Audiobook Review: Spare by Prince Harry

Item: Spare
Rating: 5
Author: Angela

January 19, 2023 Angela Biography and Memoir, Nonfiction, Reviews

Spare by Prince Harry
Published by Random House on January 10, 2023
Pages: 410
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Prince Harry
Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
Genres: Autobiography

Audible

It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

Spare is a poignant, fascinating, exceedingly well-written memoir. Prince Harry offers an intimate account of his decades-long struggle with grief following the death of his mother, as well his search for purpose as someone other than the spare to brother Prince William’s heir.

The book is broken up into three parts: Harry’s adolescent years, his time in the military, and his relationship with Meghan Markle and their controversial retreat from royal life. Prince Harry bursts the bubble of royal mystique to reveal a cold, dysfunctional family mired in petty jealousy and an intense focus on gaining public popularity. However, Harry also speaks of fond memories, and he expresses love for his family in addition to a lifetime of yearning for their love, understanding, and acceptance. There are chapters that are simply heartrending.

Harry doesn’t shy away from exposing his own flaws, including anger, deep denial, sibling rivalry, and using unhealthy methods to cope with anxiety and emotional pain. His frank insight into mental health is moving. I’m a sucker for a good love story, so I soaked up all the details about Harry and Meghan’s whirlwind romance. I admit I cringed a little at the occasional over-sharing—I really don’t need to know anything about Harry’s twig and berries—but it’s done with good humor.

The other main thread woven throughout is Harry’s condemnation of the toxic relationship between the monarchy and the British press. Contrary to his family’s motto of never complain; never explain, Harry claims the palace uses leaks, courtiers, and anonymous “sources” to get its messages published in tabloids. Forced into the role of the spare/scapegoat, Prince Harry has been subjected to harmful, false stories planted in the press about him and then later on, his wife. The purpose? To squash less than flattering pieces about more senior members of the royal family and to boost their image.

Whether or not the understanding and accountability he seeks with his family is attainable given some of his revelations and accusations remains to be seen. However, it is clear that he has finally found peace, love, and purpose in this new chapter of his life.

I can’t recommend the audiobook highly enough. It boasts masterful narration by Prince Harry. His voice oozes with warmth, self-deprecating humor, and vulnerability. He is one of the best narrators I’ve ever heard.

Recommended for fans of:
The royal family
Memoirs
Military
Audiobooks