Prince Harry once described a deeply disturbing rite of passage he experienced as a teenager—one that may soon confront the next generation of royals.

In his memoir Spare, published in 2023, the Duke of Sussex gave a vivid and unsettling account of a royal hunting ritual known as “blooding.” This tradition, centuries old and steeped in the culture of aristocratic sport, involves smearing a hunter’s face with the blood of the first animal they kill. In some cases, the ritual is even more graphic.

Harry was about 15 when he killed his first stag at Balmoral. The moment that followed would leave a lasting impression. According to his account, a guide named Sandy placed a hand behind his neck and forced his head inside the animal’s open carcass. “I tried to pull away, but Sandy pushed me deeper,” he wrote. “My nose and mouth were full of blood, guts and a deep, upsetting warmth.”

He recalled the overwhelming smell, the sensation of suffocating, and the raw physicality of the act. After being pulled out, Harry said he gasped for air. As he instinctively tried to wipe his face, Sandy reportedly stopped him and told him to “let it dry.”

Despite the shock, Harry later admitted to feeling “swelling pride” over the experience. He also shared that his very first blooding came even earlier, when his nanny, Tiggy Legge-Bourke, had dipped her fingers in rabbit blood and gently smeared it on his face.