NEW YORK – Prince Harry will release a tell-all memoir in January, his publisher said on Thursday, with the highly-anticipated account of life in the British monarchy and after he quit royal duties landing just four months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The book by Harry, who now lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle, comes at a sensitive time.

There has been intense speculation that the Prince could draw back the veil on palace life and offer damaging revelations, or pull his punches in the aftermath of the Queen’s death in September as Britain adjusts to its new head of state, King Charles III.

Titled Spare, the memoir will hit the shelves on Jan 10.

“We are excited to announce the remarkably personal and emotionally powerful story of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex,” said Penguin Random House on Twitter.

A photo of Harry looking directly into the camera features on the cover, along with the words “Prince Harry” and “Spare”.

On its website, the book is described as a window into how the Prince responded to the death of his mother Diana 25 years ago, and how his life has been affected since.

“With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” said Penguin Random.

Diana, Princess of Wales, died aged 36 in a high-speed car crash in Paris in August 1997. Britain was plunged into an outpouring of grief that jolted the monarchy, which was seen by some as out of touch.

In addition to the title referring to Harry’s apparent bid to lead a more simple lifestyle, it also alludes to his status as the spare to his older brother Prince William’s role as heir to the British throne.

Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, stunned his family by announcing they were quitting royal duties and moving to the United States in early 2020.

From there, they launched a series of broadsides criticising their life in the institution, including claims of racism and the Crown’s failure to support them amid relentless tabloid attacks.

Their public criticisms exacerbated tensions with William – with whom he is reported to be barely on speaking terms – and their father, King Charles.

Harry and Meghan now live with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, in Santa Barbara, California.

‘Highs and lows’

In July 2021, Harry announced he was penning a memoir that would expose the mistakes and lessons learnt across his life.

“I’m writing this not as the Prince I was born, but as the man I have become,” Harry said at the time.

“I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learnt – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.”

He said he was “excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful”.

Harry and Meghan sent shockwaves through the British monarchy in a 2021 interview with American talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, when Meghan accused an unnamed member of the royal family of having raised concerns about how dark their son’s skin might be and said her life as a royal had left her on the brink of suicide.

Harry has also spoken about being on a “different path” to his brother, although he and his wife appeared with William and Kate after Queen Elizabeth’s death in September.

The book will be published in 15 languages, including Spanish, French and Chinese, while the English-language edition will be available in Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Canada.

It will be priced at £28 (S$45.60) in Britain, the publisher said, and an audio edition, narrated by Harry, will be released.

Harry will support British charities with donations from his proceeds, the publisher added. AFP, REUTERS