In England, Prince Harry is accused of wanting to destroy the royal family
LONDON: Four months since the coronation of King Charles III, Prince Harry is accused Friday of wanting to destroy the British royal family after sensational revelations in his memoir that seem to forever distance reconciliation within Windsors.
The monarchy has remained silent in the face of the astonishing flood of creeds and accusations, sometimes bordering on sordid ones, that were leaked before the publication of Harry’s dreaded book. “The Substitute”, which will be released on January 10, mistakenly sold out for hours on Thursday in Spain and contained even more than feared.
“No one has been spared Harry’s brutal mission to bring down the family,” headlined The Daily Mirror tabloid.
The Sun accused the exiled prince in California of having “thrown his own family under the bus for millions of dollars”. Nothing “could justify the destructive and vengeful path he had chosen”.
The Daily Mail curbed Harry’s preference for “spitting as much venom as possible” and his “despicable” book.
The media seems to have a hard time picking out the most shocking quotes, so many in this book spanning more than 500 pages. The most damaging undoubtedly concerned his brother William, heir to the throne, whom Harry described according to quotes published in the press as a “nemesis”.
The Duke of Sussex accused William of knocking him to the ground during a 2019 altercation over Meghan, whom Harry had married the previous year.
William “grabbed me by the collar, tore my collar off and knocked me to the ground,” Harry said, according to The Guardian. Prince Harry also stirred up this violent altercation in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday evening on ITV television, in which he assured that William, furious, wanted him to beat him in turns. William later allegedly apologized.
For royal family expert Richard Fitzwilliams, the book’s “worst part” is “the way William is portrayed”. “Someone who betrayed his trust. (…) Someone who actually attacked him. This is not a pretty portrait for a future king”.
Response
In his memoirs, Harry also made it clear that he opposed William remarrying their father to Camilla, now empress, for fear that she would make an “ugly stepmother”.
The prince provides unfiltered personal beliefs: he confesses to using cocaine, having killed 25 Taliban during his mission in Afghanistan, describes losing his virginity, tells of having consulted a woman who would allow him to have spiritual contact with his mother Diana , who died in 1997 in car crash in Paris.
Despite everything written in “The Substitute”, Harry reiterated in his interview with ITV, whose new excerpts were broadcast on Friday morning, that he wanted “reconciliation” with his family. “But first” you have to assign responsibility, he says. “The supposed truth at this point is that there is only one side to this story. (…) But there are two sides to every story”.
Already in the docuseries “Harry & Meghan” which premiered on Netflix in December, the 38-year-old prince made it clear he wanted to give his version of the story, on his disastrous break with the British monarchy in 2020 that led to it. departure with Meghan to California.
In excerpts of the interview, which will air Monday in the United States, Harry said his mother would be “saddened” by her sons’ relationship.
So far Buckingham Palace has not reacted. The Sun cites sources close to Charles III and William who are said to be saddened by the claims in the book.
“On the one hand, when something is undeniable, people start to believe it. On the other hand, the royal family has a real problem: how to handle this situation?”, says expert Richard Fitzwilliams. “The Sussexes control the agenda because the palace can’t fight back easily.”
This book is “especially damaging as the coronation approaches,” he lamented. Until a few weeks ago, many thought Harry would be able to attend with his family for the historic event. This seems to be no longer an option.
