LONDON - Bookshops across London opened at midnight as Prince Harry’s much-anticipated memoir officially went on sale.
The Book Seller "Waterstones" said the book has been one of its “biggest pre-order titles for a decade” and Sky News said it has made headlines across the world thanks to “bombshell revelations”.
Meanwhile, the first reviews are in. The Guardian described Spare as a “flawed attempt to reclaim the narrative”, The Times said it is a “400-page therapy session for mystic Harry” and The Daily Telegraph said the “poignant memories of his mother” are “undermined by petty point-scoring”.
Can Prince Harry ever reconcile with the royals?
Prince Harry’s final round of TV interviews ahead of the release of his autobiography Spare may have ended any hope of a future royal reconciliation as he “once again twisted the knife on his closest family members”, said the Daily Mail.
In pre-recorded interviews on ITV and CBS, which aired last night, along with another on Good Morning America (ABC) today, the Duke of Sussex tried to row back on claims his family is racist while still suggesting the institution needs to do more to address unconscious bias within palace walls. At the same time he doubled down on previous allegations, accusing his brother and sister-in-law of “stereotyping” his wife, Meghan, because of portrayals in the British media, and stating that “certain members” of his family had been cosying up to journalists, or as he put it “getting in bed with the devil”.
Since copies of his tell-all memoir were accidentally leaked early by a Spanish retailer last week, Harry has faced a huge backlash from the British press and public, with polling showing that he and his wife are now the least popular senior royals apart from Prince Andrew, according to the Financial Times.
An interview on US television saw Prince Harry cross his father’s “red line” by calling his stepmother “dangerous”, said the tabloid.
Prince Harry insisted he is “100%” confident he can reconcile with his family and multiple news outlets have reported that King Charles is also keen to mend relations with his youngest son. The King reportedly wants to extend an invitation to the Sussexes to his coronation, which will take place in May.
Prince Harry yesterday ruled out a return from California. Ask on US TV whether he could again be a working royal in the United Kingdom, he replied: :I don't think it's ever going to be possible".
Sources have claimed that Prince William is so hurt and enraged by his brother’s accusations that he has “no appetite” to speak to him again, said the Daily Mail, while the Daily Express reports that Charles is “upset and saddened” by his son’s latest remarks.
“Charles wants to project an image of unity for the royal family and would like a genuine rapprochement with his youngest son,” reported Vanity Fair. However, the magazine cited “sources close to the King” who have also said that Charles “will not tolerate Harry attacking his wife and that Harry may have crossed a line by speaking about Camilla”, whom he accused of planting stories in the press and being a “villain” who “needed to rehabilitate her image”.
What next?
A source told The Daily Telegraph that King Charles “has never given up hope of reconciling with the Duke of Sussex”. The paper said that “despite all of the recent revelations and allegations fired from California, Charles believes he will one day be reunited with his son and they will move forward”.
