Spare

“I'm so relatable, I'm just like you. I've grown so much and done so much work on myself.”

It felt like a long, barely interesting story to generate some public sympathy. I'm not entirely sure why I read this book. I don't care about the royal family or celebrities. I care less now, somehow.

Because of my lack of interest, I know very little about the royal family. I doubt they provide a lot of value to the world, and I'd bet they are dysfunctional. Because I don't care to read any more about them, I'll assume this book is 50% accurate and that a book written by the other side of the family would be about as reliable. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I'm confident growing up in this environment would do weird things to a person. Your mom dying while you were young, the weird family dynamics, the public's inexplicable interest in your life, having every part of your entire life, no matter how trivial, dictated by ‘protocol', and having your actions, wardrobe, friends and romantic partners, word choice, etc. all being heavily scrutinized...You're going to be a weirdo.

What really irked me was the constant concern that he was ‘in danger' because people were taking his photo. I'm a private person, I would hate people following me around, taking my photo, and telling stories about me, but I guess I view that as the cost of having an otherwise exceedingly cushy life. Talking non-stop about wanting privacy, then leaving and seeking out a lot of publicity (books, Netflix specials, interviews with Oprah...) makes it seem as though maybe you like the attention more than you care to admit. I imagine if you leave the royal life behind, and live a completely normal life otherwise, most of the paparazzi will get bored eventually and move on.

“We want to leave the royal family. What? You're cutting us off?” That felt like a pretty obvious eventuality to me. I'm surprised he was surprised on that point.

Sorry you were dealt a bad hand. I'd hate to have had the life you did, but I thought you came across whiny in this book.