For years, one of my favorite sub-genres of royal gossip is “royal thunder-stealing.” Thunder-stealing is standard operating procedure in the Windsor clan, as the left-behind Windsors wrongly believed that they would get more attention if they pushed out the most charismatic royals. In recent years, King Charles and Queen Camilla have felt like Prince William and Kate are constantly stealing their thunder, and the whole family is in a constant state of thunder-security because, at any moment, Prince Harry and Meghan could steal their thunder by simply walking outside or making an announcement of future plans. On Monday, Penguin Random House announced the release date for the paperback edition of Prince Harry’s Spare. This, too, stole the left-behinds’ thunder. From a hilariously disturbed column in the Daily Express: “Prince Harry’s Spare update was a calculated move to disrupt the Royal Family’s plans.” LMAO.

It seems no accident that the dates surrounding Prince Harry’s paperback edition of Spare coincide with key moments for the Royal Family. While some might interpret the Duke of Sussex deciding not to add new chapters as an olive branch to smooth over tensions, I find the timing of the announcements highly suspect.

Take, for instance, the decision to announce the release of the paperback on Monday, right as the Royal Family are holidaying at Balmoral. This is time for the Firm to rest and reflect after a rather turbulent year, a brief pause from the public eye. Yet, the announcement feels less like a coincidence and more like a calculated move to disrupt the Royal Family’s plans.

The absence of Prince Harry, Meghan, and their children from this year’s Balmoral gathering, dubbed the “Balmoral summit,” speaks volumes. Insiders suggest the Sussexes are a central topic of discussion, adding an extra layer of tension to their already fraught relationship. So the announcement at this time strikes me as something of a warning shot to say that although they are not physically there with the family at Balmoral, the Spare is still there and always will be!

More pointedly, the paperback’s October release clashes with King Charles’s high-profile appearance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa – the first he will attend as King. Set to be published in the US on October 22, and the UK just two days later, Spare’s release will undoubtedly cast a shadow over an event of significant importance to the monarch. This is no small matter, especially considering the 75-year-old monarch’s ongoing cancer battle and the effort he’s putting into this trip. To overshadow such a moment suggests more than just poor timing – it hints at an agenda.

The re-release of Spare will inevitably dredge up the book’s bombshell claims, from Prince William’s alleged physical altercation with Harry to the rift between Meghan and Kate. By keeping the contents unchanged, Harry ensures these revelations remain fresh in the public mind, reigniting the drama that has strained his relationship with the family.

[From The Daily Express]

Don’t you understand, the announcement of a paperback edition stole the Windsors’ thunder WHILE THEY’RE ON VACATION. They were just innocently sitting around Balmoral, holding summits about what to do about Prince Harry and Meghan, when BAM, there was news of a paperback from America! Fetch the smelling salts and a royal rota reporter, this simply cannot stand! What’s also funny is that they couldn’t claim that the Sussexes’ Colombian tour stole anyone’s thunder, because the left-behind Windsors were just farting around, doing nothing and trying to avoid the white nationalist riots in England. Good times. As for the paperback coming out during Charles’ big overseas trip… lol. Oh well!

Once again, I have to remind these idiots: if you wanted to control Harry and Meghan’s schedule and have a say in how and when they announce things, you probably should have taken them up on their offer to be half-in the cult.

Photos courtesy of WellChild, CBS screenshots, Avalon Red, Cover Images.