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Ex-pat Prince Harrys memoir, titled Spare in a likely jab at his father King Charles III, is set to be released on January 10 but if the sneak peeks are any indication, the entire tome appears to be a compilation of unaired grievances and instances of unresolved sibling rivalry.

Harry left the U.K. and his royal duties behind shortly after the May 2019 birth of son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor the first of his two children with his wife, American actress-turned-Duchess-of-Sussex Meghan Markle (Suits). By mid-February of 2021, the palace had confirmed that Harry and Meghan would not be returning to their Royal roles.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family, the February 19, 2021, statement from Buckingham Palace read.

Since then, the quasi-royals have attempted to carve out a life for themselves outside the palace walls and so far, every outing has been another variation on the same theme: everyone at the Palace wanted them gone, with Prince William and Princess Kate chief among them.

From the now-infamous Oprah interview to their multi-episode Netflix special, Harry and Meghan have lobbed a series of accusations against the Royal Family in general from bullying to racism and everything in between and Spare appears to pick up where Netflix left off.

Harry blames William and Kate for his 2005 decision to wear a Nazi uniform to a costume party, saying that they had howled with laughter upon seeing him in the get-up and encouraged him to go for it.

I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said, Harry says that he then brought the costume home to try it on before the Native and Colonial themed party. They both howled. Worse than Willys leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.

In 2017, when Harry and Meghan made their public debut at the Toronto Invictus Games, Markle received criticism for wearing ripped jeans. Harry alleges in Spare that her outfit had been approved by the palace but then complains that someone should have issued a statement in her defense once the backlash began.

A single declaration in defense of Meg would have been enough to make a tremendous difference, he writes.

Harry also claims that Prince William warned him not to propose to Markle, saying things were moving too fast and saying theyd never be able to spend time together as a foursome because shes an American actress, after all. He went on to say that William was the one who nixed plans for them to wed at Westminster Abbey where William and Kate were married and had been opposed to them using St. Pauls as well.

The ex-royal writes about a number of disagreements with his brother particularly where Markle is concerned and says that one such incident nearly resulted in fisticuffs.

William, Harry writes, referred to Markle as abrasive, difficult, and rude comments that Harry says were simply a reflection of the prevailing press narrative and alleges that William punctuated his comments with a physical assault.

It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.I landed on the dogs bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.

Harry sayshe believed that William wanted him to hit back, claiming that he could see the same judgment-clouding anger in his brother that he had felt for years:I chose not to. What was different here was the level of frustration. I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him.

The brothers relationship, Harry writes, changed dramatically over time. In some ways he was my mirror, in some ways he was my opposite. My beloved brother, my archnemesis, how had that happened?

He asked that question after William appeared not to understand Harrys decision to leave his royal duties a decision that Harry felt should require no explanation at all.

I couldnt believe what I was hearing. It was one thing to disagree about who was at fault but for him to claim total ignorance of the reasons Id fled why my wife and I took the drastic step of picking up our child and just running like hell Really? Harry continued.

Harry also takes aim at his father in Spare even the title is a direct jab at King Charles III, who allegedly informed the late Princess Diana that his work was finished once William and Harry (an heir and a spare) were born.

He writes of one instance in which the king had allegedly fed the press a story about William and Kate and their children a story that led a seething William and Harry to confront their father together.

Pa instantly got upset. He began shouting that Willy was paranoid. We both were. Just because we were getting bad press, and he was getting good, that didnt mean his staff was behind it, Harry writes.

And while he said that the confrontation did not lead to changes from their father, he had initially believed that he and William were recovering their earlier closeness. But Harry goes on to allege that even after they promised they would never turn their press houses against each other, William broke his word.

I would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading. And to see my brothers office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never, ever do, Harry says in the Netflix docuseries, that was heartbreaking.

The problem for many of the senior royals, Harry alleges, all centered on the fact that Markle had stolen their spotlight. The issue is when someone whos marrying in, who should be a supporting act, is then stealing the limelight or is doing the job better than the person who is born to do this, that upsets people. It shifts the balance, he claims.

Despite all that, Harry continues to claim that he would like to reconcile with both his father and his brother but royal expert Katie Nicholls doesnt believe that claim holds any water.

The idea that he wants his father and his brother back just seems so incongruous with how he is behaving and what hes saying To paint such an unflattering picture of the royal family and a very unsavory side of his brother and an uncaring side of his father It just does not appear to be the actions of a man trying to reconcile with his estranged family. It really feels like a line has been crossed.

Others have noted that the Palaces default position is to not respond to attacks and allegations a position of which Harry was well aware so he likely knew that he would have free reign to continue to level very public attacks without any fear of reprisal from the people he was attacking.

Harrys claims and blames circulated via social media in the week ahead of the books release, prompting a number of people to respond with the hashtag shutupHarry.

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Starmer ‘playing whack-a-mole’ to keep US on side – but will it be enough?

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Starmer 'playing whack-a-mole' to keep US on side - but will it be enough?

Keir Starmer flies out of South Africa this evening with two massive issues on his agenda – a potentially manifesto-busting budget and, as it stands, an unacceptable Ukrainian peace deal.

As he prepared to depart for London, the prime minister confirmed he was dispatching national security adviser Jonathan Powell to Geneva for talks with US officials, other European security advisers and Ukrainian representatives – as Europe and Ukraine scramble to reinsert themselves into a plan drawn up between Washington and Moscow.

The prime minister said on Saturday there was “more to do on the plan” in the coming days and the focus now was to try to make progress in Geneva.

Follow the latest: European leaders raise concerns over plan for Ukraine

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PM: ‘More to do’ on US Ukraine peace plan

After speaking on the phone to Donald Trump, Downing Street said the pair agreed their teams would work together on the US leader’s proposal in the Swiss city on Sunday.

Starmer also reiterated Britain’s “steadfast support for Ukraine” in a call with President Zelenskyy – as allies try to swing this deal more in Ukraine‘s favour, with the UK and other international leaders clear on their concerns to limit the size of the Ukrainian army and give up territory to Russia.

But in his remarks on camera, the prime minister was at pains to neither criticise the current deal nor President Trump.

One figure told me that the PM wants to act as a bridge between the Europeans and the US and has been playing a “game of whack-a-mole” over the past couple of days in an effort to keep others from publicly saying the deal is unacceptable for fear it would only serve to irritate President Trump and hurt Ukraine.

File pic: Reuters
Image:
File pic: Reuters

Earlier, the prime minister said he would talk to his US counterpart in the coming days.

“I’m absolutely clear in my mind that President Trump wants a just and lasting peace, not just from the actions he’s taken towards that end, but also from the private discussions that I’ve had with him,” Mr Starmer said.

“So I know what he’s trying to achieve. We all want to achieve that.”

But there will be a question about what the alternative options are if allies cannot improve this deal by President Trump’s Thursday deadline.

The frontline in eastern Ukraine
Image:
The frontline in eastern Ukraine

The first option is to try to improve it and also slow down the process and buy more time, but if that fails, are allies looking at scenarios where they try to shore up Ukraine’s war efforts without the US support?

The prime minister responded by talking about point five in the 28-point plan, in which Ukraine is offered security guarantees from the US.

Read more:
Trump’s 28-point Ukraine peace plan in full
Analysis: We could all pay if Europe doesn’t step up
Starmer addresses G20 summit – but Trump boycotts talks

“That fortifies in me the belief that what we’re all trying to achieve here is a just and lasting peace will only be just as lasting if there are security guarantees,” Mr Starmer said.

“And if we bear in mind that matters for Ukraine are always to be determined by Ukraine.”

The next 24 hours will be critical as the Europeans, Ukraine and other allies try to improve this deal.

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Sports

UAB: Player arrested after stabbing 2 teammates

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UAB: Player arrested after stabbing 2 teammates

A UAB football player stabbed two of his teammates Saturday morning at the football facility ahead of the Blazers’ home game against USF, a university spokesperson told ESPN.

The suspect has been arrested, and both injured players are in stable condition after being taken to UAB hospital. The school has not released the names of any of the players involved.

UAB’s game against USF began as scheduled at 3 p.m. ET.

A UAB official said an investigation is ongoing.

“UAB’s top priority remains the safety and well-being of all of our students,” the school said in a statement.

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Sources: ASU’s top WR Tyson expected back

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Sources: ASU's top WR Tyson expected back

Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State‘s leading receiver, is expected to return from a hamstring injury and play Saturday when the Sun Devils visit the Colorado Buffaloes, sources tell ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Tyson is expected to participate in pregame warmups, and barring any setbacks, he’ll be cleared to play against his former team.

Tyson suffered the injury Oct. 18 in Arizona State’s upset win over then-undefeated Texas Tech. He finished that game with 10 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown but has not played since.

Despite missing the past three games, Tyson leads the Sun Devils in catches (57) and yards receiving (628), and he is the team leader with eight touchdowns.

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