Prince Harry ghostwriter recounts story of creating Spare

J. R. Moehringer, writing in the New Yorker magazine, said the experience of working on the book had made him understand the Duke of Sussex better.

After first being approached during the summer of 2020, Moehringer and Harry worked on the memoir for two years over long Zoom calls, text messages and visits to his home.

They became close, with Moehringer saying: "In due time, no subject was off the table. I felt honored by his candor, and I could tell that he felt astonished by it. And energized.

"While I always emphasized storytelling and scenes, Harry couldn’t escape the wish that “Spare” might be a rebuttal to every lie ever published about him.

When “Spare” was released, facts were wrenched out of context and complex emotions were reduced to cartoonish idiocy, writes J. R. Moehringer, who collaborated with Prince Harry on the memoir—“and there were so many falsehoods.”https://t.co/YE61nyQKZG

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) May 9, 2023

"As Borges dreamed of endless libraries, Harry dreams of endless retractions, which meant no end of revelations."

He added that Harry was aware people would be "aghast" by some of the stories, but he had faith people would see through it.

'Facts were wrenched out of context'

Moehringer also commented on the media frenzy surrounding the book once it was leaked in Spain and criticised the British press in their approach to covering it.

He said: "The British press now converted the book into their native tongue, that jabberwocky of bonkers hot takes and classist snark.

"Facts were wrenched out of context, complex emotions were reduced to cartoonish idiocy, innocent passages were hyped into outrages—and there were so many falsehoods."

Additionally, Moehringer's name was leaked to the press and he soon found himself "squinting into a gigantic searchlight" of media attention.

Moehringer criticised the way the British press covered Spare (Image: PA)

Whilst driving his son to preschool he was tailed by a paparazzi photographer and a journalist appeared at his window whilst he was working.

He said the experience made him realise he had "understood nothing" about how a life in the spotlight had affected Prince Harry - but said the Duke of Sussex was "all heart" and supported him throughout.

The full article can be found on the New Yorker website here.

Who is J. R. Moehringer?

John Joseph Moehringer - more commonly known by his penname J. R. Moehringer - is an acclaimed American novelist and journalist. 

Born in New York City, Moehringer was raised in Manhasset, New York and Scottsdale, Arizona before pursuing an Ivy League education at Yale University. 

He began his career as a News Assistant at the New York Times and has worked for several American publications including the Rocky Mountain News and the Los Angeles Times. 

While he worked at the Los Angeles Times, Moehringer was recognised as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing in 1998 then later received the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing in 2000 for his article "Crossing Over".

Moehringer is also a novelist, having written his own memoir The Tender Bar in 2005.

His story, which shares his experience from childhood to the formative years he spent at his local bar in his twenties was adapted into a film last year directed by George Clooney and starring Ben Affleck.

Moehringer now lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and two children.