As Prince Louis celebrates his eighth birthday today (April 23), attention has turned back to Prince Harry’s candid remarks about his niece and nephews, and the concerns he once shared about their future within the royal family.
Amid his very public fallout with the Firm, the Duke of Sussex has spoken openly about his long-standing discomfort with being labelled the “spare”.
In doing so, he sparked debate by suggesting that Prince George’s younger siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, might one day face similar struggles.
Prince Harry once admitted that he was concerned about future “spares”, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte (Credit: Cover Images)
Harry’s comments on Charlotte and Louis raised eyebrows
The remarks were made during a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, as Harry promoted his memoir Spare. Despite acknowledging that Prince William had set clear boundaries, Harry admitted he still felt a personal sense of concern for the younger royals.
“William and I have talked about it once or twice. He has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility,” Harry said. “I still feel a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare, and that hurts, that worries me.”
The comments quickly became a talking point. Royal watchers suggested they were unlikely to have gone down well behind palace doors.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! that Harry’s remarks appeared to stem from his own unresolved feelings, rather than the reality facing the next generation.
“Harry has a huge chip on his shoulder about being a spare. We all know that now,” she said. “But he doesn’t have to assume that William and Catherine’s children will feel the same as him.”
She also pointed to other members of the royal family as examples of a different experience.
“Look at the Duke of Edinburgh, and particularly look at the Princess Royal,” she said. “They didn’t feel like the spares. They’ve gone out there and made it clear they don’t feel second-class in the least and worked hard regardless.”
The Duke of Sussex has been open about the emotional toll that came from being the “spare” (Credit: SplashNews.com)
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