The Royal Family Found Out the Title of Prince Harry’s Book When the Rest of Us Did

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published 30 October 2022

As has seemingly been par for the course throughout his book writing process, Prince Harry kept the title of his forthcoming memoir, Spare, from the royal family, leaving King Charles, Prince William, and the rest of the brood to find out its emotionally-charged name at the same time the rest of the world did. (Spare, of course, is a nod to the oft-repeated nickname associated with Harry, who is lower in the line of succession than his older brother William, the heir to the throne.)

The title and the book’s release date—January 10, 2023—were revealed this past week alongside a striking cover image of the Duke of Sussex. Royal insiders, according to The Mirror, have labeled Harry’s choice as everything from “nuclear” to “confrontational” and, according to The Daily Mail, a source says the book’s title is “loaded, and it does not bode well.”

“The very title demonstrates yet another confrontational attack on the family after claiming a desire for privacy,” another source tells the outlet. “Palace lawyers will undoubtedly be on standby in the new year waiting to see what’s in it. If Harry’s previous allegations across numerous TV interviews are anything to go by, this will be nuclear. Regardless of the content, which will no doubt be explosive, there will be little chance of this acting as a vehicle to reconciliation for Harry and Meghan.”

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What else do we know about the book? It was ghostwritten by J.R. Moehringer, who also wrote the biographies of tennis pro Andre Agassi and Nike cofounder Phil Knight. It is 416 pages in length, will be translated into 16 languages, and will open with “one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror,” according to a new description of the book from publisher Penguin Random House. “As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is his story at last.”

Interestingly, The Mirror also revealed that the domain name for the book’s website—princeharrymemoir.com—was registered on June 21, right about two weeks after Harry, wife Meghan Markle, and children Archie and Lilibet returned to California from the U.K. after seeing the royal family for the Platinum Jubilee festivities.

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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.