Edward Enninful’s narrative has equal parts resilience, grit and name-dropping. As a black gay man from Ghana, to have made it to the pinnacle of fashion entertainment, the story he weaves is a good read for anyone that is not a fashion insider, but wants a peek into the world of fashion media. The late nights rolling into days, the endless parties, drugs, and yes, tons of famous people but also, the relentless creativity demanded in an industry that sets the tone for the rest of the world looks, what goes into the creation of images and thereby, image, and the near sacrifice of all else in order to make it to the top. Pick it up if you’re looking for an quick peek into fashion media.

Prince Harry, Haz, Captain Wales – these are the multiple identities we’re introduced to as a little boy grows into a man, trying to find his identity in a very rulebound (and some pretty bizarre rules too) and cold family. I haven’t watched the docuseries – there’s only so much TV time in my life, and Succession is the gold standard – so I went into the book blind and not particularly biased by the cinematic expressions of breathless love (Yes, no one has loved like us before). To answer the most asked question: no, it’s not a pity party. The book recounts events from Harry’s perspectives – walking at his mother’s funeral as a 12 year old, comforting the crying masses and smiling for them as a TWELVE YEAR OLD, and receiving little to no support from anyone in his family. Basically, being asked to suck it up and get on with life. Except he’s 12. From that one defining start, Harry writes essentially about trying to find an identity for himself that is not about being born in a very particular family, and the one he comes closest to wanting to adopt is as Captain Wales. Tbh, I didn’t realise the extent to which he had served, and find myself shocked that he’s considered (by some) a traitor. This when he asked repeatedly to be on the frontlines and served there on multiple occasions. Isn’t active duty in the armed forces one of the most patriotic acts? But not if you believe the stories in the press. And that is the second big takeaway from the book – the nemesis he confronts constantly is not his family, but the press and the stories they write, willfully and blatantly false, and again, with little support from his family. In fact, sometimes it serves the principal characters in his family to have him painted in a poor light so they come off looking better. “Harry is a druggie, oh, his poor single father”, so that the headlines are no longer, “There’s cheating Charles and his sidechick Camilla”. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I wouldn’t wish that family on my worst enemies. All in all, a quick but insightful read into family politics – they probably inspired some of the storylines and character development in my beloved Succession – the only one that’s actually interesting.