Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

The royal family

Queen offered Meghan a choice of tiaras

380 replies

babsanderson · 16/01/2023 13:17

Below is an extract that describes Meghan being given the tiara to wear for her wedding by the Queen. Another passage describes hoe Angela Levin would not allow Meghan to get access to the tiara before her wedding to practise it with her hairdresser.

"Next came the question of a tiara. My aunts asked if Meg would like to wear my mother’s. We were both touched. Meg then spent hours and hours with her dress designer, getting the veil to match the tiara, giving it a similar scalloped edge. Shortly before the wedding, however, Granny reached out. She offered us access to her collection of tiaras. She even invited us to Buckingham Palace to try them on. Do come over, I remember her saying.
Extraordinary morning. We walked into Granny’s private dressing room, right next to her bedroom, a space I’d never been in. Along with Granny was a jewelry expert, an eminent historian who knew the lineage of each stone in the royal collection. Also present was Granny’s dresser and confidante, Angela. Five tiaras were arrayed on a table, and Granny directed Meg to try on each one before a full-length mirror. I stood behind, watching.
One was all emeralds. One was aquamarines. Each was more dazzlingly stunning than the last. Each took my breath. I wasn’t the only one. Granny said to Meg quite tenderly: Tiaras suit you.
Meg melted. Thank you, Ma’am.
One of the five, however, stood out. Everyone agreed. It was beautiful, seemingly made for Meg. Granny said it would be placed in a safe directly and she looked forward to seeing it on Meg’s head come the Big Day. Make sure, she added, that you practice putting it on. With your hairdresser. It’s tricky and you don’t want to be doing it for the first time on the wedding day."

Spare, Harry

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
MsBucket · 17/01/2023 15:52

babsanderson · 17/01/2023 12:09

None of us know which it is. But even of someone makes an unreasonable request of me while on holiday they will get me my out of office message saying I am on annual leave, when I am back, and who to contact if it is something urgent.

@babsanderson I think I read somewhere on Mumsnet that Angela Kelly will be writing her own book so, who knows, I guess the other side of the story might be told. But I certainly wouldn’t jump to the assumption that the delays were racially motivated.

Mumsnut · 17/01/2023 16:03

I'm hoping for a book from Jessica Mulroney ...

ancientgran · 17/01/2023 16:06

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 10:50

I don't know the woman, I don't know if she is alive but if she is and she has read

You are right, you don't know the woman.
I tell you who does know her though, Harry.
He even says, he was 'being a perfect ass' and that 'she'd laugh too. This was the best part'. And also says he loved watching 'Pat bust a gut'.

Also she was not disabled, just had a dodgy back and knee (presumably with age).

This is the thing about not reading a book and listening to hateful media take things out of context.
Just like the Taliban 'boast' which was not a boast at all.
Just like the 'xbox lie'. Where the next line says exactly that this was a narrative told to him and running through his life, but he does not even remember this taking place, was it true?

Laughing at a child being naughty is not the same as reading a horrible description of yourself 25 years later. I would have thought that was obvious. Harry "knew" her when he was a child, she wasn't a friend of his, he knew her in the capacity of her job so highly unlikely he knows anything about how she would feel about his description of her. Maybe you'd love to be described as mousy, frazzled with hair falling into your tired eyes but I think most of us wouldn't be too happy.

It isn't anything like talking about what he did in the military (although I think it was stupid to put a number on how many he killed) and it certainly nothing like an xbox, the xbox doesn't have feelings and he didn't describe it in a disparaging way did he.

He refers to her back and knees, presumably there was something so obviously wrong that an insenstive 13 year old was aware of it, sounds like a disability to me.

ancientgran · 17/01/2023 16:07

I missed the hair being greasy, a description we'd all love I'm sure.

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:26

I've just read that bit in Spare. It doesn't mention that AK was on holiday? Seems like conjecture by posters here.🙄 It says that she didn't reply to their messages and was being obstructive by saying she was "too busy" until the last minute. Why was she 'too busy' to help with a ROYAL WEDDING just around the corner?

The Queen herself said to Meghan, in front of Angela, 'make sure you practise that tiara with your hairdresser', so why was Angela delaying carrying out the Queen's orders?

Eyerollcentral · 17/01/2023 16:32

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:26

I've just read that bit in Spare. It doesn't mention that AK was on holiday? Seems like conjecture by posters here.🙄 It says that she didn't reply to their messages and was being obstructive by saying she was "too busy" until the last minute. Why was she 'too busy' to help with a ROYAL WEDDING just around the corner?

The Queen herself said to Meghan, in front of Angela, 'make sure you practise that tiara with your hairdresser', so why was Angela delaying carrying out the Queen's orders?

the queen didn’t say she could take the tiara out of the palace though. That’s obviously a lot more difficult to arrange. At the end of the day AK was employed by the queen and I am sure that if she had disobeyed or delayed an order from the queen then she would have been told off about it. That doesn’t seem to have happened. Also we’ve only harry to rely on for these words and he isn’t reliable.
She was probably too busy with her own work for the queen. Don’t think she would have been sitting around twiddling her thumbs on the daily

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 16:32

Why was she 'too busy' to help with a ROYAL WEDDING just around the corner?

Because there's a protocol for asking for tiaras to be fetched out of the vault, presumably. You don't just rock up one day and say you need it pronto. Security would have to be arranged, for a start.

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:38

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 16:32

Why was she 'too busy' to help with a ROYAL WEDDING just around the corner?

Because there's a protocol for asking for tiaras to be fetched out of the vault, presumably. You don't just rock up one day and say you need it pronto. Security would have to be arranged, for a start.

Yes, and it was her job to arrange that security. She finally rocked up and handed him the tiara with a form to sign. So she clearly was supposed to do it.

Did any of you actually read the book?

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 16:45

Did any of you actually read the book?

Are you kidding? not only (judging by the bits I've seen) is the writing trite and flat, there have been enough debunkings of his 'truth' to make it a work of fiction rather than an autobiography; and there's enough good fiction around without wasting time and money on this.

Plus reading it seems to have side effects of sending some people slightly off their rockers.

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:45

Eyerollcentral · 17/01/2023 16:32

the queen didn’t say she could take the tiara out of the palace though. That’s obviously a lot more difficult to arrange. At the end of the day AK was employed by the queen and I am sure that if she had disobeyed or delayed an order from the queen then she would have been told off about it. That doesn’t seem to have happened. Also we’ve only harry to rely on for these words and he isn’t reliable.
She was probably too busy with her own work for the queen. Don’t think she would have been sitting around twiddling her thumbs on the daily

Harry is probably a whole lot more reliable than the Daily Fail, to be honest.

Even if she had other tasks, this would have been priority, surely. She was being obstructive.

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:56

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 16:45

Did any of you actually read the book?

Are you kidding? not only (judging by the bits I've seen) is the writing trite and flat, there have been enough debunkings of his 'truth' to make it a work of fiction rather than an autobiography; and there's enough good fiction around without wasting time and money on this.

Plus reading it seems to have side effects of sending some people slightly off their rockers.

So you haven't read it. And you're commenting on a book you haven't read. It's laughable how so many people comment (with some authority) on a book due to only what they've read in the tabloids!

Ohnonevermind · 17/01/2023 16:57

@Bugeyedowl

we’ll find out when the book comes out, Angela’s side of the story but I wouldn’t trust Harry as a reliable narrator of facts.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 17:03

So you haven't read it. And you're commenting on a book you haven't read

Shoot me now.

It's laughable how so many people comment (with some authority) on a book due to only what they've read in the tabloids!

Given how many memories in this book have been shown to be false or let's be kind and say 'adjusted to fit the overarching narrative,' it's laughable how many people are taking it as gospel.

StatisticallyChallenged · 17/01/2023 17:18

Harry who admits to having a dodgy memory, and has already been proven to have written demonstrably proven bs in this book. And who is trying to make him/Meghan look as good as possible. And who clearly dislikes Angela Kelly.

Yeah, not taking his version as gospel.

TrashyPanda · 17/01/2023 17:20

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 10:50

I don't know the woman, I don't know if she is alive but if she is and she has read

You are right, you don't know the woman.
I tell you who does know her though, Harry.
He even says, he was 'being a perfect ass' and that 'she'd laugh too. This was the best part'. And also says he loved watching 'Pat bust a gut'.

Also she was not disabled, just had a dodgy back and knee (presumably with age).

This is the thing about not reading a book and listening to hateful media take things out of context.
Just like the Taliban 'boast' which was not a boast at all.
Just like the 'xbox lie'. Where the next line says exactly that this was a narrative told to him and running through his life, but he does not even remember this taking place, was it true?

How do you know she wasn’t disabled?

he described her knees and spine. The latter was crooked, the former chronically stiff. Walking was hard, stairs were torture

that is an unkind description of disability.

laughing at a person with these conditions is disgusting behaviour. Diana would be ashamed.

i wonder how the Invictus Games participants feel about his attitudes?

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 17:22

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 17/01/2023 17:03

So you haven't read it. And you're commenting on a book you haven't read

Shoot me now.

