Everything Prince Harry Said About William's Children Being 'Spares'

When the name of Prince Harry's highly anticipated debut memoir was announced in October 2022 as Spare, it introduced to many for the first time the historic colloquialism used to describe the legacy-securing desirability of having multiple children.

Often used in connection with members of the royal or aristocratic families, "spare" is abbreviated in this context from the term: "heir and spare."

The "heir" is a firstborn child, destined to inherit the crown, titles or estates of their parents. The "spare" is a second born who could be called upon to step into the heir's place should anything happen to them.

By naming his memoir Spare, Harry for the first time overtly acknowledged and reclaimed the label which had been applied to him throughout his life, not just by the media, but also by members of his family—Princess Diana famously referred to Harry as a "backup" for Prince William.

In his memoir, which was released in January 2023, and interviews connected with it, Harry spoke about how the label impacted his mental health and also the ways in which people viewed him.

According to the royal, while William was painted as the successful and dutiful, Harry was stereotyped (in some cases by the palace) as the unintellectual party-prince which also opened him up for media scrutiny and ridicule which the "heir" was protected from.

Since splitting from the monarchy in 2020 and moving to the U.S. with wife Meghan Markle, Harry has broken down some of the negative connotations of the "spare" label in interviews and chiefly by presenting his own version of his life story through his memoir.

As he has moved away from these stereotypes, the prince has looked at members of his family still existing within the system that fostered the "spare" mentality and voiced concern about history repeating itself.

Notably, Harry has spoken about the next generation of royals and how "worries" about Prince William's children in this regard.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph promoting his memoir, Harry expressed his belief that he is "someone who likes to fix things," and spoke about his concern for other "spares" in his family.

"If it's not us, it's going to be someone else," he said, before revealing that his older brother made clear to him that "his kids are not my responsibility."

Despite this, Harry said he still feels a "responsibility" towards his niece, Princess Charlotte (8), and nephew Prince Louis (5), who were both born after their elder brother, Prince George (10) who is in line to inherit the throne.

"At least one will end up like me, the spare," he said. "And that hurts me."

At the time of Harry's interview with the Daily Telegraph, Kensington Palace, acting for Prince William, did not comment on Harry's claims or reference to his brother's children. This was in line with a blanket "no comment" position adopted by the royal family in relation to the Spare memoir.

Harry's comments about his brother's children earned him both praise and criticism from commentators and social media users.

Some praised the royal's concern for young children who may face the unique challenges he has, others criticized the prince for discussing the children in the media considering that their parents are protective of their privacy.

At the time, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek that Harry's comment was "outrageous."

"William would never say this about Harry and Meghan's children in an interview," he said.

Newsweek approached Kensington Palace via email for comment.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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