Prince Harry’s ghostwriter describes tensions while working on ‘Spare’

Prince Harry’s ghostwriter says that there was no shortage of tension while working with the Duke of Sussex on ‘Spare’.

J.R. Moehringer detailed what it was like to work with Harry in a recent article for the New Yorker.

The 58-year-old described one dispute that arose while discussing when Harry was captured by pretend terrorists during military exercises.

“I was exasperated with Prince Harry,” Moehringer says. “My head was pounding, my jaw was clenched, and I was starting to raise my voice.

“And yet some part of me was still able to step outside the situation and think, ‘This is so weird. I’m shouting at Prince Harry’.

“Then, as Harry started going back at me, as his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed, a more pressing thought occurred: ‘Whoa, it could all end right here’.”

The simulation was done to determine whether Harry had what it took to survive a real-life capture should it ever occur in a war zone.

“He’s hooded, dragged to an underground bunker, beaten, frozen, starved, stripped, forced into excruciating stress positions by captors wearing black balaclavas,” according to Moehringer.

The pretend kidnappers then threw Harry against a wall and hurled insults at him, including one about his late mother, Princess Diana. The participant later apologized to him.

“Harry always wanted to end this scene with a thing he said to his captors, a comeback that struck me as unnecessary, and somewhat inane,” Moehringer explained.

Harry explained his mindset during the tense Zoom call.

“He exhaled and calmly explained that, all his life, people had belittled his intellectual capabilities, and this flash of cleverness proved that, even after being kicked and punched and deprived of sleep and food, he had his wits about him,” wrote Moerhinger, who insisted he wouldn’t include the comeback.

Harry eventually conceded, adding: “I really enjoy getting you worked up like that.”

Moehringer and Harry’s relationship

Moehringer says he was first approached about ghostwriting ‘Spare’ in the summer of 2020. Although he was hesitant at first, he says he took the job once he found out it was for Prince Harry.

He says the two along from the start, though he was concerned about how much Harry would actually reveal to him.

Moehringer even stayed in Harry and Meghan Markle’s guesthouse on two occasions, where “Meghan and Archie would visit me on their afternoon walks.”

He added that even he was shocked by the media frenzy ‘Spare’ generated, with reporters and photographers even stalking him.