Spare

I remember when I first became aware of the royal family. I was in middle school and the world was in a tizzy about the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Di. Like so many, I fell for the lie about the fairy tale of being royalty. But as time passed and their marriage disintegrated, I started to lose respect for Prince Charles, for sure, for the shabby way he treated Diana. By the time they divorced (and Sarah and Andrew right before them), it was clear that being a member of this family was no fairy tale, it was more likely a curse.

I don't know how anyone can doubt anything in this book. The descriptions of the despicable ways in which the royal family eats its own in order to maintain its power and privilege echoes everything that was show more said by Princess Diana through Andrew Morton in Her True Story and by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in her 1996 memoir, My Story. Many criticize Harry for airing the family's dirty laundry, but the rot at the core of this family needs to be exposed. All the palaces, jewels, fancy clothes and ribbon cuttings in the world cannot mask their greed, selfishness and pettiness. They are not to be admired; they are the epitome of dysfunction and I'm glad my tax dollars don't pay for them.

The horrific and overtly racist treatment he and Meghan endured at the hands of the press is bad enough. The complete lack of support and outright sabotage by his family magnifies that times one hundred. No one should have to live that way, I applaud Harry for speaking his truth and truly believe that he is better off on his own and that he made the escape that Diana wished for but was never able to accomplish. Living large in America, on his own terms, is his best revenge. Good on ya, Harry. You're the only one of them worth a damn. show less

A brave, cathartic, eye opening journey.
Harry pulls no punches in the telling of a young 12 year old Royal NOT dealing with his Mother's death. Not able to cry for many years to come. Suffering from PTSD and a lack of confidence. He should have been in therapy, but the family looked
The other way.
"Don't complain, don't explain" the Royal motto.
Always feeling he wasn't important, just the "Spare" in comparison to William, the Heir.
William is painted as a bully from a young age and always competitive when it came to Harry, dominating him even when they grew as men.
William it seems always had something to prove, that Harry should always
Bend the knee to the heir apparent.
The book gives you a true understanding of the horrors his wife Meg show more dealt with at the hands of the tabloids. At times sanctioned by the Palace, but always complicit
In the hate and racist mongering.
Amid threats on their life, and no assistance from the family, they had no other choice but to flee Britain.
There is so much pain on these pages, that at times my eyes were wet.
I feel Diana would be proud of Harry living the life she may have chosen for herself.
He has found his happiness.
But what would truly make his happiness complete is the reconciliation between
Brothers and Father.
That remains to be seen.
After reading this, I am definitely on team Harry.
May they all find peace. show less

(2) I enjoyed this memoir by Prince Harry having just finished watching 'The Crown.' Not surprising already over 1000 readers on LT despite being a new hard cover. I thought this was fairly well-written and vulnerable and interesting. It really humanized him and the reader could not help but have empathy for him and his wife. Really - what is wrong with journalists and photographers who do that kind of work? It is gross. I'll admit to having an interest in the English monarchy - more historical than current, but for the love of God, leave these people alone. They are real humans. I hope this couple finds peace and that Harry finds purpose and independence.

I was most interested in his interactions with the Queen and his later show more adolescence after his mother died. How he was convinced she had gone into hiding and would eventually resurface. Referring to his mother's disappearance rather than her death. That was quite an effective way for underlining his swallowed grief. Also so strange to have to make appointments with family members through their secretaries. And thinking of being a royal as 'a job' with a staff and engagements. Fascinating.

Harry is quite open about drug use and partying, etc. Quite open about being a soldier and enjoying blowing things up. He is not at all restrained which is refreshing. I do think he pulled some punches with regards to his father and brother. It was hard to truly figure out why there was a rift there without more contextual detail but I suspect he didn't want to burn bridges. An engaging read from a man on a mission to set the record straight - but ultimately, without much gravitas. show less

I truly couldn't stop listening to this. The chapters are extremely short, which makes it bingeable, and Prince Harry has a very soothing voice, even when he's talking about the bonkers behavior of his family. Definitely worth a read (listen). Do I now hate William? Yes, yes I do. What a putz.

I really don't need to preface this review with a plot summary. Everyone knows who Prince Harry is and you'd probably need to be living under a rock to not know that he's published a memoir. I originally added this book to my wishlist at some point last year, when I heard that J.R. Moehringer was ghostwriting it. I had just finished reading his own memoir and was suitably impressed by his writing style. I'm not obsessed with the royal family, but I have a casual interest and I guess a natural curiosity about any behind-the-scenes enlightenment that doesn't come directly from the press.

Like many, I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news of Princess Diana's death. I think it's natural to want to feel show more nurturing toward the two young princes that she left behind. While Prince William appears to have naturally settled into his role, Harry seems to have always been known as more of a wild card, at least from my viewpoint. A little wilder in general, a little less settled, but yet coming into his own within the last 5-10 years. I know this memoir is controversial and Harry's viewpoint is only one side of the story, but it's refreshing to hear things from an insider's view, as opposed to the stories we hear from the press. There's really so much that could be said and discussed regarding Harry's story. He really does cover a lot in his book, though despite the short chapters, I felt like it took a while for me to get through it. The transitions between chapters were abrupt -- I thought it a bit choppy, but I did still enjoy it. My primary takeaway: I can't imagine living under the oppressive British monarchy and then having every moment of your life scrutinized and warped by the press. When I compare the lives of Princes Harry and William, I think I'd much rather be in Harry's position, able to speak my own mind and live more freely. I read this in conjunction while watching the Harry & Meghan docuseries, and the two correlated closely and complemented each other. I'd love to be a fly on the wall to really see and know how the other members of the Royal Family responded to this memoir, though I suspect they will continue to keep things pretty close to the vest, despite what the British tabloids have to say. show less

If Prince Harry had to boil this book down into one sentence, I expect it would be, “I will remain devoted to my mother forever, and I despise the paparazzi to the very core of my being.” That would be an accurate description of this book, but it does leave a lot out.

Harry talks about his education (not distinguished), his relationship with his brother and father (alternately loving and heartbreakingly cruel), his time in the military (action-packed), his time spent in Africa and the charitable work it led to (inspiring), his relationship with his grandmother (close), and much more.

As much as Diana and the paparazzi dominate the book, the writing really comes alive when Harry departs from those topics. One example is when he talks show more about the military. The part that really shines is less his descriptions of his time in war zones, and more his thoughts about what being in the military meant to him, and his frustration that his title prevented him from seeing much action. The narrative also comes alive when Harry describes meeting and falling in love with Meghan, who of course becomes another major theme in the latter half of the book.

But surrounding all that is Harry’s loathing of the paparazzi, and he doesn’t mince words about it. He details story after story that come out in the British tabloids (and even some more reputable news outlets) that are just plain lies, recounts his battles with the palace about how to respond to them, and suggests more than once that certain people within the palace are feeding information to the press. The palace’s unwavering policy of not responding, even to the tabloid stories that were clearly untrue, along with Harry’s suspicions of a leak in the inner circle, led to a major breach between Harry and Charles and William.

Of course, we have only Harry’s side of the story here, and as Goethe tells us, “One man’s word is no man’s word; we should quietly hear both sides.” But the palace continues its policy of silence, and it’s unlikely that any further developments will be done quietly. So we have to take Harry’s word for it, for now, which is very easy to do after reading this candid memoir. show less

I'm not a royals person, but friends kept telling me to read this one. It was heartbreaking to read about Harry's constant life of scrutiny and persecution by the paparazzi. The lack of anonymity is my worst nightmare. There's also an air of petulance that may be unavoidable when you're treated like a child who can't make decisions about their own life. It's a bit meta to write a book for the public about your life when the main theme is how you don't want the public to have access to your life. Yet at the same time, I understand the desire to set the record straight after so much manipulation. Very readable and honest, but sad.

*Excellent on audio as Prince Harry reads it himself.