Prince Harry's tell-all memoir, Spare, made its debut at number one in online retailers across the world as readers dived into the Duke of Sussex's revelatory book.
The prince's face could be seen adorning shop windows across the world, with major chains offering big discounts after Tuesday's release.
Barnes & Noble, the world's largest bookseller, showed on Tuesday that Spare had beaten heavyweight titles such as The Stolen Heir by Holly Black, former US first lady Michelle Obama's autobiography The Light We Carry and 2022 book of the year Lessons in Chemistry to take the top spot on the retailer's Top 100 list in the US.
It also topped Amazon's bestseller list in the US and UK.
At Politics and Prose, an independent bookstore in Washington, Tuesday's first sale of the day was a copy of Spare and staff received several phone calls from people asking if it was available.
Manager Keith Vient said the shop had ordered about 200 copies of the memoir and had since seen interest spike after Prince Harry’s recent media interviews.
“It’s created a lot of buzz and hype for it,” Mr Vient told The National. “But he has done a lot of media. At what point are people going to get burnt out?”
Amazon was offering savings for US and UK customers. The book has a US cover price of $36 but was being sold at $22.42.
Leaked excerpts from the book's accidental release in Spain provided insights into Harry's duty in Afghanistan, his past cocaine use, his wife Meghan's fraught relationship with the Princess of Wales as well as his own troubled relationship with his brother, Prince William.
Spare was also performing well online in the UK, where it was among other bestsellers for Waterstones, the country's largest book seller.
It had also reached the top spots in Amazon and Barnes & Noble's best-selling books in Australia.
The Duke sat down for a torrent of interviews in promotion of the book's highly anticipated launch, teasing revelations about his relationships with his family in interviews with ITV and CNN.
But despite the online frenzy to buy the memoir, copies of the book were seen piling up in London bookshops, with price cuts already announced in some retailers, including Amazon UK, which was selling it at half-price. In Tesco, the UK’s supermarket chain, it was on sale for as little as £8.
Foyles, the largest book store in the UK by square footage, was selling the best-seller for 50 per cent off its original price of £28.
At a Barnes & Noble shop in New York's Union Station, an assistant manager said sales had been “non-stop”. The bookstore and its UK affiliate Waterstones were both offering discounts.
“I had 30 people waiting outside and all 30 went straight to the book pretty much as soon as we opened the store today,” he said.
Kat, a customer inside the store, said: "I am buying the book because all stories in the press are biased so I thought what better to find out what the real story is … I decided to buy the book."
Random House said it had printed 25 million copies of the tell-all in North America alone in response to the furore that Prince Harry's memoir has caused since its 2021 announcement.
But the Duke of Sussex must wait until next week to see if he can add the accolade “New York Times bestselling author” to his CV.
- With Adla Massoud in New York and Kyle Fitzgerald in Virginia.
Prince Harry's ghostwriter JR Moehringer — in pictures
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
INDIA'S%20TOP%20INFLUENCERS
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
