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

[Imanmajed]

A book full of self-destruction presented publicly to the world for money and to gain attention...it seems to be Harry's biggest mistakes to throw very private things out using it against his own family in a badass way. It shows him being used by a third party who guided him to discomfort.

He still defined himself as “spare and prince“ instead to show himself as a man he is being. He didnt left the royal family really as long as he wants to be a part of it. And thats what the book presented to us - a man who still wanted to be a “seen“ member of the royal family by embarrasing its members -his own family- all the time with lack of loyalty, self-esteem, dignity and self reflection. He still destroy every bridge which was made by his family for him and his wife to create a new and better family life bound with each other.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

A book full of self-destruction presented publicly to the world for money and to gain attention...it seems to be Harry's biggest mistakes to throw very private things out using it against his own family in a badass way. It shows him being used by a third party who guided him to discomfort.

I don’t think he’s being used at all. He’s agreed to this. At the end of the day, he has to be responsible for his actions, those third parties aren’t the ones going to get the backlash

 

[Nico]

Harry and his masterpiece are properly PANNED by the French press :

https://www.lepoint.fr/people/harry...tter&Echobox=1673073032#xtor=CS1-32-[Echobox]

Basically , we are seeing the fall from a prince of the blood to a cheap real tv celebrity.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I think if your parent or sibling is monarch is Monarch then you should have a HRH title and you are probably needed to work. Doesn’t mean your spouses needs a title and definitely doesn’t mean your children through.

In essence spouses do not receive a title through marriage. Neither Ms Camilla Shand formerly Parker Bowles nor Ms Catherine Middleton have received any title at all. They are - as is the social custom- addressed by their husband's style and title (in essence the same as "Mrs Michael Tindall").

In 1957 the Duke of Edinburgh was created a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That was the last time a spouse was created a prince (princess) in his (her) own right.

 

[rominet09]

Harry and his masterpiece are properly PANNED by the French press :

https://www.lepoint.fr/people/harry...tter&Echobox=1673073032#xtor=CS1-32-[Echobox]

Basically , we are seeing the fall from a prince of the blood to a cheap real tv celebrity.

Perfect article, I agree fully !

 

[Mbruno]

What did you expect the Taliban to say? "yes Harry, you killed 25 Taliban fighters?". It's a sad world when people are starting to believe the rhetoric of the Taliban - a group of people who have committed and are continuing to committ so many atrocities against the Afghani people. Using the Taliban to discredit Prince Harry is seriously naive and plain stupid.

The point is not whether the Taliban is teliing the truth or not, but rather that Harry gave the Taliban a propaganda talking point to attack the West. There would have been no Talban statement on Al-Jazeera today about this particular event if Harry had not mentioned it in his memoir just to brag about how tough he was as a soldier.

It is even more pathetic because the same Harry who feels empowered behind an Apache helicopter cockpit is also telling us that he ran to the kitchen when his brother raised his voice on him.

I disagree. Clearly whatever remedy they have has failed. Change needs to come from the head of the family, i.e. King Charles III. Although I do not agree with the manner in which QMII conducted herself, she laid down the law with her second son and his children. She also laid down the foundations for CP Frederik for his own family. No HR department could of, or should deal with such family matters. Charles, and William now have the chance to change the way in which "spares" are managed. Almost all of the European Royal households have done it and it's high time the BRF does the same.

!

Other European royal houses also had problems with chidren of the monarch who were not the first in line to the throne, see e.g. Laurent of Belgium, Märtha-Louise of Norway; Joachim of Denmark; Caroline of Monaco; Cristina of Spain, and so on. And, in the UK, there are/were princes/princesses who were not first in line and did very well, including Princess Anne and Prince Edward. In fact, George V and George VI themselves were once spares and, although fate ultimately caused them to become monarchs, I believe they compared favorably to their older brothers even when they were only spares. So I don't think we can generalize that spares are systematically a problem, or that the British record in this area is worse than in other kingdoms.

 

[tommy100]

Just a few observations / thoughts

-Harry and Meghan seem to both do the same often - make rather sensational claims which are technically not true but actually reflect their own personal feelings on things. E.g. "we got married two days earlier" as Meghan once said. No, legally you were married on the day we all saw even if you know feel whatever private service/event you had in your garden as your "wedding". Now we have "I wasn't William's best man" even though he rode to the service with him, walked down the aisle with him, signed the wedding certificate as witness, no the fact William asked two friends to make speeches at the dinner means now Harry feels he wasn't best man. It undermines them, because they are trying to explain personal feelings but using events that are easily proven factually different. It makes them look like liars even though in their mind they are explaining how they feel.

