Having quietly been a republican all my life, it seems somewhat odd that I find myself closing ranks with the current Royals. They may well be a thoroughly dysfunctional family, but as our constitutional Heads of State they are somehow OUR dysfunctional family. Not, I hasten to add, that I feel they actually represent me any meaningful sense – clearly, they don’t. How could they?

I’d also note that becoming a republic would probably mean we have to have an elected president, and who would that be? President Blair, President Cameron… no – definitely not.

But anyway, when Ginger and Whinger set up their Archewell organisation, with its objective to, “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change “, I thought, “what on earth makes them think that they are in any way able to relate to the situations that most other people find themselves in”.  Pompous idiots.

But with the publication of ‘The Book’ it becomes much clearer.  In fact, we can learn an enormous lesson from Harry. Not by following his wittering of course, but by taking great care to do the complete opposite. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that if you use that as a general principle, you’d be well on the way to becoming an absolutely top person! 

For example,

• If you really do want to, ‘unleash the power of compassion’, don’t go slagging off your family, friends and other people in public. You might not be able to see the contradiction, but everybody else can!
• There is only one ‘truth’. Not everyone may have a complete grasp of it of course, but nevertheless, the truth exists and it is out there.  What you remember (your truth) may well mean a lot to you, but if you later discover it doesn’t reflect reality, be prepared to accept you’ve mis-remembered.  Sadly, ‘your truth’ is NOT as valid as ‘the truth’, no matter what your therapist may tell you.
• Private conversations among friends or family should stay private. It’s called respect, good manners even.  Would you want your friends divulging what you’ve said in private?  Nope – thought not.
• Deal with specifics, rather than simply using a vague scattergun approach. Especially, don’t make vague accusations of serious nastiness (e.g. racism) by other people unless you’re prepared to supply some evidence.
• If you have a physical encounter with another willing person, it’s a matter for the two of you and nobody else.  The old saying used to be, “Gentlemen never tell”, for good reasons of decency and privacy.  By all means cherish the memory, but keep it to yourself.  Really, we don’t want to know, and the other person will almost certainly not want us to know either. 
• Don’t take on the role of the victim, especially if you’re not one. If you’ve got shitloads of money, status and you live in a big posh house, enjoy it, but don’t tell people how hard it is being wealthy. It makes you look silly.
• Don’t do drugs!  Well, OK, you can if you like, and I certainly not try to stop you, but I think I’m right in saying that a drug induced, distorted view of reality does NOT help you see things the way they really are.
• A little humility goes a long way. Be modest, and give other people the chance to chance to raise you up.  It makes you look good.  If, on the other hand, you set yourself up as important, you may be moved down the order, and other people will think, ‘what an arse’.
• Be truthful and accurate.  Little lies or mistakes remain minor of course, but if you tell them, we are less likely to believe anything else you say. 
• If somebody harms you an any way, and then apologises and you accept the apology, then that’s the end of it. It really is!  If you later use this evidence against them, it shows you haven’t really forgiven them.   And if you chose not to accept the apology in the first place, well that’s your prerogative of course, but it may make you look a little small minded.
• Finally, don’t burn bridges.  Really, don’t!   This is partly for the practical reason that you never know when you might need a friend – or indeed, not actually want an enemy – but also because it’s far, far nicer to make other people feel good about themselves.

But just a couple of final comments:  firstly I know I’ve not managed to live up to these ideals all my life.  I know, I’m human….. but I do quietly try learn from my mistakes. And secondly, I know I should use primary sources, not newspaper articles, but I can’t do that without contributing to the coffers of Archewell, and I’m really not prepared to do that.

But, above all, be nice. Is that really too hard?