Days after Prince Harry's memoir accidentally went on sale early with new allegations of discord and conflict within the British royal family, a series of TV interviews with him will start airing on Sunday with the prospect of yet more damaging attacks on the monarchy.
Harry’s book Spare, which went on sale in Spain on Thursday five days before its official release, chronicles not only hugely personal details, such as how he lost his virginity and took drugs, but also discloses more intimate private instances of family disharmony.
His elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William (40), knocked him over in a brawl, and both siblings begged their father King Charles III not to marry his second wife, Camilla, now the Queen Consort, the book says.
Commentators say it has plunged the monarchy into its biggest crisis since the days of the royal soap opera in the 1990s around the break-up of Charles' marriage to his late first wife Princess Diana, William and Harry's mother.
All this comes just four months after Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96, and Charles (74) acceded to the throne.
"So here's Charles trying to establish himself as the new king and now Harry's thrown this hand grenade and it's all coming kind of crashing around him," royal biographer Tina Brown said.
Since Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, left royal duties and moved to California in 2020, they have railed at their treatment by the royals and the palace institution.
From their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 to their six-part Netflix documentary series last month and now Harry’s book, the couple's message has been the same: that the royals and their aides not only failed to protect them from a hostile and sometimes racist press, but actively leaked negative stories about them.
So far, there has been no comment from Buckingham Palace or anyone who speaks for the royal family - a stance that has been lauded by much of the British media as a dignified silence.
Harry and Meghan 'polarising'
On Sunday, Harry's public thoughts will keep coming, with three more TV interviews due to air. They had been timed for broadcast ahead of the official launch of his book on Tuesday, and excerpts released ahead of time have shown the 28-year-old prince saying he wanted to give his side of the story.
"I don't know how staying silent is ever going to make things better," Harry says in his interview with Britain's ITV, which will be the first to be shown.
Polls suggest many Britons are becoming bored of the whole royal melodrama, and further revelations are unlikely to shake their views, whether sympathy for Harry and Meghan, or for those they criticise.
However, Harry's book was No 1 on Amazon UK's bestselling 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 could be limited support for the complaints of a privileged prince residing in a mansion in California.
"They are polarising, Harry and Megan, and I think that this new book by Harry probably won't change many people's opinions," Andrews told Reuters.
"I think this is overkill, it becomes saturation point and people think 'I don't want to hear anymore: shut up, go away'."
Prince criticised over Afghan death claims
The Taliban administration has criticised Harry after he claimed in his memoir that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan when serving as a military helicopter pilot, describing them as "chess pieces removed from the board".
The 38-year-old recounts his two tours of Afghanistan, first as a forward air controller in 2007/08 and again in 2012, when he was a co-pilot gunner in Apache attack helicopters, and the number of people he had killed.
"It wasn't a statistic that filled me with pride but nor did it leave me ashamed," Harry wrote. "When I found myself plunged in the heat and confusion of combat I didn't think of those 25 as people. They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bad people eliminated before they could kill Good people."
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign affairs ministry, criticised the comments.
"The western occupation of Afghanistan is truly an odious moment in human history and comments by Prince Harry is a microcosm of the trauma experienced by Afghans at the hands of occupation forces who murdered innocents without any accountability," he said.
When asked about Harry's comments, a spokesperson for Britain's Ministry of Defence said: "We do not comment on operational details for security reasons."
Representatives of Prince Harry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As is usual for the royal family, spokespeople for Charles and William, the Prince of Wales, have declined to comment.
British media have gone through the book's details in depth, but many people commuting to work in London on Friday said they were not interested and did not want to talk about it.
Some of those who were willing to talk said they thought Harry had gone too far.
"I think he's an idiot," said Robin Parker, an entrepreneur. "My father was in the Second World War and I once asked him as a child if he'd killed anyone and he was very reluctant to say anything about it."
Brothers fall out badly
The most striking revelations to date concern Harry's relationship with his family, something which has hung like a shadow over the British royals since he and Meghan stopped official duties.
Harry wrote in his memoir that his brawl with William took place in 2019 at his then London home after his brother had called Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive."
"He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor," Harry wrote.
"I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out."
William then challenged his younger brother to hit back, but Harry refused. William later returned to the scene, "looking regretful, and apologised", Harry wrote, with his brother asking him not to tell Meghan that he had "attacked" him.
The brothers were once seen as very close after the death Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997, but they have fallen out since Harry married Meghan in 2018.
Last month the couple's six-part Netflix documentary, which attracted record audiences, aired with renewed accusations, including that William had screamed at Harry during a crisis summit in front of The Queen at Sandringham to discuss his future.
The title of his book Spare comes from an oft-cited quote in British aristocratic circles about the need for an heir, and a spare.
Harry says Charles reputedly said to Diana on the day he was born: "Wonderful! Now you've given me an heir and a spare - my work is done."
Charles still hopes for a reconciliation with his son, unnamed sources told newspapers this week.
In its leaked extracts, the Guardian says the King had stood between his two sons during a difficult meeting at Windsor Castle following the April 2021 funeral for their grandfather Prince Philip, Elizabeth's husband.
"Please, boys," Harry quoted his father as saying, "don’t make my final years a misery."
Harry said he could not commit to attending his father's coronation in May this year.
"There is a lot that can happen between now and then. But, you know, the door is always open, the ball is in their court. There's a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it."
