Friend of Meghan Markle, Omid Scobie has launched a staunch defence of Prince Harry’s controversial memoir ‘Spare’ as he claimed the prince was right to write his own account, just as King Charles and Diana both did.
Writing in a column for Yahoo, Mr Scobie criticised media coverage for casting the book, which documents apparent rows with Harry’s brother the Prince of Wales, as a ‘tawdry tell-all’.
He said that reading it from beginning to end tells a much more nuanced and layered narrative. One with heart, as well as fire.
It came as he shared photos of Prince Harry’s comment on Afghanistan, in which he admitted he killed 25 Taliban members, saying that was why context matters.
The memoir ‘Spare’, which was due to come out within days, was leaked when Spanish stores started selling the Spanish interpretation of the book ahead of its authorised launch on January 10, despite being in clearly labelled containers warning it was not for sale prior to that point.
Disclosures so far include rows with Prince William, conversations in which he implored his father not to marry Camilla, and the last words he said to his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duke of Sussex has been accused of airing ‘dirty laundry in public, but Mr Scobie has once again supported the couple.
Taking aim at the royal family’s ‘short-term memory loss’, Meghan’s trusted friend pointed to biographies of both Diana and Prince Charles had written after their divorce.
He went on to illustrate similarities between the press and the public’s reaction to the then Prince of Wales King Charles’ work, and that for Charles, the negative response from the British press and public was intense.
Mr Scobie said that accused of ferociously attacking his family and shaming the monarchy, newspaper polls and opinions declared him unworthy to be king and some journalists even suggested he should be stripped of his titles, sound familiar?
He added that Harry had spent most of his life being reported and talked about, a ‘spare’ to the heir whose darkest secrets, regretful moments and struggles have frequently been exposed to the world by a press with an unquenchable hunger for him and his family.
He said that never being able to share that life in his own words, it was unavoidable the prince would want to put pen to paper the moment he stepped back from his role three years ago, and he’s right, Harry does deserve a voice, but then that’s just my opinion and not the opinion of the UK population, but then we all have a voice and if we can’t use it then we simply become slaves.
But then I’m a citizen, not a spokesperson.
Harry has every right to publish his story, but at the same time, he will have to suffer the consequences of doing so.
We all make choices in life. Harry has made his, and I’m not sure what consequences lay in wait for him, but I’m certain there will be.
In one way I totally agree that Harry was entitled to write a book, just as both his parents did. However, their books seemed to be a big mistake, so perhaps Harry should have learnt from this, or perhaps it’s precisely what he needed to do to bring closure.
Harry’s not innocent by a long shot, but the media did provoke him, and now he’s written everything down in the aftermath, and I believe he’s relishing every moment of it, even if the media and the masses are laughing at him, he’s now laughing even harder.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 