Prince Harry Penis Frostbite Story

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Part of a series on 'Prince Harry Reveals' Parodies. [View Related Entries]

About

The Prince Harry Penis Frostbite Story or My Penis Was Oscillating Between Extremely Sensitive and Borderline Traumatized refers to a story told in chapter 43 of Prince Harry's 2023 memoir Spare about getting frostbite on his penis after a 2011 North Pole expedition and applying Elizabeth Arden cream to it to try and heal it — the smell of the cream reminding him of his mother who used to use the cream on her lips. A clip from the audiobook version of Spare went viral on social media in mid-January 2023 shortly after the book's release, including on TikTok where it became a prominent original sound.

Origin

On January 10th, 2023, Prince Harry's memoir Spare was released, including an audiobook version read by Harry. In part two, chapter 43 of the book, Harry tells a story about the aftermath of going on a charity "Walking with the Wounded" expedition to the North Pole in 2011, which he withdrew from early to attend Prince William's wedding.^[1] In the chapter, he reveals that his penis was frostbitten after the trek. A friend told him to try Elizabeth Arden cream to heal it and when he goes to apply it, he is reminded of his mother, who used to use the cream on her lips. In the excerpt, he 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.

On January 11th, Twitter^[2] user @domwakeford posted the audiobook clip of Harry reading the segment, writing, "This book is a Freudian nightmare," garnering over 100,000 likes and 7.9 million views in seven days (shown below).

Spread

On January 12th, 2023, TikToker @greatbritishmemes posted the clip, garnering over 6.5 million views in six days. The original sound inspired over 3,000 uses in the same span of time. For example, on that date, TikToker^[3] @bridgetenielle posted a video expressing shock over the section, garnering over 7 million views in six days (shown below, left). On January 14th, TikToker^[4] @jampikelets posted a skit using the audio that gained over 3.4 million views in four days (shown below, right).

The story was reported on by numerous media outlets during its virality online. On January 12th, the Fox News YouTube^[5] channel uploaded a video of Greg Gutfeld talking about the story on his show, garnering over 194,000 views in six days (shown below, left). On January 16th, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube^[6] channel uploaded a video from the show of Jimmy Kimmel joking about the story by reading from a fake children's book titled "The Prince and the Penis," garnering over 798,000 views in a day (shown below, right).

"Prince Harry Reveals" Parodies

Prince Harry Reveals Parodies refer to memes and jokes made about various anecdotes from Prince Harry's 2023 memoir Spare. British daily newspaper The Guardian first broke the news of Harry recounting a physical altercation between him and his older brother Prince William on January 4th, 2023, a few days ahead of the book's official release. After the headlines spread to Twitter, various commentators began making parodies based on official news headlines, often using the phrasal template "Prince Harry reveals X" with an associated image.