Spare

On Bodmin Moor, Harry and a group of soldiers undertake an “Escape and Evasion” exercise. When they’re captured, Harry and the other men are blindfolded, told to strip naked, and must submit to illegal interrogation techniques. Harry doesn’t respond when one of the interrogators claims that Princess Diana was pregnant with a Muslim baby when she died. He later learns that two soldiers went crazy during the exercise.

The Queen sends Harry on a two-week tour of the Caribbean to mark 60 years of her reign. After returning to the UK, with the prospect of his impending deployment, Harry spends his time at parties and clubs. He’s constantly trailed by two paparazzi he calls “Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber” (198). Harry suspects that the duo uses a tracking device or has an inside informant. He often fantasizes about hitting them but refrains, knowing that this is the reaction they’re hoping for.

Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, introduces him to Cressida Bonas. They begin dating, and Cressida agrees to wait for Harry when he goes to war. Harry visits Las Vegas with a group of friends. They dissuade him from getting a tattoo of Botswana when he’s drunk. Later, Harry’s friends invite women they just met back to their hotel suite. After suggesting a game of strip billiards, Harry loses and ends up naked. The next day, naked photographs of him are published in the press.

Harry worries about how Cressida will respond to the story. Flying home, he meets with Prince Charles, who’s understanding. Harry recalls that a newspaper once published naked photographs of his father on holiday, snapped with a telephoto lens.

Cressida forgives Harry for his actions. In September 2012, he returns to Afghanistan as a captain. Shortly after he arrives at Camp Bastion, the military base is attacked, and two American soldiers are killed. Word emerges that Taliban fighters entered the base intending to kill Prince Harry. Harry feels sure that the Taliban discovered his location from reports in the British press.

On Harry’s first mission, a warning light flashes in the Apache soon after takeoff. He wants to ignore it, but his more experienced pilot insists on returning to base. Harry and the other Apache pilots fly in circles, scanning the ground for the enemy. The search is often frustrating because Taliban fighters hide among civilians or disappear into tunnels.

One night, Harry’s squadron is sent to find Taliban fighters who have attacked a control point. They identify eight moving targets, and Harry asks for clearance to fire. While they await a response, the targets head in different directions on motorbikes. The pilot advises using a Hellfire missile, but Harry shoots the cannon. He hits one target but the other escapes. Afterward, Harry questions whether he should feel guilty about killing the enemy. He realizes that he doesn’t and wishes he’d killed the other seven targets. Later, a friend asks if the Taliban targets on motorbikes reminded Harry of the paparazzi who chased his mother in Paris.

Harry is sent to target a Taliban training session. He aims at a motorbike carrying two riders and hits the target perfectly. He returns to base and resumes playing on a PlayStation.

In their Apache, Harry and his pilot, Dave, chase a Taliban commander speeding on a motorbike. Their target deliberately rides through villages, leaving only small windows for Harry to safely fire without hitting civilians. He hits the motorbike with a missile but thinks the commander may have escaped. He then sees the man’s body 50 feet away. Another time, he and Dave are called to a bunker where Taliban fighters are gathered but don’t get clearance to fire. On their subsequent surveillance of the bunker, they see Taliban fighters preparing to attack a lorry. After permission to fire is again denied, they watch the truck explode. They follow two motorbikes leaving the scene but don’t get clearance to fire.

After every Apache mission, the video recording from the flight is reviewed back at the base. The squadron commander monitors each video to check “kills” for protocol errors. Every one of Harry’s missions is approved. In all, he kills 25 Taliban fighters while in Afghanistan. When his tour ends in December 2012, he doesn’t regret any of them. Before leaving Afghanistan, Harry is interviewed by a reporter. He’s annoyed when the journalist not only asks if he killed anyone but also mentions his Las Vegas escapade. Before returning to Britain, the soldiers are sent to Cyprus. Here, Harry learns that the publication of his exit interview caused controversy. People are shocked that he compared the experience of killing Taliban fighters to a “video game.”

Harry finds office-based work at the military base tedious. He asks to return to Afghanistan, but his request is refused. In May 2013, Harry tours the US, seeing the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy. He meets the Obamas and attends the Warrior Games—an athletics event for wounded soldiers. Inspired, Harry wants to hold a similar event in London. However, when he tells Prince William about the idea, he responds negatively.