Trapped by being the ‘Spare’: Prince Harry’s second-born struggles still

The history of the Royal Family is made up of heirs and spares.

King Charles was born an heir and was addressed as Your Royal Highness even as a baby.

Before the birth of Prince William, Prince Andrew was a spare for Charles.

But the late Queen was neither, born third in line to the throne, like her grandson Prince Harry.

Veteran royal author Ingrid Seward wrote in My Mother and I: ‘She never said much about the prospect of becoming a future Queen except in a few very well-documented remarks first recorded in the book The Little Princess, written by her governess Marion Crawford.

‘But she certainly did not suffer because of her sudden elevation after her father became the King.

‘There is, however, always a difference depending on the hereditary pecking order.

‘Princess Margaret resented being cast in the role of younger sister, though at no time did she ever indicate that she would like the roles to be reversed.’

Prince Harry has made a career out of being the ‘spare’ to Prince William, according to a royal expert

Harry – pictured as a small child with Princess Diana – had greater license to act as he pleased than his brother William due to being a ‘spare’

King Charles – pictured at the Queen’s Coronation in 1953- was born an heir and was addressed as Your Royal Highness even as a baby

But the royal who dislikes the the ‘spare’ title the most is undoubtedly Prince Harry – who even used it for the name of his explosive tell-all memoir.

He wrote: ‘I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy.

‘I was summoned to provide back up, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a ‘spare’ part. Kidney perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow.’

Ms Seward, the editor of Majesty magazine, wrote: ‘That is completely untrue, of course, but it was how Harry chose to see it and allow it to dominate his life to the extent that he would eventually make a career out of it.

‘He chooses to be a victim and wreak vengeance on the slights he thought he had suffered; on his family; on the press and through the courts.’

Seward has spent decades covering The Firm and its highs and lows – from the War of the Waleses and Toegate to Megxit and beyond.

Like many journalists of her generation, she would often find herself invited to Kensington Palace for cosy chats with Princess Diana or to the ski slopes of Switzerland with Charles, William and Harry.

‘Princess Margaret resented being cast in the role of younger sister, though at no time did she ever indicate that she would like the roles to be reversed,’ writes royal author Ingrid Seward

The late queen and late Duke of Edinburgh are pictured with Charles months before his third birthday in 1952

Ms Seward wrote: ‘Harry would play the fool and get away with childish antics such as standing behind visitors and pulling funny faces behind their backs to make William laugh when he had to meet them’

She witnessed at close quarters ‘the boys’ grow into men, becoming one of the most qualified people to comment on why Harry couldn’t be happy in his position within the Royal Family.

But being a ‘spare’ also gave Harry a greater license to act as he pleased.

He was known for his extensive partying in his teenage years and in Spare even wrote about his drug use as a teenager and an adult.

The royal author wrote: ‘He would play the fool and get away with childish antics such as standing behind visitors and pulling funny faces behind their backs to make William laugh when he had to meet them.

‘Both Charles and Diana were amused rather than annoyed by his antics, and even the Queen, so critical of William in his infancy, regarded Harry with grandmotherly tolerance.’

The young prince reportedly turned to his brother at the age of nine and said: ‘You’re going to be King; it doesn’t matter what I do.’

This is a mantra which Harry has seemed to cling to into his adult years.

When the Sussexes stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family in January 2020 and subsequently moved to the US, the prince’s security was downgraded.

William and Harry are pictured on the steps of Highgrove House wearing army uniforms on July 18, 1986

The young prince reportedly turned to his brother at the age of nine and said: ‘You’re going to be King; it doesn’t matter what I do.’ William is pictured with his family on his first day at Eton

The royal author wrote: ‘Harry would play the fool and get away with childish antics such as standing behind visitors and pulling funny faces behind their backs to make William.’ The two brothers are pictured with Charles in 1999

In the final episodes of the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, Harry recounted an event where William, allegedly ‘screamed and shouted’ at him during the Sandringham Summit to discuss the Sussexes’ future within the Royal Family.

Harry described the encounter as ‘terrifying’ and said it drove a wedge between the brothers.

It was reported last year that Harry has already made £22million from his book Spare despite it only being out in hardback, according to author Richard Osman.

The Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction book ever after being published by Penguin Random House in January 2023.

Harry was understood to have clinched a £16million advance as part of a £32million four-book deal in June 2021 following a bidding war.

The royal’s headline-grabbing book saw him accuse his brother Prince William of pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over his wife Meghan.

It also claimed William teased Harry about his panic attacks, that King Charles put his own interests above his second son and saw Harry reference taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms – and his enjoyment of the TV show Friends.

The Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir, Spare, became the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction book ever after being published by Penguin Random House in January 2023

Harry was known for his extensive partying in his teenage years and even wrote about drug use both as a teenager and an adult in his book, Spare. He is pictured in July 2004

Harry – pictured in August 2009 – wrote: ‘I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy’

Ms Seward wrote of Harry: ‘He chooses to be a victim and wreak vengeance on the slights he thought he had suffered; on his family; on the press and through the courts.’ Harry and William are pictured in May 2006

Even in his relationship with Meghan, Harry has found himself back in his ‘spare’ position.

Speaking to MailOnline, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said that Meghan has ambitions to become a billionaire with her various projects including TV and investing in startups, but Harry lacks the same ‘ruthlessness’.

‘Harry is increasingly finding himself as the spare in a relationship with Meghan which undoubtedly involves mutual affection, but where their priorities differ widely.

‘Meghan likes glitz and glamour and is absolutely ruthless as the interview on Oprah showed so clearly. Because she married Harry, her brand does have reach.

‘She would like to be a billionaire influencer and an A-list celebrity but she has very few A-list friends.’

Following his recent lost appeal to overturn this decision to downgrade his security, he said he ‘can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point’.

His no-holds-barred BBC interview, which aired within hours of his legal defeat, was another opportunity for the prince to air his grievances on a huge platform.

He said: ‘Some members of my family will never forgive me,’ in relation to publishing his memoir.

Even in his relationship with Meghan, Harry has found himself back in his ‘spare’ position

Harry alleged William ‘screamed and shouted’ at him during the Sandringham Summit to discuss the Sussexes’ future within the Royal Family. The Waleses and the Sussexes are pictured at the notorious walkabout following the Queen’s death

His no-holds-barred BBC interview, which aired within hours of his legal defeat, was another opportunity for the prince to air his grievances on a huge platform

Harry claimed that the downgrading of his security arrangements in 2020 was used as ‘leverage’ over him after his decision to step down from front-line royal duties and move to the US.

He said the court’s decision had ‘set a new precedent that security can be used to control’, and would ‘imprison other members of the family from being able to choose a different life’.

Harry has never been happy coming second to his elder brother, which is the inevitable fate of the second-born son of a monarch or heir to the throne.

And his position as the ‘spare’, which he has used as part of his personal branding, has come to dominate his life.