Dickie Arbiter's Book: on His Time w/Prince Charles, Diana & Other Royals

[amabel]

Well, saying the book came from Clarence House is kind of pushing it.  Is there anything in the book that is untrue?  If not, then what are the complaints?  I doubt Charles would throw his own son to the lions.

Cindy

Perhaps no one's supposed to criticise Harry for anything?  and if the book has some negative stuff about him, it is considered bad?  certainly there has been plenty of "bad press" for Harry over the years sicne he was a teenager, it was well known that he was drinking under age, trying drugs etc.  And since he grew up, while he has done well in the army, He's also been pretty foolish at times outside his work. I can't see how any responsible biography can ignore these things.

[sandy]

Harry was drinking underage because he was left to his own devices at Highgrove and for some reason had access to the liquor cabinet.  A lock would have solved some of the problems.

I don't call Junor a responsible biographer.

William went through plenty of antics including commandeering a military copter to go to a stag party and he did not look like he just drank malted milks.

[cinrit]

Harry drank underage because he wanted to and had the opportunity.  If the only reason was opportunity, where did he get the drugs he tried out?  Certainly not from Charles.  You know, you can't write a biography and leave out the bits that aren't flattering.  If Harry did such-and-such, why shouldn't it be in his biography? 

Cindy

[sandy]

Locking the liquor cabinet would help or putting the liquor away. Teenagers are not the wisest people in the world. why put liquor in front of a teen left to his own devices anyway? Harry also was able to invite friends to Highgrove without adult supervision. Certainly some would bring drugs.

WIlliam did such and such too but his biography was more whitewashed. Even the Uncle Gary controversy was left out of Junor's bio of William.

[cinrit]

Why on earth would Junor include Uncle Gary in William's biography?  William is not responsible for anything his wife's uncle does. And what does William have to do with Harry's biography?  And what does either of them have to do with Charles being upset/angry/furious with Arbiter's upcoming book? :P

Cindy

[sandy]

Why wouldn't she? This was covered at length in the media.

I would like to point out Cindy that I was not the first to bring up Harry and william's biography so why do you select me for these questions?

[Curryong]

Harry drank underage because he wanted to and had the opportunity.  If the only reason was opportunity, where did he get the drugs he tried out?  Certainly not from Charles.  You know, you can't write a biography and leave out the bits that aren't flattering.  If Harry did such-and-such, why shouldn't it be in his biography? 

Cindy

Poor old Guy Pelly got the blame for Harry's experimentation with drugs, didn't he? In reality Harry in his mid-teens hung out with a slightly older crowd, including William's older friends. There were probably plenty of drugs around in their circles.

Harry supposedly drank under-age at the local pub and there was probably weed etc among patrons there. Charles was too often away when Harry was on holiday from Eton. Yes, the Prince of Wales was a busy man, but too often in Harry's teens things were left to Tiggy, Mark Dyer and various others to sort out, even when it was clear that he needed his father's attention.

[mod] Small fix to your HTML to properly close Cindy's quote. :hug: :hug: [/mod]

[sandy]

Tiggy though very supportive was a bit scatterbrained and let Harry and Will "rappel" down a hill with no helmets. That and Camilla's not liking her caused her to be sacked. Though Harry and William continued to be in touch with her.

I don't think Mark Dyer was the best "chaperone" for Harry.

I did read about Harry having free access to the liquor cabinet at Highgrove.

[Lady Adams]

Why on earth would Junor include Uncle Gary in William's biography?  William is not responsible for anything his wife's uncle does. And what does William have to do with Harry's biography?  And what does either of them have to do with Charles being upset/angry/furious with Arbiter's upcoming book? :P

Cindy

Didn't William accept gifts (vacations namely) from Uncle Gary? That makes him fair game for discussion, in my opinion.

[amabel]

Harry drank underage because he wanted to and had the opportunity.  If the only reason was opportunity, where did he get the drugs he tried out?  Certainly not from Charles.  You know, you can't write a biography and leave out the bits that aren't flattering.  If Harry did such-and-such, why shouldn't it be in his biography? 

Cindy

He also drank in a pub, was seen in public being drunk and abusive to the barman when he was under age.

[sandy]

Will was not the epitome of politeness either.  He sped around some estate upsetting the owner and Charles had to apologize for his behavior.

