The publication of his memoir could further alienate Prince Harry from his family. But after the death of the Queen, he is no longer in a hurry to unpack about King Charles and Co. The book will now be published with a delay in early 2023.
Prince Harry's long-announced book, which is supposed to be about his life as a royal, is still a long time coming. But despite the postponement of the release date, there is now at least one concrete date. As the publisher Penguin Random House confirmed via Twitter, the publication will take place on January 10, 2023. The "Daily Mail" had previously communicated this date, citing "insiders from the publishing industry".
The publisher also announced the title of the work: "Spare". This could be translated as "superfluous" or "spare part". Most importantly, it probably alludes to the idiom "the heir and the spare." The term refers to the heir to the throne - in this case, Harry's brother Prince William - and their younger siblings, who could come into play in the elder's death.
The German book title is "Reserve", as the publisher announced. A close-up of the prince can be seen on the cover. "We are delighted to announce the remarkably personal and emotionally powerful story of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex."
Harry's memoirs should actually be published in the fall as part of a multi-million dollar contract with Penguin Random House - we're talking about the equivalent of 20 million euros, some of which the prince wants to donate. But after the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in early September and the enthronement of his father, King Charles III, the date began to falter. Harry is said to have then made intensive efforts to defuse the content of the book.
In an earlier statement, Penguin Random House described the work as an "intimate and heartfelt memoir" of the prince. The publisher also promised that Prince Harry would deliver "an honest and compelling personal portrait".
It also said the book will cover Harry's "public life from childhood to the present day." That includes, for example, his involvement in the military, which took him twice to the front in Afghanistan, as well as the joy "that he found as a husband and father."
Palace officials, meanwhile, revealed that no member of the royal family had the opportunity to preview the contents of the book. When the signing of the contract between Harry and Penguin Random House was announced in July 2021, only the Queen had received advance warning.
Prince Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, retired from the top echelons of British royals in 2020 and moved to the United States. Among other things, in an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, they made serious allegations against the royal family. Since then, Harry's relationship with his father Charles and his brother William has been considered broken. It is feared that his memoirs could add fuel to the fire.
