EMILY PRESCOTT: Will Harry go Spare when he sees what artist Jake Chapman has done with his book?
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EMILY PRESCOTT: Will Spare turn Prince Harry when he sees what artist Jake Chapman has done with his best-selling memoir?
Just when you thought the furor over Prince Harry’s memoir Spare had died down, could a new controversy be brewing after artist Jake Chapman doctored the book’s cover image for his new collection?
Jake, whose fans include designer Lady Eliza Manners and model Alexa Chung, is selling modified copies of the duke’s book through his company Heimlich Productions for £1,000, a pretty hefty margin on the £14 Amazon charges for the memoir. Most sold.
The collection, which Jake, 56, has dubbed ‘Spare p**** at a Royal wedding’, consists of 15 copies of the book, which have been rather gruesomely altered in watercolor ink and acrylic paint. Jake explains, “The cover was just crying out for a fix.”
Despite the haunting covers, all but one have gone out of print.
Jake Chapman, pictured with Rosemary Ferguson, left, has modified copies of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’, turning him into a multi-eyed green monster.
Artist Jake Chapman has ‘tweaked’ Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir ‘Spare’ and is selling copies for £1,000 each
The close-up photo of Harry that Jake painted was taken by Ramona Rosales, the photographer who also shot Meghan for her interview with Variety magazine in October 2022.
However, Jake seems unconcerned about potential copyright issues and says that he did not ask permission from either Prince Harry or Penguin Random House to use the book. “Artistic license is omnipotent,” he says.
Posting a photo of one of the books online, Jake toasted his wife, model and nutritionist Rosemary Ferguson, captioning the photo with a happy birthday tribute to her.
Rosemary may think the artwork makes a suitable gift, but the jury is out on what the rest of Jake’s celebrity friends think of the stunt.
Kate Moss is a close family friend: Jake’s daughter, Bliss, was a bridesmaid at Kate’s 2011 wedding to Jamie Hince.
Victoria Beckham is also close friends with Rosemary and Posh’s son Cruz used to date Bliss.
Harry has stated that he will donate £1.2 million of the proceeds received from Spare to his African charity Sentebale. He has contacted Penguin Random House for comment.