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Spare by [Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex]

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Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

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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.

Print length

409 pages
Language

English
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Publisher

Random House Canada
Publication date

Jan. 10 2023
File size

4800 KB
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From the Artist

Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

“Unflinching, introspective, and well-written.”—Time

“Compellingly artful . . . [a] blockbuster memoir.”—The New Yorker

“A scorching account of life in a golden cage.”—The Atlantic --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

We agreed to meet a few hours after the funeral. In the Frogmore gardens, by the old Gothic ruin. I got there first.

I looked around, saw no one.

I checked my phone. No texts, no voicemails.

They must be running late, I thought, leaning against the stone wall.

I put away my phone and told myself: Stay calm.

The weather was quintessentially April. Not quite winter, not yet spring. The trees were bare, but the air was soft. The sky was gray, but the tulips were popping. The light was pale, but the indigo lake, threading through the gardens, glowed.

How beautiful it all is, I thought. And also how sad.

Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead it had proved to be just another brief stop.

When my wife and I fled this place, in fear for our sanity and physical safety, I wasn’t sure when I’d ever come back. That was January 2020. Now, fifteen months later, here I was, days after waking to thirty-two missed calls and then one short, heart-racing talk with Granny: Harry . . . Grandpa’s gone.

The wind picked up, turned colder. I hunched my shoulders, rubbed my arms, regretted the thinness of my white shirt. I wished I’d not changed out of my funeral suit. I wished I’d thought to bring a coat. I turned my back to the wind and saw, looming behind me, the Gothic ruin, which in reality was no more Gothic than the Millennium Wheel. Some clever architect, some bit of stagecraft. Like so much around here, I thought.

I moved from the stone wall to a small wooden bench. Sitting, I checked my phone again, peered up and down the garden path.

Where are they?

Another gust of wind. Funny, it reminded me of Grandpa. His wintry demeanor, maybe. Or his icy sense of humor. I recalled one particular shooting weekend years ago. A mate, just trying to make conversation, asked Grandpa what he thought of my new beard, which had been causing concern in the family and controversy in the press. Should the Queen Force Prince Harry to Shave? Grandpa looked at my mate, looked at my chin, broke into a devilish grin. THAT’S no beard!

Everyone laughed. To beard or not to beard, that was the question, but leave it to Grandpa to demand more beard. Let grow the luxurious bristles of a bloody Viking!

I thought of Grandpa’s strong opinions, his many passions—carriage driving, barbecuing, shooting, food, beer. The way he embraced life. He had that in common with my mother. Maybe that was why he’d been such a fan. Long before she was Princess Diana, back when she was simply Diana Spencer, kindergarten teacher, secret girlfriend of Prince Charles, my grandfather was her loudest advocate. Some said he actually brokered my parents’ marriage. If so, an argument could be made that Grandpa was the Prime Cause in my world. But for him, I wouldn’t be here.

Neither would my older brother.

Then again, maybe our mother would be here. If she hadn’t married Pa . . .

I recalled one recent chat, just me and Grandpa, not long after he’d turned ninety-seven. He was thinking about the end. He was no longer capable of pursuing his passions, he said. And yet the thing he missed most was work. Without work, he said, everything crumbles. He didn’t seem sad, just ready. You have to know when it’s time to go, Harry.

I glanced now into the distance, towards the mini skyline of crypts and monuments alongside Frogmore. The Royal Burial Ground. Final resting place for so many of us, including Queen Victoria. Also, the notorious Wallis Simpson. Also, her doubly notorious husband Edward, the former King and my great-great-uncle. After Edward gave up his throne for Wallis, after they fled Britain, both of them fretted about their ultimate return—both obsessed about being buried right here. The Queen, my grandmother, granted their plea. But she placed them at a distance from everyone else, beneath a stooped plane tree. One last finger wag, perhaps. One final exile, maybe. I wondered how Wallis and Edward felt now about all their fretting. Did any of it matter in the end? I wondered if they wondered at all. Were they floating in some airy realm, still mulling their choices, or were they Nowhere, thinking Nothing? Could there really be Nothing after this? Does consciousness, like time, have a stop? Or maybe, I thought, just maybe, they’re here right now, next to the fake Gothic ruin, or next to me, eavesdropping on my thoughts. And if so . . . maybe my mother is too?

