Prince Harry accuses royals of complicity in Meghan’s pain

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has accused the royal family of being complicit in his wife Meghan’s pain and suffering Harry claimed that his stepmother Camilla had leaked private conversations to the media in order to burnish her own reputation. Harry claimed in interviews broadcast Sunday (Jan. 8, 2023) that members of the royal family got “into bed with the devil” to gain favorable tabloid coverage. He singled out Camilla’s efforts to rehabilitate her image with the British people after her longtime affair with his father. Harry spoke to Britain’s ITV and CBS’s “60 Minutes” to promote his book “Spare.” The memoir is due to be widely released Tuesday. It has already generated incendiary headlines with its details of bitter family resentments.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has accused the royal family of being complicit in his wife Meghan’s anguish, claiming his stepmother Camilla, the queen consort, had leaked private conversations to the media in order to burnish her own reputation.

In interviews broadcast Sunday, Harry accused members of the royal family of getting “into bed with the devil” to gain favorable tabloid coverage, singling out Camilla’s efforts to rehabilitate her image with the British people after her longtime affair with his father, now King Charles III.

“That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press,” he told CBS. “There was open willingness on both sides to trade information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her, on the way to being queen consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street.”

Harry spoke to Britain’s ITV and CBS’s “60 Minutes” to promote his book, “Spare,” which is due to be widely released Tuesday. It has already generated incendiary headlines with its details of bitter family resentments.

He repeated his claim on ITV that there was “concern” in the royal family about his unborn child’s skin color after he married biracial American actress Meghan Markle. Harry and Meghan first mentioned the incident during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, but they haven’t identified the family member who expressed concern

Harry insisted the family wasn’t racist, but said the episode was an example of unconscious bias, 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.”

“Spare” explores Harry’s 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 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.

“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 media’s 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 couple’s acrimonious split from the royal family after their request for a part-time royal role was rejected.

The television interviews are just two of several given by Harry that are set to pile more pressure on the royal family. He is also appearing on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Royal officials haven’t commented on any of the allegations, though allies have pushed back on the claims, largely anonymously.

Harry has defended the memoir describing it as his effort to “own my story” after years of “spin and distortion” by others. In the “60 Minutes” interview, Harry denied said his book wasn’t intended to hurt his family.

Omid Scobie, author of “Finding Freedom,” a book on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said Harry is offering the look behind the palace walls that the public has always desired.

“Of course, that does come with some downsides for those who have been part of his journey,” Scobie told the BBC. “We heard some sort of really startling confessions and stories about members of the royal family, particularly when it comes to Camilla and her relationship with the press.”

While Harry said that he hadn’t spoken with his father or brother in a while, he hopes to find peace with them. Harry told ITV that he wants reconciliation with the royal family, but “the ball is in their court.”

“They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile,” he said.

LONDON (AP) — An explosive memoir reveals many facets of Prince Harry, from bereaved boy and troubled teen to wartime soldier and unhappy royal. From accounts of cocaine use and losing his virginity to raw family rifts, “Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the wider royal family. It is dominated by Harry’s rivalry with brother Prince William and the death of the boys’ mother, Princess Diana in 1997. Harry says that years later he drove through the Paris tunnel where the crash happened, hoping in vain that it would help end a “decade of unrelenting pain.” He also says his father Charles implored Harry and William to end their rift, saying: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.”

LONDON (AP) — Bereaved boy, troubled teen, wartime soldier, unhappy royal — many facets of Prince Harry are revealed in his explosive memoir, often in eyebrow-raising detail.

From accounts of cocaine use and losing his virginity to raw family rifts, “Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the wider royal family.

The Associated Press purchased a copy of the Spanish-language edition of the book ahead of its publication around the world on Tuesday (Jan. 10, 2023). Its revelations have electrified the British media — but have been met with silence from Buckingham Palace.

BROTHER AND SON

The book opens with a quote from American writer William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”

Harry’s story is dominated by his rivalry with elder brother Prince William and the death of the boys’ mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. Harry, who was 12 at the time, has never forgiven the media for Diana’s death in a car crash while being pursued by photographers.

The loss of his mother haunts the book, which Harry dedicates to wife Meghan, children Archie and Lili “and, of course, my mother.”

The opening chapter recounts how his father Prince Charles — now King Charles III — broke the news of his mother’s accident, but didn’t give his son a hug.

Harry reveals that years later he asked his driver to take him through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, site of the fatal crash, hoping in vain that it would help end a “decade of unrelenting pain. He also says he once consulted a woman who claimed to have “powers” and to be able to pass on messages from Diana.

Harry adds that he and William both “begged” their father not to marry his long-term paramour Camilla Parker-Bowles, worried she would become a “wicked stepmother.”

Harry also is tormented by his status as royal “spare” behind William, who is heir to the British throne. Harry recounts a longstanding sibling rivalry that worsened after Harry began a relationship with American actress Meghan Markle, whom he married in 2018.

He says that during an argument in 2019, William called Meghan “difficult” and “rude,” then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl.

Harry says Charles implored the brothers to make up, saying after the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.”

Neither Buckingham Palace, which represents King Charles III, nor William’s Kensington Palace office has commented on any of the allegations.

WILD TEENAGE YEARS

The memoir suggests the media’s party-boy image of Harry during his teen and young adult years was well-deserved.

