Prince Harry Says Royal Family Showed ‘No Willingness’ To Reconcile As He Defends Bombshell Book

Topline

Prince Harry accused the British royal family of showing “absolutely no willingness” to reconcile with him and his wife Meghan and said his brother William did not include him in plans to visit his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II on her deathbed, in two separate interviews that aired on Sunday evening in which the Duke of Sussex opened up about his controversial autobiography, Spare, which includes several shocking revelations about the royals.

File Photo: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive at Westminster Abbey ahead of the State Funeral of … [+] Queen Elizabeth II in London, England.

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Key Facts

In an interview with British broadcaster ITV, Harry pushed back against allegations that he was burning bridges with his family adding his silence would only enable “the abuser to abuse,” referring to the royals.

When asked by interviewer Tom Bradby whether his brother William and sister-in-law Kate did not get along with Meghan “from the get-go,” Harry said he agreed and added he thought they never expected him to get into a relationship with someone who has had a very successful career.

Harry accused some members of the royal family of getting in “bed with the devil,” by sharing private information with the British tabloids and also alleged that Camilla, the Queen Consort, leaked a conversation she had with his brother William before she got married to Charles.

Harry also denied that he and Meghan accused his family of being racist in their interview with Oprah in 2021, saying the British press said that he and Meghan never mentioned that “they’re racists.”

In a separate interview given to Anderson Cooper on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Harry said when he introduced Meghan to his family, his father initially liked her but his brother William didn’t and derisively referred to her as “an American actress,” while other royals were uneasy, which he claims led to the British press jumping on her.

Harry also revealed that the royal family did not include him in their travel plans to visit his dying grandmother in Scotland last year and said that by the time he reached Balmoral Castle, the Queen had already died.

Harry also opened up about the trauma he faced following his mother Diana’s death and said that for several years, he refused to accept that she had actually died, but had rather escaped somewhere and would eventually “call us and that we would go and join her.”

The Duke of Sussex, who in his book has reportedly admitted to using cocaine and marijuana, also revealed to Cooper that he consumed psychedelics to help deal with the grief of his mother’s death, saying that while he would “never recommend people to do this recreationally,” consuming it with the “right people” can lead to it working as a medicine against “loss, grief or trauma.”

What To Watch For

As of Monday morning in the U.K., the royal family has not responded to Harry’s bombshell allegations. Harry is set to do two other interviews this week starting with an appearance on Monday morning’s broadcast of ABC’s Good Morning America and a Tuesday night interview with CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Crucial Quote

Talking about the British press’ treatment of her wife Meghan, Harry said: “The fact that she was American, an actress, divorced, Black, biracial with a Black mother. Those were just four of the typical stereotypes that…becomes a feeding frenzy for the British press.” The Duke of Sussex added that his family also read the British tabloids and it left an imprint on them. “And a large part of it for the family, but also the British press and numerous other people is, like, ‘He’s changed. She must be a witch. He’s changed.’”

Big Number

1. That is the ranking of Spare on Amazon’s list of best-selling books both in the U.S. and the U.K. ahead of its launch on Tuesday.

Key Background

Several excerpts from Spare were leaked last week after Spanish-language copies of the book were briefly put up for sale on Thursday before being pulled. In his book, Harry alleged that an argument between him and William about Meghan escalated into a physical attack on him by his older brother that left him with visible injuries to his back. Harry also claims he killed 25 Taliban soldiers while serving in Afghanistan, which sparked controversy with a Taliban leader even accusing Harry of carrying out “war crimes.” Harry’s book release comes weeks after Netflix aired a six-part documentary series called Harry & Meghan where the royal couple opened up about the anguish and pain they felt due to the British press’ negative portrayal of them—especially Meghan. In the documentary, Harry reserved most of his criticism for the British press while making brief remarks about his family’s treatment of him and his wife. His book, however, dives into more details about the secretive lives of the royals and various controversies tied to them.