Almost two weeks after its launch, more than half a million people around the world already have on their nightstand the book that has broken sales records in the UK and the world.
Is about ‘Spare’ or ‘En la Sombra’ (the Spanish version), the book in which it is told in the first person the memoirs of Prince Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III of England and the late Princess Diana. Harry is also fifth in the line of succession to the British crown, behind the children of his brother William.
Also read: Ukraine: in a meeting of allies, Zelensky demands tanks to “stop evil”
In the midst of the “hangover” left by the intoxication of the long-awaited book with its luxurious hard cover, silky texture and 416 pages, hundreds of reviews and critics have already been written around the world.
Harry’s book was announced in 2021 and was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist JR Moehringer and published by Penguin Random House. Moehringer was asked to write Harry’s autobiography, having previously done so for the likes of tennis star Andre Agassi, as well as writing his own novels.
The work is available in digital format, softcover and hardcover and has been translated into fifteen languages, including Spanish, French, German, among others. There’s also a 15-hour audiobook edition, which Harry narrates himself, in a well-trained tone of voice.
It is a story in which the Duke of Sussex reflects on how his childhood was and the profound effect of his mother’s death, going through his questionable moments during adolescence, including details of how he came to kill 25 Taliban militants during his role in the British Army in Afghanistan. That revelation drew serious criticism from his war comrades and some believe that the prince himself endangered his personal safety and that of his family, in the face of potential revenge from the Taliban, now in power. For some readers, the book hints at Harry as a big, unhappy boy.
“When you read Prince Harry’s book you go through various feelings. The reader sympathizes a lot with the Prince because of his process in the death of his mother and visualizes a vulnerable and helpless young child. In the first lines of the book he talks about his good relationship with his family. But, in the second part he takes a complete turn, where they show a prince educated for war. So we can see that negative part. There is another facet of his life that begins with his relationship with Meghan, where he begins to break that relationship with his family. The book ends with a rather resentful Harry,” said Nelly Mosquera, an avid reader and veteran Colombian feminist journalist based in London.
When you read Prince Harry’s book you go through various feelings. The reader sympathizes a lot with the Prince for his process in the death of his mother
Many feared that these memories, which tell in a very personal way, Harry’s experiences and secrets from his birth until he abandoned his role as a member of the British Royal Family or ‘the factory’ as they prefer to define it contemptuously in 2020, could generate a cataclysm within Corona, the oldest establishment in the United Kingdom.
And it is not for less, through the 416 pages he portrays the difficult relationship he had since childhood with his brother and first in succession to the throne, Prince William, until he reached physical violence.
He speaks in very harsh terms of his father, whom he complains about for not giving him a boyish hug, even though he left beautiful messages under his pillow calling him his ‘darling boy’, praising his behavior and telling him that he was very proud of him.
Harry also sneers at the queen consort Camilla, whom he calls a wicked witch, for trying to improve her image by siding with the press against his wife Meghan Markle.
Harry reveals in his memoirs the emotional impact of the tragic death of his mother Diana in 1997 when he was 12 years old and how even, 25 years later, he continues to yearn for her presence and even admits that he has had imaginary conversations with her. He recounts the moment he drove through the same Parisian tunnel that took Diana’s life.
In all the improvements he talks about the different members of the royal family, but deliberately leaves out any comment about his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was stripped of most of his titles and removed from royal duties due to a scandal over his friendship with American financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender and a related sexual assault allegation.
Although he considers the press his enemy, Harry conducted a marathon round of interviews to promote the release of the controversial work. What ensured him to stay in the media spotlight for more than ten days. Some thought that King Carlos III himself, who assumed his role last September after the death of Isabel II, would speak out and even consider abdicating the throne.
Sure, it made many tremble, but the British Crown is so solid that Harry’s revelations hurt him more than the royal family.
But none of that seems to be happening. “Of course, it made many tremble, but the British Crown is so solid that Harry’s revelations harm him more than the royal family,” said the expert on royal issues, Mónica Elliston, to EL TIEMPO. , when referring to the fact that in Buckingham Palace there is a sepulchral silence about the book and he continues with his ‘business as usual’.
As the book continues to make headlines with its series of dramatic revelations about the royal family, the prestigious pollster YouGov reported that, following the release of ‘Spare’, Prince Harry’s popularity has fallen further in the eyes of the British public. .
“One in five Britons (21%) believe the main motivation behind Spare’s release is for the prince to ‘tell his side of the story’, but around twice as many (41%) believe it is to make money.” , says the consultant.
Who does it hurt?
In fact, some experts believe the book is the ultimate example of public relations strategy, such as lifestyle expert Ada Gartenmann, who believes that “Harry is a genius at getting the best of himself and getting away with it.” . With his very cunning wife, he saw the weakness in the royal family. He is monetizing that situation, because by leaving the Crown he needs something to live off of ”.
For his part, the communication strategist and director of the organization Monitores América, Elías García Navas, told El TIEMPO that “everything seems to indicate that Prince Harry has adopted his wife’s public relations strategy, basing his reputation on the controversial, with purely mercantilist purposes. Spare is turning a profit, because the intimacies of the royal family generate interest in large audiences. However, the reputational damage for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is immense in their main markets: England and the United States, where they have suffered a huge loss of popularity.
only a quarter of Brits (24 per cent) now think positively of Prince Harry, while 68 per cent have a negative opinion
In fact, YouGov’s royal favoritism tracker found that “only a quarter of Brits (24 per cent) now think positively of Prince Harry, while 68 per cent have a negative opinion, giving him his rating of lowest favorability so far of -44, up from -38 last week, which had been its previous all-time low.”
In fact, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are now so disliked by older Britons that their popularity ratings are worse than those of the disgraced Prince Andrew among the over-65s. While 60 per cent of the older generation have a “very” negative view of Prince Andrew, that rises to 69 per cent for Meghan and 73 per cent for Prince Harry.
And monarchy?
However, the ‘royal psychodrama’ raging in the pages of the British press seems to make some uncomfortable, with the number of people saying they are ashamed of the monarchy rising from 15 per cent to 21 per cent, compared to the results registered in September, when Queen Elizabeth II died.
At the same time, the proportion of Britons who say they are proud of the British monarchy has fallen from 55 percent in September to 43 percent this week. Despite this, YouGov reports that for many the monarchy is still good for the United Kingdom, although that perception has dropped to 59 percent compared to September last year when it was 62 percent.
Similarly, wishes for the monarchy system to be retained are almost set in stone, with the number of Britons preferring the monarchy, rather than replacing it with an elected head of state, remaining largely unchanged (64%, having been 67% in September).
Analysis suggests that Harry’s book, impeccably written and edited, seems to remain an anecdotal work that will barely leave a few dents in the British Crown.
Maria Victoria Cristancho
For the time
London
On Twitter: @mavicristancho
More news
#Harrys #book #dent #British #crown