Strangest bits in Spare…

[Motorcycleemptyness]

i haven’t quite finished it yet but I wanted to read a thread about some of the weirder bits of Spare, and I haven’t seen a thread where people were discussing those without the ‘H&M’ vs the rest of the RF debate. There are definitely some parts which have made me really question why they were included, and I was wondering if anyone else had any similar thoughts.

The inclusion of the imagery of the poppy fields, and how heroin funds the Taliban. Fair enough. We all know that. The rest of the book is one long ode to posh people taking drugs. Does Prince Harry think the cocaine he takes is gently knitted by fairies and delivered to him by unicorns? Do the drugs he takes not contribute to war and terrorism and misery across the rest of the world (and indeed misery and crime in the UK, where he is 5th in line to be monarch!) I found this quite a strange passage and I was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts, or am I just over thinking it?

Elizabeth Arden cream. ‘Mummy’s lips’. ‘Todger’. Why? But really, why? Why was this included? Why did anyone think it or commit it to paper, and then publish it? Why did I read it? Why am I typing it here? ARGH.

What he actually thinks the relationship between the royal family and the press should actually be. Only reporting true things? Someone had a photo of him taking cocaine. Dressed as a nazi. Calling his colleague a ‘P*ki’. He wasn’t happy, but it was all true. Should journalists not be allowed to report true things? Or should they only be reporting things he wants them to report? Does Andrew get to choose that too? What about everyone else?

What the actual royal family should look like. This was mind bending. He seems to be perfectly happy with the idea of the monarchy, an institution which is predicated on the idea that they’re inherently superior to the rest of us, and that’s their birth right, but seems to massively struggle to apply that to himself and William. If a monarchy is the best system, why shouldn’t the heir be treated differently to the spare? (I don’t believe it is the best system and wish we could abolish them all but I don’t understand how one can believe one but not the other!).

Anyone else have any interesting thoughts?

Or, he does think, but he just doesn’t care. I’m not giving him a free pass just yet.

He’s a grown man making his own choices, and those choices will have consequences. Maybe he’ll laugh all the way to the bank and never regret it for a moment. Or maybe he’ll wish he’d taken a different path. However whatever happens, he will ultimately have set it into motion himself.

I just think - you know - this sort of thing needs to stay where it is. In your head.

We all have odd thoughts and ideas at some time in our lives. But you don't put it in a book. A book supposedly showing yourself in a good light in comparison to the rest of your family.

Of all the strange things mentioned here, Meghan laying on hands and asking for guidance from Diana's grave has to be peak for me.

It would all be pure comedy if not for the fact that the next generation have got to follow this with it all hanging over them.

Royal ramblings should still be kept locked up under the secrecy act for years!

Yeah, it’s really hard to see that as anything but straight up manipulation.

The bit about how he can’t get a doctor for the frost bitten todger because he would have to tell a courtier and they would leak it is so weird.
Can’t he ask for a doctor without saying specifically what the problem is? Or even say it’s frostbite but not specify which bit of him till he has the doctor in the room?
The royal family must have doctors they can trust and they must have had embarrassing problems over the years that stay between them and the doctor him/herself.
I mean what’s a courtier going to say - ‘ I’m sorry sir, I can’t possibly arrange for you to see a doctor till you give me full and explicit details’?

Deliberately hitting his Royal Protection Officer knowing that the guy could not hit him back

Yes. I’m surprised (well, not remotely surprised really) that all of Harry’s fans who declared the account of William grabbing his collar and Harry somehow ending up in the dog bowl was domestic violence, should be referred to the police and was hugely damning of William’s character are silent here. Harry intentionally assaulting an employee passes without any comment at all, it seems.

Given Harry has a history of assaulting photographers too it’s quite clear anything he does will be completely minimised by his supporters.

I mean what’s a courtier going to say - ‘ I’m sorry sir, I can’t possibly arrange for you to see a doctor till you give me full and explicit details’?

That's the narrative they need to spin. Can't get a doctor, can't get a therapist, credit card and passport confiscated, yadda yadda.

Why Harry being violent isn’t front page news I don’t know. What does he have to do to lose credibility? He’s violent, dishonest, jealous and takes drugs?

Did anyone pick up on the subtext regarding William and Meghan? He insinuates Willy had a crush. When he mentions how dressed up Willy was to meet her, how moved and touched he was when she offered oregano oil as a cold cure (is that a thing?) and how Kate spluttered and interrupted. Insinuating Kate picked up on the chemistry and came to life cos of jealousy. It’s subtle but the literary devices that are employed point towards that

I feel really sorry for William. He's got the burden of being the future King, he's lost his mother in appalling circumstances and now he has a brother who has completely betrayed his trust.

I think he'd like to believe that. I think the truth is something completely different.

That is a bit of a theme in the book. He's open about the times he's behaved badly (this incident, mocking Pat) but doesn't express any remorse and take accountability for it. Its as if he thinks just admitting he did these things is enough.

Now, I'm a meghan supporter, but I did notice that after finding out she'd hurt Catherine's feelings very badly, when she was trying to reconcile, she didn't send her flowers and an apology note. Yet in the interview, she declared that she would do exactly as Catherine did if she found out she'd hurt someone.

I do find strange the ridiculous fiction that he couldn't possibly access a doctor or any medical attention for frostnip. A grown man, who was in the army and either had been or was being promoted to the rank of Captain, who had been trained to fly an Apache helicopter ... yeah, beyond strange really that he was suddenly infantilised like that.

