Lady Colin Campbell (2) (1949–)

Campbell has penned a prurient, verbose, self-aggrandizing pseudo-biography worthy of the British scandal sheets. To call this tittle-tattle a biography is to shame every journalist of integrity, for journalism this is not.

This reader, having been subjected to egregious gossip throughout this interminable book, came away no more enlightened as to any of Elizabeth Bowes Lyon's accomplishments or history. Instead, Campbell has delved into her own personal speculation, snobbery and even racism show more of the worst sort, putting forth arguments of a medical, political and societal nature on which she is unqualified to write, and plainly is too cavalier to bother to research. Why research when we can have tea with Lady Such-and-So and gossip away the afternoon?

It is ridiculous in the extreme to put forth the argument the Queen Mother was a harridan exceeding her ancestor, Lady Macbeth; that Edward VIII would have single-handedly kept together the British Empire; that Wallis Simpson would have made a far better queen by virtue of her fashion elan.

What is plain is Campbell's obsession with superficial beauty, starvation-mode thinness, the need to associate within accepted, rarefied circles, and a compulsion to the nasty degradation of anyone Campbell feels unacceptable. In short, Campbell has penned a gossip sheet right out of discussions in her own parlour whisperings.

Not once does Campbell make even slight mention of the Queen Mother's extensive charitable work, the extraordinary strides to which she and George V went to bolster British spirit and capability during WWII. Instead we are given to believe the Queen Mother was an old soak who lay abed gorging on chocolates and manipulating every person within her sphere of control, and avoiding any sexual congress whatever with her husband. She even goes so far to assert all of the Queen Mother's children were the result of artificial insemination, so allegedly adverse was the Queen Mother to intercourse.

George V is portrayed as a booby. Edward VIII as the mistreated exiled king. Which does not even touch upon the the fictional creations she has made of Charles, Margaret, Phillip and even Elizabeth Regis.

Truly, if you want to read a decent biography of the Queen Mother, choose some other author, nay any other author than what this ridiculous dabbler has created in this trumped up bit of tripe. show less

The author passes off previously debunked myths as truths.
For example the perfume in the wedding chapel that Meghan requested was also requested by Kate and Eugenie.
In fact spraying down the musty church before a major event is somewhat standard and wasn't invented by Meghan.
The Dawn commercial shit is weirdly handled. Meghan was interviewed at the time of the letter writing by a local news station, the footage is on YouTube. She says they never responded but the commercial was changed. show more It's clearly not a story she made up or exaggerated, as footage of the interview still exists.
The author pretends that the royal family wanted Meghan precisely because she was 'mixed race', which is doubtful and was proved untrue by her racist treatment.
The author insists that racism doesn't exist in Britain, lol. The country of Brexit doesn't have racism?
The idea that a biracial or POC child in the USA never suffered racism is wildly preposterous. The author says Meghan can't 'prove' her racist experiences, so they didn't happen. This is a really common white supremacist narrative. It's not just the racist act that must be proven, it must also be proven that racist act was malicious. This is bolstered by the racist idea that Black people are not able to accurately and reliably judge their own treatment in society; therefore, acts, experiences, etc can only be deemed 'racist' if in fact white folks deem it so. This idea by itself is both dated and horribly racist.
This book is just chock full of the authors own internal racism and feelings of white supremacy. It's boring and ridiculous as well as tiresome and of course racist.
The treatment of Meghan's clearly media hungry, aggressive and messy white relatives as if they are 100% honest is mind boggling. Thomas Markle has been caught in blatant lies. I don't doubt he loves his daughter but he's behaving horribly as are her other white relatives.
Also the author keeps eluding to the fact that Meghan's Black family is as put out and upset about her marriage as her white family only the press never interviewed them because they didn't want to be accused of racism.
Clearly the author is unaware that Black publications exist worldwide but quite strongly in the USA. I also assume Britain has Black press. Had there been something to report they'd have surely done so. As plenty of Black publications exist and report on Black as well as other folks and generally aren't accused of racism show less

This is an updated version of a book Lady Colin Campbell wrote about 5 years ago. It was published about a week ago. She has added "persecutors or victims" to the title. Since I follow the author's YouTube Channel I am familiar with her rigorous research methods and have heard many positive reviews of the book. Thus, I picked up this book.

