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Ariana Baio
Jan 10, 2023
After days of bombshell claims, Prince Harry's memoir 'Spare' on bookshelves
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With bated breath, people around the world waited for bookstores to put out a copy of Prince Harry’s highly anticipated memoir Spare.
It is the first time the Duke of Sussex has told the story of his life in his own words, and from the anecdotes already released to the public, it’s going to be a juicy story.
So, of course, media around the world set up outside of the London bookstore Waterstones to see who would be the first people to obtain a copy of Spare in person.
Turns out it was only a 59-year-old woman named Caroline Lennon.
Lennon was the first, and only, person to show up at Waterstones in Piccadilly bookshop in central London on Tuesday morning.
According to reports, Lennon walked two miles from Bethnal Green in the East End to Waterstones at 5.30am to arrive at 6am, expecting there to be a massive line.
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“I did expect a queue,” Lennon told reporters outside of the bookshop. “Unfortunately, there’s no queue. I’m just by myself.”
After purchasing the book, Lennon posed for photographers and journalists in front of the bookshop, smiling while holding up her copy of Spare - the only person the media had to capture.
\u201cCaroline Lennon, the first and only customer in the queue to purchase a copy of Spare, the newly released autobiography from the Duke of Sussex, Waterstones Piccadilly, London. \n\nImage ID: 2M7J8KW // James Manning // PA Wire\n\n#Spare\u201d— Alamy Editorial (@Alamy Editorial) 1673341375
Like many, Lennon said she wanted to read the book because she’s a fan of the Royal Family, including Harry and Meghan.
“I don’t care what anybody says. People will criticise me and say ‘What an idiot for liking Harry. What an idiot for queuing up,’ but I don’t care what anyone says,” Lennon said.
She even recalled queuing to buy Andrew Morton’s biography of Princess Diana in 1992.
\u201cCaroline Lennon - who arrived here at 6am - is first in the queue.\u201d— Fiona Parker (@Fiona Parker) 1673335997
\u201cCaroline Lennon, an ordinary member of the public, wanted to buy a copy of Spare before the Piccadilly branch of Waterstones became busy. Just look at the number of journalists and press photographers in this picture \ud83d\ude44\ud83d\ude31\nOur media is a national embarrassment \ud83d\udca9\ud83d\uddd1\ufe0f\u201d— robertkilcoyne3 (@robertkilcoyne3) 1673355951
As a fan of the royals, Lennon has her thoughts on the chaos of the family’s relationship, which has been made public in part by Harry and Meghan.
“My personal feeling with Harry and William is they should connect,” Lennon said. “There’s no love between them, there’s no love with that family. He and William need to get their heads together and make up, for God’s sake. Life is too short.”
Although Lennon was the first person to purchase the book in person, Waterstones said it was the largest pre-sale order in the last decade.
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