The death of his mother, Diana. Being under the scrutiny of the British press for decades. His marriage to Meghan Markle and his break with the royal family. His drug use, his years in the military, even his decision to grow his beard: in the first interviews regarding his memoir, SparePrince Harry seemed confident in defending his perspective, even when faced with tough questions.
After 38 years of telling his story through others, “it felt like a good time to tell it myself,” Harry said of the book, which will be published by Random House on Tuesday.
The interviews, which were broadcast on British TV channel ITV and on the CBS program ’60 Minutes’, were not the first time Harry had spoken publicly regarding the unrelenting attention to his family and the toll it takes. It was the first time he had done so without his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, by his side. The two interviews covered the same topics, with a few exceptions.
60 Minutes
In his first interview for the American public, Harry told Anderson Cooper that “Spare” gives a “full picture of the situation as we grew up, and that the book also shatters the idea that my wife was somehow the one who destroyed the relationship between these two brothers.”
Harry described what happened in September following the palace announced that his grandmother, the Queen, was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle, Scotland. He was in London but was not invited to join the relatives who flew there together. He traveled alone to Balmoral; when he arrived, his aunt asked if he wanted to see his grandmother, who had died.
“I went upstairs,” he said, “and spent some time alone with her.”
Cooper asked Harry regarding the treatments he’s tried since first seeing a therapist seven years ago, including using psychedelics.
“I would never advise people to do this recreationally,” said Harry. “But if you do it with the right people and you suffer a tremendous amount of loss, grief or trauma, they can act as medicine.”
He said, “They cleaned the windshield for me, they cleaned up the misery of the loss.”
‘Harry: The Interview’
The interviewer for the 90-minute ITV interview was Tom Bradby, who famously asked Meghan in 2019 (‘Are you okay?’). She wasn’t. The pained look on the Duchess’s face presaged a flurry of revelations regarding royal life, including an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry and Bradby appeared in a sunny room with yellow curtains. The vibe was more cozy living room than formal salon; the conversation was broad and occasionally controversial. When Harry’s face turned red and his eyes seemed watery, he remained calm.
Harry didn’t want to talk regarding how and where he lost his virginity, something he thinks deserves only four lines in the book. Bradby suggested that Harry’s cocaine use would be of interest to the public, but Harry shifted the focus back to his treatment by the press.
“My life has been put through a blender,” he said.
The media was a recurring theme throughout the interview; whenever a new topic came up, Harry found a way to return to his favorite punching bag.
An unexpected revelation had to do with Harry’s beard, which is now part of his identity. According to protocol, the prince needed his grandmother’s approval to keep his beard for his wedding. Queen Elizabeth II was benevolent, but his brother William was not; he ordered Harry to shave. Harry’s response: “I don’t think Meghan will recognize me.”
When Bradby asked Harry regarding William’s feelings towards Meghan, Harry said: “He never tried to stop me from marrying Meghan,” but “he said it was going to be very difficult.”
His brother and sister-in-law’s behavior towards Meghan, Harry said, made him feel that “stereotyping was a bit of a barrier for them to really introduce or welcome her.”
Bradby said, “You talk regarding responsibility. In the Winfrey interview, you accused members of your family of racism.”
“No, I didn’t,” said Harry. “The British press said so.”
What the royal family is guilty of, Harry said, was institutional bias. He later illustrated that point by describing what happened when Susan Hussey – one of Queen Elizabeth’s old ladies-in-waiting – struck up a conversation with a guest at a palace reception, Ngozi Fulani, and questioned her regarding where she was from, not accepting that she is British.
Hussey later saw Fulani at Buckingham Palace and apologised.
Harry said Hussey meant “no harm at all, but the reaction from the British press and from people online because of the stories they wrote was appalling”.
In the most poignant moments of the interview, Harry described his decision, years following his mother died, to look at photos taken following her car accident in Paris. In the photos, he saw reflections of paparazzi in the windows of the car: “Not one of them looked at her, offered her help, comforted her. They were just shooting, shooting, shooting.”
Bradby pressed Harry, asking how he reconciled his desire for privacy with continuing to tell his story publicly. Harry said he finds his recent Netflix documentary series and the book “necessary and essential.”
He expressed regret that it upset some that he told “his side of his story.” But he still believed a reconciliation with the rest of the royal family was possible, adding: “Peace can come when there is truth.”
© The New York Times
