nor to inspire

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Context:

"As I say to you now as your Queen and as a grandmother ,I say from my
heart. First I want to pay tribute to Diana myself. She was an exceptional
and gifted human being. In good time and bad she never lost her capacity
to smile and laugh nor to inspine others with her warmth and kindness.
I admired and respect her for her energy and commitment to others, and
especially for her devotion to her two boys. This is also an opportunity
for me on behalf of my family and especially Prince Charles and William
and Harry to thank all of you who have brought flowers, sent messages and
paid your respect in so many ways to a remarkable person."

Question:

I think "inspine" should be "inspire" which was a typo.

But does "nor to inspire" mean "nor lost to inspire"? Logically speaking, it should be, but I didn't understand this grammar.

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The Queen Mother wrote:

In good times and bad she never lost her capacity
to smile and laugh nor to inspire others with her warmth and kindness.

The Queen Mother was using a double negative: "never . . . nor," which is technically an error. However, it is not uncommonly used, and especially among the speakers of British English. An American grammarian would have an hysterical fit--known these days as a "hyssie fit," but it is only a minor fault. It was not until the 17th century, after the time of Shakespeare that authoritarian types said we must never use multiple negatives, which are common, and even required in other European languages.

Technically, it should read: ". . . never lost her capacity to smile and laugh or to inspire others . . . " The meaning is that Diana never lost her capacity to smile and laugh, and never lost her capacity to inspire others.

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Thanks Setanta.

I was so shy before the error, because that was Queen's English marked Highest Level of Standard English. Laughing

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Well, the Queen Mum, god rest her soul, probably felt, not unjustifiably, that she spoke the Queen's English, regardless of what a grammarain may have said.

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You know, in reading that, i now see that it was likely Queen Elizabeth, and not the Queen Mother who wrote that. Frankly, i'm surprised. I didn't know the Queen ever had anything nice to say about Diana. She must have felt constrained by circumstance.

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No, I think nor is OK.

She never lost the capacity to smile, nor did she lose the capacity to inspire others...

She did not lose either this capacity or that one; she lost neither this nor that.

Nor goes with negative options, and I believe the original sentence is structured so that nor is correct.

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nor to inspire

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