Manuela Mirecki

Reading the entire book and then looking at the salacious headlines and sound bites that were drawn from sometimes the most minor of issues that were oft a matter of a mere couple of sentences in the book while being reported upon by the press and talking heads as major “plot points” was utterly telling of the overriding truth of Spare’s general narrative. Conversely, in equally revealing fashion, entire chapters were given the complete opposite, reductive treatment in the press. Where significant topics were given simple throw-away click-bait treatment in the press. I cannot fathom how anyone could read both the book and subsequent criticism and not acknowledge the blatant manipulation of the press. Do I take every word written as absolute unbiased truth? No. I do not. There were moments worthy of eye rolls as I digested his elite world travels and privilege alongside his “I’m just like you.”, accounts of doing his own laundry and buying clothes at discount stores. I don’t doubt the veracity of those things but there is certainly a degree of oblivious ignorance in his view of “normal” folk. But what can one expect of someone born a Prince to the most famous woman in the world. His account of Charles, Grandmother and Great Grandmother felt generously warm and kindly. Not so much Camilla, William and Kate and those are the areas of the book that felt most likely to be open to interpretation, where personal accounts of the individuals involved may differ. But this also feels consistent with complex family dynamics anywhere. Form your own opinions, but let it be your own opinion based on the entirety of the source material, not based on crass reductive headlines that insult your intelligence.