"Harry: The People's Prince" by Chris Hutchins (2013)

[angieuk]

Harry: The People's Prince
by Chris Hutchins

Publisher: The Robson Press
Publication date: 25 April 2013
ISBN13: 9781849545471
Hardcover, 288 pages
16 pages of ilustrations
RRP: £18.99

Publisher's blurb

This is the story of Prince Henry, third in line to the British throne, and most popular member of the Royal family. From a childhood born to a troubled marriage and scarred by the tragedy of the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to his brilliant public performances at the Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics and his brother the Prince of Wales's [sic] wedding, this book charts the remarkable journey of a seemingly ordinary young man with an extraordinary destiny. Once pilloried as a playboy prince who drank £200 cocktails with louche friends in London nightclubs, brawled with photographers and wore a Nazi uniform to a fancy-dress party, then lauded following his first term of duty on the front line in the most dangerous place on earth, southern Helmand in Afghanistan, from which he returned a hero.

Written with the help of a wide range of people from senior aides to humble members of staff, from aristocrats to bodyguards and protection officers, from friends of Harry's to the not-so-friendly, from those who shared classrooms with him in boyhood to those he drank with. From girls he has loved and lost to soldiers who have served alongside him on the front line in Afghanistan, "Harry: The People's Prince" is the story of a young man who has admirably created a life for himself in contrast to the one set out for him by what he describes as an accident of birth.

Chris Hutchins is the author of 'Putin', 'Athina: The Last Onassis', and 'Abramovich: the Billionaire from Nowhere' as well as high-profile biographies of Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson.

v cover image
reproduced for promotional purposes

 

[cepe]

hysterical!

........the London Olympics and his brother the Prince of Wales s wedding, this book charts the remarkable journey

You'd hope the book would be more accurate

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Was that the book that was inaccurate or the review?

 

[cepe]

the review

 

[Lumutqueen]

We have a new 'tell all book';

Diana, 'Uncle James' Hewitt and the emotional wounds that haunt Harry: Fascinating psychological insight into the forces that shaped the playboy Prince | Mail Online

Extracts

"Harry had been asleep in a room next to his brother’s at Balmoral when a red-eyed Prince Charles came in to break the dreadful news. Is Mummy really dead, Daddy? were, Charles recalls, the first words the boy managed between sobs. It was a phrase the young boy would repeat many more times that day in the face of senior family members; apparent indifference to the tragedy."

"Harry became more and more furious as he learned things about his family that he could never have imagined possible. Did Daddy's friends really say that she should be put in a home for unstable people because she was a basket case? Was she really having an affair with Uncle James? Had she really lied to them that the Aids patients she took them to meet were suffering from cancer?
His mother had not told them a fraction of this, and she should not have told the world. He loved his mother, but he loved his Papa too, and he was livid with Bashir for asking such personal questions."

"Diana's one-time lover James Hewitt who was, as I will reveal next week, a profound early influence on Prince Harry; claims she once told him she would never be able to live with the thought of her sons being sent away to war. She said it wouldn't be fair to her as a mother he records."

 

[Muhler]

Amazing!

Well, either Harry has confided every little detail to Chris Hutchins personally.
or
The author has paranormal abillities, enabling him to read Harry's mind and somehow "see" into the bedroom on that tragic night.
or
The author has added some drama to the story, naturally only so that the stupi... eeeh, the average readers can better understand the emotional depths of Prince Harry. - No, surely that can't be the reason.

Seems to me we have a budding Hemmingway on our hands.

 

[Iluvbertie]

The royal family have a lot of staff many of whom leak things to the press, along with his own family at times.

There was nothing in this that I hadn't read before from different sources.

 

[Warren]

"Harry: The People's Prince"
by Chris Hutchins

Publisher: Robson Press
Publiocation date: 25 April 2013
Format: Hardback, 288 pages
ISBN: 9781849545471

Publisher's blurb (fishpond.com)
This is the story of Prince Henry, third in line to the British throne, and most popular member of the Royal family.

From a childhood born to a troubled marriage and scarred by the tragedy of the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, to his brilliant public performances at the Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics and his brother Prince William's wedding, this book charts the remarkable journey of a seemingly ordinary young man with an extraordinary destiny. Once pilloried as a playboy prince who drank £200 cocktails with louche friends in London nightclubs, brawled with photographers and wore a Nazi uniform to a fancy-dress party, then lauded following his first term of duty on the front line in the most dangerous place on earth, southern Helmand in Afghanistan, from which he returned a hero.

Written with the help of a wide range of people - from senior aides to humble members of staff, from aristocrats to bodyguards and protection officers, from friends of Harry's to the not-so-friendly, from those who shared classrooms with him in boyhood to those he drank with. From girls he has loved and lost to soldiers who have served alongside him on the front line in Afghanistan - Harry: The People's Prince is the story of a young man who has admirably created a life for himself in contrast to the one set out for him by what he describes as 'an accident of birth'.

