Not one word of Prince Harry’s memoir has been published or released. The book won’t come out until next year, and it’s not even scheduled to come out at the same time as the Queen’s Fakakta Platinum Jubilee. It will likely come out after the jubilee! But that hasn’t stopped Salt island from throwing tantrums about the memoir ever since it was first revealed. It’s so much like Finding Freedom and the Oprah interview – the royal establishment goes into Freakout Mode in advance and ends up making asses out of themselves because they’re trying to predict Harry and Meghan’s words or moves. Speaking of: the Queen is apparently preparing a “legal fightback” to Harry’s memoir. For the love of God.
The Queen has ordered senior Palace aides to plan a legal fightback amid hurtful attacks by Harry and Meghan — declaring: “Enough is enough.” The monarchy’s legal team is consulting libel experts after a barrage of criticism from the US-based couple.
Last night a well-placed source revealed the Queen, 95, has become “exasperated with repeated attacks”. They said: “The feeling, coming right from the top, is that enough is enough. There is a limit to how much will be accepted and the Queen and Royal Family can only be pushed so far. They are getting lawyered up. Harry and Meghan will be made aware and know repeated attacks will not be tolerated.”
The Royal Family was rocked last month by Harry’s revelation he was writing a tell-all memoir to be released next year — the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. A legal warning to publishers Penguin Random House is now being considered.
Our source went on: “The royals’ legal team are speaking to firms with expertise in libel and privacy. If someone were named in the book and accused of something directly that could be a libel and also infringe their rights to a private family life. It would be ironic if Harry and Meghan were accused of breaching privacy given their pronouncements on the subject. The legal team could also contact publishers of the book to ask for advance warning of its contents and a right to reply. There are concerns that the American public are falling for what Harry and Meghan say.”
That last quote is the most important: “There are concerns that the American public are falling for what Harry and Meghan say.” That is one of the biggest concerns of the British monarchy, which “sells” itself to American royal-watchers, Commonwealth royal-watchers and other international markets. The biggest market for the royals, as a brand, has always been America. And Americans have been paying attention to how Meghan and Harry have been treated and what they’re saying. The palace is deeply concerned – as they should be – that Americans see the Windsors as little more than a racist, sexist, dysfunctional, overpriced soap opera.
As for sending legal notices to Harry or the publisher… I have no idea what the legal standing would be or any of that, but I’m sure Penguin Random House has an army of lawyers at the ready to figure it all out. And it’s pretty rich for the Windsors to be super-concerned about being smeared by Harry considering the past three years of smearing they’ve done on H&M.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Didn’t BP already deny this?
Anyhoo, a desperate attempt to try to get information about the contents of the book.
Yes, BP denied this story that they leaked the next day.
They’re trying to scare Harry, these people really don’t know him, he said he is a lot like his mother, and after the Oprah interview I believed him. They will burn the building down.
Charles is a vindictive *itch, saw a story that he sued the housekeeper that wrote a book about him and Diana and won the case and all the money from the book sales.
Charles prevented publication of the “Housekeeper’s Diary” in the UK but the book was published in the USA (and maybe Canada???). I bought a copy years ago and still have it someplace. I do not think Charles’s received any proceeds from the USA sales of the book.
That’s what I see, too. Counting Kate’s buttons is boring, they want something juicy from Harry’s memoirs to lose their damn minds over. Which, I mean, they can already lose their damn minds over ABSOLUTELY NOTHING anyway (and often the same nothing, over and over again!), so what’s the rush?
I will never believe any of the British media is outraged about Harry’s book. They have to be salivating, they will have actual new things to talk about!
@Christine I think they are actually outraged, but they ENJOY being outraged? So the enjoyment of the act of being outraged tends to give everything this weird energy, like the mood-elevating effects of a workout or something.
Just, they’re all this mix of the odd intensity you get with fitness buffs and muscle-heads and people who enjoy doing marathons, also drug addicts, and the exceptionally religious…mixed with racism and sexism and nationalism…and enjoyment of inflicting pain on others…and that smug sort of self-satisfaction and arrogance of managing to get away with it because there’s not enough concrete evidence even though literally everyone KNOWS what you’re doing…Okay, they’re basically all Umbridges.
I think we have a KP vs BP vs CH situation here. It’s not even about the book. It’s about realising that they cannot shape the narrative in America. Harry raising millions got them shook and made them look like the lazy, non productive royals they are. The rational thinking public, whether they admit it or not, no longer see the RF as anything special because the glitter has fallen off the turd. The Sussexes should let them duke it out and continue to have Schillings on stand by to pounce on any lies.
This!
William raised 50000.00£ while Harry raised over 2,000000.00 without advertising his appearance. Their charities will be happy.
But the thing is that the US market wants the RF to be lazy and non-productive, also jealous and back-stabbing and manipulative – it’s Real Housewives meets Kardashians meets Big Brother meets Survivor. That’s the juicy stuff for an audience that doesn’t have any cultural ego tied up in the solemn tradition of the monarchy. So, if they’re playing to a US audience, then they should keep doing what they’re doing, only more so.
@Eurydice. What you say is perfectly true, but that’s not how they want to be seen by the American market. They want the US market to worship and hold them in reverence the way the Salty Isle does.
It’s incredible that they continue to believe and insist that anyone who supports Harry and Meghan is a llama fool, falling for their “scam,” etc. immediately placing the blame on literally everyone but themselves, and insinuating that millions of millions of people all over the world must be uniynkkkkkyn, assuming because there’s no way that we here in America could possibly like the Sussexes more and love the work they’re doing. We’re not all imbeciles, falling for two scammers. We can see the Sussexes quite clearly, and still choose to support them over the BRF. They can’t wrap their brains around that fact that everything doesn’t revolve around them anymore.
According to their logic, the palace is right, which means they think that millions of people worldwide, many of them very high-profile and influential, are all being fooled. These idiots believe that the Sussexes somehow tricked Netflix and Spotify? That the Obamas are morons who can’t see how horriblemmmmmmmmmnmnjj the Sussexes are? Serena Williams and her husband, Oprah, all of the MPs who signed that open letter about Meghan’s treatment, Gloria Steinem, all of Meghan’s former colleagues and longtime friends, Hillary Clinton — ALLLLLLL of these people are wrong and the BRF is right. They think we’re stupid because we’re “falling for” what the Sussexes are saying, the problem couldn’t POSSIBLY be that the monarchy is to blame for any of this. The arrogance of these people!
