‘Prince Harry’s memoir could not have come at a worse time’: Royal authors warn Duke’s delayed book will make King Charles ‘nervous’ as he plans coronation – and say Harry ‘got his own way’ over publishers in dispute over content of the explosive tell-all
- Memoir had initially been signed off ready for expected autumn release as part of a multi-million pound deal
- But publication delayed following Queen’s death, and Harry is said to have requested a number of alterations
- Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams warned the book’s release would be ‘unhelpful’ to King Charles III
- Mark Borkowski, an author and publicity expert, suggested the January publication date may be ‘significant’
King Charles will be ‘nervous’ at reports Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir is slated for release on January 10, royal experts said today – amid speculation the New Year publication date suggests the royal has succeeded in his bid to water down its content.
The memoir had initially been signed off ready for an expected autumn release as part of a multi-million pound, three-title deal with Penguin Random House. But its publication was delayed following the Queen’s death, and Harry is said to have requested a number of alterations to make it less critical of the Royal Family.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams warned the book’s release would be ‘unhelpful’ to King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort.
‘It was never a good idea for Harry, fifth in line to the throne, a Counsellor of State and only 38, to write a memoir which by its nature would be highly controversial,’ he told MailOnline. ‘There have been reports that the memoir has been toned down given the sensitivities involved. When it is published, Harry may well do interviews. It is likely to be extensively serialised.
‘All of this will almost certainly be unhelpful to King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, in the early months of his reign. It may well widen the rift between the royal family’s and the Sussexes in the pivotal period leading to King Charles’s coronation.
Mark Borkowski, an author and publicity expert, said there would have been plenty of time to significantly edit the book between the Queen’s death in early September and the January 10 publication date.
Royal commentators the release of Prince Harry’s book would be ‘unhelpful’ to King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort
‘An advance is paid on a certain premise – the publishers would have seen the manuscript and got excited by it,’ he told MailOnline. ‘So there’s always going to be a battle over the content. But could they have made substantial edits in time for January? Yes, in the modern world it’s very easy to get things changed and printed.
‘The key period for selling books is Christmas. So they’ll be missing a lot of sales. January doesn’t strike me as an optimum time for a release, so that is significant – it would suggest there’s been a bit of a dispute over the content and Harry may have got his way.’
However, biographer Tom Bower suggested commercial imperatives would ensure the final manuscript still contains plenty of criticism of the Royal Family.
‘Profits demanded that the book be published as soon as possible after the Queen’s death. And the publishers were helped by the reality that neither Harry nor Meghan are prepared to terminate their campaign against the Royal Family,’ he told MailOnline.
‘To those who have speculated that Harry wanted to dilute his ghost-written text to remove the most offensive descriptions of Charles, William and Kate, one can only surmise that his book can only be a global commercial success if a healthy dollop of poison remains.
‘The damage to the Royal family will be great. Charles’s retaliation could include not giving their children their prince and princess titles, and even withdrawing their own titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
‘Certainly, Harry was warned that the Sussexes’ revenge would be answered in kind, so there is certain to be a nervous Christmas among the Royal family in Sandringham as they anticipate the worst. For the new King, still planning his coronation, this could not have come at a worse time.’
It is understood that the Sussexes were paid an advance of $20 million (£18.4 million) for the book as part of a three-title deal worth £36.8 million. Publisher Penguin Random House has previously said Harry will be donating proceeds from the book to charity.
Bower suggested the Sussexes’ Netflix series, which is expected to be released, would be helpful publicity for Harry’s book. ‘Viewers and readers can expect scathing comments about their treatment by Harry’s family. Wallowing in self-pity, the Sussexes will portray themselves as victims of uncaring charlatans,’ he said.
In an earlier statement announcing the deal, Penguin described the book as ‘an intimate and heartfelt memoir’, promising that ‘Prince Harry will offer an honest and captivating personal portrait’.
They added that it would cover Harry’s ‘lifetime in the public eye from childhood to the present day, including his dedication to service, the military duty that twice took him to the front lines of Afghanistan, and the joy he has found in being a husband and father’.
