Prince Harry wins $ 20 million from Penguin Random House for his memoir

Prince Harry is getting at least $ 20 million upfront to publish his memoir – with the same uber-publisher who gave Barack and Michelle Obama a $ 65 million book deal.

As Page Six revealed, Harry has been secretly writing a memoir for almost a year and has now sold it to Penguin Random House.

While the renegade royal said on Monday that he would donate all profits to charity, it is not yet clear whether he would keep the multi-million dollar advance – estimated at at least 20 million. dollars, according to insiders of the publication.

Meanwhile, we’re told that Harry’s co-writer, power ghostwriter JR Moehringer, is getting at least $ 1 million upfront.

It was Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle who recruited President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The German father-of-two oversaw the record-breaking deal for their memoir, with Michelle’s 2018 book “Becoming” the best-selling book of 2018, selling 725,000 copies on the first day of publication.

President Obama’s 768-page long memoir, “A Promised Land,” sold 800,000 copies on the first day of November. “But I don’t rub it over dinner,” he told Jimmy Kimmel, adding that Michelle had joked that all of her book sales could help pay for her shoe purchases.

Dohle admitted to the Financial Times in March 2019: “There is always a risk when you do a big deal and it was a really big deal,” he says. “But business risk is part of our business… The first book worked like a charm and I have great confidence that the second book [President Obama’s memoirs] will also be a great success.

Markle also recently published her children’s book, “The Bench,” with the children’s division of Random House.

Speaking about the company’s deal with Harry, Dohle said, “All of us at Penguin Random House are delighted to publish Prince Harry’s literary memoir and have him join the world-renowned leaders, icons and change-makers that we do. have had the privilege of publishing over the years.

“Prince Harry put to use his extraordinary life experience as a prince, soldier and savvy advocate for social issues, asserting himself as a world leader recognized for his courage and openness. It is for this reason that we are delighted to publish his honest and moving story.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have followed in the footsteps of the Obamas since they left the royal family and moved to California, similarly making important deals with Netflix and Spotify.

But while insiders tell us that Harry and his wife Meghan Markle know the Obamas, they are not thought to be “close friends”.

Harry is not believed to have completed his memoir, which will be published in late 2022.

Representatives for Random House and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were unavailable for comment.