The Palace Apparently Fears Prince Harry Will Write a ‘Spare’ Sequel, or That Meghan Markle Will Write a Memoir of Her Own

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published 16 January 2024

Prince Harry has said himself that he has enough material for a second volume of his bestselling memoir, Spare—and the Palace is afraid he’ll do something with it, so says a new royal book.

In The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, Robert Hardman writes that not only is the Palace concerned about a second Harry book, but they’re also on edge about Meghan Markle penning her own memoir. Spare was published one year ago this month by Penguin Random House as part of a four-book deal with the Sussexes.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games

“For the Palace, the most worrying aspect of the book was the omission of large chunks of more recent events,” Hardman writes in his book, out January 18. “It did not go unnoticed that Harry and Meghan’s wedding, their married life, and their eventual departure from the royal world amounted to a small part—less than a fifth—of Prince Harry’s memoir. This suggested either a sequel or perhaps a memoir by Meghan in due course.”

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"The Making of a King" by Robert Hardman

In speaking to The Telegraph following Spare’s release, Harry said “there could have been two books, put it that way” and “the hard bit was taking things out.” He also said that the length of the final draft was double the length of what actually hit shelves, and Spare is 416 pages long. “It was 800 pages, and now it’s down to 400 pages,” Harry said.

The Palace needn’t worry about some parts of their familial relationship (or lack thereof) ending up in print, though. As Harry told the outlet, “There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”

Spare sold an impressive 3.2 million copies in its first week of publication, The Sun reports, and 1.4 million on its first day on shelves alone.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.