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Spare cover art

Spare

By: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
Narrated by: Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex
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Summary

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.

©2023 Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex (P)2023 Penguin Audio

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Awful

Harry whinges that he was not supported by anyone in the royal family, but relates an occasion when William saw him struggling with emotion at an event, contacts him to ask if he is ok. Harry replies to William that he is ok. There are a number of other, similar contadictions. Harry bears no personal responsibility for his failure to aquaint Meghan with the strict protocol in the royal family. The fault was his. However I think it is plain that Meghan thought she could show an institution spanning over a thousnd years how things should be done and whatever happened she was not prepared to comply with restrictions and protocol that every other member of the royal family has to observe.
. Did their really expect to step away from their duties, selfishly putting a greater burden on the remaining members of the family and still be treated and funded as a Senior working royals? The reason they were denied security is that they chose to live in America - had he stayed in the uk and taken his share of royal duties he would have had as much security as other royals. The Canadian President made it clear that Canadians were not prepared to pay for Harry’s security. What puzzles me is how Catherine and William can take their children to school without fuss, but Harry thinks his family is at more risk than the heir to the throne if he stays in the uk. Given the number of random shootings in America his logic is deeply flawed. Now that he has revealed that he thought of the Taliban fighters he killed were no more than ‘chess pieces’ he has raised the risk of an attack on him or his family exponentially. The truth is that Harry is delusional and has a poor grasp of reality. Meghan is equally prone to utter ‘truths’ that evidence refutes.
Finally the ghost writer has done Harry no favours, by including too many fanciful adjectives - the effect is something that one might expect to find in a poorly written book of romance.

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246 people found this helpful

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zzz

just started it.. I read late at night or early morning. fell asleep voice is so monotonous. hope it gets better.

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165 people found this helpful

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Exactly what people expect

If you love Harry you'll love this. However, if you're sick of his lies and endless moaning then move on. That's all this book is.

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160 people found this helpful

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Don’t waste your credit

You could be forgiven for thinking it was Gordon Ramsay reading it. Sad life for sure but very boring and repetitive after a couple of chapters…..

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145 people found this helpful

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Overrated

I brought this to see what all the actual fuss was about. What utter self indulgent rubbish this is. The ghost writer makes Harry sound almost intelligent, and the repetitive whining about his upbringing.

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131 people found this helpful

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A great listen, We are with you!

This is a beautiful account, As someone who lost their mother when I was 8 I understand the massive change, the sadness, the depression, the loneliness at times as well as the reoccurrence of mourning, the longing and the admittance of forgetting some things due to the young age. It has been heart-wrenching witnessing the demonisation of Harry and Meghan from the media as well as the royals and this book is cathartic response to provide a peak through his life experience, as a son, as a royal, as a grandson, as a husband and most importantly as a father and individual.

This is important, this book was needed, it has an openness, good writing (and yes everyone does use a ghostwriter) however this is for content, this is his account, ‘this is why’ as he puts it. It is a good listen, emotionally read, filled with honesty, even more than expected and with scattered jokes (did laugh at the competing baldness one… ).

Thank you to Harry for bringing your experience to light. Have watched you grow, to become a strong person. Thank you for sharing with such vulnerability and touching on the experience of losing a Mother and awareness of Racism especially as a Black woman this has meant a lot. Know you, Meg and the kids are supported. Bun the media, and in the words of the great poetess Shens. ‘They cyaan tell you weh fi do’. I’m sure Diana would be proud!

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Should come with a mental health warning

I can’t believe all the glowing reviews. Have they been paid? I felt like I was listening to the ramblings of an ill person in the grips of paranoia. Perhaps I was. I couldn’t listen to it all. It’s a real downer. So much bitterness, spite and resentment wrapped up in flowery prose. Kudos to the ghost writer for bashing a mess of misremembered, misinterpreted and downright fictitious “truths” into something coherent. Well done Meghan on your contributions too. Perhaps you have a future as an author after all.

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119 people found this helpful

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Great read!

Surprised how much I liked his voice and how well written this book is, definitely recommend

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Terrible.

Dude sounds like Gordon Ramsey, it's boring and egotistical, almost fell asleep please no more Books dude.

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Fabulous

I love the book. Well worth the wait. Beautifully read by Prince Harry. A most read book.

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  • IsabelS
  • 11-01-23

Magnificent!

I loved every minute of this book!
Prince Harry is telling his story raw and unadulterated.
I specifically bought the Audible book to listen to his story out of his mouth.
Well done, Harry, and thank you for sharing your life with us.

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  • Paul V Rodais
  • 11-02-23

A Missed Opportunity

A good book to read to see the character flaws of a personality flawed by entitlement! This book just made me sad and really quite bewildered… it’s voice is quite inconsistent presumably with the ghostwriter & Harry himself and possibly other powerful influences (dare we suggest his highly educated wife). The missed opportunity comes due to the fact that without doubt Harry must have had an interesting life but this book fails to talk about things that were really of value such as the creation of the Invictus Games, his times in Botswana and the sentebale experiences… all enormous positives which surely deserved a lot more detail, but again it is mired in the undercurrents of insensitivity, selfishness, jealousy, sibling rivalry, and one upmanship that appears to have characterised the life of this materially spoiled but emotionally stunted and deprived unhappy man to date… we are asked to believe the premise that this man was only brought into this world to bolster his older brother but in effect there is little real evidence of this. It is made abundantly clear in his own reading of this narrative that he is a victim of his own internal voice telling himself that he is just not enough… just because of birth order being ginger, being bad at school etc… So he has created his own gilded cage, has squandered all the amazing opportunities afforded by virtue of being rich and Royal but not being constrained by the actual throne… so all in all the chopping and changing of the narrative voice, the spoilt frequently nasty descriptions of those closest to him, the deitisation of his mother who becomes transmuted by his wife… we are left wondering how he can possibly spin all these perceived wrongs into something that will propel him forward into a positive future.

