Ben Goldsmith comes from the very prominent Goldsmith family in the UK – they are very well-connected, and Ben’s sister Jemima Khan was quite close to Princess Diana. The Goldsmiths are rich and powerful, so much so that Ben’s domestic violence incident against his first wife was swept under the rug. Well, you would imagine that the scion of a rich and powerful family would know better than to gossip to Richard Eden at the Daily Mail. You would be wrong. Ben Goldsmith said words about Prince Harry:
His sister was one of Princess Diana’s closest friends, yet financier Ben Goldsmith has nothing but contempt for his old pal Prince Harry. The Duke of Sussex’s explosive interview with the BBC last week has prompted the son of late billionaire Sir James Goldsmith to go public with criticism that his friends will say only privately.
‘Tragic but true – Prince Harry’s behaviour is unforgivable,’ Ben, below, declares.
The reference to forgiveness is thought to be in response to Harry’s admission that a reconciliation with his family would be very difficult because of his tawdry memoirs, Spare, and his criticism of them in numerous interviews.
‘Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book,’ Harry said. ‘Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things.’
Ben, 44, is the first former pal of the duke to condemn him publicly. Harry admitted in Spare that he had lost friends over his decision to tell all to American chat show host Oprah Winfrey, including the van Cutsem family.
‘Several close mates and beloved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie’s sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy [Pettifer, his former nanny], had chastised me for Oprah,’ he wrote. ‘How could you reveal such things? About your family?’
Ben’s sister, Jemima Goldsmith, was so close to Diana that the princess visited her twice in Pakistan while she was married to former cricket legend Imran Khan. She agreed to help Netflix with its portrayal of Diana in The Crown before pulling out when she concluded that the story was not being treated as ‘respectfully or compassionately’ as she had hoped. ‘It was really important to me that the final years of my friend’s life be portrayed accurately and with compassion, as has not always happened in the past,’ she later explained.
While Diana and Jemima Khan spent time in Pakistan, Diana actually went there to introduce herself to her boyfriend’s family. She was seeing Hasnat Khan at the time. Anyway, trust Eden Confidential to turn one sentence into a screeching column about Prince Harry. As Harry has said many times, he understands that many people from his old life will never understand why he’s chosen to speak out. The fact that he continues to tell his story and give interviews though… don’t you think that Harry is showing those people that he’s heard all of the criticism and he’s decided that it’s important for him to get his side out? Diana understood the importance of getting her side out and those horrible people are STILL lying about her, decades later.
Also: mark my words, before this is all said and done, the palace will try to get Harry’s BBC interview removed from circulation.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, BBC.
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- The wedding of British royal Lady Gabriella Windsor and Mr Thomas Kingston at St George?s Chapel, Windsor Castle on 18th May 2019. PICTURED: Ben and Jemima Goldsmith,Image: 506549095, 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, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: /Avalon
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- Ben Goldsmith and Jemima Jones with children Eliza and Arlo attending Skate at Somerset House VIP Launch Party at the Somerset House in The Strand, London, United Kingdom.,Image: 643515934, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: To licence this image, email info@sidetrack.london for more information., Model Release: no, Credit line: Cat Morley/Avalon
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- London, UK, 15th Nov 2022. Jemima Jones and Ben Goldsmith. VIP and celebrity arrivals for the opening eve of SKATE with Moet & Chandon, the ice rink within the beautiful setting of the Somerset House courtyard in London.,Image: 737814710, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Imageplotter/Avalon
So glad that Prince Harry has CHOSEN to treat non mf 🤬 factors appropriately….
Another plonker I’ve never heard of until now.
Exactly. F this guy. He can’t just enjoy his money and keep his mouth shut? Does he want something from the BRF? So many people keep trying to be relevant by attacking Harry & Meghan, or use attacking them to curry favor with Charles
Isn’t this the family that just rented the Sussexes the fancy vacation spot in Mexico? Was this guy pressured into saying this, because his sister (friend of Diana) helped make this happen/kept it secret from the press?
Would have thought that that family’s wealth and connections would have shielded them from any such pressure to curry favour from the Windsors.
My thoughts exactly! 😹
You’re not missing out on much. He’s the black sheep of the family.
He didn’t get the looks of his other siblings, and really, apart from his wealth, there isn’t much going for him personality wise.
I think Prince Harry should prioritize making a documentary about his mother Princess Diana, and he should approach Jemima Khan for her knowledge & perspective on what happened in the last years of his mother’s life. She sounds like a good source who had Princess Diana back.
The ferocious backstabbing of the aristos & toxic media in UK, which has been going on for years, and intensifying every time Harry speaks truth to power, is now including people I never thought would gang up on Prince Harry (like Guardian columnist Marina Hyde). It has made me realize how all-encompassingly desperate the Brit ruling class is right now. They have to mobilize every possible arsenal to shore up the crumbling royal family & with that the whole edifice of class power in Britain. They don’t understand that their lies & malicious bullying is only strengthening the Republican movement!
