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.
Read more:
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Who is Harry’s ghostwriter, JR Moehringer?
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”.
An emergency vote on Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has been called off following developments in the Middle East, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has said.
Contest organisers had scheduled “an extraordinary meeting of [its] general assembly to be held online” in early November after several countries said they would no longer take part in Eurovision if Israel participated.
The EBU said in a statement that following “recent developments in the Middle East” the executive board had agreed on Monday that there should be an in-person discussion among members “on the issue of participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2026”.
It said the matter had now been added to the agenda of its winter general assembly, which will take place in December.
Further details about the session would be shared with EBU members in the coming weeks, it added.
It is not clear if a vote will still take place at a later date.
Austria is hosting next year’s show in Vienna. The country’s national broadcaster, ORF, told Reuters news agency it welcomed the EBU’s decision.
Sky News has contacted Israeli broadcaster KAN for comment.
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Will Eurovision boycott Israel?
Faced with controversy over the conflict in Gaza, Eurovision – which labels itself a non-political event – had said member countries would vote on whether Israel should or shouldn’t take part.
Slovenia and broadcasters from Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Iceland had all issued statements saying if Israel was allowed to enter, they’d consider boycotting the contest.
As one of the “Big Five” backers of Eurovision, Spain’s decision to leave the competition would have a significant financial impact on the event – which is the world’s largest live singing competition.
In September, a letter from EBU president Delphine Ernotte Cunci, said “given that the union has never faced a divisive situation like this before” the board agreed it “merited a broader democratic basis for a decision”.
Read more:
Why Eurovision vote on Israel might not stop boycott
Could Eurovision boycott lead to a competition crisis?
On Monday, Palestinian militant group Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza, and Israel released busloads of Palestinian detainees, under a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing an end to the two-year war in the Middle East.
The war began when Hamas stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation, with airstrikes and ground assaults devastating much of the enclave and killing more than 67,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but it says around half of those killed were women and children.
Entertainment
Diane Keaton, star of Annie Hall and The Godfather, has died aged 79 – US media reports
Actress Diane Keaton, who starred in films including The Godfather and Annie Hall, has died, reports have said.
People reported her death at the age of 79, citing a family spokesperson.
The magazine said she died in California with loved ones but no other details were immediately available, and representatives for Keaton did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press news agency.
Keaton’s death was also reported by the New York Times newspaper which said it has spoken to Dori Roth, who produced a number of Keaton’s most recent films, who confirmed she had died but did not provide any details about the circumstances.
With a long career, across a series of movies that are regarded as some of the best ever made, Keaton was widely admired.
She was awarded an Oscar, a BAFTA and two Golden Globe Awards, and was also nominated for two Emmys, and a Tony, as well as picking up a series of other Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
Diane Keaton, with her best actress Oscar for ‘Annie Hall’ in 1978. Pic: AP
Her best actress Oscar was for the Woody Allen film Annie Hall, which is said to be loosely based on her life.
She appeared in several other Allen projects, including Manhattan, as well as all three Godfather movies, in which she played Kay, the wife and then ex-wife of Marlon Brando’s son Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, opposite him as he descends into a life of crime and replaces his father in the family’s mafia empire.
‘Brilliant, beautiful’
The unexpected news was met with shock around the world.
Her First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler wrote on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me.
“She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was … oh, la, lala!”
Actor Ben Stiller paid tribute on X, writing: “Diane Keaton. One of the greatest film actors ever. An icon of style, humor and comedy. Brilliant. What a person.”
Keaton was the kind of actor who helped make films iconic and timeless, from her “La-dee-da, la-dee-da” phrasing as Annie Hall, bedecked in the iconic necktie, bowler hat, vest and khakis, to her heartbreaking turn as Kay Adams, the woman unfortunate enough to join the Corleone family.
Keaton also frequently worked with Nancy Meyers, starting with 1987’s Baby Boom.
Their other films together included 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel, as well as 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give.
In 1996 she starred opposite Goldie Hawn and Midler in The First Wives Club, about three women whose husbands had left them for younger women.
More recently she collaborated with Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen on the Book Club films.
Keaton never married. She adopted a daughter, Dexter, in 1996 and a son, Duke, four years later.
Sky News has contacted Keaton’s agent for a comment.
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