On January 10, 2023, Prince Harry will publish his autobiography “Spare”. Beforehand he gives an interview to the British TV station ITV. You can read his most explosive statements here.
Prince Harry, 38, is causing quite a stir with his revelations about his past and his family even before the official release date of his memoirs entitled “Spare” (German title “Reserve”). But even in the interviews that he gives for promotional purposes, the royal dropout reveals all sorts of surprising and shocking details, as much as the trailers already suggested. He will first be answering questions from journalist Tom Bradby for ITV on Sunday evening, January 8, 2023, from 10 p.m. German time. Follow the statements of the British royals on GALA in the live ticker.
Prince Harry: The most exciting statements from his ITV interview
The interview begins with a brief review of Prince Harry’s life, as well as excerpts that he reads from his book. Journalist Tom Bradby conducts the talk, titled “Harry: The Interview,” in Harry’s adopted home of California.
Diana’s death
Prince Harry can be heard reading an excerpt of his mother’s death from “Spare” to images of Princess Diana. Harry, speaking to Tom Bradby, recalls the moment he found out about it. “When I think back to when I was 12 and sitting in that bed at Balmoral Castle, I put myself back in that moment and try to remember as best I can. How my father walked in in his dressing gown and gave me the message. It’s only now that I’m writing the book that I really think about how many hours he’d been awake. And the sympathy I have as a parent for him. He had to put in many, many hours, friends of his to consult and think, ‘How the hell am I going to teach my two sons that?’ And I never want to be in that position, I never want to be in that position, I don’t want history to repeat itself, I don’t want to be a single father, and I certainly don’t want my children to have a life without a mother or father have to lead,” said Harry.
“The decision to walk behind our mother’s coffin was made for us. And there was no question for me to let him do it alone. And he wouldn’t let me do it alone either,” said the 38-year-old. “Just recently, my brother and I walked the same path. And we were joking and saying, ‘At least we know the path.'”
About the love for King Charles
“He’s my dad, I’ll always love him,” Harry said. “I love my father. I love my brother. I love my family. Nothing I’ve done was ever with the intention of harming them in any way or to hurt them.”
Peace agreement with the Royal Family
Prince Harry talks about a possible peace deal with his family. “I want reconciliation,” he clarifies, but concedes, “But first there has to be some accountability. The truth is, there’s only one side of the story, right? But there are two sides to every story.”
Royal family ‘went to bed with the devil’
“After many, many years of lies being spread about me and my family, there comes a point when — going back to the relationship between certain members of the family and the tabloids — those certain members have decided to deal with the devil going to bed to rehabilitate her image,” Prince Harry said.
“I would like my father back”
“It never should have happened like this,” he says. “I want a family, not an institution. They feel like it’s better if we kind of play the villain role. They’ve shown absolutely no reconciliation,” Harry said. “Forgiveness is 100% a possibility because I would love to have my father back. I would love to have my brother back. I don’t recognize them right now, just like they probably don’t recognize me.”
Prince Harry on his drug use
It has long been known that the Duke of Sussex has experience with drug use. It is “important to admit” that he has used drugs such as cocaine, mushrooms and marijuana in the past.
His relationship with Prince William
Tom Bradby mentions that in the book, Prince Harry makes it clear how much he loves Prince William. “Love, but also separation,” replies Harry. “It’s only now that I’m really aware of the rivalry between older and younger siblings. I’m talking, for example, about William and I’s relationship at Eton and the fact that he didn’t really want to know me. And you know, as a younger brother, it sucks ***. […] And he didn’t want anything to do with me and that hurt at the time. The distance between me and William is very similar to that between Archie and Lili. And Lili is obsessed with Archie. And Archie says, ‘No, no Lili, I need my space.’ Now I get it, I understand how irritating the younger sibling can be to the older one. But I didn’t really realize that at the time. But yeah, I’ve always loved my brother, and I think what’s going to be quite shocking to people is that after our mother died, we went different paths. Two people who had a very similar traumatic experience but dealt with it in two very different ways.”
