London CNN— Mere days into 2023 and the British royal family are on the back foot. With the Duke of Sussex’s memoir set to hit booksellers’ shelves on January 10, a challenging start to the year was already in the cards.
But several days out from publication, multiple media outlets are reporting they have secured copies of Harry’s upcoming autobiography, “Spare.” Questions will be asked about the safeguards put in place by publisher Penguin Random House and how the Guardian managed to obtain a copy of the book despite what it described as “stringent pre-launch security.” Some other British papers appear to have picked up copies in Spain after it was apparently sold prematurely there by accident. Precautions should have been on par with those taken for everyone’s favorite boy wizard. Not since the release of “Harry Potter”
has there been a book publication so hotly anticipated. At the height of Potter mania, huge lengths were taken to ensure a spoiler-free experience for J.K. Rowling’s young readers. Measures included publishing staffers being sworn to secrecy, print-facility employees allegedly allowed only to view parts of the book at one time, and retailers signing agreements.