Royal row between King Charles and Earl Spencer 3

[Viviennemary]

A new thread and book not even published till Tuesday. I checked on Amazon and its only 12th on the non fiction bestseller list. Doesn't show Earl Spencer in a very good light imho.

@KarlMarx

You have reminded me of the truly crass photo of Charles Camilla William and Kate grinning like Cheshire cats in their official photo the day after Elizabeth died

I clearly don’t give a damn about any of them but could they not have restrained themselves until the photographer had gone?

They all looked delighted .
Proves your point nicely

I bet there are a few nannies/cooks/gardeners etc who would have some stories to tell.
They probably have to sign NDAs as well 😆

So, you have seen a photo which you contend shows them being happy at the time of QEII's death?
Can you provide a link?
Or were they - perhaps - smiling for an official photo?

'In the BBC interview he recalls Jane saying "I'm afraid she's died." In the book (based on excerpt 2 published in the Daily Mail), CS writes: "And Jane, witnessing the completeness of his [her husband Robert Fellowes's] shock, relayed to me, in a soft voice: ‘That’s it… it’s curtains… Duch is dead…’ " It's minor, and these two versions aren't contradictory - except in the specific words used'

Well quite. What did his sister say?! If he can't be consistent in this example it does not give any credence to his other 'eye witness to history' claims.

he wanted to leave his book as a tribute to his sister, and an accurate historical record

Then let's hope the rest of the book is more accurate than the excerpts.

For goodness sake - it was all over the media . Yes it was an official photo - which is why I was surprised. Bit obvious .

Charles finally gets top job and William gets his hands on the loot and can tell his father to FO - which seems to be exactly what he’s done .

They were all in black

Oh fgs - of course they were all in black - the Queen had just died!
If them smiling for an official photo irks you so much, just ignore it.

I did think that was odd.

To clarify - you think it was crass for the new King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales to be smiling in the first official photograph taken of the four of them (and released by Buckingham Palace as exactly that). It was taken at a reception of 500 world leaders an international dignitaries on the eve of QEII’s funeral, where they had to put on their work faces and network.

And that of all the photo taken of them in the days preceding and following, you believe this is the true indication of how they were feeling?

Thank you for this, so an official occasion.

They are not just smiling. Camilla especially looks far happier than in most photos.

Thank You, @Serenster.

An official photo, at a reception for world leaders, the day before the Queen's funeral.

So not 'the day after Elizabeth died', but at a work event, where they were hosts.

No, this is them looking happy.

So what ?

They were all in black yet had their jarring wide smiles .
I checked it was the night before the funeral .
The leaders weren’t there for a junket they were there for the funeral .
Why have such wide smiles ? Why smile at all?

In the scheme of things and in contrast to other Windsor offences it’s nothing at all of course .
Still weird . They all look delighted

No not ‘work’ - unless of course you agree that they were going through the motions .

It was the night before his mother’s funeral
The other leaders were not the recipients of the grins .

So you have to be permanently miserable when someone has died, or are you allowed to have lighter moments or happy memories and realise that life goes on? Or maybe you think that the late Queen would have done her duty and smiled for the camera on an official photo? We have moved on from Queen Victoria and her perpetual mourning

Entirely agree. I lost my brother several years ago. We saw each other rarely but got on and I loved him like a brother and was very sad when he died but to say I think of him everyday is nonsense. Diana has been gone almost 30 years, he saw her rarely and refused her accommodation at Althorpe.

He did seem convincing but truthful? No I don't believe so. He's got an axe to grind and I firmly believe he's in cahoots with H and M.

I don't think they look "delighted". It is clearly subjective.
In all honesty, I could find a lot more to criticise them for than this particular photo, however, that's your choice.
It just seems so petty.

Your post makes no sense at all

It is precisely because this was the reception the night before Elizabeth’s funeral and it was an official photo that they should not be grinning .
Its jarring .

What was wrong with somber faces ? Probably not the truth but from a PR standpoint far more appropriate.

Anyway it was only in response to Karl Marx point and in reference to Charles telling Spencer that he was lucky his father had died when he Spencer was so young .
Charles had been whining for years that his mother should abdicate just as William is now

Two dysfunctional families allowed two people who were not in love to marry to strengthen their respective dynasties. One of whom was just 20. The Spencers supported the marriage and allowed Diana to be used as a sacrificial lamb. That's as unedifying as the rest of it.

Johnny Spencer was determined to marry one of his daughters into it and Diana was the last one standing after the previous two gaffed it.

I don't think it matters who said what at this pass. The damage was already done and Diana had gone completely off the rails, notably so after the death of her father, who I assume had been keeping her in check.

The eulogy at the funeral struck me as wholly inappropriate and if we had wound back a few hundred years Charles Spencer woukd have been executed as a traitor.

The Spencer's scheming came unstuck and Charles Spencer is still smarting. Harry is an ally because he has a generous dollop of Spencer genes.

Let's not forget that a decent family wouldn't have married their very young daughter into it.

Everyone in this debacle is wounded and I'd say, thank goodness for the sanity of the Middletons.

The leaders weren’t there for a junket they were there for the funeral .
Why have such wide smiles ? Why smile at all?

You should have told the dignataries, who I’m sorry to report brought their smiles and genuine human reactions to the event - they musty have missed your memo that this was forbidden (have you never been to a wake - they tend to be quite positive, life-affirming events in my experience?)

QEII died on September 8th 2022. So not taken ‘the day after’.
Seems your memory is a bit skewed after only 4 years
Just shows I suppose how time alters perception doesn’t it.
Now, what would you have said bout this picture after 30 years I wonder…….

Charles and William are barely smiling at all in that photo. This is an insane criticism to be making.

Yes he was entitled to write a book. But not dig up dirt on what was said or not said 30 years ago.

I agree it is not important in light of all the other crimes and offences linked with the Windsors
It was just prompted by @KarlMarx post and it had always struck me as very inappropriate- and I don’t give a damn about them!
I’d expect royalists to be the ones complaining !