Prince Harry’s book

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It must be difficult for William to always get shadowed by his brother's drama and held accountable in people's eyes for his actions and complaints. What a constant emotional burden to weigh you down.

Eh. No more difficult then dropping comments in a book chat that aren’t about the book.

[Anonymous]

Since when readers are banned from commenting on topics or characters discussed in an autobiography?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since when readers are banned from commenting on topics or characters discussed in an autobiography?

Some posters think it's a rule for this thread.

[Anonymous]

I’m almost finished with the book, but here are my random thoughts.

was surprised by the extent of Harry’s drinking and drug use. It seemed like he was drinking to excess all the time except for when he was in Afghanistan.

Im curious how, as a royal, he was able to create and maintain all these relationships. It seems like he would randomly meet people while traveling and then they are his best friends for life.

This is probably jealousy, but one thing that makes me feel less sympathy for him is his ability to take these amazing holidays all over the world. I did note while reading that he never mentioned the costs involved with all the trips with friends he describes (skiing, several trips to Africa, etc).

Do you think his description of Meghan when he first met her was accurate? That people recognized her from Suits, that her blog had 100s of thousands of readers, etc.? His descriptions seem so far over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Im curious how, as a royal, he was able to create and maintain all these relationships. It seems like he would randomly meet people while traveling and then they are his best friends for life.

Nah, they thought they could use him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Im curious how, as a royal, he was able to create and maintain all these relationships. It seems like he would randomly meet people while traveling and then they are his best friends for life.

Nah, they thought they could use him.

He is was raised in a bubble and has mental health/drug issues, probably easy for opportunists to use or abuse him.

[Anonymous]

like teenagers who hate their families and blame them for everything while flunking school and doing drugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Im curious how, as a royal, he was able to create and maintain all these relationships. It seems like he would randomly meet people while traveling and then they are his best friends for life.

Nah, they thought they could use him.

He is was raised in a bubble and has mental health/drug issues, probably easy for opportunists to use or abuse him.

NP. It's not probably, it's definitely. Example- Meghan.

[Anonymous]

However, he is fortunate to marry a smart and strong women who can look out for him because his interests are ttied to his interests.

[Anonymous]

*her interests

[Anonymous]

I just finished. I thought the ending was especially sad (SPOILER) with Harry believing that his mother’s spirit broke the Christmas ornament. To be so mentally traumatized that he would believe his dead mother still guiding him from the beyond was sad.

I also came away a little more sympathetic to Meghan. Yes, she’s an opportunist, exaggerator, and all that—but it does seem like they love each other and Harry was on a destructive path and she has seemed to take him off it. I can see that between his PTSD, obsession with the press, and the family’s dynamic he was never going to be satisfied with his life.

I also thought in some ways his family wasn’t so unusual. I’ve seen other families torn apart when a family business fails (or even succeeds and jealousy takes over). They are all complicated situations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every big and small grievance gets aired by this guy so why would anyone not be sure about a incoming backlash if end of lease terms aren't up-to his liking.

Actually, Harry has said that the book was heavily edited, and hundreds of pages didn’t make the cut — in part because he didn’t want to publicly reveal certain things about his father and his brother. I’m sure they have some idea what kinds of things he’s left out. So: No, not every grievance. It’s tempting to wonder what things would have been like if Charles hadn’t cultivated the press with his biography and a years worth of filming when the kids were quite young. That alone set an interesting precedent for how and why this family attempts to use the press and publicly air their grievances, at some cost to their children’s privacy, among other things.

Maybe it’s just me, but the book just came across as vindictive. And it’s sad. It’s sad that kids lost their mom so young and it’s sad that the family is so fractured.

Some of the book seemed petty, but vindictive might be a better word. Overall, the ghost writer provided a very literate read, but I didn't understand why he went into so much detail about things that made Harry look bad. He admitted that he lied to his mentor about drug use at Eton but said that he was angry when it came out in the press. He also said that he had to reveal losing his virginity to a friend because it was in the context of his drug use. I am not sure why Harry has such animosity toward the family since he seemed to be doing fine and enjoying life. It is sad that Harry and William lost their mother when they were 12 and 14, but I wonder if the family is as fractured as portrayed in the book. I have followed the royal family for years and have seen what appear to be happy family pictures of Harry and William with their father and than Harry and William with his wife, Catherine.

