There has been so much talk about the section in Prince Harry’s Spare about his bachelor life and his lack of style. Harry was 31 (soon to be 32) when he met Meghan, so he spent his 20s in Army gear, formal clothes or whatever cheap sh-t he could buy at TK Maxx, the discount chain (which is called TJ Maxx here in America). His father did give him a clothing allowance, but it was only for fancy clothes to be worn at family events. For casual clothes, my dude was buying from the irregular section.
As a rule I didn’t think about clothing. I didn’t fundamentally believe in fashion, and I couldn’t understand why anybody would. I often got mocked on social media for my mismatched outfits, my ratty shoes. Writers would flag a photo of me and wonder why my trousers were so long, my shirts so crumpled. (They didn’t dream that I’d dried them on the radiator.)
Not very princely, they’d say. Right you are, I’d think.
Weighed as much as bowling balls. I wore them until the soles developed holes, and when I was mocked for wearing holey shoes I finally got them fixed.
Each year I received from Pa an official clothing allowance, but that was strictly for formal wear. Suits and ties, ceremonial outfits. For my everyday casual clothes I’d go to T.K. Maxx, the discount store. I was particularly fond of their once-a-year sale, when they’d be flush with items from Gap or J.Crew, items that had just gone out of season or were slightly damaged. If you timed it just right, got there on the first day of the sale, you could snag the same clothes that others were paying top prices for down the high street! With two hundred quid you could look like a fashion plate.
Here, too, I had a system. Get to the shop fifteen minutes before closing time. Grab a red bucket. Hurry to the top floor. Begin systematically working up one rack and down another.
If I found something promising I’d hold it up to my chest or legs, standing in front of a mirror. I never dawdled over color or style and certainly never went anywhere near a changing room. If it looked nice, comfortable, into the bucket it went.
At closing time we’d run out with two giant shopping bags, feeling triumphant. Now the papers wouldn’t call me a slob. At least for a little while. Far better, I wouldn’t have to think about clothes again for another six months.
[From Spare by Prince Harry]
Yeah, a lot of dudes are like this or even worse – they’ll still depend on their moms or girlfriends to pick out their clothes, or they’ll just buy the first thing they see without even looking at the price. I kind of admire Harry for even bothering to have a shopping system, which he clearly developed himself without any help from the women in his life. I’m actually kind of shocked that Kate – who was with William, on and off, during this time period – didn’t step in and say “let’s go shopping, let me pick out some stuff for you.” A real missed opportunity for Kate to treat him like a doll.
Anyway, in the British media’s rush to “fact check” Spare, they managed to get TK Maxx on the record about they… don’t have sales??
TK Maxx denied Prince Harry’s claim about shopping at the retailer during its yearly sales, which he mentioned in his new memoir, Spare. In his book, which was released on 10 January, the Duke of Sussex reflected on buying from TK Maxx during their “once-a-year sale”. However, TK Maxx has now responded to the royal’s claim, noting that its stores don’t “do sales”.
“Whilst we’re delighted Prince Harry is a big fan, we thought we should explain we don’t actually do sales,” a spokesperson for the brand told Express. “Instead, we offer great value, style, and savings all year round.”
TK Maxx does have sales. The Sussex Squad has receipts, which I’m including below. Even discount stores have sales, when they need to move out old products to make room for new. Harry was even photographed leaving TK Maxx in 2013. Anyway, it’s just a reminder that Harry has always read the comments. He knew that you guys made fun of his suede shoes and his ill-fitting casual clothes.
There’s a proof👇this was Daily Mirror in 2013. pic.twitter.com/uP7qsQn18z
— Zainab (@znbg11) January 12, 2023
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Britain’s Princes William (L) and Harry speak on stage at Wembley Stadium in London at the “Concert for Diana”, held in memory of their mother Princess Diana, July 1, 2007. On what would have been Diana’s 46th birthday, Princes William and Harry have lined up a string of pop veterans from Rod Stewart to Duran Duran for a six-hour show being broadcast to 145 countries. Ref: B68_102118_0020 Date: 01.07.2007 COMPULSORY CREDIT: UPPA/Photoshot,Image: 506007873, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: For queries call Photoshot + 44 (0)20 7421 6000, Model Release: no, Credit line: STEPHEN HIRD / Avalon
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- The Duke of Sussex meets guests during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London.,Image: 507041823, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- HRH Prince Harry Of Wales, seen at the Festival of Polo at Beaufort Polo Club, Gloucestershire,Image: 531422612, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – sales@photoshot.com London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- 145602, Prince Harry seen at the South African Wildlife College in the Kruger National Park on day five of his tour of Lesotho and South Africa. South Africa – Wednesday December 2, 2015. South Africa. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office: +1 310.822.0419 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE,Image: 532077372, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- DAGENHAM, ENGLAND – APRIL 11: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex meets young people who have been involved in the development of the new Youth Zone as he attends the official opening of the Barking & Dagenham Future Youth Zone on April 11, 2019 in Dagenham, England. The facility is created by the Charity OnSide Youth Zones and is the first of three facilities expected to open in 2019, which will provide a safe environment where young people can come and enjoy themselves, build key skills and raise their aspirations and confidence to create a happier and healthier generation.,Image: 534435979, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- 1st July 2007 Concert for Diana, Wembley Stadium, London. The concert held on what would have been the late Princess Diana’s 46th birthday was organised by her sons Prince William and Prince Harry to celebrate her life. Chelsy Davy, Prince Harry, in the Royal Box watching the concert.
