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How Harry and William first fell out
Even Cain and Abel might be rolling their eyes by now and suggesting: sort it out, guys.
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Robert Lacey’s new biography about Princes William and Harry—and their troubled relationship—makes clear the bad blood did not begin with Harry reacting badly to William’s caution over his getting together with Meghan Markle.
In an extract from Battle of Brothers: William and Harry—The Inside Story of Family in Tumult, which was published in the Daily Mail, he traces their enmity back to childhood—and a secret nightclub Prince Charles allowed the boys to create in the bomb-proof cellar of Highgrove, Charles’ Gloucestershire home.
The space, which apparently became known as Club H, Lacey writes, was William’s “inspiration.” He was 16 by then, and a steady drinker. If the boozing wasn’t happening there, it happened at a nearby pub, where William—with Harry following his brother’s example—drank at “lock-ins” after closing time. “Cannabis was smoked,” too.
Harry was already known as “Hash Harry” at Eton, Lacey says, “on account of the smoky aroma that often emanated from his room.”
When William went away on his gap year to Belize, Harry “began getting stoned to excess.” But Lacey casts doubt on one of the famous tabloid stories of that time. The News of the World’s “Harry’s Drugs Shame” splash of 2002, which detailed Harry’s visit to a rehabilitation center, reportedly came about after Charles intervened in his son’s drug use.
Not true, says Lacey. He says Harry’s visit happened before Charles knew about anything; and was then narratively recycled in Charles’ favor by his chief spin doctor of the time. Charles got universal praise for his care and understanding as a result.
Lacey persuasively argues that it was William who was the original “Lord of Misrule,” but it was Harry—the spare, not the heir—who was accorded the tabloid role of royal jackass, or “dirty rascal,” as Lacey writes, including the time he was photographed wearing a Nazi swastika as part of a fancy dress outfit. “It made Harry feel resentful and even alienated,” Lacey writes of how the events and tabloid labeling affected his relationship with his brother.
Harry and Meghan’s Christmas in L.A.
Harry and Meghan plan to spend Christmas at their new home in California with Archie. There had been speculation that Harry was planning to return to the U.K. following reports of activity at their former home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor, where aides had reportedly been told to prepare for Harry’s arrival. However, Vanity Fair reports that sources have told them Harry isn’t planning to cross the Atlantic any time soon.
“Global travel has been made very complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, and at the moment, the Duke has no plans to travel back to the U.K., certainly not before Christmas,” said a source. “The problem is if he comes over, then he has to quarantine and that makes things quite difficult.”
They will, however, be returning to the U.K. after Christmas for Meghan’s High Court case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday newspaper, which begins on Jan. 11. Harry and Archie are expected to be by Meghan’s side, based at Frogmore, and given the need to quarantine for two weeks, it is anticipated they will be flying in late December.
Longstanding hopes in royal circles that the couple would settle are fading fast, and courtiers are bracing for the embarrassment of Meghan being cross-examined in person in the witness box. Meghan is likely to come face to face with her father for the first time in several years in the courtroom.
If she loses, the case could cost her several million dollars.
Royal pardon
The queen is to issue her first pardon in a quarter of a century to free a murderer who helped disrupt the London Bridge terror attack by confronting Usman Khan with a narwhal tusk while on day release. Steven Gallant has been granted the royal prerogative of mercy, an extremely rare case of absolution for a convicted murderer.
Gallant, 42, will see the 17-year sentence he received in 2005 reduced by 10 months, and could apply for parole next June, the Mirror reported.
The Ministry of Justice said the queen was advised to grant the pardon as a result of Gallant’s “exceptionally brave actions […] which helped save people’s lives despite the tremendous risk to his own.”
Incredibly, the family of firefighter Barrie Jackson, whom Gallant killed outside a pub in Hull, have backed the decision to free him early. Jackson’s student son Jack, 21, said: “I have mixed emotions, but what happened at London Bridge goes to show the reality that people can change,” adding that he would not rule out meeting his father’s killer one day.
Gallant was at a rehabilitation conference when another attendee, convicted terrorist Khan, 28, produced two knives and attacked conference coordinators Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, killing them. Gallant grabbed an ornamental narwhal tusk from a wall and chased the assailant with it onto the bridge, where Khan was shot dead by police. The last murderer to be given a royal pardon was former IRA operative Sean O’Callaghan, who was freed nearly 25 years ago.
Andrew’s next humiliation: taken off the shelves
The queen has reportedly stopped selling postcards featuring Prince Andrew to tourists. Staff at a gift shop in Balmoral have told visitors that pictures featuring the Duke of York have been taken off the shelves, according to reports.
It comes after Prince Andrew has been heavily criticized for his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Meghan wears nice, expensive clothes
The Sun seems very exercised by Meghan Markle wearing expensive things. The tabloid felt it necessary to itemize every single article of clothing and jewelry she was wearing ahead of a TIME 100 talk she and Prince Harry are due to give on Tuesday about online media.
Her Alexander McQueen outfit cost £1,820, we are told, but relatively rich person wears relatively expensive clothes is not that shocking, is it?
This week in royal history
On October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, Henry VIII’s third wife, died from childbirth complications at Hampton Court Palace. She is buried at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. And this slice of history also comes with a shoutout to the Broadway company of Six, the musical about Henry’s six wives that was set to open March 12, the very day Broadway shut down.
So, it was cruelly denied its opening night like so many other productions, but Six hopes to return when Broadway does. Keep in touch with the show, and make sure to support this story of the “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” women, when Broadway returns.
Unanswered questions
How will the royals react to Meghan and Harry’s presence in the U.K. at the beginning of next year? Will William and Charles take the emotional high ground, show that blood is thicker than water, and support the couple during the court case? If they are asked directly about Meghan’s case, will they be able to avoid commenting, and what will they say?
