Details of the collaborative process behind Prince Harry’s record-breaking memoir, “Spare,” have been unveiled by the book’s ghostwriter. Their journey together allowed the Duke of Sussex to openly communicate his experiences to the public, a source of joy for the prince.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry’s revealing memoir sent shockwaves across the globe, launching a flurry of provocative allegations against the royal family. The book disclosed numerous private clashes between the Duke and senior members of the royal family, along with intricate details of his much-publicized detachment from the royal clan in 2020.
Recently, the ghostwriter who co-authored the memoir with Prince Harry has come forward with a deeper dive into their partnership, which began in the summer of 2020.
In an op-ed published in the New Yorker, J. R. Moehringer shared his experience of dealing with the press’s harassment following the leakage of his identity and journalists misrepresenting the Duke’s narrative.
Moehringer describes an instance of disagreement with Harry during the editing phase in his piece. Harry wished to incorporate an astute riposte he delivered when his fellow soldiers referred to his late mother, Princess Diana, during a military training exercise. Prince Harry served ten years in the British Army, with two tours in Afghanistan, before retiring in 2015.
The prince disclosed that he had often been skeptical about his intellect, and including this incident would demonstrate his quick thinking even under physical and mental stress.
Moehringer resisted this idea, fearing he might have crossed a line.
However, Harry responded with a playful grin, Moehringer recounts, before cheekily saying: “‘I enjoy getting you worked up like that.’”
Harry’s Desire to Counter Misconceptions
Moehringer’s op-ed further reveals Harry’s intent to challenge public misconceptions. “Harry couldn’t escape the desire that ‘Spare’ might serve as a refutation to every falsehood published about him,” Moehringer writes, mentioning that Harry envisaged an endless series of retractions.
However, before the memoir’s publication, Moehringer’s identity was leaked, attracting attention to his personal life and relationship with Harry.
A bookstore in Madrid prematurely sold copies of the book, leading to a wave of misinterpreted news stories based on poorly translated excerpts from the Spanish version, Moehringer notes.
He adds that the English version’s release did not remedy the situation, as facts were manipulated, complex emotions were oversimplified, innocent passages were exaggerated into scandalous claims, and numerous inaccuracies were reported.
The response, Moehringer explains, resembled a “hysterical mob,” with the focus soon shifting to question the book’s accuracy.
Before long, the press targeted Moehringer and his family, encountering invasive paparazzi while dropping off his son at preschool and journalists appearing outside his study.
Having attempted to comprehend Harry’s trials, Moehringer writes, “I’d tried hard to grasp Harry Windsor’s struggles, and now I realized that my understanding was limited. Empathy pales in comparison to the depth of first-hand experience.”
Reflecting on Harry’s life-long media scrutiny, he longed to revisit certain sections in “Spare” that discuss the media.
Moehringer pondered if Harry might also be feeling the brunt of the media attention but found the prince celebrating the book’s release joyfully.
Not only did “Spare” receive the title of the fastest-selling nonfiction book in history from Guinness World Records, but readers also gave it glowing reviews after reading the actual text instead of media critiques, Moehringer shares.
He vividly describes the emotional moment Harry speaks to the guests at the book’s release party. Overwhelmed with a sense of finally being “free,” there were tears in both Harry and Moehringer’s eyes.
However, for Moehringer, “free” didn’t fully encapsulate Harry’s feelings.
“Harry first experienced liberation when he fell in love with Meghan and again when they left Britain. What he experienced now, for the first time in his life, was a sense of being truly heard,” Moehringer concludes.
Moehringer’s op-ed provides a glimpse into the creation of Prince Harry’s groundbreaking memoir, “Spare,” and the challenges the Duke and his ghostwriter faced in navigating the press’s scrutiny and misrepresentations. But despite the tumult, the memoir’s release became a celebratory moment for Prince Harry – not just a record-breaking achievement but also a platform where he felt his voice, at last, was honestly heard.
