Prince Harry's Memoir, "Spare" | BOOK REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
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TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - introduction to the royal family, etc.
09:26 - review of the book's themes, motifs, and ghostwriter
19:42 - ad read
22:55 - close reading & text analysis
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I do love the idea of a review being "Get over it and move on" for a memoir. Like, it's their life. How do you "get over" your entire life?
I mean, “get over it and move on” is a stellar review for every memoir ever tho 🤣
Yes! There was a review for Sally Field's memoir In Pieces that basically rated it poorly because "I read for fun and the traumatic parts of this book were downers". It's...her life? It's called In Pieces? I'm sure she would have rather had more fun and less trauma, too, but that's beside the point of a memoir.
😂
@@ExtraordinaryMachine333 a bunch of readers lost their shit over the 2nd half of Jill Bolte Taylor’s My Stroke of Insight. the first part leading up to the stroke was all about how she became a neuroscientist and her career.
in the 2nd part covering her recovery, she talks about the areas that were damaged eg speech & language, blah blah blah, and that one of the symptoms was a feeling of happiness/euphoria and she felt connected to the universe & had become quite spiritual
for some reason this personally offended a certain subset of readers. “THIS WOMSNS BRAIN INJURY MAKES ME ANGRY”
ok buddy, may be try a different genre?
U don’t
As someone who also lost a parent and is now the last of my immediate family to not be married; he put it perfectly.
I'm happy for them, but there is that changing that's happened where things can't go back to how it was and you feel left behind.
Yes - i think that feeling was so honest and relatable
What has he accomplished to write a memoir? Having lived his life! Memoir is the one area of nonfiction you don't need accomplishments or credentials for. You're literally just writing about yourself, and you are you!
Plus, it is not like he lived in a basement his entire life. His whole life is almost entirely alien to most people's experience. The royal family is an extremely wealthy family with a ton of privilege, but it is also in a weird and extremely public spot with insane traditions and is uniquely subject to constant tabloid interactions.
Like Savy points out, Harry was not given a choice to be famous, he was famous from the moment he was conceived. Wealth and power is great, but he never consented to being the object of adoration and ridicule for doing nothing but being human.
Beyond the unique experiences there too, he also is unique in that he was an extremely wealthy and powerful type that had the government telling him that he "should be shielded from the front lines" but who refused to accept that. He said that if he was treated differently or if his regiment was sent to war without him, he would immediately resign. But then the press, never leaving him alone, breached the confidentiality about where he was, forcing him to withdraw because the constant press coverage of his location put his entire unit at mortal risk.
Like, literally every part of this guy's life has been trying to escape the press so that he can have meaningful and non-performative experiences. They took his mother from him, took his autonomy, and then even took his ability to fight with his own unit from him. It is insane that people somehow try to pain him as being ungrateful, and the only explanation is that they only listen to the very tabloid press that is doing its best to exploit his pain.
The worst part is that, I bet, if you asked any of these people what they think about tabloids, they would all wax lyrical about how evil they are, then immediately turn around and insult Harry for refusing to play their game.
@@Caelinus I absolutely agree. Well said 👏
Most brits feel somehow entitled to this guy's life, like he owes them some service and performance in this sad royal theatre... It's pathetic...
I'm really glad he got out of there and lives the way he wants. He always seemed like a guy capable of that, even when he was a kid, and good for him!
The Xbox story is "controversial" because the Xbox wasn't released yet. But it was reported in the press that it had happened. I thought it was his way of showing how the stories that other people tell about your life can influence/highjack your memories.
Yeah, if it did happen, maybe it was an N64 or a PS1, and the press were referring to it retroactively as an "Xbox" because the Xbox was the best-known console when those articles were being written.
It's so unfair that the media are claiming that he "lied" about getting an Xbox. He clearly, unambiguously states that he has no idea whether he got an Xbox or not. It's a non-issue but they're using words like "lied" and "controversy"?
I read that 400 pages were cut because he said his father and brother would never forgive him if he released certain detailed interactions with them. I wonder if any of those instances that lacked the specifics you talked about where affected by those missing pages.
I was wondering the same thing
After the draft was accepted by the publisher and the contract signed etc he wouldnt have even had a choice to cut the bulk of it... so thats likely untrue.
@@justinwilliams7290 And how would YOU know the cuts didn’t happen in the draft stage?
@@justinwilliams7290 oh yeah cause as a publisher you'd love to get on the bad side of not only your author, who is a very powerful man, but also the British Royal family just for some extra salacious details.
The book was selling, details or not, so it's better to allow the cuts as the publisher rather than be pedantic about contracts with the former Prince of England lol
I feel like if Harry published those not only would he get kicked out of the firm/line of succession, the British would probably gain some “Republican “ sentiments and legally overthrow the monarchy.
i think the not knowing if the 13th birthday present from his mom was true or not was more so referring to harry's feelings about the present, and that his family was the one telling him he had this great reaction. the wound of his mother dying was still very fresh, so receiving a present that she was supposed to give him from someone else most likely wouldn't elicit a reaction of "wow, this is the best present ever! i love video games thanks mom! :D", but more so a realization that his mom isn't coming back and his aunt has to give him his present instead of her. but the royal family, wanting to keep up appearances, told him over and over that he loved the xbox, so much so that what actually happened became fuzzy and harry could not longer discern what actually happened. i agree that the writing was sort of unclear on that part and could have been spelled out a bit more, but that was sort of the vibe i got from that
It would make sense, another commenter pointed out that Xbox came out in 2001, and this birthday mentioned was in 1997, there is no way Princess Diana got him an XBox, but over the years this narrative the family told him would become muddled enough that no one even remembers what the actual present was and just guess it's an Xbox cause Harry likes games.
@@rankushrenada or they are referring to it as an “Xbox” but in reality it could’ve been a PlayStation or something. I can see how so it could be being called by the wrong brand, but I also agree with the original comment about the family framing it a certain way and drilling that into young Harry
It also reads like he’s unsure if the present was actually from his mom. He might suspect that his mother hadn’t yet purchased the gift or assumed that if she did, no one knew about it, so the family purchased the xbox and lied about it being from her.
I’m not saying that is what happened or what he meant. It’s written in such a way that it’s unclear how we’re intended to interpret the scene.
Yo this might be too much but since the last time you uploaded I took Christmas break and used the free time to finally get sober from prescription drugs. I’m so proud of myself and just want to tell everyone, thanks for making me feel accepted enough to say it here.
So happy for you!
Congratulations and all the best on your journey forward. From Cincinnati.
That’s fantastic. Congratulations.
Congratulations, I'm proud of you. Keep taking each day as they come.
I'm proud of you. That took a lot of courage!
