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No changes made to Harry’s book

There were “no last-minute rewrites or edits” to Prince Harry’s book Spare after Queen Elizabeth’s death, according to Omid Scobie, the journalist who is known to have excellent contacts in the Harry and Meghan camp.

Scobie, who co-authored the sympathetic biography of the couple Finding Freedom, wrote on Yahoo! that the only change to the manuscript, which was “completed almost five months before the monarch’s passing” is an author’s note at the start about Her Majesty’s death.

Of the controversial title, Scobie says that “leaning on the derogatory moniker” is Harry’s way of “finally owning the term after a lifetime of being called it.”

Scobie, ambiguously citing “those who have already had sight of the book’s manuscript,” says the book is “filled with the prince’s trademark cheekiness,” and will contain “moving anecdotes from the frontlines of Afghanistan and his time in the military, plus honest insights into Harry’s quest to find purpose and why he chose to commit to a lifetime of service.”

Scobie says, however, that “there is still the very real risk of serious blowback from the institution and family” amidst “genuine fear” the book “will cause irrevocable damage to reputations and relations.”

One possible conclusion: Yes, Harry will dish when the book comes out on January 10.

How Tom Cruise became best pals with the queen

In the months before she died, Queen Elizabeth made a new friend: the Hollywood movie star of movie stars, Tom Cruise. The Sunday Times reports that the pair had tea at Windsor Castle, and “got on so well” that Cruise was invited back to lunch. “She also gave him full VIP treatment, granting Cruise, 60, his long-held wish of landing a helicopter at a royal residence,” the Sunday Times reports.

The pair had been supposed to meet at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Windsor in May, but her health issues meant the queen had to absent herself from a private drinks reception afterwards, where Cruise allegedly charmed other guests.

A source told the Sunday Times: “The queen let it be known that she was really disappointed not to have met Tom at the pageant, so he was invited to have a special tour of Windsor Castle with everything laid on for him. Afterwards, just the two of them had tea together. She loved seeing him and they really hit it off, so much so that she invited him back for lunch. He was even allowed to fly in by helicopter.”

He must have really twinkled, because the queen let Cruise fire a ceremonial gun, and allowed a photograph of the two of them to be taken.

Cruise once told a TV documentary of meeting Prince Philip: “There was a moment...we were talking about pilots, we had to talk about helicopters, and he was telling me the wonderful story of how he got the first helicopter into Buckingham Palace during [the Queen’s] coronation. Fantastic story. I was this close to going, ‘I’d like to land a helicopter, if you ever need a helicopter, someone to pick you up, I think I could put it right there.’”

“That Cruise was allowed to fly a helicopter into the grounds at Windsor was an honor, as the late monarch was known to be particular about helicopters landing on her lawns,” the Sunday Times says, noting that the queen had been reportedly annoyed by then-President Trump marking her Buckingham Palace lawn with his helicopter landing there on his state visit to Britain in 2019.

Andrew “tearful” when Charles told him royal life was over

Prince Andrew became “tearful” when King Charles told him he would never be able to return to royal duties, a source told The Mail on Sunday. The men met at Charles’ Birkhall estate, near Balmoral, days before Queen Elizabeth died, and King Charles was still Prince Charles. Andrew believed he could “still be of value” as part of the Firm, but in the “emotional and fraught” discussion that followed Charles told his younger brother different.

“Andrew was totally blindsided,” a source told the paper, saying Andrew’s expulsion being made so clear had “left those around the duke concerned for him.” A source said, “He is utterly bereft. He always believed there was a way back…Andrew was extremely close to the Queen and tried to raise the issue of his return to public life many times with her. On some occasions she would say mildly conciliatory things but most of the time she would change the subject immediately.”

Andrew was shunned after Virginia Roberts Giuffre claimed Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was underage and being sexually trafficked by Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein, a claim Andrew denied. He settled with Giuffre in a multi-million dollar settlement in February.

The Mail points out Andrew will be absent at next week’s Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph. Andrew thought there was a way back to royal duties. “Naive as it may sound, he always had hopes of regaining his position as a senior royal,” the source told The Mail on Sunday. “At the meeting Charles told him that he can go off and have a good life, a nice life, but that his public life as a Royal is at an end. He was told: ‘You have to accept this.’”

Meanwhile, the Sun reports that Andrew has not been living up to his promise to do charity work, but rather playing golf, horse-riding, and watching TV. After announcing his settlement with Giuffre, Andrew vowed to support “the fight against the evils of sex trafficking by supporting its victims.” The Sun reports that “several proposals” to carry out charity work have “stalled” after Palace permission was sought. A spokesperson for Andrew did not offer comment to the paper.

The report echoes a friend of the prince, who recently told The Daily Beast that Andrew was becoming more sanguine about his relegated royal status, and was happily enjoying the pheasant shooting season.

Actor playing Martin Bashir defends The Crown’s recreation of Panorama interview

Prasanna Puwanarajah, who plays Martin Bashir in The Crown has defended the decision to recreate sections of Diana’s famous Panorama interview in the new series, against the wishes of her children.

Speaking to The Guardian, Puwanarajah said: “The whole program is now part of the fabric of our collective knowledge, our history, and not to do it properly would have been to bump the audience out of an important dramatic moment.”

Puwanarajah’s comments mesh with many observers who believe the royal family’s success in blocking the BBC from ever showing the interview again have silenced Diana.

Puwanarajah, whose performance is being hailed as one of the standout roles in The Crown, also suggested racial discrimination was a factor in the Panorama story. He said: “There was a wariness of outsiders in the BBC that is part of what happened…Bashir’s ambitious actions are part of a documented lineage of ethical malpractice in journalism, but the subterfuge was detected in his case. Despite apparent progressive strides, problems around race persist in our institutions.”

However Matt Wiessler, the former BBC graphic designer who was tricked by Bashir into making false bank statements, told the Daily Mail: “I don’t agree that race played any part in the detection. The reason Bashir’s deception was detected is because I blew the whistle.”

Britons to get day off work to salute King Charles III

An extra bank holiday will be created next year to mark King Charles III’s coronation. New prime minister Rishi Sunak has designated Monday May 8—two days after the coronation and just a week after the May Day bank holiday—as an extra day off for the Brits.

Sunak said: “The coronation of a new monarch is a unique moment for our country. In recognition of this historic occasion, I am pleased to announce an additional bank holiday for the whole United Kingdom next year.”

This week in royal history

Happy 19th birthday this week to Lady Louise Windsor, who was born on November 8, 2003. Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex’s daughter, she was most recently seen at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral where Lady Louise wore a necklace in the shape of a horse’s head, reflecting the late monarch and Louise’s shared love of horses.

Unanswered questions

Will The Crown—whose new season debuts on Netflix this week—bust open old wounds, and renew antipathy towards King Charles just as he begins his reign?

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