Prince Harry divulges way too much in an otherwise compelling ‘Spare’
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
In a way, “Spare” is quite the treat. For perhaps the first time in history, we get a direct account of what the British Royal Family is like directly from someone who was and technically still is a part of it. As the ‘spare’ child of Princess Diana and the now King Charles, Prince Harry always found himself in the shadow of his brother William.
But for every notable and interesting story in Prince Harry’s polarizing memoir, there’s a story with details that the reader absolutely did not ask to hear. Perhaps the strangest revolves around his “frostbitten todger” during his brother’s 2011 wedding and the even stranger way he chose to deal with it. There are many more stories like that one, even if they’re not quite as graphic. It helps ‘Spare’ feel more authentic and personal, but some stories are better left untold.
However, underneath those headline grabbing yellow journalism headlines, there is plenty of intriguing, relevant information shared within the book’s many short chapters. In particular, Harry details his tumultuous relationship with the media, who he finds complicit in his mother’s untimely demise in a Paris tunnel in 1997. He also does not hold back criticizing the British media for their conduct in recent times, including their harassment directed toward him and especially the transparently hostile treatment of his now-wife Meghan Markle.
Prince William is arguably the biggest antagonist of Harry’s story, and the next-in-line to the throne is rarely presented in any sort of good light. Often, William seems to relish in having his brother rely on him and feels the need to be the center of attention, and is openly frustrated when Harry chooses to do things his own way and takes up the bulk of the spotlight at any given time.
He also doesn’t have very many nice things to say about his stepmother, Camilla, and many readers put in a similar situation as he was may be able to relate to the feelings that Harry had towards the soon-to-be Queen of England.
Harry details the end of his royal duties and explains his decision to leave Britain in detail, and the details of his departure are heartbreaking to read, as were some of the details of the indifference shown to the treatment that Meghan received.
Harry insisted in an interview with The UK’s Telegraph that his book is not about trying to “collapse the monarchy – this is about trying to save them from themselves.” And while the book definitely won’t do the former, given the Royal Family’s usual attitude toward handling public criticism, it’s unlikely to do the latter either.
