Harry’s audiobook given away for free
PRINCE HARRY’S tell-all autobiography is being given away for free as an audiobook – before it has even been published.
His memoir, entitled Spare, which had its original autumn release date pushed back after the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, is now due for publication on January 10.
Publisher Penguin Random House has promised ‘raw, unflinching honesty’ in the ‘intimate and heartfelt memoir’, with Harry reportedly paid an £18.4million advance as part of a three-title deal worth £36.8 million.
But the Prince is said to have requested last-minute changes to his original text, amid fears his account of life in the Royal Family from his new mansion in California would ‘not go down too well’ with the public in the wake of the Queen’s death.
And while major booksellers have already been offering it at half price for pre-orders in a bid to drum up sales, it is now free for new subscribers to Audible, Amazon’s audiobook arm. The audiobook, which will be available to download when the autobiography is finally published, is read by the Duke of Sussex.
Despite Spare’s recommended retail price of £28, high street bookseller WHSmith advertised it at £14 as early as October. It is also available for £14 on Amazon, with the Kindle edition down to £13.99. The audiobook has an RRP of £39.99.
Senior Royals are said to be bracing themselves for the publication of the 416-page title, but Royal biographer Tom Bower has warned that its reception by the public will be a make-or-break moment for the Sussexes. Other experts have warned the book could make it near impossible for Harry and Meghan to heal their rift with the rest of the Royal Family.