Durban - The British royal drama has been laid bare in Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, which broke sales records, selling millions during its first week on the shelves.
However, once the secrets are known and there’s nothing left to read about, sales could drop.
According to The Guardian, the book’s title comes from an old saying in royal and aristocratic circles, that the first son is an heir to titles, power and fortune and a second, Harry, was therefore a spare, should anything happen to the first-born.
The book details the prince’s anger towards his royal family and the trauma he has lived with for 25 years following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He has accused his family of leaking stories about himself and his wife to the UK media. Among many other royal secrets, the prince also details his struggle with drugs, including cocaine, marijuana and magic mushrooms.
But it was the revelation of killing 25 Taliban fighters in leaked manuscripts that got Harry into hot water. He allegedly called those he killed “chess pieces taken off the board”. However, he has defended himself, saying his words were taken out of context and that the claims were a “dangerous lie”.
Emeritus Professor in History Studies at the University of KwaZuluNatal, Donal McCracken, said by convention kings and queens do not go public when attacked. Therefore, a one-sided melodrama was being presented to the world. Nevertheless, most of the British press was fighting a proxy war on behalf of King Charles III.
McCracken added that there were two main factors in the Harry versus King Charles and Prince William saga. The first was Harry losing his allowances as a working British royal, and the millions of dollars he was set to make by going public with his views on behind-the-scenes shenanigans mixed up with family “tittle-tattle”.
“The second factor, strongly linked to the money element, is the advent of instant and rapid mass media and communication. “This has exported the soap drama to a world audience,” he said.
“Possibly, as with such royal disputes in previous centuries, the natural order of the British establishment will reassert itself and we shall witness something of an armed truce, with an exiled court in glamorous California, a battered but revived stoic and slimmed-down monarch in Britain and a media vindicated in that it had already speculated on much which has now gone public.”
Since its release, the memoir has taken a top 10 spot on the best-seller list at Exclusive Books.
Batya Bricker of Exclusive Books said the Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary and the international hype around the book have undoubtedly contributed to South African interest. The book was under strict embargo at bookstores until Tuesday, but a delay in delivery from the UK resulted in local deliveries being a few days late.
“We had more pre-orders for this book than any other. “We were expecting there to be great demand. It’s also all over social media networks and that always has an influence on the popularity of a title,” she said. “Only the Cape stores had their stock, but all stores received theirs on Friday. The orders are widespread, with a focus in the major metros.”
Bricker said there was generally a great interest in current non-fiction; however, the most popular books fell under the self-help, empowerment and inspirational categories.
“On the one hand, there is some ‘reader fatigue’ from all the bad news, but on the other, political exposé books like Jacques Pauw’s Poisoned Land and Pieter du Toit’s ANC Billionaires: Big Capital’s Gambit and the Rise of the Few did incredibly well over the festive period,” she said.
On whether the book would remain on the best-seller list and live up to the hype, Bricker said it would depend on readers’ feedback. “The reviews and critics will also influence this,” she said.
“But, in general, if a book like this is merely sensational with little thought, substantial content and insights into the whole saga, it can easily ‘die a sudden death’ once the secrets are out and the excitement fades.”
On Thursday, Deborah Challinor, a UK novelist who has written a range of historical fiction, took to social media to inform those who had not bought the book that they could now get a “good discount”. “Apparently it’s already half-price in the UK, too much tell-all publicity perhaps and nothing left to read about.”
The novelist said Prince Harry’s behaviour might indicate posttraumatic stress disorder. “If so, he probably needs empathy and therapy, not condemnation.”
SUNDAY TRIBUNE