It’s a cute story sure, who doesn’t love TJ Maxx? But the fundamental story here is that Harry was born into a what is the definition of a cult (see the financial abuse described here) and managed to escape it.
Exactly. It’s a cute story but its also really sad. He had no money for clothes so he went to TK Maxx to buy discount clothes. Somehow I don’t think William was shopping at TK Maxx like Harry was.
I have no idea where Peggington shops or shopped for his clothes but Peggington’s casual wear does look like it came from a TJ or TK Maxx semi-annual clearance sale rack.
Wanted to add: Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick does know how to dress casually and has excellent taste as does David Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowden. Not all fashion hope is lost for the Windsor men
I mean, it’s sad and ridiculous that Charles would not give him money for clothes. That said, however, TK Maxx in London has some really nice stuff!
This is the fascinating part. You assume these kids had everything at their fingertips. But the control…. it often sounds like he is living 2 lives. When he is in professional mode he has access to the best of the best- food, clothes, lodging, etc. But when he is off the clock he has a totally different life (still with enormous privilege but totally at the whim of what others are willing to give him)
The two lives thing is what also struck me. I was surprised that when he was training in Norfolk, he stayed in a hotel and not on one of the Queen’s many buildings in Sandringham. It’s a weird existence.
Is it fair compared to the support other members of the RF get? No. But it doesn’t qualify as financial abuse. Harry was a grown-ass man with a military salary — he should have been paying for his own everyday clothes. (Cutting off Harry’s security, on the other hand, was definitely financial abuse — particularly because he was working as a senior royal who was financially dependent on the Crown at that time.)
And for Harry’s development, this was a good thing. He actually learned how regular folks live on a budget. And he learned how to buy his own clothes like a grown-up (which is an adulting skill a lot of guys never learn.) Unlike Charles — who had never paid for anything himself.
Yeah I agree. He had a job in the armed forces with a good salary for years. None of that went to lodging so he had even more of it. Charles gave him money for the clothes that were part of his other job and which would run into the thousands. This is a pretty harmless section imo. I like Harry’s telling of it as well.
It turns into abuse when Charles claims to be supporting PH and leaks all the time about his supposed financial support. And what about the Duchy’s financial figures that claim a level of support for PH that doesn’t seem to have been there. That’s fraud.
Question is if it’s emotional abuse? Heir vs Spare
I would need to know where the salary went before I could say – does he mention it in Spare and I missed it? Because after everything we’ve read, I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles turned it down on his behalf or something or made him use it for something else…
That the thinking for some military people, that’s why, I think, some of them are given nothing, because people think they have it. He is a prince and could not just live, eat and work anywhere. It’s like he said, he was not really equipped or would be allowed to be anything else. And still, he wasn’t allowed to do what he was equipped to do
If he worked for Charles, he deserved a salary regardless of having another job.
Heck, he should have been paid for work he did as a kid since adults got paid for being support for the royal family
You know what @Malificent, I agree. Harry learned how to adult. His ten years and 2 tours in the army taught him how to adult. While in the army, HE LISTENED AND LEARNED. He was educated on how to make ends meet by people who weren’t royal or aristos. He f&cking did it. Sure, it may have been easier for him because in his outside military life he didn’t have to pay for lodging (that we know of). The lodging he was given was/is pretty unspectacular for what the image of the BRF put out. Or, people are led to believe. sidenote: in regular life I believe teenagers should have jobs and pay for things themselves. Not all things. Just things they want. A halfsee agreement. I’ll pay half, you earn the other half for the expensive shoes you want but don’t need.
I’m laughing, back in the early ’90’s I was a single mom that worked full time and paid for an apartment that was subsidized. Paying $500 a month in the early ’90’s. Didn’t have money for many extras, but I had a porch, 2 bedrooms, a decent sized kitchen, lots of windows and ceilings that would accommodate someone that was 7′ feet tall. The BRF would not give more to the Spare for serving his country.
This story isn’t about Harry paying for his own things. The big story is the reaction to him having to pay for his own things/clothes. TK MAXX is stupid if they put out the statement. The Independent/Charles is even more stupid to put out the statement in attempt to not explain. Wasn’t a good buddy of Camilla’s recently made editor-in-chief of the Independent? Might have publications wrong? TK MAXX might lose out overall. Harry was giving them free publicity. He & Meghan appeal to the younger generation in the UK. I would not be upset if the younger ones protested against TK MAXX and their statement. Regardless of the relationship between TK MAXX and the Princes Trust. Harry went to TK MAXX probably because of the Prince’s Trust-to support his father’s initiative. He’s good like that. (though Charles’s doesn’t deserve it)
Ack, sorry again, this story grinds my gears. The BRF/BM/British government are trash.
Well, one has to think about all those “Kate is so down-to-earth, she shops at High-Street” Stories, or not?
OMG, so this store lied and forgot they advertise their sales days, and figuring no one had eyes or memories they could just get away with lying about future American citizen Harry Mountbatten-Windsor!
Are the Kensington Palace PR people moonlighting at TK Maxx? Why would they lie about something that is so easily debunked? Were they offended because they think Harry is saying that shopping there was a hardship? 😆
They are based on the presumption that their prices are always “rock bottom” and can’t be any lower. If they admit they have sales, that means their prices can and do go lower. Harry outed their business model.
TK Maxx works with the Prince’s Trust. Literally can’t trust anyone on that island.
