"Spare" memoir by the Duke of Sussex (2023)

[XeniaCasaraghi]

In terms of a book damaging the authors reputation, I would say the book by OJ Simpson but his reputation was horrible by the time it came out. I don't know what the reaction to Prince Charles book was. Nothing as bad as this, he's angered England and is a joke in America.

 

[Dantheman]

I was initially indifferent to Harry and Meghan when they became a couple and married - I didn’t really have feelings either way about them. Since Spare was released there are two main notions or themes that have stood out in my opinion:

1. Harry has now become a part of the narrative rather than a sideline figure and has turned off the public as they have started to hear his voice more.
What I mean by this is that initially the narrative surrounding their departure and subsequent allegations relied on Meghan’s voice - it was her dad with the tabloid photographers; she was involved in a dispute over dresses with Kate; she was doing most of the talking in Oprah interview- their departure from UK was even called Megxit. Through Spare we have started to hear Harry’s thoughts rather than Meghan and some of his ideas seem contradictory to past events and interviews and they don’t necessarily respond to the public’s perceptions. For lack of a better phrase - Harry may have misread the room with some of his ideas and interpretations of events

2. Life is generally about give and take and it seems that Harry doesn’t generally follow this.
For example he is willing to take good publicity for some of his actions eg with Invictus which is a worthy cause - but he then resents negative publicity when he comes out of pubs drunk or wear inappropriate clothing to costume parties etc
Another example - Harry is willing to utilise media platforms to share things from his life in netflix; the book etc. this really stood out to me when him and Meghan included (what I regard) as private moments in the Netflix show such as Archie touching Diana picture and what Harry’s proposal looked like - but they then resent palace practices which touch on personal events eg announcing when labour is occurring and then doing photo on hospital steps (I do know they did the photo shoot with Archie as a newborn shortly after his birth but doesn’t then make you question why they didn’t just do it at the hospital when they were leaving as they allowed photos of a newborn Archie to be taken anyway)
A third example is that Harry criticised the media and their attention towards his mother and their presence in her life but he used footage from Bashir in his documentary and that has been a hugely criticised interview in recent years for the tactics employed to get Diana to do it

Just my thoughts!

 

[Denville]

but that's exactly what H and Meg have been doing this past 3 or 4 years. THey didn't want to show Archie off for a few mins and then go home and rest for a few months.

 

[Denville]

Harry commenting the coronation potentially sounds like someone watching the Crown with Edward commenting to his friends and thinking that would be brilliant to have in real life.


In any case Harry commenting might be actually be a good thing since he would be forced to do research and think what he is saying more than he has in the past or he would look uninformed. And people probably would not want to hear him talk of himself or complain when it’s not about him so he would be probably advised to speak about events at hand. And his family might be relieved he isn’t there to argue.


.

Harry wont be doing any research. HE will have a script written for him by someone who knows a bit more than he does. I cant imagine that the TV networks want him rambling on about -that's Pa, over there, I think that might be my cousin X.
If it were left to him to spontaneously comment, Im sure that's all he would come up with. but Im sure he will manage to get in some nasty litlte digs.. which will appeal to the Americans who loved Diana and disliked Charles because of this.

 

[ppetrica]

but that's exactly what H and Meg have been doing this past 3 or 4 years. THey didn't want to show Archie off for a few mins and then go home and rest for a few months.

That was the first thing that shocked me about them.
They made such a mystery of Archie's arrival (even though everyone knows when you act like that, you end up attracting even more attention). And then they had a photographer ready to take photos of Harry's grandparents meeting little Archie and released one to the public. What's more intimate and private then the first meeting of your loved ones with your newborn?

 

[Denville]

That was the first thing that shocked me about them.
They made such a mystery of Archie's arrival (even though everyone knows when you act like that, you end up attracting even more attention). And then they had a photographer ready to take photos of Harry's grandparents meeting little Archie and released one to the public. What's more intimate and private then the first meeting of your loved ones with your newborn?

exactly. It was as if they wanted to annoy the press by shutting them out but then bringing them in again. it was all so fake.

 

[Magnolia471]

In terms of a book damaging the authors reputation, I would say the book by OJ Simpson but his reputation was horrible by the time it came out. I don't know what the reaction to Prince Charles book was. Nothing as bad as this, he's angered England and is a joke in America.

From what I understand, Harry became quite popular in US after his books. Especially among Gen Z and the majority of black community. I guess he is trying to reach the younger "woke" audience.

