Prince Harry’s explosive memoir ‘mistakenly’ leaked days before release, despite ‘stringent security’

According to The Guardian, Prince Harry writes that he was physically attacked by his brother, Prince William, during a confrontation. But how did the newspaper come to have a book that publishers spared no costs to stop leaks?

A flaw in the security arrangements?

According to reports, the arrangements to release Prince Harry's memoir, Spare, were guarded closely and managed in ‘minute detail’. The Mail Online reports that only a small number of senior executives knew the exact details.Deliveries to bookstores are also being planned at the last minute to avoid leaking copies.

Despite being published in 16 different languages, no one should be able to get a copy before 10th January, when e-books will be available to download in the UK from midnight.

A publishing source said the scale of the operation was like the 2007 release of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows when author J. K. Rowling wanted to be sure no one knew the ending before her fanbase could read the book. Per Mail Online, the publisher reportedly spent millions to protect the book’s content, using satellite tracking systems in delivery lorries to ensure they didn't deviate from their routes.

If a similar operation was underway to protect Prince Harry’s book, how is it possible that The Guardian got hold of a copy? The Guardian simply states that despite the ‘stringent security’, it ‘obtained a copy’.

However, according to The Sun, the book accidentally went on sale early in Spain. A customer, who was shocked to be able to get a copy, believes that it 'must be a mistake'. Although, he puts it down to Prince Harry not being 'as high-profile' in Spain as elsewhere in the world.

What have we learnt?

A source told The Sunday Times that they can’t see how Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship will ever recover from the memoir’s claims. They said:

Everything is laid bare. Charles comes out of it better than I had expected, it’s tough on William, in particular, and even Kate gets a bit of a broadside. There are these minute details and a description of the fight between the brothers. I personally can’t see how Harry and William will be able to reconcile after this.

This rings particularly true, according to The Guardian's leaked copy. In his memoir, Prince Harry details a fight between him and his brother, claiming that the now-Prince of Wales got physical and ‘knocked me to the floor’.

Harry writes:

He (Prince William) set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.

According to the Duke of Sussex’s account, Prince William urged Prince Harry to hit him back. When Harry didn’t retaliate, the future King left, but not before he supposedly said:

I didn’t attack you, Harold.

The reason for the fight? According to the Duke of Sussex, William went to his place to talk about Meghan, who he allegedly called ‘difficult’, ‘rude’, and ‘abrasive’. Harry didn’t want to hear it, calling out his brother for ‘parrot[ing of] the press narrative’.

The source who spoke to The Sunday Times warned the Royal Family that the book will be ‘worse for them’ than expected.

Sources used:

- Mail Online: How did left-wing Guardian get a leaked copy of Prince Harry's book Spare? Red faces at Duke's publisher as New York-based reporter gets copy of bombshell autobiography six days early

- The Guardian: Prince Harry details physical attack by brother William in new book

- The Times: Publishers spare no expense in stopping leaks of Prince Harry’s book

- The Sun: GOING SPARE Prince Harry’s bombshell book accidentally goes on sale early in Spain – and we got our hands on one of the first copies