Copies of Prince Harry's new book Spare are displayed at a bookshop in London. EPA
Copies of Prince Harry's new book Spare are displayed at a bookshop in London. EPA
Copies of Prince Harry's new book Spare are displayed at a bookshop in London. EPA
Copies of Prince Harry's new book Spare are displayed at a bookshop in London. EPA

Prince Harry's Spare becomes UK's fastest-selling non-fiction book on record


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

The Duke of Sussex's memoir has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998.

Prince Harry’s headline-grabbing autobiography Spare, released on January 10, sold 467,183 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen BookData, which collects and provides information on book distribution and sales measurements.

The memoir includes claims that the Prince of Wales physically attacked Prince Harry and teased him about his panic attacks, and that King Charles III put his own interests above his son’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.

The data released by Nielsen shows that the book has broken the previous record of 210,506 set by the first Pinch Of Nom cookbook — written by Kay Allinson — in 2019.

The Nielsen BookData does not include e-books or audiobooks and refers only to the sale of physical copies.

Spare, which was ghostwritten by JR Moehringer, is the only non-fiction book to make it into the top 10 fastest-selling books in the UK since records began.

Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years — in pictures

Since January 1998, JK Rowling has dominated the chart, with four of her Harry Potter novels sitting at the top, while Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol claims the fifth spot before Spare at number six.

To claim number one on the chart, which looks at the first week of sales only, Rowling’s Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows sold 2.63 million copies in its first week in 2007.

Despite the memoir hitting shelves in Spain before the official publication date, and a number of extracts leaking in the lead-up to the book’s UK release, Nielsen’s data suggest sales were not negatively affected.

Prince Harry's book is released — in pictures

In a US broadcast promoting the work, Prince Harry branded the Duchess of Cornwall the “villain” and “dangerous”, accusing her of rehabilitating her image at the expense of his.

As the duke continued a run of high-profile promotional interviews, he said he “would like nothing more” than for his children to have relationships with the royal family.

Prince Harry's ghostwriter JR Moehringer — in pictures

His remarks about his son and daughter came despite the criticism he has levelled at his brother Prince William, father King Charles and stepmother Camilla.

He also described his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, as his “guardian angel” and said she is with him “all the time”.

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In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo 

 Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua

 Based: Dubai, UAE

 Number of employees: 28

 Sector: Financial services

 Investment: $9.5m

 Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. 

 
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)

Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm) 
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm) 
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm) 
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn  (4.30pm) 
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm) 
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)

Sunday, May 17

Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)

Monday, May 18

Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)

Dubai World Cup Carnival card

6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m

7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m

8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m

8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m

The National selections:

6.30pm - Ziyadd; 7.05pm - Barney Roy; 7.40pm - Dee Ex Bee; 8.15pm - Dubai Legacy; 8.50pm - Good Fortune; 9.25pm - Drafted; 10pm - Simsir

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Azhar Ali (capt), Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Yasir Shah, Usman Shinwari

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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Company name: Farmin

Date started: March 2019

Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi 

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: AgriTech

Initial investment: None to date

Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: January 17, 2023, 7:47 PM`