It’s been over a year since Prince Harry dropped his bombshell memoir, Spare. It caused all kinds of wild headlines at the time, with royal commentators jumping at the chance to weigh in. But what do readers think?
One year later, we looked at the top reviews on GoodReads, the reader-focused platform where literature fans share their thoughts on what they’re reading. While many reviews are fresh from release, any user from the time since has had a chance to sign off on them and push them to the top of the review section.
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Scroll on to see the prevailing reactions to Prince Harry’s Spare.
‘Spare’ includes “Unnecessary and Insulting Remarks”
In the top review on GoodReads, a user named Margaret takes issue with Prince Harry’s book in a very long rant. “Had a level of sensitivity and maturity been applied to this story I might have responded differently,” she wrote in part on her one-star review. “Had he shown some restraint and not made such unnecessary and insulting remarks about other people, I might have had some sympathy for the unsavoury press coverage he receives.”
Supporters say ‘Spare’ is “heartfelt and vulnerable”
In a five-star review of the audio book, a user named Shannon writes, “Heartfelt and vulnerable, he shares stories from his childhood, about his mother, about life as a Royal, his military career and charitable work, meeting and falling in love with Meghan and their struggles being part of the Family and ultimately deciding to leave for their own safety and sanity.”
A British perspective on ‘Spare’
A three-star review left by a British audiobook listener named Toni reads, “Whilst I am not going to weigh in on the whole Harry and Meghan debate that everyone seems to be having, I will say that I understand why Harry and Meghan made the decision that they did. That being said, I think some of the things they did could have been done differently. That aside, this was actually an interesting book, but like many, I feel that there are probably a few details he could have spared us…”
‘Spare’ is, by all accounts, one side’s perspective
A three-star review from a person named Eric reads, in part, “There are many conversations recounted throughout the book in which he comes across as supremely reasonable while others sound irate. Should we trust that these were the things actually said? They might be roughly true but it feels like they mostly emphasise the fact that this is a one-sided account.”
More mixed thoughts on Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’
Another reviewer lerft a three-star review that begins, “This memoir made me sad and sympathetic in parts, rather bored, but also somewhat interested; I did enjoy special moments about Diana, found an interesting new take on my original thoughts on King Charles, and confirmed my personal distaste for Camilla and Meghan. Unfortunately, I feel like he hypocritically is turning into the tabloid people he loathes and despises, turning family drama into a money source.”
How to Order ‘Spare’ by Prince Harry
Amazon is offering Spare right now so the book can be in your hands in two days or less. Or you can get the Kindle version of Spare and read it right now.
The book recounts the events since he married Meghan Markle in 2018, while touching on his life since the passing of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. He tells what it’s like to be the “spare,” a reference to a comment he alleges Charles made at his birth about how Diana had given him “an heir and a spare.”
Penguin Random House, the book’s publisher, writes: “With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”
Spare is available on Kindle, Audible, as an audio CD, as a paperback in large print, and in hardcover.
