Prince Harry's tell-all memoir will be called 'Spare' and released on January 10, publisher reveals
27 October 2022, 07:28 | Updated: 4 November 2022, 10:05
Prince Harry's long-awaited memoir will be published on January 10, along with an audiobook voiced by himself.
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The book is called Spare and is described by the publisher as "his story at last". The Duke of Sussex will support British charities with donations from the proceeds.
Publisher Penguin Random House said: "Spare takes readers immediately back to one of the most searing images of the 20th century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow and horror.
"As Diana, Princess of Wales was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling - and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is his story at last."
Penguin adds: “With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”
The book will be published simultaneously in 16 different languages worldwide. It comes after the release date was delayed because he got "cold feet" following the death of his grandmother the Queen.
The tell-all book was originally going to be released in November, but the Prince reportedly wanted to make a number of amendments to "water it down" after the monarch died in September.
An industry executive told the New York Times: "Prince Harry has gotten cold feet about the memoir’s contents at various points."
He was said to be worried parts of the book "might not look so good" after the public outpouring of support for the monarchy last month, and he feared being vilified as a result.
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Literary agent Matt Latimer added that the Duke of Sussex was balancing "competing" goals of enhancing his fame and repairing the "rift" in his family.
No members of the royal family are understood to have seen the book.
Even when the publishing deal was announced in July 2021, the Daily Mail reported the only person to be given advance warning was the Queen.
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In the announcement, Penguin Random House described the book as "an intimate and heartfelt memoir".
It said the Duke would "offer an honest and captivating personal portrait", covering his childhood to the present day.
It will include details about "his dedication to service, the military duty that twice took him to the front lines of Afghanistan, and the joy he has found in being a husband and father".
Harry and Meghan have been vocal about their experience of being in the royal family since they quit the institution and moved to California nearly three years ago.
In a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey a year after their move, they accused members of the family of racism and emotional abandonment, among other things.
Since the move the couple have launched the Archewell Foundation and signed lucrative deals with Spotify and Netflix.
Meghan has discussed labels including 'diva' and 'bimbo' as well as the 'angry black woman' trope, on her new Archetypes podcast.
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The couple has also been working on a Netflix documentary - although the release of it has reportedly been delayed following backlash over The Crown.
The new series of the popular Netflix show about the royal family is set to dramatise the final moments of Princess Diana before her death in 1997, sparking furious criticism.
On October 18 it was reported executives at the streaming giant were "rattled", and so postponed Harry and Meghan's 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary out of fear of further backlash.
A spokesman for the King declined to comment.
