Prince Harry is facing even more backlash for some of the things written in his controversial memoir Spare, which officially hit shelves on January 10th, as some of his recollections appear to be extremely contradictory, inconsistent, and factually inaccurate! Some of the more obvious inconsistencies have therefore, quite understandably, not done the father-of-two any favors, and has led many to question whether other parts of the memoir are incorrect too.
Prince Harry's Recollection About His Great-Grandmother's Death
One of the most talked-about inconsistencies in the bombshell memoir is the Duke of Sussex, 38, describing his great-grandmother's death; in particular, where he was when he first found out about it! Elizabeth the Queen Mother passed away in her sleep on March 30th, 2002 aged 101, but Prince Harry's version of events and the rest of the world's don't seem to match up!
"At Eton, while studying, I took a call," he said, in reference to the UK boarding school he and his brother attended. "I wish I could remember whose voice was at the other end; a courtier’s, I believe," he continued. "I recall that it was just before Easter, the weather was bright and warm, light slanting through my window, filled with vivid colors. Your Royal Highness, the Queen Mother has died."
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That seems like quite a detailed recollection, which many would argue means that he remembers the moment well. However, it doesn’t take much digging to discover reports that suggest otherwise, as he actually appeared to be skiing in Klosters, Switzerland, with his father King Charles and his brother, Prince William, on the day of the Queen Mother's passing, with many outlets even publishing pictures of him returning to the UK from Switzerland the day after her death.
'It raises questions and concerns - are there any other inconsistencies in this book?'
GB News Royal Reporter @CameronDLWalker discusses a discrepancy in Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare", surrounding the death of the Queen Mother. pic.twitter.com/FyRzV2aBi7 — GB News (@GBNEWS) January 10, 2023
"William and Harry were away skiing in Klosters when the 101-year-old died in her sleep," a past BBC News report read, while the Daily Mail reported at the time that the "three Princes travelled home" from Switzerland "together" after cutting their skiing holiday short to join other members of the royal family in Windsor.
Another interesting thing to note is that the Queen Mother passed away on Easter Saturday, which indicates that it would have been very unlikely that Prince Harry would have been in school. "Queen mother died 30 March 2002. Easter day in 2002 fell on 31st March. All schools in UK inc Eton would not be sitting easter weekend," one Twitter user noted.
“Misremembered” is the new way to say LIED ?
He had 2 years and lots of paied people to check the facts in his book — Demetra (@DemetraAutumn) January 10, 2023
Social Media Reactions To The Inconsistencies
As expected, social media was full of remarks in relation to the inconsistencies in the book. "Harry can’t even remember where he was when the Queen Mother died, so his recollections are not to be trusted. And he has an agenda, so there’s a lack of impartiality," one person wrote on Twitter. "'Misremembered' is the new way to say LIED? He had 2 years and lots of paid people to check the facts in his book," wrote another, as a comment to a GB News article about his credibility being called into question due to him "misremembering" a huge moment in his life.
"It’s a shame the journalists who interviewed him haven’t questioned him about the accuracy of his stories especially since they had access to his book weeks before their interviews," someone else commented, while someone else added: "He didn’t misremember anything. He is a liar. Full stop. How can you not remember one of the most traumatic moments of your life? In his case and age, the most traumatic as it appears he hasn’t recovered from that. So he is lying again." "These kind of mistakes should not happen in a carefully composed and researched book," wrote another Twitter user. "I think we can safely say that the vast majority of his book is fiction," quipped another.
Contradictions About Meghan Markle's First Date Outfit
Prince Harry's location when he learned of the death of his great-grandmother isn’t the only inconsistency in the book, as another contradiction came when Prince Harry described the outfit Meghan Markle, 41, wore on their first date at one of Soho House's private member clubs. In the book, he wrote: "She was wearing a black sweater, jeans, heels. I knew nothing about clothes but I knew she was chic." However, the Duchess of Sussex's recollection is a little different, as she makes it clear that she was wearing a blue dress in a 2018 video of Meghan viewing her wedding dress with a Royal Collections curator.
The former Suits actress specifically mentioned that she asked for a piece of fabric from her first date dress to be stitched into her wedding dress as her 'something blue' which certainly contradicts her husband's version of events. However, perhaps Meghan didn’t consider their Soho House meeting as their first date, as Prince Harry notes that on their second date, Meghan wore a "pretty blue sundress with white pinstripes."
It's definitely worth noting that IN THE BOOK when Harry talks about the Xbox (which hadn't been released yet in 1997) he explicitly states that he has no idea if this particular memory is true and explains that his mother's death messed with his memories. https://t.co/aX0P4JeC6f
— Ellie Hall (@ellievhall) January 12, 2023
What Other Inconsistencies Have Been Flagged?
Another interesting recollection involves an alleged birthday present that seems historically inaccurate. Prince Harry writes that his late mother, Princess Diana, bought him an Xbox for his 13th birthday in 1997 before she died, but many internet sleuths pointed out that Xboxes didn’t exist until 2001, and didn’t arrive in Europe until 2002!
However, Prince Harry noted in the book that some of the incidents from his past – in particular ones from the time of his mother's death – were simply told to him, as he doesn’t have much personal recollection of the events himself. He wrote: "That's the story, anyway. It's appeared in many accounts of my life, as gospel, and I have no idea if it's true. Pa said Mummy hurt her head, but perhaps I was the one with brain damage? As a defense mechanism, most likely, my memory was no longer recording things quite as it once did."
'Introducing Sussex Class': Air New Zealand mocks Prince Harry's 'Spare' error https://t.co/sSfHcEGtcn pic.twitter.com/BM3Tj16mmP
— New York Post (@nypost) January 13, 2023
Another inaccuracy is in relation to an Air New Zealand plane ticket Meghan reportedly bought her estranged father, Thomas Markle, to get him out of Mexico. "We told him, leave Mexico right now: A whole new level of harassment is about to rain down on you, so come to Britain. Now," Harry wrote, adding, "Air New Zealand, first class, booked and paid for by Meg."
However, a spokesperson for Air New Zealand said they have never flown that exact international route or offered first-class seats, only 'premier business.' The airline even poked fun at Prince Harry's error, writing on Twitter: "Introducing #sussexclass – apparently coming soon."
Interestingly, New Zealand video and travel journalist Brook Sabin came to Prince Harry's defense, and explained how he could have made the accidental error. "Air NZ used to fly between Los Angeles and London, until the pandemic hit. Celebrities loved the Air NZ service; it was a welcome break from US and British carriers," Sabin said. "The paparazzi would have also been all over the main carriers, so putting her dad on Air NZ would have made sense. Meghan may have booked the tickets through Air NZ from Mexico to London. In this case, United Airlines (Air NZ’s Star Alliance partner) would have flown the Mexico to LA leg, while Air NZ would have done the trans-Atlantic service."
"This trip could have all been booked and ticketed through Air NZ, giving the impression it was an Air NZ service all the way," he continued, adding: "In the middle of an international scandal, I imagine Meghan isn't sitting there looking up codeshare flight numbers and wondering if it's going to be an Air NZ plane or not."
