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National
Anwesha Mitra

Prince Harry's 'Spare' sets Guinness record as ‘fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time'

Copies of 'Spare' by Britain's Prince Harry displayed at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in New York City. (AFP)

“The figures are made even more impressive when considering that it was leaked five days early in Spain. This meant that most of the revelations contained within made headlines worldwide before the book officially hit shelves. However, it’s entirely possible that these juicy details actually spurred more people to buy Spare," an article on the Guinness World Records website suggests.

The headline-grabbing book was published on Tuesday as Prince Harry undertook a string of high-profile promotional interviews.

Sales of ‘Spare’ hit 1.4 million English-language copies on its day 1 in the UK, United States and Canada, smashing Penguin Random House's sales record. The numbers come as the first opinion poll of sorts since publication showed that Harry's popularity in the UK continuing to nosedive.

The sales outstrip the publishing house's previous first-day non-fiction record for Barack Obama's "A Promised Land" in 2020 and Michelle Obama's "Becoming" in 2018. While the former US president's memoir sold 887,000 English-language copies in the United States and Canada on its first day, his wife's book sold 725,000.

But even as the many revelations and accusations within the pages of Spare were splashed across the global media this week, Harry insists that he held back several details. In a recently published interview, the British royal said he had enough material for two memoirs but refrained as he didn't think his father and brother would “ever forgive" him.

"This isn't an attempt to collapse the monarchy. This is about trying to save them from themselves. And I know that I will get crucified by numerous people for saying that," he said in an interview with British newspaper The Telegraph that was published on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies)

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