COLLINS: Prince Harry’s book a mix of good and bad

I KNEW AT SOME POINT I would have to read Prince Harry’s bestseller “Spare”, if for no other reason than as a journalist, a book about all the Royal confrontations would give me perhaps a bit of insight into what led to the friction between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal family. I chose to read (or listen as it turned out) via an audiobook, my first, with Harry himself doing the reading.

I was not a big fan of Harry going into this book. I like William and Kate. Still do. But while this book is very much a “woe is me” sob story, there are some great insights into life in the palace. There are many stories here about gossiping and backstabbing, which made me think of the intrigue in the series “Game of Thrones”. That there is a major rift between the heir and the spare is pretty apparent. It won’t likely be easily healed. It may not topple the monarchy, but it sure hasn’t helped it.

That the palace has ganged up on Harry and Meghan, at least in their minds, is pretty easy to see. The Sussexes with their attitude haven’t helped their cause, though. A lot of the dirty laundry Harry dragged out should have stayed within the family. The political games played would be hard to believe if we hadn’t seen all the same drama played out in American political life over the past few years, but some of it is no one’s business but the families.

I did find some real highlights in the book though. Harry’s military service was fascinating and his trips to Africa pointed out clearly the demise of an entire continent because of our inhumanity.