Prince Harry may be England's most-famous royal teen, but come Friday night, another Harry will rule the streets of London. With the midnight release of
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Pottermania is gripping the British isle.
"I'm really looking forward to it," says Charlotte Abbott, 10, of Kent. "I've ordered it, so I'll be one of the first people to read it."
Charlotte will have company. This weekend, an estimated 2 million copies of J.K. Rowling's latest adventure will go on sale at 6,200 book stores, supermarkets, and gas stations across England. And in case news of its arrival somehow escaped some Brits, "Hip, Hip, Harry" posters began decorating the country's buses and billboards this week.
In London's Piccadilly Square, Britain's largest book chain, Waterstone's, will throw a red-carpet premiere party Friday night to celebrate Harry V's debut. Hundreds of bookstores across the country will also host midnight parties, complete with magicians, raffles, and puppet shows.
Since news about Harry V's release was announced in January, only six people, including Rowling, have read the book. That will all change on June 21, when mobs of English children, like Charlotte, finally get their hands on the long-awaited novel.
"I'll probably switch the light back on when I've been put to bed and read it all in one go," says Charlotte.
That will be a long "go," as the British version is 768 pages long!