Right? Wtf is in the salty water over there for a STORE to decide to was 3 into the fray to “debunk” Harry? It’s a pointless self-own.
Almost like… Thinking thinking… The owners/C-suite jumped to offer up this fact-check tidbit?
Almost like… Thinking thinking… There’s a system for wealthy/upper class to stay that way by knowing and protecting each other?
Almost like… Thinking thinking… Harry’s not just pulling back the curtain on media lies and Balmoral bathwater, he’s threatening the whole system that kept the proletariat in a union jack waving, gossip-munching, self-interest ignoring haze.
In 30 years, he’ll only be 68. I hope he’ll be the first elected UK head of state. 😁
How do we know the printed press statement was accurate ?
Alternatively, did the Mail just shop around until they got an incompetent employee to go on record with that statement ?
The Fail def paid someone off to lie for them. Apparently they still have wads of cash that can buy lies about the Sussexes. I hope that employee gets fired and Twitter keeps debunking this.
So companies are lying in order to not offend the palaces and tabloids? How dreadful.
I work beside a TK Maxx. They have a sale on.
Yep, here too in the States: Ross and T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have their post Christmas, start of the year sales going on. A lot of empty shelves and such as the new merch shows up. I got a shirt yesterday that I needed.
When their own rag reporting proves themselves future liars, lol!
And, yeah, his brown suede shoes were tragic. They should never have been part of your wardrobe, Harry, lol!
I always thought those brown shoes were a good luck charm and that’s why he always wore them, lol. But yeah, now we know.
Why is TKMaxx even responding to these enquiries from the press? The Independent has turned into a tabloid. Another thing, with these stories, Harry has confirmed that Meghan was paying for her clothes when she was a working royal.
The frothing right wing crowd is less than 25% of the population, but very loud and obnoxious. Brands are afraid of them. It’s a dance where brands feel they having to respond to negativity, but also know they will be more damaged if they seem to be a “right wing” brand. There are more sensible people than haters.
As someone who works in Marketing/PR, I would have immediately started a campaign about how our clothing is so good, even Prince Harry shops at our stores. I’d insist we make donations to some of Harry and Meghan’s favorite charities to get some great publicity. I’d give customers the option of donating, too. But no, let’s go the “Royal Way” and deny everything, then look like classless idiots when presented with receipts. Sigh.
It does seem like everything in the UK is the “Royal Way” 🤢
Merrie, that would have made more sense. 👍
Really. Lean into it. Get that picture of him shopping there and work it.
Such a missed opportunity! A man who looks like sex on a stick has nothing but fond memories of your store and you…call him a liar?
@Enny
You said “a man who looks like sex on a stick”
;). No seriously, I’m a solid fan of the ginger prince, but that had me laughing. I’ve not heard that phrase before and it’s going into the repertoire.
I think it’s more that he -sounds- … etc. He’s typically well spoken and I like his values system enough.
Right!? They could have milked the fuck out of this!! Had some fun. Their social media person should be canned.
OMG right @ Snuffles. They could have totally milked the fuck out of this excerpt positively. Especially with the hot photos of Harry in the People mag shoot. The British Media/BRF’s agenda against Harry & Meghan will hurt British business owners. Not a good thing to do during an inflation crisis.
It might still work for them on the Harry factor. Love that Harry shared this story.
It’s like bad PR is contagious. You’re a discount store to begin with, that’s your brand. Lean into it! They’re not Louis “WE DON’T DO THAT” Vuitton. What a missed opportunity.
Right?!? This was A-MAZ-ING publicity for TK Maxx and instead of using it they completely whiffed it. Whoever put out that statement should be fired. Their entire marketing team, who clearly does not understand how to use good publicity, should be fired.
They should have had Harry do a Superbowl commercial advertising a big upcoming sale! With X% of proceeds donated to his designated charities.
Or hey, since they work with TPT in the UK, they could’ve reached out and said they wanted to partner with Archewell in the USA.
They could have played it so much better than this!
To everyone here: TK Maxx is in conjuction with the Princes’ Trust (in other words KC3) . This explains everything… how lame smh
Ugh. Well, there you go. I hope King Charles made it worth their while to whiff an enormous PR opportunity.
It’s genuinely nothing to do with The Prince’s Trust. The staff at PT ate busy getting on with their actual work supporting young people.
Merrie – you have it right. I also work in PR and watching this whole thing unfold, between the RF and now this store, is embarrassing for the profession. Can no one jump on an obvious win?
Me three! I used to work in PR and I’m constantly amazed at how badly any PR work associated with the RF or their sycophants fuck it up every damn time.
Your approach is the right approach but instead, the decided to say, “what sale? We have no sales.” Twitter has the receipts so why would they bother to lie and look bad vs embrace that Harry shopped there and offer like a lifetime discount to Harry and Meghan publicly? I mean, is no one trained in PR in the UK? SMH
Possibly with the Harry hate in the UK, it’s more of a selling point to slam him rather than celebrate having him as a past customer.
Whatever happened to “personal clothier to the Prince?”
I’m more on the marketing side of things, not PR, but I’m gobsmacked at how bad the royals are at comms. BP and KP is a case study in what not to do EVER. Do the palace PR teams hate the royals or are they all just horrible at their jobs?
I was gonna say wait, I know they have sales, because an English person whose ASMR videos I watch on YouTube talked about buying things during a sale there. Did the store lie, or did the Independent just make this up? It seems like a rather silly thing to lie about, considering you want people to come to your sales.