The thought of her, as always, gave me a jolt of hope, and a burst of energy.

And a stab of sorrow.

I missed my mother every day, but that day, on the verge of that nerve racking rendezvous at Frogmore, I found myself longing for her, and I couldn’t say just why. Like so much about her, it was hard to put into words.

Although my mother was a princess, named after a goddess, both those terms always felt weak, inadequate. People routinely compared her to icons and saints, from Nelson Mandela to Mother Teresa to Joan of Arc, but every such comparison, while lofty and loving, also felt wide of the mark. The most recognizable woman on the planet, one of the most beloved, my mother was simply indescribable, that was the plain truth. And yet . . . how could someone so far beyond everyday language remain so real, so palpably present, so exquisitely vivid in my mind? How was it possible that I could see her, clear as the swan skimming towards me on that indigo lake? How could I hear her laughter, loud as the songbirds in the bare trees—still? There was so much I didn’t remember, because I was so young when she died, but the greater miracle was all that I did. Her devastating smile, her vulnerable eyes, her childlike love of movies and music and clothes and sweets—and us. Oh how she loved my brother and me. Obsessively, she once confessed to an interviewer.

Well, Mummy . . . vice versa.

Maybe she was omnipresent for the very same reason that she was indescribable—because she was light, pure and radiant light, and how can you really describe light? Even Einstein struggled with that one. Recently, astronomers rearranged their biggest telescopes, aimed them at one tiny crevice in the cosmos, and managed to catch a glimpse of one breathtaking sphere, which they named Earendel, the Old English word for Morning Star. Billions of miles off, and probably long vanished, Earendel is closer to the Big Bang, the moment of Creation, than our own Milky Way, and yet it’s somehow still visible to mortal eyes because it’s just so awesomely bright and dazzling.

That was my mother.

That was why I could see her, sense her, always, but especially that April afternoon at Frogmore.

That—and the fact that I was carrying her flag. I’d come to those gardens because I wanted peace. I wanted it more than anything. I wanted it for my family’s sake, and for my own—but also for hers.

People forget how much my mother strove for peace. She circled the globe many times over, traipsed through minefields, cuddled AIDS patients, consoled war orphans, always working to bring peace to someone somewhere, and I knew how desperately she would want—no, did want—peace between her boys, and between us two and Pa. And among the whole family.

For months the Windsors had been at war. There had been strife in our ranks, off and on, going back centuries, but this was different. This was a fullscale public rupture, and it threatened to become irreparable. So, though I’d flown home specifically and solely for Grandpa’s funeral, while there I’d asked for this secret meeting with my older brother, Willy, and my father to talk about the state of things.

To find a way out.

But now I looked once more at my phone and once more up and down the garden path and I thought: Maybe they’ve changed their minds. Maybe they’re not going to come.

For half a second I considered giving up, going for a walk through the gardens by myself or heading back to the house where all my cousins were drinking and sharing stories of Grandpa.

Then, at last, I saw them. Shoulder to shoulder, striding towards me, they looked grim, almost menacing. More, they looked tightly aligned. My stomach dropped. Normally they’d be squabbling about one thing or another, but now they appeared to be in lockstep—in league.

The thought occurred: Hang on, are we meeting for a walk . . . or a duel? --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

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. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BHY5TX5R
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Canada (Jan. 10 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4800 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 409 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #363 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1 in English History (Kindle Store)
- #1 in Royalty Biographies (Kindle Store)
- #2 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)

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4.5 69,252 ratings

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Reviews

"...a secret about truth that many people are unwilling to accept: it's usually painful"

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 10, 2023

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"a secret about truth that many people are unwilling to accept: it's usually painful"

This quote, taken from part 2, page 170, chapter 33 really spoke to me. I noted it immediately upon reading, highlighting it, because it really spoke to the theme of this book. That truth is often wrapped with pain...that owning ones truth is often brave, hard and often misunderstood. That speaking ones truth often comes with risk, with people who will continue to read your truth and misquote you, who will cherry-pick and judge based on mistruths, often quoted as others as the gospel.