That funeral/wedding analogy hit home hard. It’s such a weird bittersweet feeling to see people you love moving on in very happy and fulfilling ways but still moving on
I feel the same. I think it captured the feeling well
As a childless person, I feel the same way when friends have kids. I’m very happy for them but it also means our friendship will change in significant ways.
@@wen33 I understand... but having a child is like your heart's been torn out and it's running around in front of you.
@@wen33 yeah, I understand that for sure. I'm sure your friends feel the same, the only reason they might not seem too upset is because they have a baby sapping up all their attention and energy. As a new-ish mom, once I do have a couple minutes to myself, I definitely mourn the life and freedom I used to have. I'm only able to deal with it because I love my babies so much and would do anything for them, including giving up my life and freedom.
Yeah
Hi Savy, I really appreciate your take on "Spare". I lost my mom to suicide when I was 9 yrs old and I have the same thought process about death as Harry. I also questioned if my mom was dead or if my dad had paid her a shit ton of money to start a new life in another part of the world. We had moved to my dad's place 6 months prior because my mom tried to strangle me. She was bipolar, drinking a bottle of gin every day and was high on medicine the last 2,5 years before her suicide. We moved back to the house we used to live in one week after she died, so "life went on like normal", just like Harrys.
My sister and I also needed anwsers, but we only got them after my sister contacted the coroner when we were in the early 20-ies. When we confronted our dad, he reacted with so much anger. We had asked for him to tell us the truth, because the rumour mill was spinning like crazy, but he always came up with a new story.
I really feel with Harry and I fully understand how he feels. I actually think he has PTSD, but has been told to shape up or ship out, but he has the right to to tell the story from his perspective, it's the only way to battle the dark thoughts. If his family had been more supportive, I don't believe that they would be in this situation.
Haters will always hate and I get why they had to "fled" to USA and Canada. Most of the English people only knows them from what they read in the tabloids. It's both disrespectful and unfair to treat them that way. Perhaps Meghan were "difficult", but imagine coming from the other side of the world and get stamped as a villain, because she wanted to have a say on how they wanted to live. They wanted to build a nest for them and their children and they wanted to do it on their own terms. That must have been extremely difficult for both of them.
The leaking of Meghans private letter to her father, the stress that comes with having a wedding that also are broadcasted all over the world and moving to a new country must have taken a huge tol on her.
Most people don't see them as people with feelings, but privileged, spoiled and demanding. Life isn't easier or better just because your family is wealthy, but thats what people are spoon fed to believe and the english press has been relentless.
I apologize for grammar- and spelling mistakes. English isn't my first language.
How Harry feels about people getting married is how I feel about people having babies. I grieve my relationship with them; it will never be the same.
I think the implications of "There was only one other person in the room" was that Carmilla must have leaked the story not that some spin doctor was in the room. Also, it would be weird for this story to go into a lot of detail about Charles and Carmilla's relationship since it started when Charles himself was young, though maybe he could have gone more into detail of his own feelings of his father having met the love of his life before he married Harry's own mother. That's got to be complicated.
My thought exactly. My understanding is that Carmilla (the one other person in the room) told the spin doctor who brought it to the press
@@MichiruEll It would also make sense with respecting that he has to thinly veiled describe her to not , like he didnt write it to attack his family. But for himself so probably her, and she seems fairly jaded and bittr enough to do it.
This does make sense
I also think that it's pretty easy to find a summary of Charles and Camilla's history. I can understand Harry not including that information in the book.
Ok so 1:05 here is the tea … Writing this before finishing the video… Charles and Camilla were together long before Dianne … He was sooo in love with her… But the family didn’t think Camilla would be the appropriate wife choice for him, because of her reputation (I think being party-party in her youth)… They felt like Dianne would be a better choice for him.
Biro (pronounced like BYE-row) is a branded pen like a bic ballpoint pen. But it's used as a general term for pen, like how sharpie is a general term for permanent marker and Kleenex is a general term for tissue.
I looked into this story and it seems that maybe the term cold blooded is being used more literally than we would. So it's literally cold and thoughtless rather than snide and cutting.
The only thing I can think of regarding his description of the fish pen as 'cold blooded' is that it's likely a terrible pun because fish are considered 'cold blooded'. Otherwise, I have no clue 🤔
I'm Australian and growing up we called pens biros, doesn't seem to be as much a thing anymore. Makes me wonder if it would have changed anyway or if it is because we are absorbing so much more Americanisms these days.
I'd say a biro would be considered rude to gift from someone with means, like they're ticking the box of giving you a present for a household item worth less than a box of tissues.
@@ozazure I suppose if you are giving a basic biro it would be. You can get really nice ones that cost thousands though so it really depends on what pen was given, was it engraved etc.
@@amandamandamands Really good fountain/ballpoint pens from stationery stores can cost up to hundreds of dollars, whereas I can go to Big W and get a bag of Bic ballpoint pens for a dollar. I think Princess Margaret either forgot to get a present or was being cheap.
The backlash reminded me of Jeanette’s book title controversy, complaints about the appearance but not the substance of the book itself, thank you for taking time to show us what the book is actually about.
Yeah
Savy, your amazing :)
For maybe some additional context: There wasn't a third person with Harry and Camilla. When he says "only one other person was there" he means Camilla was the other person. So she had to have leaked the story through her spin doctor. Hence the betrayal he mentions later.
Ahh got it! Maybe something in the wording made that go over my head.
Right. If I’m reading it right, Harry was sacrificed by Camilla as a foil and distract or.
Yeah
I think Harry probably didn't do a lot of explaining with Camilla for a few reasons: it's an extremely well-known to anyone who was passingly invested in his mother, and out of a certain amount of respect for her.
Basically, Charles and Camilla met when they were young and pretty quickly fell for each other. There were a list of reasons she wasn't deemed "suitable" (I think it was somehow publicly known she wasn't a virgin or something? IDEK) and Charles had to go off to do some royal duty - I think military service, but I don't remember entirely - at which point she met and pretty quickly married another dude. It's a pretty nebulous timeline of if they re-started their relationship as soon as she got back or not even though she was married, but he basically never gave up on her. He cared about Diana and married her because he liked her and needed to get married so she was a perfectly fine option, but he always really loved (and continued to be with) Camilla throughout their entire relationship and marriage. This unfortunately meant thought that he was hugely resentful of Diana and a generally horrible husband to her, and it really messed Diana up to both be the wife and other woman at the same time and to have a husband carrying on an affair that everyone around her knew about but never actually warned her about before she entered into the relationship. But it's also a deeply sad story because Charles never wanted to be with or pursue Diana or wind up hurting her in the first place - he wanted to be with Camilla, and his duty and circumstances of his birth prevented him from doing that. And since this entire backstory is such an essential part of Charles and Diana's story (both why they got together and why they got divorced), Harry isn't entirely wrong to assume people would know it. Like, it's been pretty flogged to death in like every Diana movie, The Crown miniseries, a bazillion podcasts, etc etc etc. The reason we know all these private details is because a lot of horrible stuff came out about Camilla during Charles and Diana's divorce. Some of this was from Diana, but a lot of it came from some from leaked recordings of Charles and Camilla's private phone calls in which some really god-awful dirty talk was recorded and you can google the details of but I'm not going to recount here. After both Charles and Camilla got divorced from their partners, it was a decades long process to rehabilitate her image enough that she could be seen in public first as Charles' partner, and then as someone Charles was allowed to marry.