The glitter fell off the turd is the exact correct story! They are shook. They keep waiting for Harry to fail and he keeps donating millions to worthy charities.
@nina – what the RF family want from the American audience is irrelevant. Americans don’t have a history of worshipping the monarchy and they certainly won’t start now. The RF have no obligations to serve the US in any charitable or patronage way, like they do in the UK – there’s nothing they can do for the American public, except serve as entertainment. And they’re at their most entertaining when they behave like asshats.
Newsflash: Can’t sue if it’s true…and there’s no NDA. And I’m assuming that they didn’t have Harry sign an NDA of any kind (lol) so….
I say burn it all down!
ETA – actually maybe that should be “it’s very unwise to sue when it’s true” because clearly people do all the time (see, Depp, Johnny).
I really want H to reply that they shouldn’t worry, as he will give the Palace the exact same courtesy his wife and children were shown.
The queen didn’t do or say anything. This is classic ventriloquism.
They backtracked this piece to the Sun already. It’s hilarious that they think that they have any rights to read the book before it’s released to the public. So many hurt egos.
On the one hand they let the world know they ran the Sussexes out of town and are distancing themselves. On the other they think they can still control what they do and how the media should report about the Sussexes. Sorry but this is a new era. The eastablishment are stupidly sounding their own death knell. Everyone is waiting for the queen to go. Glad Harry saw the writing on the wall.
The standard for libel against a public figure is incredibly high in the US. Any attempt to sue before the book is published would be considered frivolous.
What attacks? Harry is allowed to write about his life experiences. Maybe if they weren’t such racist assholes they wouldn’t be so worried. And America is absolutely on H&M’s side.
Sue him in U.S. court! We televise trials here and this one would be bigger than I.J. Simpson’s!
They will not sue but will continue to leak to the press and attack Meghan. They only have one playbook which they’ve not bothered to update. Any attack is like water off a duck’s back at this point. It’s got so that most of the public is immune to their lies and propaganda.
Can you imagine the headlines..
Lol televising trials within the courtroom depends on jurisdiction and often by judge. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has oral arguments posted on youtube, but the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia does not allow any electronic device, including phones. Parties must apply for special permissions to bring electronic equipment into court and the general public is barred from bringing in any electronics, including smartphones.
I believe Maxwell’s trial will not take place live on television— I recall that the only things released to the press were the courtroom sketches.
LOL. I would take a leave of absence from my job just watch that non stop.
And I even think that most of the British public are too, it’s just that The Mail makes a lot of noise. This week they posted that H & M’s popularity has waned, based on a poll of 1,000 DM readers (cue eyeroll).
The thing is, I don’t think most of the British public cares about this in general. Aside from die hard royalists, most people don’t care about the Royals at all, unless there’s an event and a chance for a party.
Whether it be in the office, with friends or on FB, people talk about politician, they talk about celebrities but they just don’t talk about the royals.
I got the impression it was similar in the US, from what people say on here. So many times I’ve read comments about how nobody in the US cares about the British Royals and barely even knows who they are, aside from Diana, so how can they be the audience?
The BM LITERALLY dont see their own sh*t. They are blind to their own BS and get mad when someone does the exact same thing they do to them. I dont remember anyone giving a damn or making a fuss about Wootens book on William.
It’s not about the book as such. It’s the fact that Harry got a book deal, got paid millions for it and will write what he wants without their say so. More people are wising up to the press and establishment’s stupid shenanigans. Charles’ piece in the climate change-denying and daughter in law abusing Daily Mail (not even The Times or The Telegraph) was a very very crass move. This is the beginning of the end.
The BRF is so cheap and lacking in foresight. When Harry left and had no money and security couldn’t they have splashed some cash in exchange for an NDA?
Or, they could have accepted the half-in/half-out deal and had some control over how H&M made money, their projects, who they worked with, etc. They had the opportunity to have the very thing they are now demanding (control, influence, final say) and they said nope so they need to get over it.
@ Elizabeth Regina,sorry can you rephrase this i’m not following…
‘Charles’ piece in the climate change-denying and daughter in law abusing Daily Mail (not even The Times or The Telegraph) was a very very crass move. This is the beginning of the end.’
Elizabeth R., Is it because Charles chose the most racist paper in town for his op-ed or because what he wrote was so hypocritical based on his lifestyle?
@Princess Peach, I wouldn’t have accepted any amount of money if I had to sign an NDA with the RF, if I were M & H. It’s effectively muzzling them to the point where they could have been in trouble just for the Oprah interview or mentioning the RF when speaking to the press. No, it’s best in retrospect if M&H earn their own money and retain their freedom of speech, even about public figures.
Part of me hopes that Harry has chapters of the book in reserve and will decide whether or not to include them depending on how trifling the family acts in the next year.
Like, I think his initial plan is to go easy on them, but will go HAM if they try him.
Harry and Meghan are smart and strategic. Let’s continue to watch this space.
The publisher said the book would be about Harry’s life and the people who have inspired him. That sounds like the opposite of a scandalous tell-all to me.
Agreed. Though it may be telling a bit when none of his immediate family are listed as inspiration 👀
And this simple description of the book has everyone up in arms about!?!?!? What a bunch of self centered egotistical narcissistic thinking that they would be included!! Sounds like a leak from TOBB wanting to warn Harry. Geez, TOBB let him go! You are a shit brother and an even worse human being!!
I second this, Snuffles
They’re all so embarrassing. The nutbag press and courtiers just sound unhinged. I doubt the Queen is worried at all about the book. Just more attempts at causing problems btw Harry and Granny.
I cannot stress enough how undignified the Royal family looks relative to HM. I’m new to Royal stuff. One camp produces the following: occasional pithy, well-thought-out statements, projects or media moments. The other camp snivels and whines to the press all the live long day and occasionally does some vague, mumbly-bumbly public appearance in between the whining.
