Patti Davis, actress and youngest daughter of the late President Reagan, gave Prince Harry some wise but unsolicited advice ahead of the release of his memoir, Spare.
In an op-ed for The New York Times, Davis, 70, warned the Duke of Sussex to be careful with his outspokenness.
“My justification for writing a book that I now wish I hadn’t written… was very similar to what I understand to be Harry’s reasoning. I wanted to tell the truth, I wanted to set the record straight. Naively, I thought, if I put my own feelings and truth out there for the world to read, my family might understand me better too,” she wrote.
Davis’ book about the Reagan family, Family Secrets, was published in 1993.
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Patti Davis offered Prince Harry some advice ahead of the release of his new memoir, Spare. (Taylor Hill/David Crotty)
“During the early stages of my father’s Alzheimer’s disease, when he was still having lucid moments, I apologized to him for writing an autobiography many years earlier, opening the gates of our difficult family life,” Davis admitted to. “He was talking less at this point, but his eyes told me he understood.”
Davis saw a parallel between her decision making and that of the estranged Prince Harry.
“I thought about that moment when I read that Prince Harry was writing in his new memoir about his father, King Charles, stepping between his struggling sons and saying, ‘Please boys, don’t make my final years a misery .’ Time is an unpredictable thing…I had the gift of time with my father, which allowed me to apologize even though an illness hung between us and clouded our communication. King Charles’ words reveal a man aware of his mortality and he wants his offspring to be aware of that.”
Patti Davis (left) was the only daughter of Nancy and Ronald Reagan. (bedman)
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Davis pointed out that there are multiple versions of the truth, and since the storylines from Prince Harry’s book were teased before the January 10 availability date, she believes the King and Prince William are also entitled to their own version.
“People generally don’t respond well to being embarrassed and embarrassed in public. And over the years that have followed, I’ve learned something of the truth: It’s a lot more complicated than it seems when we’re young. There is not just one truth, our truth—the other people who inhabit our history have their truths, too,” she wrote.
Prince Harry has claimed his older brother attacked him in his book. (Aron Chown)
In the past few days, part of Harry’s book, which recounts a physical altercation with William, has been shared with the public.
“Prince William has, I’m sure, his own take on the physical struggle Harry described,” Davis offered. “To really understand the dynamic between the brothers, to expand and make the story more complete, William’s truth must also be considered. Harry has written that after William hit him, William told Harry to hit him back, which he declined to do. But by writing about the fight, he did just that.”
In hindsight, Davis believes she should never have revealed her family’s innermost secrets.
“Years ago someone asked me what I would say to my younger self if I could. Without hesitation, I replied, ‘That’s just look at things through a broader lens. Until I understood that words have consequences and really last a long time. Harry has not only called William his “beloved brother” but his “nemesis.” He has chosen words that will cut deep and leave a scar; perhaps he would have made a different choice if he had taken the time to be still and reflect on the enduring power of his words.
Patti Davis wishes she had chosen to be “silent” when it came to exposing family turmoil. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)
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“Silence gives you space, it gives you detachment, and it lets you see your experiences more fully without the temptation to even out the score. At some point in the years to come, Harry might look back like I did and wish he couldn’t say what he said. Another thing I learned about truth: Not every truth needs to be told to the whole world. People will always be curious about famous families, and often the stories from those families can resonate with others and give them insight into their own situations, even beyond the time when fame flutters on the edges of eternity. But not everything needs to be shared, a truth that silence can teach. Harry seems to have operated on the dictum that “silence is not an option”. I would respectfully suggest to him that it is,” she concluded.
Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer.