The Tragedy of Prince Harry

This is not Prince Harry’s autobiography. It’s a biography of a character known as “Prince Harry,” J.R. Moehringer, a ghostwriter who collected the information from Harry’s conversations. It is autobiography, as it is one of the Philip Roth novels in which the main character is called “Philip Roth” They are similar to fiction, but less tedious. It’s fascinating in its own right, but not in the way Harry intends. It’s a collaboration between two unrelated partners. One is an accomplished ventriloquist and the other believes he has finally found himself.

Harry recorded the audiobook to make sure he understands exactly what’s in Spare. He would like us to understand that animals can send him spirit messages. These messages are often sent by Diana, Princess of Wales (his mother) who died in 1996 when Harry was just 12 years old. William, his older brother, was 15. When Harry turns 14, the messages start. William and Harry are on safari in Botswana. They’re having dinner in their tent when a leopard comes. “Everyone froze,” Harry: “Except me.”

“I took a step towards it. … I was thinking about Mummy. That leopard was clearly a sign from her, a messenger she’d sent to say, ‘All is well. And all will be well.'”

The leopard lied. Harry is not well. William and Harry are both traumatized after Diana’s passing. Charles III, their father, struggles to comfort them and sends them off to boarding school. Harry refuses believe Diana is still alive. He believes that Diana is in hiding in a Swiss chalet and that she visits him in dreams. Soon Harry is addicted to weed and binge drinking. Harry, a member of Eton’s elite boarding school, smokes a large cigarette with his friends. He then looks out onto the moonlit grounds, where he meets his spirit animal.

You can pass the spliff, mate.

I straddled the loo one night and took a big bite. Then, I looked up at the moon and then down at school grounds. I was able to see several Thames Valley Police officers going back and forth. I was the reason they were there. They did not make me feel secure. They made me feel trapped.

But, safety was found beyond them. … So much peace in the wider world … for some. All those who wish to find it.

Just then, I noticed something moving across the quad. It was frozen under one orange.