Some people thought the title of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, was a tad harsh. But as it turns out, the Duke of Sussex, 39, has been called “spare” since the day he was born.
In a newly resurfaced excerpt from the book, Prince Harry discussed his relationship with his father, King Charles, and how his dad was the first person to call him a spare. The Duke of Sussex revealed the monarch’s reaction to Princess Diana giving birth to a second boy after Prince William.
According to Prince Harry, King Charles told Princess Diana, “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare—my work is done.”
The Guardian noted that Prince Harry has always resented this nickname, and his frustration is evident throughout the memoir. “Harry’s resentment of being the ‘spare’ is the unifying theme of his book, through chapters on his childhood, his schooling, his career as a royal and in the British army, his relationship with his parents and brother and his life with Meghan through courtship, wedding and marriage to their own experience of parenthood,” the outlet reported.
This isn’t the only revelation we’ve learned from Prince Harry’s memoir. In the book, the duke also revealed that King Charles, 75, and Queen Camilla, 76, tried to get Kate Middleton, 42, to change the spelling of her name because there are too many royal names that start with the letter “C,” including their own.
According to Prince Harry, King Charles and Queen Camilla suggested that she could change the spelling of her first name to “Katherine.” That way, her royal cypher would have a “K,” versus a “C.”
Oh, to be royal.
Stay up-to-date on every breaking royal family story by subscribing here.
