LONDON – After weeks of hype and days of leaks, readers had their chance to pass judgment Prince Harry’s book for itself when it went on sale worldwide on Tuesday.
In the UK, some shops opened at midnight to sell copies of ‘Spare’ to die-hard royal supporters and the curious. Many said they wanted to make up their own minds about the book after days of snippets and debates on news sites and television.
“I’m looking forward to hearing about Prince Harry’s life from Prince Harry,” said Sarah Nakana, a surveyor who bought the book at London’s Victoria Station. “There is so much misinformation, disinformation about Harry and Meghan.”
The book is diverse revelations and allegations have already been splashed across the media. In the ghostwriter memoir, Harry, 38, shares his sadness at the death of his mother, Princess Diana Quarrel with brother Prince William and frustration at the royal ‘reserve”s role in the shadow of his older sibling, the heir apparent to the British throne.
He tears the British tabloids for reporting he is considered lecherous, pushy and at times just plain wrong, claiming his relatives are unwelcome to his wife Meghan and accusing members of the royal family, including his stepmother Camilla, of leaking stories to the media to boost their own reputation.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on any of the allegations, although royal allies have pushed backlargely anonymous.
Harry’s exposure of bitter divisions within the House of Windsor – alongside details of his mental health struggles, experiences with sex and drugs and his decades-long military career – has garnered oodles of media coverage.
The book is already the best-selling book on the UK Amazon site, which like many major retailers is offering it at half price, and is expected to be one of the best-selling books of the year.
John Cotterill, non-fiction buyer at bookstore chain Waterstones, told The Bookseller magazine that Spare was “one of the biggest pre-order titles for Waterstones in the last decade.”
However, excitement is far from universal. Harry’s interview with broadcaster ITV drew 4.1million viewers on Sunday – fewer than the 5.3million watching BBC drama ‘Happy Valley’ at the same time.
Retail worker Caroline Lennon arrived at a Waterstones branch in central London at 6am on Tuesday to await its opening.
“I was expecting a snake. Unfortunately there is no queue. I’m all alone,” she said.
“I want to read (it) because I like the royal family and I don’t care what anyone says,” she said. “People will criticize that. I don’t care because I like the royal family and I like Harry and Meghan.”
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