Prince Harry Says He Has Enough Material for a Second Book, But the Royal Family Would Never Forgive Him

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published 14 January 2023

As much as the royal family is no doubt reeling from the contents of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare—released this week to much fanfare—apparently they should be happy with what he didn’t include.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Harry reveals that the original draft of the book was 800 pages, double its current length of 416 pages, and that he left bits about his brother Prince William and father King Charles out of the final version, as he worried they’d never forgive him if he revealed them.

“It could have been two books, put it that way,” he says. “And the hard bit was taking things out.”

He adds “there are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”

Harry says that he gave ample material to ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer for context, knowing there was “absolutely no way” the anecdotes would be in the published version.

“Because on the scale of things I could include for family members, there were certain things that—look, anything I’m going to include about any of my family members, I’m going to get trashed for,” Harry says. “I knew that walking into it. But it’s impossible to tell my story without them in it, because they play such a crucial part in it. And also, because you need to understand the characters and personalities of everyone within the book.”

It's hard to imagine what ended up on the cutting room floor since so much explosive material did end up in the book, which Harry acknowledges: “Now, you could argue that some of the stuff I’ve put in there, well, they will never forgive me anyway,” he says. “But the way I see it is, I’m willing to forgive you for everything you’ve done, and I wish you’d actually sat down with me, properly, and instead of saying I’m delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what I’d really like is some accountability. And an apology to my wife.”

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.