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Harry: The People's Prince
PRINCE Harry is the most interesting – indeed the most exciting - member of the Royal Family and this no-holds-barred biography tells his story for the first time. Son of the late Princess Diana – the most famous woman on Earth – and Prince Charles, the next king, and brother of William, the king after that, he is determined to live by his mantra: ‘I am what I am’. From a childhood overshadowed by his parents’ troubled marriage and scarred by the tragic death of his mother, to his brilliant public performances at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, the London Olympics and his brother’s wedding, this book charts the remarkable journey of a young man with an extraordinary destiny. Following in Diana’s footsteps, his charitable works have taken him to far-flung corners of the world including Africa and the South Pole. It also reveals details of his extraordinary love life, telling for the first time what caused his affair with Cressida Bonas to collapse. The author has enjoyed unparalleled access to a wide variety of people whose lives Harry has touched: senior aides, humble members of palace staff, aristocrats, bodyguards, school friends, comrades-in-arms . . . and old flames. They piece together the tale of a young man who admirably has created a life so different from the one set out for him by what he describes as ‘an accident of birth’.
- GenresBiography
382 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
21 people are currently reading
620 people want to read
About the author
Chris Hutchins
26 books9 followersCHRIS HUTCHINS is an established author of highly acclaimed biographies of the rich, the famous and the royals. His first, FERGIE CONFIDENTIAL, was an intimate biography of the Duchess of York and chronicled her troubled marriage to the Queen’s favourite son. This was followed by a revelatory biography of the late Princess of Wales, DIANA’S NIGHTMARE, and an acclaimed psychological profile of her, DIANA ON THE EDGE. ATHINA, The Last Onassis penetrated deeply into the world of the Onassis dynasty. ELVIS MEETS THE BEATLES was about the night he took the group to meet Presley and the serious repercussions which followed. More recently Hutchins has turned his attention to matters Russian with fearless biographies of that country’s leader, PUTIN, and best-known oligarch ABRAMOVICH: The billionaire from nowhere. The author returns to the royal stage with HARRY: The People’s Prince.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 11, 2023
Prince Harry ... (His Royal Highness the Prince Henry Charles Albert David Windsor) ....was a star since the moment he arrived in this world.
Globally, Harry was the second most popular Royal in recent years, after the passing of his mother, Princess Diana. Queen Elizabeth II, became the most popular after the death of Diana. Diana's popularity hit the Royals like a tsunami.
According to this author, Harry enjoyed an audience, chose an attention-seeking life style and
showed a liking for public adulation and the desire for fame. Yet, he also said he enjoyed his life away from England, away from the paparazzi and the press. Unlike conformist William, Harry always had a need to explore beyond the rigid boundaries of royal life.
Books about him are spread all over the world by a multitude of authors. He is loved, admired, and lately despised. I plan to read his memoir Spare, but wanted a deeper look into the Royal family, and particular Harry, hence the decision to read one of the biographies of his life. I chose this book: Harry: The People's Prince(2014).
Sidestepping the 'anonymous sources', 'ínsiders', 'someone close to...' and all other allegedly trusted parties, make this a most interesting read, given that Harry's own thoughts and opinions, or his own truth, is now, nine years later, on the shelves. Finally a book from the PRIMARY SOURCE! You go, Harry!
As some folks remarked on Twitter: he took over his own narrative, and got rid of all the people who were banking on his life, without his input or permission. He, like many Royals, were ruthlessly hunted for a buck.
One Twitter comment caught my attention:
To the people complaining about #PrinceHarry’s memoir #Spare, here’s a selection of the books written about him over the years.
He has every right to tell his own story. And he has the right to tell it in books, interviews and docuseries.
As you have the right to tell yours too.
As far as Harry: The People's Prince is concerned, it was a good read, if you wanted to know more about him without the current bias and hate-speech thrown at him. In-depth and informative. Detailed. Well-researched. I appreciated this author's approach to his subject. Unbiased, to-the-point, tell-it-like-it-is.
Some quotes from the book that stood out: (now remember, this book was published in 2014):
1: HARRY’S WAR
As forward air controller, Harry’s job in no man’s land was to call in air support to bomb the Taliban attempting to attack forward positions. He had the momentous task of preventing friendly fire deaths as well as setting coordinates for the bomb drops that were to kill thirty members of the Taliban.
(Harry now mentions it in his own book, and the world is going berserk, as though he is the first one to do so.)
Poison pens were always part of his legacy.
By then, however, Harry had become a victim of his celebrity. He was later to discover that an Australian women’s magazine, New Idea, had broken an agreed embargo and leaked news of his Afghan posting on its website.
