Prince Harry's 'Spare' makes world record, rules as fastest-selling nonfiction book

Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir titled ‘Spare’ has managed to secure a spot in the Guinness World Records by becoming the quickest-selling nonfiction book in history. According to Guinness' official website, the book sold 1.43 million copies on the day of its launch in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

‘Spare’ achieved the feat by knocking ‘A Promised Land’ out of the number one spot. The book, penned by former US President Barack Obama, managed to sell 887,000 copies on the day of its release, according to the New York Post. Prince Harry's royal memoir, which originally retails for $36, is being sold for big discounts to lure readers. As of Saturday, ‘Spare’ was up for purchase for $22.42 on the e-commerce platform Amazon. 

“As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter),” said Larry Finlay, the managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House. On Wednesday,  Penguin Random House declared that Prince Harry’s book had made the record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book in the United Kingdom’s history.

Who held the record before Prince Harry? 

The Duke of Sussex’s recently released ‘Spare’ is a memoir delving deep into the events that have transpired in Britain’s Royal Family over the years. It is a peek into the complicated life of Prince Harry, and the unpleasant experiences he endured before finally walking out of the family with his wife, Meghan Markle.

While ‘Spare’ may rule the nonfiction category, the record for the fastest-selling book of all time continues to be held by J.K. Rowling’s final novel of the Harry Potter series- ‘Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows’. Released in July of 2007, the book sold 8.3 million copies.

Meanwhile, Obama previously held the record for the highest-selling nonfiction book. Before that, his wife Michelle Obama held the title after her book ‘Becoming’ sold 725,000 copies on its launch day, as per Guinness. Even before that, former US President Bill Clinton’s ‘My Life’ held the record after the book sold 400,000 copies in 2004, shattering the record set by his wife Hillary Clinton, whose memoir ‘Living History’ sold 200,000 copies a year before.