It’s not as straight forward as you imply. There was a lot of love for his family in the book too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe he wanted to get in front of bad things and tell his own story since so many false bad things were already in the tabloids - to feel like you have some kind of control over what people know about you.

For a rich aristo kid who was largely unsupervised by any parental figure - the drug use didnt' seem that extreme honestly

You probably read in the book about Harry's visit from Mark Dyer who he called "Marko." Dyer was a Welsh Guard who became an equerry to Prince Charles and who was a mentor to William and Harry during the teen years. Harry still refers to Dyer as his second father. You probably also read in "Spare" that Harry and William would frequently visit their grandparents after classes at nearby Eton College. They lived with Charles after Diana died, and you probably also ready in "Spare" that William and Harry set up a room at Charles home, Highgrove, that they dubbed "Club H" for Club Highgrove. They hung out there and had friends over frequently.

Harry might have been a rich aristo kid, but he was not largely unsupervised by any parental figure. What I find odd is that William -- who was in the same situation -- availed himself of the same therapy resisted by Harry. He is under much greater stress, but he did mask his problems with drugs. Nor does Williams seem to use marijuana for self-medication as Harry said he does his "intimate conversation" with Dr. Gabor Mate last Saturday.

What are you talking about? You’ve said twice now that William “availed himself of therapy”. This has never been publicly stated. In fact Harry has been very open about getting therapy and his struggles. William has not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just finished. I thought the ending was especially sad (SPOILER) with Harry believing that his mother’s spirit broke the Christmas ornament. To be so mentally traumatized that he would believe his dead mother still guiding him from the beyond was sad.

I also came away a little more sympathetic to Meghan. Yes, she’s an opportunist, exaggerator, and all that—but it does seem like they love each other and Harry was on a destructive path and she has seemed to take him off it. I can see that between his PTSD, obsession with the press, and the family’s dynamic he was never going to be satisfied with his life.

I also thought in some ways his family wasn’t so unusual. I’ve seen other families torn apart when a family business fails (or even succeeds and jealousy takes over). They are all complicated situations.

That’s not what it said! He was told that her presence was there when the ornament was broken and that she thought it funny. I assumed he didn’t literally believe this but found it comforting. He didn’t think she broke it! What a strange interpretation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe he wanted to get in front of bad things and tell his own story since so many false bad things were already in the tabloids - to feel like you have some kind of control over what people know about you.

For a rich aristo kid who was largely unsupervised by any parental figure - the drug use didnt' seem that extreme honestly

You probably read in the book about Harry's visit from Mark Dyer who he called "Marko." Dyer was a Welsh Guard who became an equerry to Prince Charles and who was a mentor to William and Harry during the teen years. Harry still refers to Dyer as his second father. You probably also read in "Spare" that Harry and William would frequently visit their grandparents after classes at nearby Eton College. They lived with Charles after Diana died, and you probably also ready in "Spare" that William and Harry set up a room at Charles home, Highgrove, that they dubbed "Club H" for Club Highgrove. They hung out there and had friends over frequently.

Harry might have been a rich aristo kid, but he was not largely unsupervised by any parental figure. What I find odd is that William -- who was in the same situation -- availed himself of the same therapy resisted by Harry. He is under much greater stress, but he did mask his problems with drugs. Nor does Williams seem to use marijuana for self-medication as Harry said he does his "intimate conversation" with Dr. Gabor Mate last Saturday.

I'm still on the library's waitlist, but in an interview, Harry said that for many years, he didn't really believe (or maybe accept?) that his mother was dead. If his coping mechanism was denial for so long, it would make sense to resist therapy. In therapy, he would have been forced to acknowledge the truth, and it sounds like that was too painful for a long.

It also makes sense that Harry would feel this way and not William. They were different ages. There is interesting research on the impact of major events on siblings-- how much it varies based on age and stage of development.