Prince Harry Mocks Elvis Presley’s Graceland in New Book ‘Spare’

Prince Harry has not hesitated to question royalty, but in his new memoir, he might have taken it too far. The British prince mocked the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley in his autobiography Spare. In a chapter about his visit to Presley’s estate Graceland, he joked that the interior designer “must have been on acid” when putting together Presley’s home.

“People variously called the house a castle, a mansion, a palace. But it reminded me of the badger sett,” Prince Harry wrote. “Dark, claustrophobic. I walked around saying, ‘The King lived here, you say? Really?’ I stood in one tiny room with loud furniture and shag carpet and thought, ‘The King’s interior designer must have been on acid.’”

This was one of the more light-hearted jokes in the Duke of Sussex’s new book, which has been making waves in the news media since its release on Jan. 10, 2023. It’s not clear when Prince Harry visited Graceland, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the U.S. Its current owners boast that it is the second-most visited house in the country, second only to the White House. It sees an estimated 600,000 visitors per year.

Presley lived at Graceland from 1957 until his death in August of 1977. The musician is often referred to as “The King,” though any comparisons to Prince Harry’s family would be a stretch. Still, it made for an interesting framing device in Prince Harry’s story of trying to live up to his centuries-old lineage.

Prince Harry is the second son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana – hence the title Spare. He was born on Sept. 15, 1984, and raised at an odd time for the royal family. By the late 20th century, it would have been hard to stick to the social norms that had governed the aristocracy for generations, and Princess Diana’s unconventional views only compounded those breaks from tradition in some cases.

The prince has now shared more details than ever about his upbringing from his own perspective. He has been shockingly honest about his boyhood, his grief for his late mother and his coming of age. He also wrote about his romance with actress Meghan Markle and their struggle to find equilibrium once they were married.

Spare is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats wherever books are sold. So far, Graceland has not responded publicly to Prince Harry’s unfavorable review.