Hardback: 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 could not 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 (2023) is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.
About the author: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, is a husband, father, humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate, and environmentalist. He resides in Santa Barbara, California, with his family and three dogs.
Sounds really worth reading. Thanks for the good review.
ReplyDeleteJust to see what his complaints are all about. He's created mayhem in the press with this book.
DeleteHe has but they created mayhem in his life, and quite a bit, so I guess he has a right to it.
DeleteThe media are brutal and always have been but as a Prince, he should have just stayed quiet. As Spiderman said, 'With great power comes great responsibility'. :-)
DeleteI doubt he ever asked for the power and saw the disadvantages at a very young age.
DeleteI understand what you mean. But we will always have to consider that he didn't choose to become a public figure. I know that I wouldn't want to change with any of the Royals. It was bad in former times when they had to marry someone they never saw, for example, and it shows that even today, not everyone can cope with it the same way.
DeleteThat's right, just as we didn't choose the family we were born into. I don't think Prince William and most famous figures want to live a public life either but he understands he has a duty to do in the role he's born into. Of course, you don't have to change if you married a royal. Just look at Queen Maxima, Queen Rania, Crown Princess Mary, Princess Catherine, Prince Daniel even, Princess Marie of Denmark, and even the younger royals like Princesses Leonor and Sofia of Spain, etc. They're excellent in their roles. They're likeable and very much respected. They understood that if they married a royal, certain things in their lives have to change but not who they are, of course. Royals aren't celebrities. Royals can't go about making money with their titles and if he and his wife don't like that, they can always renounce their titles and all the perks that come with it. What they're doing, since the beginning, is monetizing their titles to make themselves relevant and that's not what royals do. You can't change royal tradition which went back a long long way. Don't like tradition, renounce the titles and all the privileges and become plain Mr and Mrs. Most royals married for love, for example, Mike Tindall and Zara and all the Queen's children and grandchildren except Charles and Diana, but that's in the past. Harry didn't always speak the truth. He himself married for love too.
DeleteTrue. And we don't all know what really happened, why they behaved the way they did.
ReplyDeleteAre you still glad you read the book?
Good discussion. :-) I've been a fan of the British Royal Family since 1980 so I guess my viewpoints stemmed from knowing how the Royal Family operate. I've seen their ups and downs and there had been a lot but never something like Harry's predicament. He can always relinquish his title and become a Mr and Mrs, why doesn't he do that? I guess the perks are too attractive to let go and also, he'd become a nobody if he did that. I read it out of curiosity. The words don't always reflect the Harry we all loved and used to know.
DeleteI don't think I know them as well as you do, and you are probably right. I just always see the little boy walking behind his mum's coffin.
DeleteWe all saw it too, it was very sad.
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