Prince Harry has put “Spare” drama in his rearview mirror.
In his controversial 2023 memoir, “Spare,” Harry, the Duke of Sussex, divulged defining experiences from his adolescence and young adulthood as a member of the British royal family.
Several of the experiences Harry shares in the memoir mention members of his family, including his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William.
Harry has previously admitted that the memoir further fractured his already splintered family relationships, but stands by the memoir as the “best” method of sharing his story with the public.
“I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible,” Harry told The Guardian in an exclusive interview Sunday, when asked about the impact of his tell-all memoir.
He added, “My conscience is clear.”
Within a day of being published, “Spare” sold 1.43 million copies in all formats — including hardcover, ebook and audiobook — in the U.S., Britain and Canada, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
“Spare” broke the record for most first-day sales of any nonfiction book published by Penguin Random House, which is the world’s largest publisher.
Publishing the memoir was a way for Harry to reclaim the narrative surrounding his 2020 departure from the royal family.
Ahead of the memoir’s release, during an appearance on “60 Minutes,” Harry said he’d attempted several times to work his challenges out privately, but the “briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife” persisted. So he created his own opportunity to set the public record straight.
His sentiment on the purpose of the memoir has not changed.
“I know that (speaking out) annoys some people and it goes against the narrative,” Harry told The Guardian.
“The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.”
Harry noted that the memoir had nothing to do with a stubborn attitude. “It’s not stubbornness, it is having principles.”
He continued, “It is not about revenge, it is about accountability. ... You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.”
The Duke of Sussex has frequently spoken about the rift between him and his family, and publicly expressed interest in mending his fractured family relationships, particularly with Charles and William, on several occasions.
In May, during an emotional interview with the BBC, Harry said he would “love reconciliation with my family,” but understood some of his family might not forgive him over some of their ongoing disagreements.
“There’s no point continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has,” Harry said. “But it would be nice to reconcile.”
During a brief tour of the U.K. last week, Harry reunited with Charles for tea at Clarence House, Charles’ London residence. It was the first time the pair had been together in 19 months.
Harry’s last visit with his father was in February 2024, days after the monarch publicly announced his cancer diagnosis.
Harry told The Guardian that over the next year, his “focus really has to be on my dad.”
“This week has definitely brought that closer,” he said of their recent visit.