Spare

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The book does not have a male voice. It reads like a woman wrote it. Very flowery prose that had me laughing out loud a lot but mostly cringing! Harry is clearly besotted with Meghan but he thinks everyone else should be too so woe betide anyone who isn't...namely the British press, William & Kate. At first Charles loved Meghan but when he found out she was giving up her job and he'd have to pay for her it seems in Harry's eyes he went off her! The Queen loved Meghan instantly and it was even she who suggested Meghan write the famous letter to her father!

Yes hes a Prince but hes a human too he makes mistakes just like us all and in this book he tells us of them. There also some interesting (sometimes funny) stories about love, loss, life, duties, family, time served and mental health. As everyone knows Harry lost his mother when he was young. Yet so did his brother William. It is quite clear throughout Harry's storytelling that William cares about him a great deal and is worried about him and wanting to get him help. William can obviously see he is going the same way as his mother did (paranoid). Some have defended Harry by saying "at least it's good that he owns up to it" and "he seems to have learned from it". Whose safety do you really care about? The second issue I have is that Harry left the UK to allegedly keep his family safe. I say allegedly because the narrative keeps changing. Even after reading the book, I am still unclear what the current version of events are and what his story is today. At what point will he be or was he telling the truth? I can't understand why so many are hating on this book. I found it fascinating. If for nothing else, it gives first person insight into an insular (and quite drafty) institution. I found Prince Harry to be quite caring and insightful. Yes, I realize it's his story told by him via professionals who are hired to portray him in the best light. But, who can possibly imagine a lifetime under such scrutiny. He was born into a life he didn't ask for, doesn't want, and a life he can never truly escape.Their relationship is so distant that Harry & Will go on tour or engagement in Lesotho together after Will has become engaged privately to Kate. Will never even mentioned it to Harry. Harry finds out when it's published in the papers with the rest of the world.

It’s hard to separate the writing of the memoir Spare and the choice of content, but the writing was intimate—at times funny, at times biting—and took the reader on an emotional journey. 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. Regardless of which side you take on this, everyone that cares enough will find this all very sad. I am sure there are lessons to be learned on all sides in this family saga, and no shortage of regrets. Yet one thing I know for sure, we will never get to the real truth because one side will not resort to the petty and sometimes damaging allegations made by Harry, in this book. So William is nothing but an easy open target because he is part of an establishment that “never complains and never explains”, even when his wife is subjected to abuse from the media (much more than Meghan over the years). Meg and Charles seem to get along well. Wills is put off Meg hugged him and didn't bow. Kate is unbalanced by Meg's Americanness.

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If this book accomplishes is to stop the belief that Meghan is a diabolical, controlling mastermind because no one looks good in this book, so I doubt she had any hand in it (she's far too PR savvy in a good way for that). This is all Harry (and his ghostwriter). The 2nd largest surprise was the sheer level of animosity William appears to have harbored for Harry, which is suggested to have begun in their childhood. Maybe sibling rivalry exacerbated by trauma? It comes off as incredibly petty given how much more money and power William has. I think living away from the royal life will be healthy. His smile seems more genuine in the interviews promoting the book than when he was forced before "the wall". Original review (1/11/2023): I felt as though I was reading a long letter from a friend. Harry shares his life, experiences, thoughts and feelings openly and compassionately. He tells it like it is—doesn’t sugarcoat and yet consistently expresses his wish for things to be different than they are. He calls out familial poor behavior as kindly and compassionately as possible while being firm and extending more grace than what is likely deserved.

He spared (haha sorry) us no details on his very intimate moments - from losing his virginity, to having a frostbitten penis, even doing mushrooms at Courteney Cox's house - all of which were... Odd to read, but I suppose since Harry had been silenced for so long, everything had to be spewed out. 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. . . . I enjoyed this book so much was so nice to hear about his life from him with his vouce and words, not via the press who lie and will pull this book apart and changing the words around to suit them So why shouldnt Harry tell his story his way its his. There are moments when your heart breaks for Harry, like when as boy, he was convinced his mother hadn’t been killed, but that it was a public hoax so that she could start her life over somewhere. Or, when as a young man, he felt the need to go repeatedly through the tunnel in Paris at the same speed that killed Princess Diana. The expert also mentioned that the book has the family "very concerned, especially since these are the early months of King Charles' reign."That weird story in the press about Harry inheriting his mom's engagement ring and Wills having to ask for it to pop the question to Kate are all lies.