Spare: by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

The searing image of Prince Harry and his brother Prince William walking behind their mother’s coffin is etched in all of our minds. And what I notice throughout is the most seismic event of Harry’s life, when he tragically lost his mother at the age of 12, which shapes the book. There are some interesting (sometimes funny) anecdotes about his royal life when he was younger, but threaded across the pages are also incredibly raw and emotional moments. What is also conveyed very deeply is the pitiful life of “the Spare” - often feeling as though your life has no value, no ultimate mission/goal, you have nothing to offer because you will never wear the Crown. As Prince Harry himself says, when his whole life has been told through the lens of the media, why should he not be able to (finally) tell his own story from the man who lived it! It is undeniably depressing that Harry and Meghan felt they couldn’t continue in their royal roles. They could have been a huge force for good, supporting communities in the UK and the Commonwealth, representing a true Modern Monarchy with their enviable platform and privilege. Leaked excerpts of The Duke’s memoirs don’t do his story justice. The book as a whole is a must read! Highly recommend :)

I didn't relish reading this book, and there were parts I didn't enjoy very much: Harry's stint in the army, several references to hunting episodes, and an awful lot of fairly hedonistic partying. But after all the British press and the royal family have put him and Meghan through I felt it was important to read Harry's version of his own story, and I admire him immensely for having the courage to dig deep into his past in order to make this book happen. He chose a very good ghost writer, and although some errors appear - the timing of his parents' divorce, and confusion about his relationship to Henry VI (this surely should have been cleared up at Eton, the school Henry founded!) - details which J R Moehringer should probably have checked himself, the book itself is pretty compelling. I read 'Spare' in three days, full of sadness at the emotional isolation and massive harassment from the press that Harry had to endure for so many years. Thank goodness he found his true partner at last, but what a terrible price this couple have had to pay to be together, and to provide their new family with some much-needed security and precious distance from the ever hovering paparazzi. The first two parts of the book are interesting but my main concern in buying the book was to hear from Harry about what happened to him and Meghan (to Meghan especially) once their relationship began. It was, as I expected, a very grim tale. From my recollection of the ghastly press headlines Harry was actually quite understated about what they went through, but his account sets out very clearly the reasons why they had to leave the UK. How could anyone in the UK not understand and indeed sympathise deeply with that decision, and how could his family (sardonically nicknamed 'The Firm' by his mother) have behaved in the insensitive way they did, both in the meeting with Charles and William after Prince Philip's funeral, reported at the very start of the book, then at the so called Sandringham summit (whose manipulation by courtiers in league with who knows which royals Harry explains, along with several incriminating details)? As a beautiful, highly photogenic woman who had self-confidence and strongly held values it seems clear that Meghan was seen as deeply threatening both by the media and by certain members of the royal family and their staff. Diana had to grow into that self-empowered and independent identity which we remember and admire her for, but Meghan entered the royal family as an assured, successful, and economically independent woman. Alarm bells evidently went off pretty fast in the shuttered minds of those who are cocooned in the dehumanised and dehumanising environment of the Firm, while large numbers of the British press were driven almost rabid by the entry of this impressive woman into the RF. And this wasn't just the tabloids: The Times and The Telegraph were equally guilty. David Olusoga has recently commented that "the British Press monetises anger," and as the public who pay for their stories we are all implicated in that shameful practice. Harry spares us most of the ghastly press coverage, and he refrains from trying to analyse its complex causes except to point out that he told his family that the 'race factor' was involved; he also hints at the royals' jealousy of Meghan's warm reception on their Australia tour. Meghan's vile treatment by the British press and social media platforms should make us more alert to the deep feelings of envy and resentment, even hatred, that can be triggered by the combination of beauty, intelligence, and success in a woman - especially when deep seated racism is involved. But the role of Harry and Meghan's families in the seemingly unending stream of abuse directed at Meghan is the most disturbing aspect of their story, and while Harry is tactful about the attacks launched by or through Meghan's father, and doesn't even mention the torrent of hate directed at her by her step-sister, he provides some searing details about the various leaks from the Royal Family. To me Harry comes over, both in this book and in the "Harry and Meghan" documentary series, as a thoroughly decent man, who has matured into a thoughtful, compassionate and articulate individual. No one should have to bear the ongoing press and social media harassment which the couple has suffered, which led to what Neil Basu of the Metropolitan Police described as "credible death threats" against them - to the extent that snipers were placed on Windsor rooftops on the day of their wedding. Given this nightmare scenario, I find it unbelievable that many apparently intelligent commentators have accused Harry of 'whinging' or being a 'complainer'. They should try living a day in his shoes! To me the key themes in this book are, firstly, Harry's description of lifelong press harassment which erupted into a whole new level when he met Meghan, and drove her to contemplate suicide, and secondly, his exposure of ongoing palace collusion with the press via the leaking of stories. 'Spare' paints a very troubling picture of a disfunctional and media-obsessed royal family, who are so concerned with good press coverage that they leak stories that are often untrue about other members, either to promote their own agendas or to cover for other family. Harry's comments seemed to be completely confirmed when the Palace would say no word to the press about its hateful coverage of the many fabricated stories about Meghan; even after the obscene Clarkson rant, condemned by so many, all we heard from the palace was silence (and of course Camilla had lunch with her friend J Clarkson just a few days before his vile abuse of Meghan.....) Harry and Meghan would have been an incredible asset to the Royal Family in its efforts to hold the Commonwealth together and above all to Britain as it attempts to move forward as an ethnically diverse society in which all its members are treated equally. But they appear to have fallen victim to inter-familial rivalry as well as to the toxic legacy of racism that still infects our country. Harry doesn't talk about the confluence of attacks on Meghan with the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, amid the beginnings of a more intense national debate about the legacy of British colonialism, but sadly their union seems to have summoned up some very dark shadows from our colonial past. I hope that Britain will gradually be able to reflect on these deeper causes of the irrational hatred directed against Harry and Meghan. Thankfully they have embarked on their own journey of healing and recovery, far away from our toxic media and with some much-needed distance from the shockingly unsupportive royals. I wish them and their children every happiness.

