In Spare, Prince Harry writes extensively about his disdain for many tabloid editors and royal-rota hacks. He’s kept track of many of them throughout their careers, and he has a classic Virgo’s long memory for grudges. That’s a huge part of Spare and it makes me feel seen: Harry’s Virgo ability to recall who screwed him over, who did him dirty, who wrote something false about him, who was tracking his girlfriend, who was listening to his voicemail messages. Harry was repeatedly encouraged to play the game, the same game his father and stepmother played, of cozying up to their media abusers and enthusiastically participating in the Invisible Contract. Harry wrote about this in a particular section of Spare, in the lead-up to his 2018 wedding, when the British tabloids were writing about wedding “Portaloos.”

That spring, however, the press was quieter. Keener about breaking news of wedding details than inventing new libels… Above all, we hoped the royal correspondents would continue to write about poo instead of trying to stir it up.

So when the Palace encouraged us to feed more wedding details to those correspondents, known as the Royal Rota, we obeyed. At the same time, I told the Palace that on the Big Day, the happiest day of our lives, I didn’t want to see one single royal correspondent inside that chapel, unless Murdoch himself apologized for phone hacking.

The Palace scoffed. It would be all-out war, the courtiers warned, to bar the Royal Rota from the wedding. Then let’s go to war.

I’d had it with the Royal Rota, both the individuals and the system, which was more outdated than the horse and cart. It had been devised some forty years earlier, to give British print and broadcast reporters first crack at the Royal Family, and it stank to high heaven. It discouraged fair competition, engendered cronyism, encouraged a small mob of hacks to feel entitled.

After weeks of wrangling, it was agreed: The Royal Rota wouldn’t be allowed in the chapel, but they could gather outside. A small win, which I hugely celebrated.

[From Spare by Prince Harry]

What I keep thinking about is that part in Netflix’s Harry & Meghan, when the British expert (I forget her name, I’m sorry) spoke about how Harry and William were the first heir-and-spare born into the invisible contract system and the royal rota system. Harry and William didn’t negotiate that deal as children or adults, the deal was in place when they were born and they grew up caged within that tragic system. William chose to lean into it, and he learned from his father how to brief against members of his family, how to smear his brother and sister-in-law, how to protect his own ass at all costs. Harry chose a different path – to pick a fight, to try to dismantle a broken system, to call out the Rota.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.

Meghan Markle in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry watched by (middle row from left) Queen Elizabeth II, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Wessex, Viscount Severn, Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Royal, Sir Tim Laurence, (front row from left) Duke of Cambridge, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall Duchess of Cambridge, Duke of York. .,Image: 515241949, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchange vows in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle during their wedding service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.,Image: 515242007, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon WINDSOR, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Prince Harry (L) and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend the wedding of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales marries Ms. Meghan Markle in a service at St George’s Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. Among the guests were 2200 members of the public, the royal family and Ms. Markle’s Mother Doria Ragland.,Image: 515242584, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle depart from St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.,Image: 515245001, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon USA Rights Only – Berkshire, UK -20180519- Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in Berkshire -PICTURED: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Doria Ragland, Prince Charles, Camilla Duchess of Cornwal -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com -36590382.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Doria Ragland, Prince Charles, Camilla Duchess of Cornwal Where: Berkshire, England, United Kingdom When: 19 May 2018 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages.com **USA Rights Only** The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son, who was born on Monday morning, during a photocall in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle in Berkshire.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their wedding service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding. (Left to right) The Duke of Cambridge, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York and Princess Beatrice sitting in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding.. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018.

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