Miller’s tales, not fairy, but calculated

What utter nonsense! In his autobiography New Zealand born “entertainment mogul” Harry M. Miller claimed, Prince Charles, “the heir to the throne told a 1977 dinner party in Sydney that he did not understand ‘why Australia bothered with us – we really are yesterday's news’”. And – according to Mr. Miller - the Prince went on: “What he was saying was that Australia should be a republic and it was really bull**** to be kow-towing to the British monarchy.” The British Daily Express published this outrageous “bull****”, which, of course, The Age and other media republished downunder.

What none of the media mentioned was the source of this complete idiocy: In 1978, Harry Miller started a ticketing company called Computicket, which went into receivership within six months. On 30 April 1982, Miller was found guilty of fraud which lead to the collapse of the company, and he served ten months in prison at Long Bay and Cessnock Correctional Centres.

A convicted fraudster is hardly the best source for an event that should have happened 32 years ago. Why should Prince Charles make such a remark? And why to Mr. Miller? It seems, all Mr. Miller is interested in, is money. Therefore these ridiculous claims are the best promotion for his “autobiography”, which Philip Benwell, The Australian Monarchist League’s National Chairman, said “is not the truth, but fiction, that sells books and newspapers”.

Of course attacks on members of our Royal Family are as easy as profitable. Not only sex sells (Mr Miller also claims in his book, Confessions Of A Not-So-Secret Agent, that Prince Charles bedded a string of local girls during his visit – including the daughter of a prominent Australian politician.) , but smear campaigns do as well. Everybody knows, that the heir to the throne cannot defend himself.

A Clarence House spokesman said last night: “We do not comment on private conversations that may or may not have happened but these words do not ring true at all as having been said by The Prince. They do not in any way reflect His Royal Highness’s views on Australia.”

Mr. Miller must have learned a lot while in custody. He certainly did not come out of jail as a reformed criminal.