The title of the autobiographical book by Prince Harry it’s all too impressive. “Spare” in English means “spare”, “spare”, “reserve”. This is how the duke would feel all his life. Instead, a shadow of the brother destined to rule: “the heir and the substitute”, as they say among the crowned heads. In the memoirs, this type of inferiority complex is explained from the first pages. However, Harry does not limit himself to recounting the life of an eternal second based on ancient dynastic rules, but goes further and claims to be a genuine “spare part” of Prince William.
The tragedy of being a cadet
Being born second must have been traumatic for Prince Harry. At least, that’s what he conveys to the readers of his book. However, this drama does not remain suspended between the lines, but is formed so strongly that one is disturbed by shocking words that move one. the Duke of Sussex reveals something no one has ever had the courage to say, let alone write down (provided that what is told is true).
He says even his body would have been a set of spare parts for them Brothers Elder: “Willy is two years older than me and was the heir while I keep it. I was the shadow, the pillar, the plan B. I was put into the world in case something happened to Willy.” He then adds that he was “a diversion”, “a diversion” who had “a spare if needed”. should give.
Prince Harry leaves no secret unanswered and roughly explains what he means by “spare parts”: “Maybe a kidney. A blood transfusion. A piece of bone marrow.” The claims are very serious, but what quakes them, at least in part, is a dutiful clarification: no one can be compelled to make donations of this kind for reasons of personal liberty. Moreover, the requirement is essential compatibility, to explore through tests and also not to be automatically present between siblings. One wonders whether the prince took these facts into account.
Immediately afterwards, Harry tells about the treatment in the family and remembers that Carlo and Wilhelm They would never have flown on the same plane “because there must be no possibility of the first and second in line to the throne being eliminated. But no one cared who I was traveling with. The reserve could be replaced. This has been made clear to me since the beginning of my existence and has been regularly reinforced.”
A spare wheel
Harry also tells us that “it wasn’t just the press that referred to us,” clearly outlining the supposed boundaries between heir and successor, but also “the definition used in the family,” even by Lady Diana and the queen elizabeth. In this context, the Duke also recalls the anecdote allegedly connected with his birth, which he is said to have heard about at the age of twenty. When he saw him for the first time, then-Prince Charles would have exclaimed to his wife: “Wonderful! You gave me the heir and the reserve. My job is done.” After narrating the episode, Harry writes, “[Fu] maybe a joke”, but “a few minutes after this scene it says that dad wanted to meet his girlfriend”.
the prince he answers the question that might be resonating in the reader’s mind at this point and this is how he would have reacted to this alleged attitude towards him: “I didn’t feel offended. I felt absolutely nothing. The line of succession is like the weather, or the position of the planets, or the changing of the seasons. Who has time to worry about things that can’t be changed? … Being a Windsor meant … knowing instinctively who you were, which amounted to … forever being the by-product of who you weren’t. I wasn’t the grandmother. I wasn’t dad. I wasn’t Willy. I was third in line behind them. At least once in their lives every boy and girl imagines being a prince or princess. So, replacement or not, it wasn’t that bad. And I add: Isn’t honor the definition of standing steadfastly behind the people you love? Or love?“.