 

[Somebody]

From what I understand, Harry became quite popular in US after his books. Especially among Gen Z and the majority of black community. I guess he is trying to reach the younger "woke" audience.

Where did you understand that from? His one and only book was only recently released; and so far, his popularity went down considerably in both the UK and the USA after the Netflix-serie and his book were released. Several of those that were supportive of him (including the audience you describe) are no longer as supportive as they once were. So, while some staunch supporters will remain, by his recent books he was able to alienate a significant part of that target group from him/them.

 

[Curryong]

This below is an Ipsos poll that has already been posted a couple of days ago. It was taken after Spare came out and found that Harry was well-liked by Americans, especially Millennials and Gen Zsers.

An Ipsos poll taken among Americans about a week ago has some interesting data about the BRF.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/quarter-americans-say-prince-harry-their-favorite-royal

This poll finds that while about one fifth of Americans believe it would be better if the British monarchy was abolished, a plurality, about two in five, says abolishing the monarchy would make no difference at all. Although, opinions around abolishing the monarchy vary based on perceptions of certain members of the royal family. Americans who favor Duchess Meghan Markle (28%) or Prince Harry (23%), for example, are more likely to say it would be better to abolish the monarchy than those who favor Prince William (13%). Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans who favor King Charles III or do not favor Prince Harry are most likely to say abolishing the monarchy would make things worse (20% for both).

When asked which members of the British royal family they like most, a plurality (25%) of Americans say they like Prince Harry, followed by Princess Kate Middleton (22%), Prince William (17%), Duchess Meghan Markle (12%), and King Charles III (8%). Notably, those against abolishing the monarchy are more likely to say they like Princess Kate Middleton, Prince William, or Prince Charles the most versus those in favor of abolishing the monarchy. Americans who are baby boomers or older are more likely to say they like Prince William or Princess Kate Middleton the most versus Gen Xers or millennials and Gen Zers.

Without making respondents choose between family members, though, nearly the same amount of Americans has a favorable opinion of Prince Harry (41%) versus Prince William (40%). More Americans (47%), however, say they have a favorable perception of Princess Kate Middleton, who also tops favorability for Duchess Meghan Markle (35%) and King Charles III (25%). Of note, baby boomers and older are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince William (49%) or Princess Kate Middleton (57%) than Gen Zers and millennials (33% and 43%, respectively). Additionally, Americans with children in their household (53%) are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince Harry than those without (35%).

 

[Alison H]

It's fascinating how involved Americans are with the British Royal Family. It's impossible to imagine anyone conducting a poll on how popular, say, the Spanish Royal Family or the Swedish Royal Family and their individual members are in the UK. Major news items about them are reported in the press, and there's quite a bit about them in magazines like Hello, but people just aren't that involved with them.

It's actually quite weird that pollsters are asking Americans whether they think the British monarchy should be abolished. No-one would poll Britons on changes to the American presidency.

 

[Mbruno]

This below is an Ipsos poll that has already been posted a couple of days ago. It was taken after Spare came out and found that Harry was well-liked by Americans, especially Millennials and Gen Zsers.

An Ipsos poll taken among Americans about a week ago has some interesting data about the BRF.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/quarter-americans-say-prince-harry-their-favorite-royal

This poll finds that while about one fifth of Americans believe it would be better if the British monarchy was abolished, a plurality, about two in five, says abolishing the monarchy would make no difference at all. Although, opinions around abolishing the monarchy vary based on perceptions of certain members of the royal family. Americans who favor Duchess Meghan Markle (28%) or Prince Harry (23%), for example, are more likely to say it would be better to abolish the monarchy than those who favor Prince William (13%). Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans who favor King Charles III or do not favor Prince Harry are most likely to say abolishing the monarchy would make things worse (20% for both).

When asked which members of the British royal family they like most, a plurality (25%) of Americans say they like Prince Harry, followed by Princess Kate Middleton (22%), Prince William (17%), Duchess Meghan Markle (12%), and King Charles III (8%). Notably, those against abolishing the monarchy are more likely to say they like Princess Kate Middleton, Prince William, or Prince Charles the most versus those in favor of abolishing the monarchy. Americans who are baby boomers or older are more likely to say they like Prince William or Princess Kate Middleton the most versus Gen Xers or millennials and Gen Zers.