It's totally understandable that Harry would have a lot of mixed emotions about Camilla and her relationship with his father. On one hand, this is the woman his dad loves and has always loved, and who makes his dad happy. He probably also has a great deal of sympathy for her because he knows what it's like to be in her position of paying your pound of flesh to the press for the crime of trying to be with the person you love while under an enormous microscope where really personal, salacious details are known about and constantly used against you to tell you that you don't deserve that love and happiness. And I'm sure he understands based on other anecdotes about family members in the book that control of narrative is a necessary evil, and not necessarily a reflection of who someone is morally as a person. Camilla needed to spin his reaction to her a certain way so she could finally be with Charles, and he gets that, and also probably in the grand scheme of things feels like compared to what other family members have forced him to go through so they can come out on top in the narrative, it's not that bad. On the other hand what Charles and Camilla's relationship put him and his brother through, not to mention what it put his mother through, and on top of that having to accept that your stepmom is the reason your dad never loved your actual mom is like... a lot. I don't totally blame him for not wanting to really delve into that hornet's nest in the book. Like I'm sure in his private life he's been willing to talk about it, and in some ways the whole story reflects the thesis of his book about the toll of living so publicly, but also to unpack the whole thing once again for public consumption doesn't really benefit anyone. Like it's worth it to kind of expose William in this book because that's extremely germane to Harry's current circumstances. But to shine that light on his dad and stepmom's relationship doesn't explain much about Harry while potentially re-opening a lot of painful stuff for his dad and stepmom.
Camilla had been known to be dating Parker Bowles (later her husband) on and off for several years before she met Charles, and a few other guys, hence why it was widely assumed she wasn't a virgin. It sounds ridiculous now but this was the early 70s and the British Royal Family was behind the times.
I personally wouldn’t forgive my dad if he did such a selfish and childish thing to his family. Basically using Diana as a birthing vessel and threw her away once her “royal duty” was performed. I have sympathy for the two brothers as they really had no hope at proper mental health in their situation. What I’m realizing is how many people Queen E fucked over for her prudishness. She denied her own sister!
I think that when Harry talks about his aunt giving him an xbox for his birthday, this is supposed to demonstrate how the trauma of his mother's death and his struggle to grieve had a damaging impact on his memory and his ability to recall events accurately in a chronological order. Aside from it being weird for his aunt to turn up at his school, his birthday was talking place in 1997 and the xbox wasn't released until 2001. Therefore it could not have happened in the way he describes, and I think he was trying to convey that, but maybe that part could have been communicated more explicitly, especially since a lot of readers wouldn't necessarily know exactly when the first xbox was released.
Oh I totally didn’t catch that at all
I agree, the way his mind fragmented the memory is what is being conveyed there, "Mom died, it was my birthday I think and suddenly aunt is there with an Xbox from mom, or so the press says, I can't remember? Must be what happened, the press knew everything? Maybe, I don't know... can't remember..." It is disjointed for sure and unclear but maybe it is intentionally done and if it is, tragic imho.
I think it shows also the gaslighting that was constant in his life where he can’t even tell what’s his memory anymore or what is tabloid.
@@carolbaker2773 I really hate the way people are so prepared to believe anything that'll make the Royal family look bad that they'll turn themselves into pretzels, bending and twisting trying to justify all the errors in this book...
I gotta say, I'm a fan of Harry and Meg, but to me this book felt a bit premature. Like he hasn't finished processing all of his life/issues yet. I'd love to hear his take on his own book in about 5 years.
A huge amount of it reminds me intensely of when I first escaped the conservative fundie world I grew up in and for the first time in my life could speak my true thoughts and then I literally would tell everyone everything. Like 5 years from now? I think he probably won't love that he told everyone he pissed his pants at 32 lol.
And to be fair, no one's ever done processing their life/issues yet, I guess. But a good chunk of this stuff just feels very halfbaked.
I don’t think premature
@@tiffprendergast ok good note
I think he partly did it at this point in time because he’s newly free to set the record straight on his life up until now.
It feels to me that this was something he wanted to do to sort of lay to rest that part of his life, say his piece on things, then move on.
@@OMGitsShrimp you are so right
I'm very used to being expected to understand US American references so it's pretty great to hear that the book wasn't written with the cultural translations baked in. Props to the ghost writer.
Lol. I did think of this. Cultural translations could provide better context, but could also slow down the plot, so im undecided on whether they should have been included.
I figured it was ghostwritten when I read the account of his recollections the night Princess Diana died. The descriptions of Balmoral and the bagpipes were so well written, there was no way that someone who constantly says he doesn't like to read would've been able to come up with such vivid imagery. I could practically hear bagpipes in my head as I read.
Honestly, it's hard to know who wrote what descriptions. It could've been him, it could've been the Pulitzer-Prize0winning ghostwriter. I honestly don't know.
Watching what Harry has dealt with, it really gets to me that Princess Margaret (Queen Elizabeths sister) went through alot, she struggled and i think was treated badly by the royal family. The fact the royal family let Margaret suffer and then treated Diana so horrifically and since learning nothing is awful. I hope Harry forces the long overdue changes they need to make, but i'm not sure if it will. Hopefully Harry will find happiness and maybe one day peace from all this.
I started getting panic attacks from putting on my EMT uniform, so hearing Harry say the same about a suit is somehow really validating.
EDIT: also maybe it's just me but 3.5-4 stars really isn't a bad review lol
Yeah I think there's a lot of stuff he talks about that is very relateable
@@dismurrart6648 yeah
I could never be in the military
@@tiffprendergast lol me neither, EMT stands for emergency medical technician.
About half way through the video and I just really love how in-depth it is. I have no interest in the royals, but listening to you pick apart books helps me learn so much about writing, books and literature
(also I may be lying a bit, I love drama so...)
Thank you so much
Camila and Harry's dad dated before he married Diana. But the royal family disapproved and basically forced him to get married with Diana
And he kept on shagging her anyway!
Which, I think it's important to note, Camilla reportedly encouraged him to go along with. His staying in succession was more important to the both of them than the fact they'd be conning a young girl into being their beard and not so subtly undermining her marriage and publically humiliating her. They weren't so in love as to give up the chance at the crown, just enough to ruin someone else's life.
