Spare

In this section of Spare, Harry begins a transformative period as he forges an identity outside his royal role. In Australia, he revels in the informal environment, hard physical work, and freedom on the farm. The nickname Spike, which Harry acquires there, solidifies the notion that he’s becoming someone new. In Botswana, Harry’s introduction to Teej and Mike signals his discovery of another surrogate family. While Harry feels pressure to conform from his own family, he believes that Teej and Mike “cherish whatever wildness was still inside me” (96). In South Africa, his quest for love begins when he meets Chelsy Davy. One of Chelsy’s attractions is that she doesn’t have “throne syndrome.” Harry is confident that her interest in him is authentic and unconnected to his royal status. Consequently, he feels valued for his character rather than his ancestry.

Intensifying Harry’s desire to find a romantic partner is the societal pressure to settle down and have a family of his own. While the press constantly speculates on his single status, he’s aware that the history of the monarchy is “based on marriage” and producing heirs (230). As a result, royal family members gain titles and bigger premises once they’re married, alluding to the theme The Monarchy as an Institution and Machine. Ironically, the forces that drive Prince Harry’s to settle down also hamper his quest for love. Because of his royal status, his girlfriends are high-profile targets for the press, and few can withstand the constant harassment; this is true of Chelsy, and her relationship with Harry ultimately fails.

At Sandhurst, Harry continues to shed his old identity. While other cadets resist when they’re told to “Kill the Self” (110), Harry embraces the process of being “reduced to an essence, […] only the vital stuff remaining” (110). In addition, by successfully passing his training, he experiences the satisfaction of outranking Prince William, who has just started as a cadet. In addition to normal sibling rivalry, this reflects the theme Royal Family Dynamics and Conflict (between the “Heir” and the “Spare”).

While Harry begins to feel greater autonomy in these chapters, most of his experiences are marred by the intrusion of the press, again emphasizing the theme The Consequences of Press Harassment and Misinformation. His privacy in Australia and at Sandhurst is interrupted by reporters who find their way onto the premises. Chelsy is uncomfortable with intense press scrutiny too. Additionally, the sensational press coverage of Harry’s ill-chosen Nazi costume threatens his future in the Army. Thus begins a pattern in which Prince Harry feels that the press continually thwarts his personal fulfillment. His hatred of the media only intensifies when, upon examining the files on his mother’s death, he realizes that the paparazzi took pictures of her after she died. This discovery prompts his figurative comparison of the photographers to “wild dogs […] feast[ing] on her defenseless body” (107).