Robert Lacey
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Robert Lacey

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Books
    • Latest Books

      Battle of Brothers

      June 24, 2021

      Latest Books

      The Crown Volume 2: The Official Companion

      November 19, 2019

      Latest Books

      The Crown: The Official Companion

      October 1, 2017

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Model Woman

      June 16, 2015

      8.3
      Latest Books

      Grace: Her Lives – Her Loves

      June 11, 2014

      Latest Books

      Gulf Charities and Islamic Philanthropy

      March 18, 2014

      Latest Books

      A Brief Life of the Queen

      January 31, 2012

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      The Crown does NOT tell lies

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      The Crown: Never a truer word was said…

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      Yet another new Prime Minister? ’Dear! Oh, dear!’

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Queen escapes Harry and Meghan’s ire in scathing Oprah interview

March 9, 2021
Queen escapes Harry and Meghan’s ire in scathing Oprah interview

Robert Lacey is quoted in this Guardian article following the Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan.

One person in the royal family escaped the ire of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their devastatingly critical tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey: the Queen.

Prince Harry’s hurt at being “let down” by Prince Charles; Meghan’s claim that the Duchess of Cambridge made her cry, and not the other way around; Harry’s sadness at his rift with Prince William – all was laid bare.

But there was nothing but praise and warm words for Harry’s 94-year-old grandmother, despite her position as head of the “the firm”, the family and institution the couple says so badly mistreated them.

I think there is a personal, and also a political aspect it to it. If they had dared attack the Queen, they would have forfeited an enormous amount of sympathy,” said the author and royal historian, Robert Lacey.

Harry revealed Charles refused to take his calls for a time last year before he and Meghan announced, from Canada, their intention to step back from a senior royal role, at which point “I took matters into my own hands”.

On Charles, he added: “I feel really let down, because he’s been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like, [and] Archie’s his grandson.

“But, at the same time, I will always love him, but there’s a lot of hurt that happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.”

This excruciating public criticism is such a damaging breach of royal protocol – which dictates family members never openly criticise one another – that its harm to Charles is inestimable.

Lacey believes it could profoundly affect Charles’s future kingship, especially in the Commonwealth countries – such as Australia and Canada – who may demand choice over their next monarch.

The interview represented “an enormous clash of cultures and values, a clash of generations, a psychological clash between the stiff upper lip and the wobbly lower chin”, Lacey said.

“Will young Australians, or Canadians, for example, want a King Charles III who refused to take calls from his son when he was in emotional distress?

“We have only heard their truth. There may be other truths. But, it will resonate as a truth for many people, certainly outside this country. And, I would have thought, for young people.”

But relations with the Queen seem much calmer. Harry denied accusations, which he believes may have been leaked by palace insiders, that they had “blindsided” the Queen by making public their intentions to step down as working royals. “No, I would never blindside my grandmother, I have too much respect for her,” he told Winfrey.

His closeness to the Queen has always been evident since the loss of his own mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Some have suggested it is the Queen who stepped into the role of stepmother, and not the Duchess of Cornwall.

Meghan, too, spoke of their closeness to the monarch: she disclosed she had phoned to inquire about the health of Prince Philip, who is in hospital.

And, in all her official statements on the Sussexes’ departure, the Queen has always stressed they remained a loved and valued part of her family.

[The interview] speaks to the closeness that does exist between the Queen, his grandmother, and Harry,’ said Lacey.

“The Queen’s statements have all reflected the duality of this; that she has a view of what the institution demands, and she has her personal sympathy with Harry. It’s quite clear that ambivalence was present in all her conversations with him.”

He added: “His safety net for saying something so explosive about his father was that he had built-in protection with his closeness to the Queen.”

On Prince William, Harry expressed his desire to repair his relationship with his brother, saying “the relationship is space at the moment” adding he “loved William to bits” but that they were on “different paths”.

