1.4 million copies of Prince Harry's diary have been sold on its first day

Prince Harry's diary "Spear" has made a strong start, selling 1.4 million copies in English on its first day in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, breaking the sales record of Penguin Random House, the house said Thursday. .

The book, which made headlines upon its launch on Tuesday, was published to coincide with the presentation of four promotional interviews the Duke of Sussex has given to major media organisations.

The sales surpassed the previous record achieved by Penguin Random House non-fiction publications, which was recorded for the memoirs of former US President Barack Obama entitled "The Promised Land".

And this Obama book sold 887,000 copies in the United States alone, on its first day on the market in 2020.

In France, the first French edition of Prince Harry's book, which amounted to 210,000 copies, has been completely exhausted, and it was decided to print an additional 130,000 copies, according to the publishing house, Fayard, to "Agence France-Presse."

Fayear noted that bookstore demand for Prince Harry's book was about 20 percent higher than demand for Obama's presidential memoirs.

Among the allegations contained in the book, Prince Harry said that his brother, Prince William, knocked him to the ground during an argument between them in 2019, and indicated that he and his brother had asked their father, King Charles III, not to marry Camilla.

The 38-year-old former military also said that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his service in Afghanistan, which drew condemnation from the military and the Taliban.

Large parts of the book were widely leaked last week, but its contents continued to occupy public opinion and occupied an important space for discussion in the media.

Random House Group President Gina Centrillo said in a statement that Spear was much more than just a celebrity memoir.

"Spear is the story of someone we might have thought we already knew, but we can really understand Prince Harry through his words," she said.

"Given these extraordinary first-day sales, readers clearly agree that Speer is a must-read, and one we are proud to publish," she added.

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