Child dresses as Prince Harry for World Book Day following release of memoir Spare

‘He loved the beard so much, he didn’t want to take it off at bathtime,’ mother said

A child dressed as Prince Harry for World Book Day on Thursday (2 March) has been “ecstatic” to see himself on television.

Following the release of the royal’s tell-all memoir in January, the three-year-old named Ellis, from Redhill, Surrey, was given a makeover to resemble the Duke of Sussex.

His mother, a makeup artist named Melissa Wright, said Spare was the only book her son wanted to portray this World Book Day.

“He’s only three so he can’t read but he’s obsessed with being a prince,” she told The Independent.

Wright that the teachers at her son’s preschool found the costume “really funny” and that she cannot believe the reaction the photograph has received on social media.

“His face has been shared all over the country,” she said.

Explaining how the costume came to life, Wright said she used “child-friendly” face paint and a bit of hairspray since his hair is already slightly strawberry blonde.

“He loved the beard so much, he didn’t want to take it off at bathtime,” she said.

“This morning, he asked me if he was going as a prince again and I said ‘no, you’re Ellis today’.”

It comes as King Charles has reportedly asked Harry and Meghan to vacate their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage, which was handed to them by the late Queen after their marriage in 2018.

“I didn’t realise the timing,” Wright said, referencing reports of Harry and Meghan being evicted from Frogmore Cottage. “There has been some very mixed reactions [to the photograph].”

Prince Harry’s memoir Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998, exceeding the number of copies sold the week after its publication date on 10 January.

The English-language edition of the memoir sold more than 1.4 million copies on its release day, the book’s publisher, Penguin Random House, announced in January.

Spare was originally leaked five days before its official release as it accidentally went on sale in Spain. People then obtained digital copies of the book and shared them via WhatsApp, as segments of the book went viral due to the shocking claims made by the duke about members of the royal family.