Prince Harry has signed a huge four-book deal, with the second due out just after the Queen passes away, the Daily Mail reported on Friday.
According to undisclosed insiders cited in the report, the "tell-all" book presented by Harry earlier this week is simply the "tip of the iceberg", and that will undoubtedly worry Buckingham Palace, given the past revelations. The Duke of Sussex handled the bidding and instructed publishing houses to start at $24.7 million (18 million pounds), with the final price allegedly reaching about $40 million (29 million pounds), according to sources.
The first book, the Prince's memoir is scheduled to come out next year, as the publisher announced on Monday, apparently on the occasion of the Queen's platinum jubilee, and a follow-up book to be published only after her death.
According to the report, as part of the deal with Penguin Random House, Harry's wife Meghan Markle will reportedly write a "wellness" book. The fourth title's subject and author are unknown.
The 36-year-old prince reportedly led publishing talks from Montecito, California, where he and Meghan have purchased high-end property thanks to lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify. Two publishers from London visited the prince in California while others participated in the "auction" through video chat.
"He conducted negotiations – he had a very 'take it or leave it' attitude", one of the outlet's sources from the publishing industry is quoted in the report as saying. "His starting price was $25 million and the final figure was way north of that, possibly as much as $35-40 million".
The source claimed the participants in the negotiations were "very shocked" by his approach, which consisted of staring them down and bluntly demanding $25 million.
"The final contract was actually for a four-book deal, with Harry writing another 'when his granny dies'", the source continued. "Meghan will write a wellness-type book and people are unsure what the fourth will be. But what is most shocking, frankly, is Harry's suggestion that the second book won't be published until the Queen is no longer here".
The publishing insider went on to say that the concept of an "unexploded bomb hanging about waiting for the Queen to pass, is just extraordinary and may strike many as being in very bad taste".
Per reports, the Duke of Sussex is reportedly working with Pulitzer Prize-winning ghostwriter JR Moehringer on what his publishers characterised as "the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him", in what surely has raised concerns within the Royal Family that it might deepen the rift between the prince and the rest of his relatives.
Unfortunately for the Duke, many on social media noted a bit of hypocrisy in Harry's words that he left the Royal Family in order to find peace and calm and lead a quiet private life with his wife and children.
The vast funds allegedly involved in the agreement will undoubtedly be viewed as the Sussexes using their former royal life and status, something they reportedly secretly swore to the Queen they would not do.
According to the Daily Mail, it also shows that the monarch and her counsellors had foresight in forbidding her grandson and his wife from using their "His/Her Royal Highness" titles or the phrase "royal" in any of their commercial activities in the US while they were seeking to achieve "financial independence".