EMILY PRESCOTT: Will Harry go Spare when he sees what artist Jake Chapman has done with his book?

Just when you thought the furore at Prince Harry’s memoir Spare had died down, could a new controversy be brewing after artist Jake Chapman doctored the cover image of the book 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 – quite a mark-up on the £14 Amazon charges for the best-selling memoir.

The collection, which 56-year-old Jake has named ‘Spare p**** at a Royal wedding’, consists of 15 copies of the book, which have been altered rather gruesomely in watercolour ink and acrylic paint. Jake explains: ‘The cover was begging to be rectified.’

Despite the disturbing covers, all but one of them have sold out.

Artist Jake Chapman has ‘modified’ Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir ‘Spare’ and is selling copies for £1,000 each

The close-up photo of Harry that Jake has painted over was taken by Ramona Rosales, the photographer who also snapped Meghan for her interview with Variety magazine in October 2022.

However, Jake seems unconcerned about any potential copyright issues and says he did not seek permission from either Prince Harry or publisher Penguin Random House to use the book. ‘Artistic licence is omnipotent,’ he says.

Posting a picture of one of the books online, Jake toasted his model and nutritionist wife Rosemary Ferguson by captioning the photo with a Happy Birthday tribute to her.

Rosemary may believe the artwork is an apt present, but the jury is out as to what the rest of Jake’s celeb pals think of the stunt.

Kate Moss is a close friend of the family – Jake’s daughter Bliss was a bridesmaid at Kate’s 2011 wedding to Jamie Hince.

Victoria Beckham is also a close chum of Rosemary’s and Posh’s son Cruz used to date Bliss.

Harry has declared he is donating £1.2 million of the profits received from Spare to his African charity Sentebale. Penguin Random House has been contacted for comment.