Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son by Penny Junor

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I was 11, nearly 12, when Princess Diana died.  I remember watching her funeral on TV and thinking that her two sons, walking behind her casket through the streets of London, had to have the hardest job in the world that day.  As anyone might expect, the experience of losing their mother at such an age and in such a horrific way had an intense impact on Prince William and Prince Harry.

Known more often for his wild ways, Prince Harry has settled down in the last few years, becoming a top notch Apache helicopter pilot and starting his own charity for AIDS orphans in Lesotho.  Penny Junor is a bit heavy handed in the beginning.  From this reader's standpoint, it seems pretty clear that she was not the biggest fan of the Princess of Wales.  I found the first chapters somewhat difficult to get through.  Sure, the info on the trials and tribulations of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales was somewhat interesting (although, if you pay attention to royal news at all, you probably know most of it already) but all I really wanted was for her to get to the part about Prince Harry.  It was as if both William and Harry were mere side notes to the first quarter of the book.  Alas, she eventually fell into a rhythm describing the reserved boy, the reckless adolescent, and the engaging man.  As far as biographies go, this one was good.  I'm pretty sure it's the fastest I've ever read a biography.  If you're a royal watcher or an Anglophile like me, check it out.

 -Reviewed by Ashley

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