I think Harry scores a few own goals (okay more than a few own goals) that make him look bad when he doesn't realise. For example - William and Harry begging that Charles to never marry Camilla is pretty low IMO, I come from a split family where both my parents divorced and I don't think I'd ever have made that demand of either of them. Likewise Harry saying that he argued with Charles on the phone when he told him the Queen was dying, not good at all IMO.

Charles come across as a better father than I thought from what we have heard so far. To be honest the only reason I'd buy the book is to see Harry's comments on this. But already in the details - often when Harry is actually making bigger points about arguing with William etc we see Charles is more hands on than we thought maybe. For example he talks about one argument in the car on the way to a fishing trip, hardly the 'I wasn't allowed a bike" narrative we once had.

I think it feels very uncomfortable with how clear a lot of the book seems to be aimed at William and Catherine, and in the case of Catherine, without seemingly much good cause.

All in all I feel very sorry for all involved really. Clearly it isn't pleasant for Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine and to be honest I imagine the wider family will take a dim view of Harry talking about the private events around the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's deaths. Certainly I imagine Zara and Peter won't be impressed even if Eugenie and Beatrice are more neutral. I suspect in time Harry will come to regret the book, not only for what it has done to his reputation with even those who did once support him but because it will make a full reconciliation with his father and brother almost an impossibility. Taking that out of the equation a book which gets the military veterans that once were your biggest supporters turning against you and seems to have everyone on social media questioning if you are still on drugs can't be considered a success. The only way I feel sorry for Harry is because it feels very much like this was ill advised and done so with no one purely focussed on what is good for him. After all who benefits - the publishers, ironically the media Harry so hates, even Netflix seems to be enjoying a bump in the documentary based on it going up a place or two in the UK top 10. Does Harry win? Does he look better for all of it? No, apart from his most ardent fans most would say whatever else, you don't talk about your family like this. It also makes him look hypocritical, one of his biggest points in re cent years has been about privacy - remember even their lawyers tried to claim it wasn't about being private but about them “choosing to share their story, on their terms” Well now that is shown as very one sided - they can talk about everyone else but no one can talk about them? People see they are actually not consistent, no wonder the RF couldn't keep them happy.

All in all, amidst the laughter at the "young stallion" and "frost bitten todger", it is really very very sad and there are no winners within the family. I wonder if Harry sees that the only winners are the media, again.

 

[Denville]

Makes you wonder how Harry managed to be a soldier if he was afraid of his brother shoutig at him and could not defend himself.

Just a few observations / thoughts

Does Harry win? Does he look better for all of it? No, apart from his most ardent fans most would say whatever else, you don't talk about your family like this. It also makes him look hypocritical, one of his biggest points in re cent years has been about privacy - remember even their lawyers tried to claim it wasn't about being private but about them “choosing to share their story, on their terms” Well now that is shown as very one sided - they can talk about everyone else but no one can talk about them? People see they are actually not consistent, no wonder the RF couldn't keep them happy.

All in all, amidst the laughter at the "young stallion" and "frost bitten todger", it is really very very sad and there are no winners within the family. I wonder if Harry sees that the only winners are the media, again.

Harry wins too. He is making money, and he's able to take pot shots at his family, in a way he could not had he remained within the family.... and clearly that is something he wants to do and gets satisfaction from

 

[Moran]

I tend to agree that Harry wins here. As bizarre as it sounds, I do believe him that he wants his family back. He conflates his family with his privileges, with the work the RF and their "men in grey" worked to make him likable. I'm sure he'd love to get the RF's tolerance back. The thing is, he lost his poor baby status when the actual babies started coming. William and Catherine produced them and with this, the new era of Harry getting more insignificant started. Still, the Palace did their best to accommodate him and Meghan, only didn't go over backwards to bow to their superior wisdom on how to do it. Honestly, I wouldn't rely on someone who didn't even get the Trooping, who couldn't be relied on to know how to behave properly on lip gloss to lead things.

But now? Who's going to be genuinely willing to accommodate and make excuses for them? No one, methinks. A full reconciliation is impossible. Things and goodwill will never be the same. Harry cannot win on this front but he can at least take the pot shots and the sweet sound of money.

 

[yukari]

Harry was in mid-30 with less than enough accomplishment to fill 400-500 pages when he started this memoir so he needs a lot of "fillers", hence airing his grievances and lot of (unnecessary) very private anecdotal. Drama sells papers, thus when they get a hold of the copy, the prints those controversial details. Hopefully, the rest (significant part) of the book is about Invictus and some other motivational story of how he achieve it, his gratitude/appreciation of his position which make it possible to achieve it.

