by Penny Junor
The cost of the monarchy has always been a sore subject, like the amount of tax it pays, and every year when the royal accounts are published, the media gets into a feeding frenzy, but the reality is that the cost to every person in the UK is about 56 pence per year.
“I doubt whether you can ever get over the argument that this is a very expensive institution, because it’s something that certain sectors of the media want to run, but I wonder how damaging it really is. I look at the polls of support and I think, if the Princes are unpopular because they’re not seen to be doing stuff that matters, then that argument really matters to us. If they really are seen to be contributing and making a difference and mobilizing people to do things, and reaching areas government can’t, then after we’ve had two days of people carping about, ‘They cost £6 million,’ which is the kind of money the Treasury loses on a wet afternoon, I think that goes away quite quickly. It’s fine so long as they are seen to be valuable in their own right, and the moment they’re not valuable in their own right, it doesn’t matter what they cost, that will be just one more stick to beat them with.”
The Princess Royal is one of the hardest-working members of the family, and for years she has sat at the helm of Save the Children, one of the most respected global charities of all time. She has towered over board meetings and driven strategy and no one who has worked with her will say a word against her. But she has never been famous for her charm, and her engagement with the children she so assiduously saves is minimal. Harry sprinkles fairy dust wherever he goes. He charms and delights and leaves the room a better place for his having been there. And, to children, he’s like the Pied Piper.
He is only thirty, and I have barely scratched the surface of his achievements—or his disgraces. For someone who couldn’t pass an exam to save his life, he has packed an extraordinary amount into his thirty years. He didn’t find his childhood easy, and he has sometimes acted up, as many children of broken homes and difficult, unhappy childhoods do. And sometimes his father and others have despaired of his ever growing up. But Harry has always been a sweet and loving boy at heart, and that is the key to him. He is as brave as a lion, as honorable as a Prince of the Realm should be, and he is on a mission.
Whether his Las Vegas moments are over is yet to be seen. There is no doubt he has grown up and, with luck, those impulses are a thing of the past, but Harry will always be impulsive, unpredictable and dangerous. That is part of the genius.
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and others made sure that he wasn’t thwarted in his ambition to serve on the front line. He saw there, in Afghanistan, the sort of reality that most of us only ever see on our television screens, and he didn’t flinch. He flew his Apache into the teeth of enemy fire without a thought for his own safety, and his determination to champion the soldiers who weren’t as lucky as he was, and who didn’t come back in one piece, is unremitting.
He may say he’s a child at heart, but he’s a child with a very old soul.
Three Princes: two heirs and a spare. Harry, a year old at Kensington Palace with his father and brother.
Aged three secure in the calm and capable hands of nanny Olga Powell.
Swapping places with his police escort—the perks of being a little Prince.
But underneath it, no different from any cheeky four-year-old.
Mother and son on holiday, August 1987.
First day at school. There were tears when his parents left him.
Trooping the Colour in June 1990—a small face at the window of Buckingham Palace.
No escape from the cameras—even on holiday.
Boy soldier. A taste of things to come.
With Tiggy Legge-Burke, a hugely important figure in his life.
4 August 1997, aged 12. The Queen Mother’s 97th birthday.
16 August 1997, Balmoral photo-call, Harry calling the shots.
6 September 1997, Diana’s funeral.
The cat that got the cream. Surrounded by Spice Girls at the Two Nations concert in Johannesburg.
New boy timidly signing the register on his first day at Eton, September 1998.
Rugby has been an abiding passion. It was also an outlet for his teenage anger.
What a difference five years makes. Harry in his room at Eton, personalized with wall hangings and a framed photograph of his mother on the desk.
Father and sons at the start of their skiing holiday at Klosters.
Has hat will travel. Sydney Zoo in September 2003. First stop on his gap year.
With Mark Dyer, the Captain Hurricane figure, close friend and mentor.
Team Highgrove. A rich man’s sport but the Princes have raised millions of pounds for charity on the polo pitch.
A natural sportsman—and fiercely competitive.
Camilla made his father happy and that was the important thing.
Sovereign’s Parade at Sandhurst. One very happy Cadet H. Wales being inspected by his grandmother.
Hello, Wembley! Ten years after Diana’s death, a star-studded concert in her memory.
With Kanye West and P. Diddy—just two of the stars who helped raise £1 million that night for charity.
Showing solidarity at the Australian High Commission in London after devastating bushfires killed more than 200 people in Victoria in February 2009.
At the WellChild Awards in 2009. His rapport with children is second to none.
Downtime in Helmand, Afghanistan, in February 2008. Serving on the front line was the making of the man.
Girlfriend Chelsy Davy in May 2010, delighting in his success as a pilot the day he was awarded his wings and distinctive blue beret.
Echoes of his mother. Harry in a minefield in Mozambique highlighting the work of the HALO Trust.
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a key figure in Harry’s transition from boy to man.
Bonded by an eight-foot African rock python on a joint tour in 2010. “A fantastic demonstration of the Windsor brand.”
He is determined to help the AIDS orphans of Lesotho.
To them he’s just Harry, their friend.
Three generations, all freezing cold, during the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant. “Look warm, wave and smile,” instructed the Queen.
Portia Simpson Miller, the republican Prime Minister of Jamaica, hugging Harry on his Jubilee tour of the Caribbean. “She was completely starstruck.”
Triumphant after “beating” Usain Bolt. The Daily Mail called Harry “The Royal Family’s secret weapon.”
Harry, William and Kate, the three patrons of the Royal Foundation, at the launch of Coach Core, July 2012.
Two genuine sports lovers caught up in the excitement of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
The Apache’s display monocle to his eye feeds him all the information he needs to fly the aircraft and fight.
Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, 2012–2013. Running for real this time—to give Apache assistance to coalition forces in trouble on the ground.
Sitting volleyball with the British Warrior Games team in Colorado Springs in March 2013. He determined then and there to bring the games to London in 2014.
There but for the grace of God goes every soldier who comes home from battle. The Arlington National Cemetery, where 400,000 military casualties are buried.
Giving it his all at a rugby coaching session with children at Twickenham. At 29, red-faced and out of breath he said he was “past it.”
“Are you all right in there?” Moments before Harry takes a pitch from New York Yankees baseball star Mark Teixeira in Harlem.
Harry with Simon Daglish, co-founder of Walking with the Wounded. “If things go wrong in the South Pole, no one’s coming to get you.”
13 days and 200 miles later, a triumphant Harry jumps for joy at the South Pole.
Cressida Bonas with Princess Eugenie, who introduced her to Harry in 2012.
Together at the We Day event in March 2014. The press forecast an engagement, but less than two months later it was said to be over.
Laun
ching the Invictus Games. “It was such a good idea by the Americans, that it had to be stolen, it’s as simple as that.”
Unannounced, William and Harry joined Army colleagues to help defend the town of Datchet during the floods of 2014.
Three Princes (“two heirs and a spare”) united in their passion for conservation, marching off to the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am once again indebted to the Prince’s team at Kensington Palace who have been incredibly generous with their time in so many ways over so many months—and to Prince Harry himself for allowing them and others to talk to me. He is surrounded by and associated with some exceptional and inspirational people. All of them have been incredibly generous with their time. Some were happy to be named, others preferred to remain anonymous; I would like to thank them all for their recollections, observations, and experiences; also their honesty and their trust. Huge thanks too to them all for checking the manuscript and weeding out inadvertent errors. I hope, as a result, that this is a fair, accurate, and enlightening portrait of the man.
Others who have been so important, and to whom I owe many, many thanks, are the wonderful team at Hodder & Stoughton. They are such a pleasure to work with: Rupert Lancaster, Kerry Hood, Jason Bartholomew, Maddy Price, and Camilla Dowse. I would also like to thank Penny Isaac, who is a terrific copyeditor; and my American editor, Gretchen Young, at Grand Central Publishing.
I also owe a special thank you to Martin Seager, consultant clinical psychologist and adult psychotherapist, for his guidance; and to clinical psychologist Linda Blair for her insights into birth order.
As always, Jane Turnbull, my agent, has been a true friend. She is so generous with her time, laughter, and support, it’s easy to forget she has other clients.
