Prince Harry’s poignant memoir Spare has broken the record for fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time.
The Duke of Sussex’s revealing account of the royal family and his personal life sold a whopping 1.43 million copies on its first day on sale in the UK, US and Canada, in keeping with the Guinness Book of Records.
Harry’s book sales knocked out the former record holder, The Promised Land, written by former President Barack Obama, which sold 887,000 copies on its first day of release.
Spare details Prince Harry’s controversial relationship together with his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, in addition to the problems attributable to his marriage to Meghan Markle, which saw him leave the royal family in 2020.
The Prince also opens up about losing his mother, Princess Diana, at the age of 12, drinking and drug use, losing his virginity and his time serving in the British Army in Afghanistan.
“Spare” has a listing price of $36, but is widely sold by retailers at a reduction. On Amazon, the diary sold for $22.42 on Saturday.
“So far as we all know, the only books which have sold more on the first day are those featuring a second Harry (Potter),” Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House, said in an announcement.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final novel in JK Rowling’s series, is now listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest-selling book of all time after selling 8.3 million copies – or 345,833 books an hour – when it was released released in July 2007.
On Wednesday, Penguin Random House announced that Spare had set the record for the fastest-selling non-fiction book in British history.
The Duke of Sussex accused the royal family of attempting to undermine his memories.
During a gathering with Stephen Colbert this week, Colbert asked Harry if the rest of his family were running an “energetic campaign” to undermine this book and also you?
“In fact,” Harry replied, adding that “mostly the British press.”
When the night host asked if the palace was also “helping and instigating the repulsion”, Harry replied, “Again, of course.”
To this point, Buckingham Palace has yet to officially comment on “Spare”.
Before Obama hit the record for the best-selling non-fiction book, his wife, Michelle, set the record after her book “Becoming” sold 725,000 copies on its first day, in keeping with Guinness.
Prior to the release of “Becoming”, the title was Bill Clinton’s “My Life”, which sold 400,000 copies on the day of its release in 2004, beating the record set by his wife, Hillary Clinton, the 12 months before. Her diary Living History has sold 200,000 copies.