Spare is a memoir by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, which was released in 2023. It was ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer and published by Penguin Random House. An audiobook edition is narrated by Harry.
The book was highly anticipated and was accompanied by several major broadcast interviews. The title refers to the aristocratic adage that an "heir and a spare" were needed to ensure that an inheritance remained in the family. In the book, Harry details his childhood and the profound effect of the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as his teenage years, and subsequent deployment to Afghanistan with the British Army. He writes about his relationship with his older brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles III, and his father's marriage to Queen Camilla, as well as his courtship of and marriage to the American actress Meghan Markle and the couple's subsequent stepping back from their royal roles.
Spare received generally mixed reviews from critics, some who praised Harry's openness but were critical of the inclusion of too many personal details. According to Guinness World Records, Spare became "the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time" on the date of its release.
Background and writing In July 2021, it was announced that Harry was set to publish a memoir via Penguin Random House, with proceeds from its sales going to charity and Harry reportedly earning an advance of at least $20 million. It is ghostwritten by journalist J. R. Moehringer. In the following month, he confirmed that $1.5 million of the proceeds from the memoir would go to the charity Sentebale, while £300,000 would be given to WellChild.
In the summer of 2021, Harry stated: "I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become. I've worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think." Harry said the book was "accurate and wholly truthful". The publisher stated that the book takes readers "immediately back to one of the most searing images of the 20th century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow – and horror." The publisher maintained the book is "full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom."
The Times reported in January 2023 that Harry had second thoughts about publishing the book after visiting his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the summer of 2022, but eventually went ahead with it. In an interview with Bryony Gordon, he stated that the first draft was 800 pages, meaning that he had enough material for two books, but it was reduced to about 400 pages because there were things between him and his father and brother "that I just don't want the world to know. Because I don't think they would ever forgive me." He claimed that the book's aim was "not trying to collapse the monarchy" but rather save it, and added that he felt he had an obligation to reform the institution for the sake of future spares, namely his brother's younger children, despite being told explicitly by William that his children are not Harry's responsibility.
Synopsis The book is Harry's account of his life to date. The title is a reference to the aristocratic adage that an "heir and a spare" were needed to ensure that the inheritance remained in the family if anything happened to the heir. The book is an autobiography, but he begins near the end, describing a meeting with his father and brother to discuss his plan to step back from his royal role. He then focuses on his education, his time in the British Army, and his relationship with his family and with his wife, Meghan.
Childhood and Diana's death
Harry describes his understanding of the role of "Spare" and his acceptance of it:
In the book, Harry addresses and refutes the rumours that his father was not Charles, but one of his mother's lovers, James Hewitt. He believes that "one cause of the rumour was Major Hewitt's red hair, but another was sadism" fuelled by tabloids. He adds that even Charles joked about it once, which he thought was "in poor taste." He compares the dynamic between him and his older brother, William, as the spare and the heir, to that of his paternal great aunt Princess Margaret and grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. He mentions that he felt "nothing for [Margaret], except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness," and added that "she could kill a houseplant with one scowl." Harry mentions that at Ludgrove School, he took a liking to 'hot' matron Miss Roberts, but adds that another matron named Pat, who suffered from crooked knees and a stiff spine and whom he made fun of, did not "make us horny" as she was "small, mousy, frazzled."
Harry recounts about being informed about his mother's death early in the morning by his father when he was twelve years old. Harry states that the idea of having him and his brother walk behind their mother's coffin horrified several adults, in particular their maternal uncle Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer. Harry also claimed that there were suggestions that William should walk behind the coffin alone, but Harry refused to allow it, as, had the roles been reversed, William would have done the same. He mentions that for 10 years he believed his mother was in hiding to escape press intrusion and alleges that his brother William also used to have those thoughts. He also discusses how the summary conclusion of investigations into their mother's death was "simplistic and absurd." He questions why the paparazzi that had been following her and why the people who sent them were not in prison, with a possible explanation being that it was all due to "corruption and cover-ups being the order of the day." Harry says that he and his brother were planning on issuing a statement to ask jointly for the investigation to be reopened but "those who decided dissuaded us." Harry mentions that during his trip to Paris for the 2007 Rugby World Cup semifinal, he had a man drive him through the same tunnel where his mother had died at , the speed with which Diana's car passed through the tunnel. Harry describes the decision as "ill-conceived" as it only brought him more pain. He later on admits that he asked for help from a spiritualist to connect with his mother.
