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

[Magnolia471]

If anything after the release of this book, I have some pity on Meghan. She ended up with a husband with a history of substance abuse, anger issues, resentful jealousy toward his brother and a morbid obsession with his dead mother.
I doubt: the british press is the only problem in their marriage! Meghan was not aware of many aspects of his life, she probably underestimated Harry's inner demons as well. He might relapse in his bad habits, who knows?
It's not easy being around people like Harry, he's even more unstable than I thought *no shame admitting to raised his voice on Meghan just to blame it on his family*. I'm not particularly fond of Meghan but I can recognize her merits. Honestly such a beautiful, intelligent and ambitious woman deserves better.

 

[Muhler]

Thank you for your review. I haven't read the book yet and won't have time to do it this month probably.

By your account, the section on Afghanistan is much worse than the newspaper headlines. I can't believe Harry made the Christian vs. Muslim reference, which is probably what the political leaders in the West have been trying to distance themselves the most from in the past 20 years whenever the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are discussed. Second, why did he have to talk about "our forces having to pick pieces of Taliban guys out of trees after a direct hit from flechette" and compare it to "throwing darts"? Combine those 2 statements with the other one on "chess pieces", and you are basically giving great propaganda talking points to the Taliban, besides putting a target possibly on Harry's own family, or other people in the West (military and civilian alike). It is extremely reckless, and what for? So that we can see how tough Harry is (or was)?

Flechettes is an anti-personel weapon consisting of up to hundreds of flechettes that resemble darts. They imoact a person with enormous kinetic energy, causing massive damage to tissue as well as deep penetration. A person hit by several flechettes can literally be ripped apart by the energy.

 

[Blog Real]

After all those publications, comments and discussions, which are never ending, the question for me still remains:

WHY WHY did he do all this? To relieve himself? Did a therapist advise him? Did Meghan advise him? Or is it just revenge? Or did he do it for money? So many questions I have.

He should have known that this book would be discussed worldwide on the media (something he always hated..) and should have been aware of all the really , what I call "trash TV" details being discussed and critizied.
Maybe he is just not intelligent or sensible or educted or clever enough...

I think he wants to destroy the British monarchy and all of what it is standing for. The traditions, for example the Colbert show, where they were mocking him and he was surely told about this before, the scene where Meghan exaggerated the bowing to the Queen.

He can do all this but not expecting that the royal family will discuss it with him and change. He is delusional about that.

I think Harry does all this for the money. He needs to maintain the lifestyle he and his wife are used to. Harry doesn't mind hurting the monarchy or his family. And then he has a wife who supports him through all of this.
I think more and more that Harry will never reconcile with his family. But Harry doesn't seem to think about the consequences of his actions.

 

[Moran]

It’s there but it’s not a mean thing. It was Harry joking with Charles while doing military training at Sandringham. They chose the location so no one would know what he was training to do.

It's good to know he remembers a time they were still joking - amidst his martyrdom. Given his appearances from the last 3 years, I could doubt that anything that wasn't torturing him ever happened in this family.

 

[Mbruno]

Flechettes is an anti-personel weapon consisting of up to hundreds of flechettes that resemble darts. They imoact a person with enormous kinetic energy, causing massive damage to tissue as well as deep penetration. A person hit by several flechettes can literally be ripped apart by the energy.

I am aware of what flechettes are. My point was that I don't see why Harry had to mention that at all, apparently according to HRHHermione's summary, just because he is proud of his skill to handle the weapon. And the "throwing darts" comparison, however accurate it may be, follows the same pattern of dehumanizing the enemy as in his reference to taking out pieces on a chess board with his attack helicopter.

 

[tihkon2]

I'm not particularly fond of Meghan but I can recognize her merits. Honestly such a beautiful, intelligent and ambitious woman deserves better.

Eh....she's participated and even lead the airing of the Royal family's private moments to the world in the Oprah interview and Finding Freedom. She also seems to be just as loose with facts as her husband and she treats the royal family the same way Thomas Markle treated her. So I'd add hypocritical to her as well. In my opinion, she's married a really good match for herself. If anything this book has shown me that Harry wasn't an innocent victim of a scheming wife, but the willing co-conductor of this crazy train.

 

[HRHHermione]

I have to say, I also did walk away feeling like Meghan set her eyes on the prize and reeled him in.

She’s repeatedly told the world that she is a very smart, successful, educated woman. However, with Harry, there was a lot of wide-eyed “I know nothing about your family and have really never heard anything about them at all” as well as a lot of “you big strong man, you’ll keep me safe, won’t you?”

Harry clearly believes it’s all genuine, but that’s not how I read it.

 

[HRHHermione]

I think Harry does all this for the money. He needs to maintain the lifestyle he and his wife are used to. Harry doesn't mind hurting the monarchy or his family. And then he has a wife who supports him through all of this.

I think more and more that Harry will never reconcile with his family. But Harry doesn't seem to think about the consequences of his actions.

He does mention twice that their security costs are 6 million a year. That plus private travel and the upkeep on their home means that I can’t see their lifestyle as sustainable unless something changes.

 

[Curryong]

Meghan never said that she knew nothing about the British royal family. Beginning with her engagement interview she said that (as an American) she hadn’t grown up knowing about them as a British person would.

And as for ‘Big strong man….Keeping me safe, won’t you?’ I doubt that has ever been stated or thought by Meghan. Certainly after the British press mauling she got she knew he couldn’t.

 

[GraceOMalleysGhost]

Oh, here we go, "look at what poor Meghan has to put up with". Just no. She has fueled this dumpster fire from the beginning. If she was such an intelligent woman she would have seen Harry's weakness from the get go. I think she did. I think this is going to play very well into her hands in the long run and I feel sorry for Harry, not Meghan as far as their marriage goes. She'll eventually go "Angelina Jolie" on him.

He was desperate to find someone to give meaning to his life so he glommed on to the first woman in a long time who'd acted interested in him. She was far from the naive ingenue when she met Harry, she knew what she was getting into and the price she had to pay was worth it to her at the time. If it ended up costing her more than she'd planned, good.

The violence and anger Harry shows deeply ingrained in his psyche IS troubling, though. It's disgusting the way he talks about killing people and his White Savior complex is horrible. He's just as Colonial as the ancestors he rails against. He went into the military for all the wrong reasons, learned nothing from the experience, and is showing the military in a very poor light by his comments and his lack of self-discipline. He should be ashamed.

Thank you so much HRHHermione for all your time and your thoughtful review. You are very much appreciated!

 

[HRHHermione]

Meghan never said that she knew nothing about the British royal family. Beginning with her engagement interview she said that (as an American) she hadn’t grown up knowing about them as a British person would.



And as for ‘Big strong man….Keeping me safe, won’t you?’ I doubt that has ever been stated or thought by Meghan. Certainly after the British press mauling she got she knew he couldn’t.

It’s literally in the book. Meghan’s lack of knowledge about the royal family is presented at least three times as a positive attribute and proof she is with Harry for himself, not because he is a prince. Examples given are her not recognizing Prince Andrew or understanding why Harry couldn’t have their first date in a public place.

The line about her relying on him to keep her safe is stated first in Botswana and then as the press coverage begins.

I didn’t pull that from nowhere.

 

[FigTree]

Thank you for reading the book. I seem to have no interest to do so even though I read Bowers…which was interesting and the Tina brown one…which a I loved. I even listened to Finding Freedom. No interest in this one and so have had enough of his truth. The Finding Freedom one was sickening in places. And to be honest I really don’t care anymore.

But whoever said about the money is right. If those security costs are accurate he will have pretty much burnt through the capital his mother left him. It isnt sustainable their lifestyle…long term.

I recently saw the clips of the family at the commendation of Charles investiture as Prince of a Wales. It was obviously meant to be just the Queen, Charles, William and wives who looked at the artefacts but Harry and Meghan door-stopped them trying to get…obviously asked to wait with rest of the family. They ended up being escorted out. It was so embarrassing but told me everything I need to know. Did he mention this in the book? No one will ever convince me that Harry doesn’t want to control the media and that he is deluded and also that he wanted to do what he wanted when he wanted and wanted to be the star.

 

[Curryong]

It’s literally in the book. Meghan’s lack of knowledge about the royal family is presented at least three times as a positive attribute and proof she is with Harry for himself, not because he is a prince. Examples given are her not recognizing Prince Andrew or understanding why Harry couldn’t have their first date in a public place.

The line about her relying on him to keep her safe is stated first in Botswana and then as the press coverage begins.

I didn’t pull that from nowhere.

I doubt that Andrew would be recognised by one American in 100,000 even after the Epstein scandal.

And I took her question about the elephant and roaring lions outside their tent as a bit of a joke.

As for the Press, I doubt any foreigner knows exactly what the British tabloid Press is capable of, especially one marrying in to the BRF. Not everyone takes that sort of mauling with a philosophical sigh, nor should they, in my view. And yes she did expect the Palace to protect her as Harry’s wife. Naively.

 

[Curryong]

Oh, here we go, "look at what poor Meghan has to put up with". Just no. She has fueled this dumpster fire from the beginning. If she was such an intelligent woman she would have seen Harry's weakness from the get go. I think she did. I think this is going to play very well into her hands in the long run and I feel sorry for Harry, not Meghan as far as their marriage goes. She'll eventually go "Angelina Jolie" on him.

He was desperate to find someone to give meaning to his life so he glommed on to the first woman in a long time who'd acted interested in him. She was far from the naive ingenue when she met Harry, she knew what she was getting into and the price she had to pay was worth it to her at the time. If it ended up costing her more than she'd planned, good.

The violence and anger Harry shows deeply ingrained in his psyche IS troubling, though. It's disgusting the way he talks about killing people and his White Savior complex is horrible. He's just as Colonial as the ancestors he rails against. He went into the military for all the wrong reasons, learned nothing from the experience, and is showing the military in a very poor light by his comments and his lack of self-discipline. He should be ashamed.

Thank you so much HRHHermione for all your time and your thoughtful review. You are very much appreciated!

The Sussexes are extremely happily married and nobody in the media, even the British tabloids, has suggested otherwise. Meghan gave birth her first baby before the couple had been married a year, then suffered a miscarriage, then had Lili in under four years of marriage. They both wanted a family. Women who calculatedly marry for reasons other than love do not do that.

And Harry had plenty of girlfriends who were more than willing to go out with him before Meghan. He was hardly scratching around for romance and in fact stated in his book that he realised that he and Cressida Bonas, whom he went out with for around two years, interspaced with his service in Afghanistan, were not a match.
So the book infers that it was his decision to split, something that was acknowledged in the British Press at the time. Hardly screams desperation to me!

 

[Lilyflo]

I try not to form opinions based on feelings but I also didn't believe for a minute that Meghan hadn't googled Harry. She was a woman who spent a lot of time creating her own social media profile and building a network of useful contacts so she'd have been an idiot not to find out as much as she could about this prince, this son of Diana, and we know she's not an idiot.

The fact that she didn't recognise Prince Andrew (or pretended not to) is taken as proof by Harry that "she hadn't googled us" but he was desperate to believe that she was only interested in him as a man. Maybe neither of them could entertain the alternative possibility of a fame-hungry actress, trying to climb the social ladder, being dazzled by a multi-millionaire, world famous prince, grandson of HM Queen Elizabeth and son of the next king with all the connections and global reach attached to that position.

 

[Erin9]

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

Eh....she's participated and even lead the airing of the Royal family's private moments to the world in the Oprah interview and Finding Freedom. She also seems to be just as loose with facts as her husband and she treats the royal family the same way Thomas Markle treated her. So I'd add hypocritical to her as well. In my opinion, she's married a really good match for herself. If anything this book has shown me that Harry wasn't an innocent victim of a scheming wife, but the willing co-conductor of this crazy train.

Agreed. I don’t feel sorry for Meghan either in terms of marrying Harry.

She does seem to have found a good match for herself: they both- tell lies, change their stories, are self centered, are quite hypocritical- they can violate other people’s privacy- but condemn others for supposedly doing the same, like to play the victim, can’t take responsibility for things, are obsessed with the media, like being in control, come off as entitled…..I could go on. They probably feed off each other too. It’s not hard to see how everything spiraled down so fast given their personalities.

Meghan also gained nicely with Harry. She IS ambitious. She wanted to be rich and famous as a kid and get to tell her story. Now she is. She wouldn’t be living the extravagant life style she is nor would she have the platform they have on her own. They’re squandering said platform imo (and both are responsible for that imo), but they have it. And it isn’t because Meghan is that talented. It’s because she married into the most famous family in the world.

 

[HRHHermione]

I doubt that Andrew would be recognised by one American in 100,000 even after the Epstein scandal.

And I took her question about the elephant and roaring lions outside their tent as a bit of a joke.

As for the Press, I doubt any foreigner knows exactly what the British tabloid Press is capable of, especially one marrying in to the BRF. Not everyone takes that sort of mauling with a philosophical sigh, nor should they, in my view. And yes she did expect the Palace to protect her as Harry’s wife. Naively.

Obviously opinions will vary, but I took Harry's assertions about Meghan's reliance on his protection and her lack of knowledge about the British Royal Family as exactly the way he sees her and their story. I think he found what he perceived as her trust in him and reliance on him intoxicating and was flattered that she wanted him as a man rather than a prince. I don't necessarily think it was that straightforward from her side. Rather than debate it, I'll place the relevant passages here.

On lack of knowledge about the royal family:



Context: Meghan arrives back in London. It is the anniversary of Diana's death.
"On the big day, just after her arrival, she phoned as she was walking into her room at Soho House. I’m here. Come see me! I can’t, I’m in the car… Doing what? Something for my mum. Your mum? Where? Althorp. What’s Althorp? Where my uncle Charles lives. I told her I’d explain later. We still hadn’t talked about…all that. I felt pretty sure she hadn’t googled me, because she was always asking questions. She seemed to know almost nothing—so refreshing. It showed that she wasn’t impressed by royalty, which I thought the first step to surviving it. More, since she hadn’t done a deep dive into the On the big day, just after her arrival, she phoned as she was walking into her room at Soho House. I’m here. Come see me! I can’t, I’m in the car… Doing what? Something for my mum. Your mum? Where? Althorp. What’s Althorp? Where my uncle Charles lives. I told her I’d explain later. We still hadn’t talked about…all that. I felt pretty sure she hadn’t googled me, because she was always asking questions. She seemed to know almost nothing—so refreshing. It showed that she wasn’t impressed by royalty, which I thought the first step to surviving it. More, since she hadn’t done a deep dive into the literature, the public record, her head wasn’t filled with disinformation." (p.285)



On not recognizing Prince Andrew (even though this occurred at his home, Royal Lodge) :


"After a moment Meg asked me something about the Queen’s assistant. I asked who she was talking about. That man holding the purse. That man who walked her to the door. That wasn’t her assistant. After a moment Meg asked me something about the Queen’s assistant. I asked who she was talking about. That man holding the purse. That man who walked her to the door. That wasn’t her assistant. Who was it? That was her second son. Andrew. She definitely hadn’t googled us."

On not understanding Harry couldn't meet her in public:

"I asked if I could see her before she left. I watched the phone, waiting for the answer, staring at the endlessly fluttering ellipsis. … Then: Sure! Great. Now: Where to meet? I suggested my place. Your place? On a first date! I don’t think so. No, I didn’t mean it like that. She didn’t realize that being royal meant being radioactive, that I was unable to just meet at a coffee shop or pub. Reluctant to give her a full explanation, I tried to explain obliquely about the risk of being seen. I didn’t do a good job."


And on needing Harry's protection:

Then, a loud munching sound. Meg bolted upright. What’s that? Elephant, I said. Just one, from what I could tell. Just outside. Eating peacefully from the shrubs around us. She won’t hurt us. She won’t? Soon after, the tent shook from a loud roar. Lions. Are we going to be OK? Yes. Don’t worry. She lay down, put her head on my chest. Trust me, I told her. I’ll keep you safe.



When their relationship went public:

"Meg, you ready for what’s headed our way? Kinda. Are you? Yes. We were sitting on her sofa, moments before I left for the airport. Are you scared? Yes. No. Maybe. We’re going to be hunted. No two ways about it.I’ll just treat it as if we’re in the bush. She reminded me of what I’d said in Botswana, when the lions were roaring. Trust me. I’ll keep you safe. She’d believed me then, she said. She believed me now."


And how this made him feel later:



I felt wild with rage. And guilt. I’d infected Meg, and her mother, with my contagion, otherwise known as my life. I’d promised her that I’d keep her safe, and I’d already dropped her into the middle of this danger.

It also repeats again with regard to Meghan's mental health and the protection of their children. Indeed, protecting Meghan is one of the driving themes of the last third of the book.

 

[GraceOMalleysGhost]

Thank you for reading the book. I seem to have no interest to do so even though I read Bowers…which was interesting and the Tina brown one…which a I loved. I even listened to Finding Freedom. No interest in this one and so have had enough of his truth. The Finding Freedom one was sickening in places. And to be honest I really don’t care anymore.

But whoever said about the money is right. If those security costs are accurate he will have pretty much burnt through the capital his mother left him. It isnt sustainable their lifestyle…long term.

I recently saw the clips of the family at the commendation of Charles investiture as Prince of a Wales. It was obviously meant to be just the Queen, Charles, William and wives who looked at the artefacts but Harry and Meghan door-stopped them trying to get…obviously asked to wait with rest of the family. They ended up being escorted out. It was so embarrassing but told me everything I need to know. Did he mention this in the book? No one will ever convince me that Harry wants to control the media but that he is deluded and also that he wanted to do what he wanted when he wanted and wanted to be the star.

