Editor's note:A version of this story appeared in the January 20 edition of CNN's Royal News, a weekly show that brings you the inside scoop on the British royal family.Sign here.
London CNN—
Last week was all about the Duke of Sussex. This week it's the royal family's turn.
In light of the Angry Prince's revelations - both in his book 'Spare' and his appearances in promotional media - many were curious as to how the clan would deal with reappearing in public after the holidays.
When questioned by US comedian Stephen Colbert last week, Prince Harry said "of course" that his family, along with the British media, are actively campaigning to undermine his book. The king added: "After 38 years they have told their side of the story. That's the other side of the story, and there's a lot that might make people uncomfortable and scared.”
However, the reality is not so black and white. Certainly several British newspapers still frequently run headlines with commentator catchphrases. But there appears to be little evidence of a concerted effort by an army of anonymous palace sources, as Harry claimed, to debunk their grievances. And of course the castle radio remains silent when the book is aired.
What we saw was the Windsors indulging in plenty of walks and meetings as they got their first engagements of the year.
King Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales launched two days after "Spare" hit shelves. In Scotland, the monarch shared a hearty laugh with the public while hanging out at a local community room to help combat rural loneliness.
On the same day, William and Kate appeared at ease calling the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital and mental health charity Open Door in Merseyside, northern England. There was no sign of apparent sadness for their disgruntled relative in California, and questions hurled at the couple about whether they had been "hurt by comments in Harry's book" went unanswered.
In the days that followed, royals became involved in schools, youth organizations and other royal patronages.
Copies of "Spare" are on display at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York
The Prince's unveiling broke records, and his publishers claimed on Tuesday that it had sold three-quarters of a million copies since it was released in the UK. Larry Finlay, Managing Director of Transworld Penguin Random House, said: “We announced last week that SPARE was the best-selling non-fiction book of all time on day one of its release, a record confirmed by Guinness World Records. Now we know it's also the best-selling memoir in its first week of publication."
That doesn't seem to have bothered the royals. After the book is published, they will be very aware of the visuals. But rather than being dragged into the background of the soap opera, making statements or canceling planned events, they have focused on restoring citizens' trust that may have been damaged - by getting back to work.
The royals know "the power of our platform," as Harry so succinctly put it in his memoir. They know they need to be seen, that personal greetings from the public at events important to them resonate long after they've left, and that true spotlighting on local businesses can amplify an organization's message and needs like nothing else.
His actions over the past week served as a reminder to the public that family feuds do not steal their attention. It stands firmly on the British people and the challenges they face as the New Year begins. King Charles' recent request that a portion of the Crown Estate's profits be used for "the general good of the community" rather than to supplement the royal coffers is another example of this.
The Crown Estate announced Thursday that six new offshore wind leases have generated a big windfall. Through an agreement dating back to 1760, the monarch turns over all profits from the estate to the British government in exchange for a share called the sovereign grant – which is essentially the king's expense account.
However, a Buckingham Palace spokesman told CNN: "In light of the unexpected offshore energy harvest, the Guardian of the Private Purse has written to the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to share the King's desire for this harvest to be used for the greater good. rather than for the Sovereign Grant, by an appropriate reduction in the portion of the Crown State surplus that funds the Sovereign Grant.”
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, in Liverpool, England on January 13
As the Royal Trustees of Trustees, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt and Guardian of the Private Purse Michael Stevens determine the actual amount of the donation. The fund is currently set at 25% of the Crown Estate's annual net income. That means the UK Treasury disbursed £86.3million in the last financial year, which will be used to cover official travel, staff costs and palace costs.
The exact amount that the king will transfer to the public purse is not yet clear. It won't make him any worse this year either, as the amount he receives is based on the previous two fiscal years - so the impact of the monarch's changes won't hit the grant until 2024-2025. But it's likely seen as a welcome symbolic gesture at a time when families across the country are struggling financially.
