Prince Harry says explosive book is a bid to own my story
Prince Harry has defended his decision to publish a memoir that lays bare rifts inside Britains royal family, saying its an attempt to own my story after 38 years of spin and distortion by others.
Harry spoke to Britains ITV network to promote his book, Spare, which has generated incendiary headlines with its details of private emotional turmoil and bitter family resentments. In the interview, broadcast Sunday, Harry accused members of the royal family of getting “into bed with the devil to gain favorable tabloid coverage, claimed his stepmother Camilla, the queen consort, had leaked private conversations to the media and said his family was complicit in his wife Meghans pain and suffering.
He also repeated the claim that there was concern in the royal family about his unborn childs skin color after he married biracial American actress Meghan Markle, and said the British monarchy should address its attitudes to race.
Harry and Meghan first mentioned the incident during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. They have not identified the family member who expressed concern.
Harry said the episode was an example of unconscious bias rather than racism, adding that the royal family needed to learn and grow in order to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism, Harry said. He said that especially when you are the monarchy you have a responsibility, and quite rightly people hold you to a higher standard than others.
He said a recent incident in which a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II asked a Black British woman where she was really from was a very good example of the environment within the institution.
Spare explores Harrys grief at the death of his mother in 1997, and his long-simmering resentment at the role of royal spare, overshadowed by the heir older brother Prince William. He recounts arguments and a physical altercation with William, reveals how he lost his virginity (in a field) and describes using cocaine and cannabis.
He also says he killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan a claim criticized by both the Taliban and British military veterans.
Harry told ITV that he cried only once after his mothers death at her burial. He said he feels guilt about not showing emotion when he and William greeted crowds of mourners outside Kensington Palace, Dianas London home.
In the book Harry blames his familys stiff-upper-lip ethos, saying he had learned too well the family maxim that crying is not an option. The Associated Press purchased a Spanish-language copy of the book in advance of its publication around the world on Tuesday.
There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking peoples hands, smiling, Harry told ITV journalist Tom Bradby. Ive seen the videos, right, I looked back over it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking, we couldnt understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears that they were wiping away.
Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum, and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment.
Spare is the latest in a string of public pronouncements by Harry and Meghan since they quit royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the medias racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace. It follows the Winfrey interview and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.
In the ghostwritten memoir, Harry, 38, describes the couples acrimonious split from the royal family in early 2020, after their request for a part-time royal role was rejected. Harry contrasts the withdrawal of the couples taxpayer-funded security with the case of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was removed as a working royal over his friendship with the U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last year, Andrew settled a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of sexually abusing her while she traveled with financier Epstein when she was 17. Andrew paid an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement, but didnt admit wrongdoing.
Harry alleges that no one considered removing Andrews security despite the shameful scandal.
The ITV interview is one of several given by Harry that is set to heap more pressure on the royal family. He is also appearing on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Royal officials havent commented on any of the allegations, though allies have pushed back on the claims, largely anonymously.
Veteran British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said Saturday that Harrys revelations were the type that youd expect from a sort of B-list celebrity, and that the king would be pained and frustrated by them.
Harry told ITV that he wants reconciliation with the royal family, but the ball is in their court.
Theyve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)