However, Meghan’s comments that Kate had made her cry in a row over flower girls’ dresses before her wedding (and had since apologised), rather than the other way around, as previously reported, will do nothing to help heal the rift between the brothers.

We won’t, predicts Lacey, see Harry and Meghan on the palace balcony very soon.

“The issues raised here are going to reverberate for a long time, because they are more than about personalities. This is first-hand testimony to a dysfunctional family,” he said.

Read the full article: Queen escapes Harry and Meghan’s ire in scathing Oprah interview

Robert Lacey is the author of Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult.

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Robert Lacey

Robert Lacey

British historian and writer

Robert Lacey is a British historian noted for his original research, which gets him close to – and often living alongside – his subjects. He is the author of numerous international bestsellers. lege felicter - may you read happily

Lege feliciter - may you read happily

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As the Platinum Jubilee begins with news of Camill As the Platinum Jubilee begins with news of Camilla’s elevated status, the Queen, Charles and William are making the big decisions as a trio. 

Robert Lacey writes in @thetimes. Article also on Robert’s website: Robertlacey.com

#robertlacey #platinumjubilee #royalfamily #thequeen
Robert lacey writes for the BBC as The Queen celeb Robert lacey writes for the BBC as The Queen celebrates her #platinumjubilee 

Full article on the BBC website: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60201088
As we approach the 70th anniversary of The Queen’s accession on February 6th, Robert Lacey selects his top pick of books about the Royal Family and The Queen. 

shepherd.com/best-books/about-the-queen

#royalfamily #PlatinumJubilee
Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult

First published in hardback: 15 October 2020

What drove Prince William and Prince Harry from the closest of brothers into very different, now distanced men? How has the painful, public unravelling of Prince Charles and Diana’s marriage reverberated through generations? What parts have Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle played in helping their husbands to choose divergent paths? And how does the Queen feel, marshalling her feuding heirs and looking ahead to the future of the British monarchy?

Moving and unvarnished, this is the most intimate insight yet of division in the royal family.

#battleofbrothers #royalfamily #harryandmeghan #williamandkate #britishmonarchy #robertlacey #christmasreads
Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the gangster life by Little Man - Meyer Lansky and the gangster life by Robert Lacey in 1991

Little Man is a book about organised crime unlike any other yet written. If, in the mythology of organised crime, Al Capone symbolised the crude menace of the machine gun and the baseball bat, Meyer Lansky stood for the brains, the sophistication, the hot money, the sheer cleverness of it all. This brilliant biography and social history separates the strands of fact and legend in Meyer Lansky’s – the Godfather of Godfathers – career, revealing a truth about the gangster life in America that is far more fascinating and dramatic than fiction.

#biography 
#meyerlansky 
#americanhistory 
#robertlacey
Extracts from Robert Lacey's book "Battle of Broth Extracts from Robert Lacey's book "Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult" are being featured in The Times this week. 

In Today's article Robert Lacey said allegations against the Duchess of Sussex led to a bitter row between brothers who were once inseparable.

You can read the full article from the link in the bio.

#MeghanandHarry
#WilliamandKate
#TheCrown
#BattleofBrothers
#RoyalFamily
Speaking earlier, Robert Lacey said: “Prince Ph Speaking earlier, Robert Lacey said:

“Prince Philip has been such an integral part of our life. Playing such a key role in the life of the nation.

It was no accident that we decided to feature Prince Philip very strongly in the Crown episode about the moon landing – capturing his interests in science and how he came to understand that science can only take you so far. He went on to develop a strong personal religious faith.

He also helped in bringing the monarchy into touch with everyday life in a fresh way. So many of The Queen’s fresh ideas and fresh initiatives came from this remarkable man.

Prince Philip will be remembered for his sardonic smile, hands behind the back, often unfailingly 2 steps behind Her Majesty. Always there in the most supporting sense.”

Photograph from 1972 in Robert Lacey's book Majesty. “Queen Elizabeth was always front, but Prince Philip was always center.”
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