@@katharineeavan9705 I think she was already married at the time
I finished the book yesterday and I agree with your general assessment as far as the writing goes. The book felt really long at times, like it took me 38 years to get through it.
It seemed like he and his ghost writer took great pains to not explicitly call out family members for hurtful comments which is why he didn’t want to give direct quotes attributing specific hurtful comments. Or he didn’t want to misquote someone because he remembered something differently than the other person.
I often times can remember exactly how I feel about a moment but struggle with the details of the conversations. I really related to Harry when he stated that at the beginning of the book.
Also, that weird section in the book when he met Camilla and she had a new staff member, I took that as Camilla was the new person in the room. Harry was implying Camilla was the leak with the help of her new staff member.
Yes, I agree with the quotes thing - like if he had shown something as a quote (even with the liberties allowed in a memoir) that could give the family leverage for a lawsuit.
@@onceuponamelody Its likely more than that, while he did took a stand, he still seem to care about his family. Probably helps with the lawsuit, but he also doent seem to want to unnessesary attack them. (which i dont camilla dont count for him personally but thats probably really lawsuit material).
He didnt even do stuff to attack his family and took the tamst yet clear way to stand up for his wife and distance himself there. I just think it wiould be a thing for him to not explicit direct slander hem unnessesary.
Honestly, I think that shows something about his character. I mean yeah, there were prob legal reasons too, but still it seems like he mainly wanted to give his side of his history, not so much throw anyone under the bus
@@Starburst514 I feel the same.
I just finished Spare tonight. Right before Spare, I listened to the audio book “A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology” by Mike Rinder. The two memoirs are very similar. I consider Spare to be a cult survivor memoir, as much as a royal tell-all.
That's definitely something I'd like to read. Thanks for the suggestion.
Yes! We have to realize Harry was in a cult period! And we have to extend him grace as a cult survivor period!
Yes! I was thinking the exact same thing. In the book, the responses to Harry from Charles and William sound just like what you'd hear from cult members if you were trying to leave a cult.
Oddly enough, I just recently finished A Billion Years and was thinking of starting Spare. If they are similar, as you say, I think I'll definitely be getting it.
Yeah
Biro is a brand of ballpoint pen (pronounced BYE-row). It’s become shorthand for pen like how we say Kleenex instead of tissue.
I'm just 10 through the book, but that moment at the funeral (35:16) when he grabs his dad's hand and he says of the paparazzi: they kept firing, firing, firing, that was so well written, just the use of the verb is kinda: paparazzi, you killed my mother. quite good.
Losing access to good Mexican food was definitely one of my top two or three drawbacks to living abroad in the past. If you have, you know the disappointment of being deprived for like a year, leading you on a quest to find the one Mexican restaurant in the nearest big city, only to find the burritos to be utterly bland and mediocre. Fucking tragic!
:( th one good local closed during pandemic :(
@@marocat4749 NOOOoooooo! I feel for ya!
Where?
Thanks for the in depth review and analyse. Interesting that the ghost writing is pro and con in one. I guess Harry did not want to be quoted on the dialogues. Because I think the public would not see it as him recalling as he remembers, but would have the expectation that the quotes are accurate. Or at least the press would treat it this way and maybe the Royal court would think about suiting.
Just for context: Charles and Camilla were a couple even before their first marriages. But at the time she was not seen as suitable as a wife because she was known to have had other relationships before, therefore was no virgin anymore. (Totally messed up standards.)
Margaret was actually the sister of Queen Elizabeth II and was denied by her sister her first marriage. Family should not have so much power about each other and public image should not play such a big role in family dynamics.
It wasn’t even Margaret’s first marriage. She and Peter Townsend were dating. She asked to get married and the Queen denied her because Peter was divorced.
Back then not only was divorce stigmatized, but a lot of people still had strong memories of when Elizabeth and Margaret’s uncle abdicated the throne to his younger brother, their father.
And if rumor is to be believed, the Queen and her mother blamed the Queen’s uncle for her father’s death. They thought the stress of being King killed him. Especially since he wasn’t raised to be king, so he wasn’t prepared for it.
So, it’s speculated that their uncle abdicating in order to marry his 3x divorcee lover made Queen Elizabeth rigid in her disapproval of marriages to divorcees for a long time.
She only changed her mind when continuing to be rigid would turn the public overwhelmingly against the monarchy.
She would do anything to keep the monarchy from crumbling under her watch.
Wow all this history is wild
@@SAVYWRITESBOOKS wait til you hear about the abdicated Uncle becoming a Nazi sympathizer and it wasn't discovered til years later
@@SAVYWRITESBOOKS Oh, the whole Edward/Wallace thing is fascinating!!! There are a bunch of biographies on Wallace Simpson, but I first learned their story from my mother's obsession with "Masterpiece Theater" when I was little...
The audio version of the book leaves absolutely no doubt that the Biro gift from Princess Margaret was a joke. He was affectionately calling her cold blood or cheeky/naughty in a way he could relate to. He even says he wishes they had been closer after he realized they were similar, for many reasons.
I immediately took it as a double entendre: she’s cold blooded, fish (the fish biro) are also cold blooded
I honestly think abolishing the monarchy would be the best thing for the royal family. It might give their descendants the chance to not be born into a child celebrity factory.
I am watching this now and you're talking about the time Harry met Camilla. He is saying that she leaked the story to the spin doctor who leaked it to the press. She is pretty notorious for being buddy buddy with the royal press corps.
I'd highly recommend listening to the miniseries the "You're Wrong About" podcast did about Diana. One of the hosts explains that the way the royal family is currently is basically a violation of human rights. Their job is to be public people, where anything that pertains to their privacy is threatened on a daily basis, where their status is that point is pretty much being a tourist attraction, and everything they say or do comes through a very heavy filter because it will get overanalyzed to hell and back afterwards.
I loved that podcast. And one thing that really stuck out to me was how Charles kept insisting that Diana read more, be more intellectual, discuss the literary classics with him. It is honestly mindblowing to me that he was doing the same damn thing to his son 30 years later.
Yeah they also don't have religious freedom, or at least the royals in my country don't
The part about William and Harry not getting along after William got married... It almost seems as if William was having difficulty transitioning into being a married man with children. When you are single you have all this freedom that you no longer have when you are married with children simply because you have others to think about, so.... when his baby brother got invited to do cool things I can understand why he would start to become jealous; however, when someone starts to become jealous it typically doesn't stop at one things until the underlying cause of why they are jealous is addressed, so it very well could be that William did take his frustrations out on Harry where Africa was concerned.
Thank you, this is an interesting take.