Teenage years, drug use, and deployment to Afghanistan In the memoir, Harry admits that he took cocaine at the age of 17, which he said, "wasn't very fun," but "it did make me feel different." He adds that he also took magic mushrooms at a party at Courteney Cox's house in January 2016 and "washed them down with tequila," after which he had hallucinations in a lavatory and talked to the bin and the toilet. He mentions how the editor of the News of the World, Rebekah Brooks, was adamant on publishing a story on his drug use. Harry describes her as a "loathsome toad" and "an infected pustule on the arse of humanity, plus a shit excuse for a journalist." Harry also discusses the "inglorious episode" of losing his virginity in a field behind a busy pub to "an older lady, who loved horses," who treated him "not unlike a young stallion." Harry also details out an episode at a bar where he "drank and drank and tried to pick up fights." He mentions that the bar staff threw him out, and at the hotel he "growled" at his bodyguard, "swung on him, slapped his head." After not getting a reaction, he mentions he "slapped him again" as "I was determined to hurt him."
Harry claims that his brother William and future sister-in-law Catherine suggested that he should choose a Nazi uniform over a pilot uniform for a "Native and Colonial" fancy dress party in 2005. He mentions that he "liked" Catherine the first time he saw her, describing her as "more sister than in-law" whom he liked seeing laugh. Detailing his tours of duty in Afghanistan, Harry states that he flew on six missions that killed 25 Taliban members, whom he did not view as "people," but instead as "chess pieces" that had been taken off the board. He adds that, "It's not a number that gave me any satisfaction. But neither was it a number that made me feel ashamed."
Relationship with Charles and Camilla, William's wedding, and Caroline Flack Harry mentions that both he and his brother had agreed on welcoming Charles's lover Camilla into their family on the condition that their father did not marry her, but Charles was going ahead and Harry recognised that his father was finally going to be with the woman he loved. He alleges that Camilla "sacrificed" him "on her personal PR altar" to improve her own public image and leaked "minute details" of a conversation she had with William to the press. Harry also says that Charles and Camilla leaked news of his drug use in 2002 and sent him to a drug rehabilitation centre in order to garner sympathy for Charles as a father and for their relationship. He alleges that William "felt tremendous guilt" for not speaking up about their father's affair with Camilla, and he had "long harboured suspicions about the Other Woman." He adds that William was left "confused" and "tormented" as a result of the affair. Harry also says that Camilla had "played a role" in his mother's death because she had been "pivotal" in the disintegration of his parents' marriage. He likened his first time meeting her to "getting an injection" and added Camilla was "bored," partly because Harry was not Charles's heir and could not be a threat to her desires for marrying his father. Harry says that his father found happiness after marrying Camilla, and that he wanted both his father and Camilla to be happy, wondering if "she was less dangerous being happy." Harry also states that Camilla turned his bedroom at Clarence House into her dressing room as soon as he left. He also talks about Charles's experience at Gordonstoun, where Harry claims his father was bullied and "almost did not survive." He discusses his father's attachment to his teddy bear, which helped him through Gordonstoun and remained one of his favourite objects as an adult, a representation of "the essential loneliness of his childhood."
In the book, Harry describes his role as William's best man during his wedding in 2011 as a "bare-faced lie" as James Meade and Thomas van Straubenzee gave the wedding reception speech, which Harry felt was the right decision as he could have said "something wildly inappropriate." He also mentions that he had a frostbitten 'todger' (slang term for a penis) at the wedding following his trip to the North Pole and was advised to apply Elizabeth Arden cream to it, the smell of which reminded him of his mother. He also alleges that William was "tipsy" on rum hours before his wedding. In the memoir, Harry states that months after breaking up with Chelsy Davy he was introduced to Caroline Flack, whom he saw for a while before press intrusion "tainted" their relationship "irredeemably." He also denies having had a relationship with Cameron Diaz despite tabloid rumours. He mentions that Britons, who are "among the most literate people on the planet, were also the most credulous" when it came to believing tabloid rumours.
Relationship with Meghan and fatherhood