Spare, Prince Harry's memoir (ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer, the critically acclaimed author of The Tender Bar) published to tremendous fanfare in early January 2023, was one of the most anticipated works of non-fiction in the past several decades. Though Spare covers Prince Harry's life from birth to the present day, much of the book is devoted to the death of Harry's mother Princess Diana and how that affected him and Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle and with the Royal Family. Spare also talks in-depth about Prince Harry's military service and his experiences in Afghanistan, where he claimed to kill many Taliban members.
Reactions to Spare were mixed. Spare also spawned several controversies. Some were impressed with Prince Harry's honesty; others felt that Prince Harry provided too many personal details in his memoir. Others, in fact, thought that Prince Harry was lying about many of the details in Spare or embellishing details for effect. The Taliban, who Harry spoke derisively of and claimed to kill many of, were also outraged with Spare and called Harry a "murderer". Similarly, a royal aide also called into question Harry's recounting of how he chose a Nazi costume for a party, claiming that the Prince was lying.
To make matters worse, a survey conducted after the release of Spare which polled the British public showed that only 21% of the British public held a positive view of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle. Still, Spare became "the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time" according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Rebecca Mead reviewed Spare for The New Yorker and said that Spare is "worth reading not just for its headline-generating details but also for its narrative force, its voice, and its sometimes-surprising wit." On the other hand, Sean Coughlan, who has covered the British Royal Family for years called Spare "weird."
