Prince Harrys Spare sold over 270,000 copies in the UK & US in its second week
For the haters, there’s still outright desperation to cling to any bad news about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, specifically about Prince Harry’s Spare. In its first week of sales, Spare sold over 3.2 million in only English-language copies, from hardcover to digital to audio. Spare broke all kinds of records. So what is happening after the initial promotional blitz and first-week record-breaking sales? Spare is still selling really well. According to those haters, the drop-off in sales has been “steep” because “the public has turned against Prince Harry.” I suppose people believe that if they don’t know the first thing about how big-name memoirs sell? Spare is still #1 on the NYT Bestseller (non-fiction) list. It’s still #1 on Publisher’s Weekly too. Publisher’s Weekly says that in the US, Spare sold 195,000 copies in its second week. The UK sales are even more notable:
Prince Harry’s Spare (Bantam) plummeted in sales in its second week on the shelves, falling 82% in volume week on week from its towering launch-week sales. However, at 82,538 copies sold, it was still far and away the Official UK Top 50 number one, with more than 70,000 copies between it and second-placed Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book (Ebury).
Of course, with Spare selling just under half a million copies in its first week, a swift drop was expected. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Bloomsbury), the fastest-selling book in history, shaved off over 1.2 million units in its second week on sale in summer 2007. Similarly, the fastest-selling Adult Fiction book of all time, Spare’s Transworld stablemate The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, dropped 68% in its second week on sale in 2009, shedding in excess of 375,000 copies. The effect will be even more pronounced with Spare—not only did the national news speak of little else during its launch week, but the pre-order market has sharpened considerably since the Noughties, boosting first-week sales even further.
At a whisker under 550,000 copies sold in total in the week and a half since publication it’ll be an uphill climb for any title hoping to leapfrog Spare to become the bestselling title of the year.
So, for the English-language version, the business model was a big promotional blitz with huge presales and first-week sales, then slow-burning word-of-mouth sales after the first week. Not to mention that this is all gravy – Penguin Random House already made back their investment in Harry in the first week.
Carla Bruni (the former First Lady of France) is a huge fan as well. I would love to see numbers on the non-English sales of Spare. I have a feeling that Spare is selling really well across Europe and South America. Maybe Asia too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and Cover Images.
A general view of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ on sale at Waterstones bookshop at Piccadilly, London, England, UK on Tuesday 10 January, 2023. The retailer opened its doors early at 8am for customers to purchase the book.,Image: 748668805, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon 
A stock image of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ in front of Buckingham Palace, London, England, UK on Tuesday 10 January, 2023, which went on sale today.,Image: 748708660, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon 
London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” goes on sale at midnight at WH Smith bookstore in Victoria Station, London. Pictured: General view BACKGRID USA 10 JANUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Los Angeles, CA – Prince Harry’s memoir was released Tuesday, not only offering new details on the British royal family’s bitter internal feud after days of bombshell revelations and promotional interviews but also describing how he fell headlong in love with his future wife, Meghan Markle. While many of the details from the book, titled “Spare,” have already been reported, its release at midnight Monday local time (7 p.m. ET) will allow the public to get their hands on a copy of a memoir filled with glimpses into a rarified family riven by disagreement and distrust. The title of the Dutch version is called Reserve. Pictured: Prince Harry’s memoir BACKGRID USA 10 JANUARY 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
Prince Harry’s Book ‘Spare’ Released In The UK Following months of speculation the Duke of Sussex’s long-awaited personal and emotional tell-all book, entitled Spare, goes on sale today in 16 different languages, plus an audiobook read by the prince himself, published by Penguin Random House. Featuring: General View (Prince Harry’s Book ‘Spare’ Released In The UK) Where: Harleston, Norfolk, United Kingdom When: 10 Jan 2023 Credit: Nils Jorgensen/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images 
Prince Harry’s Book ‘Spare’ Released In The UK Following months of speculation the Duke of Sussex’s long-awaited personal and emotional tell-all book, entitled Spare, goes on sale today in 16 different languages, plus an audiobook read by the prince himself, published by Penguin Random House. Featuring: General View (Prince Harry’s Book ‘Spare’ Released In The UK) Where: Harleston, Norfolk, United Kingdom When: 10 Jan 2023 Credit: Nils Jorgensen/INSTARimages.com/Cover ImagesncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcWhiZ35xe8%2BroKeblZS1or7RsqqYq6CWv6ar0qijnZefq7Kzq5FwZ2loYJSwsLzInqqYoZ6Uwamxvq6imK2jlLavq8itqpirlZi8r7C%2BsJyeo18%3D