I've gone back and watched the video of the family at the PoW Investiture anniversary a few times just out of spite, it was the first time I saw the two of them firmly put in their place by the palace. It must have been the icing on the cake that they tried such antics. There's also the garden party where Charles' people told them it was time to leave. Trying to deal with them must have been like herding cats, what a relief to everyone when they pulled up stakes and ran.

 

[Erin9]

It’s literally in the book. Meghan’s lack of knowledge about the royal family is presented at least three times as a positive attribute and proof she is with Harry for himself, not because he is a prince. Examples given are her not recognizing Prince Andrew or understanding why Harry couldn’t have their first date in a public place.

The line about her relying on him to keep her safe is stated first in Botswana and then as the press coverage begins.

I didn’t pull that from nowhere.

Didn’t Megan know Eugenie before meeting Harry? I could swear she said that. How could she possibly be so clueless about Andrew?

I think Meghan knew more than she acted like she knew. I’m sure she was surprised about some things about royal life- like the restrictions on what you can and can’t do. But I think she was well aware of how public a family they are. She couldn’t have missed it between Diana’s death and Catherine/William’s wedding- which iirc she talked about prior to meeting Harry.

 

[GraceOMalleysGhost]

The Sussexes are extremely happily married and nobody in the media, even the British tabloids, has suggested otherwise. Meghan gave birth her first baby before the couple had been married a year, then suffered a miscarriage, then had Lili in under four years of marriage. They both wanted a family. Women who calculatedly marry for reasons other than love do not do that.

And Harry had plenty of girlfriends who were more than willing to go out with him before Meghan. He was hardly scratching around for romance and in fact stated in his book that he realised that he and Cressida Bonas, whom he went out with for around two years, interspaced with his service in Afghanistan, were not a match.
So the book infers that it was his decision to split, something that was acknowledged in the British Press at the time. Hardly screams desperation to me!

He was desperate for meaning in his life at the point when he met Meghan, I believe that 100%. Desperate to hold on to her once he'd found her, especially, he's admitted it himself.

If Meghan wanted a family why didn't she have one with Trevor? I don't believe it was a priority in her life before she met Harry.

 

[wonderland31]

HRHHermione, thank you so much for reading the book and summarizing key takeaways. You've done a great job of reporting. And thanks to others who've shared their perspectives on the various interviews and book passages.

 

[Sunnystar]

Didn’t Megan know Eugenie before meeting Harry? I could swear she said that. How could she possibly be so clueless about Andrew?

I think Meghan knew more than she acted like she knew. I’m sure she was surprised about some things about royal life- like the restrictions on what you can and can’t do. But I think she was well aware of how public a family they are. She couldn’t have missed it between Diana’s death and Catherine/William’s wedding- which iirc she talked about prior to meeting Harry.

Safe to say, it sounds like the early courtship period with Harry was Meghan's biggest, most important and best acting gig to that date in her life.

 

[Lilyflo]

Didn’t Megan know Eugenie before meeting Harry? I could swear she said that. How could she possibly be so clueless about Andrew?

Yes I think she did know her before but even if she hadn't, Harry & Meghan had dinner with Eugenie & Jack a couple of weeks before the meeting with HMQ at Royal Lodge. Given Meghan's record of networking, she'd have surely googled Princess Eugenie and discovered that her father was Prince Andrew, son of The Queen.

 

[duchessrachel]

I've gone back and watched the video of the family at the PoW Investiture anniversary a few times just out of spite, it was the first time I saw the two of them firmly put in their place by the palace. It must have been the icing on the cake that they tried such antics. There's also the garden party where Charles' people told them it was time to leave. Trying to deal with them must have been like herding cats, what a relief to everyone when they pulled up stakes and ran.

Would you give a link to that? I have tried to find it and can't.

 

[Curryong]

Well, the proof of the pudding as to whether Meghan truly loved Harry when she married him or whether she acted the part for wealth, position, fame or whatever will be whether the marriage lasts, won’t it?

And as of now mid Jan the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary is in May. Two children later, living together in California and still going strong together. No reports of arguments or breakups.

 

[yukari]

What kind of mind-blubber is that?!?

