After weeks of hand-wringing about whether or not Prince Harry”™s memoir would be delayed, or even published, with the Sept. 8 passing of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, we have our answer: Penguin Random House will publish “Spare” (416 pages, $32.40) on Jan. 10. And if rumors are true that the prince, also known as the Duke of Sussex, wanted to tone down certain passages at the last minute, the title alone should keep royal watchers wondering if there is any way back into the fold for the duke and wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, after their acrimonious exit from the royal family on Jan. 8, 2020.
The prince, who charmed Greenwich with his just-folks, happy-go-lucky manner when he held his Sentebale Royal Salute Cup at Greenwich Polo Club in 2013 to help children with HIV/AIDS, has apparently penned a book with a much darker tone. (J.R. Moehringer, who worked with Andre Agassi on his hilarious, harrowing autobiography, “Open,” is the ghostwriter.)
“For Harry, this is his story at last,” the Penguin press release said. “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.”
The memoir is part of a three-book deal for which the prince will reportedly be paid $40 million, $20 for “Spare” alone. According to the Daily Mail, part of the proceeds, about $1.5 million, have gone to the Sentebale charity, with another $347,162 to WellChild, a disabled-children”™s charity for which Harry serves as patron.
