Yesterday, I saw this curious Tatler exclusive about a new royal book which is coming out in mid-October. The book? Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, by Robert Lacey. Lacey isn’t a straight-up royal commentator hack. I most often see Lacey’s name when he’s giving quotes to People Magazine – he’s one of their go-to commentators, and he’s also a royal historian consultant for The Crown. I have no idea if Lacey actually has inside information on anything, but Tatler made it sound like this book will offer up some major tea about the “Sandringham Summit” early this year, when Prince Harry negotiated his exit from The Firm. From Tatler:
The book promises to give an inside look at the relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry, charting it from childhood to the present day, looking in detail at not just Megxit, but also the early days of Harry and Meghan’s relationship, and the other family members that William involved when he became worried at the speed of their romance.
Boasting not just excellent knowledge of the inner workings of court, but also impeccable sources close to the royals, it claims to reveal what really happened during the Sandringham Summit attended by both brothers, their father Prince Charles and the Queen, in which the terms of Megxit were decided – including, what is described as, the Queen’s angry response.
It also includes details from a high level insider who has never spoken before about the confrontation between Prince Harry and the Palace following the Sussexes announcement that they were leaving the Royal Family.
I was honestly slightly surprised by the “exit announcement/negotiations” part in Finding Freedom – Omid Scobie’s sources made it sound like the Sussexes sort of realized that they went off half-cocked but that they were at their wit’s end with the smears. And it’s been clear all year that the summit was mostly about the Windsors working out all the ways they were going to punish Harry and Meghan, from stripping Harry of his military titles, to refusing to allow them to use their HRHs, to refusing their offer to work part-time for the Firm. Anyway, Rebecca English at the Daily Mail says that Buckingham Palace is “bracing” for this book:
Buckingham Palace is bracing for more explosive revelations with the publication of a tell-all book promising to reveal the truth behind the events of the Sandringham summit. The infamous summit, attended by the Queen, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Prince Charles took place in January and saw the royals bash out the details of Megxit.
The rest of the Mail piece is just what Tatler used as an exclusive. Why are they hyping this book so much? My guess is that there are probably some interviews with many of those viper courtiers who wanted to get THEIR side of things out after Finding Freedom made them look like petty racist jackasses. And I’m sure Willileaks’ side of things will be well-represented too, don’t you think??
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Does it never end?
Wish they spend more energy on charities.
it never ends. how exhausting it must be.
I would say that I imagine this is going to paint Harry as an emotional hot head who lost his temper with his brother and father, but that’s been the narrative the tabloids have been pushing for months, so that wouldn’t be something to “brace for.”
Again, same as with FF – if the palace is so worried about a book, it makes you think there is reason to worry – i.e. there IS something bad that the palace does not want out there.
OOH but the line “the other family members William involved when he became worried about the speed of their romance” – so that sheds some light, doesn’t it? It wasn’t that William told Harry to slow down. William enlisted other members to push the same thing on him (his father? the Queen?)
Yes, that’s the hook. We’re about to find out who else had a direct hand in the campaign to drive Meghan out.
Probably referencing their uncle, Diana’s brother, who reportedly was drafted to tell Harry to slow down and got uninvited from the evening wedding celebration for his troubles.
I am not getting why William was allowed to throw his weight around, He’s still heir to heir. Not “in charge”.
If they’re going to trace this “feud” to childhood, they’re bracing because William, Charles, and the royal family are all going to look horrible with the way they treated Harry as the irrelevant non-favorite kid all his life from his earliest years (and right up to how they treat him today).
Yeah, if the writer is going into the whole Heir vs Spare dynamic that plagues the BRF, then they are going to look bad because it is such a shitty thing to do to their own children.
I don’t care how they try to spin things, the royal family won’t come out of this looking good. The people are fed up with financially upholding this musty old institution and more and more are appreciating how Harry and Meghan left and are supporting themselves. Plus paid back the money on Frogmore Cottage.
