It has been almost two years now since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step back from their roles as senior royals. After the couple’s podcast series, several cringe-inducing interviews and a Netflix series, the prince’s own memoir “Spare” has now hit bookshelves worldwide, and is on track to be a bestseller.
I have quite a lot of sympathy for Prince Harry. I cannot even bare to imagine what it was for him to lose his mother at 12 years old, let alone have his grieving process published in tabloids and strewn across television channels worldwide. To me, Harry was a relatable royal. He had made mistakes, learned from them, and seemed to be on a path to finding happiness through both his military service and his charitable work at the Invictus Games.
To that end, I respect his openness and honesty throughout ‘Spare’. Whilst it wasn’t exactly easy reading him refer to his penis as a “todger” or describing his loss of virginity as if he was riding a horse, the memoir truly gave his side of the story, something the tabloids of the nineties and noughties universally failed to do.
However, there are two elements of the book I cannot forgive, and I believe Harry needs to take a long hard look at himself (or give several more Oprah interviews) if he should ever be accepted back into the public sphere, especially in Britain.
Firstly, the most shocking part of Harry’s stories from Afghanistan was how freely and nonchalantly he referred to his killing of Taliban soldiers. My views on the war in Afghanistan are for another article, but I nonetheless felt disgusted by the crass nature and boastfulness that the prince reported his 25 kills. Both the Taliban and British veterans have denounced Harry for dehumanising Taliban fighters, describing them as “chess pieces”.
The most worrying backlash caused by Harry comes from Anjem Choudary, one of the most prominent Islamist extremists in the UK, who urged fellow extremists not only to launch an attack on Harry but on all British service personnel. The comments from Harry, as well as being insensitive, have endangered the lives of thousands of people, and should not go without reprimand if anything is to come of the threats from the likes of Choudary. As a face for veterans in Britain and worldwide through the Invictus games, the fact that Harry never thought his comments would have a backlash, or that he never consulted his fellow veterans, astounds me, almost as much as the fact his publishers thought it acceptable to treat humans lives with such little regard.
Another problem I have with remarks made in ‘Spare’ is Prince Harry’s more deliberate and callous comments surrounding his own family. In an interview given to Anderson Cooper on the popular American show 60 Minutes, the Duke admitted that the motto of the Royal Family is “never complain, never explain”. Knowing that Charles, Camilla, Kate and William are not going to respond to any claims in the memoir, Harry is knowingly assaulting defenceless family members. He is able to say that William and Kate encouraged him to wear his infamous Nazi costume, that his brother once physically assaulted him, and that several complaints were made about Charles’ treatment of his second son, all without repercussions. Whether what is said is true or not, it is despicable that Harry would consciously besmirch and sully the credibility of his brother and father.
Random House Publishing need to have a serious look at its editorial team, and Prince Harry needs an even more serious evaluation of how to go about his new life outside of the Royal Family. Petty tabloid comments may be suitable for short-term monetary gain but will do little good in his hope to set up a life for himself and his young family. If heaven forbid, Meghan Markle one day decides to run for political office (as is predicted by many experts), her husband’s book has done nothing but hinder her popularity as well as his.
Ultimately, Harry should now retire for a couple of years from the public spotlight – carry out charity work, act with humility towards the Afghan people, and, crucially, keep his nose away from anything to do with the Royal Family. Not only are they his blood, but they are the only reason anyone knows who he is, and, at the very least, they could do with an apology.