The Wootons of the world whine about how they’re bored of HM. Meanwhile the amount of whinging and empty threats the BRF puts in the press each day is ACTUALLY boring and overexposing.
At this point, no one’s getting won over by the whining unless they already wanted to be.
BP has denied the story apparently but pursuing legal action against Harry would be a disaster. Given that the Royal Family is renowned for its coldness and stiff upper lip you would think that anything written in the book would have no affect on them.
Yeah, “Elderly grandmother sues her grandson, a successful author and humanitarian” doesn’t sit right, you know?
… while said granny is coddling an alleged rapist (don’t forget that bit).
I absolutely love that they keep telling on themselves.
seems like someone is guilty of something, they wasnt advanced copies so they can refute anything Harry says in it. if anything is going to damages perceptoins an image that has already been done, by kicking them out, and not agreeing to the half in half out. and icing on the cake is the insistence that andrew retain titles when Harry was stipped of his. what was Harry’s crime ? Marrying a black woman and wanting some independence. This is not a good look either going after his memoir.
They do this all the time: call attention to something that otherwise wouldn’t have been an issue in the press at all — and I cannot understand how their entire communications team — or three teams, one for each palace — can’t see what a poor, self-defeating strategy this is.
It reminds me of when the Sussexes were encouraging people to vote. They didn’t say anything specific about a particular party or person and named no names, they just urged people to “reject hate speech.” Immediately the BM flew into a rage over it, and saying that Harry and Meghan “attacked Donald Trump.”
Lol it’s not their fault that they say “hate speech” and literally everyone in the entire world automatically knew who they were referring to. They made it a much bigger story that it ever needed to be, and called attention to the fact that Donald Trump in fact does promote hate speech. They have absolutely no sense of which battles to pick and when to keep their mouths shut.
This story has already been denied by Buckingham palace. This story is one I think is media driven rather than courtiers. They want to attack them based on idea Sussexes are attacking Betty.
It is funny how the firm apparently looks down on Americans (after all Camilla Tominey etc said Meghan’s problems in the palace was due to misogyny & anti Americanism but not racism) but they want American support.
Yeah, it’s likely the “well placed source” is a royal commentator or reporter. It would be just foolish for the Palace to sue Harry.
+1
This article seems to be a distraction from their lawyers trying to have prince Andrew’s allegations of sexual abuse dismissed by arguing diplomatic immunity. You know, rather than defending himself. They are so transparent
Lol I keep thinking about Harry’s comments on the podcast about the first amendment and how confusing/maddening/frustrating he found it. Guess the RF and courtiers are also getting a wild ride learning about the delightful doubled-edged shitshow that is 1A.
I am having bizarre fantasies about a SCOTUS case called Penguin Random House v. Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth (or whatever her title is). Or better still, SCOTUS denying to even hear the case lol: HEADLINE HEADLINE HEADLINE SCOTUS DENIES CERT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN!!!!
Aside: I’m not sure what it says about my subconscious thought process that I immediately named the UK sovereign a defendant in US court— if the RF took legal action, they’d be the plaintiffs. Maybe Virginia’s lawsuit against Andrew and all the injustices the RF perpetrated against Meghan have me thinking they’re just a big criminal cult family.
This sounds like TOB warning Harry not to talk about his rose gardening. Which is tricky, because if Harry truly believes that the Meghan smears were driven by Will wanting to protect his private life, it’s hard not to include, or even allude to that situation. So Will is getting nervous and starting his typical threats in the press.
I’m sure you’re right about TOB being concerned…great theory why the mixed messages would be crossing at KP…but hopefully Harry is too classy to break the news about rose-gardening. It would be really tacky IMO and very outside Meghan’s wheelhouse. If the press manages to skirt around it with hints, so could Harry. But really I doubt he wants to put anything sordid in there.
It’s ok for Princess William to be tacky but not Harry, after attacking his wife for four years the gloves are off.
TOB called his wife a b*tch and a sociopath, but yeah Harry should be the one worried about sounding “classy”. I think Harry should put the truth out there and let the chips fall where they may. That is the problem with the family, they are always covering up stuff to maintain appearances. See: Andrew, for example.
Harry revealing that the BRF and William specifically are not at all classy is not the same thing as Harry being unclassy. Exposing unclassy behavior does not make one unclassy. This backwards crap is always aimed at Harry and Meghan. Like “talking about how they were attacked by the RF is attacking the RF.”
But do y’all *really* expect Harry to do it? Remember Meghan insisting that Kate’s a good person, despite all the evidence and reason otherwise? I just don’t think it’s likely he’ll spill that particular tea in something that he probably hopes will be a monument to his young adulthood long after he’s dead.
Meghan was being, as her friend Serena William’s puts it, ‘too nice’. She was trying to gloss over the four years of abuse by Kate and the Midds, move past it, throw Kate a bone, give her the chance to tell the truth. The Kate and Midd response? To immediately triple down with their lies about the crying incident.
Harry isn’t going to out anyone else’s secrets in that family EXCEPT as they directly impacted him and Meghan.
so to that end, I can see him alluding to the affair (maybe just saying something like “stories involving other family members” or something) but discussing it in the context of the invisible contract – how “stories about other family members’ private lives were kept out of print but it was open season on my wife and me, and that was the deal, and we couldnt do anything about it.”
Because AmyToo is right, using the bit about “right to a private life” does bring back memories of Rose Who? And the pushback against those rumors becoming more public.
(honestly I think the book is going to be more inspirational and focused on his charity work, this isn’t going to be the takedown on the royal family that some think. At least not in my opinion.)
I agree w/ you there @ Notasugar: re the Meghan statement about Kate being a “nice” person, allegedly. Also, Meghan didn’t “insist” that Kate is nice, she just made a simple statement. I also think that people tend to forget the CONTEXT in which the statement was made. As I recall, Meghan stated that people didn’t need to hate one of them in order to support the other. Then, as an example, she made that statement, as if to say, “Look, I don’t hate her, you don’t need to hate (terrorize) me.” This woman had been vilified by the press of a whole country, England, for years and she was trying to diffuse the vitriol I think in a reverse psychology kind of way. People keep repeating that statement like it is a stamp of approval of Kate’s character. In Meghan’s position as an underdog I’d do the same, even if I hated that “B.”
