Her advice helped him deliver a painful truth to the royal family
Prince Harry has opened up about the subtle but meaningful role Meghan Markle played while he was writing his memoir, Spare. The book, released in 2021 a year after the couple stepped back from royal duties, deepened tensions between Harry and the rest of the royal family. It strained his relationship with Prince William and angered King Charles III, who reportedly disliked how Harry wrote about Queen Camilla. Catherine, Princess of Wales, once close to her brother-in-law, was also said to be deeply hurt by the book.
While some royal commentators have long suggested that Meghan pushed Harry to write a tell-all, Harry has now hinted at a different kind of support. In a recent interview with The Guardian, he said Meghan simply encouraged him to “just stick to the truth” as he worked through difficult memories. He called that advice his “anchor” throughout the writing process, saying, “It’s the thing I always fall back on. Always.”
Harry described the book not as an act of revenge but as an attempt to correct false narratives. “The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected,” he said. He admitted that some see the memoir as airing “dirty laundry,” but insisted his “conscience is clear.”
He also pushed back on being labelled stubborn, explaining, “It’s not stubbornness, it is having principles.” For Harry, the book carried a “difficult message,” but it was rooted in accountability, not resentment. He added that he has no wish to prolong legal battles or deepen the rift within his family.
