Tom Bower's "Betrayal" Book discussion thread

[BasiliskStare]

My copy of Tom Bower's new book "Betrayal" has transported itself on to my Kindle . Just started it.
A thread for those reading for discussion if anyone is interested.
All opinions welcome , but no spitting , no fighting 😂

I agree. PH so obviously led by his cock, totally cznt-struck he would throw C under the bus to ensure he was still in M favour.

@Roadtripp DH doesn't take a great deal of interest in H&M but he has expressed an opinion that H hasn't always thought with his brain 😂

Now , now ladies I firmly believe that Harry is a prize cock all on his own! , m only compliments his existing wankery !

I agree. She's completely fake. The 'warmth' she thinks she projects isn't fooling anyone and the way she constantly forces physical contact on people is uncomfortable to watch. The draping of herself, hand-holding and hugging is stifling to witness.

I believe the correct term is “todger” 🙂‍↕️

Only when it’s frozen and needs liberally smeared Elizabeth Arden!!

I've used Elizabeth Arden 8 hour body lotion for years and I have to say Harry has spoiled my enjoyment of it. I mean, it always smelled like a mixture of lemon Cif and old ashtrays (a peculiarly 80s fragrance, when we all smelled of cigs anyway) but I appreciated its effects on my skin. Now I have started using an inferior brand that at least doesn't have such disturbing connotations.

Having seen Meghan use another woman’s pregnant belly as a photo prop, kudos’s to Catherine to keep her dignity and distance and avoid having similar photos around for posterity.

i can’t wait for the literal Australian shit show 😁

I don’t think Meghan and Harry want others at Sandringham, I’m sure they would be delighted to have the place to themselves to film, they can source lookalikes ( to do various poses with the children showing them hugging a figure they will allude to being KC3 (as they won’t film kids or adult faces),

they will quite happily imply it was the real king.

C seems to me to be cautious (which might be perceived as cold), and M calculating.

Just finishing it, and losing the will to live.

So boring, badly written ( a number of times I've had to stop and parse a sentence, and still not been able to work out who did what).

Too much "then they did this, then so-and-so said that, and then <something else> happened and the Palace blah-blah-blah...meanwhile Megah did this while Harry did that". All the stuff we've been discussing on MN since 2020. Timelined, but very superficially. And a lot of important subtle stuff sidelined, such as the Dusseldorf Invictus debacle - you'd think from this book that it was a success, rather than an exemplar of M's extreme narc behaviour and involving such dodgy accounting that Germany formed its own, independent, Invictus Games.

Very little new information, hardly any analysis of who is providing the appetite and funding for e. g. the faux tours and the character assassination of W & C and why.

No discussion of the Sussex Squad - are they funded ( if so, who by and how?) or fans, or a bit of both ? - or of who might have weaponised a disgruntled second son against a popular, established monarch, his highly respected grandmother.

And, while naming ( some of) their lies, absolutely no discussion of why H & M continually lie and continually attack the RF; or what exactly is the nature of their personality defects that has caused them to lose so many friends so quickly on their (M's, really) home turf despite so much initial goodwill, while still being able to get Soros money ( and who elses?) for jaunts abroad.

It is 400 pages of Page Six-level slack, with a nugget or two of gold.

I'll be ebaying it next week.

I want Lownie on the case.

What are the nuggets or two of gold?

Did reading it as described provide the dense timeline of each and every one of the multiple incidents indicate relentless patterns of behaviour when all consolidated in one place?

The Sentebale story. More info there than I've seen elsewhere.

That the Soros Foundation funded the trip to Colombia.

Some "confidential cnversation" stuff of no consequence, but gold-dust to a MN Royal Family thread geek like me.

In answer to the question in your second paragraph - he doesn't do "each and every one", just some ( e. g. Montecito putting out spoilers ahead of RF events) but does enough to indicate a pattern. But he doesn't underline the relentlessness of it that I know from MN, X, Redditt etc.

I'm just doing the chapter on Colombia, and he relentlessly lists all M's changes of clothing and jewellery ( is he on a commission here!).

His write-up actually detracts from the point he is trying to make (which is, on a supposed humanitarian/ philanthropic trip to a poverty- stricken nation, she is having that nation pay her to have the opportunity for a fashion parade, where she earns commision on sales of frocks and accessories she is seen wearing that come from her Insta/ ShopMyPage accounts).

Edited tje last sentence from yje word "frocks" onwards

@Rhaidimiddim - I too would like Lownie on the case but I think I heard him in an interview saying he did not having contacts within H&M's circle and therefore didn't think he could write a good enough book ( and so won't ) It would be pretty to think so , though 😊

Finished it! And feeling like I've deserved my Easter Eggs.

