Prince Harry memoir: How Royal ‘spares’ have struggled to find their place

As Prince Harry teases the release of his highly anticipated memoir, he is capitalizing on a long-held royal tradition of producing a ‘reserve’ monarch.

The concept of ‘the heir and the reserve’ has been observed by the royal family for centuries, as a tradition that ensures that the royal bloodline can continue.

It can go all the way back to the 12th century when the concept of the primogeniture (succession of the first son) was first established. Before that, all the sons of the monarch were considered heirs.

The phrase itself appears to have been coined several centuries later, in the 1890s, by American socialite Consuelo Vanderbilt.

In the generation above Prince Harry and Prince William, Prince Andrew (center) was the ‘reserve’ for his older brother Charles. Pictured: The Royal Brothers with Princess Anne, Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral, 1960

Prince Albert (right) eventually became King George VI when his brother, King Edward VIII abdicated (the brothers pictured in the early 1900s with their sister Princess Mary)

Most recently, the Danish royal family has been rocked by controversy after the ‘spare’, Prince Joachim, was told his four children would lose their royal titles from January – a change that did not affect the children of the heir, Crown Prince Frederik. . In the photo: Queen Margrethe with Prince Henrik, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim in 1972

More contemporary royal figures, including Princess Margaret and Prince Andrew, have been considered “spare parts” in recent history, and the concept also applied to overseas royals such as Prince Joachim of Denmark.

An unusual position to hold, the role serves as a ‘reserve’ queen, who must be prepared to become heir to the throne as soon as possible if necessary – at least until the current heir produces their own children.

Heather Cocks, author of The Heir Affair, said: Vanity Fair last year: ‘With an heir and extra dynamism, you get the one child that is born for the top job, and the second that probably grows up as an understudy.’

Of course, in some cases the so-called ‘reserve’ is actually called to rule, as demonstrated when King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 and King George VI took the throne.

The portrait on the front cover of Prince Harry’s memoir, titled Spare, was released today by publisher Penguin Random House

But for the most part, the ‘reserve’ is able to live a much freer life without too much control – but as Prince Harry has alluded to the title of his memoir, holding this position can cause problems with the perception of the prince or princess of their role within the royal family.

With relations between Harry and his older brother strained, Prince William, the Duke of Sussex, 38, has raised their contrasting positions within The Firm.

During his sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, in which he and Meghan Markle told their side of the story around their decision to step down as senior royals, Harry said: “My brother can’t leave that system, but I have .’

He later added: “My father and my brother are trapped. They can’t leave. And I feel very sorry for that.’

It is possible that he alluded to the freedom that his position as a ‘reserve’ allowed him and his family to find their own way in the world.

In the generation above Prince Harry and Prince William, their uncle Prince Andrew was the ‘reserve’ for his eldest sibling, King Charles. Although Princess Anne was the second-born of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the rules of succession at the time meant that the next son would be next in line to the throne.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, royal author Nigel Cawthorne said of Prince Andrew, “He’s always had one of those roles that meant nothing.”

He added that the Duke of York, like all other ‘spare parts’, was a bit stuck on what their role actually meant – adding that it was unlikely they would be able to go into any other kind of work.

Last month it was reported that Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson had “plowed a plot” to prevent Charles from becoming king in the 1990s.

Angela Levin’s book Camilla: From Outcast to Queen Consort, released in late September, alleged that the Duke of York tried to bypass the line of succession so that when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II died, Prince William would ascend the throne and role for himself as Prince Regent.

Andrew lobbied very hard in the hope that Charles would not become king when his mother died, and that William would wear the crown,” she wrote.

A ‘senior insider’ is said to have told the royal author: ‘[Andrew’s] behavior was very, very negative and extremely unpleasant for Queen [Elizabeth], who disagreed. I was told it was one of the rare occasions when he didn’t get his way.’

And the role of the ‘spare’ hasn’t just created tensions within the British royal family, with monarchies abroad also shaken up by the treatment of the younger sibling’s heir to the throne.

Just last month, shockwaves went through the hearts of the Danish royal family after Queen Margrethe II announced that the children of her second son Prince Joachim would lose their princely titles from next year.

Prince Joachim, Crown Prince Frederik’s ‘reserve’, told Danish media from his hometown of Paris that his four children Prince Nikolai, Prince Felix, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena were “hurt” by their grandmother’s decision.

He also claimed that, contrary to what the Danish royal family had stated, he had only been given five days to break the news to his children before the public announcement was made.

As tensions within the family flared, Prince Joachim admitted he had a “complicated” relationship with his older brother.

Today, the crown prince and heir to the Danish throne commented on the revelations, a few weeks after the conflict appeared to have calmed down.

He told TV 2 News that he was “sad” for his brother and how he was affected by the decision.