Three years ago today, Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare sent shockwaves through the Royal Family – but a string of claims made by him and Meghan Markle were contradicted in the book
Three years ago today, Prince Harry sent shockwaves both through the Royal Family and around the world with the release of his jaw-dropping memoir Spare.
The bombshell book saw the Duke of Sussex accuse his brother Prince William of pushing him into a dog bowl in an argument over Meghan Markle, claim that King Charles was jealous of William and Kate, and say his father refused to allow Meghan to join the royals in Scotland as the late Queen was dying. The highly-anticipated book came after a series of tell-alls that included their infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and their controversial Netflix docuseries in 2022.
READ MORE: Prince Harry’s UK security review risks making Meghan Markle a ‘target’READ MORE: Should King Charles visit Archie and Lilibet in the US? Take our poll and have your say
When it came to the book, many expected Harry to flesh out some of his previous accusations levelled at the Royal Family. But to the surprise of many readers, some of the biggest talking points from previous interviews and TV shows the couple have given got no mention at all.
Not only that, but some of the accounts Harry did include in the memoir appeared to completely contradict previous admissions made by the Sussexes. And even though an updated paperback version of the memoir, which has sold around more than six million copies, was released in October, no further updates or extra chapters were forthcoming, with the move being seen as a potential olive branch to Charles, William and the rest of the royals.
Bombshell racism claims
One of the biggest talking points that emerged from Harry and Meghan’s explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey was when they claimed that a senior royal had questions over the colour of their unborn son’s skin.
The couple sent shockwaves through the Royal Family when they spoke of their horror at “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born”. It even prompted Prince William to defend the royals by saying: “We are very much not a racist family.”
Despite the interest this claim garnered, the incident was not mentioned by Harry in Spare. And when questioned about it in an interview to promote the book on ITV, Harry quickly back-tracked, telling News at Ten’s Tom Bradby they did not label the Royal Family racist. During the interview, Bradby said to Harry: “In the Oprah interview you accused members of your family of racism”, to which the Duke snapped back, saying: “no I didn’t”, adding: “the British press said that”.
In a further jab at his family, Harry denied he’d “describe that as essentially racist”, retorting: “I wouldn’t, not having lived within that family.” The Duke of Sussex once again refused to name the individual concerned, saying: “The difference between racism and unconscious bias, the two things are different.”
Meghan was refused mental health help
Also in their explosive chat with Oprah in 2021, Meghan candidly discussed experiencing suicidal thoughts when she was pregnant with Archie, and claimed she was prevented by the Royal Family from getting help. It was also something she talked about in the Netflix series and claimed she wanted to go to a place to get help during her mental health struggles, but “wasn’t allowed” because of “how that would look for the institution”.
Harry said he was “devastated” at not being able to protect his wife while she was having suicidal thoughts and said he “hated himself” for how he handled the situation. In Spare, he recalled the moment he found Meghan sobbing and how she told him she didn’t want to live anymore.
He then talks about how they later went to an engagement at the Royal Albert Hall that evening as Meghan “didn’t trust herself to be at home alone”. But when it came to seeking help for Meghan and that being refused – he did not repeat those allegations in the book.
Tense Sandringham Summit
When it came to the Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries, one of Harry’s most explosive claims was that his brother William “screamed and shouted” at him during the so-called Sandringham Summit.
The late Queen Elizabeth summoned the now King Charles and his sons William and Harry to her Norfolk estate to try to resolve the ‘Megxit’ crisis in January 2020, but it was ultimately decided that Harry and Meghan could not be half in and half out. And it is in this meeting that Harry claimed William left him terrified by screaming and shouting at him.
Despite the claims, there is no mention in the book of William “screaming and shouting” or Harry being “terrified”. Harry only wrote that his brother “complained about a story in the morning papers suggesting that he was the reason we were leaving”.
In the same section of Spare, Harry recalled talking with his brother in Sandringham’s gardens and says “he was braced for a lecture”. But he adds that it didn’t come and that “Willy was subdued. He wanted to listen. For the first time in a long time my brother heard me out, and I was so grateful”.
Harry and Meghan’s secret wedding
One previous claim that sparked confusion from Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview was the claim they officially got married two days before their Windsor wedding in the garden of Kensington Palace. Meghan told Oprah in the 2021 interview: “You know, three days before our wedding, we got married. No one knows that.”
She added: “But we called the archbishop and we just said, ‘Look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us.’ So, the vows that we have framed in our room are just the two of us in our backyard with the archbishop of Canterbury.” However, in his book, Harry clears up the confusion and that the ceremony in the garden was “unofficial, non-binding, except in our souls”.
First date confusion
After announcing their engagement in 2018, Meghan and Harry sat down for a joint interview in which they claimed they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. When asked whether it was a set-up, both Harry and Meghan laughed, with the former Suits actress saying: “Yes, it was definitely a set-up – it was a blind date.”
However, in their docuseries, which dropped on Netflix in December 2022, the pair revealed they had actually FaceTimed before meeting in person for the first time at 76 Dean Street in London’s Soho. But in his book, Harry does not talk about them FaceTiming – only that they exchanged messages before their first date.
Dress contradiction
Eagle-eyed royal fans were quick to question the page of Spare in which Harry discusses what Meghan wore on their first date at Soho House, and his contradictory claim.
Recalling their first meeting after weeks of messaging, Harry says she was wearing a black sweatshirt, jeans and heels. He adds that while he knows nothing about fashion, he says he could tell she was “chic”. He admired her “no frills” look at their first meeting, describing her as “heart-attack beautiful”. However, Meghan has previously revealed that she wore a blue dress for their first meeting.
When she was reunited with her stunning Givenchy wedding dress for an ITV documentary, Meghan revealed she had a thread from the dress sewn into her veil as her “something blue”. Seeing the dress for the first time since her wedding during ITV’s Queen and Commonwealth, she said: “My goodness, it’s amazing, isn’t it?
“Somewhere in here, there’s a piece of… did you see it?” she points out when inspecting her veil. “The piece of blue fabric that’s stitched inside. It was my something blue. It’s fabric from the dress that I wore on our first date. It’s nice to see it again. It’s beautiful.” However, it’s possible that there was just a bit of confusion as Harry recalls Meghan wearing a blue dress on their second date.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply