Prince Harry Book's Spice Girls Reference Tickles Internet—'Sparey Spice'

Prince Harry's quoting of the hit Spice Girls song "Wannabe" in his new book Spare has gone viral on social media after a section of the royal's audiobook was uploaded to TikTok.

Spare, Harry's "raw" and "unflinching" memoir, was released globally on Tuesday after a series of leaks saw its contents reported by media outlets in the U.S. and U.K. last week.

Readers took to social media after receiving their copies, pointing out a number of key revelations and anecdotes from the serious allegation of a 2019 physical attack by Prince William, to the humorous detailing of catching an intimate case of frostbite after a visit to the North Pole.

Among the lighter commentary about the book, fans pointed out the surrealness of a royal prince quoting a 1990s pop hit in his memoirs.

The quotation is made while the prince is describing his first public appearance after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. Harry and the then-Prince Charles attended a charity concert at which the headliners were the Spice Girls in South Africa.

"The Spice Girls concert represented my first public appearance since the funeral, and I knew, through intuition, through bits of overheard conversations, that the public's curiosity about my welfare was running high," he wrote. "I didn't want to let them down, but I also wanted them all to go away. I remember stepping onto the red carpet, screwing a smile onto my face, suddenly wishing I was in my bed at St. James's Palace."

Harry recalls that on the red carpet he met Spice Girls band members including Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) who "surged forward and clutched my hand," and Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell), "the only Spice with whom I felt any connection—a fellow ginger."

After the meeting, Harry and Charles took their seats for the concert. "Impossible to believe. Even more impossible while it was actually happening," he wrote.

"But I saw it with my own eyes, Pa gamely nodding to the beat and tapping his foot: 'If you want my future, forget my past. If you wanna get with me, better make it fast.'"

These lyrics from the Spice Girls 1996 hit song "Wannabe" are spoken by Harry himself in his audiobook, leading TikTok users to question: "Is this real?"

Video uploader, user @melissa.royle, captioned the excerpt "Sparey Spice" in reference to the memoir title. The video, which can be seen here, received over 1.6 million views and more than 102,000 likes.

"HE DOES NOT QUOTE THE SPICE GIRLS IM DEAD [skull emoji]," wrote one commenter, with another adding: "Him narrating his time with the Spice Girls is iconic. The whole chapter is gold."

TikTok is not the only social media platform where the except has been shared.

Broadcaster Julian Druker took to Twitter on Tuesday to say: "Prince Harry reciting Wannabe is one of the notable moments of 'Spare' not to have leaked out in advance."

Another Twitter user simply said: "brooo there ain't no way Prince Harry quoted the Spice Girls in his book."

Harry has undertaken a number of media appearances to promote Spare, including three U.S. TV interviews, most recently with Stephen Colbert for The Late Show.

Publishers Penguin Random House announced that the book has become the fastest selling non-fiction release since records began.

Managing Director Larry Finlay said, per Reuters: "We always knew this book would fly but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations.

"As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter)."

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.