Robert Lacey questions Prince Harry’s motives behind ‘Spare’
The Duke of Sussex’s ghostwriter, J. R. Moehringer, spent hours sitting down with the royal helping to craft his memoir, Spare, which hit shelves in January.
The writer has revealed some of the biggest bombshells to come out of the writing process, including 2am phone calls, emotional revelations and heated debates.
Moehringer also recalled meeting the royal inner circle, his “weird” encounter with the Duke and kind gestures from Meghan Markle.
The ghostwriter behind the hugely popular memoir previously claimed that he was stalked and harassed after his name was leaked ahead of the book’s release date.
Here are five of the biggest bombshells he encountered during the arduous writing process:
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Prince Harry’s book was released in January (Image: Getty)
Harry’s tearful reaction over book release
J. R. Moehringer said there were tears in Harry’s eyes after the book hit shelves on January 10, and the pair celebrated by raising a glass together.
Harry thanked his publishing team and editor, during which, the ghostwriter said: “He mentioned my advice, to ‘trust the book,’ and said he was glad that he did, because it felt incredible to have the truth out there, to feel—his voice caught—’free’.
“There were tears in his eyes. Mine, too,” he added.
A fiery 2am row
After a long two years into writing the bombshell book, Moehringer said he was on a 2am Zoom call with Harry when the pair got into a heated row.
The two men were reviewing Harry’s latest edits when they came to a tricky section of the book. Moehringer told The New Yorker: “My head was pounding, my jaw was clenched, and I was starting to raise my voice.
“And yet some part of me was still able to step outside the situation and think, this is so weird. I’m shouting at Prince Harry.
“Then, as Harry started going back at me, as his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed, a more pressing thought occurred, ‘whoa, it could all end right here’.”
Meghan Markle’s kindness
Moehringer, who visited the couple’s home a number of times during the writing of Spare, recalls Meghan’s sweet gesture to him after he revealed that he was missing his family.
He said Meghan would visit him in the guest house and bring “trays of food and sweets”, and she also gifted his children some toys while he was away from his family.
Moehringer recalled Meghan’s kindness towards him (Image: Getty)
J. R. Moehringer was the ghostwriter on Harry’s book (Image: Getty)
TK Maxx ‘discredit attempt’
The ghostwriter said he rigorously fact-checked Harry’s book before it was released and was shocked when one anecdote came up for discussion.
In the book, Harry explained that he always looked forward to the yearly sales at TK Maxx, the discount clothing chain. But the store hit back on Twitter, claiming it “never has sales, just great savings all the time!”
In the New Yorker, Moehringer wrote: “The monarchists at TK Maxx corporate, who rushed out a statement declaring that TK Maxx never has sales, just great savings all the time! Oh, snap! Gotcha, Prince George Santos!
“Except that people around the world immediately posted screenshots of TK Maxx touting sales on its official Twitter account.”
He also hinted that the store’s attempt to discredit the Duke may be due to its long-standing links to King Charles and The Prince’s Trust.
Spare was a best-selling book around the world (Image: Getty)
Harry’s claims he was ‘belittled’
During an emotional moment between the pair on Zoom, Moehringer explained: “Harry calmly explained that, all his life, people had belittled his intellectual capabilities.”
The author wrote: “I told him, everything you just said is about you. You want the world to know that you did a good job, that you were smart.
“But, strange as it may seem, the memoir isn’t about you. It’s not even the story of your life.
“It’s a story carved from your life, a particular series of events chosen because they have the greatest resonance for the widest range of people, and at this point in the story those people don’t need to know anything more than that your captors said a cruel thing about your mum.”
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