Prince Harry formally resigned away as a member of the royal family in 2020, but his troubles with the role began far before. In his book ‘Spare,’ the prince discusses his unique life. Although many people believe he enjoyed a perfect existence, Harry discusses struggles and an identity problem he experienced behind the scenes.In his book, Prince Harry tells the story behind his nickname, Spike. He earned it during a gap year in Australia in 2003, working as a ‘jackaroo’ at Tooloombilla Station. One of his pals had shaved his head before, and it was now sprouting straight up in’spikes’. He claimed he even modified his accent to better fit the name.
“Soon enough my mates at home got wind of this new nickname, and adopted it,” explained the man. “I became Spike when I wasn’t Haz, Baz, Prince Jackaroo, Harold, Darling Boy, or Scrawny, nicknames bestowed to me by palace staff. Identity had always been a challenge, but with half a dozen formal identities and a dozen nicknames, it was turning into a hall of mirrors.” Although so many names could be confusing, he welcomed them all. “Most days, I didn’t mind what others called me. Most days, I thought, “I don’t care who I am as long as it’s someone new and not Prince Harry.”
Prince Harry claimed he was denied affection from his family as a child. He was instructed to preserve his distance from others. “As a royal, you were always trained to keep a barrier between yourself and the rest of creation. Even when dealing with a large throng, you maintained a subtle distance from them,” he explained. He dubbed his book after his “position” in the royal family, with his older brother Prince William as “the heir” and Prince Harry as “the spare.” He said William received preferential treatment based on their birth order.
But Harry sees a benefit to being “the spare”: “I have more freedom than he does, right? So his life has been prepared for him. I have greater freedom to select the life that I choose.”Despite the impact from his freedom and subsequent interviews, Prince Harry intends to reconcile with his brother and father, King Charles III. “If we can reach a point of reconciliation, it will have a global impact,” Harry stated in an interview about his memoir. “I truly believe that, and that is what motivates me. And if it doesn’t happen, it’s very unfortunate.”
Although his book digs into the bad sides of his upbringing, Harry chose to publish it because he did not believe it would harm his connections with his family. “I have thought about it long and hard,” he told me. “And as far as I see it, the divide couldn’t be greater before this book.” In his book, he describes William as his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis” in an attempt to summarize their convoluted relationship. Harry has long been clear about his dislike for the tabloids. He has even accused the royals of deliberately circulating negative information about Meghan. Aside from reconciliation, Prince Harry wishes to reduce “the codependency” between tabloids and the royal family.
“There are some people, especially in the U.K., who have been led to believe that because you are a member of the royal family, somehow everyone owns you or has a stake in you,” he told the BBC. “And it’s a notion that has been solely propagated by the British tabloids, and it causes serious problems within that family and relationship. Of course, there must be some form of relationship, but the current state is quite toxic.”Today, Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, live in California with their two children.
They have relinquished their royal duties and are now pursuing separate careers. Although Harry supports the monarchy, he is concerned about future royal generations. He hopes to bring about change. “I also worry about other young kids within that [royal] family if this continues,” the prince remarked. “Because who’s to say that someone else doesn’t fill my shoes and that their partner, whether it’s a husband or a wife or boyfriend or a girlfriend, doesn’t get treated exactly the same as Meghan did?”