Prince Harry news – live: Spare released in bookshops amid deafening silence from royal family
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare has officially been released in bookshops.
In London, many stores such as WHSmith and Waterstones opened at midnight to meet the demand for the Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir, after it went on sale on Tuesday (10 January).
After the launch of this book, chances of a reconciliation between Prince Harry, King Charles, the Queen Consort and William is now “impossible” over fears anything they say to the duke will be shared with the press, The Independent can reveal.
“They are trapped,” a source close to the palace has said, adding that the royal family believe the fraught relations will go unchanged while the Duke of Sussex remains effectively “kidnapped by a cult of psychotherapy and Meghan Markle.”
And in a new interview with ABC News, the Duke of Sussex said he is “not angry anymore” as he attacked the press.
It comes after the Duke of Sussex opened up about his new memoir, Spare, which is said to feature bombshell revelations about his relationship with the royal family, during an interview with Good Morning America’s (GMA) Michael Strahan on Monday 9 January.
During their conversation, Harry attacked what he alleged was Camilla’s attempts to “rehabilitate” her image, after being cast as the “third person” in his parents’ marriage, but also sympathised with her, saying in the interview with GMA that she is not an “evil stepmother”.
Key points
Revealed: Royals despair as Harry ‘kidnapped by cult of psychotherapy’
Prince Harry says British press ‘pitch’ the family against each other
Prince Harry to give another interview today after ‘disappointing’ ITV ratings
Harry denies royal family is ‘racist'
Harry recounts ‘horrible reaction from my family’ after queen died
Prince Harry claims Camilla launched ‘campaign’ to marry his father
Prince Harry told Meghan not to take photo in front of Taj Mahal
07:15 , Peony Hirwani
Prince Harry told his wife Meghan Markle not to take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal as he did not want people to think she was mimicking his mother.
Writing in his memoir Spare, Prince Harry says he and Meghan laughed about the advice he gave her ahead of a trip she was taking to India.
“Do not take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal. She’d asked why and I’d said: My mum,” he wrote.
“I’d explained that my mother had posed for a photo there, and it had become iconic, and I didn’t want anyone thinking Meg was trying to mimic my mother.”
Read more:
Prince Harry told Meghan not to take photo in front of Taj Mahal
Prince Harry’s memoir officially hits bookstores
07:00 , Peony Hirwani
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare has officially been released in bookshops.
In London, stores opened at midnight to meet the demand for the Duke of Sussex’s controversial memoir, after it went on sale on Tuesday (10 January).
Read more:
Prince Harry’s memoir officially hits shops
How much money will Prince Harry make from the book deal?
06:45 , Peony Hirwani
While no figure has been officially confirmed, publisher Penguin Random House is rumoured to have paid Harry a $20m (£17m) advance for Spare, the BBC reports.
Meanwhile, ET Canada, has reported that Prince Harry’s book deal consists of four editions, with a $35m-$40m (£28m-33m) price tag.
Ellie Muir reports:
How much money will Prince Harry make from his book deal?
Watch: Richard Madeley calls out Prince Harry for denying calling royal family racist
06:15 , Emily Atkinson
Opinion: Harry and Meghan are starting to look as out of touch as the House of Windsor
05:45 , Emily Atkinson
Like his uncle, Charles Spencer, who spoke so distressingly about Diana at the service in Westminster Abbey in 1997, he thinks the tabloid media – the paps, the royal reporters, the editors – have blood on their hands, writes Sean O’Grady.
Harry and Meghan are starting to look as out of touch as the Windsors | Sean O’Grady
Watch: Prince Harry reveals he spent time with the Queen after her death
05:00 , Emily Atkinson
04:15 , Emily Atkinson
Protesters in Afghanistan have demanded Prince Harry be “put on trial” after he claimed to have killed 25 people in the south Asian country while serving in the military.
The Duke of Sussex claims in his forthcoming memoir Spare that he killed Taliban militants while serving as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner in Afghanistan in 2012-13.