And finally James Leith, my amazing husband, who makes everything possible.
Thank you all.
PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
© Alamy: 3 (lower left)/photo Fincher Files. © Corbis: 12 (above left), 14 (above left)/photo Rick Wilking. © Getty: 1 & 2 (above left) & 4 (above) & 8 (middle right)/ photos Tim Graham, 3 (above left)/ photo Georges De Keerle, 5 (middle)/photo Julian Parker, 6 (lower)/ photo Kirsty Wigglesworth, 8 (above left)/ photo AFP, 8 (above right) & 9 (lower right) & 11 (above right) & 12 (lower left)/ photos Chris Jackson, 9 (above left)/ photo Dave Hogan, 10 (lower left) & 11 (above left)/ photos Samir Hussein, 10 (middle right)/photo The HALO Trust, 13 (lower left)/ photo John Stillwell, 14 (above right)/ photo Charles Dharapak, 14 (lower right)/ photo Ben Stansall, 16 (above left)/ photo Max Mumby/ Indigo, 16 (above right)/ photo Peter Macdiarmid. © Ian Jones www.ianjonesphoto.co.uk: 7 (above), 8 (lower left). © Mirrorpix: 2 (lower), 3 (middle right), 5 (above and lower), 13 (above right)/photo Andy Stenning/ Daily Mirror, 13 (above left)/ photo Ian Vogler. © News Syndication: 16 (lower)/ photo Richard Pohle/ The Times. © Petter Nyquist/ The Walking With The Wounded South Pole Challenge 2013: 15 (middle right). © Photoshot: 2 (above right), 6 (middle right)/ photo UPPA. © Press Association Images: 6 (above)/ photo John Stillwell, 7 (lower right)/ photo Phil Noble, 9 (above right)/ photo Roger Allen/ Daily Mirror, 11 (lower)/ photo Anthony Devlin, 12 (middle right)/ photo Colin Reid, 15 (lower right)/ photo Doug Peters. © Rex Features: 4 (lower right), 4 (lower left)/ photo Mike Forster/ Daily Mail, 6 (middle left), 7 (middle)/ photo James D. Morgan, 9 (middle left), 10 (above left and right), 13 (middle right), 14 (lower left)/ photo Tim Rooke, 15 (lower left). © Walking With The Wounded South Pole Challenge 2013: 15 (above left).
Every reasonable effort has been made to contact the copyright holders, but if there are any errors or omissions, Grand Central Publishing will be pleased to insert the appropriate acknowledgment in any subsequent printing of this publication.
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CONTENTS
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
CONNECTION
MY LITTLE SPENCER
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
OUT WITH THE OLD
THE MIDDLE PERIOD
THE NURSERY
KP VERSUS HIGHGROVE
COUNTRY PURSUITS
PLAYING AWAY
THE THREE Rs
SEPARATION
A SIGNIFICANT OTHER
THE FINAL STRAW
HUMANITARIAN CRUSADE
TRAGEDY IN PARIS
SPEAK TO US MA’AM
A LONG WALK
GETTING ON WITH THE DAY
MRS. PB
THE PLAYING FIELDS OF ETON
THE FOURTH ESTATE
ROCK ’N’ ROLL
YET MORE LOSS
HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
GAP YEAR
UPS AND DOWNS
A WINDSOR WEDDING
SANDHURST
HACKED OFF
THWARTED
TEN YEARS ON
SENTEBALE
GROWING PAINS
HELPING HEROES
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
FIRM FOUNDATIONS
NOT JUST A BIMBLE
A GENUINE PASSION
GAINING A SISTER
FOUR DAYS ON THE ICE
TOP GUN
SECRET WEAPON
LONDON 2012
CONDUCT UNBECOMING
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
THE END OF THE BEGINNING
BROTHERS IN ARMS
ALL CHANGE
POLES APART
A FLURRY OF PHONE CALLS
WHAT NEXT?
PHOTOS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NEWSLETTERS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 by Penny Junor
Cover photograph by Mark Cuthbert/UK press via Getty Images
Cover copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: September 2014
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ISBN 978-1-4555-4984-9
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