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.

As I have explained, I could link scores of opinions from you. Look at your post at 11.05am. It starts off Well I think the real reason Harry wrote spare.....

Your opinion, you are entitled to it. But yet when I said this below... you have kept on and on that I am 'making things up', that I am posting 'an irrelevant complete fabrication' with endless laughing emojis and to be frank, sneery posts to anyone that will listen about what is my opinion.

This is all I said... does it warrant your repeated attacks? No.
And I also think with the MNG trial and others coming up, he knew the media would bring up anything literally anything to besmirch him, so he told the stories in his book, giving them no ammo. Quite clever really
Incidentally, lots of posters in the past have expressed this opinion many a time. Have you picked them up on it, or is it just me.

Enjoy your day, this is fruitless, pointless and boring for everyone else. So I will refrain now. But I shall keep expressing my opinion. As will you.

Let's leave it there.

you do know that the crown is not real? its not a documentary. so personally I would believe a royal more than a made up drama(who ever that royal is)

You keep saying leave it there but then you don’t

It does seem to be a recurring theme 😂

Back to Spare (for a second!), I admit I have only read extracts, but dsis has just read the whole book and her first remark was that it seems as if it has been written by two different people. Some is well-written, and other bits are hagiographic (can you be hagiographic about yourself?!). I wonder what went on?

I imagine it was quite challenging for the ghostwriter - the balance between trying to write as Harry, and trying to write a well considered book

Edited for typo

That is not entirely fair @Turtlerussell

I challanged you - you claim misogyny due to his description of the school nurse.

She was cold and harsh to a child who had lost his mother to a violent death. To a child who had been paraded for the world to observe. To a child who was put in boarding school rather than kept in the warm embrace of a family to recover.

The nurse was terrible to behave with him the way she did.

Unforgiveable.

There was no misognyny.

I did.

For the horrible manipulation of the paragraph about the school nurse.

I am happy to be corrected - but the point needs to argued in order for me to be corrected. 😃

I have a very strong feeling that you are not going off source material.

I have a very strong feeling there's a pile on...

It reads like navel gazing rambling for money (book published) and it was badly edited. It also comes off as desperate and he really needs therapy!

No I didn’t read it.

Funnily enough, it’s not endeared him to the masses.
How so? Some people (like me) found his discussion on grief helpful. Some army people found his discussion on reintegration to civillian life helpful. People who have been badly treated by the press or are worried about the behaviour of the press found it helpful. Some people who want to bond over their dislike of him found it helpful.
A sweeping statement like that needs back up.
After all, tt was one the best sellers of the year when it was published.
It would be irrational to think it was all hate reading.

And interestingly Dominic west said he used spare to refine his performance of Charles, which shows the cast and crew of that show did refer to spare to tweak performances.
And? Predictable surely. One would expect them to do all sorts of research before doing any role.

Interesting how Harry ended up getting portrayed in light of that, I guess they also thought he came across as self absorbed and sulky.
The writter of the show picked a side - just like you. It has no meaning beyond that.

Of course it wasn't all hate reading.

It was a soap opera, and many people are watchers/invested in those

It’s not great. But I guess that’s how the publishers and Harry wanted it to be published and ghostwritten.

Yes. Just a possible reason for it seeming to be written in two voices - there were two (at least!) voices

Some people (like me) found his discussion on grief helpful. Some army people found his discussion on reintegration to civillian life helpful
People who have been badly treated by the press or are worried about the behaviour of the press found it helpful. Some people who want to bond over their dislike of him found it helpful.
A sweeping statement like that needs back up.
After all, tt was one the best sellers of the year when it was published.
It would be irrational to think it was all hate reading.

Well said.

I found it interesting in parts, poignant in parts, boring in parts... not a fantastic read, but worth hearing some of it from the horses mouth as it were. And he spoke very affectionately about his father, despite what those who haven't read it like to believe.

who was amazed to discover that the RF exists in an aura of hierarchy and inequality.

How so?

I am very curious @wildernesssw .

What do you mean by his resentment of a hierarchy?

As a pp said, I think Harry will regret this book being written/published or on the other hand he won’t and will defend it to the hilt.

It does seem like an extreme therapy exercise and from the little I’ve written, it rambles and makes no sense, or partial sense.

I don’t doubt and I’m not trashing his words on grief or life in civvy street but there are better ways to convey this, in a coffee table book where people are mostly buying this for gossip and interest in life in the RF. Or that’s the way I see it.

Are you talking about the school matron with scoliosis, whom Harry describes in his book as having mousy, frazzled, greasy hair, tired eyes, and not being "hot"? And whose physical challenges he used to imitate? You don't find that misogynist? How about disablist?

It is the job - and yes, it was this woman's life and career, she wasn't just some anecdote in a snapshot in the life of an extremely privileged (amongst the privileged) boy - of a school matron to support children within the framework of good practice and safeguarding requirements, not to make up for the shortcomings of their parents and to be a substitute emotional crutch. Unless you are implying that she singled Harry out for mistreatment, then her manner, whilst you might not like it, has nothing whatsoever to be criticised for, so long as she fulfilled her professional duties.

Yes, truly unpleasant. As if women (all women) are only worthy of respect if they fulfill a checklist of being 'attractive'