Prince Harry’s ghostwriter, Mark McCrum, has revealed surprising details about his experience writing for the Duke of Sussex, including the fact that he never met Harry in person during the process of working on the foreword for the 2011 book Walking With The Wounded.
The book chronicles the journey of four wounded soldiers as they trek to the North Pole. In a conversation with Daily Mail, McCrum explained, “When I ghost-wrote for Prince Harry on the bestselling book Walking With The Wounded, about four wounded soldiers who trekked across the ice to the North Pole, I didn’t meet him.”
At the time, Harry was in Norway, preparing to join the soldiers on their expedition, so McCrum never had the chance to meet him face-to-face. Instead, McCrum was sent a video of the Duke, which he used as inspiration for writing the book.
“In the end, I was sent a video of him out on the ice, enthusing about the beauty of the landscape and the bravery of his companions,” McCrum recalled. The video featured Harry trekking across the ice in full polar kit, grinning and frequently using the word “amazing.”
McCrum noted, “For 15 minutes, Harry trekked across the ice grinning a lot in full polar kit. It was recorded just for me but hardly illuminating. The word ‘amazing’ featured a lot, I remember.” Despite the video being the primary material for McCrum’s writing, the chapter was then submitted for approval to Clarence House.
McCrum added, “This was worked up into a thoughtful chapter, which then had to get copy approval from Clarence House. Whether Harry read it himself, I have no idea.” This revelation comes amid the ongoing discussion of J.R. Moehringer’s challenges in ghostwriting Harry’s memoir Spare.
Moehringer himself has spoken about being “exasperated” by the process and the struggles he faced in bringing Harry’s personal story to life. McCrum’s experience sheds light on the different levels of involvement and challenges faced by the various individuals who have helped Prince Harry share his story with the world.