Interesting that the article went with the royals would be being “denied their right to a private life” if Harry writes about the things they do and say when “right to a private life” was how William got the press to stop talking about the Rose situation. Interesting word choice call back there.
It just occurred to me that if there is any silver lining to be found in this entire years-long smear campaign against the Sussexes is that every “negative” thing that the press could possibly say about either one of them has already been not only told, but beaten like a dead horse.
So basically, Harry has nothing to lose by naming names in his book; it’s not like the Charles/Andrew situation where Charles might have to protect Andrew more than he wants to because Andrew has a ton of dirt on everyone.
Same with William and the absolute sh!tshow of a predicament he finds himself in now. He is at the mercy of someone like Dan Wooten, who holds all the cards, because he has things he needs to keep hidden. The tabloids have them by their balls and they have no choice but to play along so their secrets won’t get out.
Harry doesn’t have that baggage. For his entire life, the press covered him in as negative a light as possible. He can say whatever he wants without fear of retribution from the press. I don’t think his book will be as juicy as I’m hoping, but if they push him hard enough and he finally snaps, there’s nothing keeping him from spilling their dirt in his book or in other ways. They have nothing on him or Meghan that they’ve kept quiet about.
The hysteria screams guilty coverup.. the sensational headlines followed by corrections within 24 hours sounds like a battle is brewing within the palace walls. Which truthfully I could care less about because I am One of those Americans who believe The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and while I used to be indifferent to the Royals and enjoy happy news clips for what they were, I now see the Royals as a nasty racist bullying family who protects the worst of behaviors while sacrificing the best.
I rolled my eyes, thinking this was another media driven outrage until the line about someone being named for doing something, paraphrased of course. It was then I realized Baldingham is really afraid Harry is going to name him as the one that questioned Archie’s coloring. Hiding behind the Queen, when it’s really all about him.
LOL, this reads to me like its coming from the courtiers or maybe even KP – that someone wants people to think that HARRY should be afraid, HARRY should be the one quaking in his boots, HARRY’s publishing house should be scared because the Queen’s lawyers might -gasp – contact them!! Like Penguin Random House doesn’t have a legal department and isn’t well versed in these kinds of memoirs and what you can and can’t say and what is libel and what isn’t and what the company is willing to defend and what it isn’t.
To me the big thing that has changed in the past 6 months is that now it is unquestionable that Harry and his grandmother have a good relationship, AND that the Sussexes do not blame her for the past few years (or else they would not have named their daughter Lilibet.) Now we can and do debate that, what we think of it, etc – but its clear that for reasons some may disagree with, Harry has fully separated his grandmother from the actions of the institution and the Firm and their relationship is very very solid.
And I think that is what is driving the courtiers and the press insane. They can’t screech anymore about how Harry is criticizing the Queen, or how the Queen hates Harry and Meghan, or how Harry is breaking her heart. I mean they still try, but the attacks are definitely starting to fall flat because the proof is in the pudding (to borrow from Omid’s quote of the week, lol.) Harry and Meghan were both so natural and warm talking about the queen both with Oprah and for Harry with James Corden. That waffle maker story was not made up at all and as I’ve said before, I think that one simple story (combined with Philip just closing the laptop to end a zoom call) did more to humanize the queen than every family picture released etc.
I think that’s why we’re starting to see this ramp up about THE JUBILEE!!! and how Lilibet was the ONLY THING the queen had left and HARRY’S MEMOIR!!! the queen isn’t worried about Harry’s memoir. Charles and William are. Charles and William (and the courtiers) are the ones who cant handle the fact that Harry has left and that Harry is happy and that the Queen has not cut Harry out, she has just moved Harry to the same category of her life where she has Zara, Peter etc. They’re just using the queen as a proxy because no one gives a crap if Charles is insulted in the memoir.
Great comment @Becks1! I’m pretty sure this is coming from KP a.k.a Willnot. He is undoubtedly the one who made (at least the first) comment about Archie’s skin tone. Reading between the lines, I think it happened in the conversation where Harry blew up at Willnot’s “brotherly caring” comment about slowing down.
The queen isn’t worried at all! Reading between the lines there too, she’s not actually in charge of anything anymore. I don’t think she’s fully informed about her families shit show. Pretty sure they’re behaving like innocent angels while she’s around and goes back to backstabbing each other as soon as she’s out of site, like a bunch of unruly children.
@Becks1, I think you’re right about TQ’s relationship with Harry. They are able to be grandmother and grandson, perhaps closer now that there are no expectations about Harry’s role in the “slimmed-down monarchy”. If there wasn’t the strong relationship, H&M wouldn’t have named their daughter Lilibet; they would have just called her “Lily” or another non-Royal name as they did with Archie. I keep thinking back to the picture of TQ and DoE with H&M right after Archie was born: you can’t fake the delight on their faces at meeting their new great-grandson.
I don’t see this memoir being a dirty tell all that the British press desperately want it to be. I see this book being inspirational. This book is probably going to fully focus on Harry and the lessons he has learned. I don’t see him going after the Queen. He will more than likely be very kind to her. Not so sure on Charles and William. He may not even mention them that much. Whatever Harry says in his book, the British media will lose their minds.
I feel the same way. When the book comes out the British press are going to complain about Harry barely mentioning William, Charles and Kate. We saw some of this when Harry credited Meghan for him seeking help instead of William in the Apple TV series.
Agreed! Leaving Chuck and TOB out completely (or mostly) would be the best revenge.
I think the book is going to focus a lot on processing his mother’s death, Sentebale, his military service and Invictus and how founding the charities/organizations helped him to move forward in life and make an impact.
But even with just that its going to make William look bad and the press is going to be mad because I feel like people will then say “well and what has William done?”
Yes, I think we’ve already seen an outline of the memoir in both the Oprah interview and the mental health series. Harry’s approach has always been consistent – self-reflective, and any criticism of his family comes with sympathy. But he’s also been consistent in his ferocity against the BM – I don’t think that will change, either.
Exactly. Harry may not even mention one word about William in this memoir, and just by detailing his life and all he has done to help make the world a better place is going to make William look pretty shabby in comparison. And THAT is what has William’s back up. He knows that once Harry’s life story and accomplishments are laid bare, there will be no hiding and sugarcoating what little he himself has done any longer.
