Spare flies off shelves, selling 400,000 copies on first day
THE Duke of Sussex’s headline-grabbing memoir, Spare, has become the fastest selling non-fiction book ever.
The 416-page volume, packed with explosive allegations about the Royal family and fascinating asides about their private lives, sold 400,000 copies across all formats in its first day on sale.
Larry Finlay, managing director of publisher Transworld Penguin Random House, said: “We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations. As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry [Potter].”
Bookshops opened early yesterday, the official publication day, but queues were sparse after days of wall-to-wall coverage about its revelations. The book was also inadvertently put on sale in Spain on Thursday, so its contents were familiar to many. The publication has also been accompanied by a publicity blitz involving several interviews with the Duke.
The book includes claims that the Prince of Wales physically attacked the Duke and teased him about his panic attacks. It also claims the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.
The Duke has been criticised for revealing that he killed 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. He has also shared admissions of drug-taking, of losing his virginity to an older woman as a teenager, and getting frostbite on his penis.
Industry experts have predicted the book will be one of the best-selling preorder titles of the decade. It is being sold for £14, not the recommended retail price of £28, in Waterstones and WH Smith and online at Amazon.