LONDON: Prince Harry has said he had made public his rifts with the British royal family and taken on the press to try to help the monarchy and change the media, the latter described by his father King Charles as a "suicide mission".
In the first of a series of TV interviews broadcast on Sunday ahead of the launch of his memoir, Harry accused members of his family of getting into bed with the devil - the tabloid press - to sully him and his wife Meghan to improve their own reputations.
He told Britain's ITV he had fled Britain with his family for California in 2020 "fearing for our lives" and said he no longer recognised his father or his elder brother Prince William, the heir to the throne.
"After many, many years of lies being told about me and my family, there comes a point where, going back to the relationship between certain members of the family and the tabloid press, those certain members have decided to get in the bed with the devil ... to rehabilitate their image," he said.
"The moment that that rehabilitation comes at the detriment of others, me, other members of my family, then that's where I draw the line."
On Thursday, Harry's book "Spare" mistakenly went on sale in Spain five days before its official release, chronicling not only hugely personal details, such as how he lost his virginity and took illegal drugs, but more intimate private instances of family disharmony.
His elder brother had knocked him over in a brawl, and both siblings begged their father not to marry his second wife, Camilla, now the Queen Consort, the book says.
Commentators say the book 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, the mother of William and Harry.
It all comes just four months after Queen Elizabeth died and Charles acceded to the throne.
In the ITV interview, Harry repeated and elaborated on accusations that he and Meghan have made since they left royal duties; that the royals and their aides not only failed to protect them from a hostile and sometimes racist press, but actively leaked stories about them via anonymous sources.
CONFLICT
"The saddest part of that is certain members of my family and the people that work for them are complicit in that conflict," he said, indicating that included both Charles and Camilla.
So far, there has been no comment from Buckingham Palace. Harry said he didn't think his father or brother would read his book.
An unnamed friend of William told the Sunday Times that the Prince of Wales was "burning" with anger, but would not respond "for the good of his family and the country".
Harry told ITV he wanted reconciliation with his family members but said they had shown no interest, giving the impression it was better to keep him and Meghan as villains.
"I genuinely believe, and I hope, that reconciliation between my family and us will have a ripple effect across the entire world. Maybe that's lofty, maybe that's naive," he said.
Harry, in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired later on Sunday, said the ball was in his family's court to heal the rupture.
"This all started with them briefing, daily, against my wife with lies to the point of where my wife and I had to run away from our count-- my country," he said.
Harry also told ITV he hoped his multiple legal actions against newspapers would help change the media, saying it was "at the epicentre of so many of the problems across the UK".
"My father said to me that it was probably a suicide mission to try and change the press," he said.
Harry told 60 Minutes that what Meghan went through with the press was similar in some ways to what Camilla and William's wife Kate went through, but that the circumstances were very different.
"The fact that she was American, an actress, divorced, Black, biracial with a Black mother. Those were just four of the typical stereotypes that is-- becomes a feeding frenzy for the British press," he said.
Polls suggest many Britons are becoming bored of the whole royal melodrama, and further revelations are unlikely to shake their views, whether sympathetic to Harry and Meghan, or to those they criticise.
"I love my father. I love my brother. I love my family. I will always do. Nothing of what I've done in this book or otherwise has ever been to ... to harm them or hurt them," he said.
Reuters
Mon Jan 09 2023
Prince Harry said he had fled Britain with his family for California in 2020 "fearing for our lives" and said he no longer recognised his father or his elder brother Prince William, the heir to the throne. - AP/Filepic
Kertas kabinet wujud sektor sukan dibentang dalam tempoh sebulan - Hannah
Hannah berkata dengan data yang lebih menyeluruh melibatkan sektor industri sukan nanti, pihaknya akan mampu merangsang pertumbuhan sukan di negara ini dengan lebih baik.
Tiga Syarikat Semikonduktor umum melabur di Pulau Pinang - Kon Yeow
Tiga syarikat semikonduktor dari China menyatakan komitmen untuk membuat pelaburan baharu di Pulau Pinang.