It's laughable how so many people comment (with some authority) on a book due to only what they've read in the tabloids!

Given how many memories in this book have been shown to be false or let's be kind and say 'adjusted to fit the overarching narrative,' it's laughable how many people are taking it as gospel.

What's ironic is you going on about 'gospel'.

One of those 'gospels' was the xbox' he lied' story. Which he proclaims in the book, he wonders if it ever happed, as he doesn't remember it.

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 17:28

it's laughable how many people are taking it as gospel

Not taking it as 'gospel'. Just trying to discuss the actual book, you know? as opposed to loads of made up sensationalised rubbish about it.

Seems everyone on here has drunk the daily mail Kool-aid. It's pointless.

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 17:34

TrashyPanda · 17/01/2023 17:20

How do you know she wasn’t disabled?

he described her knees and spine. The latter was crooked, the former chronically stiff. Walking was hard, stairs were torture

that is an unkind description of disability.

laughing at a person with these conditions is disgusting behaviour. Diana would be ashamed.

i wonder how the Invictus Games participants feel about his attitudes?

And how do you know she was?

Nothing screams disability to me, nor is she described as such. As I said previously, she could have constantly complained about her limbs to young boys as they ran all over the place . The school surely saw her fit enough.

She was employed to look after 8-13 yr old boys and the school had no problem with it. In reading the context, Harry does not have a problem, especially now.

You guys seem to be more denigrating. tbh.

MarshaMelrose · 17/01/2023 17:41

Mumsnut · 17/01/2023 16:03

I'm hoping for a book from Jessica Mulroney ...

Is Meghan still speaking to her?

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 17:44

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 17:22

What's ironic is you going on about 'gospel'.

One of those 'gospels' was the xbox' he lied' story. Which he proclaims in the book, he wonders if it ever happed, as he doesn't remember it.

@notanotheroneagain It's such a joke - Harry didn't actually lie about the Xbox in the book! He says it's an account that he's heard many times but doesn't actually remember much of as it was his birthday a couple of weeks after Diana's funeral.

"It was an Xbox. I was pleased. I loved video games.
That's the story, anyway. It's appeared in many accounts of my life, as gospel, and I have no idea if it's true."

To beat him up about this and denounce the entire book as false is ridiculous and very unkind - the man says himself his memory isn't brilliant.

TrashyPanda · 17/01/2023 17:49

Harry is probably a whole lot more reliable than the Daily Fail, to be honest

I don’t think many people would agree with you.

Eyerollcentral · 17/01/2023 17:57

Bugeyedowl · 17/01/2023 16:45

Harry is probably a whole lot more reliable than the Daily Fail, to be honest.

Even if she had other tasks, this would have been priority, surely. She was being obstructive.

Who said anything about the Daily Mail? I don’t think Harry’s a very reliable narrator based on what I read in his book. I draw my own conclusions thanks.
I do not get how this woman has gotten away with being so obstructive yet was by all accounts the Queen’s right hand. Doesn’t make any sense that she would be.

TrashyPanda · 17/01/2023 17:58

notanotheroneagain · 17/01/2023 17:34

And how do you know she was?

Nothing screams disability to me, nor is she described as such. As I said previously, she could have constantly complained about her limbs to young boys as they ran all over the place . The school surely saw her fit enough.

She was employed to look after 8-13 yr old boys and the school had no problem with it. In reading the context, Harry does not have a problem, especially now.

You guys seem to be more denigrating. tbh.

Oh come on.

”crooked spine” isn’t a disability?

a chronic condition (Harry’s own words) is usually indicative of a disability. You don’t have a chronic condition if your knees are a just “a bit stiff”

”walking was hard, stairs were torture”. But that’s not a disability, in your eyes?

Harry was a rude, insensitive little git back then and he’s shown he is still rude and insensitive by dragging this up with no adult reflection about how awful his behaviour was, how he was bullying her and how his mother would have been so ashamed of him. No way would Diana have had any truck with this. No decent parent would.

Eyerollcentral · 17/01/2023 18:01

The bending over backwards to justify every utterance of Harry’s in this book is mind blowing. Most people accept that not every one is perfect all the time. However not when it comes to harry and Meghan. His description of the matron shows him up for who he is. No remorse, no contrition, it’s fine I was just trying to make my friends laugh. Wonder how many would accept this response if it was their mother or aunt he was mocking.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 17/01/2023 18:19

His description of the matron shows him up for who he is

Indeed

As you rightly pointed out most of us make mistakes, especially when young, but it's the re-telling with absolutely no suggestion of regret which did it

And once again it's utterly depressing - though in one or two cases all too predictable - to see posters trying to defend this appalling behaviour