He likened the killings to “chess pieces removed from the board” and claimed those he had killed were “bad people eliminated before they could kill good people”.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:
Afghan protesters call for Prince Harry to be ‘put on trial’
Prince Harry protected by armed bodyguards as he travelled around New York City
04:00 , Peony Hirwani
On Monday (9 January), Prince Harry’s bodyguards were spotted carrying a Glock safe, which is used to carry guns and ammunition.
The Duke of Sussex travelled to Manhattan for an interview with The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert to promote his new memoir, Spare.
Watch: Prince Harry says experimental drug therapies cleared 'the misery of loss'
03:30 , Emily Atkinson
Opinion: The detail in the Harry and William revelations everyone is missing
02:45 , Emily Atkinson
In his forthcoming memoir Spare, Prince Harry claims Prince William attacked him during an argument at the younger brother’s Nottingham Cottage home in 2019. The first person the Duke of Sussex called after the physical fight was not his wife – who was the main subject of the brothers’ alleged squabble – but his therapist.
Read Meredith Clark’s take on Prince Harry’s recent primetime interviews here:
The detail in the Harry and William revelations everyone is missing
02:21 , Chelsea Ritschel
However, despite Prince Harry’s latest attacks on the media, which come on the eve of the release of his memoir Spare, he told Michael Strahan that he is “not angry anymore”.
“I’m not angry anymore. There are things that will still anger me, but I’m not angry anymore because I am exactly where I am supposed to be,” he said.
Prince Harry says he is ‘not angry anymore’ as he looks towards future
02:12 , Chelsea Ritschel
While criticising the British media, the duke took the opportunity to praise the King of Norway and the King of the Netherlands, who he said have “led by example”.
“I congratulate them for that, enormously,” Prince Harry said of the respective rulers’ actions to address racism and unconscious bias. “And I don’t think they’ve gotten enough credit for what they’ve done.”
Prince Harry praises Dutch and Norwegian royal families for standing against racism
02:06 , Chelsea Ritschel
In a new ABC special titled: “Prince Harry: In His Own Words,” the Duke of Sussex spoke with Michael Strahan about his relationship with his stepmother, the British press, and his brother and father.
During the interview, Prince Harry focused a large amount of his criticism at the media, with the duke claiming he was “naive” not to realise that the “race element was going to come in so fast”.
“The UK is not bigoted, the British press is bigoted,” he told Strahan.
Watch: Prince Harry says white side of mixed-race families often discuss what children will look like
02:00 , Emily Atkinson
The Duke of Sussex has said that the white side of mixed-race families are likely to have discussed what children will look like as he denied that the royal family were racist.
In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex said that there had been “concerns” raised about Archie’s skin colour before his birth.
“You speak to any other mixed-race couple around the world, and you will probably find that the white side of the family have either openly discussed it, or secretly discussed... ‘What are the kids gonna look like?’” Prince Harry said.
Holly Patrick reports:
Harry says white side of mixed-race families discuss what children will look like
Watch: Prince Harry says Camilla was ‘the villain’ in her parent’s marriage
01:15 , Emily Atkinson
ICYMI: The 10 biggest talking points from Prince Harry’s ITV interview
00:30 , Emily Atkinson
Extract after extract from Prince Harry’s memoir Spare flooded the news cycle this week, after it was leaked in Spain five days before its official publication date.
These publications came to a head on Sunday (8 January), when the Duke of Sussex’s highly anticipated interview with ITV host Tom Bradby was aired.
Here are the 10 biggest talking points from the duke’s sit-down with Bradby:
The 10 biggest talking points from Prince Harry’s ITV interview
Prince Harry’s Spare: Pre-order the book everyone’s talking about
Monday 9 January 2023 23:45 , Emily Atkinson
While plenty has already come out about the new bombshell title, if you want to form your own opinion on Prince Harry and get your hands on the book that everyone is talking about, read the article below for everything there is to know about the bombshell book, including how you can pre-order it now.