Without making respondents choose between family members, though, nearly the same amount of Americans has a favorable opinion of Prince Harry (41%) versus Prince William (40%). More Americans (47%), however, say they have a favorable perception of Princess Kate Middleton, who also tops favorability for Duchess Meghan Markle (35%) and King Charles III (25%). Of note, baby boomers and older are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince William (49%) or Princess Kate Middleton (57%) than Gen Zers and millennials (33% and 43%, respectively). Additionally, Americans with children in their household (53%) are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince Harry than those without (35%).

Are there any polls on the popularity of individual members of the Royal Family in, let's say, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand? I think that would be relevant than polling Americans.

 

[tihkon2]

From what I understand, Harry became quite popular in US after his books. Especially among Gen Z and the majority of black community. I guess he is trying to reach the younger "woke" audience.

He's only had one book.

 

[Denville]

And it certainly hasn't improved his reputation in the UK

 

[Curryong]

Are there any polls on the popularity of individual members of the Royal Family in, let's say, Australia, Canada, or New Zealand? I think that would be relevant than polling Americans.

Most of the polls taken in Australia (and there aren’t that many, sometimes they used to be held after royal tours) are connected to the depth of republicanism in Australia at the time of the survey. I’m not aware of any respected polling companies in Australia who have asked about the popularity of the Cambridges versus the Sussexes for example, though tabloid type newspapers and magazines may have held their own non scientific ones.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

I was initially indifferent to Harry and Meghan when they became a couple and married - I didn’t really have feelings either way about them. Since Spare was released there are two main notions or themes that have stood out in my opinion:

1. Harry has now become a part of the narrative rather than a sideline figure and has turned off the public as they have started to hear his voice more.
What I mean by this is that initially the narrative surrounding their departure and subsequent allegations relied on Meghan’s voice - it was her dad with the tabloid photographers; she was involved in a dispute over dresses with Kate; she was doing most of the talking in Oprah interview- their departure from UK was even called Megxit. Through Spare we have started to hear Harry’s thoughts rather than Meghan and some of his ideas seem contradictory to past events and interviews and they don’t necessarily respond to the public’s perceptions. For lack of a better phrase - Harry may have misread the room with some of his ideas and interpretations of events

2. Life is generally about give and take and it seems that Harry doesn’t generally follow this.
For example he is willing to take good publicity for some of his actions eg with Invictus which is a worthy cause - but he then resents negative publicity when he comes out of pubs drunk or wear inappropriate clothing to costume parties etc
Another example - Harry is willing to utilise media platforms to share things from his life in netflix; the book etc. this really stood out to me when him and Meghan included (what I regard) as private moments in the Netflix show such as Archie touching Diana picture and what Harry’s proposal looked like - but they then resent palace practices which touch on personal events eg announcing when labour is occurring and then doing photo on hospital steps (I do know they did the photo shoot with Archie as a newborn shortly after his birth but doesn’t then make you question why they didn’t just do it at the hospital when they were leaving as they allowed photos of a newborn Archie to be taken anyway)
A third example is that Harry criticised the media and their attention towards his mother and their presence in her life but he used footage from Bashir in his documentary and that has been a hugely criticised interview in recent years for the tactics employed to get Diana to do it

Just my thoughts!

I enjoyed reading your thoughts about his voice being heard now when before it was all from Meghan. I do think that the voice in the book is a combination of Harry, the ghostwriter, and Meghan - some of it sounds like her to me. But I think your very good point is more about how he is now in the center of the narrative instead of her.

Which brings up this question for me: where is Meghan? Has she been on any interviews with him or done or said anything publicly since the book was published? What are everyone’s thoughts about this?

 

[Curryong]

There were posts upthread at the time of the book’s publication about the terrible floods around Montecito at exactly that time, mudslides, evacuations etc, so my guess is that Meghan was looking after her family (and her home) as best she could, and if the family found it best to move away temporarily they were probably in LA.

Other than that, just as Harry sits back while Meghan does her own thing sometimes, she does the same with him.

 

[Denville]

In terms of a book damaging the authors reputation, I would say the book by OJ Simpson but his reputation was horrible by the time it came out. I don't know what the reaction to Prince Charles book was. Nothing as bad as this, he's angered England and is a joke in America.

If you mean the Dimbleby bio of charles, it was not C's book. It was an authorised biography not a ghost written tell all book

 

[Curryong]

It was an authorised biography of Charles all right, and one that did him a great deal of damage.