Another tirade on how the Sussex’s refused to do their part to support the out of date operation is not going to play well in today’s climate.
Yet none of them will write a book about how Andrew has ruined the Queens reign with his scandals. Not a frikkin peep.
Well, there is “Prince Andrew: Epstein and the Palace” by Nigel Cawthorne, published in June 2020.
However, pretty much everything that is interesting has been mentioned by the newspapers in advance, therefore it is not a must-read.
I was rather disappointed.
Kind of doubt the sycophants are going to bite the hand that continually feeds them. It will paint the House of Petty in a (relative) glow, and dump on H&M. PenisWithBIGTeeth will be shown as a concerned older bro who just lost it because he couldn’t “reason with” (ie: make H do what PWBT wanted him to do re: his relationship w/M).
This should be interesting because the author is a historian who has been around a while. His book on Saudi Arabia is highly thought of. Not some Daily Mail hack.
Yeah except everyone seems to sell out to the crown, even seemingly reasonable sorts so I expect he will go light on them and trash H/M like per usual.
I have a sense that Lacey is a WIlliam person. He also said something I found despicable–on Larry King he as good as said it was for the best that Diana died young, she would have gone down hill. Since then I’ve been wary of Lacey. I think DIana would have put the brakes on William’s trying to take over running the family.
How completely disgusting. They wish! Had Diana gotten the right people behind her, she wold have been a great success in America and everyone would gave been questioning why the House of Windsor even exists. And that’s why they killed her. Yeah, I said it. Oh, how history repeats itself. But this time, it ain’t gonna end in their favor. The script has been flipped.
Idk, anytime someone calls it megxit they are immediately delegitimized to me and I just roll my eyes. It’s funny though how even though the RR and the RF act like this is all just such a catastrophe and the BIGGEST scandal ever they are all obviously just absolutely euphoric with all the drama, it’s a dream come true for them. That’s what these people live for and H and M leaving has given them so much more than if they would’ve stayed and played nice.
yes. it’s exactly why every little thing is sensationalized to death. they’d have absolutely no content were it not for harry and meghan.
Hmm, interesting that this is coming from Tatler given their recent ‘to do’ with the Cambridges. I wonder which palace is sh!tting bricks over this – I think its obvious who was behind galvanising the rest of the RF against Meghan. I really want to know what went down between the brothers, as FF made it seem that William was fine with Meghan at first then soured. Kate wasn’t friendly from the beginning and that never improved – so the question is what and who turned William against H&M’s relationship.
@Digital Unicorn … “Hmm, interesting that this is coming from Tatler given their recent ‘to do’ with the Cambridges.”
I’ve thought this exact thing about the last two Tatler articles after their latest deletion from the ‘Catherine the Great’ exclusive.
The notion of William enlisting other Royal family members to help convince Harry to drop Meghan explains a lot. I always thought there had to be more to Harry telling William to talk to the hand and being so angry with his brother. William tried an intervention to get his brother away from ‘that girl,’ and it backfired.
Now it makes sense. Harry’s best friend–talk to the hand and oh, by the way … you’re uninvited to the wedding and after party. The Earl of Spencer–talk to the hand and oh, by the way … you’re uninvited to the after party. Noticable friction between Harry and Keen Cate–talk to the hand and oh, by the way … whatever Meghan wants, Meghan gets! Because they were each part of William’s intervention. Oh. Snap.
And also family intervention in the form of Toxic Tom and Evil Half Sister. That’s when the big guns came out prior to the wedding. I see the royal family’s grimy hands all over that.
You’re right! I forgot about Toxic Tom and Sleazy Sam.
It would be ironic if William is the one who gets the divorce.
Love Meghan’s outfit.
