Royal Biographer Is Convinced That This Detail Within the Pages of Prince Harry’s Memoir ‘Spare’ Signals That “Part Two Might Be On Its Way”
Harry himself has said in the past that there was enough material for two books.
The effects of Spare—Prince Harry’s bestselling memoir, released in January 2023—are still very much being felt today, as Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles, seems as strained as ever following a missed opportunity to see one another face-to-face earlier this month, when Harry was in the U.K. celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman said, per Us Weekly, that the rift between father and son boils down to “a trust issue,” and is the likely reason why the tension continues. Hardman, unfortunately, predicted that the row won’t be healed “anytime soon,” and pinpointed Spare as a primary cause.
“People are still very wounded, particularly Prince William, that these intimate, private childhood family moments all spilled out in Harry’s book,” Hardman said. “It’s not what Harry said, it’s the fact that he said it, and he gave away so many secrets. And he was, effectively, at the time of the Queen’s death, you know—he was taking notes.”
Hardman complimented what he called the “amazing” book, and said there might be more to the story: “If you get to the bit about his wedding to Meghan [Markle], it boils down, really, to about four or five pages,” Hardman said. “Now, as an author, that says to me one thing and one thing only—part two might be on its way.”
Harry himself said he had enough material for two volumes of Spare, telling an interviewer “It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out.” But some of those anecdotes, he said, would never see the light of day. “There are some things that have happened, particularly between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know,” Harry said. “Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”
There have also long been rumors that Meghan will write her own memoir someday.
For his part, the King is “unhappy” with the feud between himself and his younger son, Hardman said, adding “He definitely finds it unsettling.”
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But there could be hope yet. “I thought it was telling that when the cancer diagnosis [for the King] came through back in February, Prince Harry came straight over,” Hardman said, noting that Harry’s trip was “important” to the royal family. “I think what encouraged people at the Palace and encouraged the King was the fact that afterwards, we didn’t then read about it or hear about it. It remained private.”
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
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