 

[Erin9]

It was an authorised biography of Charles all right, and one that did him a great deal of damage.

You’d think Harry would have learned something from that. Obviously not.

I’ve seen polls that have showed his popularity plummet- right alongside a long list of poor reviews. Left, right, center. You name it- they were bad.

 

[Silverpot]

This below is an Ipsos poll that has already been posted a couple of days ago. It was taken after Spare came out and found that Harry was well-liked by Americans, especially Millennials and Gen Zsers.

An Ipsos poll taken among Americans about a week ago has some interesting data about the BRF.

https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/quarter-americans-say-prince-harry-their-favorite-royal

This poll finds that while about one fifth of Americans believe it would be better if the British monarchy was abolished, a plurality, about two in five, says abolishing the monarchy would make no difference at all. Although, opinions around abolishing the monarchy vary based on perceptions of certain members of the royal family. Americans who favor Duchess Meghan Markle (28%) or Prince Harry (23%), for example, are more likely to say it would be better to abolish the monarchy than those who favor Prince William (13%). Perhaps not surprisingly, Americans who favor King Charles III or do not favor Prince Harry are most likely to say abolishing the monarchy would make things worse (20% for both).

When asked which members of the British royal family they like most, a plurality (25%) of Americans say they like Prince Harry, followed by Princess Kate Middleton (22%), Prince William (17%), Duchess Meghan Markle (12%), and King Charles III (8%). Notably, those against abolishing the monarchy are more likely to say they like Princess Kate Middleton, Prince William, or Prince Charles the most versus those in favor of abolishing the monarchy. Americans who are baby boomers or older are more likely to say they like Prince William or Princess Kate Middleton the most versus Gen Xers or millennials and Gen Zers.

Without making respondents choose between family members, though, nearly the same amount of Americans has a favorable opinion of Prince Harry (41%) versus Prince William (40%). More Americans (47%), however, say they have a favorable perception of Princess Kate Middleton, who also tops favorability for Duchess Meghan Markle (35%) and King Charles III (25%). Of note, baby boomers and older are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince William (49%) or Princess Kate Middleton (57%) than Gen Zers and millennials (33% and 43%, respectively). Additionally, Americans with children in their household (53%) are more likely to have a favorable opinion of Prince Harry than those without (35%).

I find it rather odd to ask Americans about another country's constitution. Do they even know how a Constitutional Monarchy works? It's like asking Swedes if they think the US should abolish the Republic.

 

[Denville]

It was an authorised biography of Charles all right, and one that did him a great deal of damage.

I'd say what did him damage was Diana's full of lies and exaggerations book

 

[Curryong]

There are polls and there are polls. The more respected active ones haven’t been taking longterm surveys much of late and newspaper ones aren’t worth the paper they are written on.

And as many of the negative reviews are from Britain (or US based British journalists), whose media has been at war with the Sussexes for three years, their reviews are hardly unbiased.

 

[Mirabel]

It's fascinating how involved Americans are with the British Royal Family. It's impossible to imagine anyone conducting a poll on how popular, say, the Spanish Royal Family or the Swedish Royal Family and their individual members are in the UK. Major news items about them are reported in the press, and there's quite a bit about them in magazines like Hello, but people just aren't that involved with them.

That is because most Americans would blank on identifying members of other monarchies.

I recall when Prince Friso was injured in that avalanche, many Americans were asking: What British prince is he?
They hadn't a clue.

Some recognize those from Monaco (due to the Grace Kelly connection) but otherwise, they don't even know there are other monarchies!

 

[Erin9]

"Spare" memoir by the Duke of Sussex (2023)

I find it rather odd to ask Americans about another country's constitution. Do they even know how a Constitutional Monarchy works? It's like asking Swedes if they think the US should abolish the Republic.

No- the average American is clueless about how a Constitutional monarchy works. Nor do they care.

And- IA- it really is none of our business.

What is somewhat relevant are Harry and Meghan since they live here. And like to ramble on about things. But it’s really a celebrity thing. It’s not like they’re seen as important. President Biden won’t be going out of his way to see them.

But as I said- I’ve seen polls from other- left- sources that show Harry and Megan’s popularity as having nosedived. And negative reviews from former supporters. Or Americans who generally could care less. (Peggy Noonan comes to mind fast.)

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Here is a very interesting article from The New Yorker about American obsession with the British royal family. I don’t have a subscription but they let you read a few free articles a month. https://www.newyorker.com/news/anna...edias-obsession-with-the-british-royal-family. Here is an excerpt that I can’t seem to put in italics.

