Harry’s ‘disastrous’ new Spare has cost him dearly – but signals a step FORWARD in healing rift with royals, expert says
PRINCE Harry’s controversial memoir Spare has cost him dearly – but the royal response to the new paperback version signals a step forward in healing the family rift, an expert says.
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers believes if the Duke of Sussex were to bring up any further allegations against the Firm “it would cause more damage” – but he thinks he may have learned his lesson.
Harry, 40, released the hardback in January last year and it was a roaring commercial success becoming the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time.
But it came with a price. The royal – who stepped down from duties alongside wife Meghan Markle in March 2020 before moving to the US – aimed much criticism at brother Prince William.
And it came on the back of a bombshell TV interview the couple did with Oprah Winfrey in which they accused members of the Firm of racism.
But Mr Vickers said the decision to release the book again will have been contractual and Harry would have had little say in it.
READ MORE ON PRINCE HARRY
The paperback was released last month by Penguin Random House, and does not include any additional information.
However, neither does it include any revisions, something Mr Vickers said may have been a good idea as he considers the ghostwritten work to include “numerous errors”.
Harry chose not to conduct any further interviews or publicity for the October 24 release, and the book is currently languishing in 73rd place in the UK charts.
It has sold just 3,400 copies in its second week of publication.
Harry’s silence is probably a good thing, according to Mr Vickers.
Prince Harry regrets leaving royal life behind – family’s show of unity rubs in how much he’s given up, expert claims
He told The Sun: “Maybe he’s kind of got it off his chest…maybe he has nothing really much more to say because he hasn’t had much to do with his family since.
“He came over for the Coronation. He came over to see his father when he was ill. He’s been in England a few times with things like the Invictus Games and one or two other things.
“But he hasn’t had any relations with the Royal Family. He hasn’t been to see them.
“He hasn’t seen his brother, as far as he hasn’t talked to his brother. What else is he going to say?”
Mr Vickers went on to say that dad-of-two Harry – who lives with Meghan and their kids Archie and Lilibet in Montecito, California – “would do well to think of the future and try and build bridges rather than burn any more”.
“I think it’s quite good that he isn’t saying things.”
Harry and Meghan signed multiple million pound deals with the likes of Netflix and Spotify on their move across the pond in their bid to become financially independent.
But it has largely seen them make money off the back of their royal links and making allegations against their family.
Mr Vickers said despite the Sussexes generally being perceived in a more positive light in the US, even their American fans are probably “pretty fed up” with the sniping at the royals.
“I don’t think that some guy in the middle states of America appreciates a man who slags his father and family off in a book. They just don’t do that sort of thing.”
He added that in situations like Harry and Meghan’s, “people always regret it”.
KING CHARLES
Asked if there is a potential way back into the fold for the Duke, Mr Vickers said King Charles appears to have put the “Prince Harry business on the back burner”.
“If he pops up, he will obviously deal with it.”
He continued: “The King has a lot of other things on his mind, of course, because he’s not very well and he has a lot of political issues to deal with – diplomatic issues, military issues, all sorts of things that he has to think about.”
He said the monarch has made a good decision in not openly criticising his youngest son, despite everything.
Even with the release of the paperback, Charles has not felt the need to address it with the world.
Why did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step back as senior working royals?
PRINCE Harry has always wanted out of the Royal Family and the repercussions will be felt for years, an expert has claimed.
The Duke of Sussex has lived in California with his wife Meghan Markle since 2020 after they dramatically quit their jobs as working royals and moved across the pond.
Katie Nicholl, who is Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent, told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that Megxit did not come as a surprise to her.
Speaking to The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson, the commentator explained: “Anyone who knows Harry is aware he’s always wanted a way out of the Royal Family.
“He’s said multiple times on the record that he wished he’d never been born a prince.
“I think he really is living the life he wants to now. It’s very, very sad that it’s played out the way it has.”
In a statement made on the Sussexes’ Instagram account as they stepped back in 2020, the pair wrote: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.
“It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”
“By saying nothing, he makes it much easier for Prince Harry to reconcile,” said Mr Vickers.
“I said it many times before, people can always reconcile if there is a willingness to compromise – that has to be on both sides.
“And I think the King has behaved in an exemplary way. He hasn’t told us anything. He hasn’t responded at all.”
Referring to the late Queen’s response to allegations Meghan made against the Firm, Mr Vickers said: “We haven’t even had a wonderful remark like the (late) Queen put out – ‘recollections may vary’. Nothing has come out from him at all.
“That’s very generous of him, and very, very sensible, and it looks as though, if I’m being fair to Prince Harry that he, at the moment is not doing that either.
“Maybe if time passes and things cool down…people’s memories are short…things can change.”
He went on to refer to a biography the then-Prince Charles himself put out with Jonathan Dimbleby in 1994 “in which he criticised his parents and the way he’d been brought up quite a lot”.
“That was considered to be very unattractive, but people have forgotten about that now – that’s all in the past,” said Mr Vickers.
PORTUGAL PLAN
However, the royal expert believes there may even be a more indirect way for Harry to reconnect with his family in the long-term.
Reports suggest he and Meghan have bought a property south of Lisbon in Portugal as they appear to be looking to build a potential European base.
They were spotted house hunting with Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank in recent weeks.
Mr Vickers said: “It’s a little bit closer to home. It’s closer to what he (Harry) might be doing with the Invictus Games.
“And also, significantly, it’s very close to where his favourite cousin, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank live.”
Read More on The US Sun
He said “taking a really long view”, his children may mix with his cousin’s “and by that route down the line, many years hence”, could also get to know William and Kate’s three children “who, of course, they don’t know at all at the moment”.
The Sun has approached the Sussexes’ representatives for comment.
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