Prince Harry’s ghostwriter JR Moehringer defends book after criticism over inaccuracies
The man who was Prince Harry’s ghostwriter for his memoir Spare has been defending the book online, following criticism that some of the Duke of Sussex’s claims were inaccurate.
JR Moehringer was asked to ghostwrite Harry’s autobiography Spare, after previously writing for the likes of tennis star Andre Agassi, as well as penning his own novels.
In Spare, Harry said he was descended from King Henry VI but critics have pointed out on social media that that was impossible as the king only had one son, Edward of Westminster, who died in battle aged 17 before he had any children of his own.
Also in the book, Harry claimed he offered to buy his wife Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, a first class ticket from Mexico to the UK on Air New Zealand.
But the airline has said it never operated flights between Mexico and Britain.
American Moehringer, a former winner of the Pulitzer Prize for newspaper feature writing, has shared a number of quotes on Twitter, which appear to reference criticism of inaccuracies in some aspects of Harry’s story.
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A Harry quote that Moehringer shared from the duke’s book said: “Whatever the cause, my memory is my memory, it does what it does, gathers and curates as it sees fit, and there’s just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts. Things like chronology and cause-and-effect are often just fables we tell ourselves about the past.”
He also shared a Harry quote that said: “Landscape, geography, architecture, that’s how my memory rolls. Dates? Sorry, I’ll need to look them up. Dialogue? I’ll try my best, but make no verbatim claims, especially when it comes to the nineties.”
Moehringer, 58, used a quote by Mary Karr from The Art Of Memoir that said: “Neurologist Jonathan Mink, MD, explained to me that with such intense memories as David’s, we often record the emotion alone, all detail blurred into unreadable smear.”
And another quote from Karr, also shared by Moehringer, said: “The line between memory and fact is blurry, between interpretation and fact.”
Moehringer appears to be suggesting that Prince Harry has remembered events in his life to the best of his memory and ability.
Elsewhere he retweets people who say “these “factual errors” that have been called out aren’t necessarily real errors in the context of an autobiographical account”, as well as those who say they are enjoying his work.
The prince’s autobiography, which contained bombshell revelations about the Royal Family, was leaked and sold early by some booksellers in Spain.
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On Tuesday, the book was declared the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever, selling more than 400,000 copies across hardback, ebook and audio formats on its first day of publication.
Queues of fans developed before shops opened at midnight for the official release of the controversial memoir.
Despite its explosive revelations, the duke said in his first print interview since publication that he “would like nothing more” than for his children to have relationships with the Royal Family.
He told People magazine that Archie, three, and 19-month-old Lilibet did have a connection with some of the Windsors, whom he did not name, saying this brought him “great joy”.
Entertainment
Snoop Dogg becomes co-owner and investor of Swansea football club saying it’s ‘an underdog just like me’
Police are taking no further action over Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury.
Officers said they had investigated “comments about a forthcoming court case made during Kneecap’s performance” at the festival on 28 June.
However, after Crown Prosecution Service advice, they decided there is not enough evidence “to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence”.
The Avon & Somerset force started investigating the Irish group’s show last month, as well as comments by punk-rap duo Bob Vylan.
It said they were looking at a possible public order incident.
Police said on Friday that the investigation into Bob Vylan’s performance was ongoing.
The London duo were widely criticised – and caused a BBC crisis – after leading on-stage chants of “death to the IDF” (Israel Defence Forces).
Kneecap’s Liam Og O Hannaidh appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in June. Pic: PA
Kneecap posted a photograph on Instagram, which the group said was an email from police announcing the case was being dropped.
They said their packed Glastonbury gig was a “celebration of love and solidarity” and reporting used “wildly misleading headlines”.
Fears over what Kneecap might do or say during the performance had prompted the BBC not to show it live.
The group said: “Every single person who saw our set knew no law was broken, not even close… yet the police saw fit to publicly announce they were opening an investigation.”
“There is no public apology, they don’t send this to media or post it on police accounts,” they added.
The police statement on Friday said they had informed Kneecap of their decision to drop the case.
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One of the group’s members appeared in court in June charged with a terror offence.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah, a proscribed organisation in the UK, at a gig last year.
He was released on unconditional bail ahead of a second court appearance in August.
Entertainment
Tomorrowland: ‘Devastating’ blaze destroys main stage at major festival – two days before it was due to begin
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
The fire gutted the main stage
Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
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Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
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