Also I don’t care about clothes. I just want them to fit and be clean and not absolutely hideous. Harry’s my kind of guy.
Why did TK Maxx feel the need to lie and smear Harry? Does this mean TJ Maxx is anti H & M, because that’s an unexpected twist.
They probably thought it was a nice PR response that they tried to spin back to them having cheap prices year-round. I also don’t trust how the question was phrased to them by the British Press. It’s in your best bet when dealing with them to say nothing at all, because they clearly will twist it fit their agenda.
To everyone here: TK Maxx is in conjuction with the Princes’ Trust (in other words KC3) . This explains everything… how lame smh
With family like this, who needs enemies, their tentacles reach far and wide….
Omg. I’m shook. Thanks for the explanation. No more TJ Maxx for me.
Also how pathetic! TK Maxx out here smearing Harry over sales for Chuck.
Seriously, The Prince’s Trust and Tk Maxx thing seems to be something that helps young people. The problem is with Charles/the Firm. Helping the spare move forward in life seems problematic while encouraging other people to move forward is good. That’s some f*cked up shite.
https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/about-the-trust/success-stories/tk-maxx-homesense
Remember when the BM claimed that Beyonce’s spokesperson denied they sent a text? Even though they actually declined to comment? Yeah, unless it’s a named person, I don’t buy it.
This shows what liars the British press are. Why try to catch Harry in a lie about CLOTHES? They don’t have shit and have been making up shit for years about him. They contradict themselves because they actually “made fun” of him for bargain hunting. The losery of it all.
I love TJ Maxx! I get the best things there for me and my daughter. I need to look nice for my job but I’m in a budget so I love going there and finding designer things for way cheap.
Also they carry a line of Van Cleaf knock offs that people have a hard time reading as fake. A lot of my clients are so surprised when they find out my necklace is $25 and their’s which looks the same is $2,500 or more.
Also for designer shoes ladies go to the Real Real. Got a pair of Oscar de la Renta pumps for $50 and they are stunning.
Kiera – what’s the brand name of the Van Cleef knock off jewelry ?
Darn I forget! They come in black, malachite, and mother of pearl. Set in gold some with diamonds. Bracelets, earring and lots of necklace options.
There are some by Rachel Zoe but I don’t like them as much.
I’m a dude and it’s as if Harry’s speaking my words. I know I need to dress better at my age but have no idea what I’m doing so go with designer brands (Kenneth Cole, Calvin Klein- men’s staples) but hate spending money on them. TJ Maxx and Marshall’s are my jam.
We can be bros, Harry. I heard the position’s open and I love Meg!
HeyJude you should check out JCrew Factory as well. They do great sales/deals and you can get some pretty solid staples as well. I get my husband a lot of his nicer dressy things from them.
Also Target has some solid mens everyday pants.
My son is 15, but likes to dress a bit sharper (relative to the average American teenaged boy). He likes the retro (for him) 90s look from the GAP. And he likes the stretch in their jeans and chinos.
At full price, GAP is out of my budget. But because they’ve been struggling, GAP is constantly putting stuff into 40/50% discount after only a month or two — and does “GAP cash” if you sign up for their rewards program.
And agree with Kiera — Target also has some nice men’s stuff that is reasonably decent quality. Trendy without being goofy.
Also, check for nice boutique brands there that fit your style. I’ve gotten smoking deals on James Perse, Vince, and Theory for really well made staples.
LOL @HeyJude. Love TJ Maxx & Marshall’s. I have both stores within 10 miles of me. Most excellent sales. Anything I bought/brought home for my husband, he was happy with. My husband actually doesn’t give any shites for what’s fashionable or name brands. He wants comfortable over fashion.
I don’t know where you are and don’t need to. But, Macy’s & Nordstrom’s are having some really great online sales right now too. Brands that you’ve mentioned. Imma laughing at the most comfiest, softest sweater I paid $21 for from Macy’s. Original price was $100. I have a sibling who can look at what you’re wearing and can express the original price-she would be great at the Price is Right. When I told her the price I paid for the beautiful, comfy sweater, she was in disbelief.
Took a quick look at the men’s clothing deals at Macy’s & Nordstroms. They look good. Lauren & Klein deals. I’m also a sucker for men wearing fitted zipped sweaters…they have them too.
Ooooh, thank for the tip! I desperately need to replace my Frye Engineer boots (the sole is too heavy and rips up my feet), but haven’t found anything I like at the right price point. Will check it out.
Yes I’m a GFY person and everyone would always talk about him swearing brown suede shoes with everything. Or the fact that he seemed to wear the same few things over and over. We thought well, he’s one of those people who buy expensive and just wears them until it gets worn out. No, Dude had no money. I do NOT understand how they wouldn’t let him actually WORK for a living but then treated him like Dobby the house Elf.
hmm, I always thought that Harry looked quite nice in his casual clothes. IDGAF attitude. Shrug.
Same! Tbh he could wear a trash bag and still bring the hawt 🤣 Definitely more attractive than dressing up in military uniform you have done absolutely zero to earn….
ETA: also, I literally just bought reduced stuff in the TK Maxx sale yesterday so that’s some bizarre gaslighting right there!
Also it sounds like he knows how to SHOP in this store. I get so p*ssed off when there are slow people in my way as I’m flicking through the racks at this store, Winners and Marshalls, here in Canada. 🙂
There’s a running joke about Harry always wearing the same brown shoes.
Out of all of the stuff to fact check?🙄 Just means the rest of it is true.
YUP.
