By Michael Holden
LONDON, January 8 (Reuters) – Days after Prince Harry’s memoir was accidentally put up for sale amid fresh allegations of discord and conflict within the British royal family, a series of TV interviews with him will begin airing on Sunday with the prospect of further attacks more damaging against the monarchy.
Harry’s book “Spare”which went on sale in Spain on Thursday five days before its official release, chronicles not only extremely personal details, such as how he lost his virginity and took drugs, but also revealed more intimate private instances of family discord.
His eldest brother, heir to the throne, Prince William, knocked him down in a fight, and the two siblings pleaded with their father, King Charles, not to marry his second wife, Camilla, today queen consort, according to the book.
Commentators say it has thrown the monarchy into its biggest crisis since the days of the royal soap opera in the 1990s around the breakdown of Charles’ marriage to his late first wife, Princess Diana, the mother of William and Harry.
“So here is Charles trying to establish himself as the new king and now Harry is throwing this hand grenade and everything is falling apart around him,” royal biographer Tina Brown said.
Ever since Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties and moved to California in 2020, they have spoken out against their treatment by the royal family and the palace institution.
From their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 to their six-part documentary series on Netflix last month and now Harry’s book, the couple’s message has been the same: that the royal family and their aides have not only failed to protect them from a hostile and sometimes racist press. , but actively leaked negative stories about them.
So far there have been no comments on the book from Buckingham Palace or anyone speaking on behalf of the Royal Family, a stance that has been hailed by much of the UK media as dignified silence.
William is ‘burning’ with anger but will not respond ‘for the good of his family and the country’, an unnamed friend told The Sunday Times.
NO POINT TO “STAY QUIET”
Harry’s public thoughts will continue to pour in on Sunday, with three more TV interviews due to air. They had been scheduled to air ahead of Harry’s official book launch on Tuesday, and excerpts released in advance showed Harry he wanted to give his side of the story.
“I don’t know how keeping quiet will make things better,” Harry said in his interview with Britain’s ITV, which will be the first to air.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the Royal Family on Sunday, saying he was “proud” of them despite claims in the book that the monarchy is a ruthless institution that has failed to protect Harry and his wife.
Polls suggest many Britons are bored with all the royal melodrama, and further revelations are unlikely to shake their views, whether it’s sympathy for Harry and Meghan or those they criticize. . However, Harry’s book was No. 1 on Amazon UK’s best-selling books list on Saturday, available for pre-order ahead of its release.
Royal commentator Emily Andrews said that given Britain’s current cost of living crisis, there may be limited support for complaints from a privileged prince residing in a California mansion.
“They are polarizing, Harry and Megan, and I think this new Harry book is probably not going to change a lot of people’s minds,” Andrews told Reuters.
“I think it’s overdone, it becomes a saturation point and people think ‘I don’t want to hear anymore: shut up, go away’.”
(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sarah Mills Editing by Frances Kerry)
((michael.holden@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 3213 ;))
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