Prince Harry's 'wish' over great-aunt and fellow 'spare' Princess Margaret who was like a 'stranger' to him
Harry wished they were closer than they wereIn his 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry detailed the time when Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Princess Margaret, who was his great-aunt, gave him a rather bizarre gift for Christmas. The duke also reflected on their distant relationship.
Margaret, who would have turned 95 today (August 21), was the late queen’s younger sister. She died in 2002 at the age of 71.
In his memoir, Prince Harry said she wished he and Margaret were closer. The Duke of Sussex noted in his autobiography, Spare, how he and his great-aunt had more in common than he ever realised.
What did Princess Margaret give Harry?
In his book, Harry, 40, recalled receiving a bizarre gift from his “Aunt Margo” for Christmas back when he was a kid. The little prince had a heap of Christmas presents one year and decided to unpack the smallest one first. It was from “Aunt Margo”.
When a young Harry opened the gift, he found it was a biro pen with a small rubber fish wrapped around it. The prince thought this was “cold-blooded” of her. He further discussed his distant relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s younger sister.
In Spare, Harry recalled how his great-aunt “didn’t have much of an opinion” of him. He said that he too, felt nothing much for her except “pity”. The Californian resident also recalled always keeping out of her way.
Harry admitted: “Growing up, I felt nothing for her, except a bit of pity and a lot of jumpiness. She could kill a houseplant with one scowl. Mostly, whenever she was around, I kept my distance.”
He said she was “almost a total stranger” to him.
Only on a few occasions have the two been pictured together. Princess Margaret died in 2002 after years of health struggles.
Prince Harry thinks he and Princess Margaret had a lot in common
In his book, Prince Harry revealed he wished he and his great-aunt could have been closer. He thinks the two of them had a lot in common with each other, given both of them were the “spare” as the limelight shone on their older siblings.
While Prince Harry and Prince William have had an alleged feud for years now, he noted that Princess Margaret’s relationship with her older sister was also marked by “rivalry” and “intense competition”.
He wrote: “We had so much in common. Two spares. Her relationship with Granny wasn’t an exact analog of mine with Willy, but pretty close.”
Meghan Markle’s husband also thinks Margaret had a lot in common with his mother, Princess Diana. He notes how both women rebelled against tradition.
Margaret was ‘terribly loyal’ to Queen
Although the two sisters reportedly had some sibling rivalry, Margaret’s lady-in-waiting Anne Glenconner previously told PEOPLE they had a close bond.
She said: “She was terribly loyal to the queen — and being five years younger, I think it would have been much more difficult if she had been just [a little] younger than the queen.
Read more: Prince Harry told the truth about giving up Princess Diana’s engagement ring for William
“I knew Princess Margaret very, very well. And of course, she was a spare for quite a long time. But I mean, she was always completely loyal to the queen.”
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