Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Prince Harry says book written to combat tabloid spin and distortion

Prince Harry says book written to combat tabloid spin and distortion

Prince Harry on Sunday explained that he decided to publish his controversial memoirs to defend himself against years of spin and distortion by England's tabloid newspapers.

"Thirty-eight years. 38 years of having my story told by so many different people with intentional spin and distortion felt like a good time to own my story and be able to tell it for myself," he told British channel ITV in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

The Duke of Sussex's ghost-written book "Spare" is officially published on Tuesday, but its contents were widely leaked after it mistakenly went on sale early in Spain.

The book includes a claim that his brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, physically attacked him as they argued about Harry's wife Meghan.

It also gives an account of how he lost his virginity, an admission of drug use, and a claim that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan with the British military.

In the TV interview, Harry focused anger on the British media, which he called "the antagonist".

He accused royals of being "complicit" in planting hostile stories in newspapers, after Meghan said the coverage made her feel suicidal.

"Certainly millions of words have been dedicated to trying to trash my wife and myself," Harry said.

"At that time I didn't fully understand how complicit the family were in the pain and suffering that was happening to my wife."


'My darling boy'


The ITV programme "Harry: The Interview" featured the prince reading extracts from the audiobook of his memoirs.

In one, he tells how his father broke the news to him of the 1997 death of his mother, princess Diana, calling him "darling boy".

Harry said he cried only once after Diana died, and he felt guilty at being unable to express grief while greeting crowds of mourners whose hands were wet with tears.

He also talked about later going to see the route Diana's car took before the crash, asking a driver to take him through the road tunnel in Paris at the same speed.

"I've been asked if I want to open up another inquiry," Harry said of Diana's death.

"I don't really see the point at this stage."

But he admitted he had lingering questions.


Combative relationship


The book focuses on his combative relationship with William. Harry says his elder brother physically attacked him as they argued over Meghan.

"I saw this red mist in him," Harry told ITV. "I want reconciliation, but first there has to be accountability."

The prince said his budding relationship with Meghan triggered a falling-out with William and his wife Kate.

He denied reports the couples initially got on well, saying the newspapers' nickname of "the Fab Four" for them "was something that the British press created".

The prince also criticises Charles's second wife Camilla in the book.

He writes that after Diana's death, Camilla "began playing the long game: a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the crown".

Details appeared in media of private conversations that "could only have been leaked" by Camilla, Harry alleged.

"I love my father, I love my brother, I love my family," Harry said in the CBS interview.

Harry added that he and William were not currently on speaking terms and that he hadn't talked to his father "for quite a while."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
×