Can I say how excited I was to discover that I have been in that TK Maxx near Kensington Palace? I imagine it will now be pointed out to tourists on those big red bus tours of London as the place where Harry bought all his clothes.
Why are these British Companies BBC, TK Max etc. so brainwashed and manipulated by the Royal Family. They will say anything to appease them even if it means destroying their image or reputation
@Swaz
Its not just that theyre all brainwashed by the RF (and , in fact its debatable whether the BRF is the head bully in all this.)
Its the entire british establishment…….theres a reason that all the lead state agencies (govt/military/business/etc) are headed by mostly old white men, virtually all of whom are members of, or have ties to “the old-school elites, including the monarchy.) And its because they all have a vested interest in maintaining britain’s hierarchical/stratified status-quo.
In short, britain is a sanitized apartheid state.
Let’s also remember people like Dame Judi also made herself look silly when she tried bad-mouthing The Crown on behalf of her royal friends. A few days later a story was released how she auditioned for the part of Queen Mother and then had to be let go because no-one could be paid more than the actress playing TQ. I’m not great fan of Clarkson but, he won a lot of people over with Clarkson’s Farm. All that goodwill has gone because he wrote an article on behalf of his “good friend” Camilla.
The royals “never complain and never explain” they get their friends to do it. The “friends” reputations are then tarnished while the royals move on to find their next fall-guy.
“ I’m actually kind of shocked that Kate – who was with William, on and off, during this time period – didn’t step in and say “let’s go shopping, let me pick out some stuff for you.” A real missed opportunity for Kate to treat him like a doll.”
Who’s to say she didn’t offer to on multiple occasions. If she ever did, no doubt Harry told her no. Both because he didn’t care and he probably would have found it creepy.
But, I bet you Harry lets Meghan dress him!! He needs to draw like a professional now!!
He does say ‘we’ in the text – so I wonder who he was going with.
Although what does come across in spare is that we were completely mis-sold a version of Harry as the party prince. He actually seemed quite solitary – a huge sign of someone recovering from trauma.
I wondered about that but he maybe had a protection officer with him. Or maybe friends who weren’t into clothes and shopped the same way. I’m sure if Kate had gone with him she would have made sure that it was a photo op for her to illustrate their closeness.
I think the ‘we’ referred to himself & his RPO. I think that’s the guy behind him in the photo.
She would try to go with him into the dressing room.
She should step in and dress her own man before offering her services to others. Why are Will’s pants always ill fitting?!
Harry would tell her no. She could shop with her boyfriend William. Maybe chelsy helped harry shop.
The real question here is why is it TJ Maxx in the U.S. but TK Maxx in Europe?
Since I’m also curious (and I really don’t feel like working):
Because there was already a store in the UK called TJ Hughes, so to avoid confusion, they changed it over there to TK Maxx.
Just by shopping at a Maxx, he’s already doing more than so. many. men. And Maxx is one of my go-tos always.
Was Pegs already balding I’m the top photo?
Anyway, he writes this with an air of amusement. I hope that’s how he felt reading the comments and it didn’t hurt his feelings.
That comment from the company is stupid, and so very easily and quickly disproved, by their own marketing. You’d think they’d be happy for the shout out in the book, but now they just look petty and wrong.
I’m just shocked that Charles actually thought he could keep Harry in princely squalor- forever- and that he would never question or compare his obvious disparity. That he would never seek out a better life for himself? If you’re going to keep him in a cage, make sure it’s not lined with sh*t, my god.
I swear Harry is actually the REAL Harry Potter.
You might be onto something there.
Well TJ Maxx here in the US doesn’t have “sales” like traditional stores where prices get marked down and then go back up again. At least I’ve never seen them do that. But they definitely put stuff on clearance like any other store. I specifically look for those red tags when I shop there. So that’s probably what Harry was referring to. Maybe in the UK they do it differently, like an extra 10% off on clearance or something.
LMAO
Why is there always someone in the comments ready to extend grace/make excuses for demonstrable liars?
Hear that! There’s a more than semantic difference between reasons and excuses though right?
@Kingston Every. Single. Time. 🙄 These liars could say that Up is really Down, and there would be at least one comment going on about: “Well to be fair, if I stand on my head then they’re technically not wrong!” Give me a break!
MsIam, there is a TJ Maxx close to where I live. I’ll start paying attention to what they do. I would be shocked if they don’t have sales.
All of those sort of stores in that conglomerate are doing their post-Christmas, start of the new year sales and getting in fresh merch. They do fresh markdowns all the time, but especially with the seasons.
Harry was so young in the pictures used for this article so this comment isn’t really so off topic. Since we’re the same age, I never noticed what am adorable kid he was! He was so cute!
I’ve been a TJ Maxx and Marshals shopper since I was in grad school, which was in the 90s. They actually do have sales, or used to. They would have “clearance events” a couple of times a year. It’s possible they’ve stopped doing these annual or twice-yearly events. But I know for sure they used to have them because I shopped them myself.
It’s also true that their prices are cheaper year-round. That’s why I love it! The locations near me also have designer sections with high-end stuff like Theory, Johnny Was, even St. Johns, at good prices. And even if there’s not a big “annual sale” there is usually at least one discounted rack in the back.
I personally always liked Harry’s “dress-down” style. He wears neutral colors and classic, basic designs. You can’t really go wrong with those. But he should mend his shoes…..