Because if I were Harry and truly happy and thriving, I'd focus on Invictus, bragging about it in the book and the interviews with be dominated by this topic, not about what I felt about my brother having bigger bedroom. It would show him as a winner, not a bitter loser.

 

[FigTree]

I think all this is desperately sad for Harry. I don’t know why he is doing it but it doesn’t paint him in a good light. More as bitter, lonely, sad, jealous, not very bright and self obsessed.

I read a story about how one of the executives at Penguins child had accidentally walked across a zoom call and a Harry freaked out and insisted they be taken off the project and then he tried to cancel the whole thing after the Jubilee.

It was all about control. But he has controlled it and presumably written what he wants but now he has let it out there and cannot control it. The way this is received will badly affect him.

Has anyone noticed that Harry has started saying, right at the end of sentences. Like Meghan. My Spanish used to be very good and I lived in a Spanish speaking country for a while. When I returned I used to do that in English so Impersu e it is common in California with the Mexican influence but it isn’t common in the UK.

 

[Mbruno]

I think if your parent or sibling is monarch is Monarch then you should have a HRH title and you are probably needed to work. Doesn’t mean your spouses needs a title and definitely doesn’t mean your children through.

In English common law, wives assume the titles of their husbands. If you take the titles of wives of princes, you would have to do it also for wives of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. It would be a mess.

 

[Denville]

I tend to agree that Harry wins here. As bizarre as it sounds, I do believe him that he wants his family back. H

But now? Who's going to be genuinely willing to accommodate and make excuses for them? No one, methinks. A full reconciliation is impossible. Things and goodwill will never be the same. Harry cannot win on this front but he can at least take the pot shots and the sweet sound of money.

I think thats what he wants He wants money and being able to make a spiteful attack on Charles and Wil.. and also it seems on Kate. I dont think he cares about getting back with the family in a personal sense. He may want to keep up some contact so he can garner material for more books or podcasts, but I think its obvious he has a really bitter anger against his fahter and brother and wants to hurt them.

 

[kimebear]

I think thats what he wants. I dont think he cares about getting back with the family in a personal sense. He may want to keep up some contact so he can garner material for more books or podcasts, but I think its obvious he has a really bitter anger against his fahter and brother and wants to hurt them.

Harry also knows that he'll never be penniless, even if his life in California doesn't turn out the way he hopes. He won't even need to reconcile with his family to do it.

As the son of a King, brother of a future King and uncle of a future King of England, when the book and series money is gone, he will be given an allowance to keep him comfortable in order to maintain the dignity of the Crown, just like the Duke of Windsor and Prince Andrew.

 

[FigTree]

In English common law, wives assume the titles of their husbands. If you take the titles of wives of princes, you would have to do it also for wives of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. It would be a mess.

Most of them get a Dukedom when married. They could have that without the HRH. Of course it gets complicated with spouse of top job. They definitely don’t need to work for the family though. They can keep their own lives.

 

[Lilyflo]

In English common law, wives assume the titles of their husbands. If you take the titles of wives of princes, you would have to do it also for wives of dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons. It would be a mess.

Letters patent could be issued re: HRH spouses. It was done for Wallis Simpson, preventing her from being an HRH despite her husband being one.

 

[Marengo]

Out of curiosity: is it normal to give laughing gas to women in labor in the UK? In the book he describes how -in addition to chicken from a place called 'Nando's'- he had been taking laughing gas while Meghan was delivering the first child. And after that there was supposedly nothing left for his wife, though the nurse quickly changed the tank.

 

[FigTree]

Out of curiosity: is it normal to give laughing gas to women in labor in the UK? In the book he describes how he has been taking laughing gas while Meghan was delivering the first child. And after that there was supposedly nothing left for his wife, though the nurse quickly changed the tank.

Mixed with oxygen yes. If you don’t have an epi etc it is most common help with pain.

If I was Meghan and he was doing that that I would kill him.

Nando’s is a restaurant chain.

 

[Denville]

Letters patent could be issued re: HRH spouses. It was done for Wallis Simpson, preventing her from being an HRH despite her husband being one.

why do it? the wife of a peer is Lady, the wife of a Prince is Princess. What is the point of fiddling with it?

 

[Mbruno]

I wrote before that, by going public with his personal experiences with marijuana, cocaine and psychodelic mushrooms, Prince Harry would inevitably invite press scrutiny on whether he was drugging while on active service in the Army and, if so, how he evaded the Army's zero tolerance policy on illegal drugs and random drug testing.

Well, as I expected, it didn't take long for the tabloids to start making insinuations. That can be potentually embarassing for the Palace and the military.

 

[Royalist.in.NC]

Perfect article, I agree fully !

Has this been translated into English? It’s too long for Google translate - thanks!

