Duke Harry’s book Spare: Revelations of Monarchy’s Spoiled reputation

Duke Harry will release his book, Spare, on Tuesday, January 10. There are strong security measures around its release (Independent). Where does the book’s title come from? What mistakes has Prince Harry admitted in his book Spare? What has he revealed about the royal family? What does Harry say about William’s physical attack? Who did Duke Harry kill in Afghanistan? How has the palace reacted to the allegations? 

Where does the book’s title come from?   

As it says in the Guardian, the book’s title comes from an old saying in royal and aristocratic circles. The saying is that a first son is an heir to titles, power and fortune. A second is, therefore, a spare, should anything happen to the firstborn. Harry’s resentment of being the “spare” is the unifying theme of his book, through chapters on his childhood, his schooling, and so on.

According to People, in October 2022, Penguin Random House revealed that the book’s title would be Spare. This title is a signal to the “heir and the spare” adage. The title points to different destinies that have separated Harry and his older brother William since birth.

What mistakes has Prince Harry admitted?

In his book, Harry also refers to mistakes that he admits. As the Independent says, Prince Harry has admitted doing cocaine. He says a woman “with powers” passed on a message from his dead mother. They are just a few of the dramatic claims in Harry’s revelations. Harry describes Prince William as his “archnemesis”. Harry claims his older brother and Princess Kate encouraged him to dress up as a Nazi soldier. He calls this incident “one of the biggest mistakes” in his life.

Another mistake Prince Harry has made is about losing his virginity. According to Vogue, Prince Harry explains that he lost his virginity in a field as a teenager. He adds that one of his many mistakes was letting it happen in a field. The field was just behind a very busy pub. Harry writes that no doubt someone had seen them. 

Moreover, according to Vogue, he also writes about his drug use, which began when he was a teenager. He says he continued drug use until at least 2016. In addition, Harry wore a Nazi uniform to a Halloween party in 2005. Harry writes in the book Spare that the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly encouraged him to wear it. He writes that this was probably one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

What has he revealed about the royal family?

In this part, we present some cases of Harry’s revelations about the Royal family. As Sky News says, Duke Harry has used the 550-plus pages of Spare to detail fallouts with his family. Harry’s book Spare includes details ranging from losing his virginity and taking cocaine to ask his father not to marry Camilla.

According to Vogue, Prince Harry writes about the tension between him and King Charles in detail. Harry writes that, following his birth, Charles told Diana, Princess of Wales, “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare – my work is done.” Harry adds that the now King failed to hug the Duke of Sussex when Diana died. “My dear son, Mum has had a car accident,” Harry recalls him saying.

Moreover, according to Vogue, the Duke of Sussex reportedly begged Charles not to marry Camilla. Harry refers to his stepmother as the Other Woman in Spare. Harry writes that both he and William told their father they would forgive Camilla and welcome her into the family. However, they told their father that he must promise never to marry her. They begged him, ‘You do not need to remarry.’ A wedding would… make the whole country, the whole world, compare our mother and Camilla, something that nobody wanted.”

What does Harry say about William’s physical attack? 

Harry’s revelations also include the problems that he had with his brother. As

the Guardian says, in Spare, Prince Harry reports what he says was a physical attack by his brother, William. William is now Prince of Wales. Their relationship fell apart over the younger prince’s marriage to the actor Meghan Markle.

According to the Guardian, a fight happened between them at his London home in 2019. Harry says William called Meghan “difficult”, “rude”, and “abrasive.” Harry calls this description a “parrot[ing of] the press narrative” about his American wife. The fight worsened, Harry writes, until William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.

Similarly, the Independent says that Harry claims his brother physically attacked him during an argument in 2019. The attack was over the Duke of Sussex’s marriage to Meghan Markle.  

Who did Prince Harry kill in Afghanistan? 

Another controversial revelation in the book Spare is the killing of 25 people in Afghanistan. According to Sky News, the Duke of Sussex spent ten years in the Army. This period included two frontline tours to Afghanistan – during which he killed 25 people, he writes in Spare.  

Colonel Richard Kemp told Sky News that Prince Harry claims he killed 25 people in Afghanistan. Colonel Richard Kemp says this claim could lead to violence against current and former military personnel. He added the characterisation of the Army in Harry’s book “is simply not true”.

According to Aljazeera, the Taliban administration has condemned Prince Harry for his admission of killing 25 people in Afghanistan. A senior Afghan official has accused the royal of killing innocent civilians. Taliban leader Anas Haqqani told Al Jazeera on Friday that they checked and found that on the days on which Prince Harry mentioned the killing of 25 mujaheddin, they did not have any casualties in Helmand. “It is clear that Prince Harry targeted civilians and ordinary people.” Thus the casualties were not Taliban fighters.

How has the palace reacted to the allegations? 

As the Guardian says, the book Spare is likely to spark serious anger in the British royal family. According to the Independent, the palace has declined to comment on the many allegations. Similarly, Vogue (January 6 2023) says that the royal family has not made any comments yet. It says neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace has commented on any of Harry’s revelations in the book so far.

To sum up, Harry’s book Spare has several shocking allegations that could rock the Monarchy. Harry told ITV that the royal family had cast him and Markle as “villains”. Harry adds that the royal family has shown no willingness to reconcile. He also told CBS that the royal family’s refusal to defend him and his wife from attacks was a “betrayal (Head Topics).

The royal family has been so unkind to Princes Harry. They may even treat him more badly as he is revealing facts or allegations about them. Harry’s revelations undermine the Monarchy’s authority and interests. Such revelations will spoil the Royal family’s reputation. The important question is: How will the royal family react?