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Writer's pictureAbbie Smith

Book Review: Spare by Prince Harry

Y'all just know I had to hop on over to my favorite bookstore on my lunch break to grab a copy of the latest tea on the royals!



Growing up, who didn't know about Prince Harry and Prince William? I was eight years old when Princess Diana was killed in that car accident. My grandfather literally had a frame photograph of her on his living room wall. I was also one of those girls who thought Prince William was quite handsome growing up. I loved seeing his relationship with Harry.


But with everything that's happened in the press over the last five years, I've really found that Prince Harry is where it's at. I mean, c'mon. Look at young Harry and look at him now and he truly glowed up.


That said, I've been caught up on the Netflix docuseries, and plenty of people talk about the royals on TikTok. I found the announcement of the memoir interesting, because I really think Harry wanted to wait to publish it until the queen had passed.


My first thought is: I never imagined I would be able to relate to a royal prince.


The memoir starts around the single most defining moment in Harry's life: his mother's death. By page 21, I was in tears because as Harry spoke about the stories he made up that his mother was in hiding, I felt that. I'm a child of divorce. I was very young. I made up stories about my absent parent. God, I felt so hard what it is to make up stories to yourself just so you can cope.


There were many times throughout the novel that I just stopped and had to process the things Harry was saying. Not because it was scandalous (trust me, he holds nothing back), but because I can relate. At one point, he talks about being the bachelor in the family after William married Kate, and how that made him feel. As an unmarried woman in my mid-thirties, I could completely understand his lack of importance (or feeling that way when it came to his family).


Harry talks a lot about his relationship with his brother. He talks about how they promised they wouldn't play games in the media like others did. He talks about how that all changed when Meagan started becoming more popular than the rest of the royal family. What's sad is knowing how much Harry wants to be able to have his relationship back with his brother, even though it would probably be healthier for him to . . . not.


I devoured this book in two days, because it was so good. There are passages that I've highlighted, things that really stuck out to me.


If you've ever been interested in getting Harry's uncensored side of the story, pick up a copy of Spare immediately! You won't regret it!


Abbie

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