Official data from Nielsen BookData indicate that in its first week, the much-hyped book sold 467,183 copies.
On January 10, the book, which was co-written with famous ghostwriter JR Moehringer, went on sale.
After some copies of the book went on sale in Spain several days before the official publication date, the majority of the revelations in the book were leaked early.
However, it does not appear that this has affected Spare’s sales. Since Nielsen’s records began, only four Harry Potter novels and Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol have seen higher first-week sales.
In the memoir, Prince Harry discusses his time as a member of the Royal Family prior to his retirement in 2020.
It reveals the conflict he had with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, from behind the scenes.
The book got a lot of attention when it came out, and there was a lot of coverage in the media all over the world.
The book sold 1.4 million copies in its first day, including pre-orders, in the US, UK, and Canada, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Since Nielsen began collecting data, it is the only non-fiction book in the all-time top 10 fastest-selling titles.
The books with the highest sales in the UK since January 1998
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling) – 2.63 million copies sold in first week
- Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (JK Rowling) – 1.87 million
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (JK Rowling) – 1.68 million
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (JK Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany) – 848,000
- The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown) – 551,000
- Spare (Prince Harry) – 467,000
- Grey (EL James) – 386,000
- The Tales of Beedle the Bard (JK Rowling) – 368,000
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (JK Rowling) – 256,000
- Inferno (Dan Brown) – 229,000
Source: Nielsen BookData
The previous fastest-selling non-fiction book was the first Pinch of Nom cookbook, which sold 210,506 copies upon its release in 2019.