” How could you reveal such things? About your family?” when what you reveal is mistreatment, I really have to question if these people are your friends. Your friends are people who are willing to have easy and hard conversations with you, and be there for easy and hard times. If one of my friends that I’ve had since childhood came up to me and said they wanted to talk about how their parents had actually abused them, I wouldn’t ask why they want to say these things about their family in public.
I think that Harry has definitely learned that people that were there for him as long as he played by establishment rules were not truly concerned about his well-being, and while it may sting he’s better off knowing this. This establishment friends need to know you’ll play the game, and given the highlighted story about this Ben character he doesn’t sound like someone that wants someone who calls out abuse publicly being around.
That’s the part that always gets me. First, this attitude basically confirms that everything Harry said is true. Second, it’s so gross that people are more upset with you for saying out loud how horribly your family treated you than, you know, being mad at the treatment you received. Shouldn’t a friend’s first comment be “How could you own family treat you so horribly?”
Abuse and mistreatment questions aside, think I finally get why all these elite families (including Will) are so sensitive when any details about their family lives make their way to the general public; because although everyone at their level are generally doing the same things and it’s a-ok amongst themselves, they sense that to the public at large their private lives look, well, sleazy (or worse). Thus, the desire to keep personal family details of all kinds secret from the hoi polloi, and wrath at those who spill the beans. Ben’s mother Annabel had his two older siblings while she and James Goldsmith were both married to other people; her first husband was a serial cheater from the start, though they were close friends at the end of his life (shades of Camilla and APB). Annabel and James ultimately married, had Ben, then James moved on to a French mistress, with whom he had two other kids. Annabel not particularly troubled by the need for fidelity on either side, according to quotes. Lovely.
Interesting that none of these people ever see actions of the royals as unforgivable. (Or even dangerous like withholding security). Who needs this guy as a “pal” if he is that dense?
Those former friends seem to be mostly friendly with William too and Harry has outgrown their sexism, racism & bullying ways
So rich and prominent and still no one knows who the f he is hence why this nobody wife beater that i didn’t know until Kaiser told us . Has still got to use Harry name for clout / like admit Harry and Meghan makes all your salty asses relevant even though we will all forget about you 5 minutes after reading your b. Rants
Maureen probably called in favours – quid pro quo – to show that this Goldsmith was at least against Harry.
Ben owes all these rats a lot of ink/press after their support during his PR war against his first wife. Until that moment, he came across as the most level-headed Goldsmith. Oops. Her leaving him really messed him up big time.
“Prince Harry’s behaviour is unforgivable”
Prince (King) Charles towards Princess Diana
Prince (King) Charles to his sons, especially towards Harry
Prince Charles (King) towards Meghan — later including Archie and Lili
Queen Side Piece towards Harry, Meghan and Archie and Lili
Prince William towards Harry
Prince William towards Meghan — later including Archie and Lili
Duchess Kate towards Harry
Duchess Kate towards Meghan — and we all saw how Ms Airrly Yarrs treated Archie with disdain, and Lili seemingly doesn’t exist
(Nazi) Princess Michael, the one with the “Blackamoor” brooch, towards Meghan
Not even mentioning Paedrew. Oh wait.
Not even mentioning Jason Knauf and all the other gold-plated advisers, sycophants and other nameless Men in Grey and courtiers
But sure, Prince Harry it is.
Maybe Harry should do another interview with an American outlet about the security case. One that, unlike the BBC, couldn’t be pressured into removing it from circulation. Just saying… Or another book?
The behaviour of these people is intolerable and deeply immoral.
Ben has issues. His former wife – a (white) Guinness heiress – ran off with a black American who I think was a rapper – can’t be arsed to look it up but Kaiser has kindly provided the link of the whole sordid story 😂
So yup, Ben needs therapy and it shouldn’t come as a surprise he favours the institution. It’s no coincidence that he’s revealing this after their Mexican trip that someone pointed out belonged to the Goldsmiths – Jemima or her mother Annabel must be managing the resort they stayed at?
Ben was all over the press over his very public marriage breakdown so he comes across as a bitter person and no doubt he wishes the same fate for Harry. They all want to torment him.
His exwife Kate wasn’t just a Guinness (mother’s side) but a Rothschild. Her sister is married to Ben’s brother Zac while her brother is married to Nicky Hilton. Sadly, Ben and Kate’s eldest child, iris, died in an accident on the estate at age 15.
Kate had an affair with Jay Electronica (Erikah Badu’s ex) which is wild because the guy is a conspiracy theorist about families like the Rothschilds and has written lyrics calling them out in pretty anti Semitic terms.