(It did not only endanger Harry's life, but also those of his fellow soldiers in his regiment.He, and they, became bullet magnets)
...Harry was not told but his SAS guardian angels were alerted to the increased danger to which the celebrity magazine had exposed him. Miraculously, the news went ignored by the rest of the world’s media (even CNN, not a party to the media agreement, knew he was there but suppressed the story after a call from the Palace press office) until it was picked up by one Matt Drudge and posted on his widely read news aggregate website, the Drudge Report. Drudge, a former shop assistant and the only child of Reform Jewish Democrats
...Daily Express’s acerbic columnist Carol Sarler. She wrote a piece describing him as a ‘horrible young man … a national disgrace who rarely lifted a finger unless it’s to feel up a cheap tart in a nightclub’. She described his gap year as a space between no work whatsoever at school and utter privilege at Sandhurst. As for his spell in Australia, she claimed he had spent it ‘slumped in front of the television waiting to behave badly at the next available rugby match’ and in Lesotho she said he was spending eight lavish weeks, during which ‘he has reluctantly agreed to spend a bit of the trip staring at poor people’. Harry’s new press guardian, Paddy Haverson, replied in detail pointing out that Sarler had, in effect, used her poison pen to put down a diligent, hard-working young man without having a clue as to what he was really like or what he was doing during his gap years. The Palace had had enough, just as the Daily Express would have done had anyone dared to describe one of their own in similar terms.
Chris Hutchins compiled a tasteful, objective profile of a remarkable young man, the history and forces behind Harry's choices. And after reading this book, I want to look deeper into the war against Harry and Meghan. I'm more convinced to read Harry's story written by himself. I think he has a right to do it. And it was time. It doesn't matter what we CHOOSE to believe. It matters what Harry wants to share with the world. He deserved that chance, over and over again.
As a secondary choice, this biography by Hutchins was a very good choice. Hopefully all the people who financially benefited from their own truths(and many lies) about Harry, will hate The People's Prince for setting the record strait. It's an awfully lot of stories, either in tabloids, books, television and people such as Youtube-'influencers', who will now have to defend their stories about him. I suspect he will be hated for doing that to them. They want his truth destroyed.
In the meantime, I'm glad I've read Chris Hutchin's book about Harry, before the storm broke.
So yes, I'm onto the next book. Still not Harry's Spare, but I need more background. This book held my attention from the beginning to end.
Globally, Harry was the second most popular Royal in recent years, after the passing of his mother, Princess Diana. Queen Elizabeth II, became the most popular after the death of Diana. Diana's popularity hit the Royals like a tsunami.
According to this author, Harry enjoyed an audience, chose an attention-seeking life style and
showed a liking for public adulation and the desire for fame. Yet, he also said he enjoyed his life away from England, away from the paparazzi and the press. Unlike conformist William, Harry always had a need to explore beyond the rigid boundaries of royal life.
Books about him are spread all over the world by a multitude of authors. He is loved, admired, and lately despised. I plan to read his memoir Spare, but wanted a deeper look into the Royal family, and particular Harry, hence the decision to read one of the biographies of his life. I chose this book: Harry: The People's Prince(2014).
Sidestepping the 'anonymous sources', 'ínsiders', 'someone close to...' and all other allegedly trusted parties, make this a most interesting read, given that Harry's own thoughts and opinions, or his own truth, is now, nine years later, on the shelves. Finally a book from the PRIMARY SOURCE! You go, Harry!
As some folks remarked on Twitter: he took over his own narrative, and got rid of all the people who were banking on his life, without his input or permission. He, like many Royals, were ruthlessly hunted for a buck.
One Twitter comment caught my attention:
To the people complaining about #PrinceHarry’s memoir #Spare, here’s a selection of the books written about him over the years.
He has every right to tell his own story. And he has the right to tell it in books, interviews and docuseries.
As you have the right to tell yours too.
As far as Harry: The People's Prince is concerned, it was a good read, if you wanted to know more about him without the current bias and hate-speech thrown at him. In-depth and informative. Detailed. Well-researched. I appreciated this author's approach to his subject. Unbiased, to-the-point, tell-it-like-it-is.
Some quotes from the book that stood out: (now remember, this book was published in 2014):
1: HARRY’S WAR
As forward air controller, Harry’s job in no man’s land was to call in air support to bomb the Taliban attempting to attack forward positions. He had the momentous task of preventing friendly fire deaths as well as setting coordinates for the bomb drops that were to kill thirty members of the Taliban.