King Charles has previously raised awareness of the current cost of living crisis after acknowledging how people in the UK may have struggled to pay their bills and "keep their families fed and warm" in his first Christmas broadcast.
And without complaining or explaining, the family chose their answer - to lean on their worth through service rather than engage in a war of words that would do them more harm than good.
Listen: The Prince and the Press
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, during a royal tour of Morocco in 2019
In recent years, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have traded their fractured relationship with Britain's press system for the US celebrity industrial complex. inside this week"The Assignment,"Presenter Audie Cornish reaches out to experts from both media ecosystems to discuss how the Duke and Duchess are using the press to reshape their narrative. We hear from Los Angeles Times culture critic Mary McNamara and Newsweek's top royal correspondent Jack Royston.Watch the podcast here.
what else is going on
Prince Harry was dragged to execution after the book was recorded.
The Duke of Sussex is embroiled in a dispute between Britain and Iran over the execution of a British national after he claimed in his memoir that he killed Taliban militants during his military career. Harry wrote in Spare that he had killed 25 insurgent fighters in Afghanistan while serving in the British Army. His words drew criticism from some British military and security experts. Iran said this week Britain was incapable of preaching human rights after Harry's confession, and accused Britain of turning a blind eye to this "war crime". Iran's Foreign Ministry wrote on its Twitter page on Monday: "The British regime, a member of the royal family, sees the deaths of 25 innocent people as the removal of chess pieces and has no regrets about the matter, and those who turn blind eye to these." criminal war are unable to preach human rights to others". The tweets came after British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly warned Iran it "will be held accountable" for the execution of British-Iranian citizen Alireza Akbari. According to a state-affiliated media company, Akbari was hanged by Tehran over the weekend for espionage and corruption.
Kim Kardashian buys Princess Diana's pendant.
The Skims founder and reality TV star acquired the diamond-encrusted Attallah cross pendant, worn multiple times by Diana, Princess of Wales, for £163,800 (about $200,000). In the last five minutes of the sale of the Royal and Noble collection at London auction house Sotheby's on Wednesday, a Kardashian representative successfully defeated others vying for the amethyst cross. The item sold for more than double its pre-auction estimate, Sotheby's said. The pendant was made by court jeweler Garrard in the 1920s, according to the auction house, and is made from square-cut amethyst stones in a cruciform shape, set with round-cut diamonds in a distinctive floral pattern. It was purchased in the 1980s by the late businessman Naim Attallah of Garrard, who, according to Sotheby's, has loaned the object to his friend Princess Diana for events on several occasions.Read more about this story here.
photo of the week
A local council has been criticized for wasting money on a mural in Northampton, England, depicting the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III. represents. Critics said the street art bears little resemblance to monarchs. The mural was commissioned by the city council to mark Charles' accession to the throne.
Did you know?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex this week dismissed TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson's recent apology for writing a widely condemned article about Meghan in Britain's Sun newspaper last month. The couple said they failed to "address their longstanding pattern of writing articles that disseminate hateful rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny," according to a spokesman for the couple.
"Unless every one of his other pieces was also written 'in a hurry,' as he claims, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in a hurry, but a series of articles shared in hatred," continued the statement continued Monday. .
The Sussexes also dismissed Clarkson's claim that a letter he sent on Christmas Day to apologize for the article - in which he expressed his hatred of the Duchess and wrote about wanting to be seen like a naked Meghan being thrown at with excrement – the duchess was addressed to the duke. According to the couple's rep, it was "sent exclusively to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex." The letter was marked "private and confidential," the statement said.
Clarkson issued a public apology shortly after the column appeared, as did the newspaper, which also removed it from its website.
Stock photo of British TV personality Jeremy Clarkson
"Coming to this university and this city has always felt like coming home."
Camilla, Queen Consort
The King's wife this week visited the new Science Teaching Center at the University of Aberdeen, where she has been Chancellor for the last decade and received an honorary degree in 2020.