Prince Harry has been criticised on TalkTV for “cashing in” on his family, alongside his uncle, Earl Spencer. The comments follow the release of Spencer's memoir, Swan Song, which was dedicated to the memory of his late sister, Princess Diana.
The Earl faced criticism after accusing Piers Morgan of being the editor of the Mirror when the paper published invasive pictures of Diana in a leotard at a gym in 1993. Morgan has pointed out that he did not become editor until 1995, and has announced he would take legal action against Spencer to have copies of the book removed from shelves and pulped.
TalkTV panel discusses Harry's return to the UK
Speaking on Plank of the Week, Kevin O'Sullivan said: “We're hearing that Harry, who I think colluded with this book. I think that the Sussexes came back to Britain; the timing of their return was specific to coincide with the publication of this book. They're in this book up to here. Meanwhile, we hear that Harry is going to climb on the gravy train and cash in on his mother with a documentary.”
Commentator Candice Holdsworth added: “Yeah, it's just never-ending. It never stops. I just find it funny that people call Spencer a historian of some repute. Yet, he makes an enormous error like this, not knowing who the editor was at that particular time. I mean, it's just such a stupid error.”
Criticism of Spencer's memoir and its sales
Holdsworth continued: “I think with Harry as well, they've realised now there's this very lucrative model. They can be very adversarial towards the royal family, and they can make money out of it.” She added: “Although from what I've heard, the sales of this book have been a little bit modest,” with O'Sullivan noting: “Even though it was immediately put to half price by Waterstones!”
In an apology to Morgan, a representative for Spencer said: “Earl Spencer's account of his conversation with Piers Morgan is accurate. Mr Morgan was surly and annoyed when Earl Spencer called personally to tell him that he was not welcome at his sister's funeral.” The statement admitted the factual error, adding: “as an historian, accuracy is important to Earl Spencer. He therefore wishes to clarify that his assumption was incorrect. Earl Spencer apologises to Mr Morgan for this error.”
Morgan responded to the BBC: “He's a historian. He should want it removed from the shelves. Why, if you're doing this for historical record, would you want such a completely untrue series of claims over several pages about a public figure to still be in that book? Now you've admitted it's untrue and apologised. He should pull the book.”