@Ginger, Agree. Based on the publisher’s statement, the memoir is about the lessons Harry has learned and experiences that shaped him to be the person he is now. What ‘repeated attacks’? The ones repeatedly attacking are the RR’s/BM. They’re guilty of dragging out & exaggerating/misrepresenting what H & M have actually said. Why would BP be looking into firms that handle libel issues when they already have firms on retainer to handle such things? So, they are ‘lawyering up’ but are still looking at firms and the BM is speaking for the unknown lawyers/palaces about a book due out late 2022?
It sounds like the BM want people to believe the memoir is going be some kind of Kitty Kelley unauthorized tell-all like The Royals-which was banned from being published in the UK.
I certainly don’t feel bad for believing Harry & Meghan over the England Windsors, courtiers and BM headlines that read like Trump tweets.
Focusing on Harry’s memoir over Andrew’s behavior and legal situation is further example of the BRF’s shield over some members & their “invisible contract” with the BM.
Well unlike US, here in UK, you cannot write anything you want about anyone.
The royals might not have a case over in US but they do here if Harry mentions them and they feel it’s defamation. They might even win the case.
Not taking the royals side but only pointing out why they might go down this route.
If they felt they had any legal standing against what he has to say they would have done a UK defamation suit after Oprah. They didn’t, because they have nothing.
In the UK also, the burden of proof is on the defendant, to prove a statement is true. Harry has proof and receipts, which is how RF won’t win.
I mean based on what we see from the UK press, you can get away with writing and saying a LOT, so I don’t think Penguin Random House is too worried, they’ll just go through the book and add a lot of “a palace source says…..”
And no, in the US you cannot just write anything you want about anyone you want. We do have defamation, slander and libel here as well.
Agree, but the standard is so much more onerous on plaintiffs, and it’s on them to bring proof to the table. For example, the Dominion lawsuits seem like it would be a shoe in, but it’s still a legit battle going on in courts.
@LaraW that would be my thought – that the standard is harder here so the publisher isnt worried about lawsuits here – but I feel like we’ve seen so many stories published in the UK over the past 3 years that seem to be okay, legal-wise, as long as there is a caveat about “a source told me…” or “palace insider says….” So that’s why I don’t think the publisher is too worried about the UK either. I’m just not buying that the UK is some bastion of pure press where nothing can be said unless its 100% true, based on the past 3 years regarding the Sussexes.
Also – I mean we live in the era of online shopping and the internet – if the book isn’t published in the UK there are going to be many ways that anyone in the UK who wants to read can get their hands on it.
Finally – I am assuming the BRF is not stupid enough to sue for defamation over whatever is said in the book, because that’s just going to increase the sales and send the interest in the book through the roof. Kind of like how releasing the story about the bullying allegations made more people tune into the Oprah interview.
ETA also I’m sorry bc I feel like I’ve been super verbose in my posts lately and they’re all super long lol, I blame a long summer spent around my children who really don’t want to talk to me unless its about Marvel, soccer or Roblox, lol. Sometimes bike riding.
Haha Becks, we both write paragraphs. I’d be a major hypocrite of a Charlesian scale if I was all BECKS YOU TAKE TOO MUCH SPACE WITH YOUR WORDS!!!!
LOL, I hear you on kid conversations, Becks! Write away, I always enjoy your thoughts.
God, Becks, you are speaking to my soul. I cannot have one more conversation about Minecraft or Harry Potter, and I REALLY love the Harry Potter books. I am also verbose, so I appreciate it in others!
@Sierra: Where’s the lawsuit against Harry and Meghan for the Oprah interview then?
In Oprah, they didn’t mention any names so I think that would have been a hard case to win.
If Harry mentions any names in the book, then I can totally see the royals sue for defamation.
@Sierra: They made accusations against the Palace which is a legal institution. Where’s the lawsuit?
They mentioned Charles specifically in the interview.
And yes, as Amy said, they spoke of the Palace and its HR.
Every publishing house has a legal team to prevent all their profits from going to defamation settlements. The problem for the Royals is if Harry has proof, such as emails about certain “concerns,” then legal will green light it and editorial will be dancing with excitement for the buzz the book will get. The strategic thing now for Will to do is for him to make nice with Harry and Meghan privately. Maybe Will will decide the apology will be the better bet for his own interests instead of using the press to threaten Harry, which is Will’s go-to reflex.
If the RF take Harry to court over anything in his memoir it will be the biggest Streisand Effect ever.
I was just thinking this! Can no one at BP manage to google “Streisand effect”?
What, you can’t just write anything about anybody in the UK? Where have you been these last few years? Or are you implying that what the BM has been saying about Harry and Meghan are all true. Wow
For real? The only thing the BM does is lie. That’s their whole M.O. My goodness. We’re talking about the carnival of so called experts, not Walter Cronkite.
No I am not saying what is written is the truth so stop putting words in my mouth.
I am saying people can sue the media here and win if they can prove defamation.
In US, you have the first amendment which we don’t have here.
Harry & Meghan can sue the media here and in my opinion they can win as well.
You can also sue the media here in the US for defamation and libel even with our First Amendment laws. You can also win those lawsuits in America if you have proof.
JT the burden on plaintiffs in such a suit is so high that it’s nigh impossible, especially for a public figure. Seriously, I feel like the default attitude in the US among lawyers re defamation is that the plaintiff is going to lose.
Plaintiff must show:
1) the false statement was represented as a fact (ie not an opinion— this is an easy out for defendants)
2) publication/communication of that statement to a third party (easy to meet)
3) fault— this possibly the most onerous part plaintiffs must meet. The famous case NYT v. Sullivan ruled that for a public figure to succeed in their lawsuit, they must show that the defendants made the statements with “actual malice.” “Actual malice” has to be proven by “clear and convincing evidence.”
4) the plaintiff suffered monetary damages or some harm due to the defamatory statement (this can also be surprisingly difficult to prove. A public figure can’t claim something like “harm to their reputation” or political attack ads would not be allowed. If I recall correctly, some private plaintiffs have shown damages in the form of losing their job and not being able to find another due to the defamatory statements. What kind of damages can the RF claim?)
