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What it argues
Spare is Prince Harry's account of his life from childhood through his decision to step back from senior royal duties in 2020. Written with ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer, it covers his mother Diana's death when he was twelve, his years in the military including two tours in Afghanistan, his relationship with Meghan Markle, and the escalating conflict with the British press and, eventually, with his own family. The title refers to the royal phrase "an heir and a spare" — a term Harry says defined how he was seen from birth.
The book's emotional center is Diana. Harry describes never fully grieving her death, partly because royal protocol discouraged public displays and partly because for years he held onto the hope, however irrational, that she had faked her own death. The section covering his therapy in his early thirties — where he was finally encouraged to process the loss — is among the most candid writing in the book. His account of PTSD from combat and from the tabloid press, and his eventual decision to seek help, sits at odds with the stiff-upper-lip culture he was raised in.
What it gets right
- 1.
Harry describes the royal institution as one that consistently chose press relations over the mental health of its members, including children.
- 2.
The death of Princess Diana when Harry was twelve left unresolved grief that shaped much of his subsequent behavior, including risk-taking and emotional unavailability.
- 3.
His two tours in Afghanistan gave Harry a sense of purpose and identity that he found difficult to replicate in ceremonial royal life.
What it covers
Who wrote it
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is the younger son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. He served ten years in the British Army, including two tours in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner. After stepping back from senior royal duties in 2020, he and his wife Meghan Markle relocated to California. Spare, published in January 2023, broke sales records for a nonfiction debut in the United Kingdom. Harry has also been involved in mental health advocacy through the Heads Together initiative, which he co-founded with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