Yes, exactly! Here in Canada we don’t have TJ Maxx but we have Marshalls and Winners (all the same company). They do end of season blowout markdowns where things that were already on clearance (love those red stickers) get marked down to crazy low prices ($5, $7, $10). A couple years ago, I scored a wool sweater that was worth $150 for $7 because it had a tiny pull on it that I simply pushed back through the weave with my fingernail.
There are several stories out there already smearing some of the claims in the book.
So far we’ve had TKMaxx Debunked by the squaddies. Kudos.
Henry Vi is not his ancestor. Harry may well have got that wrong but he does state that dates of kings and queens from the past didn’t register with him to the point one of his teachers gave him a ruler listing them all. I’m sure that ruler did have H6 listed followed by his successor. Harry just hasn’t looked into the relationship between them.
The X Box gift. It’s stated that these weren’t invented at the time of Harry’s birthday in 1997. True, but he also stated that he was told this was what he got not that he actually remembered the event. He even states that he has no recollection but is going off what he’s always been told.
He was in Klosters when Qmum died not Eton.
I’ve not found a debunk for this as the photos are out there and several of the rr are corroborating it.
QM died on 30 March 2002. UK Easter was that weekend so it looks like H has misremembered that one.
My response to that is, so what?
They are getting really desperate now trying to conflate a mix up or misspeak
with suggestions that Harry is a liar.
We’ve also now had Low stating categorically that H has been a drug addict for 25 years and knows without doubt that H smokes weed every day in Montecito.
Smoking pot’s like drinking a glass of wine anyway. In moderation there’s no problem with it. But the rota rats are all so old, and older than their actual years. They probably think Reefer Madness is a documentary. They’re also a group of people who thinks downing 5+ gins a day is normal, so they really have no room to judge.
I understand it’s also legal in California.
Somebody needs to run an experiment to see which will impair you more, crack babies or smoking marijuana.
Agree wholeheartedly @Emily_C
In moderation those are key words. Wish I could apply it to sugar. My sugar addiction keeps spiraling out of control. I barely get a handle on it at the best of times. Pot is nothing compared to a sugar addiction.
@Hummingbird it’s also legal throughout Canada
@equality IMHO crack babies (any alcohol) is far more dangerous than pot.
I’m only a third of the way in to the book, but he’s consistently said, most of his memories are episodic, not linear. He remembers events, but it’s fuzzy on when they happened.
My memory has been like that since some my late twenties when some shit went down, so I have enormous sympathy for him on that. It’s also typical of ADHD folks to have memories that work that way.
It has to have been hard to write something he knew would be fact checked like this when he knows there’s a lot he doesn’t remember. It’s also sad to see how many memories he has that were essentially told to him. We all have events from when we were kids that we don’t remember until someone shows is a picture and tells us about it, but that’s like half his life.
Along with having proof of things, this could be one of the reasons Harry documents so much. Therapeutic and practical.
If I want to remember anything specific, I have to resort to one of my annual planners because I KNOW my memory isn’t all that great.
I think everything perpetually happened either within the last two years or two years ago. I can’t judge Harry.
Henry VIII’s direct line died out, but his daughter’s successor, James I, was also a descendant of Henry VI through the maternal line. George I, the first of the Hanoverian kings, was a direct descendant of James I. That’s the origin of the current Windsor dynasty. Hence Harry is indeed a direct descendant of Henry VI, Henry VIII’s grandfather.
Diana descended from Stuart kings.james 2 and Charles 2. Charles descended from James 1 daughter princess Elizabeth ancestress of the hanoverian kings. Henry 8 father Henry 7 was descended from the Tudors. Henry 7 and Henry 6 were related through princess Catherine of France. She was mother of Henry 6 through her marriage to Henry 5. She was widowed and married a Tudor and was also ancestress of Henry 7
Given that Princess Margaret died 6 weeks before the QMum, he was probably remembering that.
Harry would be a relative to Henry the 8th through Henry the 8th’s sister Margaret. If derangers/RR’s are quibbling about this. lol Harry would be a descendant of Henry the 7th (Henry the 8th’s & his sister Margaret’s father). crossing fingers I typed that right.
https://tudorhistory.org/trees/er2.html
Was this the same timeframe his brother was flying around in his own helicopter?
Give me a break, Low is delusional! There’s no way he’s an addict, he even touches in that in the book when he talks about his first good experience with therapy. But smoking weed every day in California? Entirely possible,but so do like thousands of other people. It’s legal in California, and he even talks about going outside and lighting up a joint.
This really is people not being able to reconcile Harry’s reality to what they thought they knew, to the myth created. Maybe Charles, William and probably even Andy had valets and maids, and everything done for them, but Harry was basically left to his own devices in that cottage to sort himself out. I remember reading an article around the time of the divorce that Diana was determined to give the kids a normal life but William already had his own valet. There is this irrational anger about Harry’s life now from some quarters, how they put everything he does down to money, obsession with his Montecito mansion, if he travels by private jet or commercial ( no it’s not just the environment), how he dresses now, because he was the equivalent of the poor relation who slept in the attic. They can’t see this man as he is now.
King Chuckles has a servant to put toothpaste on the brush and iron his shoelaces. Maybe another to wipe his bum? Lord of the Stool?
Being on his own and not depending on the family to give him his allowance has done wonders for his confidence. It must have been a very scary time when they fled knowing security was being pulled etc. Tyler Perry is an absolute hero.
And enough with the headlines about them wanting out so why cash in. Harry deserves every penny for the misery the press has caused in his life.
