📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Prince Harry's 'Spare' Memoir Shoots to Top of Bestseller Lists Even ahead of its Tuesday release, the book was raking in major sales numbers.

By Steve Huff

entrepreneur daily
Dan Kitwood | Getty Images

The numbers from booksellers like Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Powell's make it clear: Prince Harry's Spare, his memoir about his life as a royal, was already dominating bestseller lists by the time it was released Tuesday. The day before its publication, Jan. 10, Spare was first on Amazon's U.S. bestseller list for books in the U.S. and number one on Barnes & Noble's "B&N Top 100: Book Bestsellers."

Spare also made it onto Books-A-Million and Powell's lists. It was well situated in many ways to end up charting high. The memoir was released around a month after the last three episodes of Harry & Meghan, the six-part Netflix docuseries centered around the Duke of Sussex and his American-born wife, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. The series clocked 81 million hours of viewership in its first four days alone.

Response to Spare has been an interesting portrait of how the public sees the British royal family. The BBC's review called it "the weirdest book ever written by a royal," about "a profoundly odd life, moving suddenly between this lack of [glamor] to time with the international jet set."

Some, however, take the book very seriously — like royal biographer Angela Levin. She spoke to Euro News about Spare, and called Prince Harry "a real bully" whose memoir "is well over the line."

While the New York Times noted a number of leaks from Spare as well as revealing articles might affect book sales, the paper also quoted B&N and Waterstones head James Daunt, who said Harry's book is "clearly going to be an interesting book that's going to keep on selling and it's going to keep on being part of the conversation."

Steve Huff

Entrepreneur Staff

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Employers Say They Want to Hire Candidates With AI Skills, But Employees Are Still Sneaking AI Tool Use in the Office

A new joint report from LinkedIn and its parent company Microsoft revealed the contradictory state of AI at work.

Thought Leaders

Building an Agile Remote Team Is No Easy Feat — But It's About to Get a Whole Lot Easier Thanks to This Transformative Tool.

The virtual reality of the metaverse promises to put a radical new spin on returning to the office.

Business News

Bankrupt Crypto Firm FTX Is Going to Pay Customers Back in Full — Plus Interest

A majority of customers would get at least 118% of their money back under a proposed plan, as the company now has up to $16.3 billion in cash to use.

Business News

Sylvester Stallone Is Auctioning His Rare Watch Collection — Here's a Look at the Timepieces Worth Millions

The actor's Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime is the first of its kind to be auctioned.