”The United States has always contained elements of uncouth fawning over the British monarchy, an institution it fought a bloody war to separate itself from. In the Gilded Age, moneyed Newport types wanted to marry their daughters into aristocratic lines. Consuelo Vanderbilt’s 1895 wedding to the ninth Duke of Marlborough was brokered by her overbearing mother, who also did a fair amount of leaking to the press; the wedding was mobbed by spectators, and a newspaper published a spoof cartoon of the young bride, chained to her mother.”

 

[Curryong]

No- the average American is clueless about how a Constitutional monarchy works. Nor do they care.

And- IA- it really is none of our business.

What is somewhat relevant are Harry and Meghan since they live here. And like to ramble on about things. But it’s really a celebrity thing. It’s not like they’re seen as important. President Biden won’t be going out of his way to see them.

B.)

President Biden has seen them, or rather Harry, as has his wife Jill whom Biden joked was getting too close to the Prince. The Bidens went to the Invictus Games when they were held in North America. Pres Obama met Harry as well on more than one occasion. .

https://people.com/royals/looking-back-at-jill-bidens-relationship-with-prince-harry/

 

[TLLK]

I enjoyed reading your thoughts about his voice being heard now when before it was all from Meghan. I do think that the voice in the book is a combination of Harry, the ghostwriter, and Meghan - some of it sounds like her to me. But I think your very good point is more about how he is now in the center of the narrative instead of her.

Which brings up this question for me: where is Meghan? Has she been on any interviews with him or done or said anything publicly since the book was published? What are everyone’s thoughts about this?

As far as I know Meghan has not been seen or heard from in any way that is associated with the launch of Spare. I do find this to be departure from her usual behavior of being closely associated in supporting a major project.



As for the weather related issues Montecito faced around January 9th the evacuation order was lifted the following day on the January 10th so that was a relatively short period of time. Residents in the community were allowed to return. Especially short when compared to the past weeks since the first leaks of the book came out days before the official release.

 

[Granada]

Curryong, I wouldn't take the Ipsos poll seriously, it refers to the Princess of Wales as Princess Kate Middleton. Its a joke.
Harry and Meghan are totally dependent on American favor to make money, and enhance The Sussex Brand. That however seems to be sliding precipitously.
The Royal Family isn't in any way, shape or form. Ipsos is an American Poll anyway.

The Sussex's are becoming notorious, which is different from famous. How much longer can they keep up the brutal attacks, threats and allegations against The Family and The Court ? Now we * might* have Spare, "The Sequel" in the works and possibly Meghan AGAIN detailing her grievances about her miniscule time as a Working Royal, in a Book.
Any word if Spotify has green lighted more Meghan Podcasts ?

They are quickly becoming boring, objects of ridicule and irrelevant. Its all unraveling. The Sussex's wanted respect and global reach as humanitarian and philanthropists, with their emphasis seemingly on advocacy for mental health. Thru Archewell Enterprises.

Well Harry blew up that "cause" with his obvious fixation on unresolved "Mother Issues" and constant attacks on his Family, Staff and anyone that he felt like belittling. From mocking and horribly insulting a disabled School Matron's to physically beating up his OWN Personal Bodyguard.

Who would ever turn to him for mental health advice ? He admitted he couldn't even help his own wife when she was *supposedly* suicidal.
He is not a emotionally content man under any definition or parameters that I'm aware of.

Settling scores with People, especially your Family in public is not healthy.......

 

[Curryong]

The Ipsos poll is a perfectly legitimate poll. Certainly more so than magazine polls in the UK and US that declare that the Sussexes popularity is sliding, just to help get clickbait.

I bought and have read Spare, and I’m perfectly capable of making my own mind up about the Sussexes thanks . Let’s just say, I couldn’t disagree with you more.

 

[Erin9]

"Spare" memoir by the Duke of Sussex (2023)

President Biden has seen them, or rather Harry, as has his wife Jill whom Biden joked was getting too close to the Prince. The Bidens went to the Invictus Games when they were held in North America. Pres Obama met Harry as well on more than one occasion. .

https://people.com/royals/looking-back-at-jill-bidens-relationship-with-prince-harry/

I know he’s met Harry. I know Obama met Harry. I didn’t say they’d never met.

Biden did not- and will not- go out of his way to see Harry.