I got bored with it, but managed to finish it. It's just bizarre!
I had every sympathy at the start for him, losing his mum etc, and I still do for that as well as the press treatment of Meghan.
The bizarre bits are Mystic Meghan and the seals/ grave/ photo of Diana at the birth, not to mention the leopard/ frostbitten todger/wetting himself and the ass spanking. If it was meant to be funny, it failed miserably.
Normal family events/ discussions turned into a woe is Harry and apparently he had done nothing wrong, and took no responsibility for anything.
Always Willy's/Pa's/ Kate's/ Camilla's fault, but never his...🥱

This is such a spiteful post. Fertility does NOT fall off a cliff after 35 - that theory was debunked years ago and was only ever put forward due to lack of knowledge due to general misogyny within medical research. It gradually declines but is dependent on a lot of factors including general health and fitness levels, and no doubt Meghan was extremely healthy and probably in the top percentile of health across all pregnant woman.

Haven't read the whole thread, but I've been listening to the book on Audible these last few days.

And - unlike some, who think that the 'context' of the book makes the excerpts the press had got hold of (before it was officially released here) more sympathetic to Harry, I find the opposite.
Many of his 'gripes' are just him making subjective judgements about people's motives without any evidence to back them up.

When you do read/hear it in context, it actually makes Harry look much worse that the unofficial excerpts did!

He's looking for wounds to his psyche where none were intended, or ever existed.

The fact he says Charles always called him 'Darling boy' does not smack of a father without feelings; all of the incidents with W&K he takes issue with can be seen from the alternate view much more easily than Harry's take on things.

I think Harry is a damaged man, who is stuck at the point his mother died.
He's in need of more than the 'therapy' he's had so far can deal with (and, let's be honest - any therapist who dared to challenge his victim mindset would be quickly kicked into touch, so any therapy he's stuck with will only have validated what Harry thinks, whether or not that's true)

The RF have their faults, but when you see how they pulled together for HMQ's death and funeral, it really makes Harry (and Meghan) look more than petty.

And where is Meghan in all of this?

Usually she's hanging onto Harry like a limpet (which is why the whole argument about who was flying to Balmoral when the Queen died happened!) but she's been invisible for the last week at least.

I'm afraid I fear what a previous pp said - she's storing all of this up for the divorce and custody hearing.

And Harry is too naïve to see it.

If he thinks he's got problems now... I don't think he has any idea what will come in the future.

He talks about the Truman Show. Spare reads as though he thinks he is Truman and everyone else in his life exists in a support role to him. Everyone else exists to solely to facilitate or upset him. But it is all about him.

Asking the driver he was allocated at the World Cup in France to drive through the tunnel where his mother died late at night at 65 mph. No talk about putting this guy or his body guards at risk. Only that the driver is threatened to keep it secret or his life won't be worth living (or some such.). Later that night he hits his bodyguard and overhears them talking about him as being a handful that night. No apology for what a dick he must be at times. That this was shameful behaviour. Just an explanation as to how driving through the tunnel upset him that night.

Good points, @toddlermum83 .
Fertility does not fall off a cliff at 35, and this has been used to control women and put pressure on them about motherhood.
It's perfectly plausible that Meghan got pregnant quickly.
She definitely looked pregnant and post partum in many images. I think those stories are fanciful.

It’d weird as I think the opposite is true, I think harry had a crush on Kate, and was envious of his marriage and kids. The attention they got. That William had a life partner. A family.

I do find it impressive the job rhe palace did on us all though, we all believed harry and William were close. We all believed harry was some happy go lucky cheeky chappy. He was one of the most popular royals.

and now we know the truth of it. He’s revealed rhe lie. Harry and William haven’t been close since they were young kids. Harry even tells us he didn’t know about Williams engagement until after it was announced. That he was not invited for dinner, note the word invited. Popping in was clearlh not a thing.

I think William rejected him, his eye firmly on his future role, and as harry deviated further, drinking, drugs etc, William distanced himself more, where harry just wanted to be accepted.

in his eyes William had it all, Diana’s looks, future king, then a wife and kids, the best rooms and accommodations, and harry was left sitting alone in his two bed house, feeling rejected and second best.

when Meghan came along he thought he would then be the star, and of course that wasn’t to be the case, and now it’s worse than ever

Very true.

Not a Meghan fan but really low to use the fake bump/ surrogacy angle . Even worse to insult her age and say it's unlikely she could conceive.

She was 37 when she had Archie and 39 with Lillibet.

Also insulting to those of us who might be 35 and considered " over the hill " to conceive.

he can’t get a doctor for the frost bitten todger because he would have to tell a courtier and they would leak it - yet it's ok to chuck it in his book, knowing that it would likely be all over the press then?

What a strange, strange man.

I assume there are on call medical professionals the Royals can contact privately to speak about issues.

If he was still in the army when it happened there would also be an army medic he could use.

One of the things that stood out for me was Harry lost the plot with Meghan in the early days of their relationship and she went to sit upstairs. She is clearly upset and shocked, and he promises such a thing will never happen again. That incident speaks volumes. What happened is unclear, but he clearly is not in control of himself at times.

Thats his choice, though, which is all the difference

Also, they never have to go through "courtiers" to get medical attention, which is always confidential. I'm sure there are plenty of embarrassing ailments which get attended to! They have direct lines to doctors and even consultants.

I agree. Harry has attacked his and Kate's parenting - talked about how he wants to step in and save PW's children from being 'spares' and was told to butt out. He lost is grandmother very recently. He had exactly the same Diana experiences. His brother is attacking him, his wife, his father, his stepmother and the whole extended family ''institution'' like it's some kind of mafia outfit and he is going to be king in the next 5/10 years.

For Harry to do this to his brother, the only other person in the world with the same childhood trauma, and disclose their private oath 'on Mummy's life', is just unconscionable.