Prince Harry said he had to cut out most of the bombshell secrets he had included in the first draft of his memoir, “Spare,” because he realized it would probably be too much for the monarchy to bear. He said his brother Prince William and father, King Charles III, would never forgive him if he told all.
Prince Harry said he had to make the cuts so he could avoid seriously damaging his relationship with his brother and father.
Speaking to the Telegraph on January 13, the Duke of Sussex said some things had happened between him and William and him and his father that he would rather the world not know because he didn’t think they would ever forgive him if he revealed them.
When speaking about the editing process, Harry admitted that they had to cut down almost half of the book, which was released on January 10.
He said that the first draft was very different, and the tell-all included 800 pages. The book was released with only 400 pages. Harry said that the memoir could have been two books, and it was hard for him to take things out.
“Spare” made record-breaking sales on its first day on the shelves, selling over 1.4 million copies of its English language version. It was the largest first-day sale for any nonfiction book published by Penguin Random House. The sales surpassed former President Barack Obama’s 887,000 copies of “A Promised Land” sold on the first day, and Michelle Obama’s 725,000 sales for “Becoming.”
Prince Harry detailed several personal experiences, including a confrontation with William, which turned physical, and the mourning of his mother, Princess Diana, after her tragic death in Paris.
During a promotional interview for “Spare” with ITV, Harry said that despite his strained relationship with the royals, there was a great chance of reconciliation on his end, but the family, especially his brother and father, have shown zero willingness to reconcile with him.
In the interview, Harry said he would love to get his father and brother back in his life.
In the book, Harry details how he received the news of his mother’s passing, how he regrets his last conversation with Princess Diana, and how the decision was made for him and Prince William to walk behind her coffin.
According to the book, William was meant to walk behind the coffin alone because he was older, but the monarchy decided to include Harry in the long walk to garner more sympathy. Harry said he was happy to join his brother as he did not want William to go through that alone.
Harry cried as his mother’s body was buried, and said that he refused to believe that she was really dead.
The Duke also revealed in his memoir that King Charles would joke and tease that Diana’s former lover, James Hewitt, was Harry’s real biological father.
Talking about his life as a teenager, Harry said he experimented with cocaine because he was deeply unhappy and willing to try anything.
In a shocking moment during the ITV interview, Harry said, “After many, many years of lies being told about me and my family, there comes a point where, going back to the relationship between, certain members of the family and the tabloid press, those certain members have decided to get in the bed with the devil.”
If Harry had told all, it could have been worse.