He is basically admitting that everything he says is not only potentially wrong, but that a considerable part of it probably is wrong, because his memory is pretty cloudy as well! But it's okay because his, no doubt vividly colored, memories are just as valid as any hard facts...

What kind of silly-weed has he been smoking?!?
This book is no longer non-fiction. It's fiction by own admission.

I'm right now sitting 538 km from London (I just checked) and I can actually hear the BRF layers laugh!

I actually only managed to pass the first half of the book by telling myself that this is a fiction but eventually threw in the towel few chapters into the third part and just skimmed/skipped the rest of it, because even in fiction my most pet peeves is inconsistency and what I see as plot holes. It some places it really does feel like I'm reading fanfiction. My thought by that point is the Sussexes and ML-Verret could joint-founding a club where the could exchange poetry and sonnets on the perfection of their loves and things like that. I feel so bad that I can't understand how perfect Meghan is. Sorry Harry, you try your best, the fault is mine.

So I bow down to all posters who manage to read this book till the very end. You're stronger than me. Bravo!!!

Thank you for your review. I haven't read the book yet and won't have time to do it this month probably.

By your account, the section on Afghanistan is much worse than the newspaper headlines. I can't believe Harry made the Christian vs. Muslim reference, which is probably what the political leaders in the West have been trying to distance themselves the most from in the past 20 years whenever the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are discussed. Second, why did he have to talk about "our forces having to pick pieces of Taliban guys out of trees after a direct hit from flechette" and compare it to "throwing darts"? Combine those 2 statements with the other one on "chess pieces", and you are basically giving great propaganda talking points to the Taliban, besides putting a target possibly on Harry's own family, or other people in the West (military and civilian alike). It is extremely reckless, and what for? So that we can see how tough Harry is (or was)?

The Sussexes' defender would argue to see the context that this is him try to show his internal conflict (or in Harry's word on the last interview: to help reducing suicide amongst the veterans). And TBF, I've never read any other war veteran's memoir so I can't say whether telling something like this is Harry or common in veteran's memoir (as many Sussexes defenders argue in social media). And if there's anyone who look worse than Harry in this section of story, it's British Army or even NATO/western arm forces.

 

[Erin9]

Yes I think she did know her before but even if she hadn't, Harry & Meghan had dinner with Eugenie & Jack a couple of weeks before the meeting with HMQ at Royal Lodge. Given Meghan's record of networking, she'd have surely googled Princess Eugenie and discovered that her father was Prince Andrew, son of The Queen.

Thank you.

So- either Meghan lied or that’s one of those pesky details that Harry doesn’t remember-but it also doesn’t matter if he remembers anything properly or not. According to him.

Good point. No doubt Meghan would have done research after meeting Eugenie. She is good at networking- I’ll give her that.

 

[ruaudladoube]

I have to wonder whether Meghan read this book before it was released.
I'm not sure, based on the excerpts I've seen and the comments here, how she could have thought it was a good idea. Harry I get. He's not too bright and utterly incapable of self-analysis. Meghan, however, should have been able to tell what he was doing to his reputation by saying what he has said.

It's possible that she did and he threw a fit, insisting he was going to do what he wanted.
Or, maybe letting him release the book is an insurance policy of sorts. If the marriage fails, she can just point to the book as evidence as to why.

Just speculation, but it does make me curious.

 

[Curbside]

Meghan never said that she knew nothing about the British royal family. Beginning with her engagement interview she said that (as an American) she hadn’t grown up knowing about them as a British person would.

And as for ‘Big strong man….Keeping me safe, won’t you?’ I doubt that has ever been stated or thought by Meghan. Certainly after the British press mauling she got she knew he couldn’t.

He protected her by leaving the UK. The mauling hasn’t ended (he doesn’t think it ever will), but at least he now has created some breathing room for his family.

 

[Curbside]

I have to wonder whether Meghan read this book before it was released.
I'm not sure, based on the excerpts I've seen and the comments here, how she could have thought it was a good idea. Harry I get. He's not too bright and utterly incapable of self-analysis. Meghan, however, should have been able to tell what he was doing to his reputation by saying what he has said.

It's possible that she did and he threw a fit, insisting he was going to do what he wanted.
Or, maybe letting him release the book is an insurance policy of sorts. If the marriage fails, she can just point to the book as evidence as to why.

Just speculation, but it does make me curious.

For many years, Harry’s press persona has been as the not-as-smart younger brother. I honestly think he may have ADHD, because he mentions zoning out during school lectures, but being engaged with learning history when it’s placed into context. I don’t think he’s stupid at all.