Prince Harry's Book Is Already on Sale at Half-Price

The price of Prince Harry's memoir has been slashed by retailers in Britain on its day of release, following a wide-ranging publicity blitz undertaken by the royal in recent days, and after its content was leaked to the media last week.

Spare by Prince Harry is billed by publishers Penguin Random House as a "raw" and "unflinching" account of the prince's life, written "not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become."

As retailers opened to the public on Tuesday morning (some even scheduled midnight openings for those wanting the book early) Harry's first literary work was being offered at 50 percent off.

The U.K. retail price for Spare is £28 ($34) but is being offered through booksellers Waterstones, WH Smith, and Amazon at just £14 ($17).

Though the motivation for this reduction is as yet unknown, such discounts are often applied to big releases in the competitive book-selling market.

The reduction in price came as Harry's popularity in the U.K. plummeted in recent weeks. The number of Brits who hold a negative view of the royal is now two-thirds (64 percent) an increase from 59 percent just one month ago in December.

Social media users have been quick to highlight the reduced prices being applied to Spare. Journalist Antonello Guerrera took to Twitter to post: "Prince Harry book is already half price."

Broadcaster Benjamin Butterworth tweeted: "Can anyone tell me why Prince Harry's book is already half price? I was glad to save a few bob, of course, but I don't understand why retailers wouldn't maximise their takings on something so many want to buy."

While TV host Daniel Boschmann took the opportunity to take a lighthearted jab at the royal on Twitter, calling the memoir "Harry - And The Half Price Prince"—a play on the popular J.K. Rowling title, Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.

In spite of his low polling figures, members of the public are clearly interested in hearing what Harry has to say. His TV interview with ITV in Britain on Sunday drew 4.1 million viewers, though this number was more than a million behind the most popular show in the 9:00 p.m. timeslot that evening.

Of the prince's literary revelations a number relating to Prince William have provoked the most comment from the press, though not the royal palaces who have issued blanket "no comment" positions on Harry's book and claims made within it.

One of the most damning accounts of Harry's relationship with his brother reveals that during a 2019 argument at Kensington Palace over Meghan Markle's treatment of staff, William physically pushed Harry to the ground causing "scrapes and bruises."

Another insight into their relationship saw Harry illustrate that his and William's relationship was never as close as the media portrayed, with William telling Harry to pretend they didn't know each other while at school.

Harry has undertaken a number of interviews to promote his memoir, mainly in the U.S. and will appear on Tuesday's episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35 p.m. ET.

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.

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