Prince Harry is scheduled to discuss his memoirs in an anticipated televised interview on Sunday following the controversy caused by the book’s explosive revelations detailing royal rifts, sex and drugs.
The 38-year-old prince’s ghost-written book “Spare” has been widely leaked after being mistakenly sold in Spain ahead of Tuesday’s official publication date.
Details include allegations that her brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, attacked her during a row about his wife Meghan; account of how he lost his virginity; a admission of drug use; and claims that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.
They caused curses and insults, although the palace did not react.
All channels have published clips in which Harry talks about his relationship with William and accuses his family of planting negative stories about him and Meghan in the media.
Britain’s ITV television is set to broadcast the 95-minute show “Harry: The Interview” at 21:00 (2100 GMT) Sunday.
In a clip released by ITV, Harry said William attacked him while rowing Meghan and “I saw this red mist on him”.
“They wanted me to come back, but I didn’t choose to,” Harry told the channel.
“I want reconciliation, but first there must be accountability.”
‘Arch-nemesis’ William
ITV interviewer Tom Bradby asked Harry what his brother’s reaction to the book was: “How could you do this to me… after everything we’ve been through?”
Harry quickly replied that William would “probably say a lot of things”.
The former British Army captain added that he still believes in the monarchy, although he does not know if he will be a part of it in the future.
Asked why he would invade his own family’s privacy, Harry said, “It would be an accusation from someone who doesn’t know or doesn’t want to believe that my family has told the press.”
The US channel CBS then aired the interview on “60 Minutes” at 19:30 WIB (0030 GMT, Monday).
Another US network, ABC, will broadcast the interview Monday.
Harry called William his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis”, ABC presenter Michael Strahan said in excerpts of the interview.
“There’s this competition between us, weirdly,” Harry told the US channel.
“I actually played or was played by the ‘heir/reserve’.”
Impact on the queen
The interview was recorded before Harry’s book was leaked on Thursday, sparking backlash from the media, royal commentators, military veterans and even the Taliban.
A British newspaper slammed Harry’s claim that he had killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan, after veterans criticized the claim as risky and inappropriate.
Even the Taliban condemned Harry for saying that the killing was like removing a chess piece from a board.
The tabloid Sun wrote on Saturday that “with his indecent comments Harry has put lives at risk and delivered an impossible PR coup to the fascist, murderous misogynists of the Taliban”.
The Daily Telegraph cited a source close to the late Queen Elizabeth II who said her grandson’s attacks on the family and fear of the memoirs had affected her health in recent months.
It quoted a friend of the queen as saying that “the constant attacks on the royal family by her beloved grandson have taken their toll”.
The Times, citing US publishing sources, reported that Harry wanted to withdraw the book from publication after attending the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last summer.
When he “visited his grandmother, he had second thoughts”, the source said, suggesting he was told during the visit that he “wouldn’t be coming back” if the book came out.
“Obviously everything changed with the king’s death in September,” the source added.