Huge cost of keeping Harry’s memoir a secret

The massive security operation around Prince Harry’s memoir has been revealed for the first time – and it’s been compared to the days of Harry Potter releases.

Prince Harry's book, Spare, will be released next week.

Millions have reportedly been spent on stopping any leaks of Prince Harry’s book before its release, in security measures as intense as those previously used for Harry Potter book releases.

Arrangements are being closely guarded and deliveries to bookshops are thought to be scheduled to arrive as late as possible, reports The Sun.

Publishers at Penguin Random House are understood to be operating an enormous logistic operation comparable to when they released J.K. Rowling’s best-selling fantasy series, according to The Times.

The Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare is out on Tuesday. In it, Harry is expected to attack his brother Prince William as well as Princess Catherine, however the Harry’s father King Charles is thought to get off lightly.

A source told The Sunday Times: “Generally, I think the book [will be] worse for them than the royal family is expecting.

“Everything is laid bare. Charles comes out of it better than I had expected, but it’s tough on William, in particular, and even Kate gets a bit of a broadside.

“There are these minute details, and a description of the fight between the brothers.

“I personally can’t see how Harry and William will be able to reconcile after this.”

Stay up to date with the latest news on the British Royals with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

The relationship is frosty between the brothers and their wives. Picture: Nariman El-Mofty – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The source also said the memoir will explore the death of Harry’s mum, Princess Diana, in 1997.

“The overall impression is that this is a man who has never recovered from the trauma of his mother dying so young, and then along comes Meghan and he projects on to her a parallel with Diana.”

Prince Harry will also attack his family in two TV interviews (airing Monday morning, local time) ahead of the book launch, with UK network ITV and US network CBS.

Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, will hit shelves on Tuesday. Picture: Penguin Random House

But a royal insider said: “It all feels very repetitive. Harry’s constant sniping is rather draining and he knows full well it is highly unlikely they will engage in a tit-for-tat battle of words.”

Another added that the claim his family is unwilling to heal the rift was “unadulterated nonsense”.

Sources close to King Charles told The Sun that the “door is always open” for Harry, who “remains a much-loved son”.

They also added that his relationship with older brother William is “hanging by a thread”.

In a trailer for the ITV interview, Prince Harry told journalist Tom Bradby: “It never needed to be this way. The leaking, the planting.

“I want a family, not an institution. They feel as though it’s better to keep us, somehow, as the villains. They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.

“I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back.”

Harry and Meghan recently released a six-part Netflix docuseries. Picture: Netflix

The full 90-minute interview, filmed in California, will air on Sunday – two days before Spare is released.

Bradby previously spoke to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a 2019 documentary when they were working royals, and said the couple were “a bit bruised and vulnerable”.

Prince Harry will also appear on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, telling host Anderson Cooper in a trailer: “The family motto is ‘never complain never explain’. But it’s just a motto.

“It doesn’t really hold. There’s endless [complaining and explaining] through leaks.

“They will feed or have a conversation with the correspondent and that correspondent will be spoon fed information and write the story.

“Then at the bottom of it they will say that they have reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.

“But the whole story is Buckingham Palace commenting.

“So when we are being told for the last six years we can’t put a statement out to protect you, but you do it for the rest of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.”

And asked if he can see a day when he would return as a full-time member of the royal family, he said: “No.”

ITN chief Ian Rumsey claimed the ITV chat will include “many elements we’ve never heard before”.

And CBS labelled its interview with him as “revealing” and “explosive”.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission