Happy Birthday, Spare!

[EncantoSpice]

It’s the one year anniversary of the release of Spare, how are you all celebrating?!

In all seriousness, a year on what impact do you think the book has had on the Royal Family and the Sussexes?

In my opinion it clearly did very well commercially but in popular culture it became a bit of a joke. In terms of the RF I’m not sure it made much difference - to people who already didn’t like them it confirmed what they already believed, to people who did like them it was more evidence that Harry was no loss. I also think even a year later it has made reconciliation between William and Harry impossible.

It's been a year since Spare which came after Oprah and Netflix.

I don't follow his every move but I know he attended the coronation but kept as low profile as he could unlike Andrew. He attended WellChild which went well, attended Invictus which was a huge success. He then came over to attend court. When has he continually attacked his family during this time!. This thread wasn't started by Prince Harry. Maybe it's some of the posters here can't move on as they still go on about Meghan and the wedding.

Why would people buy a book that throws dirt at The Royals? It wasn't really salacious though.

Taking on the press is very brave. You're taking on very rich and corrupt people. He has actually won against the Mirror. He may lose his other two cases as I'm sure the people will play all the dirty tricks in the book. It isn't just Harry involved though so it will be sad.

Do those people get offered vast amounts of money to air their dirty laundry.

His wife and son received racial abuse and death threats so that probably to his disenchantment.

Not everyone is for sale…

I’m glad to see the admission that Harry has gone off the rails.

Also, very happy to see the veil of faux naivety has been dropped this morning.

This is a nasty comment @Rockybooboo

In a way I think being the "spare" could have been great fun - you get all the fun stuff ( money, travel, lifestyle etc ) without too much of a commitment. I suppose though if you are still held to the standards of the RF though eg Margaret and her associations with men who were considered "unsuitable" then no you are having your life affected as it were. It all depends I guess on how much the family means to you in greater terms.
Harry now has the life he wanted so he needs to enjoy it.

Quite @Notmyhair

We're all for sale. How many of us work for love? I don't. I do it for the cash. Do it to support my family. Harry has kids. His dad and brother get paid for very little and the greedy buggers avoid paying inheritance tax.

Nothing nast about it. Maireas said they had a similar life experience to Harry as a less favoured child but Harry needed to find a way to move forward. I think he has done and I'm interested in how Maireas moved on.

Are you now @Rockybooboo ? I don't see the relevance of an ordinary person to a potential heir to a throne.

You might think it but until you live it then you really don't know. Personally I think I'd hate being under press scrutiny.

That's why I said COULD.

Not all of us would make family unhappy for money.

I work so that I can look after my parents and siblings.

So I work out of love. I will be working out of love so that they get everything they need to have a good life for as long as I possibly can.

I’m damned sure I wouldn’t publish private family happenings for cash.

That isn’t work.

That is betrayal in my book.

Well said.

Over time I have realised that it doesn't matter how quiet they are, how well they behave, ... basically whatever they do, certain people will just not let up.
They shout from the rooftops 'move on Harry!' when he isn't actually doing anything except breathing .. yet they seem stuck and unable to!

When Meghan and Harry attended the Jubilee Thanksgiving Church service, (when she wore the off white outfit and white hat), she kept her head down, she wore something totally suitable, she did not put a foot wrong. I thought to myself, at least there is absolutely nothing to criticise her about here. How wrong I was!
On MN it was relentless... her odd body shape, the collar was wrong, the way she walked in, the way she walked out, the hat was dated, what message was she giving with it and so on
I thought to myself.... some people are never ever going to give up are they...

He didn't choose to be an heir to the throne anymore than I chose my life. I'm not under press scrutiny and neither is Maireas.

The same with a funeral.

Or you just get on with it and make the best of what you are dealt with in life

This honestly sounds like... 'pull yourself together'. Unless you have lived it, you don't know it.

I work in a sector, and for an organisation, that matches my values. I need to pay the bills every month, but I don't have to sell myself to do it.

In fact, I got into this line of work initially by doing volunteering, and still contribute my expertise to a charity as an (unpaid) trustee so yes, I did and do work for love and not money!

I could probably earn more if I prioritised money, but as long as I have enough to support my family, I choose employment that I see as worthwhile.

The criticism of her in relation to that was relentless and nasty.

So if you lose your job tomorrow and there is no jobs available that align with your principles, what would you do?

Well, considering that there is a huge spectrum of alignment, it's difficult to see a scenario - short of post-apocalypse, no jobs just survival - where the only way to earn a living was to accept a job I thought was fundamentally wrong.

So you like your family then. Not everyone does. I

You could say Charles betrayed his kids and made them unhappy having an affair.

So you've never lived in an area of mass unemployment then.

Exactly so it was pointless really.

As did Diana.