Thread by @GayKiwiDan

Like many people across the globe, I sat down with my popcorn last night and watched both the US and UK interviews of Prince Harry, to promote his upcoming memoir #Spare

I have pre ordered the book on Amazon Kindle. I’ll read it then I’m calling it a day. Here’s a thread 🧵

1 - Disclaimer = I’m not a royalist. When Princess Diana died, I had just turned 17. Like millions of others, I saw her as “The People’s Princess”. Any ‘magic’ I’d associated with the RF died along with her. I also find the circumstances of her death suspicious.

2 - I didn’t find either interview controversial or even particularly interesting. Nothing came out that struck me as surprising or new. If anything, I was a bit bored.

3 - Charles - I felt Harry spoke quite fondly of his father for the most part. Describing how he broke the news about Diana’s death to him, it was clear he did (and still does) care deeply for his “Pa”.

4 - Camilla - the media had hyped up the “villain” moniker. But, now seeing it in context, Harry doesn’t call her a villain or any other name. He merely discusses that Camilla was perceived as a villain and The Firm had to rehabilitate her image.

5 - William - like Charles, I felt Harry spoke of his brother in mostly positive and loving tones. Clearly the relationship is strained and they are not on the same wavelength anymore. Their wives don’t get along. Sad but happens in a lot of families.

6 - The Punch - if my sibling physically assaulted me, I’d be including that in my memoirs too. It was a one-off event but it brings context to just how fractured their relationship has become. I don’t see that as an insult to William.

7 - “Spare” as a title. W&H have always been referred to as “Heir & Spare”. By calling the book Spare, Harry is just taking back power of the word. Like the LGBT community when we reclaimed the word ‘queer’ for ourselves.

8 - Kate - Clearly there is bad blood between Meghan & Kate. Some people just don’t gel. For most people, your spouse not getting on with your sibling’s spouse is going to create drama for the whole family. Just the way it is.

9 - Tears - whether Kate made Meghan cry or vice versa is irrelevant. Harry argued that the RF should have said the story wasn’t true. He never expected them to come out and blame Kate, just kill the story. When they wouldn’t, he took that as an insult to his wife. Fair enough.

10 - Diana’s wake - William and Harry should never have been paraded out to shake hands and meet with mourners. Totally inappropriate. Future King & Spare or not. They were children. The adult members of the RF should have protected them.

11 - Wake (continued) - grief does strange things to people but I hope everyone who shook W&H’s hands back in 1997 looks back with hindsight and realises it was inappropriate. Yes - we all loved Diana but she was their mum, not ours. Uncool.

12 - Diana’s procession - I love that Harry clarified he didn’t want William to have to walk alone, and that in a role reversal he knows W wouldn’t have wanted him to walk alone. Hence why he insisted on joining him. I respect their father, grandfather and uncle for their parts.

13 - The Queen - clearly Harry loved her as a Grandmother and respected her for her work, while seeing that she spent 70 years in a job that she had little control over. Which brings me to my next point.

14 - The Firm - Harry doesn’t hide his disdain for the people who run the RF and why should he? They feed his mother to the wolves, then did the same to his wife. He has taken over 20 years of anger and resentment regarding their treatment of Diana and foreseen history repeating.

15 - The Media - Diana’s was tormented by the media from the time she became engaged to the moments she lay dying. The paparazzi would nit exist if newspapers didn’t pay them; they are intertwined. As Diana lay dying, the photographers didn’t stop clicking to help her. Bastards.

16 - Privacy - everyone keeps going on about how H&M are hypocrites for wanting privacy then going on TV etc to talk about their lives. They never asked for privacy. They aren’t stupid. They know the media aren’t going to go away. What they want is to be treated fairly.

17 - Controlling the narrative - if books, articles, videos were made about you which were fundamentally incorrect and damaging to your family, wouldn’t you want to give your side of the story? This whole “never complain, never explain” motto is just that. A motto.

18 - Reconciliation - Harry doesn’t want to reconcile with The Firm. He wants to reconcile with his family. He doesn’t expect to one day be back on the Sovereign grant. Clearly he feels wounded that his family have chosen the business of being Royal over family. Reasonable.

19 - The Kill Score - this never came up AT ALL in either interview. I’ll be interested to see what is said in the book. Personally, if it is as bad as the news stories suggest - H will have go live with potential consequences. I can’t think of any way this will go down well.

20 - Summing Up - Like I said at the start of the 🧵, once I’ve read the book, I’m done with the whole saga. Its been a nice distraction from my exciting life of #LongCovid but I’ve had enough. If W&K were to tell their side, I’d listen. But I doubt they ever will.

21 - Moving On - if rumours are to be believed, “Spare” is just the 1st of a series of books and other media income streams. I’m all for H&M telling their story but haven’t they accomplished that now? They have young children, wealth, opportunities. Take them & move on.

Thread now complete and comments open. Say whatever you like but try to be respectful. Debate with others if you like. But, at the end of the day, we all need to move on too. This isn’t our family. Whether they ever sort things out or not is on them now.

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