Meghan’s argument with William and Kate
“I always hoped the four of us would get along, but it quickly became ‘Meghan vs. Kate,'” explains Harry. He confirms that he loves Kate like a sister. But then he met Meghan. “She [William und Kate] are ‘Suits’ fans. Who would have thought,” he laughs. “It seemed like they had [Meghan und Catherine] didn’t get along almost from the start, right?” Brady asks, to which Harry confirms, “Yes, right.” But why not? “For various reasons,” says Harry. He always hoped that one day it would be “William and Kate and I and whoever. I hoped it would bring me and William closer together, working together, which I did a great deal for them as a third wheel on the wagon, which was often fun but also awkward at times.” The image that comes through Meghan’s press as a divorced American actress also created an “obstacle” for William and Catherine to “really welcome” them.
The day Catherine made Meghan cry
“What I don’t know to this day is when that was twisted,” the duke said of press reports that Meghan made Catherine cry shortly before their wedding. Tom Bradby wants to know why that wasn’t corrected. “That’s a question for them. They were more than happy to issue explanations for less, unimportant things.” But one feared that a denial of the story would lead to the question of whether it had just been the other way around.
Prince William ordered him to shave his beard
Prince Harry describes in his memoirs that he asked the Queen if he could keep his beard for his wedding. She said yes, but Prince William is said to have ordered him to shave him after a week-long argument as “heir to the throne”. “That’s in large part due to what I call heir/spare, but even as a younger brother there’s some competition. And as I was writing this I remembered that William himself had a beard and that Granny and other people telling him to shave it off. The difference for me, as I explained to my grandmother, was that this beard, which I still have, felt like the new Harry to me at the time, almost like a shield against my fears. And me think William was finding it hard that other people were telling him to shave it off and I was standing here on my wedding day in military uniform and wasn’t in the military anymore so he thought I should shave it off before my wedding day and I said : ‘I don’t think Meghan will recognize me when she comes up the aisle and sees me beardless.'”
Tangible dispute with Prince William
The 38-year-old goes into the tangible argument with his brother, which he describes in detail in “Spare”. Accordingly, William is said to have grabbed him by the collar and pushed him to the ground. “What was different here was the level of frustration, and I’m talking about the red haze that I’ve had for so many years and I saw that red haze in him,” he says. “He wanted me to hit back, but I didn’t do it.” Thanks to his therapy, he was in better condition; he would have fought back earlier. “A lot of the relationship between me and William and the way it played out was due to the misrepresentation put out by the British press and some people in his office who told him complete nonsense.”
“It’s Heartbreaking”
Harry also finds it “heartbreaking” that this gap had to arise between him and his family. “I don’t think my brother or father will read the book. What I have to say to them and what they have to say to me will be private. And I hope it stays that way.”
Royal Family briefed the press
After Prince Harry has vehemently resisted becoming a victim of the media in recent years, it may come as a surprise that he is now revealing about his family himself – without their consent, notes Tom Bradby. “That would be the accusation from people who don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family has been briefing the press for more than a decade,” said the father of two. “So I’m sorry that telling my story hurts people, but I have to tell my own story.”
Prince Harry defends Lady Susan Hussey
He is happy that Lady Susan Hussey and Ngozi Fulani were able to talk at Buckingham Palace. “Meghan and I love Susan Hussey,” he explains.
Which family member speculated about Archie’s skin color?
Will Harry finally reveal who is behind the family member who speculated about the skin color of his then unborn son Archie? “I’ll never talk about that,” he explains once and for all.
Harry has not lost his faith in the monarchy
Does the royal dropout still believe in the monarchy? “Yes,” is his answer. But does he think he will play a role in it in the future? “I don’t know,” Harry said. “If my father asks us for support, we can certainly talk about it.”
Will Harry come to the coronation of King Charles?
Regarding whether he will attend the coronation of his father King Charles, Harry says: “A lot can happen before then. But the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There is a lot to talk about and I hope they’re willing to sit down and talk about it. A lot has happened in the last six years and before that.”
Harry is happy
Despite all odds, Prince Harry found happiness with his small family in America. “I’ve never felt the happiness that I have in my family anywhere else,” he explains. He feels safe in California. “I’m happy, my family is happy.” It’s “difficult to go back,” he plays on his visits to the UK, but he seems ready for a reconciliation.”But whatever the talks are and whatever the future holds, I’m in a good mindset now and at a good place, these talks respectively.”
Source used: itv.com