Prince Harry’s new paperback version of Spare is languishing in 73rd place in the UK charts after selling just 3,400 copies in its second week of publication.
The Duke of Sussex chose not to give any interviews to publicise the paperback edition of his bombshell autobiography which came out on October 24.
Its publisher Penguin Random House confirmed the book was not updated from its hardback form, viewed as a somewhat unusual move for an international bestseller.
The hardback edition came out in January 2023 – breaking records at bookshops as it became Britain’s best-selling book last year, with more than 700,000 copies sold.
But Harry’s decision to give no publicity or updates for the paperback is likely to have hit potential sales and given it a lowly place outside the Official UK Top 50.
The 3,391 sold compares with the 12,373 copies shifted of Richard Osman‘s latest novel We Solve Murders or 9,667 sold of Jeremy Clarkson‘s Diddly Squat: Home To Roost. In first place was Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hot Mess with 26,157.
And Harry’s sales are also up 87 per cent compared with the launch week – after the book come out to ‘relatively little fanfare’, according to The Bookseller magazine.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022
Copies of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ are pictured at a book store in London in January 2023
The re-issue of Spare contains a reprint of claims made by Harry against his estranged family including allegations that Prince William broke his necklace and shoved him onto a dog bowl which smashed during a particularly explosive row.
The hardback version of Spare broke records and was Britain’s best-selling book last year
The Duke also recalled private family conversations between himself, his father King Charles III and brother.
It claimed William teased Harry about his panic attacks, that Charles put his own interests above his second son and saw Harry reference taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms and his enjoyment of TV show Friends.
Harry also shone a spotlight on difficulties between his wife Meghan Markle and Kate – including the Princess’s reaction to the Duchess of Sussex saying she had ‘baby brain’.
And he used the book to make claims that William called Meghan ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’, and that Charles refused to allow Meghan to join Harry in Scotland as the late Queen was dying.
In a US broadcast promoting the work, Harry branded Camilla the ‘villain’ and ‘dangerous’, accusing her of rehabilitating her image at the expense of his.
A customer holds copies of ‘Spare’ at a London book store during a midnight opening in 2023
A poster advertises the midnight opening of a WH Smith store in London to sell Spare last year
As Harry continued a run of high profile promotional interviews, he said he ‘would like nothing more’ than for his children to have relationships with the Royal Family.
Penguin Random House announced on August 26 that Spare’s paperback version would be published in 16 languages worldwide, with the same cover image and a newly designed package but ‘the contents of the book are unchanged’.
Questions were raised over whether Harry would update his memoirs with a new chapter, considering all that has happened within the Royal Family over the last year.
This has seen his relationships with his family continue to break down, the King diagnosed with cancer – which saw Harry fly to London to see his father for barely 30 minutes – and his children, Archie and Lilibet, have become Prince and Princess.
Harry’s choice not to add to the revelations has been viewed by some observers as an olive branch and an attempt to try to improve the relationship with his family.
Spare became an instant publishing sensation when it was first published on January 10 last year, selling more than six million copies in both print and audio worldwide.
The title, ghostwritten by journalist J.R. Moehringer, also set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest selling nonfiction book of all time.
The English language edition sold more than 1,430,000 units in all formats and editions in the US, Canada and the UK on its first day of publication.
Spare was published in a total of 16 languages worldwide and was released simultaneously in print and digital formats in North America by Random House US and Random House Canada, and in the United Kingdom by Transworld.
An unabridged audio edition of the book, read by Harry, was also published by Penguin Random House Audio.
The first US printing of Spare was two million copies, however the book went back to press for additional copies to meet demand.
It April, fellow author Osman claimed Harry had already made £22million ($27million) from Spare despite it only being out in hardback at the time.
Harry was understood to have clinched a £16million ($20million) advance as part of a £32million ($40million) four-book deal in June 2021 following a bidding war.
Upon its release the book was being sold for £14, not the recommended retail price of £28, in UK stores such as Waterstones and WH Smith as well as online at Amazon.
Data obtained by The Bookseller in January found that Prince Harry’s book Spare sold more than 700,000 copies in Britain last year, making it the country’s bestselling book of 2023
But Osman pointed out that people were wrong to suggest the book was not a success because it was being heavily discounted or on the shelves of charity shops.
He said at the time on his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment: ‘Harry is not making less money if it’s half-price. He makes exactly the same if you charge $28 and if you charge $14. Also, he sells a lot in America.
‘In America the royalties are absolutely insane because they pay a lot of money for books in America. So he has made a huge amount of money out of that book.’
Penguin Random House and Archewell have both been contacted for comment.
