“Dad didn’t hug me”, what are the revelations in the book “Replacement”?

The painful memory of his mother, his tensions with his family, his experience in Afghanistan… Discover some key passages. These quotations are taken from the French translation published by Fayard.

His mother Diana, who died in 1997

(His father tells him about Diana’s death): “He stood by the bed, his eyes downcast. In his white nightgown, he looked like a ghost in a play. […] He put his hand on my knee. My dear child, mom had a car accident. »

“What I remember, with stunning clarity, is that I didn’t cry. Not even the slightest tears. Dad didn’t hug me. […] But he put his hand on my knee again and said, I’ll be fine. »

(During a visit to Paris in 2007, Harry asked his driver to go under the Alma underpass where Diana died): “At 110 km/h, to be precise. 110. Yes. According to the police, the exact speed at which the mother’s car was traveling at the time of the accident. […] I always imagined it as a treacherous place, dangerous in nature, but it was just a simple short tunnel. There is no reason for anyone to die here. […] Later, after sleeping, I called Willy to tell him about my night. I didn’t teach him anything. And this tunnel passed. »

(He shares doubts with his brother about the investigation, which only refers to the driver): “We wanted to publish a declaration that together we are asking for the renewal of the investigation. Maybe organize a press conference. The high authorities dissuaded us. »

His brother William

“Two years older than me, Willy was the heir; I, deputy. It wasn’t just the press that talked about us that way, even if it did. They were often used by dad, mom and grandfather. And even grandma. Successor and substitute, there is no judgment in these nicknames, but no ambiguity either. I was a shadow, a substitute, a plan B.”

(2019, during the row with William): “Meg (Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, ex. editor) is difficult, he said. […] He put down his glass, hurled another insult at me, and then lunged at me. Everything happened so fast. So fast. He grabbed my collar, broke the collar I was wearing and threw me to the ground. I fell on the dog bowl, which broke under my weight and pieces cut into my back. »

(During a conversation with William and Charles in 2021): “The conversation got so heated that Dad finally put the kibosh on it by throwing up his hands. It is sufficient ! He stood between us, staring back and forth between our faces crimson with anger. Please guys don’t make my last years a nightmare. »

“I was watching Willy […] Everything seemed to me as a whole: the resentful expression he always had before me; his disturbing baldness, more advanced than mine; his famous resemblance to his mother, which disappeared over time. […] My beloved brother, my worst enemy, how could we have come to this? »

His stepmother Camilla, now the queen consort

(About their first meeting): “I said to myself: it’s nothing. Like a stab. […] I retain a vague memory of this meeting of Camille calm (or bored) like me. […] I remember wondering, right before we met, if she would be mean to me. If only she were like all the horrible stepmothers from fairy tales. Turns out it wasn’t. »

(On her opposition, to William, to Charles’ remarriage): “We accept Camilla, we told her. But please don’t marry her. Just be together, Dad. He didn’t answer. But she does. All of a sudden. Not long after our brief introduction, she embarked on a lengthy operation, embarking on a campaign to attain consort status and, ultimately, the crown. »

His mission in Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot (2012-2013)

“My number, then: twenty-five (killed, op.a.). I didn’t get any pleasure from it. But I wasn’t ashamed of that either. […] In the heat and fog of battle, those twenty-five downed targets didn’t look like people to me. You can’t kill without it. We can’t hurt. They weren’t people but chess pieces that were wiped off the board, the bad guys were wiped out before they killed the good guys. »

Scandal with his Nazi costume in 2005

“I called Willy and Kate to ask their opinion. Nazi uniform, they answered together. I hired him, complete with a fake mustache to add a layer of ridiculousness, and went home. I tried on my costume. Kate and Willy roared with laughter. »

Drugs and the loss of virginity

(At the age of 17): “I was definitely taking cocaine then. At someone’s house in the country, during a hunting weekend, I was offered a rail and I have consumed it on other occasions since then. It wasn’t as much fun and it didn’t put me in the same state of euphoria as everyone else around me, but it made me feel something different. »