Prince Harry is preparing for a new release of his hit memoir Spare as a paperback edition of the record-breaking book is set to hit shelves in October.
Spare became the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time upon its release on January 10, 2023, with consumers buying over 1.4 million copies across the U.S., U.K. and Canada on its first day.
The book contained a number of bombshell claims, including an alleged assault launched at Harry by Prince William during a 2019 argument over Meghan Markle's treatment of palace staff and the revelation that Harry had killed 25 Taliban fighters during his time in the British Army.
The book saw Buckingham Palace and the royal family adopt a "no comment" defense and also saw Harry and Meghan's popularity plummet on either side of the Atlantic, despite proving a commercial success.
Now, nearly two years after its hardback release, Spare is being re-released in a paperback edition, according to reports from Publishers Weekly and The Bookseller.
The title will be available in a standard paperback and large print format in the U.S. and globally from October 22. The U.K. release will be two days later on October 24.
Importantly, The Bookseller reports that though the paperback edition will feature a "newly designed package," it will not include any new content from Harry or new images.
For books of this type, it is usual for authors to include a new foreword, epilogue or chapter for readers as an encouragement for those that may have already purchased the hardback release to repurchase it in paperback form.
The news that Spare will be reissued in its original form eliminates any speculation that Harry may have included additional bombshells about members of the royal family, or an update on how the memoir's initial release was received.
Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.
In the months since Spare was published in January 2023, the royal family has faced a wave of setbacks and celebrations.
In May 2023, King Charles and Queen Camilla had their coronation at Westminster Abbey at which Harry was present without his wife. There were also the Scottish coronation celebrations, which Harry did not attend, and the usual Trooping the Colour ceremonies.
The monarchy has also been hit by medical challenges in the past year. King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, and Princess Kate announced her own cancer diagnosis a month later, with both senior royals taking time out of the public eye to receive treatment.
Harry traveled to Britain immediately after the king's cancer news was made public to see him, and issued a joint statement of support with Meghan when Kate's announcement was released.
Despite these displays of family concern, reports suggest that relations between the Sussexes and the royals are still tense.
In an interview about his tabloid lawsuits in Britain which aired in July 2024, the prince conceded that his family's relationships with the media had contributed to part of their ongoing "rift."
Spare made headlines earlier this year in relation to one of Harry's media lawsuits, as he was ordered by a judge to explain why messages he had exchanged with his ghostwriter author, J.R. Moehringer, appeared to have been deleted.
Tabloid publisher News Group Newspapers—who Harry is suing over allegations of unlawful information gathering—had sought to read the Spare messages to determine whether the prince knew he could have brought a claim against them earlier than he did. By law in Britain, a claimant must bring an unlawful information gathering lawsuit within a six year period of first becoming aware they may have been a victim.
Harry's legal team stated that his communication with Moehringer had taken place over the messaging app Signal and that they had since been "wiped" from the platform.
In June 2024, Justice Timothy Fancourt ordered Harry to formerly explain to the court what had happened.
"The position is not transparently clear about what exactly happened and needs to be made so by a witness statement from the claimant himself," he said.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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