Prince Harry book ‘Spare’ sells over 1.4 million copies

Prince Harry’s memoir sold more than 1.4 million copies in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. on its first day, a performance that publisher Penguin Random House said was the largest first-day sales total for any nonfiction book it ever published, reports wsj.com.

The first day sales totals for “Spare” included preorders as well as sales of print books, digital books and audiobooks, Penguin Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann SE, said Wednesday. The publisher said it printed 2 million hardcover copies of “Spare” for the U.S., and that it has gone back to press.

The Prince Harry book, which was officially released Tuesday—but last week mistakenly went on sale in Spain and was leaked to a British newspaper—details his deepening divisions with his brother, Prince William, and other members of the royal family.

Demand for “Spare” has been so strong that Barnes & Noble, the largest bookstore chain in the U.S., said Tuesday the memoir “looks certain to set record-breaking day-one sales” at the bookseller and “is expected to be one of the biggest books of 2023.”

“The leaking of extracts has only heightened the frenzy,” said Shannon DeVito, Barnes & Noble’s director of books. The retailer is owned by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.

The sale numbers released by Penguin Random House Wednesday include the U.K. The publisher said that excluding the U.K., “Spare” sold more than 900,000 copies on its first day in the U.S. and Canada.

Recent bestselling nonfiction books include Mary L. Trump’s tell-all book about then-President Trump and former first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir.

Trump’s “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” sold more than 950,000 copies in all formats during its first day on sale in July 2020 in the U.S., according to its publisher, Paramount Global’s Simon & Schuster, which at the time said the results represented “a company record.”

Obama’s “Becoming,” published in 2018 by Penguin Random House’s Crown imprint, sold more than 725,000 units in all formats across the U.S. and Canada on its first day of publication, according to the publisher. In 2019, the chief executive of Penguin Random House’s parent said the book “could be the most successful memoir in history.”

Prince Harry’s memoir currently ranks No. 1 on Barnes & Noble’s online bestseller list and No. 1 on Amazon.com Inc.’s list. Barnes & Noble’s online store is offering a 30% discount on the hardcover’s $36 retail price while Amazon is offering a 38% discount.

Agencies