Air New Zealand pokes fun at Prince Harry, Meghan Markle as it debunks claim made in 'Spare'
The airline contradicted a claim made by Prince Harry that Markle purchased a first-class Air New Zealand ticket from Mexico to the U.K. in 2018
Royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti discusses Prince Harry's memoir and the new dynamic within the royal family.
Air New Zealand poked fun at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on social media after debunking a claim made by the Duke of Sussex in his new memoir "Spare."
In the bestselling book, the 38-year-old recalled that Markle booked a first-class Air New Zealand ticket from Mexico to the United Kingdom for her father Thomas Markle in 2018.
However, a representative for the airline told the New Zealand Herald that it has never operated flights between Mexico and the U.K. and does not offer first-class tickets. The airline later seemingly took a dig at the couple on its official Twitter page.
"Introducing #SussexClass. Apparently coming soon," the company wrote on Friday, adding emojis of a crown and eyes.
Air New Zealand poked fun at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on social media after debunking a claim made by the Duke of Sussex in his new memoir "Spare." (Getty / Getty Images)
In "Spare," Harry wrote that he and his wife urged her father to leave Mexico and fly to the U.K. to avoid harassment by the media after Thomas was caught staging paparazzi photos ahead of the couple's 2018 royal wedding.
"We told him, leave Mexico right now: A whole new level of harassment is about to rain down on you, so come to Britain. Now," the Duke of Sussex wrote.
An airline spokesperson responded to the claims on Thursday, telling The New Zealand Herald, "We’ve never had flights between Mexico and the UK. And we only have business premier."
Twitter users had a mixed reaction to Air New Zealand's tweet in the replies, with some commending the cheeky response.
"Just another one of Harold's many lies... busted," wrote one social media user. "BRILLIANT!" another chimed in, adding three heart emojis.
"Love the personality of Air New Zealand," added one user.
However, others slammed the airline over the joke.
"How unprofessional," one commenter said.
"Bad form air nz," another agreed. "Someone in the social media team clearly isn't a harry fan and thought the whole customer base would find this funny."
"Wow, I had a really good impression of Air New Zealand until seeing this. Surprisingly petty. Gross," another Twitter user chimed in.
Harry wrote that Meghan Markle bought a first-class ticket for her father Thomas Markle from Mexico to the U.K. in 2018 (Getty/YouTube/Getty / Fox News)
Some also defended Harry's account, arguing that Markle could have purchased a ticket that included a layover in Los Angeles or a separate flight to LAX.
Since "Spare" was published Jan. 10, some readers have pointed to other alleged inconsistencies in the book.
In his memoir, Harry referred to King Henry VI, who founded his alma mater Eton College as his "great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather."
However, historians and social media users noted that the King Henry VI's only son Edward of Westminster died aged 17 at the Battle of Tewkesbury without having children.
Harry also penned that he was at Eton when his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, died in March 2002. According to GB News, citing extensive coverage by news reports at the time, Harry was on a ski trip in Switzerland when the Queen Mother passed away.
Photos captured Harry returning to the U.K. the day after her death, per the outlet.
Additionally, Harry shared that he received an Xbox for his 13th birthday in September 1997. He wrote that the gift was from his mother Princess Diana and was given to him by his aunt Lady Sarah McCorquodale after Diana died in a car accident in August 1997.
After its highly anticipated release, the explosive tell-all broke a record for its publisher, selling 1.4 million copies in its first day of publication. (AP Photo, File / AP Images)
Social media users were quick to point out that the Xbox gaming console wasn't released in the U.S. until November 2001 and was first released in Europe and Australia in March 2002.
Representatives for Harry, Markle and Penguin Random House did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
J.R. Moehringer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning ghostwriter behind "Spare," appeared to defend the alleged inaccuracies in the memoir with a Tweet Wednesday in which he posted a quote by author Mary Karr.
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"The line between memory and fact is blurry, between interpretation and fact. There are inadvertent mistakes of those kinds out the wazoo," the quote said.
After its highly-anticipated release, the explosive tell-all broke a record for its publisher, selling 1.4 million copies its first day of publication.
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"Penguin Random House announced today the English language edition of SPARE, the memoir by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, sold more than 1,430,000 million units in all formats and editions in the United States, Canada and the UK on the first day of its publication, Tuesday, January 10, 2023," a statement by Penguin Random House said, according to People magazine.
"The first full day of sales of SPARE represents the largest first-day sales total for any nonfiction book ever published by Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade publisher."