I thought that Harry and Meghan were ‘minor royals’ and nobody in the royal family or Great Britain cared whether they lived or died. Yet it seems that every man or woman in the media is either talking or writing about them. What about that pesky pandemic? Are the British people as bored with COVID as William is about racism?
william is truly a horrible human being to tried to sabotage you’re brother love life to try to use other family to push Meghan out of the family before the wedding . I’m sure this book will be about how William and kate were the most wonderfully amazing people and Meghan and Harry are fragile egotistical people who demand to be treated like human being . I truly believe that the courtiers and the British tabloids think the more dirty the throw on Meghan and Harry it makes them look bad but all does is make the royal family looked petty and jealous that still can’t let go that Harry left to be with his wife and son . The only people who think what Harry did is wrong are the courtiers and the British tabloids and William no one else every where else what Harry did was honorably loving and shows what true character and love looks like . William and Kate would rather have all the trappings of being royal and having people worshipping them and have a another generation where their kids are raised in dysfunctional.
William I doubt will be the best father if he treats his brother that way. He seems very controlling and judgmental. He already looks bad treating George as MORE SPECIAL. He and Kate should have made sure there were presents for Charlotte and Louis.
I feel like this upcoming book has been mentioned in the press a couple of times in summer. Didn’t seem to catch much interest then, but I suppose since we’re close to its release, the promotion will kick up a few notches.
I have high hopes that Lacey will paint a fair picture of the brothers’ dynamics based on his earlier article in the Dailybeast about Sussexit last February. See here:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/harry-and-meghan-megxit-will-help-future-royal-spares-says-queens-biographer-robert-lacey
At least Lacey acknowledges that the Windsors must change! We’ll see!
I just checked and it’s already available for pre-order on Audible (on Amazon too); it says the release date is October 20. I clicked that pre-order button so fast!
PS I know I shouldn’t find this funny but it said it was the #1 new release in the category of “sibling relationships” 😂
So not only did William try to get Harry slow at best and break up at worst with Meghan, he enlisted other family members to help as well…..the audacity. I cannot believe. If my brother was dating someone I don’t find suitable, I’d give my opinion when asked and shut the fuck up and be supportive otherwise.
The Fail supposedly spilled that tea pre finding freedom’s publication, alleging that William went to their relatives including Earl Spencer trying to warn Harry off Meghan. That’s where they also claimed he prevented her going to the Diana memorial etc
Everyone knows that Harry didn’t ‘hit the roof’ just because William said something like are you sure about this girl. The reporters have been talking vaguely about the cause of the rift since late 2018 so interesting if they all know what really happened.
What’s weird is these royal reporters also kept saying how William & Kate didn’t know Meghan well & that’s why they were cautious but at same time no indication they did much to fix that ie spent time trying to get to know her.
I don’t think we’d see anything but a Palace friendly side to the story about their exit unless the Sussexes decide to tell their side one day
Not buying till I know what it says. Won’t help lift it up if not fair.
it wasn’t William’s place to tell a 33 year old man to slow anything down far less enlist help. he was out of order and I hope he gets dragged for that.
I don’t get why Charles allowed it.
William the jealous brother.
Oh, and shout out to the person in here who said that William seemed more like he was raised by Elizabeth and Phillip rather than Diana and Charles. You called it. I know he had some disdain for how his mother handled her royal role but I was surprised that he also finds his own father, a blood prince, unworthy as well. My God, what an insufferable snob. He’s just like his WW2 era granny. He still thinks, in 2020, that all he has to do is “be” and that’s enough. He still thinks picking up a birthday cake is “work” and that that should be enough. You can’t tell me that this man doesn’t believe that his blood actually is anointed by God and that he does indeed have a divine right to reign over other human beings because of that. He totally buys into all of it. Kate does as well. Which is why I think people are kidding themselves thinking that the Cambridge kids aren’t being raised the same way heir/spare kids have been raised for centuries in that family. And this time, there’s no defiant Diana to soften the blow. Trust and believe, Charlotte and Louis aren’t being raised to do anything but serve George for the rest of their natural lives.