When was this person ever Harry’s friend? No evidence they ever had any kind of relationship. Harry’s mother died when he was 12 so it is irrelevant that she was friendly with members of this man’s family. I would consider cutting off my son’s security and then refusing to speak to him pretty unforgivable.
So Ben Goldsmith is a wife beater and his sister Jemima had a relationship with Russel Brand that led to a high court injunction and accusations of him assaulting a woman hired by Jemima to give him a birthday massage (cough). Truly people of quality to judge anyone else.
I have time for Jemima despite her many poor relationship choices. With a father like James, it’s no wonder his kids all had messy relationships.
Jemima has her causes hence I think she’s the Goldsmith who allowed the Sussexes go to their Mexican resort. She had chutzpah for a very Jewish daughter to marry a very prominent Muslim man as her first husband who later became PM of Pakistan.
She also put up the bail money for Julian Assange – another messy person – who skipped to the Ecuadorean embassy and therefore IIRC she forfeited all of it.
Another interesting family connection – Ben Goldsmith’s aunt is married to Robert Lacey. Birds of a feather and all that.
The hotel in Mexico the Sussexes stayed at may be the one owned by Ben’s eldest half sister, Isabel Patino-Goldsmith.
The BBC brought the SUITS series🤔. Was this done to bury the show because of its billion of views worldwide. Let’s shut her down. She’s a 2 bit actress.
“Prince Harry’s unforgivable behavior “? You mean telling the truth is unforgivable behavior? Letting the world know what a dog shit family who could care less if you are murdered is unforgivable? Sit down asshole and thank you for showing your true colors. Your rock is waiting for you to climb back under it.
You would think that someone with as messy a personal life as he does would refrain from throwing stones at others. Compassion and empathy are something that the British aristocracy lacks.
They’re rich but not aristos except through Annabel.
But agree, the ones with the most messiest of personal lives tend to be out there with the tabloids.
The problem with this neverending conversation is it gets to the very heart of British culture and you can’t expect people deeply engrained in the culture to be able to take a nuanced view of it.
Posh British people don’t talk, don’t feel, don’t do anything publicly, and think anything that causes even mild feelings of discomfort are best not said. It is deeply unhealthy and meant to prop up the people doling out the abuse (themselves), so OF COURSE they can’t forgive Harry. Like, duh! You’re all emotionally stunted aholes living in an echo chamber. And Richard Eden just keeps harping on it because he’s a desperate loser who so so so so badly wants to be a part of that club.
Except that even if the likes of Goldsmith can ignore the anonymous palace briefings that occurred within days of Harry & Meghan’s wedding about the family relationships as reporters from
BBC to the times confirmed, Charles very famously talked himself. He allowed his diary as source material for an authorised biography & documentary where he discussed his mother being cold , father being a bully who forced him to marry Diana who he never loved. He confessed adultery on tv. So Charles is the very last person who can complain or who others can complain on his behalf about being indiscreet over family relations.
There’s probably nobody in that family who has briefed against/used the press against other family members more than Charles. He& Camilla leaked on William’s first meeting with Camilla less than a year after Diana died, his office worked with Penny junor on a book which labelled Diana as having a mental disorder (I’m waiting for similar for Harry) & the reason William & Harry broke from
Clarence House to form their own press team at KP in the first place was because of Charles briefings about them to the press in service of his/camilla’s image. Charles is no victim here Ben
The difference is that Charles is King. You can be the greatest a-hole on the planet, but all is erased once you become King.
It does come across as the heir can do that but the spare can’t. But yeah Charles should be the last one to talk about spilling tea. And so anyone who criticizes Harry while saying nothing of Charles just come off as hypocrites.
Isn’t Carole Middleton’s maiden name Goldsmith? Are they related or is it merely a coincidence?
Most definitely not.
These Goldsmiths are very rich European Jews.
Carole isn’t. And most insistent that they’re not Jews. Northern English working class stock is better than being “Jewish.”
Can you imagine the anti-Semitism that would flourish if Lazy had even a drop of Jewish blood?
Also, the father of Jemima, Ben and Zac, Sir James, came up with the zinger of “when one marries one’s mistress, a vacancy appears.”
He quoted Sacha Guitry at a dinner and always tried to clarify it was Sacha and not him who came up with the Mistress zinger.
This is all getting so dull. Don’t they all get tired of saying and printing the same things?
And who keeps reading the same thing over and over every day? Different name on the article, same garbage in it. I picture them all on an IV hemlock drip, poisoning their lives and thoughts.
Harry kept a copy of the BBC Diana interview its in his documentary. He will also keep a copy of this interview for his children
And the Internet ain’t hardly going to let it disappear. Not with so many…um…sites out there…
You know what really hits a bum note? When they call Harry’s memoir “tawdry” …as if the living, breathing, seething, daily tide of bilge that emanates from the British press is not tawdry itself. I mean, talk about a lack of self-awareness. JFC.
This bothers me too. There is nothing tawdry in Spare.
At this point anyone in Britain was a former friend of Harry and anyone in showbiz was a former friend of Meghan; whatever friend is (reference to Charles statement at the announcement of his engagement to Diana 🙃). Seems friend in British society means something very different in US society. 🤷♀️
Richard Eden, shit stirrer in chief, uses the word expansively when concocting fiction to fill his tabloid real estate. While Harry may likely know of Sir Benjamin, I am inclined to believe they were never friends. However, like everyone else, Sir Benjamin is entitled to an opinion on the matter like everyone else, with or without a British honorific title ’SIR’.
I kept waiting for the article to talk more about Goldsmith’s comments. Turns out it was just one sentence. I’m sure Harry already knows about Goldsmith’s views. In the docuseries Harry said he lost of friends after he left. I suspect he lost some friends because he married Meghan. Nothing like a life changing event to find out who your true friends are.
I saw Goldsmiths tweet and told him to get a clue. How can they say the RAVEC decision is a legal one decided by the courts, then turn around and say Harry is the unforgivable one by asking the courts why he was denied security. What exactly is Goldsmiths issue here? They form this protective ring around the monarchy. The fact is there are a lot of legitimate criticisms of their finances and power they have, but rather than addressing that, they used the Sussexes as deflection, then act “betrayed “ when the Sussexes said no more.
The most ironic part of this: His mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith wrote a tell-all autobiography in 2004. She gave multiple interviews about it. She dished a LOT of dirt about her family. The hypocrisy of the Goldsmiths is incredible.
Annabel was actually pretty vague about a lot in her memoir. It was one of the complaints. Because her life was anything but boring.
Ohh, Interesting. Has he ever said anything publicly about his mom’s choice to write an autobiography?
Meant this for Aurora!
Tiggy chastising anyone about revealing things is absurd and insultingly hypocritical. (Or she’s only mad about revealing things that don’t help the heirs?)
And this guy’s domestic violence history tracks. Abusers tend to stick with abusers.
He must be trying to score points with the royals. So Harry should have just not protected his family. What Charles and William did was unforgivable
His family has A LOT ,I mean A LOT of skeletons in MANY CLOSETS. The nerve.
I mean.. it IS unforgivable. Making that sort of accusations in public. IF its not true they should never forgive it. And if it IS true, Harry should never forgive them. So yeah, I dont get this talk about the family coming together for a group hug at all.
.
I will continue to say that at the heart of all of this is a man and woman (Harry and Meghan) who have only asked for the basics that everyone of us expects and deserve, which is safety and respect. So I don’t care who you are or what family you come from or what connections you may have had or continue to have with Harry and Meghan, them wanting security and protection for their family isn’t them doing anything wrong or out of line. And anyone who has the nerve to criticize them for any decisions they have made in order to protect theirs and their children’s lives and mental well being can f all the way off. They should have never been put into a situation where they ever had to speak against racism or threats directed towards them or their children in the first place. There should have never been an allegiance or loyalty to anyone who made racist comments or threats towards any of the Sussexes. There should have never been a breath taken by any of their family members without condemning the abuse, the threats and the racism that has been going on for more than eight years. I’m beyond tired of these people thinking that they are so important or special that racism should be ignored just because it makes them uncomfortable or because it makes the racists feel exposed. There is no compassion for people who think that they have a right to abuse and degrade others because of their race, gender, nationality, religion, social or economic status or family connections. Harry and Meghan have every right to speak as loud as they want to about what they have experienced and if someone doesn’t like what they have to say about them and how they treated Harry, Meghan and their children, well they should have treated them and their children better from the very beginning. Full stop. Stop protecting this undeserving and corrupt family. They deserve nothing but the karma their actions wanted for Harry and his family.
@Nerd:
Well said. 💙💔💙
3 people died and one was permanently damaged on foreign soil when Diana died. Her sons were used by Charles as human shields at her funeral because he feared the public. The UK/Commonwealth counties have a king that deliberately withheld proper security from his son in Canada and in the UK AND contacts foreign governments in an effort to deny him protection anywhere, potentially causing a tragedy that could not only harm Harry, but members of the the public. The King would rather a tragedy play out on foreign soil than to have focus pulled from whatever mundane dull military or Victorian cosplay he is performing that day with his wife in Queen Mum cosplay. History will frown on all the sycophants who have cooperated with this travesty of a family. Travesty describes Charles’s treatment of Diana, his parents, his children and his siblings in the media and in life. The Dimbleby book/interview Charles did in 90s was much worse than anything Harry has ever released.