They were both treated like objects. William (imo) has misplaced his frustration on his brother as he is literally the most powerless person in his orbit that matters. They treated William like he was made of glass since he was the heir while Harry got to do more since he didn’t matter.
@@carolbaker2773 Interesting perspective but Harry was also brought up to believe that he wasn't as important as his big brother. The closer you are to the throne, the more important you are within the royal family. They're unapologetic in this belief (apparently). Growing up, I can't imagine Harry or anybody else NOT taking that somewhat personally ! By the time he was old enough to understand that it wasn't personal, just an accident of birth, the distinction may have been lost on him because either way, he still felt hurt. I'm being a little speculative of course.
I also think this story illustrates how much less "mature" the older royals are when it comes to processing their own emotional turmoil, & toxic behavior/feelings towards one another, when they are ALL getting constant gaslighting and media torture (as well as from within their own ranks) because none of them has gotten any therapy themselves. Once Harry gets therapy and begins to request healthier interactions with them, they freak out. (Perhaps also blame Meghan for the changes they see in Harry - becoming more resistant to their toxic control issues.) They can't recognize what is or isn't aberrant behavior in themselves because no one ever calls them out on it (*Like Meghan did with Harry when his outburst was totally inappropriate and or potentially damaging not only to their relationship but not the healthy kind of potential future father of her children, that she would be willing to accept in a life partner! She says quietly, but firmly, that this is unacceptable behavior and she is not willing to accept that from him in the future. After his explanation or excuse, she points out that Harry needs more therapy. WOW...that was quite brave of her and also illustrated how she WAS ABLE TO SET BOUNDARIES for herself and her life before joining the RF - imagine then how difficult it would have been for her to go along with all that horrid behavior that was normalized within the Royal Family and institution and keep her mouth shut about it!?) It is antithetical to the internal system to get THERAPY which would then uncover the TRUTH of the toxicity and the multitude of human rights abuses set up within the "FIRM" itself. The palace's underpinnings (the handlers, 'Men in Grey Suits', their personal assistants, etc.) are also a HUGE part of the gaslighting problem. They are there primarily to maintain status quo & to justify their own existence and the bloated expense of their own large institutional traditions (and social status)...as a part of the palace's toxic control system - or CULT as you have pointed out. Therefor, even the QUEEN herself couldn't control her own schedule or priorities, like trying to have the private meeting SHE HAD SCHEDULED with Harry only a few days before, without getting it cleared through her handlers!?! Imagine how she might have been cajoled into cancelling that meeting with Harry? She gets gaslighted too (right?) She really didn't have as much POWER as they all subscribed to her - who was controlling her? Which men in grey suits controlled all of the Queen's choices? Hence her inability to approve her sister's marriage, even though she may have really wanted to. It simply went against royal protocol. The description of being in the "gilded cage" that Harry used during the Oprah interview (calling his other family members trapped) is so relevant here.
16:50 I think it’s a totally valid comparison, Harry and Jeanette have wildly different stories but are both cautionary tales about fame, family, and the messy (often toxic, for both of them) intersection of the two. I haven’t read Harry’s memoir yet but I am interested in picking it up for myself!
Hi Savy, the Biro bit is about biros being normally cheap pens, like you can get a couple for £1, so that was why it was probably seen as a disappointing present. Also it's pronounced bye-roe not bih-roe. Great video btw i really enjoyed it.
One thing to note here is that the Royal Family has had a Christmas tradition of giving goofy or 'white elephant' gifts to each other at Christmas - rather than useful or sentimental types of gifts. So her giving him a Biro isn't really that 'off' although it might not have been very creative (or funny) it wasn't so totally out of line...its supposed to be a 'gag gift'. Harry probably could have also mentioned that tradition for some context.
I feel like I should point out what I saw in another comment (and totally missed myself, I must admit): fish are cold blooded. Apparently it may have been a pun that just didn't land.
But yeah, I always thought of biros as cheap pens. A bic would be the American equivalent in terms of cheapness. I think biros and bic might actually be the same brand, like how Quavers and Lays are the same brand just in different countries.
wow agree that the part about Harry looking at the crime scene photos and the angelic light realization is just "wow"
I love your viewpoints on this. As an avid royal follower, I saw the book differently, but I love how you thought as well. In terms of the charity work every member of the royal family has “their work” which sets the apart of the other members of the family. Everyone has their thing. Example: Kate is the earlier years/children. William is climate change, Camilla is the elderly, and Harry was supposed to be the military. And each member can only really do things in their niche. It is looked down upon if you venture outside your bubble and if you are doing something that is in a higher rankings members niche it looks like you are trying to upstage them.
I wonder if it has something to do with justifying their status. They can't really justify being monarchs by the job of ruling the country, since they don't really do that, so, in their own eyes maybe and in the public eye, they have to bring something to the table. And if you feel like someone else is bringing the same thing, it'd make you feel threatened, replacable.
That's entirely my interpretation from the point of view of someone who really can't find any reason for the existence of monarchs today tho, I might be a 100% projecting.
That makes sense. They're definitely forced to have different standards than the rest of us. I feel bad it's imposed on them
Bruh I don’t blame anyone for wanting to leave the royal family. This performative culture they have is too much
gatekeeping social causes. how nice of them.
Learn the history. Camila told to One of her Aides. That told her husband who spill to the newspaper. It was news when it happened. Learn to see the news
I watched an "I read it so you don't have to" review and, while I understand people being like "boohoo little rich boy" it still makes me sad. Especially when talking about children, the way they're treated in comparison to their siblings and peers can be really damaging. Yes Harry has tons of privilege and we're brought up to romanticize being born into power, but it's a fundamentally damaging system.
I have family who are wealthy and I'm the bastard. I grew up in poverty and most of the family never knew I existed. I had to disown my father and that means my siblings won't respond to things I message them. All of us are adults so it didn't HAVE to happen bur it did because that's the rich people thing to do. You punish the person who made noise because that harm of talking about it is seen as worse than the abuser quietly abusing them.
The way Harry and William act is 100% in line with what growing up like them would create. Same with every other royal.
I watched the same video and it really bothered me that people just seem to loss sympathy just because someone is wealthy/rich/in a position of privillage. It doesnt matter how rich or poor you are if you gave 1 kid a bigger room that the other the one with the smaller room will always feel a certain way.
I had a super shitty childhood like abusive parents, ended up in care etc like it was 10/10 shit but ive never understood not being sympathetic to others like ive had friends who talk to me because they are really upset about their married parents starting to argue more and as much as part of me looks at that and thinks "yo your parents are still together and actually nice to you thats prettu lucky bro" the smart part of my brain then over rides that with "they only live their own life what i consider shit in my family is different to what they would consider shit in their family" we are all individual people with individual experience and should always be sympathetic to what other people consider their family shit.
