“Spare is a firm rebuttal of the myth that wealth and privilege equal happiness,” writes Christo
Memoir by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, released on 10 January 2023. Published by Penguin Random House.
This is a very well-written book. Harry draws the reader into the opaque world of power and intrigue in the Royal Family, with frank accounts of the disagreements between himself, his brother and father, and the huge pressure he felt to conform. There are also intimate nuggets of shared moments with ‘Granny’, the late Queen, to whom he feels particularly close.
He brings alive his love of the Army, and his military career as a helicopter pilot, with vivid descriptions of the rigorous training, the comradeship, and the highs and lows of life under combat.
As life becomes increasingly stressful, he is captivated by the magic of Africa. Botswana is ‘the birthplace of humankind’ and ‘a true garden of Eden’. Camping among wildlife in the spectacular open scenery, he feels more authentic and at home.
After disappointments in past relationships which could not survive the constant press intrusion, he meets Meghan through a friend. This is a deep and genuine romance, movingly recounted, culminating of course in their marriage and decision to leave everything behind and start a new life.
However fascinating his life events, there is one person who is never far below the surface throughout: Princess Diana, his beloved mother. She appears as a kind of ‘leitmotif’ or Greek goddess again and again throughout the narrative. For many years he refused to accept that she had left him, but felt that she was in hiding, waiting for the right moment to return.
How many of us could not be moved by the spectacle of that 12-year-old boy and his elder brother solemnly walking in procession behind their mother’s coffin to Westminster Abbey? So much of the trauma starts here, including his vendetta against the ‘paps’ for ‘hunting and cornering her like prey in a tunnel in France’.
If the book is intended to counteract the criticism and disinformation spread in the press, I think he has done a good job – but it will never placate his most fervent enemies. However, I believe most fair-minded people reading it will applaud his courage and wish Harry and his family well, as do I.
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