LONDON – Prince Harry is expected to be more critical of the British royal family in interviews released to promote his new memoir, which has generated incendiary headlines even before its official release.
A pre-recorded interview with British television ITV is scheduled to air on Sunday evening. CBS’ “60 Minutes” is set to have a conversation with the prince later, and he appears on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
In previously released excerpts, Harry tells ITV reporter Tom Bradby that he only cried once after his mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997, at her funeral. He said he feels guilty for not showing emotion as he and his brother Prince William greeted crowds of mourners outside Kensington Palace, Diana’s London home.
In the book, “Spare”, Harry blames his family’s stiff-upper-lip ethos, saying he had “learned too well… the family maxim that crying is not an option”.
“There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers for our mum and we were shaking hands with people there, smiling,” Harry told ITV. “I’ve seen the videos, haven’t I, I looked back at it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking, we couldn’t understand why his hands were wet, but it was all the tears that he was wiping away.
“Everyone thought and felt that they knew our mother, and the two people closest to her, the two people most dear to her, could not show any emotion at that moment.”
“Spare” is the latest in a series of public statements made 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 communication to Meghan, who is biracial, and the lack of support from the palace. It follows an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.
The Associated Press purchased a Spanish-language copy of the book ahead of its worldwide release on Tuesday.
In the ghost-written memoir, Harry, 38, describes the couple’s acrimonious split from the royal family in 2020, after his suggestion of a part-time royal role was rejected. Harry contrasts the removal of the couple’s taxpayer-funded security with the case of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was removed as a royal worker over his friendship with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last year, Andrew settled a lawsuit by a woman who accused him of sexually abusing her while traveling with financier Epstein when she was 17. Andrew paid an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement but admitted no wrongdoing.
Harry claims no one considered removing Andrew’s security despite the “embarrassing scandal”.
The book also explores Harry’s grief over his mother’s death and his long-held resentment of the royal ‘spare’ role, overshadowed by the ‘heir’ – older brother William. She recounts arguments and a physical altercation with William, reveals how she lost her virginity (in a field), and describes her 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 army veterans.
Royal officials have not commented on the allegations, although allies have rejected the claims, largely anonymously.
Veteran British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said on Saturday that Harry’s revelations were of the type “you would expect … from a sort of B-list celebrity”, and that the king he would be hurt and frustrated by them.
In the ITV interview, Harry says he wants reconciliation with the royal family but “the ball is in his court”.
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