Prince Harry’s Spare: Pre-order the book everyone’s talking about
‘Who would have thought’: Prince Harry reveals William and Kate were Suits fans
Monday 9 January 2023 23:00 , Emily Atkinson
What has Prince Harry revealed about his relationship with Kate?
Monday 9 January 2023 22:15 , Emily Atkinson
In his new memoir Spare which launches tomorrow, the Duke of Sussex claims that William and Kate encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005 and “both howled” at the idea.
He also writes that Meghan upset Kate by saying she must have “baby brain” in the run-up to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s 2018 wedding, Kate demanded an apology and William pointed a finger at Meghan and called her “rude”.
The Duke of Sussex writes about the infamous fight between Meghan and Kate during a bridesmaids’ dress fitting for Princess Charlotte, claiming he found his wife “on the floor” in tears after the fallout.
Also in the book, the duke says that Kate reluctantly lent Meghan her lip gloss, was “taken aback” by the request to borrow it and “grimaced” when Meghan squeezed some on to her finger and applied it to her lips.
Timeline of the bitter feud between Prince Harry and William
Monday 9 January 2023 21:30 , Emily Atkinson
Prince Harry’s new memoir Spare has caused a sensation before it has even been published, not least over a passage describing an altercation with his brother William, illustrating just how far the pair have drifted apart in recent years.
The row is said to have erupted at Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London in 2019, with the Duke of Sussex alleging his sibling had arrived “piping hot” to confront him about his marriage to the American actress Meghan Markle and their running battles with the British press.
Here is Joe Sommerlad with a timeline of their falling out, largely as told by Harry since his break from the family, with William, the next in line to the British throne, largely preferring to remain silent.
Timeline of the bitter feud between Prince Harry and William
Watch: Top takeaways from Prince Harry's ITV interview
Monday 9 January 2023 20:45 , Emily Atkinson
Nadine White: ‘Prince Harry was right to tell his story – but he still has a lot to learn about racism'
Monday 9 January 2023 20:00 , Emily Atkinson
Prince Harry was wrong to suggest that there’s a substantive difference between “unconscious bias” and racism. There isn’t, writes our race correspondent Nadine White.
Opinion: Prince Harry still has a lot to learn about racism
Revealed: Royals despair as Harry ‘kidnapped by cult of psychotherapy’
Monday 9 January 2023 19:54 , Emily Atkinson
A reconciliation with Prince Harry is “impossible” because Charles, Camilla and William fear anything they say will be made public, The Independent understands.
A source close to the royal family said the King, Queen Consort and heir to the throne believe the situation will remain unchanged while the Duke of Sussex remains effectively “kidnapped by a cult of psychotherapy and Meghan Markle.”
“They are trapped,” said the source. “They really can’t engage because everything they say will be shared with the media. It is impossible to have a conversation or write a letter because of the risk that anything they say being put in the public domain by Harry, potentially for commercial benefit.
“There has been a complete breakdown of trust.”
Alastair Jamieson has this exlcusive report:
Royals despair as Harry ‘kidnapped by cult of psychotherapy’
Watch: Prince Harry says he would watch videos of his mother Diana to try and cry
Monday 9 January 2023 19:15 , Emily Atkinson
Prince Harry praises Dutch and Norwegian royal families for standing against racism: ‘It is huge’
03:56 , Peony Hirwani
Prince Harry has candidly praised the Dutch royal family and the Norwegian royal family for their work in combating racism and addressing unconscious bias.
“I don’t think they’ve been given enough credit for what they’ve done,” Prince Harry said about the King of Norway. “But it is huge. And more of that is needed.”
Chelsea Ritschel reports:
Prince Harry praises Dutch and Norwegian royal families for standing against racism
Opinion: What Prince Harry said about drug use and the psychological reason behind it
Monday 9 January 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson
Cocaine, like many other psychoactive drugs, is an effective way of altering how we feel or think, writes Ian Hamilton. So if you’re feeling low, cocaine can quickly change that negative feeling and thought pattern. Unlike counselling or mental health services, drugs don’t have a long waiting list or ask invasive questions. Drugs are easy to source and act quickly. In that sense, it is clear to see how they might appeal to someone like a young Prince Harry.
