Prince Harry’s Memoir: What Legal Action Could The Palace Take?

On January 10th, 2023, Prince Harry's memoir, titled Spare, will be published by Penguin Random House.

The provocative title suggests his negative attitude towards his position within the royal family and that of his older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William.

The book, which is 416 pages long, will be his story, at last, according to the publisher, who has reportedly agreed a £35 million multi-book deal with Harry.

Although Buckingham Palace has not commented publicly on the release of the book, one royal source said that the palace lawyers are likely to be on standby as they wait to see what is in the book.

However, legal experts have suggested that there is very little palace lawyers can do ahead of the book being published to prevent any embarrassing details being made public, but they could look to have things changed after publication.

For that amount of money, royal experts imagine he will have to reveal more than the palace may be bargaining on.

But just what legal action could they take?

Lawyers said it is possible some royals could launch a defamation or privacy case against Prince Harry depending on how explosive the contents of his upcoming memoir turn out to be.

However, it is unlikely they would be willing to pursue a case due to the reputational damage it could cause.

While it is technically possible that the royal family could apply for an injunction to prevent Harry's memoir from being published, lawyers agree this is a very unlikely scenario.

An injunction can be sought either when a publication is believed to libelous, meaning it contains untrue and defamatory information about a person, or if it is believed to contain information that breaches privacy laws.

Daniel Taylor, partner at Taylor Hampton Solicitors, said it is very difficult to obtain injunctions in libel because of free speech, with courts much more likely to grant injunctions if a privacy breach can be proved.

The attempt to ban it was entirely ineffectual other than to raise its profile, Mr. Asserson said, explaining people purchased the book abroad in order to read it.

It's an indication of why people are very reluctant to try to go for a ban of books because they know it's going to have exactly that result.

After Harry's memoir is published, members of the royal family could sue for damages if they believed the book contained libelous information or breached their privacy rights.

However, lawyers agree that this is an unlikely scenario due to the reputational damage it could cause.

Commenting on the release of the bombshell book, some Twitter users have expressed their opinions.

One user said, ultimately, although there may be some previously unheard gossip, this book, like everything the Harkles do, will backfire on them and make them look more and more insane, greedy, and pathetic.

And more people will come to dislike them and see through their bullshit.

Another user agreed, saying, “I think the past year has been very telling.

As of the other day May's podcast had something like 2k upvotes and close to 30k downvotes.

I think their constant contradictions, inability to keep their lies straight, and lack of conviction, in the spirit of kindness and compassion are finally sinking in for the masses.