The publisher's summary: The fall from popular grace of Prince Harry, the previously adulated brother of the heir to the British throne, as a consequence show more of his marriage to the beautiful and dynamic Hollywood actress and "Suits star" Meghan Markle, makes for fascinating reading in this groundbreaking book from Lady Colin Campbell, who is the New York Times bestselling biographer of books on Princess Diana, the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth’s marriage. With a unique breadth of insight, Lady Colin Campbell goes behind the scenes, speaking to friends, relations, courtiers, and colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic to reveal the most unexpected royal story since King Edward VIII's abdication. She highlights the dilemmas involved and the issues that lurk beneath the surface, revealing why the couple decided to step down as senior royals. She analyses the implications of the actions of a young and ambitious Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in love with each other and with the empowering lure of fame and fortune, and leads the reader through the maze of contradictions Meghan and Harry have created—while also evoking the Californian culture that has influenced the couple's conduct. Meghan and Harry: The Real Story exposes how the royal couple tried and failed to change the royal system—by adapting it to their own needs and ambitions—and, upon failing, how they decided to create a new system—and life—for themselves.

There are several bombshell exposes in the book. I will mention a few of them so this is your SPOILER ALERT. Note, though, that in this revised edition the author is giving her sources. She did not do that in the original book. The first chapter begins with her research into Meghan's mother Doria Loyce Ragland. She writes that Doria Loyce Ragland was convicted of fraud in California and sentenced to prison. She provides the court case number as well as an inmate number for Doria Loyce Ragland. The implication is, of course, that this is Meghan's mother. I think we can safely say that because of Doria's unusual name that this court record pertains to Meghan's mother. However, the author put in a disclaimer over assuming this inmate was Meghan's mother. The conviction occurred around the time that Doria began to be absent from her daughter's life for 10 years.

Another bombshell pertains to who Princess Diana was referring to in a TV interview where she stated "there were three of us in this marriage so it was a bit crowded." Most of us have always assumed this was Camilla Parker-Bowles. The author, however, said Diana was referring to her children's nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. The reason Diana felt threatened by Tiggy is because she was from an aristocratic family and, thus, was entitled to hold the princess of Wales title. Camilla was not entitled because she came from a commoner family.

There is one bombshell that the author did not believe herself but she put it in the book. I am not sure why. I am sure, though, that she inserted it into the text for a reason. This bombshell takes up four pages. Her source is a friend of Prince Harry. This source said Prince Harry was his source. What's the bombshell? It is that Meghan's father Thomas Markle "interfered with her" while she was growing up. Very interesting.

The book is a great read. The last chapter is devoted to the persecutors or victims question. Obviously, the author takes the persecutors viewpoint. Her reasonings are well substantiated and I highly recommend the book. show less

"Meghan and Harry The Real Story: Persecutors or Victims presents the reader with a strikingly forthright analysis of what happens when a vulnerable male, raised in the traditions of the Old World and protected by a lifetime of privilege, falls head over heels in love with a steely and ambitious doyenne of the New, who is careless of tradition, ignorant of its purpose, contemptuous of its consequences, and convinced that her own way is the best way even as the evidence to the contrary show more mounts. Exposing as she does a titanic clash of two civilisations, mores, and attitudes divided by a common language, Sunday Times best-selling author Lady Colin Campbell scrutinises with insight, clarity and precision the evidence of the circumstances, actions and motives of Meghan and Harry with an impeccable and aristocratically experienced vision honed by five decades in the public eye. She catalogues in depth how this apparently brilliantly-favoured couple came to lose their way, how they exhibited profound contemptuousness for practices built up by a treasured institution over a millennium, and how they were unable to understand the potential benefits of their destiny to such an extent that they managed to turn their fate on its head. With her unrivalled access to a variety of worlds closed to most writers, Lady Colin Campbell provides the reader with genuine insight into the consequences of the couple's choices through her recognition of what it has taken them to get there, including infuriating the late Queen and jettisoning close family as well as friends and colleagues, and she concludes that Harry and Meghan are truly their own worst enemies: perpetrators who present themselves as victims, when a more constructive and positive approach to life would have assured them of an entirely different and more positive outcome"--Publisher's description. show less