Pindaan garis panduan lawatan: Sekolah diharap susun semula program - Fadhlina
Semua sekolah diharap dapat menyusun semula program lawatan masing-masing berikutan pindaan Garis Panduan Lawatan Murid Sekolah pada tahun lepas bagi mengukuhkan pembelajaran di luar kelas, kata Menteri Pendidikan, Fadhlina Sidek.
Kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak dijaga sehingga tamat sekolah - KPM
Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia akan memastikan kebajikan pendidikan anak-anak 10 pegawai dan anggota Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia yang terkorban dalam nahas helikopter di Lumut, Perak, terus dijaga sehingga mereka tamat persekolahan.
Chegubard ditahan polis berkaitan hantaran mengenai kasino di Forest City
Chegubard ditahan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Dang Wangi di sini berkaitan hantaran mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City pada Sabtu.
Zahid minta pihak dalam BN buka "buku baharu"
Ahmad Zahid menegaskan senario politik tanah air sudah berubah dan terdapat banyak video lama dari parti lawan yang meminta pengundi menyokong DAP.
Malaysia kongsi pengalaman dalam usaha berterusan mempertahan Palestin
Delegasi negara akan berkongsikan peranan Malaysia dalam usaha berterusan mempertahankan nasib Palestin dalam Persidangan Liga Parlimen Al-Quds kelima yang berlangsung di Istanbul, Turki pada Sabtu.
Universiti Malaya mohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia
Jabatan Pengajian Antarabangsa dan Strategik, Universiti Malaya memohon maaf kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia berhubung kenytaaan tidak bertanggungjawab Profesor Dr Bruce Gilley pada 24 April lalu.
Genting Malaysia nafi terbabit perbincangan
Selepas Berjaya Corporation Bhd dan Kerajaan Negeri Johor, kini Genting Malaysia Bhd pula menafikan sebarang penglibatan dalam perbincangan mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City, Johor.
Berita tempatan pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Berikut adalah berita yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang Sabtu, 27 April 2024.
Selepas kritik Meghan Markle, Piers Morgan tinggalkan Good Morning Britain
Morgan mendakwa, Meghan dan Putera Harry yang juga cucu Ratu Elizabeth telah menjejaskan institusi diraja Britain selain mencari publisiti.
Bahana #Megxit, patung Harry, Meghan di Madame Tussauds 'hilang'
Susulan keputusan pasangan diraja itu untuk mengundur diri daripada urusan keluarga diraja, patung mereka dialih di muzium Madame Tussauds London.
"It's magic" - Putera Harry, Meghan Markle dedah wajah bayi sulung mereka
Putera Harry dan Meghan Markle hari ini menunjukkan anak pertama mereka kepada dunia, ketika mengambil gambar rasmi dan bertemu dengan wartawan di Istana Windsor.
Putera Harry dan Meghan Markle sambut kelahiran anak lelaki
Anak pertama kepada Putera Harry dan isteri, Meghan Markle bakal menjadi ketujuh dalam barisan untuk mewarisi takhta.
Putera Harry, Meghan Markle langsungkan perkahwinan dalam majlis gilang-gemilang
Putera Harry dan pasangan pilihannya, aktres Amerika Syarikat, Meghan Markle akhirnya mengikat tali percintaan di Gereja St George, hari ini.
Meghan Markle confirms father will not attend her wedding to Prince Harry
U.S. actress Meghan Markle finally confirmed on Thursday her father would not be attending her wedding to Britain's Prince Harry this Saturday.
Queen appoints Prince Harry as Commonwealth youth ambassador
The role will see him encouraging young people to use the network of mostly former British colonies to address their challenges.
Kakak Meghan Markle bidas komen Putera Harry
Salah sebuah komen yang dibuat Putera Harry dibidas oleh kakak Meghan Markle, Samantha Markle di Twitter.
Tunang Putera Harry tinggalkan penggambaran 'Suits', mohon kerakyatan UK
Aktres Amerika Syarikat (AS) Meghan Markle meninggalkan drama televisyen 'Suits' setelah bertunang dengan Putera Harry.