With its grand revelation and attacks on the British royal family, Prince Harry’s memoir hit bookstore shelves on Tuesday, almost three years after his break with the monarchy.
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The most startling excerpts from the book – which begins with a scene after the funeral of her grandfather Philip, Elizabeth II’s husband, in 2021 – have already been leaked in the press. They have further strained the popularity in the UK of King Charles III’s youngest son, who is accused of smearing an institution sacred to many for commercial gain.
At the WHSmith bookshop in London’s Victoria Station, copies of ‘Spare’ (‘The Substitute’) emerged from their black plastic wrappers at midnight, watched by more journalists than customers.
Chris Imafidon, president of an educational association, was the first to walk away with three copies of the book, in which the Duke of Sussex recounts how his brother threw him to the ground, killed 25 Taliban in Afghanistan, but also took cocaine or lost his virginity to an elderly woman .
“I really want to be able to see what his perspective is,” he told AFP.
Commercial real estate expert Sarah Nakana, 46, wants to “hear her story in her own words” and says the press is “radicalizing” the British public against Prince Harry.
As soon as it opened at 8am on Tuesday, Caroline Lennon, 59, bought a copy in London’s Piccadilly Circus surrounded by dozens of journalists. “I love the royal family, all of them, but I also love Harry. I don’t like this war between them.” She also bought the audio version of the book, read by Harry: she was going to listen to it at home on Tuesday and have hot tea.
In addition to English, the book is published in 15 other languages. It was accidentally placed on bookstore shelves in Spain for a few hours on Thursday last week to fuel its key revelations.
Divisions within the British royal family are being brought to light, toppling this globally influential institution just four months after the death of the much-loved Elizabeth II and four months before the coronation of Charles III. in turmoil.
William, the heir to the throne, his “beloved brother and sworn enemy” is his primary target. But King Charles III, head of state of 15 countries, is not spared either. As did Kate, William’s wife, and Camilla, the Queen’s consort.
In his book, Harry accused William of throwing him to the ground during a 2019 argument over Meghan, who Harry married the year before.
He also accused his brother and wife Kate of “stereotyping” towards Meghan, a mixed-race American actress, who “created a barrier” to welcoming him into the family.
Harry claims that certain details of private conversations with Camilla, his father’s wife, that have been released in the media may have “just been leaked” by her.
The 38-year-old prince has given several television interviews to promote and defend his book from California, where he went into exile with his wife Meghan in 2020. He asserted that he wanted to “reclaim” his story but didn’t want to “hurt” anyone.
Buckingham Palace did not respond to the prince’s comments, but comments from sources “close to the Royal Family” are now emerging in the press, most of which are very hostile to “Sussex”. One of those sources told The Independent that, according to the King, Camilla and William, the situation cannot improve because Harry was “kidnapped by a psychotherapy cult and by Meghan.”
Charles III, the Queen’s consort and heir apparent, is “trapped” according to this source: “It’s impossible to have a conversation or write a letter because there’s a risk that anything they say will be made public by Harry . potentially for commercial gain”. “There’s a total loss of confidence.”
In The Sun, a source claims that although “Harry spared his father,” “Charles doesn’t mind much because he’s after Camilla,” a “red line.”
The Brits seem to be fed up with this princely soap opera. According to a YouGov poll, 64% of Brits have a negative image of Harry.