Prince Harry’s Bid to Breach the Sanctum Sanctorum of Royal Life Slammed, Says Royal Commentator
(REUTERS)
Royal commentator Daniela Elser recently criticized Prince Harry for his decision to update his memoir with details about the Queen’s death just before its publication. This move, she argues, points to broader implications concerning his handling of private family matters.
Writing for News.com.au, Elser revealed that on the day of his grandmother’s death, Prince Harry was reportedly busy making notes, presumably to include this significant event in his upcoming book. “Prince Harry’s bid to include the Queen’s death in his memoir, just before its release has been blasted by experts who call it a life issue,” she stated, highlighting the sensitivity and timing of his actions.
Reportedly, “When Spare came out four months later the vast majority of the attention was devoted to Harry’s claims that William had attacked him and that the Prince and Princess of Wales had encouraged him to dress up as a Nazi.” But “What was largely overlooked was that the Duke of Sussex wrote about entering his grandmother’s bedroom and seeing her body”.
For those unversed, it feared a rather ‘intimate’ admission and read, “I braced myself, went in. The room was dimly lit, unfamiliar – I’d been inside it only once in my life. I moved ahead uncertainly, and there she was. I stood, frozen, staring. I stared and stared… I whispered to her that I hoped she was happy, that I hoped she was with Grandpa.”
In light of this Ms Elser also added, “If you think about it, it’s pretty extraordinary that Harry saw fit to, in weeks or months after Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, to return to the keyboard to detail being in the same room as his recently deceased granny.” “Then again, the Sussexes’ Netflix share-a-thon of a TV series revealed that they had taken a photographer inside Buckingham Palace in 2020 without permission.”
“Needs, I suppose, and content must. The consequences for Harry of all this, the repeated breaching of the sanctum sanctorum of royal life, are still very much a life issue,” Ms Elser also noted before signing off.
The critique comes amid ongoing discussions about the balance between public interest and private grief in royal affairs. The inclusion of such a recent and profound family loss in a memoir raises questions about the appropriateness of sharing personal reflections in a public format, particularly so soon after the event.
Elser’s commentary sheds light on the tension between Prince Harry’s public persona and his private obligations and relationships within the Royal Family. The timing of his updates to the memoir—specifically the addition of his grandmother’s death—has been perceived by some as a controversial move, possibly aimed at boosting interest or sales.
