Spare by Prince Harry

The hot book of 2023. The fastest selling non-fiction book. The words of Prince Harry. I had to read this book. I have been a long time fan of the Royal Family, especially Princess Diana. I watched Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary last month. I wasn’t entirely impressed as I felt it repeated a lot of what they said in the Oprah interview. This wasn’t going to stop me from reading the book through!

Synopsis:

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

My thoughts:
Its 400 pages made it a heavy read. I liked how it was divided into three parts - childhood, military and Meghan. I was so conflicted after reading this book. I wasn’t impressed with how Prince Harry would sound like a diplomat in one sentence, then like an immature frat boy in the next.

There were things I didn’t think were necessary to mention, like how many times the ‘todger’ was mentioned?! Could you imagine if Queen Elizabeth was still around and reading this?!

I enjoyed reading the stories with his mother, his grandmother and his childhood memories. What it was like to live in the palace (and many other residences). Y’all, he shopped at T.K. Maxx?!?! I’m shook.

I know being a prince isn’t easy as so many fantasy/fiction books make it out to be. A lot of times during the book, I could sense build up of a rant towards King Charles/Will or the press. I would be reading something nice then it would change direction quickly - I often held my breath for what was coming next. I feel bad that all of this family drama is out there for the world to see. I don’t find it entertaining anymore.

His hatred for the press - I don’t blame him at all. I’ve seen and compared the headlines. I’ve always expressed how I could never live like that, constantly being hounded by the press. Having no privacy. Before you say he signed up for it - it still does not excuse the behavior of the press. It was cringeworthy when the press went after Will and Harry when they were KIDS (that was shown on the Netflix documentary). Yikes.

Overall, I found this book to be very sad. I felt a lot of anger on Prince Harry’s part. He is currently seeing a therapist but I felt that he held onto the grief from Princess Diana’s death for a really long time without processing it. I felt sad that the Royal Family is divided up. I really don’t like seeing the way things are today with them. I know everyone needs to take accountability for their parts in the family drama. I appreciate Prince Harry’s vulnerability to share a lot in the book. I truly wish that we could hear Prince Will’s side!