Journalist Tina Brown has always known where to dig for the best information about members of the British royal family. In his new book, called The Palace Papers: Inside The House Of Windsor, the author talks about the biggest scandals of the Windsor family.
Ms. Brown began work on the book two years ago. Even when Megan and Harry remained members of the royal family, no one knew anything about the sex scandal of the disgraced Prince Andrew . At least in such details that are known to the world now.
Book cover by Tina Brown / thecut.com
The author of the book gave an interview to The Cut on the occasion of the release of the publication and shared her opinion about the most high-profile royal scandals. This opinion is based on the testimony of more than a hundred sources close to the palace, they told her about various aspects of royal life: from Prince Charles’s favorite toilet paper (presumably Kleenex Velvet toilet paper) to the collection of teddy bears of the Duke of York . One remarkable feature of the monarchy, in her opinion, is that the cycles of chaos repeat themselves.
Tina Brown / Associated Press
About Prince Harry
“I really sympathize with what Harry went through in his life. To be honest, I started out with some impatience due to his constant wars with the press, but when I finished the research, I really felt that what Harry went through is absolutely shameful and shocking and no wonder he’s so bitter. He’s been bullied and bullied since he was a teenager. The press treated his girlfriends nastily . He had a really hard time. I totally understand why Meghan looked at all this and said, “I’m leaving “.
On Meghan and Harry’s complicated relationship with the press
“Harry has spent so many years scolding the press and now he can’t seem to stop talking: giving interviews that are quite explosive and aggressive to the rest of his family. He certainly remembers how much it hurt him when his privacy has been invaded, but he is going to write a book of his own memoirs that will clearly invade the privacy of other members of his family.So he has a very complex, I would say, confusing attitude to all this.One of the big discoveries of the book was that that one of the people very close to him said: “We always thought that there was a point where he would go. The queen felt it too. She wasn’t surprised that Harry decided to leave . What surprised them was how belligerent and vicious it was. That’s what really stunned them. And I think to this day, Charles seems to be particularly puzzled by how things got worse so quickly.”
Megan and Harry / Associated Press
About megzite
“Do I think there was a better way to do it? I’m sure if they said, ‘Look, we’re going to stay in Canada for a year and try to settle down as a family,’ I think that would actually be great support. But they wanted to run. And the really difficult issue was being able to make money while maintaining their royal patronage and position. It’s a whole complex mix of conflicts of interest, because whatever they say about separating these interests in their commercial activities, they’re going to use the crown. That’s why commercial opportunities opened up for them and they really did open up. It was about being royalty. And the monarchy is a story about a service that doesn’t get paid. I think they felt they could make money. lots of money and not be part of the royal system.”
About the relationship x between Kate and Megan
Kate and Megan / Associated Press
“ Even if there wasn’t any tension, the press would have created it, because the constant pitting of two women against each other inevitably makes people nervous. It was a very difficult situation, because here are Harry and his new wife, who are actually more interesting, charming and charismatic than the number one couple: it will lead to tension. Kate is a strong character, very educated, very smart. If you think about it, she was the first royal woman to have any proper education. She is impressive, but she is boring compared to charismatic Megan.
Speaking of Megan, the author recalls that the press was really merciless to her. “Journalists behaved horribly and typical, chauvinistic and racist. The subtext was definitely the flawless Kate versus the bewildering Megan. When they were both pregnant and Kate was holding her stomach – as pregnant women usually do – everyone said: “How beautiful, mother -Kate. But when Meghan was pregnant, everyone said why is she always flaunting her pregnancy ? It was outright discrimination.
Meghan made it clear that this was the driving force behind her unhappiness, saying in an interview with Oprah that she felt completely insecure. I really think they should have protected Megan better, better and faster. You can’t tell the press to be positive, but you can make a thunderous rebuke. A statement from the Queen from Buckingham Palace might have helped, but it didn’t.”
About Prince Andrew, the Queen’s Favorite
Prince Andrew / Associated Press
“When I think about who the palace is protecting, Andrew comes to mind. He is the one for whom the palace issued these statements year after year. This is a very important point. Andrew has been protected for too long, and if I were Megan, I would look to this I thought: “This incredible fool and scoundrel is getting all this protection, and why is no one doing more for me?”.
Prince Andrew and Queen Elizabeth II / Associated Press
We saw a terrible failure when Andrew accompanied the Queen on a memorial service for Prince Philip. It was terrible, and there was a lot of outrage and anger in the palace about it. Andrew was to hand the Queen over to the Dean of Westminster for Her Majesty to be escorted to her place. But Andrew stooped, tensed, and held out his hand to his mother, who took it. I think the queen actually likes to show that Andrew is still her son and whatever happens to him in public life doesn’t affect her feelings for him. Frankly, I was stunned that none of the other children brought her into the service. It was a very bad situation.”
On the role of Prince Andrew in the future
“As long as the queen is around, he can keep making his way back (to public life and work), but that won’t work when Charles or William becomes king . The new king will have absolutely no relationship with Andrew.”
On the monarchy and the future
In the book, the author writes that the monarchy retains the public interest and its relevance because it “plays long”. The institution of the British monarchy is slowly but surely changing thanks to the scandals that the whole world is watching. And she remembered the traumatic marriage of Diana and Charles in 1981, and that now the Queen’s grandchildren are marrying commoners.
Megan and Harry / Associated Press
“ The whole trauma of marriage with Diana was that Charles had to marry a virgin, and she became the only one available, because looking for her was like trying to find the Loch Ness monster. And now we have come to the point that the grandson of the queen marries a divorced, black American woman. That’s a pretty big change. We’ve come to the point where the divorced, scandal-ridden Duchess of Cornwall will be crowned queen consort when the son of Elizabeth II becomes king, Her Majesty has already officially announced this. And this is a woman who even not allowed to come to Charles’s 50th birthday. So, the monarchy is constantly changing and developing, but like any large institution, it does not change quickly.”
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