He was hardly unusual in using drugs like cocaine at this stage in his life, as it is young people who in the past made up the majority of those using drugs in a recreational way.
What Prince Harry said about drug use and the psychological reason behind it | Voices
Watch: Prince Harry says Diana would be ‘heartbroken’ over his relationship with William
Monday 9 January 2023 17:48 , Emily Atkinson
Duke insists Queen was not angry after he stepped down as senior royal
Monday 9 January 2023 17:22 , Emily Atkinson
The publication of Harry’s book Spare, which is due out on Tuesday, was reportedly delayed following the death of the Queen but the duke insisted his grandmother was not angry or upset with him about wanting to step down as a senior working royal.
“No. My grandmother and I had a very good relationship. It was never a surprise to anybody, least of all her.” the duke told GMA.
“She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was. She never said to me that she was angry. I think she was sad that it got to that point.”
Prince Harry says divide between him and his family ‘couldn’t be greater'
Monday 9 January 2023 17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Duke of Sussex has said the divide between him and his family “couldn’t be greater”.
Asked about whether he thinks his book will bring his father and brother back to him or whether it will widen the divide, Harry told Good Morning America: “I thought about it long and hard, and as far as I see it the divide couldn’t be greater before this book.”
Harry said that if reconciliation does not happen, he will focus on his life and family.
“I’m not angry any more. There are things that will still anger me, but I’m not angry any more, because I am exactly where I am supposed to be,” he said.
During the interview, Harry said he was “born into service”, adding: “It runs in my blood.”
All the explosive revelations and claims from Harry’s leaked book Spare so far
Monday 9 January 2023 16:40 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Prince Harry has continued his seemingly neverending wave of allegations and revelations about the royal family in his new autobiography.
Leaked before the official release, Spare covers a wide range of subjects from his fractious relationship with brother William to the struggles after his mother Diana’s death in 1997.
His sex life, drug use and time served in the army are also covered in a memoir that appears to go into uncomfortable levels of detail.
The palace has so far declined to comment about any of the contents of the book, copies of which went on sale early in Spain.
All the explosive revelations and claims from Harry’s leaked book Spare so far
Prince Harry says ‘hunt for royal racist’ began after Oprah interview
Monday 9 January 2023 16:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Duke of Sussex was quizzed on why his and the Duchess of Sussex‘s claim about an unnamed royal expressing concerns about how dark their unborn son’s skin would be did not appear in their Netflix documentary or his book.
Harry accused the British press of sparking a “hunt for the royal racist” following the Oprah interview, and warned CBS’s 60 Minutes interviewer Anderson Cooper that he would not discuss the matter further. Cooper said: “That wasn’t brought up in Netflix or in the book. Why?”
Harry replied: “The way the British press reacted to that was fairly typical. There was like a hunt for the royal racist. Neither of us believe that that comment or that experience or that opinion was based on racism.
“Unconscious bias, yes. But I think you speak to the majority of mixed-race couples around the world that the white side of the family would wonder, whether talking openly about it or amongst themselves, what the kids are gonna look like. The key word here was concern, as opposed to curiosity. But the way that the British press, what they turned it into, was not what it was.”
Cooper says: “You stand by that that happened but you just didn’t feel the need to...”
Harry says: “No but what else did I say at the end of, within the Oprah interview?” Cooper “That you would not discuss it further. Harry nods his head.
Richard Madeley criticises Prince Harry for denying calling royal family racist
Monday 9 January 2023 15:59 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Richard Madeley has called out Prince Harry after he refuted the suggestion that he or Meghan called the royal family racist during their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview.
On Sunday (8 January), the royal sat down for an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby ahead of the release of his memoir Spare this week.
