Allies of Britain’s royal family on Saturday pushed back against claims made by Prince Harry in his new memoir that paint the monarchy as a cold and callous institution that failed to nurture or support him.
Buckingham Palace has not officially commented on the book. But British newspapers and websites are full of quotes from unnamed “royal insiders” refuting Harry’s allegations. One said his public attacks on the royal family had had a “damaging” effect on the health of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
Read more: Taliban respond to Prince Harry’s claim of killing 25 soldiers in Afghanistan
Read next: Global crime groups ‘targeting’ Canada as car thefts rise, officials say
Veteran journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said Harry’s revelations were of the type “what would you expect? by some sort of B-list celebrity’ and that the King would be hurt and disappointed by them.
Story continues below the ad
“His concern is to act as head of state for a nation that we all know is in a pretty troubled state,” Dimbleby told the BBC. “I think he’ll think it’s in his way.”
Harry’s book, Spare, is the latest in a series of very public statements by the prince and his wife Meghan since they left royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as racist media treatment of Meghan, who is biracial and lack of palace support. It follows an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.
2:03 Prince Harry memoirs leak: Londoners react to ‘shocking’ claim of physical fight with William
Harry isn’t the first British royal to spill family secrets – both his parents used the media when their marriage fell apart. Charles collaborated on Dimbleby’s 1994 book and accompanying TV documentary, which revealed that the then-Crown had an affair during his marriage to Princess Diana.
Story continues below the ad
Diana gave her side of the story in an interview with the BBC the following year, saying “there were three of us in this marriage” in relation to Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.
But “Spare” goes into far more detail about private conversations and personal grievances than any previous royal revelation.
In the ghost-written memoir, Harry discusses his grief over his mother’s death in 1997 and his long-simmering resentment of the role of royal “back-up”, 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 his use of 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.
Read more: Prince Harry says Prince William physically assaulted him in new book, ‘Spare’
Read the following: Teacher shot by 6-year-old student in Virginia classroom: police
“Spare” is due to be released worldwide on Tuesday. The Associated Press obtained an early copy in Spanish.
Harry said he expected counterattacks from the palace. He has long complained about “leaking” and “planting” stories to the media by members of the royal family.
In an interview due to be broadcast on ITV on Sunday _ one of several he has recorded to promote the book _ Harry says people who accuse him of invading his family’s privacy “don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family has a press briefing.’
Story continues below the ad
“I don’t know how silence is going to make things better,” he said.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
Add Comment