Queen Elizabeth II’s death means different things for every royal family member. Even former senior royals – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – have been impacted by her majesty’s death. The most expensive impact it has is on Prince Harry’s memoir which is a part of his £35million four-book deal.
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Why is Prince Harry making changes now?
Prince Harry has allegedly received an advance of £17.5million ($ 20 million) for the first part of the memoir. The book, which is ghost-written by American novelist JR Moehringer, had its first draft already re-written once on Penguin Random House's demands as it was ‘a bit too emotional’ and focused on ‘mental health issues’
However, the Queen’s death and the many olive branches that were given to the Sussex couple during the Royal mourning period have made Prince Harry keen on making some changes in his book yet again.
According to a source, the duke feels that some sections of the book are now ‘insensitive’ given his grandmother’s death and his father’s accession to the throne. A source told The Sun:
The publishers paid $ 20 million upfront because they knew whatever was written would be huge for sales and exposure all around the world.
Eventually, the final draft has been finished and signed off and a lot of money and energy has been spent to make sure it comes out this year.
But Harry has thrown a spanner in the works as he is desperate to get it refined in the light of the Queen’s death, her funeral and his father Charles taking the throne.
There may be things which might not look so good if they come out so soon after the Queen’s death and his dad becoming King.
He wants sections changed. It’s not a total rewrite by any means. He desperately wants to make changes. But it might be too late.
The publishers want the book to be on the shelves by US Thanksgiving in November.
Should Prince Harry withdraw the book?
While Prince Harry is making efforts on his end, Nile Gardiner – a royal enthusiast – argues that the duke should withdraw the book. Despite his best efforts to not make any bombshell claims, the book will still be ‘hugely controversial’ and contain ‘a great deal of criticism of the Royal Family.’
Express.co.uk confirms that the release of any explosive memoir at this time can run the risk of the Sussex family ‘being exiled from the UK’ permanently.
Sources Used
The Sun: Panicking Prince Harry ‘desperately making last-minute changes’ to £17m ‘explosive’ memoir following Queen’s death
Express.co.uk: Charles preparing for Harry's book release as Firm fear bombshells could overshadow them
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