@nina — thank you so much for stating the obvious!!! some really think the world has been oblivious to everything written about H&M over the past 5 years….just going through the discovery process will destroy that family!
they should try the ginger guy if they have the gut to do so
Well BP have denied this so they’re not going down this route so perhaps there’s no need to play hypotheticals anymore?
@Laraw I understand that it is difficult to win but to say that you can’t sue in the US for defamation or libel in the US is inaccurate. Are defamation lawsuits easier to win in the UK?
@JT – Fair enough. Defamation is actually governed by state law (unless the amount of damages sought is greater than $75,000, in which case it goes to federal court); for example, it’s easier to win a defamation case in Virginia than DC. However, for public figures, the standard of proof has been set by the Supreme Court (NYT v. Sullivan).
With respect to UK vs. US, it’s far, far easier to win defamations suits in the UK. It’s the reason why Depp is pursuing his claim against Amber Heard in the UK rather than the US.
@LaraW – no, he’s suing Amber Heard in Virginia. He lost his libel suit against the Sun in the UK and the judge in VA said (last week? the week before?) that his suit against her could proceed in VA.
Have you read any of the shit your media writes about Meghan? It’s clearly fiction so it sounds like you can write whatever you want in the UK.
Huh, it’s interesting that the US is the largest market for the royal brand. I would have thought it would be in the places where the monarchy still means something more than celebrity. I think they need to beef up the meaningful part – do good work with good PR about progress, address the issues people care about, like race, and really act the part of an organization that is about service (as the Queen sniped at Harry).
The prime example is Andrew – here service is at war with personal feelings. Andrew’s personal and legal woes will be resolved in some way or another, but TQ is the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces and if those forces are unhappy with Andrew’s patronage and Andrew is not allowed to fulfill his duties, then someone else should be assigned – the same for all Andrew’s patronages. It’s not fair to leave these organizations hanging – either you accept the responsibility or you find some other way to help.
I don’t think there are any other places other than the UK where they are regarded as anything more than celebrities.
I think once the queen dies there is going to be a seismic shift in the relationship with the commonwealth
I agree. In a way, we might see that H&M are what brings about this shift – not that they left the RF, but that the RF were too blind to see that H&M were the future.
I know that a lot of people would like Harry to give all sorts of juicy inside information, but I would be really really surprised if the memoir did that. What I think it’ll be is something much more limited in scope, in terms of time, and focused on key events in his life, told from a more inspirational angle. I think this is more part of his effort to build on the service work they’re doing, not the PR war. (But the panic from the BRF and media is really telling)
The thing is, he doesn’t have to say anything hectic for the revelations to be explosive. Most of what we know about Harry and even his relationship with Meghan is speculation. This will be the first full written account. The telling of the story is juicy because we’re talking about Diana’s son, the first of his kind to successful exit life as a royal.
Anything he says is newsworthy. I’m talking passing anecdote about reading a story book with Diana or the first time he met Meghan… that’s 20 articles already. The flailing is so comical but understandable. After the book, the narrative on Harry will shift to his court for good.
Be Careful What You Wish For, Exhibit 537: Team Sussex Has Receipts. I was going to say they can’t be stupid enough to try to drag this into court where some of said receipts could see the light of day, but then I realized, why yes, they could indeed be that dumb.
Yet another iteration of deflect all attention from Andrew plan.
At the end of the day Elizabeth has lead the institution that is the R F for nearly 70 years and as such should be held accountable for its many shortcomings. The greatest crisis of her reign occurred when she failed the empathy test re Diana’s death and the public outpouring of grief, I suspect the failure to address the allegations against Andrew could prove to be a far greater crisis.
A couple of royal reporters on Twitter yesterday were saying the same thing … that Betty’s protection of Andrew could become a crisis for the monarchy. These tweets are their personal opinions, of course, and I remember when Diana died the newspapers came squarely out against the Queen., something we haven’t seen much of in recent times. The press is still not coming hard at Betty for the Andrew mess. The press can crank it up and make it crisis time whenever they want but they aren’t doing it yet for some reason.
I think a lot of the reason the press cranked it up after Diana’s death was simple guilt, and the desire to avoid looking guilty, and the possible consequences of looking guilty right as public opinion is at it’s most extreme.
Or, in other words, blame the Queen and the royal family (who weren’t too popular at the time) to distract the angry public so that they don’t attack the tabloids in some way (lawsuits, regulations, etc.) and keep it going for long enough that the worst of the public sentiment dies down and it’s safe for business as usual again. People may still hold the tabloids and paparazzi primarily responsible to this day, but there’s not enough public feelings strong enough to get legislation passed (or even just inspire some idiot to throw a brick through their window).
All this reveals is that the courtiers and their media cronies only have one good play when it comes to dealing with Harry and Meghan – hiding behind the Queen and what she represents. The poor Queen! Can’t she have her jubilee in peace? Even that seems to be losing it’s traction, especially as her maj has to exert more of her influence to keep Andrew safe from prosecution for his crimes.
Nobody other than possibly Dan Wooten cares if William, Kate, Charles, or the rest feel hurt or upset by Harry living his best life. They’ve tried, and those stories have basically gone nowhere. So what happens when someday the queen isn’t around to use as a stalking horse? If I were Charles, I would be very, very worried.
So, has the queen called dibs on the whole year of 2022 because of this jubilee? I don’t get this.
I think someone – TOB – is scarred about what led up to the Nazi uniform fiasco. I remember reading that it was William who told a young Harry to wear it. Harry has grown tremendously since then, and I’m sure did the hard work to understand why that was such a terrible thing. If he is writing a memoir that incident has to be one of the major events in it and I would bet my entire back account that William was behind it in some way.
William went to that party as a Zulu–they scrubbed the photos and changed his costume to “lion.”
But did they search the box of stuff Harry kept under his bed growing up? I think there are photos somewhere that Harry can access. Prince Incandescent has a reason to be afraid.
@harper
I bet Harry has a treasure trove of receipts that he’s probably been keeping since he was a teenager.
