Prince Harry has been the subject of national conversation for a number of weeks, but has that translated to a large interest among the people of Swindon to buy his new tell-all memoir from Prince Harry?
The eagerly-anticipated book 'Spare' was released in bookstores across the country on Tuesday, but Bert's Books in Old Town has said there's been no significant uptick in business because of it.
In London's flagship Waterstones store, only one person queued up before its opening to make sure they could get their hands on the controversial release.
The book contains a string of bombshell revelations and private details about Harry’s life and family and has sparked a furor over his claims that William physically attacked him and that he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war.
But for Alex Call, at Bert's Books, the drama hasn't translated to a Harry Potter-esque mad rush.
He said: "We've had a few pre-sales and some people have come into the store in the morning to buy it.
"We had to buy a certain amount to get it on day one of the releases, so we do have a few spare."
Bert from Bert's Books (Image: Newsquest)
Alex explained that a popular book will get around 20 or 30 people pre-ordering it before release, but that Spare was only pre-ordered three times.
He attributed this apparent indifference to the cost of the book, at £28 full retail price, it will put a lot of people off, although some larger retailers have already started discounting it.
Speaking on the controversy itself, and the furor over the Royal Family, Bert was indifferent.
"I've got no strong opinions on Harry, the book, or the Royal Family either way, but I think that everyone has got a story to tell."
The store has given the memoir pride of place in its window display, along with what it says was its best-selling book of last year, Bella Mackie's How To Kill Your Family, something Bert playfully insists is entirely incidental.
"We've just put our bestselling books in the window. People are making all sorts of wild assumptions and connections," he said.
Anyway, we do have some spare copies of Spare if you want one pic.twitter.com/uOFbiPdMaW
— Bert’s Books (@bertsbooks) January 10, 2023
Caroline Lennon was the only one waiting to buy a copy at Waterstones in Piccadilly. She told the PA news agency: “I don’t care what anybody says. People will criticise me and say ‘What an idiot for liking Harry. What an idiot for queuing up’, but I don’t care what anyone says."
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