If you follow the events around the Royal Family, then you must know that the family could soon suffer a massive backlash in the form of the prince-in-exile memoirs or Prince Harry’s upcoming book that details his life as a royal.
This comes at the worst possible time after the passing of the longest-serving British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Moreover, this upcoming season of Netflix’s The Crown is also expected to brush some feathers and create negative press against the monarchy for their alleged treatment of Princess Diana.
The autobiographical book is not expected to come out until January 2023, so we have to wait and see, but in the meantime, if you’re curious, you can read this article to find out what we know about it so far.
The Title
Let’s start with the title. For a long time, the memoirs didn’t have a title, but recently it was announced that the book will be called “Spare”. This refers to the notion of the heir and the spare; the heir is the firstborn destined to be a monarch, and the spare is the second child who would substitute for their older sibling if anything were to happen to them.
The phrase is believed to have been coined by American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt in the late 19th century as she referred to her children by the Duke of Marlborough. Ever since, that phrase has been widely used to describe princes and princesses that came second like Princess Margaret and Prince Andrew.
Already the title promises a controversial story in which attacks against the monarchy are to be expected. Princess Diana allegedly didn’t shy away from the term and called Harry the spare. In addition, whenever Harry would misbehave as a child, he’d excuse himself by pointing out he’s the spare and it’s only William, the heir, who should behave.
Harry’s embracement of the term also suggests we might hear a victim narrative, rather than one of his victories such as the Invictus Games. People continuously point out that a privileged man like him, a literal prince, should stop complaining, especially when the world is battling an unprecedented financial crisis.
Content
There have been talks that the death of the Queen prompted Harry to tone down his criticisms of the monarchy and to also try to remove some allegedly hurtful comments he made in his already-written memoir.
It’s still not clear whether changes were made or not or not; many speculate that with this lucrative book deal, which is said to number around $20 million, the publishers would not accept any big changes that could eat away at the profit they would make if the book contains the unadulterated opinions of an angry prince.
In addition, Omid Scobie, who wrote a favourable book about the Sussexes and always defends them online, said that the memoir was not rewritten after the Queen’s death. He’s thought to be close to the couple, so we’re inclined to believe him.
Now let’s talk more about some of the things that Harry might discuss in his upcoming memoir. We know that he’ll talk about the tragic loss of his mother Diana and about how he had to face the cameras at the lowest point of his life and at the tender age of 12. There would likely be other segments dedicated to Diana as well.
Penguin Random House, his publishers, have said that “Prince Harry will offer an honest and captivating personal portrait, one that shows readers that behind everything they think they know lies an inspiring, courageous, and uplifting human story,” but people started doubting that when they saw the book title.
The publishers also said that the autobiography will cover the royal’s life from a little boy to an inspiring young man. We expect to hear more about his childhood, his relationship with his closest relatives and of course, his military career that saw him fight in Afghanistan. There would naturally be segments about charities he’s headed and perhaps information about his future plans.
What about more recent dramatic events? Well, Harry’s publisher said that the prince will tell his story “with raw, unflinching honesty”, which doesn’t sound too good for the Royal Family. Undoubtedly, the book will include the so-called Megxit and Harry’s troubled relationship with the media.
The question is, what would the angle be? Is Harry going to solely blame the media for his exit or is he going to name-drop senior royals who didn’t help him and his wife adjust to their new duties? A lot of people want to know whether Harry would name the infamous royal racist who was concerned about his son’s skin tone.
While many expect to hear sweet stories about his brother William and their strong bond in childhood, they also expect to hear about the rift between them and what caused it, which might hurt the future king.
This sort of speculation has led some to believe that King Charles is waiting for the book to come out before he bestows the titles of prince and princess to Harry’s children Archie and Lilibet. Archie and Lili are entitled to these titles as grandchildren of the reigning monarch, but the King hasn’t announced any changes, despite giving William the Prince of Wales title right away.
Release Date
Spare will come out on 10th January, 2023. Some have already speculated that the choice of date is deliberate and is meant to throw shade at Princess Catherine, whose birthday is the previous day.
This might sound bizarre at first, but people seem to be sure of it because Harry and Meghan announced their royal exit on 8th January, 2020, a day before Catherine’s birthday, which was interpreted as a sign of their bad relationship.
Only time can tell what the book will ultimately discuss, so come back for updates when it comes out.