Prince Harry Reveals the First Person to Ever Call Him a ‘Spare’ (the Answer Will Surprise You)

The title of Prince Harry ‘s memoir is Spare , a word he said some of his family members called him throughout his life. But who was the first person to give him that nickname? Many people believed it was Prince William since he is the “heir” and Harry his “spare.” But the Duke of Sussex says it wasn’t his older brother .

Here’s which royal called him “spare” before anyone else, and what Harry’s publisher wants from him now that he can’t produce.

Prince Harry says this is the first person who used the word ‘Spare’ when speaking about him

Prince Harry was born on Sept. 15, 1984, and the duke claimed that was the very day he was called a “spare.”

In his memoir, Harry talked about being Prince William’s “spare” writing: “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 backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow. This was all made explicitly clear to me from the start of life’s journey and regularly reinforced thereafter.”

According to Harry, his father [then-Prince Charles] is the one who called him a “spare” just hours after he was born. Harry wrote: “I was 20 the first time I heard the story of what Pa allegedly said to Mummy the day of my birth: ‘Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare—my work is done.’ A joke. Presumably.”

However, Andrew Morton, who penned Princess Diana’s biography using her secretly recorded tapes, remembers Harry’s mother painting a picture of Charles as a loving father not just a man who produced his children out of duty.

In her audio tapes, the princess said: “[Charles] loved the nursery life and couldn’t wait to get back and do the bottle and everything. He was very good, he always came back and fed the baby.”

Morton also told Newsweek that Diana had actually called Harry a “backup” to William explaining: “[Diana] always made it clear in the tapes and conversations with me or with [her friend] James [Colthurst] that [Harry] was a backup in the nicest possible way, so it wasn’t about him being an organ donor but a friend and supporter to William. She wanted him to be a wingman, not a hitman.”

What Harry’s publisher is delaying until the duke has ‘fresh gossip’

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Spare was released in January 2023, but the autobiography is not yet available in paperback and several royal commentators have questioned why. Well, now sources are saying it’s because Harry’s publisher, Penguin Random House, has delayed releasing the paperback edition until the Duke of Sussex comes up with “fresh gossip.”

The problem with that is Prince Harry has been away from the royal world he was once a big part of for more than four years. Therefore, he’s not able to get any new “gossip,” especially since it’s been reported that the royal family hasn’t said much of anything around him during the few gatherings he’s attended since stepping down because they don’t trust him .

During an appearance on Talk TV , To Di For Daily podcast host Kinsey Schofield was asked what she thinks about the fact that there is still no Spare paperback edition and opined: “I think either Prince Harry has really not been able to get in touch with his family since the coronation, they have really distanced themselves. Or the publisher is having some human decency and saying ‘Before we stress this family out again, let’s allow them to get through this cancer battle.'”

Schofield is a bit skeptical about the latter though, adding: “Let’s be honest, if there’s money involved human decency is usually not too close.”