“Royal insiders” rebut Harry’s claims
Allies of Britain’s royal family pushed back Saturday against claims made by Prince Harry in his new memoir, which paints the monarchy as a cold and callous institution that failed to nurture or support him.
Buckingham Palace hasn’t officially commented on the book. But British newspapers and websites brimmed with quotes from unnamed “royal insiders,” rebutting Harry’s accusations. One said his public attacks on the royal family took a toll on the health of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
Veteran journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said Harry’s revelations were the type “that you’d expect … from a sort of B-list celebrity,” and that the king would be pained and frustrated by them.
Harry’s book, “Spare,” is the latest in a string of very public pronouncements by the prince and his wife, Meghan, since they quit royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan, who is biracial, and a lack of support from the palace.
Harry is not the first British royal to air family secrets — both his parents used the media as their marriage fell apart. Charles cooperated on Dimbleby’s 1994 book and accompanying TV documentary, which revealed that he had had an affair during his marriage to
Princess Diana.
Diana gave her side of the story in a BBC interview the following year, famously saying “there were three of us in this marriage” in reference to Charles’ relationship with
Camilla Parker Bowles.
“Spare” is due out Tuesday.
In an interview to be broadcast on ITV on Sunday, Harry says people who accuse him of invading his family’s privacy “don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family have been briefing the press.”