About the Author
Chris Hutchins is the author of Putin (9781780881140), Athina: The Last Onassis (9781857823813) and Abramovich: the Billionaire from Nowhere (9780007189847) as well as high-profile biographies of Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson. He lives in London.

v actual cover
> initial cover
Thumbnail images reproduced for promotional purposes.

 

[HRHHermione]

Oh god, that second expert is even worse tabloid rubbish than the first. All of these bits about his relationship with Cressida- was it this bad with William and Kate, earlier in their relationship?

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Hutchins also wrote a book on Putin. He's a noted biographer. Was the book on Putin well-received?

If Hutchins is to be believed regarding Harry in his childhood, I am led to believe that Harry has ADHD, as his boyhood scrapes mirror my own ADHD son's. It's very funny to read. Like Charles and Diana, we did not tell the grandparents about every scrape. And people with ADHD, while certainly disorganized, can lead very productive, accomplished and busy lives.

 

[Meadow]

So far it's all stuff that has been around for ages nothing new or earth shattering. On one hand he is tipped to marry Cressida next minute Cressida has said she doesn't think she wants that sort of life and he might get back with Chelsy. Everyone knows Harry wanted to be a soldier that story is nothing new actually none of it is. Except maybe the shop girl who held hands with Harry but never spoke of it until now of course. Looks like he has gone through old newspaper articles and made it into a book.

 

[Skippyboo]

According to the latest Daily Mail excerpt, the book claims the Queen when asked about doing the bond stunt- said Ask what Harry thinks. That contradict the interviews William and Harry did during the games when they said they didn't know about it

 

[cepe]

Well according to Danny Boyle it was her idea. I know who I believe

 

[Dman]

The whole James Hewitt story is complete nonsense. Just a way to keep the rumor going.

 

[CarolynHarris]

Harry: The People's Prince by Chris Hutchins

An interesting biography of Prince Harry (particularly his military life) that would be improved by more attention to previous princes in his situation.

Harry: The People’s Prince by Chris Hutchins (Review) | Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Hutchins also wrote a book on Putin. He's a noted biographer. Was the book on Putin well-received?

If Hutchins is to be believed regarding Harry in his childhood, I am led to believe that Harry has ADHD, as his boyhood scrapes mirror my own ADHD son's. It's very funny to read. Like Charles and Diana, we did not tell the grandparents about every scrape. And people with ADHD, while certainly disorganized, can lead very productive, accomplished and busy lives.

God bless, sweetie...and you are very right about that.

The late John F. Kennedy Jr. suffered from ADHD but he was not diagnosed properly until early adolescence. So much of Harry's behavior as a child and a young man seems to mirror John's...it's uncanny imo.

 

[sirhon11234]

God bless, sweetie...and you are very right about that.

The late John F. Kennedy Jr. suffered from ADHD but he was not diagnosed properly until early adolescence. So much of Harry's behavior as a child and a young man seems to mirror John's...it's uncanny imo.

Oh lordy Harry mirroring John John makes me feel uneasy. Especially with how John passed.

 

[lionellebronmc]

The whole James Hewitt story is complete nonsense. Just a way to keep the rumor going.

No, he doesn't "keep the rumor going." Hutchins takes the establishment one regarding Hewitt.

After the birth of Harry, he writes:

(and remember, the affair with red-headed James Hewitt was a long way off).

Hutchins, Chris. Harry The People's Prince (Kindle Location 560). Neville Ness House Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Wharfe was not the only man to arrive on the scene in 1986, for that was the year Diana met the man who was to change her life, and Harry’s, the dashing cavalry officer James Hewitt.

Hutchins, Chris. Harry The People's Prince (Kindle Locations 858-860). Neville Ness House Ltd. Kindle Edition.

Far from "keeping the rumor going" he echoes the accepted story, that Hewitt and Diana only began their after Harry's birth.

 

[jacqui24]

I don't know how anyone can give believe that Hewitt is Harry's father after looking at pictures of Prince Philip around the same age.

 

[Pranter]

No kidding. He is so like Phillip.


LaRae

 

[lionellebronmc]

I agree Harry looks like Philip, and Charles too. But about Hewitt, I've always thought Hewitt actually looks like the Windsors too! Maybe Hewitt Is Charles's secret brother? haha

 

[jacqui24]

I agree Harry looks like Philip, and Charles too.

Harry looks like Philip, but his bone structure are definitely not as well defined as Philip. That's consistent with Charles.

 

[burbankstorylady]

Harry looks like Philip, but his bone structure are definitely not as well defined as Philip. That's consistent with Charles.

I think Harry takes his looks largely from the Mountbatten/Hesse, though Charles obviously, but Charles also has a mix and the Hesse bone structure in particular came out stronger in Harry's face. On the subject of looks, I see more of a Hannover in William, and a strong Hesse in Harry.

 

[Pranter]

Whatever it is in William..his looks were (still are in some ways) very much like his mother.


LaRae