Author Guide · Memoir
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On its first day on sale, 10 January 2023, Spare sold more than 1.4 million copies in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, the largest first-day total for any non-fiction book in the history of its publisher, Penguin Random House. Guinness World Records named it the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time. Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, had stepped back from royal duties three years earlier; the book is his account of how that happened, starting with his mother’s death when he was twelve. It was written with the American ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer. This guide covers his 1 key book, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 1 key books · 2023–2023 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Prince Harry has written one book: Spare (2023), a memoir written with the ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer, which sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in its first week. Start with the book itself or the audiobook, which Harry reads himself. Read on for what it covers and which of its claims have been disputed.
Where to Start with Prince Harry
If you want his own account of leaving royal life
→ Spare (2023) — the 2023 memoir.
If you prefer to listen
→ Spare (2023) — the audiobook, read by Harry himself.
1 Prince Harry Book
Spare
Published by Penguin Random House on 10 January 2023 and translated into fifteen languages. Harry writes about the death of his mother, Diana, in 1997, his education, his army service and missions in Afghanistan, his marriage to Meghan Markle, and his relationships with his father and his brother William, including a 2019 argument at Nottingham Cottage that he describes as physical. The title refers to the old aristocratic idea of “an heir and a spare”. It sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide in its first week, and the publisher later reported more than 6 million.
How to Read Prince Harry’s Book
Spare opens near the end of the story, with a meeting between Harry, his father and his brother, and then goes back to his childhood. From there it follows his life broadly in order: his education and his mother’s death, the army years, and his marriage and the break with the royal household.
Harry reads the audiobook himself. Read alongside the Netflix series Harry & Meghan (December 2022), the book gives the longer, first-person version of the same events.
A reading path
1. Spare (2023), in print or e-book
2. The audiobook of Spare, read by Prince Harry
3. The Netflix series Harry & Meghan (2022)
The years · 1984–2023
Quick facts about Prince Harry
- Known for
- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and told his side of it in Spare.
- 1984
- Born in London
- 1997
- His mother, Diana, dies in Paris
- 2007
- First tour of Afghanistan
- 2018
- Marries Meghan Markle
- 2023
- Spare
- Born
- 15 September 1984, St Mary’s Hospital, London
- Parents
- King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales
- Army
- Served in the British Army, with tours in Afghanistan
- Founded
- The Invictus Games for wounded service members (2014)
- Married
- Meghan Markle, in 2018
- Book
- Spare (2023), more than 3.2 million copies sold in its first week
The red mark is 2023: Spare, his memoir, published three years after he stepped back from royal duties.
How Spare Was Written
Spare was written with J. R. Moehringer, the American journalist who also ghostwrote Andre Agassi’s Open and Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. It is told in the first person, in Harry’s own voice.
The book returns to a few key episodes: his mother’s death, the years in the army, the 2019 argument with William at Nottingham Cottage, and the “Sandringham Summit” of January 2020 about his future role, which he describes as arranged by three senior private secretaries.
Much of the book concerns his relationship with the press, and several of its specific claims were contested by people it describes. For other memoirs by people who grew up in public, see the guides to Britney Spears and Barack Obama, or the reading list of the best celebrity memoirs below.
Watch
Prince Harry reads from Spare
Prince Harry reads a passage from his memoir Spare, shared by CBS in 2023.
Frequently asked questions about Prince Harry’s book
How many books has Prince Harry written?
One: Spare (2023), a memoir written with the ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer.
What are Prince Harry’s books in order?
There is only one so far: Spare, published on 10 January 2023.
Where should I start with Prince Harry’s book?
With Spare itself, in print or as the audiobook, which Harry reads himself.
What is Prince Harry’s most famous book?
Spare, his only book. Guinness World Records named it the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time, ahead of Barack Obama’s A Promised Land.
Did Prince Harry write Spare himself?
It was written with J. R. Moehringer, an American journalist and ghostwriter who also worked on Andre Agassi’s Open. The book is in Harry’s first-person voice and is published under his name.
Who narrates the Spare audiobook?
Prince Harry reads it himself.
How many copies has Spare sold?
More than 1.4 million on its first day in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and more than 3.2 million worldwide in its first week. Penguin Random House later reported more than 6 million copies sold worldwide.
What does the title Spare mean?
It refers to the old saying that an aristocratic family needs “an heir and a spare”: the second son as a back-up in case the heir dies. Harry is the younger brother of William, the heir.
Is Spare accurate?
Several passages were disputed. His statement that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his service in Afghanistan was condemned by Taliban officials and criticised by British military figures. Other details were contested, including his account of how he learned of the Queen Mother’s death in 2002 (records show he was on a ski holiday at the time) and his reference to a governor-general of Bermuda, which has a governor. Harry has described the book as accurate and wholly truthful. The book is his own account of events.
Footnotes
- Spare (memoir) — Wikipedia
- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex — Wikipedia
- Prince Harry describes how he found out about his mother’s death — CBS News
- Spare — Penguin Random House (audiobook)
- Prince Harry’s Spare ghostwriter has written 3 other bestselling memoirs, including Shoe Dog — NBC Los Angeles
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B.”
— Prince Harry, Spare (2023)
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