(Harry now mentions it in his own book, and the world is going berserk, as though he is the first one to do so.)
Poison pens were always part of his legacy.
By then, however, Harry had become a victim of his celebrity. He was later to discover that an Australian women’s magazine, New Idea, had broken an agreed embargo and leaked news of his Afghan posting on its website.
(It did not only endanger Harry's life, but also those of his fellow soldiers in his regiment.He, and they, became bullet magnets)
...Harry was not told but his SAS guardian angels were alerted to the increased danger to which the celebrity magazine had exposed him. Miraculously, the news went ignored by the rest of the world’s media (even CNN, not a party to the media agreement, knew he was there but suppressed the story after a call from the Palace press office) until it was picked up by one Matt Drudge and posted on his widely read news aggregate website, the Drudge Report. Drudge, a former shop assistant and the only child of Reform Jewish Democrats
...Daily Express’s acerbic columnist Carol Sarler. She wrote a piece describing him as a ‘horrible young man … a national disgrace who rarely lifted a finger unless it’s to feel up a cheap tart in a nightclub’. She described his gap year as a space between no work whatsoever at school and utter privilege at Sandhurst. As for his spell in Australia, she claimed he had spent it ‘slumped in front of the television waiting to behave badly at the next available rugby match’ and in Lesotho she said he was spending eight lavish weeks, during which ‘he has reluctantly agreed to spend a bit of the trip staring at poor people’. Harry’s new press guardian, Paddy Haverson, replied in detail pointing out that Sarler had, in effect, used her poison pen to put down a diligent, hard-working young man without having a clue as to what he was really like or what he was doing during his gap years. The Palace had had enough, just as the Daily Express would have done had anyone dared to describe one of their own in similar terms.
Chris Hutchins compiled a tasteful, objective profile of a remarkable young man, the history and forces behind Harry's choices. And after reading this book, I want to look deeper into the war against Harry and Meghan. I'm more convinced to read Harry's story written by himself. I think he has a right to do it. And it was time. It doesn't matter what we CHOOSE to believe. It matters what Harry wants to share with the world. He deserved that chance, over and over again.
As a secondary choice, this biography by Hutchins was a very good choice. Hopefully all the people who financially benefited from their own truths(and many lies) about Harry, will hate The People's Prince for setting the record strait. It's an awfully lot of stories, either in tabloids, books, television and people such as Youtube-'influencers', who will now have to defend their stories about him. I suspect he will be hated for doing that to them. They want his truth destroyed.
In the meantime, I'm glad I've read Chris Hutchin's book about Harry, before the storm broke.
So yes, I'm onto the next book. Still not Harry's Spare, but I need more background. This book held my attention from the beginning to end.
December 13, 2015
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway Contest.
Does a thirty year old man deserve a biography? He does if he is born into one of the richest and most watched families in the world. Prince Harry was born in the spotlight and has lived in the spotlight. An heir to the throne of England, the question is: What has he done with his life? This book tries to answer that question.
The book is quite extensive in its coverage of his life. The good, the bad and the ugly parts of it. No part of his life is left alone. The author did a large amount of research for this book. Both from official and unofficial sources.
At time, this book reads like one those biographies where the author is trying to sell the book by telling all the undesirable tales about the subject. There were also tales of the good things the Prince has done.
I would recommend this book.
Does a thirty year old man deserve a biography? He does if he is born into one of the richest and most watched families in the world. Prince Harry was born in the spotlight and has lived in the spotlight. An heir to the throne of England, the question is: What has he done with his life? This book tries to answer that question.
The book is quite extensive in its coverage of his life. The good, the bad and the ugly parts of it. No part of his life is left alone. The author did a large amount of research for this book. Both from official and unofficial sources.
At time, this book reads like one those biographies where the author is trying to sell the book by telling all the undesirable tales about the subject. There were also tales of the good things the Prince has done.
I would recommend this book.
May 25, 2015
I'm not sure how this book got such good reviews. The copy I had (paperback) was full of grammatical errors and typos.
On top of that, it's also filled with errors that most would miss (Hutchins badly mangles all the Royal titles). If anyone that isn't a die-hard Royal watcher would read it -- they'd think this was accurate but sadly, it's not. It's mostly a rehash of the British tabloids and they are rarely very factual.
Proceed with caution.
On top of that, it's also filled with errors that most would miss (Hutchins badly mangles all the Royal titles). If anyone that isn't a die-hard Royal watcher would read it -- they'd think this was accurate but sadly, it's not. It's mostly a rehash of the British tabloids and they are rarely very factual.
Proceed with caution.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews