almost a year and a half ago bomb, and it was not the first nor would it be the last, jumped into the British royal family. Henry of England, the youngest son of then Prince Charles, announced the publication of a memoir. His own office told it through a brief statement explaining that “for the first time, the Duke of Sussex will share the definitive sum of his experiences, adventures, losses and life lessons that have made him become who he is” . Now, after several comings and goings, that autobiography has a date: it will be published on January 10, 2023.
Who has confirmed the exact day has been the newspaper New York Times, which cites “industry executives.” The memoirs will be published by Penguin Random House, both in the United States and the United Kingdom. At the moment it has only been made public the title they will bear in English, spare (a play on words with several meanings: it can be translated as “spare” and also as “free” or “released”). According to the website created ad hoc for launch, will also be published in 15 other languages, including Spanish, German, Portuguese, Greek and Italian, although there is no title or date in Spanish. On the cover in English there is an image of Enrique in the foreground, dressed in a T-shirt. The book signing signs simply Prince Harry.
As the New York newspaper hints, Enrique would have received “at least 20 million dollars” (the same in exchange for euros) for what is likely to be one of the great books of the season and that could have continuity, both in works of the prince and his wife, Meghan Markle. William of England’s brother has not only worked on the manuscript, but has been helped by the writer and journalist JR Moehringer, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in 2000 and who also co-wrote the successful biography of tennis player André Agassi, published in 2014.
Therefore, a well-armed account of everything that the Duke of Sussex is willing to tell is expected. As advanced when the publication was released, in July 2021, it will be an “honest and personal” writing, which will reflect “an inspiring, courageous and stimulating human story.” The memoirs “will cover his life in public scrutiny, from childhood to today, including his dedication to public service, the military assignments that twice brought him to the front lines of combat in Afghanistan, and the happiness he has found in becoming a husband and father.” A story, obviously, from part, and it is not known if it will last until the death of his grandmother, Elizabeth II, last September, and the arrival on the throne of his father, who today has become Carlos III.
Apparently, according to those anonymous publishing industry sources quoted by New York Times, the conditions of the agreement have been kept under the utmost confidentiality and began even before the controversial interview of the dukes with Oprah Winfrey -in which racism in the British royal family was discussed-, which took place in March 2021 Although the publisher has not revealed the terms of the contract, they have made public that Enrique will donate his profits to charities, but, as the American newspaper indicates, it has not been clarified what they refer to, if a part of those 20 million advance on his memoir or whatever he can make from the sales. As explained on his website, Enrique “wants to support charitable organizations with his income from spare”, and for this he has donated 1.5 million dollars to Sentebale, the NGO that he founded in memory of his mother and that helps vulnerable people and AIDS patients in Lesotho and Botswana. He has also donated £300,000 to the British WellChild, of which he has been a patron for 15 years, and which helps children and young people to have hospital care at home instead of in a medical center. Enrique is very involved with this NGO, and just two weeks ago he a video conference with some of its members.
These 20 million dollars are not the only income of the couple. The prince and his wife have more millionaire contracts: they have signed with Spotify, with whom they have a podcast; and with Netflix, with whom they are preparing a documentary that, for the time being, after the queen’s death and with the premiere of the fifth season of The Crown budding, has been paralyzed.
What is unknown, above all, is the tone of the autobiography. Beyond the innumerable anecdotes that the volume will reveal and that, as usual, the press from all over the world will reveal, the most important thing is to know how Enrique is going to tell it: will he row in favor of his family’s work, will he bridges with her, seek a reconciliation, sing some kind of mea culpa? Or will he continue to build a wall against the Windsors, as he has done for two and a half years? The secrecy of the project, which will be published in just two and a half months, has not revealed anything about it.
The point is that the tone and the way in which he portrays his family are the key to the work, but not only. They can condition the future of the prince and his family. Since the birth of his children, Archie (three and a half) and Lilibet (one and a half), the Duke of Sussex has struggled to have them recognized as princes of the United Kingdom, a desire even greater since his father has become king. In the United Kingdom it is customary —although not mandatory— for a monarch to consider his grandchildren as princes, if the children wish (for example, Princess Anne, the only daughter of Elizabeth II, did not want her offspring to be; instead , Prince Andrew did ask for it for his). However, at the moment, neither Archie nor Lilibet have been named as such. And that, more than just a title, means that children do not enjoy special security protection when they visit the UK, as their father demands.
When Henry announced his memoirs, he stated: “I write this not as the prince I was born with, but as the man I have become.” “Throughout my life I have worn many hats, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that by telling my story—the ups and downs, the failures, the lessons learned—I can help show that no matter where we come from, because We have more in common than we think.” We will have to wait until January 10 to find out if Enrique has something in common with the rest of the mortals who will rush to the bookstores for that book.
#longawaited #memoirs #Henry #England #date #published #January