I started this book with my own opinions, and when I finished this book, I was surprised - surprised to find myself empathizing with almost every major player. Even the ones I had demonized in my own minds eye. I found myself empathizing with what it must feel like to be "owned" by an institution - owned by the public. After all, the public were paying for their very existence. What it must feel like to have to grow up, make mistakes and be judged perhaps more harshly than those of his peers. But I also experienced a level of sympathy for what generations of that family have had to undergo.

Trauma is a major theme that wraps it's tentacles around Harry - long past childhood, it ensnares him, forms his very being. I was surprised to learn many things about his feelings about Diana's passing, ones that would be understandable for any young man to feel, but are more so understandable after what he experienced on a world stage. The descriptions of his feelings are so vivid, so painfully raw, that you can't help but feel for him.

I have to give credit where credit is due - this book is exceptionally well written...this speaks to a very close partnership with Prince Harry's ghost writer, JR Moehringer. I could see Prince Harry pouring over his laptop all night long, writing all his feelings down and then JR, taking those feelings and moments and creating a more aesthetically pleasing, descriptive tome. You never feel like it isn't Prince Harry talking from his heart, but you can see where JR has been able to give such clear description, you feel like you're right there, in the battlefield with Harry - that you're walking along side him during that long walk behind his mom. I usually find biographies exceptionally boring because they feel like a history lesson, and don't speak from the heart. This isn't that type of book. You feel like you're reading from his diary, a very personal and private journey he is giving us access too. His entire life has been shown to the world, by those events were not by his choice. THIS was his choice. His truth.

I don't want to take away from this book so I will not go into specifics because I feel like you should go into this book willing to listen - remove your preconceived notions, drop your prejudice, erase from your memory the stories told by others about him and read his truth. Because if nothing else, why should someone else opinion of you be treated as truth, when their opinions are formed by the very people who have tried to destroy you.

557 people found this helpful

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Loreena Brackenbury

A Must Read

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 20, 2023

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As a British Royal Family follower for many years, I finally read the novel Spare written by Prince Harry. He explains what being the "Spare" means, which is plan B, the shadow, if necessary a spare part or a blood transfusion in case anything happened to the heir, Prince William. He takes the reader through how he dealt with the loss of his mother at the tender age of 12, just a mere 15 days away from his 13th birthday. His father King Charles III called him “my dear son” during the difficult conversation on the death of Princess Diana. His father did not embrace him. Prince Harry reveals that he didn't cry over his mother's death for many years because he didn't fully believe she had died in the crash. In fact he believed his mother had just decided to disappear for a time and then she would call and the boys would go join her.
Prince Harry takes you through his journey of drinking, going to pubs, smoking a joint, going to high school where Prince William asked Harry to pretend that they did not know each other, his relationships and going into combat. Then Prince Harry talks about meeting Meghan Markle and how their love flourished only to be ridiculed with racism and constantly having to deal with the Paparazzi and lies that were printed in the papers. He reveals how Meghan wanted to take her own life just before the couple were to attend a concert while heavily pregnant with Archie and how it became evident that if he wanted to keep his family safe and not lose his wife to the paparazzi like he did his own mother, then he needed to take his family elsewhere.
Being Royal is not an easy task or one that a person would want, especially if you were born into it. Your life is not your own to live but the British Monarch's, such as having to ask the Queen's permission to marry the one you love, to ask permission to marry with a beard because you do not want to shave it off, or to ask permission to get married in certain attire, having someone else higher up tell you what is available on the calendar for a wedding date to marry. Permission for this and permission for that. In regards to emotions, no you simply cannot cry in public if you are a Royal. Your life is the world's life. God forbid if you are seen smoking a cigarette or seen at a pub drinking. For gosh sakes, even royalty or human beings just like the rest of us and good on them for just wanting to live a life that everyone else lives that is NOT royalty.
I have to say that Prince Harry's struggles since the death of his mother were dealt with alone. I feel like there was no one there when their should have been to help him through his grief.
And as for William, well it seems Willy is all about Willy and his "Heir" status. Prince Harry mentions that Prince William hit him, pushing him to the floor after describing Harry's wife as “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
I do believe that Prince Harry would make a much better King than his father or William. Harry has experienced much and truly has a deep understanding of the different crisis in the world. Not just when it comes to humanity, but African Wildlife as well. When he is aware of a need, he becomes involved and supportive. He and his wife are involved in charities and at one such event, he got emotional while giving a speech for Children with Severe Illnesses because becoming a father deepened his appreciation for the charity's work in supporting sick children . Prince Harry has a dislike for deceit within the Monarchy, lies being printed in the press and his first and foremost priority is not his duty to the British Commonwealth; but his wife and two children. That is what really matters to him. Now if that is not the makings of a true King!!!
Thank you Prince Harry for allowing us to have an insight into your life as a royal and being brave enough to write what no one else has the guts to do.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Mdm Lee