My favourite anecdotes from the book are:
1) That one time Harry went grocery shopping, and was genuinely aghast and frustrated bc the store had changed the whole layout, and it was slowing down the routine that he’d honed down to the minute.
2) The fact that Harry does his own laundry, dries his clothes on the radiator at Nott Cott, and folds his laundry while watching Friends.
I can’t get over how #millenial both of those things are, tbh.
My grocery store recently changed their layout and I am livid about it. So I really empathize with Harry on that. 😁
LOL I sympathized with him! I hate when grocery stores change their layouts! It makes the shopping twice as long and stressful. I hate grocery shopping, it’s the bane of my existence so when stores change things around, I curse them internally the whole time. But for Harry it was also not just an inconvenience, but also a matter of harassment. The longer he stayed out in the open, the riskier it became that people would recognize him and start pointing their phones at him to record.
I don’t understand them labeling Harry as a drug addict and acting like weed is horrible.
For people with anxiety weed is actually great and it’s legal in most states. Like these people are a mess!
They know the stories are true so they attach to most petty things to distract when really it just makes Harry relatable.
VLow is an eejit. I’m a professional with a government job, I smoke a joint every night at home. I’ve done this for the past 20 years, and I’m not an addict. I go for a month without smoking when I’m on vacation where I replace the joint with a glass of wine. I don’t smoke on vacations because as a woc I’m not jeopardizing my freedom in foreign countries.
I’m an admin at Marshalls, which is a part of TJX chain that covers TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Homegoods, Sierra Trading Posts, and TK Maxx in the UK. And every store in every branch literally has an end of the year/season markdown sale going on right now!!! Yes, they don’t have regular retail (non-clearance) sales like JC Penny, Sears, Dillard’s, etc. But they do have seasonal markdown sales all year. And the biggest one is always right after Christmas into the New Year! You know, like the one Harry mentioned in his memoir!!!
Thank you for confirming this!
TJ max is fine. I don’t get why people would care where he shops. Honestly I think this type of story is why the public sort of loses sympathy for him and Meg (I’m American and have seen a lot of memes about millionaires complaining about their life and how hard it is. I get that they have a right to their story but to many regular folks who can’t afford food and heating it’s hard to grasp). Most people shop at places like this for clothes and cheaper and it feels like these stories are thrown in to show how they have to slum it (like Meg having to buy a discount couch- most adults buy their own furniture and try to get a deal or even- gasp- buy secondhand). Meg and Harry have dealt with some crap but shopping at normal stores isn’t awful. I think the stories sometimes come across is a bit snotty when they basically feel like they shouldn’t have to live like us normal folks. I don’t think they mean to but I probably would’ve been careful with those kind of stories or just omit them.
They never said it was awful. They’re just trying to get across that they were not living high on the hog all the time like many people probably assume. And that the family was not giving them a bunch of money. Charles literally told Harry he couldn’t afford to feed Meg, which is nuts.
Harry was treated very, very differently to his brother when it came to money, and that extended to his wife. If you’re as rich as Chuck, there’s no excuse for heaping wealth and houses on one kid and being stingy with the other. Because he was absolutely stingy.
And Harry wasn’t even complaining about it. Just talking about what his life was like.
Unless you’re reading the book and seeing it on context, it really is a shame to criticize. It doesn’t come off like that in the book. people have been judging his clothes for decades.
This story really is a cute story that clearly illustrates what Harry’s life was like. I don’t see it as insulting people who shop at discount stores. He’s offering a good tip here, and he seems quite proud of the fact that he had this system. From the many pictures of Harry pre-Meghan, it was clear he didn’t care about fashion. In fact, Charles’s fashion sense seems to have escaped both his sons. I wondered at one time if William and Harry together bought out all the blue and brown suede shoes at some fire sale. I have a beautiful leather bag that I bought in Italy years ago which was not inexpensive. A couple of years later, a friend of mine was sporting the same bag in a different colour she had bought at Winners (discount store) for about almost half the price. You can, as Harry says, pick up some really great quality things at some discount stores.
It did make me laugh when Harry was rushing to his first meeting with Meg and complaining about the heavy traffic due to everyone returning from their country homes. But that was just about the only instance of clueless privilege I saw in the memoir.
It’s not really clueless privilege though? It’s an observation. I can tell you in the NY metro area, a lot of wealthy and middle class people have second homes in the Hamptons, the Catskills, the Poconos etc. Friday night traffic and Sunday traffic is murder because people are coming back from wherever they spent their weekend. It’s like any metropolis really.
Yeah, how is that clueless privilege? In Michigan we’d complain about all the people driving back from their houses/cottages/cabins/trailers near the lake. It’s just noticing things.
@Laura36, Prince Harry is not complaining but telling the truth about the fantasy of a princely life. The general public for a long time thought he was living large as a royal. He did not asked for sympathy from you or from us.
Instead of denying that they have sales, shouldn’t they lean into it? “Royally dress for less!” “The Prince Harry Menswear Sale – now through the end of the month!”
And now I have their old jingle stuck in my head: T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-TJMaxx!
To everyone here: TK Maxx is in conjuction with the Princes’ Trust (in other words KC3) . This explains everything… how lame smh
With family like this, who needs enemies, their tentacles reach far and wide….