 

[SirGyamfi1]

Harry also knows that he'll never be penniless, even if his life in California doesn't turn out the way he hopes. He won't even need to reconcile with his family to do it.

As the son of a King, brother of a future King and uncle of a future King of England, when the book and series money is gone, he will be given an allowance to keep him comfortable in order to maintain the dignity of the Crown, just like the Duke of Windsor and Prince Andrew.

I don’t think Harry will be given any Crown money. For one thing, those days of giving free money to royals like times past are long gone. If Harry stopped receiving money from Charles, then how will he get money from the Crown? The Duke of Windsor only got money because he took money secretly before leaving and forced his brother to basically give him money in exchange for Sandringham and Balmoral. Plus he will most certainly not get money from William either

 

[Granada]

I was reading another excerpt that is again baffling to me. Harry states "that Charles did NOT support the then Cambridge or Sussex's families financially, with the exception of gifts, in recognition of carrying out Royal engagements".
Well, that is a direct contradiction of what he said in Oprah Interview, that his " father had cut him off financially ", when they left for North America and quit.

Poor Harry, gifts ARE financial support. And all we have to do is look at Meghan's lavish wardrobe that she acquired while a "working royal".

Another little gem that I nearly burst out laughing at is how Harry says that Meghan, "a novel and RESPLENDENT Royal " was feared by Charles that She would overshadow him and Camilla, and steal their limelight .

Resplendent ? Poor Harry, keep drinking that koolaid.

The inconsistencies in different Interviews, docu-series and now books is glaring.

Oh, and in my opinion "Magical" Meghan, as H sees her, should get credit as a ghost writer on this Book. I see much of her words and phraseology abounding in this.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I wrote before that, by going public with his personal experiences with marijuana, cocaine and psychodelic mushrooms, Prince Harry would inevitably invite press scrutiny on whether he was drugging while on active service in the Army and, if so, how he evaded the Army's zero tolerance policy on illegal drugs and random drug testing.

Well, as I expected, it didn't take long for the tabloids to start making insinuations. That can be potentually embarassing for the Palace and the military.

It will be embarrassing for just Harry himself, he’s no longer the concern of the BRF. The floodgates have opened

 

[Spheno]

i have same thoughts

 

[Lilyflo]

why do it? the wife of a peer is Lady, the wife of a Prince is Princess. What is the point of fiddling with it?

I'm not referring to Princess or Lady, just HRH and I'm not advocating it should be done, just clarifying that it can be done and has been denied to a previous spouse of an HRH.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

I was reading another excerpt that is again baffling to me. Harry states "that Charles did NOT support the then Cambridge or Sussex's families financially, with the exception of gifts, in recognition of carrying out Royal engagements".
Well, that is a direct contradiction of what he said in Oprah Interview, that his " father had cut him off financially ", when they left for North America and quit.

Poor Harry, gifts ARE financial support. And all we have to do is look at Meghan's lavish wardrobe that she acquired while a "working royal".

Another little gem that I nearly burst out laughing at is how Harry says that Meghan, "a novel and RESPLENDENT Royal " was feared by Charles that She would overshadow him and Camilla, and steal their limelight .

Resplendent ? Poor Harry, keep drinking that koolaid.

The inconsistencies in different Interviews, docu-series and now books is glaring.

Oh, and in my opinion "Magical" Meghan, as H sees her should get credit as a ghost writer on this Book. I see much of her words and phraseology abounding in this.

Maybe it’s the mushrooms and other things he’s been taking, maybe that’s why those details are coming out this way. He’s the one who just said he took drugs to see the truth.

 

[tommy100]

It will be embarrassing just Harry himself, he’s no longer the concern of the BRF. The floodgates have opened

TBF it may look bad for the Palace in the sense they lied to protect him but it also shows exactly that - that they protected him.

 

[Lilyflo]

I wrote before that, by going public with his personal experiences with marijuana, cocaine and psychodelic mushrooms, Prince Harry would inevitably invite press scrutiny on whether he was drugging while on active service in the Army and, if so, how he evaded the Army's zero tolerance policy on illegal drugs and random drug testing.

Well, as I expected, it didn't take long for the tabloids to start making insinuations. That can be potentually embarassing for the Palace and the military.

Good grief! There's no palace business so urgent that he wouldn't have time to provide a urine sample before leaving his base. The press will keep digging on this one I think.

 

[Hallo girl]

He seems perfectly sane to me it's others in his family whom I worry for. If his father, for example, broke the news of his mother's death and couldn't even embrace him then that is disturbing in the extreme but I can well believe that did happen.

Shock does strange things to people, not everybody behaves in a textbook fashion.