Harry describes how he lost his virginity at 17 — in a field behind a pub to an older woman who loved horses and treated the teenage prince like a “young stallion.” It was, he says, a “humiliating episode.”

He also says he took cocaine several times starting at the same age, in order “to feel. To be different.” He also acknowledges using cannabis and magic mushrooms — which made him hallucinate that a toilet was talking to hm.

ARMY REVELATIONS

Harry spent a decade in the British Army, serving twice in Afghanistan. He says that on his second tour, as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner in 2012-2013, he killed 25 Taliban militants. Harry says he felt neither satisfaction nor shame about his actions, and in the heat of battle regarded enemy combatants as pieces being removed from a chessboard, “Baddies eliminated before they could kill Goodies.”

Veterans criticized the comments and said they could increase the security risk for Harry. Retired Col. Richard Kemp said it was “an error of judgment,” and regarding enemy fighters as chess pieces is “not the way the British Army trains people.”

“I think that sort of comment that doesn’t reflect reality is misleading and potentially valuable to those people who wish the British forces and British government harm,” he told the BBC.

The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi called the Western invasion of Afghanistan “odious” and said Harry’s comments “are a microcosm of the trauma experienced by Afghans at the hands of occupation forces who murdered innocents without any accountability.”

PERSONAL JOURNEY

Harry credits Meghan with changing the way he sees the world and himself. He says he was “wrapped in privilege” and had no understanding of unconscious bias before he met her.

The young prince notoriously wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party in 2005, and claims in the book that William and his now-wife Kate encouraged the choice of outfit and “howled” with laughter when they saw it. He was recorded using a racist term about a fellow soldier of Pakistani descent in 2006, but says he did not know the word was a slur.

Meghan and Harry cited the U.K. media’s treatment of the biracial American actress as one of the main reasons for their decision to quit royal duties and move to the U.S. in 2020.

The book gives no sign that royal family relations will be repaired soon. Harry told ITV in an interview to promote the book that he wants reconciliation, but that there must be “accountability” first.

In the final pages, Harry describes how he and William walked side by side during the funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth II in September, but spoke barely a word to one another.

“The next day, Meg and I returned to the United States,” he says.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry alleges in a much-anticipated new memoir that his brother Prince William lashed out and physically attacked him during a furious argument over the brothers’ deteriorating relationship. The Guardian reported the claims on Thursday (Jan. 5, 2023), saying it obtained an advance copy of the book. The memoir, titled “Spare,” is due to be published next week. It said Harry recounts a 2019 argument at his Kensington Palace home, in which he says William called Harry’s wife, the former actress Meghan Markle, “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.” Harry claims William grabbed his brother by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him down. Buckingham Palace has not commented on the claims.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry alleges in a much-anticipated new memoir that his brother Prince William lashed out and physically attacked him during a furious argument over the brothers’ deteriorating relationship, The Guardian reported Thursday (Jan. 5, 2023).

The newspaper said it obtained an advance copy of the book, “Spare,” due to be published next week.

It said Harry recounts a 2019 argument at his Kensington Palace home, in which he says William called Harry’s wife, the former actress Meghan Markle, “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.” Harry claims William grabbed his brother by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him down, the newspaper said.

“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” the book is quoted as saying. “I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

Harry says he had “scrapes and bruises” as a result of the tussle. William later apologized, the extract says.

Separately, celebrity website Page Six reported that the book alleges William and his now-wife Kate encouraged Harry to wear a Nazi uniform to a costume party in 2005. Harry has repeatedly apologized and called the decision one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

Neither Buckingham Palace, which represents King Charles III, nor William’s Kensington Palace office has commented on the claims.

The book, scheduled to be released Tuesday, is the latest in a string of public revelations and accusations by Harry and Meghan that have shaken Britain’s royal family,

Harry, 38, and the American actress married at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Less than two years later, the couple quit royal duties and moved to California, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan, who is biracial, and a lack of support from the palace.

Since then they have presented their side of the story in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month, which recounted the couple’s bruising relationship with the U.K. media and estrangement from the royal family.

In the series, Harry claimed William screamed at him during a family meeting and accused palace officials of lying to protect his elder brother, who is now heir to the throne. Meghan, 41, talked about wanting to end her life as she struggled to cope with toxic press coverage.

Harry has recorded interviews with British broadcaster ITV and CBS in the United States to promote the book. Both are due to be broadcast Sunday.

In snippets released in advance, Harry told ITV that the royal household had cast him and Meghan as “villains” and “shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.” He told CBS that the palace’s refusal to defend him and Meghan from attacks was a “betrayal.”

Palace officials have declined to comment on any of Meghan and Harry’s allegations.

The book also explains the reasons for its title, the Guardian said. It said Harry recounts the alleged words of his father to his mother, Princess Diana, on the day of his birth: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare — my work is done.”

While William was destined from birth to be king, Harry, who is fifth in line to the throne behind his brother and William’s three children, has often appeared to struggle with the more ambiguous role of “spare.” He spent a decade in the British Army — years he has described as his happiest — before taking up full-time royal duties in 2015.

Since his split from the royal family, he has launched a new career, with his wife, as a U.S.-based charity campaigner and media personality.

Asked by ITV’s Tom Bradby whether he will play a part in the British monarchy’s future, Harry said: “I don’t know.”