Amid his contentious separation from the British royal family, Prince Harry has published his memoir, which he hopes will explain exactly why he had to make the choices he did (he spells this goal out pretty clearly in the prologue). The memoir details his childhood where it was clear he was the "spare" to his older brother's "heir," his grief and disbelief at the death of his mother when he was 12, his tumultuous teen years, the way he found himself in the British Army, and finally finding a life partner in his wife, Meghan Markle. Throughout it all, he is abundantly clear about the role that the British press has played in all of the most difficult moments of his life, and — perhaps more surprisingly to those of us outside the Commonwealth — the role that his dysfunctional family has played in those moments.
While Prince Harry is certainly telling his side of the story, one that certainly won't match up with the story told by his family (and has just as certainly caused additional conflict between them), it's refreshing to read something in which Harry controls the narrative, when it's clear that that has never been the case in the past. He's frank, he owns up to his past mistakes, and at times gives a bit too much information (I really didn't need to know about ALL the locations where he got frostbite on a trek to the North Pole). While there are some who will complain that he's a prince, and what's he got to complain about, it's hard not to feel sympathy for someone whose life has been so strictly dictated and limited, even if that cage is gilded. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into this book, but I truly enjoyed reading this open and deeply humanizing memoir of one of the most famous royals in the world.
A final note: I listened to the audiobook, which was read by Prince Harry, and I highly recommend it. He's an excellent narrator who does a fairly good American accent for a Brit.
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