Shortly before the publication of his autobiography on Tuesday, British Prince Harry not only calculates in black and white, but also hard with his older brother Prince William in front of the camera. Other royals aren’t getting off scot-free either.
Prince Harry’s interview with British ITV presenter Tom Bradby was broadcast on January 8th, two days before the release of Harry’s autobiography (recorded by a viewer in Edinburgh).
so. / (dpa/Reuters)
In two television interviews on Sunday, Prince Harry sharply criticized the British royal family for dealing with allegations and problems. Ahead of the much-anticipated release of his autobiography on Tuesday, the Duke of Sussex laments his family’s lack of support. At the same time, he admitted that he is currently not related to either his brother Prince William or his father King Charles III. be in contact.
As the BBC reports, Prince Harry accused them in the interviews, among other things, that the palace was silent instead of defending his wife Meghan after a controversial press article. British moderator and journalist Jeremy Clarkson attacked the 41-year-old in a column for a British tabloid in December. The lyrics horrified even the hardened British audience.
«The world is asking for some form of comment from the monarchy. But the silence is deafening, »said Prince Harry in an interview broadcast by British broadcaster ITV on Sunday about his family’s reaction. “And that’s putting it mildly.” Even after several allegations from him and his wife Meghan, the palace had not made any public comment on request. This is in contrast to the immediate response to an incident of racism at a reception at Buckingham Palace recently, the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex said.
In another television interview, also aired on Sunday, Prince Harry said he is currently not in contact with his father, King Charles III. or his older brother Prince William. “Not at the moment,” said the 38-year-old to the American television station CBS on Sunday evening (local time) when asked whether he was speaking to William or communicating via SMS. He hasn’t spoken to his father for a long time either. However, he very much wishes to have “a relationship” with his family again and to find peace together, Harry emphasized.
The interviews are part of a series of talks ahead of the release of Harry’s autobiography, Spare, which is due to be available in bookstores from Tuesday (January 10). In Spain, his memoirs were – allegedly by mistake – already briefly available in some bookstores on Thursday. Since then, British media have been reporting on spicy details from the book.
Heated argument over press reports about Meghan
Harry raises the most serious allegations in the book against his brother Prince William. The 40-year-old allegedly threw him to the ground during an argument. The trigger for the heated argument in early 2019 is said to have been a dispute over the tabloids’ coverage of Harry’s partner Meghan Markle. Harry is said to have suffered minor injuries when he fell on a dog bowl.
According to Harry, the brothers, who were once considered inseparable, have long faced each other in bitter competition. He describes William in the book as a “beloved brother” and at the same time “the greatest opponent”.
According to his brother, William is also said to have expressed doubts about his relationship with his current wife Meghan. William didn’t advise him against marriage, but “he expressed doubts very early on,” says Harry in an ITV interview. His brother warned him that it could be “very hard” for him. “Perhaps he anticipated the reaction of the British tabloids.”
Harry also criticizes his family’s strategy of placing stories and narratives in the British tabloid media. If “royal insider sources” were quoted, this information would come from the palace. Correspondents would be fed and not question the narrative. “The way the British press is behaving at the moment is causing great damage to Great Britain,” said Harry.
Apparently no accusation of racism
While he is harsh in his book and in the interviews, the prince weakens previous allegations: in a past interview with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, he and Meghan did not accuse racism, despite reports from the Royal Family to the contrary, he emphasizes. Comments made by an unnamed member of the royal family about his son’s skin color were not racist, Harry said in the interview that aired on Sunday.
For him there is an important difference between racism and an “unconscious bias”, which he had previously found in himself and which is common in royal circles. If you are made aware of this, you are responsible for changing this attitude, which he himself has done.
Prince William (left) and Prince Harry arrive for the unveiling of a statue of their mother Diana in the garden of Kensington Palace on July 1, 2021, on the day she would have celebrated her 60th birthday.
Despite his harsh criticism, the prince hopes for a reconciliation with his family. “I want my father back. i want my brother back I don’t recognize her right now,” says Harry. In the same way, the two would probably not recognize him at the moment either. “But forgiveness is 100 percent a possibility,” he emphasizes. “I really believe and I hope that a reconciliation between us and my family could have ramifications for the whole world.” Maybe that’s grandiose, maybe naive, but he believes in it.
In between, Harry seems close to tears in the interview recorded by ITV in California. He verbosely regrets the lack of support from his family and how the fronts have hardened. “I’m sitting here asking for a family,” says Harry. “Not an institution, a family.”
«I love my father. i love my brother I love my family. I’ll always love her,” Harry said in an interview. Neither with the book nor with other things he did did he want to harm or hurt his family.
The fraternal feud comes four months after the death of longtime monarch Elizabeth II. When the Queen’s health deteriorated in September while she was staying at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Harry said he was not invited to fly on a plane with other members of the royal family. When he got there, she was already dead.