The contents of Harry’s book are likely to be kept top secret and palace aides have revealed that no members of the Royal Family have been offered the chance to see any of it before it becomes public. When the publishing deal was announced in July 2021, only the Queen was given advance warning.
Last month, The Mail on Sunday reported that Harry had launched a last-minute bid to tone down the autobiography amid fears his final draft ‘might not go down too well’ in the wake of the monarch’s death.
His request was seen as a sign that he was ready to take a more conciliatory approach to the rest of the Royal Family, with any attacks or veiled swipes being seen as inappropriate just weeks into his father’s reign.
‘Harry has thrown a spanner in the works,’ a source said. ‘He is keen for refinements in the light of the Queen’s death, her funeral and his father Charles taking the throne.
‘There may be things in the book which might not look so good if they come out so soon after these events. He wants sections changed now. It’s not a total rewrite by any means. He desperately wants to make changes. But it might be too late.’
William and Kate pictured during a visit to Sandringham to look at tributes and flowers laid for the late Queen last month
Announcing the global publishing deal this year, Penguin Random House described the memoir as ‘intimate and heartfelt’
Penguin Random House had already reportedly demanded a rewrite after the first draft was deemed ‘too touchy-feely’ and placed too much focus on mental health issues.
Harry faces a battle between further damaging an already strained relationship with his family and potentially hurting book sales by holding back on any claims.
He and Meghan sensationally quit life as working royals and moved to California nearly three years ago, before launching the Archewell Foundation and signing lucrative deals with Spotify and Netflix.
Literary agent Matt Latimer told the New York Times: ‘Is his goal to enhance his celebrity with a certain sector of the public, or is it to repair the rift with his family?’
‘Those are competing goals to some extent, and it’s hard to do both.’
The King, then the Prince of Wales, was only told of the memoir minutes before the press release announcing the release of the book last year.
In that statement, Harry said: ‘I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a first-hand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.’
One palace insider said: ‘The first announcement was something of a shock. We have now spent a long time waiting to see what is in it and, frankly, we just want to get it out of the way so everyone can move on.’
However aides are braced for the worst, particularly after Harry’s outspoken criticisms of his family and the monarchy.
Prince Harry makes his early morning pre-flight checks at the British controlled flight-line at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in January 2013. The contents of his book are likely to be kept top secret
During the Sussexes’ notorious interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, they accused the Royal Family of racism and Harry claimed Charles had ‘literally cut me off financially’.
Harry is said to have been further upset at some of the events surrounding the Queen’s death.
He was dismayed after being told that Meghan, 41, was not invited to join him in flying up to Balmoral to be by his dying grandmother’s bedside. Later, he reportedly failed to accept an invitation to join his father for supper at Birkhall, his private home nearby.
The Royal Family’s lawyers are expected to be on standby to read the book when it comes out.
Meanwhile, the controversial fly-on-the-wall documentary series featuring the couple for Netflix has also been postponed until next year, following the widespread backlash over The Crown.
Harry and Meghan had been working on the series as part of their rumoured $100 million (£88million) deal with the streaming giant.
But with The Crown accused of fabricating a ‘hurtful’ smear against King Charles by depicting him secretly plotting to oust the Queen, Netflix has now pushed it back.
The documentary had been expected in December, following the fifth season of The Crown. A source told Hollywood news website Deadline: ‘They’re rattled at Netflix, and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary.’
Amid their strained relationship with the Royal Family, though, Harry and Meghan spent an extended period of time in the UK following the Queen’s death last month. They were in the UK for non-Royal charity events when Her Majesty died on the day before they were due to fly back home to Montecito, California.
And in the aftermath of his grandmother’s death, Harry struck a fragile truce with his brother William – appearing together for a walkabout among well-wishers in Windsor following the funeral.
Harry and Meghan sensationally quit life as working royals and moved to California nearly three years ago, before launching the Archewell Foundation and signing lucrative deals with Spotify and Netflix
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