@Ollie JKM exactly! Like it wasn't even a smaller room. It was a smaller half of the same room when there's 50 rooms in the house.
Hell, I even feel bad for the way their father grew up. Just because none of them will ever know hunger, doesn't mean that the lives they live are good.
Hell, even the life that person who made the video lives is one that a lot of the world would kill to have. It's really sad when people can just dehumanize people and say that their struggles don't suck just because of some level of privilege.
You make me laugh so much, even when I’m so depressed I can’t get out of bed
I appreciate the Megan Markle/Pat Fitzgerald rant as a fellow Wildcat. The real reason people are mad at Harry and Megan: they hate BIG 10 football.
Ghost writing is great...there are so many stories we'd miss out on because the subject wasn't privileged enough to have a formal education if ghost writing wasn't a thing.
I think the thing with Margo and the fish pen and Harry calling it "coldblooded" was a pun because fish are coldblooded?
I really like how detailed you were! Still waiting on my copy of the book.
And I totally agree: Meghan's really beautiful. I'd drop the monarchy for her too. (I mean, I'd drop the monarchy anyway, I'm an anti-monarchist, but still)
Your reviews are always wonderfully nuanced. I kinda wonder if the ghostwriter does prevent some of the uglier personal moments to come out-- things other than public scandals like the costume. I think (sometimes) that a genuine autobiography contains more of the petty moments, the private angry conversations, because there's less of a need to protect the subject of the book, even unconsciously.
I have found 'Spare' to be a fantastic memoir. I don't at all feel like it is a cash grab or a expose on the royal family. By the very nature of being a Prince of England, Harry's memoir has to include rather intimate details of royal life. I think everything was presented fairly and from an honest viewpoint, and it has only raised my opinion of Harry. Monarchies are not loving family environments and anyone who thinks Harry is whinging is an ass. There wasn't a single complaint (if you can even call them that) in the book that I didn't feel was justified from Harry's point of view. I'm no lover of the monarchy, but I was a child who looked up to and admired Princess Diana. Harry and I are nearly the same age, and I vividly remember watching him walk behind the gun carriage during her funeral. Harry was never cut out for the palace life; he is too much like his mother.
To hell with the haters: Let Harry live his life. We all need to just butt out and mind our own business. I appreciate his openness in this memoir, and I know that his mother would be proud of him for speaking his truth. Just because he had the (mis)fortune of being born royal, that doesn't mean his humanity is worth any less than anyone else's. I wish nothing but happiness for him, Meghan, Archie, and Lili. They deserve nothing less.
I think part of it is that from harry's point of view it must be hard to comprehend a reader of this book not being at least vaguely aware of the backstory and context. Frankly it's pretty reasonable to assume any brit, even ones wholly uninterested in the royals, would have picked up a reasonable amount of context by unwilling osmosis. I have virtually no interest in the royal family and never have. And yet I knew that charles and camilla were in love from a young age but charles wasn't allowed to marry her because The FamilyTM thought she wouldn't be suitable and wanted a younger and more photogenic princess. So they forced him to marry diana as a matter of duty. And then the media scapegoated camilla as the reason the marriage fell apart. Camilla then spent a couple of decades playing the political game and ingratiating herself with the royal family and the media to the point her and charles could be permitted to marry. This knowledge was impossible for me to avoid despite not reading gossip content of any kind or caring the slightest bit about the royals personal lifes. It must have been a difficult balancing act when writing, because if all the backstory was included most brits would probably have found it tedious, we all know that already, we'd want the new stuff. But for someone coming to it cold it must be rather confusing to have half the story left out or only vaguely gestured to
Loved your review of this! So much to think about and I'm not getting the "What a narcissist/husband of a narcissist, etc. vibe I was expecting. I also love that you not only include criticism, you offer ways to improve the writing. It's a book review and a writing seminar in 1 video! Thanks, Savy
dude i went to barns & noble and this man had FOUR stands JUST for his book, my friends said the cover is scary. they were all on sale too💀💀💀💀
i love your enthusiasm for the topics you cover. i'm not a huge book lover but your humour keeps me watching your videos. goooo savvvvyyyyyyy
also with the ghostwriting: i ghostwrite as one of my jobs and it's possible more than one person was on the ghostwriting team
Historical context on gift-giving within the royal family: they always gave each other not expensive gifts, but humorous gifts. That's why a biro (cheap pen) wrapped in a rubber fish could be a proper gift between royals. There'd probably be some kind of wry message it conveyed.
Ahhh! Love the Strong Bad clip! It’s interesting to see how this came together, watching the Morning Guru live streams! I always enjoy the way you break down books and the conversations that surround them.
FINALLY an unbiased and detailed review of this book. Thank God for Savy.
I am certain that the 'cold blooded' thing was a fish joke. But it was probably also a reference to this woman being thoughtless and not knowing what he actually liked--what kid wants a fish-shaped pen??? Maybe that's kind of a fun gift, but not one I'd want for my birthday or w/e.
I think i can expand on that dirty phone call without being indelicate. Whatever year it was that the phone tapes were made public, i won best costume at a Halloween party. I had wrapped myself in large, horse size cotton batting,. (usually used to wrap horses leg injuries). I had a 3 ft. piece of thin white rope trailing behind me and i topped my white turbaned head with a large plastic gold crown with large fake jewels. I'm still proud of that costume. And i was classy. I kept it white. But that costume only worked because it was in the news.
I don't know if we use the term different across the pond, but for me in Uk cold blooded has nothing to do with the fish. It would be cold blooded to give such a cheap gift in a deliberate way. We use the term for a person or an action that is cold, icy, mean in a pre meditated way
@@helenr4300 it's just a well known fact that fish are cold blooded. I am of the opinion that the ghost writer was trying to make a joke out of the fact it's a fish pen, as well as being a thoughtless gift, that's all.
Yeah he even says afterward that he wishes they had been closer. I think cold blooded kind of meant naughty or cheeky in a way he can relate to
The spin doctor scene made perfect sense to me, what he's saying is that only he and Camilla were present when he met her for the first time, so only one other person could have leaked the story (Camilla), and that she was aided and abetted when she leaked the story by a spin doctor (who I assumed helped her craft her version of events and get it out to the press after the meeting with Harry).
It was actually the story about the first time Prince William met her, not his own story.
Great job, Savy! Enjoying your review on my lunch break.
Took me a few days to get through this one but I’m glad I did. I definitely appreciate your review’s because I feel they are honest and not just there to get clicks. And I love how you break things down. I’ve learned so much about writing from this channel.
This was a really good review. I think you were very fair with pointing out the flaws and the good parts. Personally, I feel bad for Harry and Megan because I know how awful the backlash can be when someone attempts to challenge a system that everyone sees as "normal." And I know how infuriating it is when you just want everything to be better for everyone, and other people say, "Well, this is just how the world works. I had to grin and bear it, so you should, too." Even if I'm not royalty, that part is relatable to me.
I think the British press would bring up that you were from Chicago if you married into the royal family. It's enough that you're American and queer. They'd still want to portray you as living in some uncivilized slum. But I definitely think a Black person from Chicago would be treated much worse.
I think it's weird when people use the "south side of Chicago" as code for "scary place with violent criminals." I grew up in Hyde Park and most people who lived there were academics or professionals. There are some areas on the south side with high poverty rates, and high poverty often corresponds with increased crime for a number of complicated reasons, but I still think this view of the south side mostly stems from racism.
Lol I assure you we have no clue about the stereotypes surrounding Chicago. The first thing everyone will be thinking is 'Oh, like the musical!'
@@ellencoleman4604 I dunno, I think there might be talk of cigar chomping gangsters in trilby hats mowing down the liquor inspectors with tommy guns. I think thats likely the most up to date stereotype most brits have about the city :p
Not even a big reader, but I absolutely love your reviews. Your overall presentation, honest take on things, sarcastic snippets to emphasize your point - so much fun to watch!
Aww thank you!
I could've listened for another hour! This was a wonderful review. I'm glad I found your channel. I love that you avoid extremes of hate and worship. The commentary was thoughtful and fair...you pulled some of the best quotes! Thanks so much for sharing.
I'm very glad that this video was up so early so you could be the first one that I've heard from about this situation
I’ve been wondering if I wanted to read this or not. Thanks for your thorough review! I can always count on you for fair reviews.
This right here, this is how reviews should be done. Balanced and entertaining at the same time
I am almost finished reading the book, and it is actually really well-written and interesting. I am more knowledgable about the royal family than most Americans, so some of the things you didn’t understand or maybe felt were boring made sense to me. I don't agree with how H&M went about everything (I think they sometimes say too much), but I totally understand why they made their choices, and why Harry had to get out of that situation. He has every right to choose his own direction in life.
I haven’t read the book, but as always, you give what seems to be a fair and thorough review. Brilliant.
The British monarchy is guilty of multiple genocides and ecocides.
Harry stands up for his wife, he should get respect for this
I'm sure someone else wrote this already, but the other person in the room I think WAS Camilla, and that would also be how she sacrificed him to PR?
England has an issue with classism and how people speak, yet somehow there are people out there who this country can't be racist?
Don't forget that they had the colonies and were superior to the natives. Seriously though I don't know of any country that doesn't have an issue with racism/xenophobia.
@@Dryadfolk Give him time, like he still has respect for his family enough to not directly attack them. He might get there , and that seems to be more to humanize himsel over tabloids and talking about, isues.
Also give him time.
@@Dryadfolk Don't get me wrong I don't think that the class system is helping, you are missing that this is happening world wide at the moment with the people with generational wealth getting ahead through old boys clubs etc. There is the occasional person who can break through and do well for themselves but for the majority they are holding onto the conservative talking points of I managed to do it so why can't you and have no concept of the help that they had to do it and the active barriers that they are putting in other people's way including how bad the pay/conditions that they are giving to their workers with their justification of well if it was so bad then they can get a job somewhere else and paradoxically when that does actually happen they just cry to the media that no one wants to work instead of reflecting on why no one wants to work for them.
@@Dryadfolk I see the monarchy as a cult. I honestly do.
Harry may have gotten out, but it doesn't mean his mind is completely out, maybe with time he will be able to properly process everything.
The part about the media exploiting Prince Harry grabbing King Charles' hand was repeated with Princess Charlotte holding Kate Middletons hand at the Queen's funeral.
Charlotte hold Harry's hand.
@@8LyJu8 No
Lol... I live in the UK. "Biro" is a brand of pen here! This review was wonderful. Love your videos! I really enjoyed the parallels between Harry and Hamlet.
You say I really appreciate positive reviews or mixed reviews because I think it's really helpful to understand when a book works why it works and when it doesn't work are the elements that are making it come up short.
Indian food is to the UK what Mexican food is to the US
This was awesome, I can’t wait to read it! As a southerner in the USA I can relate to Harry interpreting his family’s motivations after giving an outline of the incident. He has never given it a second though, he’s been trained since infancy to decipher their bullshit. It’s just something some cultures do - William would never say out loud that he was jealous, but he would say something and everyone would just have to *know* what was meant. But he didn’t say it. So William gets to be an asshole while claiming innocence.
This is why Meghan ever directly stating even one feeling was offensive to the family, but refreshing to Harry. He doesn’t have to remember hundreds of years of drama to figure out what obscure reference was meant as an insult when he’s with her. And she didn’t have the common courtesy to hide her feelings! Doesn’t matter how hurt you are, you can’t say it, you have to hint at it by referencing something else.
This isn’t necessarily a dysfunctional family thing, it is cultural. I once had a boss from up north who got an email from a client who took 3 paragraphs to not directly say “I need to move my appointments from Tuesdays to Thursdays.” My poor boss had no idea what this client wanted, I skimmed the email and said, “oh, she needs to change her meeting time.”
Also, wow. I didn’t know Charles kicked them out, I though they left. Jfc.
They did leave, but there is an ongoing "slimming down" of what constitutes the main monarchy in terms of financial support these days. As the "spare", the moment William had a son of his own, Harry was disposable. Add all the drama surrounding Meghan to that, which Harry is very right in saying was "upstaging" Charles and his agendas, and Charles had no investment in them and wanted to cut funding (I won't claim that extended to his personal relationship with Harry, I don't know either way).
That was one of the (several, I gather) reasons they left. They were essentially being told that they had to continue to abide by all the rules and orders given, continue to work for the betterment of the royal family's image, and continue to take whatever (seemingly ever escalating) slights or abuses came their way without complaint, but that they were no longer to receive the financial support they relied on to be able to follow those rules and orders. Meghan wasn't supposed to work. Neither of them were. As his position in line for the throne continued to drop so would all the privilege and protection associated, but he, Meghan and their children would still be expected to play the part and toe the line.
When combined with the extremely negative effect the constant criticism and scrutiny of both the press and the royals themselves was having on Meghan's mental health, it seems like he thought "what the hell are we even still here for? My wife's wellbeing is worth so much more than my family's extremely conditional inclusion in an institution I'm beginning to suspect I don't entirely agree with".
That’s called dog whistling and it’s used by emotional and mental abusers. I found it helps to have a name to identify these behaviors.
King Charles didn't kick them out!!! My goodness, please, please just do a little research, you don't have to go far, search UA-cam even! Just please don't judge the whole Royal family over the anger & bitterness of ONE member!!! If they were as bad as you say, wouldn't MORE than just Harry have left??? Please, do just a little research about Prince William and who and what he stands for before you judge him on his little brothers view of him! How is it Prince William's fault he was born before Harry anymore than it's Harry's fault for being born second!