Heart-breaking ending

Reviewed in Singapore 🇸🇬 on January 28, 2023

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The key confirmation on Nov 2020 -- the Queen banned Prince Harry for displaying Wreaths at War Memorials.

Jo-Lee Smith

It's the BIGGEST CON

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 11, 2023

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This book has NOT been security checked for correct information , I feel Meghan and Harry are laughing at me for buying this book , And putting my money in there pockets. Harry can't come up with any dates, says he can't remember the dates of anything , Said he was At college on a Hot summers day when the phone call came about his Great Great Grandmother passing , He was not at school he was Skiing in Switzerland with his Brother ( I remember this) And the papers have come back with the proof. Harry says that his mother bought him an XBox for his 13th birthday in advance of her death that her sister brought to the school for him, again not true the XBox didn't come out till 4 years later . There is so many holes in the book . Every other page has something on it that didn't happen. He takes NO reasonability for ANYthing even when the evidence is staring him in his face. This book is a BIG con, don't waste your money.

3,054 people found this helpful

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Fan Account

Emotional human story with unprecedented insight

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 10, 2023

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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 :)

1,709 people found this helpful

Lara

The Prince of Hearts speaks – hear it first before you see the astonishing media crap

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 13, 2023

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A must read - and before you see all the entirely false media snippets in the press.

The Prince of Hearts speaks - a raw, honest, and tender account, So heartbreaking, devastatingly shocking and sad at times, but with so much humour - it’s really hilarious and funny in places. It also is a beautiful love story and a story of hope. I was somewhat surprised by how self-reflective he has become, and really enjoyed the way describes his experiences. I was deeply touched in many places - laughed, cried, was angry, surprised, confused - all the emotions.

I loved what he says about being in Africa and in the bush, to which I can relate to so much and have experienced this strange depth (‘the world before it developed into the world’). It shows him as a lot more sensitive, philosophical and also a lot more spiritual (in between the lines and in different chapters) than I thought, and it so beautiful to see the raw, sensitive and tender part of his person come through. He comes through so relatable and down to earth. So human this story with all its ups and downs.

The book gives us a view behind the curtain of a life that some condemn for its fullness of riches. Yet it is so clearly a life ‘bred in captivity’, in a “gilded cage”, that shows money and riches are not equal to ‘real’ freedom (or love). There are squashing rules and painful consequences that come with their enjoyment. What if one is born into it unable to chose? Now he has chosen. What courage.

It was a gripping, and highly engaging story. The audiobook version that Prince Harry narrates himself, is so well read that it felt like you were experiencing the moments in real time, I couldn’t stop putting it down. The meaning and feeling of his words comes across, the heart of the story, in a powerful way when hearing his own words.

