Harry’s Memoir Will Be ‘Quite Revealing’ ‘If We Ever See It’Jeffrey Archer – Newsweek

Prince Harry's upcoming memoir promises to be "quite revealing" if it ever hits shelves because his publishers won't want a "resurgence of old news" they've already read in the tabloids, a prominent British author recently told Newsweek.

Lord Jeffrey Archer, the bestselling novelist and long-standing member of the Conservative party, has expressed his belief that the prince's book stands a "50/50" chance of being "scrapped" as reports of tensions with the royal family over the project circulate.

Harry announced his autobiographical project with Random House publishers in July 2021. In a statement at the time, he said: "I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become...I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I've learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that's accurate and wholly truthful."

It is reported that author J.R. Moehringer will help the prince shape the narrative of his book as a ghostwriter, though this has not been confirmed by the publisher.

The sum paid to Harry as part of his agreement with Penguin Random House has not been released, however, a number of news outlets speculate it could be a figure as high as $40 million.

So far, no further information on the project has been issued despite an initial "late 2022" publication date.

"I'll tell you the problem," Archer told Newsweek. "The press keeps reporting that the advance is $40 million. Now, if that is the case, normal payment would beand I'm only speaking from experienceone-third in advance, one-third on publication of the hardback and one-third on publication of the paperback. That's the norm. So he may well have already received $13 million, a huge amount of money, particularly as I suspect he has already spent it."

"If I was the publisher," he continued, "and it's a very, very respectable publisher, they do not want a resurgence of old news they've read in the Daily Mail. They will be expecting something a bit special for their millions and who can blame them?"

A number of recent reports state that members of the royal family are bracing themselves for the revelations made in the book, as the prince's life story is bound to include details about his upbringing and family relationships.

Author and former editor of Vanity Fair, Tina Brown, said in a recent interview with the Daily Beast that Harry's stepmother Queen Camilla could be a particular target, for the unhappiness experienced by Princess Diana during her marriage to the now King Charles.

"The rehabilitation of Camilla's image has been utterly successful," Brown said, "but she lives in dread of Harry's book. In some ways, Diana's ghost still rattles at the gate."

Since stepping down as a working royal in 2020 and moving to the U.S. with his wife Meghan Markle to seek financial independence, the Sussexes have both spoken of the difficulties they experienced within the framework of the monarchy and with royal family members themselves.

Apart from the couple's landmark tell-all March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they revealed the family tensions behind their transatlantic move and allegations of racism against an unknown member of the royal family, both Harry and Meghan have given exclusives to a number of other outlets including New York Magazine, People, Variety and Time.

Archer reflects that there's not much left for the couple to say. "What's left is the relationship between Harry and William, and Harry and his father, the king," he told Newsweek.

"Harry does speak so often and so does she, what is there left to say? Reports state that the author [Moehringer], a Pulitzer prize winner, is famous for digging very deep. So, I suspect, if we ever see [the book], it will be quite revealing. Although it will only be his version, his end of the story, which will be clearly strongly influenced by the duchess," Archer said.

Harry is not the first member of the royal family to write a memoir. In 1996 Sarah, Duchess of York wrote My Story following her divorce from Prince Andrew. Another royal divorcee was also approached a number of times to write her life story, Harry's mother Princess Diana.

Archer, a close friend of the princess', recalled how she turned down the offers as they were presented to her.

"I can assure you," he said, "several [offers to write her memoirs were made to her] and she rejected every one."

On why this may have been the case, the author reflected that times have changed since her untimely death in a Paris car crash at the age of 36 in 1997.

"It was a different age, 25 years ago. We're living in a different age," he added, highlighting that in one way Diana made just as controversial of a move as Harry writing his memoir by agreeing to take part in the polarizing 1995 BBC Panorama interview.

"But of course, she made the mistake of doing that dreadful interview," he said. "Which was in its way almost as bad."

Discussing speculative reports that Harry may choose to withdraw his book from publication following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Archer believes that anything could happen.

"I think it's 50/50," he said. "I think it could be scrapped, I think it could appear. It's the money that's the problem. If he's accepted the $13 millionand we don't know that he's accepted a pennybut if he's accepted part of the advance, it will have to be repaid."

In his professional opinion as one of Britain's most prolific authors, Archer said he expects the memoir, if published, to be "well written but it will be treated as scurrilous.

"We're not suggesting this is a serious biography," he ended. "The word 'revenge' will appear again and again in journalists' copy."

Newsweek reached out to representatives of Prince Harry for comment.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.

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Harry's Memoir Will Be 'Quite Revealing' 'If We Ever See It'Jeffrey Archer - Newsweek