As part of the interview, Bradby asked Harry about the 2021 interview with Winfrey, in which he and Meghan Markle claimed conversations had taken place in the royal family about “how dark” their son Archie’s skin would be.
ââDuring Monday’s (9 January) episode of Good Morning Britain, Madeley questioned why Harry allowed the “accusations of racism” against the royal family to continue.
Richard Madeley criticises Prince Harry over ‘unconscious bias’ remarks
Prince Harry opens up about ‘healing’ from PTSI after Diana’s death: What is Post Traumatic Stress Injury?
Monday 9 January 2023 15:32 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Prince Harry has spoken out about how he “healed” from his Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
The Duke of Sussex opened up about his new memoir, Spare, which is said to feature bombshell revelations about his relationship with the royal family, during an interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan on Monday 9 January.
During their conversation, Harry talked openly about his grief and how serving in the military “literally saved him” in the wake of his mother’s death in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
When asked if he found his “purpose” in the military, the royal further explained how he finds value in performing different acts of service.
Amber Raiken has more:
Prince Harry on ‘healing’ from PTSI: What is Post Traumatic Stress Injury?
Prince Harry claims stepmother ‘sacrificed’ him on her ‘personal PR altar’ in upcoming memoir
Monday 9 January 2023 15:21 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Duke of Sussex claimed the Queen Consort “sacrificed me on her personal PR altar”, in the latest interview to promote his controversial memoir.
Harry attacked what he alleged was Camilla’s attempts to “rehabilitate” her image, after being cast as the “third person” in his parents’ marriage, but also sympathised with her, saying in the interview with ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA) that she is not an “evil stepmother”.
The publication of Harry’s book Spare, which is due out on Tuesday, was reportedly delayed following the death of the Queen, but the duke insisted his grandmother was not angry or upset with him for wanting to step down as a senior working royal.
GMA co-host Michael Strahan read an extract from Harry’s book critical of the Queen Consort: “In a funny way I even wanted Camilla to be happy. Maybe she’d be less dangerous if she was happy.”
Another excerpt said: “I have complex feelings about gaining a step parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
Asked what Camilla had “done” at that point, Harry replied: “I have a huge amount of compassion for her, you know. Being the third person within my parents’ marriage and she had a reputation, or an image, to rehabilitate.
“Whatever conversations happened, whatever deals or trading was made right at the beginning, she was led to believe that that would be the best way of doing it.”
In a separate interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Harry said Camilla’s willingness to forge relationships with the British press made her “dangerous” and there would be “bodies left in the street because of that”.
Prince Harry clarifies his relationship with Camilla amid his claims she was ‘the villain’
Monday 9 January 2023 14:55 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain
Prince Harry has clarified his relationship with his stepmother, Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles, after he described her as “the villain” and claimed she launched a “campaign” to marry his father, King Charles.
The Duke of Sussex, who is said to make a number of surprising claims about the Queen Consort in his upcoming memoir Spare, addressed his current relationship with his stepmother during an interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan on Monday 9 January.
During the conversation, Harry was asked by Strahan about his “complex feelings” towards Camilla, who the duke alleges in his book had “recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar”.
In response, Harry told Strahan that he has a “huge amount of compassion” for Camilla, “being the third person in my parents’ marriage”.
Prince Harry clarifies relationship with Camilla amid claims she was ‘the villain’
Harry says divide with family “couldn’t be greater”
Monday 9 January 2023 14:45 , Sam Rkaina
The Duke of Sussex has said the divide between him and his family “couldn’t be greater”.
Asked about whether he thinks his book will bring his father and brother back to him or whether it will widen the divide, Harry told Good Morning America: “I thought about it long and hard, and as far as I see it the divide couldn’t be greater before this book.”
Harry said that if reconciliation does not happen, he will focus on his life and family.
“I’m not angry anymore. There are things that will still anger me, but I’m not angry anymore, because I am exactly where I am supposed to be,” he said.
During the interview, Harry said he was “born into service”, adding: “It runs in my blood.”
