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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m surprised he included the story about mocking the physically disabled matron at his school. He described her body type and said she didn’t make the boys “horny”.

Disgusting. Did I miss any context or nuance or is he really just a run-of-the-mill misogynist? [/quote]

Yes, you missed the point of the anecdote.  It acknowledges the unkindness in retrospect but said that as a kid he didn’t really think of it in terms of its impact on Pat, that he was trying to make his friends laugh and find a reason himself to laugh when he was still so deep in grief about his mothers death.  At the end of the anecdote he notes that even Pat would laugh at him when she turned around and caught him, which he said made him feel good that he could even make the other humorless (in his estimation) Pat laugh.  It also acknowledges that, for as strict and harsh as she was with the boys generally, Pat actually was probably a pretty compassionate and empathetic person because she seemed to understand what Harry was going through and laugh with him rather than punishing him, even though she would have been fully within her rights to do so. [/quote]

I have not yet read the book (DP here) but I wonder if Harry acknowledges the weird power dynamics of his interactions with adults outside the royal family when he was a child, though? Like sure, normally a school official would be within her rights to punish a student for this behavior. And while I'm sure the school was full of extremely privileged students with powerful parents, Harry (and William) would be on an entirely different level.

It would be a weird thing to experience and no one would blame Harry for not really understanding it at that age, especially given what he was going through personally at the time. But I'm wondering if he understands now, on some level, the degree to which his position affords him power when dealing with people outside his family, whether he wants that power or not. Even in the military with chains of command, there is an unusual power dynamic when it comes to him.

I do wonder if that is a huge part of the appeal of Meghan, actually. As a foreigner and someone who was very secure in her own career and life before meeting him, she may be the rare person he's encountered who never offered him that subliminal deference he's likely become accustomed to. Yet unlike his family, she also seemed to like him and care about his feelings and well being. That's a healthy and normal relationship dynamic, but possibly one he's never experienced in his life, even with very close friends or other girlfriends. I can see how it would cause a crisis of sorts. Like oh, I can just interact with someone as a true equal, and it can be mutually respectful AND supportive, and actually that feels great? Then what the heck are we doing?

At least that's my read. But I wonder if Harry understands that his royal status, that the existence of royal status, is the problem, not just for him, but for everyone he's ever interacted with outside the royal family. I would assume he is too fearful to contemplate what it would mean to just say "the concept of royalty is a morally bankrupt one and while it affords me a lot of privilege, it's actually a prison we'd all benefit from being free of." Which is too bad, if understandable.[/quote]

I think it would be helpful if you read the book before going off on lengthy lectures, because then you would know he was disciplined for various other offenses at Ludgrove, including getting smacked around with a copy of the New English Bible.  So it does not seem like his royal status afforded him all that much protection from school discipline. [/quote]

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