LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry accused his mother-in-law, Camilla, the Queen Consort, of leaking private conversations to the media to burnish his own reputation as he promotes a new book that uncovers his life story behind the walls From the palace.
In interviews broadcast on Sunday and Monday, Harry accused the royals of ‘sleeping with the devil’ to gain favorable media coverage, pointing to Camilla’s efforts to rehabilitate her image with the British people after her affair. longtime relationship with his father, now King Charles III.
“It made her dangerous because of the connections she was forging within the British press,” he told CBS. “There was an open willingness on both sides to exchange information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with it on its way to becoming queen consort, there would be people or bodies left in the streets.
Harry spoke to Britain’s ITV, CBS’ 60 Minutes and Good Morning America to promote his book ‘Spare’, which is due for wide release on Tuesday. Some UK bookstores have opened at midnight to meet demand for highly anticipated memoirs, that generated incendiary headlines with reports that it includes details of bitter family resentments, as well as Harry and his wife Meghan’s decision to abandon their royal roles and move to California.
“I want to be able to paint the picture myself, see it for myself, and then be able to say, okay, yeah, maybe things have changed or maybe the person has matured,” Chris said. Imfidon, president of the charity Excellence in Education. He traveled from Essex to London to buy three copies of ‘Spare’, wanting to compare Harry’s media image to what is in the book. “If I just read in the paper, I don’t think I’ll just hear just because each paper paints a totally different picture of the duke,” he said.
In interviews, Harry has repeatedly blamed the media for the issues that have plagued the couple, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, saying the coverage contributed to the rift with his brother Prince William. and his wife, Kate.
“They always pitted us against each other,” he told Good Morning America. “They’re pitting Kate and Meghan against each other.”
Harry was also shameless about launching legal battles against parts of the UK media. While he said his father thought it was “probably a suicide mission” to face the press, Harry described the changing media landscape in the UK as “my life’s work”.
But Harry also continued to criticize the Royal Family themselves.
He repeated his claim that there was ‘concern’ in the Royal Family about the skin color of his unborn child following his marriage to biracial American actress Meghan Markle. Harry and Meghan first mentioned the incident during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, but they did not identify the family member who expressed concern.
Harry insisted his family weren’t racist, but said the episode was an example of unconscious bias. The prince told CBS he was “probably bigoted” before meeting Meghan, and said the royal family, who are held to a higher moral standard, had to “learn and grow” in order to be “part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
“Otherwise, unconscious bias then falls into the category of racism,” Harry told ITV.
‘Spare’ explores Harry’s grief over the death of his mother in 1997 and his long-standing resentment at his role as a royal ‘reserve’, overshadowed by ‘the heir’ – eldest brother William. It recounts arguments and a physical altercation with William, reveals how he lost his virginity, and describes using cocaine and cannabis.
He also says he killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan – drawing criticism from Taliban and British military veterans.
The allegations about Camilla are particularly sensitive because of her role in the acrimonious breakdown of Charles’ marriage to the late Princess Diana, the mother of William and Harry.
Diana once described Camilla, who had a long-term affair with Charles, as the third person in their marriage. While many members of the public initially shunned Camilla, she gained fans by undertaking a wide range of charitable activities and was credited with helping Charles appear less stuffy and more in tune with modern Britain.
Writing about his father’s marriage to Camilla in 2005, Harry says: “I had complex feelings about winning over an in-law who I believed had recently sacrificed me on his personal altar of relationships. public.” Still, he says he wanted his father to be happy. “In a funny way, I even wanted Camilla to be happy. Perhaps she would be less dangerous if she were happy?
‘Spare’ is the latest in a series of public statements from Harry and Meghan since quitting royal life and moving to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan and the lack of support from the palace. It follows Winfrey’s interview and a six-part Netflix series released last month.
In the ghost-written memoir, Harry, 38, describes the couple’s acrimonious split from the royal family after their application for a part-time royal role was rejected.
The TV interviews are sure to increase the pressure on the royal family. Harry also appears in “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”.
Royal officials have not commented on any of the allegations, although allies have pushed back on the claims, largely anonymously.
Harry defended the memoir, describing it as his effort to ‘own my story’ after years of ‘rotation and distortion’ by others. In the ’60 Minutes’ interview, Harry denied that his book was meant to hurt his family.
Omid Scobie, co-author of ‘Finding Freedom’, a book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said Harry provided the look behind palace walls that the public has always wanted.
“Of course there are downsides to those who have been part of his journey,” Scobie told the BBC. “We’ve heard some truly startling confessions and stories about members of the Royal Family, especially in regards to Camilla and her relationship with the press.”
While Harry said he hadn’t spoken to his father or brother in a while, he hopes to find peace with them. But he told ITV ‘the ball is in their court’.
“They showed absolutely no desire to reconcile,” he said.
While the saga is damaging to the royal family, it may not be as damaging as people might think and will provide global audiences with a forum to discuss difficult issues like misogyny and racism, says Arianne Chernock , a professor at Boston University and an expert in modern British history. .
But she was wary of doomsayers suggesting the monarchy itself was in trouble. The institution lasted over 1,000 years after all.
“It’s a central part of the history of the royal family,” she said. “Scandal is the norm, not the exception.”
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Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Kwiyeon Ha contributed.
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