NO SHELF CONTROL

Title: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: January, 2023

Genre: Biography

Pages: 410

My Rating: ★★★★★

I went in to this book fairly indifferent about Harry (and Megan). If anything, I felt empathy for him, mainly due to the tragic death of his mother. I haven’t seen the Oprah interview or read much in to the media, so I didn’t really have an opinion of him, per se. I wrote my review in three parts, one after each of the 3 parts of the book. My opinion changed quite drastically.

Part 1:
Well, I’m beginning to regret starting it. Oh how he comes across as a pretentious, spoilt little brat with a right chip on his shoulder!
He says about how he was upset he got branded as the “naughty” one, yet in the same breath talks about smoking carrier bags of weed, snorting coke and lying to his family and press. He also slags off the butler who released a book… pot and kettle much?
Everything always seems to be someone else’s fault with this guy, and nothing ever seems to be good enough for him.
What is sad though, is the lack of love in the royal family, the lies, the paranoia. They don’t cuddle (how sad), or touch at all, by the sounds of things.

He clearly has mummy issues. She really is up on a pedestal in his life… but would this have made her proud? Not sure Harry, not sure.

Part 2:
Part 2 covered Harry’s early adulthood, mainly his time in the armed forces. Harry seemed happier when he was working. Although it does all sound like privileged little boys playing toy soldiers with real lives. Did we really need to know his kill count? And to then say he felt nothing and doesn’t even count them as humans? I don’t know, it felt like it was a bit of a game for him. Comparing the missile button in real life, to that of a PlayStation controller? It seems as though he was good at playing army though, and I did feel sorry for him that he wasn’t able to fulfil that role for long. Again, because of the journalists. A common theme throughout.
Harry didn’t ask to be famous, he was born in to it. Which does make him different from some other celebrities out there. To have your every move watched, analysed and reported must be horrendous. So I don’t blame him one bit for being bitter and angry towards them. I would too.
I’ve loved reading about Harry’s trips to Africa. I wasn’t expecting that. It’s never been somewhere I’ve wanted to go, and he’s changed that for me. It really does sound idyllic.
Because of Harry’s more upbeat writing, I enjoyed part 2 better than the first part.

Part 3:
Part 3 covers Harry, Megan, their children and their severing from the royal family. It was this part where I did a complete U-turn and really started to warm to him.
The love Harry has for Megan is beautiful. And the way he fiercely protects her is admirable. Harry wouldn’t stand by and watch the press tear his wife apart. And I utterly applaud him for that. His family behaved absolutely disgustingly and I’m appalled with each and every one of them, including the queen, but mainly Charles and William. Charles and William come across as cold, heartless and selfish characters. The way Harry’s security was cut off, followed by his Father. It’s not as though Harry can just go and get a job in Tesco, is it? It was cruel, unnecessary and a power flex.
I don’t blame Harry for wanting peace for his family. His wife and children are the most precious thing to him, and their struggles with money and a mortgage, how to afford their own security was endearing. He’s not so different from us, after all. I’m proud of Harry for standing up to the media, when his family told him to say nothing and put up with it.

Would Diana have been proud? Maybe, actually, yes.