Spare — Books, Beauty, & Buys

By: Prince Harry
Published Year: 2023
Publisher: Random House
Pages: 410

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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.

First Impressions

I mean, this book has been everywhere. I don’t know if it could’ve made a first impression if it tried. I have always loved Prince Harry. Once everything with him and Meghan went down, I was intrigued. I looked forward to hearing his side of the story.

What I thought

In high school we were required to write a speech on a famous figure. I purposely chose Prince Harry as opposed to Prince William because everyone in the late 90s/early 00s preferred Prince William and I felt that was unfair. When he came out with a book, it sparked that desire in me to learn more about him and about his side of the story since we’ve been hearing so much from everyone else. I also was intrigued because it feels like the Crown has been self-imploding so I was curious about what secrets he would reveal.

I know that right around the time his book came out, the Netflix series with him and Meghan came out. I have only read the book. I felt like the series would be a lot of repetition ad overkill. I think after reading the book I feel satisfied and still stand by that thought that you probably only need to ingest one or the other.

I don’t know if it’s because of the press coverage or what, but this book was pretty much exactly what I expected. I didn’t experience any shocking revelations, but it was still a very interesting read. It is split into three parts. The first is his childhood, the second is his adulthood and army life, and the third is after he met Meghan. For me, the middle section dragged but the rest of it was interesting.

Hearing about Harry’s childhood from his perspective was interesting. I am curious to listen to him read the audiobook at some point because I feel like hearing his voice might change some of the tone that I read. I think it’s apparent that Harry has some issues with Camilla and even William, but his relationship with his dad seems a bit muddier. At the beginning, it felt very forgiving and as though he was making excuses for a lot of his behavior, but then at the end that shifts. I’m curious to see if when he is speaking the words if there is less of that forgiving tone at the beginning.

I think that the press highlighted a lot of the weird parts of Harry’s book while, honestly, they’re pretty minimal. The middle section covers a lot of his time in the Army, which moves slowly. It then is oddly interspersed with his party days and adventures. It’s a bit of a yo-yo and I think the redundancy of war makes the wild times stand out a little more.