Prince Harry’s autobiography “Spare” finally went on sale in his native UK on Tuesday after months of anticipation and a consistent media campaign, posing a further embarrassment risk for the royal family.
The biggest royal book to be published since Prince Harry’s mother Princess Diana and Andrew Morton cooperated on “Diana: Her True Story” in 1992 saw a midnight release in some British bookstores.
Four television interviews in the UK and the United States, where Harry now resides with wife Meghan, have been conducted in conjunction with the publication.
But because copies of the ghostwritten memoir accidentally went on sale early in Spain, they have already been extensively leaked. The memoir will be accessible in 16 languages and as an audiobook.
Those who obtained one of those copies believe that Harry makes a claim in the book that his brother William physically assaulted him during their argument about Meghan.
It also details how he lost his virginity, admits to doing drugs as a teenager, and makes the claim that he killed 25 people while serving with the British military in Afghanistan, earning him criticism from Taliban hardliners.
At exactly midnight, employees of a bookshop in London’s Victoria train station removed brand-new copies of the book from their packaging.
Chris Imafidon, the leader of an educational nonprofit, was first in line because he wanted to learn about Harry’s life “straight from the source.”
“I’m very keen on hearing what he has to say about what he’s been through,” he said.
And Sarah Nakana, a 46-year-old surveyor in commercial property, who was also in the queue, said: “I want to hear his story in his words, because at this point, I feel like the British media are radicalising the British public against Prince Harry.”