I highly recommend the book and to read it yourself or listen to the audio version first.

Before you see the atrocious and slanderous total dismantling of mere snippets of the pieces shared in the book. It is astonishing what the press has done right now with this book and its words for all to see. So much misconstrued excerpts - don’t be put off and read it yourself first. Then compare, then make up your own mind. The press has shown itself in its most poisonous light I have ever witnessed in these last few days of the publication of the book.

With that, what irony that the mission of the book of highlighting exactly that, was successful.

The main mission this book is to make us more aware of what the media is doing and how it is doing it. Most of us may already know this. But here we are right now witnessing it live - right in front of our eyes. Will we notice? Will we ‘spare’ the time to read it for ourselves, to really see?

The story of the book, highlights that this could be any of us, you, me, not just any royal or someone who happens to fall out of the press and media’s good graces or is scrutinised. (It reminds me of the book “Becoming” by Michelle Obama, where she describes a similar experience when becoming the First Lady.) For Prince Harry, it has been like this since birth.

I really wanted to make sure to read it/hear it all first, before looking at the news, but noticed how hard it is at times. Things seeped through. Even friends and colleagues in my field (of psychology) made throw-away comments based on some terribly dangerous headlines (e.g. in relation to the Taliban, when he recounts his honest experiences in the Army). It was so clearly taken out of context, which you would notice if you had read it and gotten to that part 2 of the book already. A couple of words taken out of an entire account and then an emotive word slapped onto it to make title to change its entire meaning. We don’t have time – and are all so willing to take in just disjointed bits from the media every day.

I could not believe the article published in the Guardian by journalist John Grace, only three days after the book’s publication, falsifying artistically the entire book for us. It doesn’t even mention that it is under the guise of satire, but claims at the beginning: “To busy to read it? All the love, rancour, drugs and petty fights are here.”

What follows is a confusing write-up, looking like a compilation of excerpts taken straight from the book, but you don’t quite know which part is added by the journalist and is false – that is, unless you read it for yourself! Snippets taken from the book, something else slapped on to it at the end, that wasn’t even in the book. How on earth can the Guardian get away with this? Publishing something so incorrect and defamatory? But the damage has already been done for many I suspect, who as a result roll their eyes, and don’t want to read the book. But ironically, this is the whole point that the book is trying to share. And if you read these claims, you cannot ‘unread it’. It makes you think, it can poison you and anyone who reads it without noticing. Words have power.

So here we are and have the most powerful evidence of what this book is actually about.

The most ironic thing in itself is happening for us to see in bright daylight under our noses. The power of the media – and so much falseness and untruths which we read about every single day. The mainstream press and media, most of us even ‘trust’.

This book is not just about Prince Harry or setting his record straight, or share stories of his family, though this is the tool of the book. It seems to be about something so much bigger than that.

What is of course fascinating as part of the story and in this whole unfolding drama is that we can all resonate personally so much with the family dynamics and the family story in so many ways (no matter what backgrounds we come from).

All the family archetypes - all the roles we play in our families and the roles we feel trapped in or are assigned to hold, are represented in this book. May it range from the ‘golden child’, ‘black sheep’, ‘baby brother’, ‘big brother’, ‘rival brother’,’longed for sister’, ‘wicked stepmother’, ‘loving mother’, ‘absent father’, ‘the newcomer’, ‘the wicked daughter-in-law’, or so many other classics. These archetypes all represent our collective experience of family. We may recognise all these roles here in the book represented in some form or other. And this can really connect us to the family story in general, through our own lived experiences.

But most of us will find it extremely hard to ever exit our assigned roles, or our family itself, however troubled and dysfunctional it is. It must be a hundred times harder for a member of a royal family who is controlled by and locked into ‘the Institution’ by blood.

Harry has attempted the unthinkable and unspeakable, and in front of everyone to see. Good for him - and also how embarrassing… for ‘the Institution’.

This may be the true core ‘danger’ of the book - for the media and press as well as the ‘Institution’ and the monarchy. It is clear with this book they were not successful at silencing him enough. The day before the launch, Prince Harry aptly comments in the ITV interview with Tom Bradby that “silence only allows the abuser to continue to abuse”. He also said “peace can only happen where there is truth”. This is an apt explanation of the purpose of this book, and it comes across in every chapter.

It is bigger than just the story about Prince Harry because the book raises so many questions (and esp. with this vicious media and press reaction): How can we possibly discern right from wrong? And what role, what power does the media play out in this? One thing is for sure, you don’t want to be on the bad side of them.

Prince Harry is standing up, speaking out and speaking his truth, which most of us are not courageous and brave enough to do at this level.

If you check each, his words in the book account and the current media messages, it is like witnessing a modern crucifixion.

We are watching it and it raises even deeper questions like: Would I speak out like this? How has the power completely shifted to controlled media? What means “freedom” and freedom of speech?

The book raises in fact many questions on deeper issues about privacy, freedom of speech, human rights, but also unwittingly and indirectly - but to no surprise may question the entire existence of the monarchy. Of the validity and usefulness of an antiquated, backwards “Institution” behind the Monarchy itself - far too powerful for its own family members. Is it really still necessary to exist in this day and age? Many current members would of course not want to see it dismantled and as a result lose their existence. The war on Harry and any dissidents has to happen by default (as we are witness to) - to ensure its own survival. And since there is the existing long standing enmeshed relationship between the media and the Institution (“in bed with the Devil”- comment from the ITV interview, but not so direct in the book), both depend on each other for their survival. The book describes how – some of it in the subtext and in between the lines, but it also becomes clear in the story.

If “it” (the Institution) wants to survive, it raises also the question if it could not show us a better example, be more of a role model? It doesn’t have to be this way – one or the other can only exist. Esp. in matters of the heart, family, unity, truthfulness, rather than the outdated stuffy rules, and power driven dynamics based on power and not losing face or pride? (But this will probably never happen.)

In this book, the evoking of the deeper questions is done skilfully through the story of the heart, Prince Harry’s own story of his experiences and words. As such through metaphor it is a powerful tool to reach us deeper, to shake us up, especially with laughter and humour along the way that makes the reading (or listening) gripping, enjoyable and deeply engaging.

With this book, Prince Harry shows tremendous bravery and courage and he could be applauded for daring this. And I can’t help but fear for him at the same time. This must be the toughest times of their lives right now, and I really wish them all the safety, love and protection they need around this time of transition “post-book”.

I really hope that with this book he is able to achieve what he is hoping for.

For one, to make an in-road for all of us to hold world-wide and British Press and media, its coverage and its employees more accountable for the suffering they cause to so many people every day.

Because of this it is a must read / or listen to.

It seems clear on more than the obvious level, that he is Diana’s son. How incredibly proud she must be - that he managed to ‘get out’. Though it is a hard road. If feels as though he is continuing the work that his mother had started. She still lives in so many peoples’ hearts across the globe and was able to touch so many – and even so many decades after. And with Prince Harry in his own right as Harry, what he is actually daring to do here is shining his own light, not being ashamed to have a voice and speaking and owning his truth - and with that leading by example.

Not to be silenced. But good grief, we can see here in the book and the after effects, what a mammoth and difficult task it is and it comes with so much pain and consequences for him.

My heart goes out to him and Meghan. And any other family member, I feel so much compassion for them. At the state of everything in our world right now. But there is also so much gratitude, love, joy and light in this book, peppered with tender mischievous humour which was so uplifting and able to create space for hope.

Hope for change.

899 people found this helpful

Kailyn

Sad, Whimsical, Dark, Comedic, Introspective…words cannot describe you just have to read it

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

I don’t really read these kinds of books. I’m addicted to sci fi and historical romance and intake most my gossip/nonfiction news from social media mediums and independent research (Tik Tok and Twitter). I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography, autobiography, or memoir outside of an educational setting. I picked this up just bc I was interested in all the weird excerpts the media put all over headlines in the days leading up. I’m also a big supporter of evaluating primary sources first-hand as my liberal arts bachelors degree taught me before I form opinions. I expected a celebrity tell-all gossip piece..