Two further observations.

H is painted as far nastier and more intelligent that he's generally given credit for. As in, he can plot a fair few moves ahead to achieve a goal; and the do-as-I-say -not-as-I-do is something he is actually aware of, but diesn't see as mattering, as l9bg as he is saying the right things.

The RF - Bower describes, in several places, a dithering King who cedes to William's wishes regarding AMW and H.

He also paints a picture of a constitutional monarchy in crisis because of AMW's and H's actions and QE2's inadequate handling of them.

I don't think the monarchy is in crisis because of Harry. Their handling of AMW shows a need for reform though. He should have been cut off as a working royal much sooner and people in government should have listened to Charles when he expressed concerns about the Trade Envoy role.

I agree with you 100%. PH’s activities have actually backfired if his intentions were to smear them - their stoic and dignified silence is a long game that has paid off for them - and thrown into sharp relief PH’s shabby behaviours. With people like him you need to step back, not get in their way and give them the stage to themselves.

AMW on the other hand is about various phases of ignoring, inadvertently enabling and then covering up abuse, evil and depravity - before publicly denying and degrading and silencing victims - a complex layered system of family members, police protection officers, palace staff, senior civil servants and government intelligence all knowing some or all of his activities and covering up until public pressure mounted. The RF actions have not been in the service of victims or ethics but solely self serving damage limitation to the RF brand. Yet to be seen how effective that has been.

I’ve finished it.

There’s not a huge amount in the way of new revelations, but it’s satisfying to see everything pulled together in one place. I’d say it works well as a starter book for anyone new to the Sussex story.

There are a few interesting additions, such as their donation to Joe Biden’s daughter’s charity at the same time Harry’s visa application was under scrutiny, with the clear implication they were trying to keep the US government on side. It also touches more on “Tiaragate,” the finances behind the Nigeria and Colombia trips (including costs versus what was actually donated), and leaking info to their trusted journalists (not just Omid, but also Charlotte “CG string” Griffith which now makes sense with the revelation of the Mr Mischief messages).

It’s also surprisingly well sourced, with just under a thousand footnotes. While some were worried Bower might present rumour as fact, he’s actually careful to distinguish between fact, opinion, speculation, and conspiracy. For example, he outlines how confusion around Archie’s birth led to surrogate theories, but clearly labels and dismisses them as conspiracy. That clarity helps build a fuller picture of what went wrong, without blurring the lines between what’s known and what’s merely claimed.

Excellent points. I’d expect nothing less from you @MrsLeonFarrell

My take on Bower's take is this:

RF didn't believe initially that AMW had done anything wrong..When they did, they bungled the response by protecting him - paying his fine, and a minor demotion that he's been skirting round since. Only when the trade envoy allegations came out did they act decisively; and only with W pushing the matter.

This means that, when H and M started selling stuff using their titles, and using their titles to approximate real royalty abroad, the RF couldn't act decisively against them because AMW had been allowed to get away with a lot worse for a lot longer. Meaning H & M now have a lot more leeway to poke the bear before the world would agree with the same sanctions as against AMW.

Typo edits

Plus Harry and Meghan haven't done anything illegal and in general everything they have said has either not been believed or made them look worse than their targets. They are very very small fish these days and best ignored. Very different from whatever financial stuff AMW for up to aside from his friendship with Epstein.

I'm (finally!) on the list for it at the library although as it's in the process of being "acquired" by a library with a reciprocal arrangement with mine that's more distant than the sun I'm not holding my breath for a pick-up summons 😁

In the meantime I've been reading 'Rebel Prince' which is Bower's take on C.

A few interesting but now forgotten takeaways in particular the 'Royal For Rent' moniker bestowed on him by his own father in relation to his relentless fundraising on behalf of his charities (£200k for a guaranteed seat at dinner next to the one graced by the royal arse) but really, it's heavy, heavy going and I keep forgetting who's who at the royal zoo.

Sounds like 'Betrayal' may be written in a similar vein.

people in government should have listened to Charles when he expressed concerns about the Trade Envoy role.

Interestingly Bower has MW pushing himself forward for a representative trade role. I'd always thought it was a bit of a bone dreamt up and thrown by the palace as a solution to 'the Andrew problem'. Apparently not.

The Duke of Kent had been trade envoy very successfully for about 25 years before AMW took over the role.

I don’t think it was possible ‘to not believe’ - there was documented surveillance of his every manoeuvre 24/7 throughout his life. They chose not to do the right thing and have only responded at points when public pressure threatened their credibility. Their aim is always to protect the monarchy and the intention was to let it blow over after silencing and smearing the victims.