Spare

Summary:

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

Sheer entertainment value for this gets rounded up to 4 stars.  Honestly, I somehow managed to live 2.5 years in the U.K. and did a fantastic job of paying exactly zero attention to what was going on in the royal family.  I don’t consume celebrity news at all and therefore most of the information in the book was completely new.  Essentially, I heard there was a big kerfuffle going on with the Oprah interview, TV series coming out plus a book (!) and decided it was worth finding out what all is going on.  Damn, who spilled the tea now?  For a couple that is adamant for needing more privacy I was both laughing at the hypocrisy yet understanding the urge of wanting to explain your side.  I cannot imagine how either Harry or Meghan has a path for a ‘normal’ income so I could see that as a strong motivator as well.

Now, to the actual book – some good, some bad.  There certainly were some interesting insights to life growing up as a royal and, honestly, it seems sad and dysfunctional even taking the most cynical view.  So, can you really be shocked that Harry comes across as mature in some ways and highly immature in others?  No, it seems about right to me. I imagine a psychologist would have a field day.  Some sections have a clear theme, are even quite touching and emotional, while others are a bit rushed and stream-of-consciousness.  In person I bet Harry is a fun guy to be around and would be fantastic to grab a pint with.  My take is that this is as honest of a book that he can write – take that as you wish.  In the future I hope I can read some of Meghan’s writing instead!

Warning: Contains references to violence.

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Anyone curious to have a little bit of a peak behind the curtain of the media circus that is the royal family.