Copies of Prince Harry’s memoir smeared with Afghan blood to go on sale
Copies of Prince Harry’s memoir smeared with the blood of Afghan people are set to go on sale – with a five-figure price tag.
Artist Andrei Molodkin says he has covered 25 copies of Spare with human blood, which he will put on display at a shop in Windsor today.
It comes after the Russian anti-war artist projected a sculpture filled with blood on to St Paul’s Cathedral in London last week, in a protest over the Duke of Sussex’s remarks about his number of kills in Afghanistan.
One of the blood-soaked copies of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare
Molodkin said some of the blood donated for the artwork has now been used to create his “alternative Spare” books, which will be available to buy from 2 May – four days before the King’s coronation – for $10,000 (£8,000) each.
The artist says any money raised from the sale will be donated to Afghan charities.
In a statement about his latest stunt – called “Blood Money” – Molodkin said: “Prince Harry boasts of killing Taliban like they’re baddies in a video game, ‘otherising’ human life then cashing in on the sorry tale to sell books about his drug binging, sexual exploits and killing conquests.”
After going on display in Windsor on Saturday, a spokesman for Molodkin said the blood-covered books will be available to buy at a/political, the art and activist body, in Kennington, London, on 2 May.
Harry faced criticism for revealing in his memoir that he killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving with the British army in Afghanistan. He wrote that it “wasn’t a number that gave me any satisfaction… but neither was it a number that made me feel ashamed”.
Prince Harry pictured serving in Afghanistan in 2008
The prince also admitted that he did not think of those he killed as “people”, but instead as “chess pieces” that had been taken off the board.
He wrote: “While in the heat and fog of combat, I didn’t think of those 25 as people. You can’t kill people if you think of them as people. You can’t really harm people if you think of them as people. They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bads taken away before they could kill Goods.”
Read more:
Biggest revelations from Harry’s memoir
Afghans call for Harry to be ‘put on trial’
Artist ‘angry’ over Harry remarks
Molodkin told Sky News last month that Harry’s remarks had made him “very, very angry” and he wanted “to drench St Paul’s Cathedral in the blood of Afghani people” by projecting his sculpture on to the landmark.
He said: “They read they are just ‘chess figures’… for some prince hunting by helicopter.
“It looked like a safari situation. How he told it, for him it’s like a computer game.”
Molodkin’s Royal Blood sculpture contained blood donated by Afghans
Molodkin projected his sculpture filled with human blood on to St Paul’s Cathedral
Molodkin said about 1,250ml of blood was used in his sculpture – called Royal Blood – after being taken by a registered nurse, kept in a fridge and then “pumped” into the artwork.
The artist, who used to serve in the Soviet Army, said the blood was donated by Afghans in France and the UK and he explained to all the donors how it would be used.
He previously hit the headlines after producing a sculpture featuring an image of Vladimir Putin that was filled with blood donated by Ukrainian fighters.
Now living in the south of France, Molodkin said he “can’t go back to Russia” as he believes he would be jailed.
Andrei Molodkin uses human blood in his sculptures
Following the release of his memoir, Harry said it was a “dangerous lie” to say he had “somehow boasted” about the number of people he killed in Afghanistan.
The royal carried out two tours in Afghanistan during his time in the military, including one tour between 2012 and 2013 when he served as an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot gunner.
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Among the revelations in his book, Harry admitted he had taken cocaine, smoked weed and tried magic mushrooms, and revealed he had lost his virginity to an older woman in a field.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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