Tag: princes

Spare by Prince Harry

Spare by Prince Harry

“I love my Mother Country, and I love my family, and I always will. I just wish, at the second-darkest moment of my life, they’d both been there for me. And I believe they’ll look back one day and wish they had too.” pg 386

I didn’t know what to expect from Spare, Prince Harry’s memoir. In the days after its release, it seemed like readers were quickly scanning the pages, looking for the most shocking details to smear in headlines.

What they left out in favor of the more salacious details, in my opinion, were the tender and intimate moments that really mattered.

What do I mean?

I mean the countless, quiet and unremarkable moments Harry shared with his friends and family.

I mean things like the fact that Harry struggled with mental health and chose to seek out treatments again and again in an effort to find healing and peace.

He paints the picture of not an out-of-touch prince, but as a flawed yet hopeful person trying to find his place in the world.

Harry’s grief for his mother and love for his family form the large part of his narrative. Almost the entire book is a beautiful dedication to them.

I liked how Harry took widely reported events and shared his own feelings about what happened, from an unfortunate costume choice to the rumors swirling around about his out-of-control behavior.

He takes responsibility for his actions and doesn’t seek to lay blame at the feet of others. Which, let’s be honest, he could have.

Some kinds of fame provide extra freedom, maybe, I suppose, but royal fame was fancy captivity. pg 199

Photo by Jimmy Chan on Pexels.com

Harry could have focused on the bubble he was raised in and put every decision he ever made into the hands of others. But, in this book, he doesn’t.

I came away from reading Spare with a new found respect for Prince Harry. I hope that his new life, away from the flashing lights, is everything that he hopes and dreams it will be.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy memoirs. Thanks for reading!

Additional thoughts added February 11, 2026. Original review posted February 21, 2023.

Almost three years on from my initial review of this book, I find I have a few more things to add.

The biggest fallout of the publication of Spare, which I’m aware of, are efforts made on the part of certain political elements in the United States to have Prince Harry’s visa reviewed in light of his confession to minor drug use in his youth.

The hypocrisy of the whole thing boggles my mind. Not only did we (as recently as last year) have an unelected someone who carried a “pill box” of ketamine and various other substances (I don’t pretend to know exactly what) around the White House, we gave this same someone the reigns of power, encouraging them to “doge” our various government institutions while hopped up on God only knows what.

Not only was this someone born in another country, they were actively taking drugs and moving through our systems of government.

Prince Harry, on the other hand, is not seeking to move through government circles. He is not, as far as I’m aware, currently running around with a pill box. He only wants to raise his children and live a life of peace with his wife away from the invasive cameras who profit upon his every smile and frown.

Why do we persecute some while giving others the keys to the kingdom? Hypocrisy and hate, that’s why. He has different values than some and these some ones seek to drive him away.

I call shenanigans.

In addition, other famous people from various areas of society have also written memoirs where they own up to drug use, some in a very major way, and we don’t drag them through the court system to answer for their past.

One prime example of this is Chelsea Handler’s latest I’ll Have What She’s Having. You can read my review of it here:

I’ll Have What She’s Having by Chelsea Handler

Not to get her in trouble too, but in her latest she writes about experimenting with various substances while at her vacation place in Canada. Are the Canadians chasing Ms. Handler, demanding she leave the country for her behavior? Heck, no. Why can’t we be more like Canadians?

Then, Charlie Sheen’s awesome multi-part documentary on Netflix also comes to mind. I haven’t written a review about that yet but perhaps in the future I will. In it, he talks about crazy drug use. Are we going after him for owning up to his past mistakes? No, we’re celebrating his rehabilitation and hard-won sobriety.

Prince Harry didn’t even remotely approach Charlie’s drug use and yet see above for all the crap he took for a few lines written about experimentation in his younger years.

Anyway, I think you get my point. Take the good and learn hard-learned lessons from those who have the bravery to share their lives with us rather than using their openness to harass them. Please.

One final thought, here is a chapter from my forth-coming book, The Light Congress, that I am dedicating to Prince Harry. I send my best wishes and desires for happiness and prosperity his way. May we all find what we seek in this life, the peace to live the way we deem best for ourselves and our children, and may the world learn to handle our own shadows.

Thanks for reading. – Heidi

Chapter 14: Aurora and the Storm Giants