Prince Harry has given a defiant interview saying his conscience is clear when it comes to criticising his relatives in his bombshell book, Spare – and one expert believes only one thing is guaranteed off the back of this move
Prince Harry’s explosive interview defending his controversial memoir has guaranteed a devastating reality for Prince William, according to a royal expert.
After a four-day visit to the UK last week, where the Duke of Sussex carried out a series of engagements connected to causes close to his heart, he then embarked on a surprise trip to war-torn Ukraine.
In his second visit to the country, he visited the capital Kyiv, just days after he was reunited with his father the King, in their first face-to-face meeting for more than a year. During the trip to the Ukrainian capital, Harry, who turns 41 today, gave an interview, where he said his “conscience is clear” after speaking out against members of the royal family after railing against them in is book, Spare.
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He also told the Guardian his autobiography, published in 2023, was a “series of corrections to stories already out there” and explained he would like to spend more time in the UK and that the past week had “definitely brought that closer”.
He even alluded to his meeting with his dad, which lasted 55 minutes last Wednesday, simply saying: “The focus really has to be on my dad.”
And while Harry may have won over some of his critics last week, royal author and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop sees this ‘new dawn’ for the Duke as ‘complicated’.
She told the Mirror : “In just one week, the birthday boy proved he still has the capacity to up-end the new agenda. Prince Harry ’s four-day stopover in the UK was enough to get tongues wagging, add to it a 55-minute meet-and-greet with his dear Papa, and in many quarters, all was forgiven.
“The prodigal Prince enjoying his ‘banging’ jerk chicken reminded Britain of what we’d been missing – Harry’s winning combination of charisma and empathy.
“Then came the pièce de résistance – a surprise trip to Ukraine – Harry melding his military metal with his promise of a life of service. Few could criticise this mission in a country riven with conflict, tied as it was to Harry’s most successful brand – The Invictus Games. “Harry’s military track record and global fame are a massive boost for the beleaguered country. So far so good.
“And we can expect to see much more of Harry – he was clear: ‘I have always loved the UK and I always will love the UK.’ And he wants to see more of King Charles – ‘the focus really has to be on my Dad.’ But this new dawn for the Duke is not without complications.”
And Tessa believes the implications of doubling down on his decision to release the memoir have drawn clear battlelines again between Harry and his estranged brother, William.
She added: “Harry said he regrets nothing: ‘my conscience is clear’. Meghan has taught him that telling the truth ‘is the most efficient way to live’ and he won’t take back anything he wrote in Spare.
“He sees his biography as a ‘series of corrections’ to narratives already out there. Ouch. That is a bitter pill to swallow for anyone in the crosshairs of the book. Harry clearly feels he is now on safer ground with Charles, and any criticism of the King in Spare was relatively mild.
“But siblings are a very different matter. Cue Prince William, portrayed as an angry sibling with ‘alarming baldness’, married to an unsympathetic wife ‘done up to the nines’.
“Harry’s lack of contrition here guarantees the permafrost between the brothers will continue. For royal fans keen to support both men, the continuation of their Cold War poses an invidious choice. You either stand by Harry and his ‘truth’. Or you bat for the future King William, whose road to sibling forgiveness has just got that little bit harder.”