It’s good to hear Harry’s side of the story - the book firmly takes aim at the British press (deservedly so) and hits the bullseye repeatedly, from News of the World to the Sun to the Daily Mail. The British press has been thoroughly revolting in its coverage of Harry - and Meghan - for years. I was a child, younger than Harry, when 1997 happened, and since then I have thought ‘the press must leave those boys alone!’ But they haven’t. People who haven’t read the book will go ‘oh he’s throwing his whole family under the bus’ but truthfully aside from a few veiled remarks, and moments where he is directly affected by the behaviour of others - Harry doesn’t. You can tell that even in this write-up, there is the pain of an estranged son and brother who loves his family and wants a relationship with them. I removed a star only because it kept referring to the English monarchy - as opposed to it being the monarchy of the UK. I noticed in the acknowledgments that there was actually a fact checker involved and I felt that this was such a basic fact it should have been pointed out. There has been no ‘Queen of England’ since Anne in the early 18th century, no ‘King of England’ since William III before her. This is important because England is *not* the UK. Sorry for that criticism but it’s true! Read it, because it’s a good insight into Harry’s life, and it’ll really upset the British press to see it do well!

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing of these memoirs of Prince Harry. The emotion is there from the start. How not to be touched by the drama experienced by this little boy and his brother: the tragic loss of his mother, Princess Diana, in circumstances that are at the very heart of the book (toxic notoriety, the role of the press, the lack of support in the family which is seen as a Firm)? The dedication is, unsurprisingly: "For Meg, and Archie, and Lili... and, of course, my mother." A sentence of William Faulkner accompanies our reading at the beginning of the book: "The past is never dead. It's not even past." The book is divided into three parts, the titles of which are taken from the poem "Invictus" by Ernest Henley: Out of the night that covers me; Bloody, but Unbowed; Captain of my soul. These three parts contain very short chapters (sometimes a single page) which evoke precise or felt or fleeting memories, sometimes painful, sometimes tender and funny. What emerges is the total honesty of the character, his humanity, his desire to understand his mistakes, to grow up to become a responsible human being, protector of his country, his wife, his family of which his mother would have been proud. . It's masterful. I recommend reading this book which can also be read as a dystopian fairy tale where we see behind the scenes of classic fairy tales. The prince here is poor, unloved. As in fairy tales, he undergoes a tragic ordeal (here, the loss of his mother, killed by dragons, understand the press). He then carried out a life-saving initiatory journey which led him down the wrong paths but, in the end, which transformed him into a knight serving his kingdom, then his Belle Meghan, whom he succeeded in snatching her from the claws of the dragons (the sexist and racist tabloid press) who are still rampant in the kingdom from which he moves away to protect his soul mate and their children. They lived happily with their children, in Montecito, fighting for a better world far, far away from the monarchy held by media dragons. To read urgently!

Que buen libro con chisme interesante 👌🏻

ok

Perfect condition fast dispatch an enjoyable read

A book filled with revelations.