Wow, they were both incredibly good-looking back then. Today is a different story. 🙂
Did anyone ask this store to get involved in this? Now they look stupid because they obviously have sales that they advertise and they’re still a discount store that’s not exactly high fashion. This shows a weird mentality over there that they are so afraid of the boat being rocked, even by throw away anecdotes. Side note. Like most married men, it’s obvious Meghan probably buys most of Harry’s clothes now, both the casual and business and he looks so much better. He still likes his ratty polo shirts and cargo shorts but now he actually looks like a grownup and more polished. Even his signature suede shoes are better quality now. Having a laundry room with a dryer in your house makes a huge difference too,lol.
@L4Frimaire Hrmmmn , should we assume Meg adopted an outdated hetero-normative housewifely subservient role and buys all Harry’s clothes now? That’s not her function. Do we assume he chooses everything she wears? Agree with you about the private laundry at hand though!
Ok, so shopping is subservient now? They could have a personal shopper for all I know. I’m just projecting based on what I do. He does dress so much better now. Looks like he uses product in his hair now and definitely irons his shirts.
TBF, doing a grown partner’s personal shopping could also be seen as domineering (wink) and kidding aside, when your relationship dynamic works, it’s beautiful whether doing your partner’s shopping or not. I’ll guess they each have people to help for styling and buying and probably still do the bulk of dressing themselves by themselves, sharing washing the clothes, drying the clothes same as before
We know specifics on this couple from before they met. He had no interest in fashion. She had a big interest in fashion. Maybe he developed an interest after meeting her. More likely she took over responsibility for managing their clothing inventory when they divided up the labor involved in their shared life.
Harry is still weary suede shoes so I’m guessing Meghan has learned to pick her battles.
This is so dumb. Good lord. You can tell the clothes he had were not “Royal” clothing. Lord.
I think the point here isn’t that he shopped at TK Maxx, it’s that he *had* to shop at TK Maxx because his ahole father didn’t give him any funding to dress himself in the style that people thought in which he was supposed to dress. That’s shocking to me. Here we all are, assuming that someone of his stature and surrounded by wealth, is dressing sloppy because he doesn’t care, when in fact his family didn’t care about him and treated him like someone said above, Dobby the House Elf. I guess Meghan gave him the sock?
I just googled our local TJ Maxx and they are having a clearance sale as I type. Right now. SALE.
That the thinking for some military people, that’s why, I think, some of them are given nothing, because people think they have it. He is a prince and could not just live, eat and work anywhere. It’s like he said, he was not really equipped or would be allowed to be anything else. And still, he wasn’t allowed to do what he was equipped to do
Tk Maxx tweeted about Prince Harry’s shopping trip back in 2013
https://mobile.twitter.com/tkmaxx_uk/status/338216314390851584
This is also how a lot of folks here in the Midwest shop.
Maybe TKMAX should now issue an apology and say “sorry a royal expert” or a “Royal insider” told us we didn’t do sales 😂😂👑
SMDH. The poor guy just can’t win. He sweetly gave TK Maxx all of this free press, and they fact check him?
Next time, just say thank you and figure out how to work it into your advertising!
Instead, now they look like a bunch of pedantic, ungrateful, little snots.
Does that spokesperson moonlight for the Daily Mirror or something?
I hope they also set Air New Zealand straight saying they have no flights from Mexico to London. Do they even know the rest of the story ? Ok , I don’t know the whole story either but what Harry said is very possible(since I live in the West Coast I know the logistics). I mean Meghan’s father lives in a coastal town in Rosarito Beach Mexico(near Tijuana)- which is closer to LAX (that has a major international airport), much closer compared to Mexico City for example. Rosarito and Ensenada are also towns in Mexico where a lot of Americans retire, but it’s also so close to CA that many come back and forth as it’s a pretty close drive . So when Harry mentioned the Air New Zealand flight to London he could very well mean her dad flying out of LAX to London via Air New Zealand . Either taking a flight from TJ to LAX or most likely driving himself to LAX(2-3 hr drive from Rosarito) to catch the Air New Zealand flight to London. I know for a fact Air New Zealand used to fly this LAX to London route as I had some people in my team take Air New Zealand for a conference to London a couple years ago.
Of course we see the ignorance of people again believing crap the media tries to spin. And obviously there’s a gap of what people are thinking . I doubt people in the UK and New Zealand knows the geographic logistic of these small coastal towns in Mexico and California so they believe everything the press tells them (rolling eyes).
For those asking why a fully grown man need a clothing allowance?
1st Harry had to resign working as a British army. So no salary.
2nd Harry who is 6 in lines work as a representative of British Royals and paid in allowance.
3rd allowance are paid when he is working only. So no food when he is outside of work time.
4th f*ck you respectfully trying to be stupid when he said in writing the truth but you still believe the British media’s.
As A mentions, AZ did fly LAX LHR and it’s likely that the connecting flight from Mexico was with one of AZs Star Alliance partners such as United.
Here is proof that the route was in use in 2018. Don’t these idiots realise there are always receipts.
The arrival of the 747-400 saw Air New Zealand’s London service morph into the Auckland-Los Angeles-London service that remained intact until earlier this year. Over the years, the frequencies improved. It ramped up from the initial twice-weekly service to a daily service.
In October 2019, Air New Zealand surprised people when it announced it was pulling out of London, its sole remaining European destination. The airline had flown to London for decades, but in the end, it came down to hard cold economics. Less than 7% of travelers between Auckland and London were using the Air New Zealand service, and that, said Air New Zealand, was not sustainable.
Just to add to my previous post.
Kerching
https://i.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/300783870/in-defence-of-prince-harrys-air-new-zealand-bumble-as-the-airline-throws-sussexclass-shade