Prince Harry's memoir Spare focuses on the aftermath of the death of his mother, Princess Diana, his time in the army, and his departure from royal life with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020.
There's also an epilogue to the story, which takes place at Queen Elizabeth's funeral in September 2022. The week the Queen died, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had traveled to Europe for a series of events to support charities, but before they appeared in Manchester and then Düsseldorf, Prince Harry reveals, the Sussexes took a trip to Althorp, Princess Diana's childhood home and her final resting place.
There, he writes, he was greeted by Princess Diana's siblings: "Uncle Charles" (Charles Spencer) and his aunts, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
They rowed to the island where Princess Diana is buried. "I led Meg up the path, around a hedge, through the labyrinth. There it was, looming: the grayish white oval stone," Harry writes. "No visit to this place was ever easy, but this one... Twenty-fifth anniversary. And Meg's first time. At long last I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum."
Harry continues, "We hesitated, hugging, and then I went first. I placed flowers on the grave. Meg gave me a moment, and I spoke to my mother in my head, told her I missed her, asked her for guidance and clarity. Feeling that Meg might also want a moment, I went around the hedge, scanned the pond. When I came back, Meg was kneeling, eyes shut, palms against the stone. I asked, as we walked back to the boat, what she’d prayed for. Clarity, she said. And guidance."
The image of Meghan praying to her late mother-in-law, who she never met, for clarity in guidance is a powerful one.
Following their visit to Althorp, they set out on their work trip, until Queen Elizabeth's health took a turn for the worse and she passed away at Balmoral. Prince Harry then would learn his grandmother died from the BBC, he writes in Spare, but doesn't get into the details of what that week was like with his family—only that he and William barely exchanged a word when they processed behind their grandmother's coffin to the funeral.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