BUT, this piece took my breath away. I read it in one night and went through so many emotions. I had to put it down multiple times to laugh, cry, and self reflect. Well-done to Harry taking the hard step to be vulnerable to the world in his own way and taking control of his narrative and his writer is absolutely so talented. The writer is so magnificent, I cannot say it enough.

This book is going to be analyzed in classrooms, positively, negatively, analytically one day as it touches on coming-of age, literature and motifs, the most recent war, and a love story and a social and political discourse on British press and its relationship with the Palace. People are going to be talking about this book for ages and as Meghan and Harry seem to be really polarizing to some. I recommend anyone supporter or not, British or American, read this book first and form your own opinions. Clear your mind of the bias from what you know of Harry from the press and media and read it about a story of a boy growing into a man. It’s really quite good when you look past you’re own biases.

Harry’s really grown when it comes to his own biases and privilege and this book really explores that growth in a first person POV that also causes to reader to take a step back and evaluate themselves but I do think he needs to sit on his support of a Monarchy a bit more lol…it was nice as an American to understand British culture a bit more though and I feel like I was able to put myself in the other Royals shoes and humanize them as well! Since Meghan and Harry are the only ones who we’ve been able to authentically hear from as of late.

I know a lot of people will speak on his chapters of his experiences in the war negatively, and to be honest. I wasn’t expecting that kind of candor and rawness and it resonated with me but in a introspectively beneficial way..as someone who is currently in the neo-stage of their military officer career (I only joined because I wanted to be a leader and get college paid but I’ve been more introspective on leadership and military more lately) I had to take military history classes when I was in college, I read many textbooks and memories who recount experiences similar to his from the civil war, Vietnam and WW1/2 perspective and we analyzed them relentlessly…but I haven’t seen a lot of memoirs from veterans from the War on Terror or from non-Americans. With the peacetime the U.S. is in I guess I doubt I’ll be serving long enough to ever experience the trauma he went through and it helps me understand the PTSD of modern soldiers and those veteran NCOs I work with. That section made me really introspective about the military and the way we’re trained and the discourse around the ethics of it even though his military experience is from a different country. (Side note this really helped me realize how important OPSEC is lol I literally screamed OPSEC at the book at one point).

I enjoy the way he recounted his childhood and his relationship with his family. It was very tactful and well-written and I think every comment that a tabloid has pulled as “offensive” out of context was balanced out throughout the book as we really delved into the nuances of family and our childhoods. The people he mentions in this book are not just characters and celebrities in a show or tabloid but real people who are multifaceted and there is no antagonist and protagonist in real life.

He also kept it spicy with the funny TMI moments about his social life and ~extracurricular~ activities. The random celebrity name drops were hilarious to me with his sarcastic tone and obviously not ill-mannered or narcissistic as I saw some implied. I think that was the perfect amount of comedy and tiny factoids that are ultimately harmless and affect no one except entertain the reader. I’m a very TMI person and the way he exposed embarrassing moments is the way I talk to my inner circle of friends and I felt like I was listening to a friend tell me a story on girls night. I saw on Twitter people were offended by the TMI but let’s be honest, if he hadn’t left in the spicy/funny comments people would have just said his memoir is boring and a waste of money and money-seeking. I’m sure there are plenty of other TMI details of his life that are private and he did not share. Everything he shared that people called “TMI” is inconsequential to the audience and only there to entertain comedic relief amongst the other dark themes in this book. This probably went through hella reviews and many consultations to make sure it wasn’t too out there.

I could ramble forever about this book…I wanna join like a book club or reddit to discuss it. This is truly one of my favorite reads in like the last ten years. I may have separate opinions about the Harry v. the Monarchy discourse but I just want to endorse the book is SUCH a good read anyways for those on edge.

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