Spare

Introduction.  Spare was written by Price Harry, The Duke of Sussex earlier in January 2023 to answer the question of why he and his wife, Meghan Markle, decided to leave the royal family.  This memoir explores Prince Harry’s upbringing, including the unimaginable toll that the loss of his mother had on him, his young adult life surrounded by partying, drug abuse, and military service, and later years of post-therapy adulthood, such as his experience falling in love with Meghan and eventual fallings-out with his brother, Prince William, and father, King Charles III.

Analysis.  The aforementioned experiences all share one commonality: Prince Harry was, and has been, routinely harassed by the ubiquitous presence of the press at almost every moment from throughout his life.  He shares of the press’ many annoying, and unwelcomed, aggravation at key moments, such as their coverage alerting enemies in Iraq about his upcoming deployment and their unprompted assault against his bride-to-be.  The consequences of media pressure resulted in, as he depicted it, depressive episodes for himself and Meghan, division between members of the royal family, a generally misinformed public, and a contribution to the death of his mother.

Evaluation.  I’m torn as to how I feel about this book.  On the one hand, there’s no denying that Harry underwent unimaginable stress and depression at the loss of his mother, which was exasperated by the press and muffled by his family due to his “expectations” as a prince- all of which created an exceedingly toxic and unhealthy environment for a young boy to (not) process his grief.  On the other hand, I also recognize the disproportionate wealth and opportunity he was brought up in (and, really, wasted) compared to most others, and find the “sob story” narrative convincing, considering the despair that others experience with no such “happy ending” as Harry was able to find.

Conclusion.  At the end of the day, I tend to avoid comparing one person’s grief with another’s, as that behavior is a surefire way to generate a callous indifference towards those who seem to not have it as bad as others.  However, it is hypocritical to empathize with each person’s unique degree of despair, while turning a blind eye to their varying degrees of opportunity.  Consequently, I’ll flatly assess that the book is gripping, emotionally charged, and extremely interesting- regardless of a reader’s personal take towards the royal family and their activities.