A UK bookseller has gone viral for the cutting decision to display Prince Harry’s memoir Spare alongside author Bella Mackie’s novel How to Kill Your Family.
Bert’s Books in Swindon shared a photo of its front window display to Twitter, writing: “Anyway, we do have some spare copies of Spare if you want one.”
The post quickly went viral, with staff admitting it was no accident.
“It was light-hearted. It was certainly intentional, it wasn’t an accident,” a staff member told Newsweek.
“The How to Kill Your Family book was in our window anyway because it was our best-selling book of 2022.”
Twitter users speculated over which author would take legal action first and one asked if the copies would be signed.
“Not by him, but I can sign it if you like,” the cheeky bookseller replied.
They later took to Twitter to address the controversy, claiming they did not have strong opinions on the Duke of Sussex and his travails.
The book’s publisher said Spare sold 400,000 copies in the UK in all formats — hardback, e-book and audio — on its first day.
“As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry [Potter],” said Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House.
A few stores in Britain opened at midnight to sell copies to diehard royal devotees and the merely curious.
Many said they wanted to form their own opinion of the book after days of snippets and debate on news sites and television.
“I’m excited just to hear about Prince Harry’s life from Prince Harry,” said Sarah Nakana, a surveyor who bought the book at London’s Victoria station.
“There’s so much misinformation, disinformation about Harry and Meghan.”
- Additional reporting, AP
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