I wasn't going to read this book but your review got me interested. Some of the passages highlighted actually brought some tears to my eye. Seems worth it.
Ok srsly does anyone else hear Voldemort in Goblet of Fire saying, "Kill the spare" every single time they read the title of this book??
Margaret was refused permission to marry by Queen Elizabeth, her own sister.
“The royal family is NOT racist and never has been.”
Tell that to all those British colonies around the world.
Great review, I love hearing your take on good writing!
Savy: He didn't fuck a snowman
Savy, two minutes later: He was at the North Pole, he was having to go in and out of things
🧐
thanks again for an in depth and honest review, Savvy! I haven't read it, but after hearing so much trash talk about Harry, this is refreshing
No country needs a monarchy. I am British and the love and fascination for the Royal Family confuses the shit out of me. Why would people support them? Don’t even get me started on Prince Andrew 😓
Also side note - biro is pronounced ‘buyrow’ and you are gorgeous ❤
Thank you for your review! Your comments are helpful to me, as I am working on my own book. I wasnt sure how to tie in reflection. THANK YOU! 🖤 I have ideas now 🥰
May I PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE recommended Alan Davies Memoir 'Just ignore him'. Davies embraces the elusive nature of factual memory by using it as ingredient for the creative process that allows for HIS story to be so lovingly and vulnerablely shared. It allows for the mythos and fable of a life lived to speak to its reader in such a personal level. Warning for content. But i highly highly recommend, especially for its creative writing use within memoir
Im glad he wrote the book as I’m glad you make content. I think there are life stories are meant to be shared to have a deeper understanding of humanity - however it is experienced and perceived. Thank you for your work !
We have huge problems with racism in Europe too. It’s just more subtle in the UK and London really is the least racist multicultural city. Meghan is getting the whole of the UK reacting to her, not just Londoners.
Thank u so much for ur critique. U just discussed the book and issues, without c bc sung personally offended by it. It’s ridiculous how most r aching! Ur so refreshing!!
The thing that drives me up the wall about the accusations based on "oh you claim to want to be out of the media and yet here you are writing a book" is that most of the things I've seen Harry and Meghan say are much more along the lines of them just wanting to have control over which parts of their lives the media have access to? There's a certain amount of invasion of privacy that comes with any type of fame (I don't like it but it's true) but the royals are on a whole different level, and I think it's perfectly sensible to be looking for a middle ground between that panopticon and going total media blackout.
I really appreciate your take on this!
You hit my algorithm today! Haven't seen you in awhile. Looking good Savvy🤗🤗🤗
As a family/childhood trauma survivor, I loved Jeannette McCurdy's book. I loved the Glass Castle and Fun Haus. It's okay to air grievances on your family sometimes, and trauma is something we often need to share to let go of. But this book didn't do it for me, honestly.
So pumped to finally get to watch this. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!
I will be reading this book soon just received my copy from the library 📚📖
Thank you for sharing your in-depth analysis of this book.
I do feel for Harry’s unresolved childhood trauma and how clear it is that he’s still processing his grief with the publishing of this book.
Breaking the cycle of dysfunction is not easy especially when you come from that old school way of doing things.
Healing takes a lifetime. It’s very different for everyone.
We wish him well and hope he can be a better person after this.
It would also be good to hear the other side of his family story.
He definitely is coming out from the life of illusion and privilege.
Harry’s growing up slowly but surely. Even. If we don’t totally understand.
We deal with our own trauma and arrested developmental trauma is real and affects so many adults right now. 😢
“I’m sad my mom died” 😂 I laughed way too hard at this
Armchair psychology: I wonder if charity is a sticky point between the brothers due to how big a part of Diana's life it was?
I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. From my casual tabloid headline reading over the years from working at a grocery store, I think they both wanted to take on her “causes” for their own charity work
That's what I wondered too. It was one of the things they got to really spend time with her over, and I bet with William being the Heir he was expected to really go with it. I remember a story when he was 11 he and his mom went to go volunteer at a soup kitchen and it was the first time he understood the Royals were not loved by all, but he still had to understand they had a duty to everyone, even the people who cussed at him and spit in his direction because he was a Prince, and he said it was a very sombering lesson she taught him.
Charity might be one of the things they felt C connected to her with
Edit: Okay so another commenter explained that with Royals charity is their thing in general (I read somewhere that Diana did set the precedent for it though idk if that's the case or not) and each member has a specialty. Kate has babies/children, Camellia the elderly, and I forgot William's but Harry's was supposed to be military and veterans, so everyone has their own "lane" of charity for them to be the face of and they're guarded of it
@@Starburst514 Camilla's is violence against women.
Another point about charity work, wich isn't named enough: William and Kate have a terrible record. Kate started the whole "early years" after Meghan joined the royal family and apparently just now she will start doing something. Besides this, several of the organizations they suppossedly have patronage on have closed due to lack of funds, when one of the main reasons of royal patronage is having their presence for fund events. The fact that this has been consistent in them is quite terrible.
Savy I love your breakdowns of memoirs and hearing about your perspective of both the writing and the themes and events. I was wondering if you have any plans to review A Billion Years by Mike Rinder? He also does a lot of UA-cam interviews, I bet you could get a comment or interview from him too if that's your jam.
Great review! Really glad I found your channel. I also enjoyed Jeanette's book so I'll definitely pick this up too.
Aww thank you so much
You are right anyone can right a book I can't believe people are rating the book without reading it that's so stupid and ignorant
Same thing happened with Megan's book (there's a few booktubers who reviewed it and one named Jack (I can't remember his full name I'm sorry ;-;) whose Brit and talked about reviews it go before it was even released. It's wild, legit one was "bad enough to turn an entire generation off reading" and it's...a children's picture book...about being a Dad....like the reading age is preschooler for it...
It was actually a pretty sweet book, and dedicated to Harry and Archie and and there reviews were like "manipulation at its finest" "Disgusting display" and all this about a preschool book before it was even released
@@Starburst514 Jack Edwards!
The Biro anecdote alludes to the royal family's tradition of giving joke presents at Christmas. A biro is the sort of cheap, everyday pen you buy at a supermarket or newsagency, hence the description of the gift as "cold".
Thats cold indeed not evn giving anything fun to,. . I mean present language wise.
oh she was saying Biro! I heard it as 'bureau'. I was confused about what she was talking about, was this some fancy upper class way of referring to a fountain pen or something? But no, literally for anyone to get a single biro as a present would be considered a snub. It'd be like buying someone a plane pad of post it notes, or a handful of paperclips
I think the "other person in the room" was a reference to Camilla herself