Word is, it was the shopkeeper of the costume shop that spilled the beans. Harry is ultimately responsible for his poor choice and behavior, but it was gaslighting Willie boy who picked out his costume. When Harry initially balked at the idea of wearing it, William pressured him into it according to the employee who then spilled to the tabloids. Robert Lacey mentioned the incident in his book. Here’s a link to the story of Will’s involvement.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/10/06/harry-resented-his-nazi-costume-scandal-overshadowing-williams-colonials-and-natives-party-participation-book-says/
Here’s an interesting little nugget. Try not to vomit;
https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/06/21/uk.william.party/index.html
WTF is this “African dress” that William mandated for all the guests??? I’m just picturing all the RF members walking around in kente cloth (and probably blackface). This whole article is so damn problematic I don’t even know where to begin. Lord have mercy.
@Here4Tea, thanks for the link, and what did I just read? This section in particular – why would the guests be expecting to eat crocodile? Is there a famous scene in Out of Africa where they eat crocodile? Or is he saying he thinks people associate an entire continent with eating crocodile?
‘Party guests would be sitting down to dinner, rather than having a buffet, but the menu would not be too exotic.
“We’re not going to go drown the whole party in an African theme,” said William. “The dress is African and the tables will be decorated, along with the rooms.
“Lots of people will be wondering if we’re actually going to be eating crocodile, but obviously we won’t be doing that,” he said with a wide grin.
“It’s not going to be African food, even though it will be hilarious to see everyone’s faces when they read the menu!”‘
@L84Tea, Holy sh!t!! If I knew absolutely nothing about Prince William, and all I did was read that one article, I would come away thinking that he comes across as such an unlikeable, arrogant little prick. Wow.
Typical gaslighting comment. After attacking, smearing and outright lying about Harry and Meghan they are being accused of, yet to come, attacks.
These people can all just go f themselves. You should be afraid, very afraid, we know your asses are racist as f , and yes we definitely see you doing it.
The internet define ” Lawyering up” as
“Chiefly US, informal. : to obtain the services of a lawyer especially while being investigated for possible wrongdoing.”
The British tabloids should be reporting on the Queen lawyering up for Prince Andrew possible wrong doings rather than Harry.
Ooooh, maybe this story is meant to distract people from looking at the firms Andrew is consulting/lawyering up with. I mean, he could ostensibly try to counter Virginia’s claims by arguing that she’s just trying to ruin his and the BRF’s good name with a frivolous lawsuit or something. Not the best strategy, but at this point they have to consider all options. Like try to get ahead of any possible rumors that ANDREW was looking into that angle, which would look sooper-bad.
So maybe they’re trying to “get ahead” of a possible leak cycle that cound unearth that any legal advice sought on this front is for Andrew, not Harry. It would line up with Elizabeth’s staunch position that Andrew has done nothing wrong, is innocent, and obviously this American hussy is trying to tear down her dear son’s reputation.
There was a lot of blah blah about Meghan being all American and ‘lawyering up’ and how gauche it was and royals don’t do that. How funny.
Someone had a theory on Twitter that Meghan may be gearing up for another lawsuit against the false bullying claims and that is what the firm is nervous about. Could be false obviously, so take it with a bag of salt. What I find interesting is that there are a multitude of reasons why the royals need to lawyer up and they all sound completely plausible.
KP is shaking it its boots. They’ve removed Christian J (with the paid to leak to Wooten boyfriend). They shipped PoorJason of the fake bullying claims off to France with his husband’s ‘surprise’ new job. They think if they get rid of some of the guilty parties, Meghan and her lawyers will back off. I doubt that will happen. They’re trying to destroy her international reputation, so her lawyers will stay on it until a full retraction is everywhere, complete with quotes from Jason about how he made it all up.
The Windsors are upset about its image in the is not only the treatment of Meghan, an American citizen, but Andrew’s victims are Americans. The BRF messed over our own and we ( Americans) aren’t having it. Fox and Page Six don’t speak for all of the US.
Imo, I think the whole Lilibet name thing is where the UK royals really lost the US audience. The whole idea of a great grandmother objecting to having her own flesh and blood use her nickname without her “permission” really made the queen and the family by extension look small. Instead, they should have used it as an opportunity to rebuild their image and repair the relationship, even if it was through gritted teeth. Along with the continued Andrew saga, I feel they don’t have any credibility left. Whoever is advising them (I feel like its Tucker Carlson at this point) to take this “tough guy” approach is leading them off a cliff. At least as far as the US audience is concerned.
Increasingly, it’s the MAGA and Tucker Carlson crowd that’s clamoring for the royal family these days. If the royals don’t realize that they are being embraced by racists in the US, then they are utter fools. William and Kate need to have the “cool kids” on their side, not the MAGA racists, who are anti-mask Trump loonies, even though the Trump loonies are probably more in line with their aristo-fascist leanings. They have lost America to the Sussexes. They have likely lost most of the Commonwealth to the Sussexes as well.
I sure wish the Commonwealth countries could vote on that.
lanne, W&K know it and embrace the MAGATs. That’s the only audience they have in the UK as well, the racist, xenophobic Brexiteers.
I really don’t get the the MAGAt support of the British monarchy. This is a country where the original patriots fought a war to get the eff out from under the monarchy now these self-proclaimed “super patriots” are caping for the monarchy like true sycophants and wanna be subjects.
Then again, they perceive the all white British monarchy as kicking out the biracial American who won’t just sit there and look pretty and her “woke” husband so there’s that.
@HeatherC – I don’t think it has anything to do with the British monarchy as a monarchy – it’s more about maintaining the status quo and harkening back to a “Golden Age.” There’s a very strong racial aspect to that, of course, and the general idea that individuals are more responsible for their fate than institutions. Basically, the left/right political arguments in the US. And there’s also the populist angle which isn’t entirely without merit, because there’s no denying that Harry is an enormously famous prince who embodies the very definition of privilege and entitlement. His struggle to overcome that privilege and serve others shows what an admirable person he is, but he’s still operating in an elite and wealthy circle, which also happens to be the “enemy” of conservative media in the US. So, if Harry represents the “enemy,” then the “friend” is the RF – weird, but that’s how it falls out.
@HeatherC: These so-called “super patriots” are also the same ones who strongly, vocally support the Confederacy – you know, the Southerners who fired on the U.S. government and U.S. military, which they swear they support. Basically, they are white supremists. As such, they don’t adhere to logic or reason.
I feel embarrassed for the RF, acting this way it’s honestly pathetic. “Never complain, never explain” except whoops! That’s all we do! Never ending whining.
interesting, they’re lawyering up to sue in case a libelous statement is made in a book that won’t be released until next year but haven’t sued about anything H&M have said thus far (or even sued over what’s in FF). In making the statement about this, they’re admitting that neither Harry nor Meghan have told any provable lies thus far. Do the BRF, courtiers and RR realize a story like this actually reinforces that H&M have told no lies?
BP have denied this. I agree above that this is more of a media driven story rather than courtiers or royals.
I’m surprised that the palace denied this at all. It’s not their usual M.O. to not try to smear H&M. I wonder what happened for such a quick about face.
There might be a courtier there with one working braincell. Or the BRF doesn’t want to get involved in a legal battle and just wants to stick to leaking and briefing against Harry.
What if Liz is reading rough drafts of chapters and giving constructive criticism? LMAO. This display of histrionics is both laughable and pathetic. Good God.
I could see it. I honestly don’t think she cares about Harry’s book or who gets dragged in it because she knows she’s good. Harry is not going to say anything bad about her. It was the same with the Oprah interview; she wasn’t the one sweating bullets, everyone else was because they were the ones who did all of the dirt.
Come on … are we really falling for this BS story … the RF and their incompetent office staff are so blatantly obvious at this point it’s pathetic!
Yes they will be throwing $$$$ around to hire additional American lawyers/British lawyers … because they desperately need to protect Pedo Andy and his Royal vileness.
What attacks? Gawd! They’re really nervous about this book … that won’t be out for months. Price Harry announced it early purposely so they’d reveal themselves. And they took the bait. Did they ever.
This has Willnot’s sticky little fingerprints all over it. He’s running scared now because as much as he tries, Harry’s reputation has not been ruined by his move to CA, in fact it was his liberation. Now we know that Willnot and Kannot are both insanely jealous people — narcissists can’t stand when family or friends outshine them, which the Sussexes do in every way. Narcissists fight dirty when they’re backed into a corner, but all this is going to do is cause Willnot to hoist himself on his own petard. As another poster commented up thread, it is very likely he made the comment about Archie’s skin colour, and if this is even slightly alluded to in Harry’s book (which I doubt — Harry’s not writing this as a sleazy exposé of the BRF), all eyes will be on Willnot.
If the British royal family wants to sue for libel in the US, good luck? I’m sure the discovery phase of that lawsuit would be fascinating. It’s pretty hard to win a libel suit in the US as we don’t defer to the crown on things to censor what the public gets to read.
This institution would have done better with a kardashian doing their pr at this point. It is hilarious to watch. The queen might not be in full knowledge of what is going on but there’s a wisdom that comes with age and I bet from the little she does, even she knows she’ll be dying with the british mornachy.
Personally, I don’t see the end of the British monarchy any time soon. I think it will be much diminished in the next few decades, but the monarchy is so tied to British identity, that the British throne will remain even if it reigns over only England and Wales. It hasn’t found a significant societal role for itself beyond its constitutional role, and I think that would be fine. You just need someone to fulfill the role of sovereign and just do away with the whole idea of a royal “family”. Stop the soap opera! Make royal reporting redundant. The Queen, in her effort to remain apolitical, has not, in my opinion, stood for anything except continuity of her line. I don’t know what Harry is talking about when he refers to the Queen’s “values” since her family has not represented family values, or even humanitarian values. As for the other dominions, it is probably mostly inertia that keeps the British sovereign as head of state. There are just too many things to deal with to rejig the system of government.
Agreed. The monarchy has weathered full unpopular, lazy and/or stupid royals before. They will be diminished, but still exist for now. I’m not seeing any signs of a revolution on the horizon, and white supremacy will allow the public to blame the nearest group of immigrants and POCs before they will ever place failures squarely on the ruling class. We’ll see that happen when Brexit collapses the economy and the supply chain.
Agree. The Monarchy becomes more irrelevant to the global community every day. It symbolizes England’s culture. I predict in the next decade Ireland and Scotland will become independent as many of the Commonwealth nations will appoint a native to replace the Monarch. Charles will only be a symbol of an ancient relic; a puppet wearing a crown sitting on a throne.
I see the call to “Distract from Dirtbag Andy!” call has gone out… too bad this is irrelevant and boring, also, don’t think mentioning legal steps is the best idea, it reminds people of other things… Like the sweaty elephant in the room.
Am I the only one who read between the lies of slanderous comments about the royal family, and got “protect the pedo prince?”
First of all, it’s good to know the RF are not opposed to ALL legal proceedings in the US. They just seem to be gun–shy of Andrew’s legal case. Secondly, why does the above story mention Meghan when the book is being written by Prince Harry. Can’t they keep her name out of their mouths? Also, this mention of hurt feelings by the royal family again – I just have to say, whatever happened to stiff upper lip and don’t explain don’t complain? What part of those phrases do they need explained to them? Yutzes! There’s just so much fail in the article, beginning with Prince Harry will have to provide a copy of the book BEFORE its release so that the RF can issue a response – before the publication of his book. Oh my God, these people did not learn after they preempted the Great Sussexit by leaking that story before M & H.
The main lawyering up the palace is doing is to protect Andrew and threaten any journalists who try to use the Freedom of Information Act.
Barking dogs without teeth. What happened to the Diversity Tsar, and the bullying allegations? As much as monarchists and royalists hate to admit it, Harry and Meghan didn’t lie. the RF is willing to lie to protect others but unwilling, to tell the truth, to protect them. Now they believe they have the power to stop the presses. The Queen’s PR team needs to take a seat. No matter what story they release it will not distract Americans or other global citizens from the Prince Andrew story, especially since the Maxwell trial is less than 90 days away. They need to lower the spotlight in Balmoral because the worse is yet to come and it won’t be coming from Northern California.
For what I am seeing in here: Americans DO believe everything M&H say. I guess denial is the American way.