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  • Lisa
  • 12-01-23

Skewed view from someone not in reality

You can't expect someone born into royalty to be anchored to reality, but this is a long monologue of his truth but an incomplete view and observations of the world.

The press is horrible. I can agree with that.
but Harry absolutely slates his brother, and of course Prince William won't say anything so this is a complete one sided view where not once does he come close to thinking or saying he's done anything wrong...which of course is never the case.

Harry does have a nice voice, so thats the bonus.

Prince Harry is an angel in all of this thinking he's done no wrong. But it is a deep and interesting view of his life from his perspective.

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  • Lynette
  • 11-01-23

Great narrating

I find the book well written and I loved the little personal memories he added about his gam-gam, grandfather and grandmother, especially the Queen's yellow earplugs. If all else fails Harry can truly become a narrator, he did a brilliant job at it, I've listened to professional actors that did not do such a great job at narrating as he did. I listened and read reviews on this book beforehand and after listening to this audio book I do think the media are twisting and amplifying his words on certain topics to fit their own agenda which adds to his utterly dislike towards them. I've been a sceptic and had my doubts about this book but I also listened to it with an open mind. I do not feel negative towards him nor his family after listening to his thoughts on his family, we all have our ups and downs, there is no perfect family and it is all about perspective. I do not find this to be a "family-dearest" book as some tried to make it be, there are topics that are a bit over the top dramatic but once again it is my personal thoughts on what I see as real life problems, to Harry it is his life and his issues which is fair. Being South African myself, extensively traveling and truly loving my continent, I appreciate his love for our wildlife and our people. I hope he finds peace and a good balance in life and may his relationship with his family improve, life is too short for hangups. Living in a fishbowl can't be easy, I will hate it and we all have issues with our parents wanting to do certain things differently as our children will feel the same about us. Harry grew up with loving parents and I think his father did the best he could to improve on his parents mistakes, that's life. Harry grew up privileged but that dies not exempt him from getting hurt, the British media has always been nasty not only to Harry but in general, I do not think it should be seen as a right to passage.

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  • Brenda
  • 05-06-23

Boo Hoo!

It was an audio snippet I received on social media that made me buy this book, simply to fact check before I sent it on. And holy s!h|' was I shocked when I realised it was a true recording of him, not an audio deepfake. Haz, the victim, made me oscillate (yes I used THAT word), between wanting to scream with irritation and wanting to vomit.

I'm telling all my friends and everyone I know, NOT to buy this book. The self-pitying boo hoo doesn't deserve a single cent from the public. It's hideous and many of his claims in the book have already been proven to be false.

Watch the South Park episode on H & M, his victim bride, instead. It's a laugh a minute and tells you everything you need to know about these two charlatans.

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  • CT
  • 04-03-23

Poor me

I listened to over 30 chapters, until I could bear it no more. Cannot believe the whining from someone who has a life of ultimate privilege and opportunity. Nothing appeared good enough - a "poor me" story with scatterings of animal killing and unnecessary references to body parts, weed and drinking. Everyone has problems and deals with grief at some stage. This is as if it were straight from an immature teenager's diary. This is shameful from a grown man.

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  • KATHERINE LIM
  • 18-02-23

it is his story after all

it was narrated well, clear, concise, sometimes with clear emotions. hearing his own words made this somewhat enjoyable experience but the content itself is very 1 sided, very his version. for someone who hates people putting words into his mouth, he had no issue putting words into his brother and father's mouth. often musing to himself they meant this and that when it is all his own musings and nothing more. there are plenty of inconsistenci3w, factually and his assumptions that you can google them. as a book, it is scandalous and I enjoyed it as a gossip fodder. I enjoyed the narrator. but the book itself like I said is nothing more than gossip and so hear it with a warning. it is after his story, you haven't heard from the others and he himself mentioned, as royals they too will never reply. as for his description of his wife, my impression is he sees himself and his wife as beyond reproach. for that I find this book difficult to like. do I believe him? I do because it is his version and if he thinks this is it, then let him think so. but is it the truth? Well their conduct thereafter is contrary to what is said. since he put out a book and documentary, I believe as public we can make our own judgement. it is entertaining book but nothing more. my heart does go out for William. by his own words, William tried very hard but it was Harry who keeps second guessing his own brother. I'm sure if he hears his own words again, he will see that he himself didn't believe his own second guessing. by the way I was perhaps a tad prejudiced because for someone complaining his life is perpetually intruded and in danger, he flew to Botswana a lot, when to war, etc. he lived a privileged life and I could hardly empathise with him. neither could I understand how moving from Canada to America is safer for them. he himself said in Canada he can't carry a gun. some stuff I can't wrap my head around.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 13-01-23

Loved this book

Loved hearing Harry tell his story and what an amazing story it is. So eloquently told and with his lovely accent. Often sad but also heartwarming.
This book isn’t for everyone, I imagine, but if you’re willing to explore the human condition, this one is for you.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 12-01-23

beautiful

this was the most beautiful book I have ever read/listening. I was extremely sad when it ended! thoroughly enjoyed this!

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  • Maribel Serrano
  • 12-01-23

Raw and honest

overall a great listen. voice was easy to listen too. The book is very much about Harry. His point of view , his feelings , and thoughts. comes accross very raw and honest. I thought it was very well written . truly enjoyed it.

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