And you thought we’d seen the last of them in 2022. The new year kicks off with some old score-settling: for next week will see the publication of Prince Harry’s pithily-titled memoir Spare (or Going Spare, quips one royal insider). As the title suggests, the book is expected to focus on the fraternal frictions between the runaway royal and his brother William. Other topics covered include Harry’s hatred of the press (quelle surprise) and his reflections on Diana’s death. And, in a delicious irony, Harry will be forced to give multiple media interviews to promote the book.

Sadly, he has ducked the chance for a no-holds-barred, sit-down grilling with one of Britain’s popular papers like the Sun or the Mail on Sunday. Instead he is likely to give two broadcast interviews on either side of the Atlantic. The British interview will be with Tom Bradby of ITV – a friend of Prince Harry – while the US interview will either be with Gayle King of CBS – a friend of Meghan Markle – or Anderson Cooper, a blue-blooded American aristocrat in the form of the Vanderbilt family. The sole print interview meanwhile is likely to be with the New York Times, the Brit-bashing newspaper which published a scathing piece about the late Queen just hours after her death in September. So much for fair or even-handed.

Harry’s new book and multiple interviews will be released mere weeks after his six-hour long Netflix series was released and just 18 months after his 90-minute long couples’ therapy session with Oprah Winfrey. After all that, what else is there new to say? Apparently plenty, according to the Sunday Times, which yesterday reported that ‘alongside further projects for Netflix’, the $20 million publishing deal is understood to be for four books in total. The others are currently thought to be a ‘wellness-focused tome by the duchess, a book about leadership and philanthropy, and potentially a Meghan memoir too.’ There’s one for the modern classics section…

If Harry is the ‘Spare‘ then what should Meghan’s title be? Mr S welcomes all suggestions in the comments below…