[Trudie]

Why on earth would Junor include Uncle Gary in William's biography?  William is not responsible for anything his wife's uncle does. And what does William have to do with Harry's biography?  And what does either of them have to do with Charles being upset/angry/furious with Arbiter's upcoming book? :P

Cindy

Didn't William accept gifts (vacations namely) from Uncle Gary? That makes him fair game for discussion, in my opinion.

Good point Lady Adams but what did Diana and her feelings and supposed poison phone call to Camilla have to do with Harry? Junor is doing a cut and paste from her previous books at Harry's expense.

[cinrit]

Why on earth would Junor include Uncle Gary in William's biography?  William is not responsible for anything his wife's uncle does. And what does William have to do with Harry's biography?  And what does either of them have to do with Charles being upset/angry/furious with Arbiter's upcoming book? :P

Cindy 

Didn't William accept gifts (vacations namely) from Uncle Gary? That makes him fair game for discussion, in my opinion. 

Yes, it does, if William's accepting gifts from him is what is discussed.  But surely William accepted gifts from other people (Christmas? birthdays? just cuz?).  But including Uncle Gary because of Uncle Gary's lifestyle, not in my opinion.  Or if he were, then all of Kate's relatives should be included, good as well as not-so-good.

Cindy

[amabel]

God DID William accept gifts from Uncle Gary?  I have never fully read a bio of Will so I don't know... whether this is something that biographers mention.

[sandy]

There was much media time on Uncle Gary. William and Kate spent time with Uncle Gary who made some indiscreet comments about conversations he had with William and Kate (one with William  involving her bra size to put it gently). Junor certainly did not mention it in her Prince William book (too much time was spent on Diana and the bashing) but others did. William IMO even staged a PDA photo op with Kate showing the Uncle Gary stories "did not matter." Will and Kate stayed with Uncle Gary at his Case De Bang Bang. Will did accept presents.

[cinrit]

Surely there's nothing amiss with accepting presents from a SO's relative?  If so, I've got a lot of things I need to return that were given to me by my husband's relatives before we were married.  As long as the gifts that Uncle Gary gave William (first I've heard of it, too) were legal, I see nothing wrong about it.

Cindy

[amabel]

If he's a controversial figure (I admit that I know nothing about him other than that he is a bit of black sheep) then it would probably have been wiser if Will had not accepted gifts from him.  however, I don't know if he DID accept gifts... But then most royals do this sometimes.

[cinrit]

How do you not accept a gift if it is offered on your birthday, or Christmas, or something brought back from a vacation trip?  As long as the gifts were within the guidelines of what Royals can accept, I see nothing wrong with it.

Cindy

[amabel]

Someone said holidays, and I'd say that tis possible to say "No thanks, we can pay for our own hols"!

[sandy]

He gave rather embarrassing interviews and in effect made Will look somewhat of a fool.

Kate Middleton Uncle: Gary Goldsmith reveals intimate details on the family of Duchess of Cambridge | Mail Online

[DaisyMeRollin]

It seems Arbiter is taking Junor's approach, and providing snippets to the DM:

The real story behind the photos that laid bare Diana's despair: For 12 years he guarded the most intimate secrets of Charles, Diana (and Camilla).

The perspective that Arbiter is serving up doesn't seem as scathing as people feared, just my opinion though. Much ado about details that have been made known by previous authors and biographers.

[Curryong]

^^ Yes, from that article there's nothing very startling or new. The Prince and Princess of Wales had a bad marriage and could barely stand each other at the end. Whoah, stop the Presses!

[cate1949]

puhlese - this family accepts gifts - serious gifts - from the Saudi's - Gary  Goldsmith is not even close to their league

[amabel]

there is a difference between accepting gifts if they are from another Royal family or Head of state with whom Britain has a relationship, - they are not personal gifts, and accepting private gifts such as holidays etc from a private individual. If Gary is a bit of a black sheep then he should know enough not to offer expensive gifts that might cause controversy for his niece and William.  If he still goes on offering them, then he should be gently refused...

[Lady Adams]

^^You're right about the difference between official and personal gifts.

But if quibble a bit with the latter part of your post: Gary can offer gifts all he wants. William, being the public figure and member of the BRF, should be careful about the gift he accepts.