"Spare," the word most repeatedly uttered by royal followers this week. This is the title of Prince Harry's confessional book, due to be released on January 10, 2023, and is a reference to his complicated heir/spare relationship with his brother Prince William. (To be fair, how would you feel if you were born with such an explanation?)

Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana, apparently recognized how damaging the "spare" label could be to her younger son and tried to protect him from it, reports The Independent. (To add for those who are not royalists, of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's two sons, William, the eldest, is the heir to the throne, while Harry, the second son, has been called "Spare" since birth.)

Upon learning that William would be favored as heir to the throne, Diana was "troubled," says best-selling author James Patterson: The Heartbreaking Story of a Princess and Mother was released in August.

"I think she tried to suppress it as best she could. 'I think she was distressed about it. It's normal for families. It makes one of the kids a little more attractive and lovable, like getting better grades in school or doing better in sports. How do we convince the other children that they are enough on their own? And in this case, the stakes are higher because one is presumed to be king someday"

Princess Diana "understood the situation well," he said, and "she had experienced how difficult it was to fulfill her role as a princess. ...... She wanted to have her own life. It was very difficult for her. She did not want her children to have to go through the same hardships that she had faced. She tried to keep it as low as possible. She wanted her children to be normal children and understand that the real world is not the same as it is in the palace. I don't want them to think of themselves as special or different."

Princess Diana tried to give her children as "normal" a childhood as possible despite their special circumstances, and along with taking them to homeless shelters and charity events, she famously took them to McDonald's to feed them Happy Meals, according to Patterson says.

"She wanted to protect them from some of the things that were bothering her in her role," he says. 'It was difficult being in the media eye and having to be a role model, even for a child.' She didn't want her children to feel that way. She wanted her children to be as normal as possible."

The Independent reported that Diana was so protective of Harry that she even called him "good King Harry." This appellation was adopted after young William allegedly said, "I don't want to be king," to which Harry replied, "Well, I'll be king instead."