Last night’s Golden Globes were… eventful! …but the talk of the town still seems to be the launch of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. The new details that emerge are both delicious and exciting: siblings punching and kicking! Frostbitten penis! Lose yourself in the field for a pony girl! King Charles doing a handstand in his boxer shorts! ?
Duke of Sussex’s multi-million dollar book traces devastation suffered by his mother while he was
*); he his tenure in Afghanistan; the Sussexes’ attempts to discredit themselves; and Harry’s continued visceral hatred of the media; his insulting chef’s kiss for calling an editor an “infected pustule on a human’s ass.” Readers and critics were divided on whether the book was an exploration of what it meant to be a backup for Britain’s most famous heir, a study of living in a palace that leaked more than the Titanic, or a slow-release revenge Form. At times, it’s hard to tell whether Harry is boiling over inherited privilege or pragmatically criticizing his own gilded cage. Is he clarifying the facts, or spreading rumors again?
The misogynist tone of royal talk is changing. For years, we’ve watched speculation center on warring ladies-in-waiting with hair parted (literally) in tights and dresses. But the attention is finally shifting from she said, she said to the conflicted prince. I wonder if anyone really needs to pick a side? It does feel as though both men are juggling hereditary responsibilities and public opinion with family realities, and I feel like William has only more to lose if he falters.
The royal family missed Meghan’s trick. When a woman of color marries, the opportunity is ripe to embrace her — shorthand for the much-talked-about modernity that royals are often keen to convey. Meghan is an actress who supports corporate decorum, respecting corporate grace and grace. But within a few years, she and her husband examined it for a long time and decided to denounce the backlash. From where I sit, it looks bad for Buckingham Palace. For the record, I’m too lazy to go back to the debate on whether the backlash against Meghan was (and will continue to be) racist; I’ve read enough self-congratulatory “I hate her and She’s Black” tweet is enough to last a lifetime.
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