Prince Harry's Book Described as 'Freudian Nightmare' Over Penis Cream

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Prince Harry's account of using the same cream that Princess Diana applied to her lips on his own frostbitten penis has been described as a "Freudian nightmare."

The Duke of Sussex suffered frostbite on his crown jewels in the runup to and during Prince William and Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding, after he hiked through the North Pole.

Harry described how a friend recommended he try a particular cream that, by coincidence, had been favored by Princess Diana to the point that its smell evoked her memory.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Get RFK Award
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry received a Ripple of Hope award from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, at New York Hilton, on December 6, 2022. Inset, Harry's memoir "Spare" describes his frostbitten penis. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala

Harry wrote: "My penis was oscillating between extremely sensitive and borderline traumatized. The last place I wanted to be was Frostnipistan.

"I'd been trying some home remedies, including one recommended by a friend. She'd urged me to apply Elizabeth Arden cream. My mum used that on her lips. 'You want me to put that on my todger?'

"'It works, Harry. Trust me.' I found a tube, and the minute I opened it, the smell transported me through time. I felt as if my mother was right there in the room.

"Then I took a smidge and applied it...down there. 'Weird' doesn't really do the feeling justice."

Dominic Wakeford, a London-based book editor, posted on Twitter: "This book is a Freudian nightmare." He added: "As disturbing as this is, I was personally more unnerved by his pronunciation of Battersea as 'Badderzee'—let's stop listening to posh men in 2023."

Replying to a comment, Wakeford wrote: "To anyone suggesting this is fake—I wish I had the imagination to come up with something this good!"

While some parodies of Harry's narration are floating around the internet, Newsweek has a copy of the book, and the passage cited is there.

Princess Diana is unsurprisingly mentioned many times in Harry's book and he at one stage describes bringing Meghan to see her grave for the first time in 2022.

The passage in Spare reads: "At long last, I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum. We hesitated, hugging, and then I went first. I placed flowers on the grave.

"Meg gave me a moment, and I spoke to my mother in my head, told her I
missed her, asked her for guidance and clarity.

"Feeling that Meg might also want a moment, I went around the hedge,
scanned the pond. When I came back, Meg was kneeling, eyes shut, palms
against the stone.

"I asked, as we walked back to the boat, what she'd prayed for. Clarity, she said. And guidance."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.

About the writer

Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles III, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—and hosts The Royal Report podcast. Jack joined Newsweek in 2020; he previously worked at The Sun, INS News and the Harrow Times. Jack has also appeared as a royal expert on CNN, MSNBC, Fox, ITV and commentated on King Charles III's coronation for Sky News. He reported on Prince Harry and Meghan's royal wedding from inside Windsor Castle. He graduated from the University of East Anglia. Languages: English. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. You can get in touch with Jack by emailing j.royston@newsweek.com.


Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more