It went on to sell over three million copies in its first week of release – easily breaking previous records and setting a nearly unbreakable literary record – and Prince Harry’s explosive tell-all, Spare, continues to break records six months on. However, this newest record isn’t one that the Duke of Sussex will likely be as proud of, as it’s reported Harry’s book has become one of the most binned books by holidaymakers.
- Prince Harry’s book is reportedly being binned and left behind in hotels across Europe, suggesting many readers are left unimpressed with the tome
- A top holiday company has reported that hotels across hotspots including Greece and Spain are reporting hundreds of copies of Spare are being left behind or put in the trash
- In other royal news, Prince George’s birthday portrait has royal fans saying the same thing
It became the fastest selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998, but it might be fair to assume many of those who bought Prince Harry’s Spare have no intention of re-reading it.
That’s because, according to holiday operator On The Beach, Harry’s book is being binned and left behind in droves by unimpressed holidaymakers.
Hundreds of copies have reportedly been left behind at hotels across destinations including Spain, Greece and Turkey.
Chief customer officer Zoe Harris has said in a press release, “We've never witnessed anything quite like it. Lost property offices in our most popular resorts are brimming with copies of Spare.”
“We thought it was funny at first but, over the past few months, several other hotels have been sending the books back.”
She adds that the company now has “bookcases full of them” and that she has been forced to ask hotels to “please stop sending them over otherwise we'll never get rid of them all.”
The holiday company said it would be giving away the discarded copies online.
Prince Harry’s Spare was a literary sensation when it was finally released after much anticipation and headline-generating in January 2023.
The book sold almost half a million copies in the UK alone in its first week on sale, making it the fastest-selling nonfiction book since records began.
The impressive figures were confirmed by Nielsen, who reported the Duke of Sussex’s scandalous tell-all sold a total of 467,183 print copies through UK retailers in its first week of release, making it rocket to the top of the charts – and that was before factoring in eBook and audiobook sales.
Harry’s publisher, Penguin Random House (PRH) UK, said the book had sold 750,000 copies in the UK across all formats – hardbacks, ebooks and audiobooks – in its first week.
When you factor in sales elsewhere, the Duke’s book broke records previously set by the likes of President Obama.
It was reported at the time Spare had sold a combined 1,430,000 copies on its first day on sale in the US, Canada and the UK, overtaking Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, which had previously recorded the biggest first-day sales for the publisher.
