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When Prince Harry's highly anticipated memoir 'Spare' was released in January 2023, it sent shockwaves through the royal family with its bombshell allegations. While the Duke of Sussex worked closely with a ghost writer to help craft his story, it seems the writer may have pushed Harry to include even more personal and potentially damaging details than he intended.
J.R. Moehringer, the award-winning journalist and author who acted as Harry's ghost writer, has spoken at length about his experiences collaborating with the Duke on the memoir. In interviews since the book came out, Moehringer revealed that he really "pushed Prince Harry to say more and more about certain things." According to royal commentator and journalist Marina Hyde, this is a common tactic employed by skilled ghost writers.
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Hyde explained on Richard Osman's podcast 'The Rest is Entertainment' that when working on autobiographies, ghost writers will use their skills to draw more intimate details out of subjects over long interviews and development processes. "Eventually when you spend a long time talking to someone, perhaps in their home over the course of several hours over a few months, they come back and there's a kind of elimination of all the really intense personal stuff that would be the part that's in all the headlines."
Her implication was that Moehringer pushed Harry to include more controversial statements and anecdotes that ended up making headlines and stirring up drama within the royal family. While Harry worked closely with his writer to craft his story, it's clear the end result contained more bombshells than he perhaps anticipated or wanted.
When 'Spare' was released, it became an instant bestseller, breaking records as the fastest selling non-fiction book in UK history. However, it also proved immensely controversial due to the allegations Harry levied against his family members. In the aftermath, there were rumors the book could be adapted into a film, but sources said Harry had since rescinded those rights.
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Royal commentators praised this move, insisting it prevented further damage to Harry's relationships. Speaking on the 'Unfiltered with Kirby Schofield' podcast, Vanity Fair's Katy Nicholl said "perhaps one of the best and most logical decisions Prince Harry has made is to hold on to the rights to the film and keep them...if he had sold them he probably would have gotten them huge sum of money but he lost complete control."
She argued that without Harry's oversight, a film based on his memoir could portray key royal figures like Meghan, Diana, and Camilla in an unflattering or misleading light. It could also upset Prince William and King Charles even more. "You only have to look at something like The Crown to see how much something so close to the bone can upset the royal family," Nicholl noted. Indeed, a dramatized film of Harry's allegations risks far greater controversy and litigation.
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In an in-depth article for The New Yorker, ghost writer J.R. Moehringer gave rare insight into his collaboration with Harry on the memoir. They were reportedly in close contact via Zoom, calls and frequent texting throughout the two year process. According to Moehringer, "no topic was off the table" in their candid discussions.
While focused on storytelling, the writer acknowledged Harry "couldn't escape the desire for 'Spare' to be a rebuttal of every lie that was told about him." Just as Bor his dreamed of libraries, Harry dreamed of "endless retreats which means no end of discoveries." However, perhaps the level of bombshells and damage caused has shown even a skilled ghost writer can push subjects further than initially intended or desired. The secrets behind Harry's memoir may have included more prompting than he bargained for.
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