and sexy couple while the queen and PP looked dowdy and dull by comparison. A lot of people were delighted she seemed to have found love again after the Townsend affair. He makes it sound like an elopement to Gretna instead of a full Abbey do. Look at the pics, she was glowing that day.

Said it before, said it again. Despicable little shit, censoriously picking apart the marriage of a woman who can't answer back and who was his GM's beloved sister, whatever her faults.

Yes, horrible little brat. What is to be gained from writing shit like this?

Also getting a dig in with his inaccurate "Great loves thwarted by the Palace." I'm not sure a crush on a much older man who ended up marrying a teenager is a 'great love', and i any case, the queen actually tried very hard to find a solution for Margaret to marry Townsend. In the end it was agreed that she could marry him and keep all her privileges other than her place in the LoS, but given that the queen already had 2 healthy children, that was no great sacrifice. But Margaret had already fallen out of love with Townsend. So no 'great love' was 'thwarted'.

Harry's nonsense about 'the palace' as this great impersonal force ruining everyone's lives is so childish and stupid. Rather like the 'man' himself.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 16:14

growinggreyer · 10/01/2023 16:09

Do you think the Palace would have forgotten their ideas about protocol on the death of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother? 'Oh, he's on the bog? can you tell your Dad his Nana has passed, ta.'

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'Oh hi, Haz. Palace here. QM has just carked it, can you tell your dad? ta ever so. Skiing good, is it? bit of a bummer you have to come home. Yeah, I know. Still, she was the last Empress of India so we need to put on a bit of a show.'

No, not seeing it, somehow.

IcedPurple · 10/01/2023 16:15

BethJ62 · 10/01/2023 16:13

I loved his book about Agassi . Hard to believe it’s the same author.

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I guess an author can only work with the material he's given.

Agassi is intelligent, self aware and has lived in the real world.

See the difference?

BethJ62 · 10/01/2023 16:16

H2bow · 10/01/2023 15:51

He also says him, Meghan and Archie were back home within 2 hours of him being born. He also says she has an epidural (dubious as he also says she gave birth in the water which wouldn't be possible but anyway). Considering the drive from the hospital to their home was at least 40 mins, no way she was discharged an hour and 20 minutes afterwards. Yes people can self discharge, but its so wildly unlikely unless the epidural wore off super speedily.

Apparently Meghan ate fajitas during her labour . It’s a long time since I had my DC but I know that my DDs weren’t given food when they were in labour . Is that normal nowadays ?

Original poster

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 16:16

SantaCarlaCalifornia · 10/01/2023 16:09

I had similar thoughts about the pool and epidural but assumed maybe rich people just get what they want.
I very much doubt they'd have been home within 2 hours though so it looks like yet another embellishment.

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Wouldn't there be a high likelihood of a catheter as well? Not likely to have one of those in a water birth.

Maybe the water at the birth, was a big jug of water Meghan had to throw at Harry to sober him up after inhaling all the gaps and air.

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growinggreyer · 10/01/2023 16:16

@MrsDanversGlidesAgain Yes, that is the sort of informal style that Hazza likes.

Zosime · 10/01/2023 16:17

It was certainly during the school holidays....

surely Easter always is in the school holidays, unless it's exceptionally early or exceptionally late, which it wasn't that year.

On Margaret and Peter Townsend, imagine the thread on Mumsnet:

I am 23 years old. I've fallen in love with a divorced man sixteen years older than me who has two children. We want to get married, but my mother and sister aren't happy about it. Are they BU?

goldierocks · 10/01/2023 16:18

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 15:45

But those are articles in the British press, so obviously not true, and anyway probably someone at BP was briefing them that PH was away skiing to discredit him and make out he was on holiday enjoying himself when really he was slogging away at his studies.

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I'm not sure if this is a serious/tongue-in-cheek comment??!!

There was a 'photocall' on 29th March 2002 at Klosters. Charles, William and Harry were all pictured together. These photos are on the Getty Images and Shutterstock websites.

Do some posters genuinely believe that Harry was back at Eton the next day (Easter Saturday) and took the call from a courtier?

Beees · 10/01/2023 16:18

I'm not sure if this is a serious/tongue-in-cheek comment??!!

It was obviously tongue in cheek.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 16:18

the queen actually tried very hard to find a solution for Margaret to marry Townsend

According to Robert Lacey in 'Majesty' (granted it was written several decades ago so there may be new info) HM was personally very sympathetic but constrained by being Supreme head of the CoE and the church's attitude at the time to the remarriage of divorced people, even the innocent parties.

Sarahconnor1 · 10/01/2023 16:19

He also claimed that he got an xbox for his 13th birthday, 5 years before it was actually released.

Interestingly he does concede he isn't sure how correct that memory is. Probably the most insightful Harry has been for years

Blossomtoes · 10/01/2023 16:19

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 10/01/2023 16:00

If they had fact checked this the finished product would be the size and length of one of those brochures that gets pushed through your letterbox.

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😂

figmaofmyimagination · 10/01/2023 16:20

Ridemeginger · 10/01/2023 15:48

Harry on Margaret:

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote that she was “almost a total stranger” to him - adding: “I was conversant with the general contours of her sad life. Great loves thwarted by the Palace. Exuberant streaks of self-destruction splashed across the tabloids. One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected.

He went on: “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness. She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance.”

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote that she was “almost a total stranger” to him - adding: “I was conversant with the general contours of her sad life. Great loves thwarted by the Palace. Exuberant streaks of self-destruction splashed across the tabloids. One hasty marriage, which looked doomed at the outset and ended up being even worse than expected.

He went on: “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness. She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance.”

www.ok.co.uk/royal/harry-slams-princess-margaret-i-28917482

Gosh. That’s very close to how we’re all starting to feel about him.