Prince Harry’s Biographer Criticizes ‘SPARE’ Book Title Because Princess Diana Always Made Sure He Felt Just as ‘Important’ as Prince William
We now have a few details about Prince Harry’s highly-anticpated memoir including when it will be released and what the title will be. The latter is something the Duke of Sussex’s own biographer finds very interesting. That’s because, as the author noted, neither of Harry’s parents ever wanted him to feel like he was less “important” than his brother, and Princess Diana made that a priority.
Author says the word ‘spare’ isn’t derogatory in royal households
On Oct. 27, the publisher Penguin Random House revealed that the title of Harry’s book is: SPARE.
Almost immediately many royal watchers took to social media to discuss the “burn” title and major dig at the royal family. However, Angela Levin, who spent time with the duke when she was writing Harry: A Biography of a Prince, was rather puzzled by the title that just about everyone viewed as a shot at the royals since the word does not have a “derogatory connotation when used in the context of royal households.”
In a column for Sky News Australia Levin wrote: “In royal households ‘spare’ refers to the next in line to the heir to the throne. It is not derogatory. Nor has the royal family believed that Harry was second best as the title suggests.”
Princess Diana and Charles never made Prince Harry feel less ‘important’
In her column, Levin continued to emphasize that Princess Diana and King Charles never made Harry feel like he wasn’t as “important” or loved less than his older sibling.
“Princess Diana made it a priority to make [Harry] feel important and as he grew older emphasized he would have more freedom than his brother William,” Levin said.
The author added: “After his mother’s death, Harry said his father ‘tried to do his best to make sure that we [him and William] were protected and looked after.’ When he guest edited the BBC news program Today in December 2017 he asked his father along. The then-Prince Charles called Harry ‘my darling boy’ and Harry responded, ‘I do end up picking your brain more now than I ever have done.’”
Where is Harry’s position in the line of succession today?
Harry hasn’t been a “spare” directly behind the heir to the throne in quite some time. After the birth of each of Prince William’s children, Harry’s place in the line of succession was bumped down. This happened when Prince George was born in 2013. Then again with Princess Charlotte in 2015, and yet again with Prince Louis in 2018.
Today, the Duke of Sussex sits at fifth in the line of succession to the British throne and he will continue to be pushed down that line in the future when George, Charlotte, and Louis have children of their own.
Harry has stated on numerous occasions that he does not want to be king, and living away from the family in California now with all the freedom he wants proves that he doesn’t want to be. So that does leave many questioning why he chose the title he did.
