Prince Harry’s bombshell new memoir, Spare, finally hit the shelves in the UK on Tuesday, January 10, following days of controversy as allegations against the likes of Prince William and Queen Camilla made headlines. With “raw, unflinching honesty”, the Duke of Sussex gives insight into his life, including the most gutwrenching moments such as when he was told of the death of his grandfather, the person he said played a vital role in his very existence.
At the beginning of the memoir, written with the help of ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer, Harry recalls returning to Frogmore gardens, half a mile from Windsor Castle, after the funeral of Prince Philip on April 17, 2021.
On April 9 of that year, the longest-serving consort died aged 99, just two months before he was due to become a centurion.
Prince Harry told of how he had travelled back to what was once going to be his “forever home” 15 months after he and Meghan Markle announced they were stepping back from their roles as senior royals.
In the days before the funeral, the 38-year-old described how he had woken to 32 missed calls before having a “short, heart-racing” talk with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Reference to Philip’s humour also featured in Harry’s tribute to his late grandfather, released shortly after his death.
Part of his statement published on Archewell Foundation website read: “He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm – and also because you never knew what he might say next.
“He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince, and a Duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ‘til the end.”
Harry also thanked him for his dedication to the Queen — to whom he was married for 73 years — and for “always being himself”.
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In his memoir, the Duke of Sussex also draws parallels between his grandfather and his mother, Princess Diana.
Both, he said, “embraced life” with Philip having many passions, from carriage driving to shooting.
Philip and Diana’s joie de vivre might explain why his grandfather was “such a fan” of his mother, who married King Charles in 1981 and later died in a car accident in 1997.
Harry wrote: “My grandfather was her loudest advocate. Some said he actually brokered my parents’ marriage. If so, an argument could be made that Grandpa was the Prime Cause in my world. But for him, I wouldn’t be here.”
