Spare

Prince Charles is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, and is the father of Prince Harry and Prince William. For much of Spare, he’s first-in-line to the British throne. Upon the Queen’s death, at the end of the memoir, he becomes King Charles III. Harry refers to Prince Charles as “Pa,” and his portrayal of his father is complex and conflicted.

He’s often depicted as an affectionate parent, while at other times he appears distant and aloof. Prince Harry’s attitude toward him is alternately loving and resentful. The author’s perception of his father is colored by Prince Charles’s widely publicized affair with Camilla Parker Bowles while married to Princess Diana. Harry wants his father to be happy, but his love for his mother makes it hard for him to accept his father and Camilla’s relationship.

Intellectual, reflective, and reserved, Prince Charles is wildly different from his younger son in temperament. Their differences create an emotional distance that both yearn to close. Nevertheless, the author occasionally demonstrates genuine empathy with Prince Charles. Harry recognizes that the unique pressures of royal life have made his father’s life difficult. The author acknowledges the bullying that Prince Charles suffered at Gordonstoun boarding school, his lack of close contact with his parents, and how the press ridicules his environmental campaigning.

A constant source of contention between Prince Harry and his father is their differing stance toward press harassment and misinformation. Prince Harry interprets Prince Charles’s policy of dignified silence as a failure to defend his family. Furthermore, he concludes that his father and Camilla encourage negative press to boost their popularity. Ultimately, this belief makes reconciliation between father and son impossible.

Two years older than his brother, Prince William is Prince Charles’s heir. Harry’s description of him as “[m]y beloved brother, my arch nemesis” (6) summarizes his love-hate relationship with Prince William. Their sibling rivalry is a recurring theme, as the memoir’s title highlights. Through the lens of Harry’s perspective, Prince William enjoys many material advantages: a bigger bedroom at Balmoral, a larger house, and more luxurious furnishings. However, while Harry resents the heir’s greater privileges, the latter envies the less rigid restrictions the spare enjoys. Spare portrays Prince William as the more competitive sibling, but the author can’t conceal his satisfaction when he triumphs over his brother.

The brothers have a unique bond. Both feel grief at their mother’s death and experience the frustrating restrictions of royal life. As they grow older, they share the belief that their father and Camilla contribute to the negative press they receive. Nevertheless, the brothers rarely discuss their mother’s death or create a united front. Prince William’s increasingly vocal disapproval of Meghan culminates in his physically attacking his brother. Throughout the memoir, both brothers feel sadness at the growing divide between them but can’t reach a resolution.

Until the conclusion of Spare, Queen Elizabeth II is the reigning monarch. Crowned in 1953 at age 25, she represents tradition, stability, and service in the memoir. Her death on September 8, 2022, occurs shortly after Prince Harry’s departure from the royal family, suggesting the end of an era.

Prince Harry depicts the Queen in dual roles: his grandmother and his Commander. He illustrates the inevitable monarch/subject barrier between them during official consultations. Emphasizing this distance, corgis or courtiers usually surround her. Prince Harry is often frustrated that royal protocol or bureaucracy obstructs his talking informally to his “granny.” When he sees her privately, Prince Harry portrays his grandmother as amenable, with a soft spot for her grandson.

Part 1 of Spare begins with Princess Diana’s death in a car crash on August 31, 1997. Throughout the memoir, Prince Harry feels the absence of his “Mummy,” believing for many years that she’s still alive. Even after accepting that she’s dead, he continually looks for signs of her presence, from encounters with animals to consulting a spiritualist. Princess Diana shapes the memoir’s structure, as evident from the Epilogue, in which he and Meghan visit his mother’s grave.

Prince Harry idealizes his mother, presenting her as a saintlike figure. The circumstances of her death indelibly color his perspective on press harassment. As his feelings of conflict between personal fulfillment and royal duty intensify, he looks to his mother’s example for guidance. Inspired by her activism and role as the “Queen of people’s hearts,” he follows in her footsteps, supporting her favorite charities. He also follows her precedent by breaking with the royal family and revealing their personal issues to the public.

Prince Harry’s meeting with American actor Meghan Markle marks a turning point in his life. He begins Part 3 of Spare with the moment he first sees his future wife, and this section of the memoir is a testament to Prince Harry’s love for her. Despite the rift with his family that follows, the author never questions that Meghan is the life partner he has been searching for.

Meghan’s marriage to Prince Harry requires great sacrifice: her successful acting career, business interests, and home in Canada. In addition, her relationship with her father deteriorates because of his disloyal collaboration with the press. As with Prince Harry’s previous girlfriends, the press exhibits misogyny and classism in its portrayal of her, and as a biracial woman, she’s a target of racism.

Meghan shares several of Prince Harry’s character traits. She’s free-spirited, forthright, and physically demonstrative, and she shares his belief in activism. While these characteristics make the couple a good match, both inevitably struggle with rigid royal protocol and restrictions. Harry portrays his wife as sensitive and thoughtful, in direct contrast to her depiction in the press as “Duchess Difficult.” He suggests that Meghan is often misunderstood in Britain because of cultural differences. For example, much of the tension with William’s wife, Kate, stems from Meghan’s directness being interpreted as discourtesy.

Prince Harry’s South African girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, plays a significant role in his memoir. He likes Chelsy’s “carefree and authentic spirit” (155). She shares his love of Africa and is disinterested in his royal status. When the relationship ends after several years, the decision underscores his conflict over individualism versus adhering to public expectations. Harry recognizes that life under constant public scrutiny would make Chelsy unhappy—and can’t help but see Chelsy’s love of short skirts and partying through the prism of the Queen’s eyes.