Prince Andrew ‘in talks to write tell-all memoir dubbed Spare 2.0’
The shamed Duke of York is in talks to write a tell-all autobiography described by insiders as ‘Spare 2.0’, according to a report.
Prince Andrew is said to be keen to set the record straight over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He is apparently in talks with US authors and is hoping a deal will ease financial pressure on him after ‘receiving no inheritance from the Queen’.
The royal’s last attempt at presenting his side of the story – his 2019 interview with BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis – was dubbed ‘nuclear explosion level bad’.
But Andrew would have more control with a book and two leading publishers are apparently interested.
It would come after Prince Harry made explosive claims about the Royal Family in Spare, alleging Prince William attacked him in a fight about Meghan Markle and his father didn’t hug him when telling him Princess Diana had died.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘Andrew was the original spare and there’s plenty of material. Compared to Harry, he has a far greater depth of history to draw from.
’Writing a book would give him the opportunity to fully explain his association with Jeffrey Epstein and the resulting fall-out.
‘But it would also be a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the Royals and their relationships.’
One author Andrew is said to have approached is Daphne Barak, who has written biographies of Amy Winehouse and former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto. But it’s believed she is currently busy with other projects.
A source said Andrew ‘needs to find ways of making money and supporting himself’, adding: ‘If he doesn’t change the narrative, no one else will.’
A PR expert has thrown cold water on the idea that he could land a deal worth a fortune though.
Jeremy Murphy, founder of New York-based PR firm 360bespoke, believes he will get offers but these are unlikely to come from big publishers as Andrew ‘still has the slime factor’.
He added that he’d be ‘surprised if an advance on the book was even a million dollars’.
The duke is believed to have paid millions to settle a civil case with sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre in 2022. He has denied all wrongdoing.
His mother, the Queen, stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages shortly before the lawsuit was settled privately.
Recent reports suggest Andrew faces being ‘effectively evicted’ from his £30 million Windsor mansion within months as his brother King Charles slashes his grant.
Metro has contacted Buckingham Palace and Prince Andrew for comment.
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