Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare has hardly left the headlines since it was published last year, but things will really ramp up next month when the book is finally published in paperback. Spare came out in January of 2023 in hardcover, digital and audiobook formats, but the paperback has been held back until now. According to a report by The Bookseller, Penguin Random House will release the new edition on Oct. 22, 2024 in the U.S.
Spare was written by Prince Harry and ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer, an American journalist. Its title is a play on an old family-planning adage among the British aristocracy that it was best to have an “heir and a spare.” It covered much of Prince Harry’s life in his own words, giving fresh perspectives on things like the death of his mother Princess Diana, his time in the military and the modern role of royalty. Of course, journalists and pundits have focused largely on the parts that pertain to the contemporary monarchy, including the prince’s relationships with his brother Prince William and his father King Charles III.
Among the biggest revelations was Prince Harry’s claim that his father wanted Meghan Markle to continue working as an actress after their wedding. He described a conversation where his father said that they did not “have the money to spare” to support another adult as a working royal. However, Charles did support prince Harry and Markle until their departure from the U.K. two years later. Still, this casts the “Megxit” in a significantly different light, especially for those who see the prince and his wife as derelict leaders.
Prince Harry also described a physical altercation between him and his brother, Prince William in 2019. He claimed that Prince William came over to have a talk about Markle, describing her as “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.” The two scuffled briefly, leaving Harry hurt, then parted ways awkwardly. He later referred to Prince William as “my dear brother, my archnemesis.”
There are plenty of other interesting tidbits to glean from Spare, many of them best understood in the context of the book itself. It’s an entertaining read with mixed reviews but record-breaking sales, and Prince Harry narrates the audiobook version himself. It is currently available in hardcover, digital and audiobook formats, with a paperback edition coming on Oct. 22, 2024.