The Duke of Sussex’s highly anticipated memoir, billed as a book of “raw, unflinching honesty”, will be published in the new year, it has been announced.
Harry’s book is called Spare, a reference to the phrase the “the heir and the spare” and will be released globally on January 10.
It was expected to hit bookshelves this autumn but there has been speculation that the date was pushed back as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen, and it is rumored to make changes to the publication and remove potentially damaging material.
But Buckingham Palace is still likely to be steeling itself for revelations that could be detrimental to the monarchy and the duke’s father Charles, now King and in the early stages of his reign.
The memoir will be published by Penguin Random House, which said in a press release: “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.
“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.”
A spokesman for the King declined to comment.
The royal family could be faced with damaging newspaper headlines if Harry chooses to delve into the most controversial elements of royal life from the past decades.
He could reveal which member of the monarchy he claims made a racist comment about the potential skin colour of his then unborn son Archie or shine a light on his strained relationship with his father and troubled times with his brother William, the Prince of Wales.
A key part of the duke’s life is the break-up of his parent’s marriage and the death of his mother Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Little is known about life behind palace walls for the duke and his older brother William during this difficult period, with Harry only saying years later how he tried to block out the pain of losing his mother.
When the deal to publish the memoir was first announced in 2021 Harry said about the book: “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become.”
He added: “I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”
