Prince Harry defended his decision to publish a memoir that lays bare rifts inside Britain’s royal family, saying it’s an attempt to “own my story” after 38 years of “spin and distortion” by others. Harry spoke to Britain’s ITV and CBS’s “60 Minutes” to promote his book, “Spare,” which has generated incendiary headlines with its details of private emotional turmoil and bitter family resentments. In interviews broadcast Sunday, Harry accused members of the royal family of getting “into bed with the devil” to gain favorable tabloid coverage, claimed his stepmother Camilla, the queen consort, had leaked private conversations to the media and said his family was “complicit” in his wife Meghan’s “pain and suffering.” Read more: Prince Harry’s claim he killed 25 in Afghanistan draws anger, worry Harry said Camilla had to rehabilitate her image with the British people after her longtime affair with his father and that he was one of the victims of her efforts for better coverage in the tabloids. “That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press,” he told CBS. “There was open willingness on both sides to trade information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her, on the way to being queen consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street.” He repeated his claim on ITV that there was “concern” in the royal family about his unborn child’s skin color after he married biracial American actress Meghan Markle, and said the British monarchy should address its attitudes to race. Harry and Meghan first mentioned the incident during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. They have not identified the family member who expressed concern. Read more: Prince Harry says William called Meghan “difficult, rude and abrasive” before physical attack Harry said the episode was an example of unconscious bias rather than racism, adding that the royal family needed to “learn and grow” in order to be “part of the solution rather than part of the problem.” “Otherwise unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism,” Harry said. He said that “especially when you are the monarchy – you have a responsibility, and quite rightly people hold you to a higher standard than others.” He said a recent incident in which a former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II asked a Black British woman where she was “really” from was “a very good example of the environment within the institution.” “Spare” explores Harry’s grief at the death of his mother in 1997, and his long-simmering resentment at the role of royal “spare,” overshadowed by the “heir” — older brother Prince William. He recounts arguments and a physical altercation with William, reveals how he lost his virginity (in a field) and describes using cocaine and cannabis. He also says he killed 25 Taliban fighters while serving as an Apache helicopter pilot in Afghanistan — a claim criticized by both the Taliban and British military veterans. Harry told ITV that he cried only once after his mother’s death — at her burial. He said he feels guilt about not showing emotion when he and William greeted crowds of mourners outside Kensington Palace, Diana’s London home. In the book Harry blames his family’s stiff-upper-lip ethos, saying he had “learned too well … the family maxim that crying is not an option.” The Associated Press purchased a Spanish-language copy of the book in advance of its publication around the world on Tuesday. “There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people’s hands, smiling,” Harry told ITV journalist Tom Bradby. “I’ve seen the videos, right, I looked back over it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking, we couldn’t understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears that they were wiping away. “Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum, and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment.” Harry told “60 Minutes” that it took him over a decade to accept that his mother was dead. He and his brother often discussed the notion that she had gone into hiding and would reappear later. “I had huge amounts of hope,” he said. It was only after reading the police report of his mother’s death, seeing photos from the scene and later — at the age of 23 — following the same route into the Paris tunnel where his mother died when her driver crashed while evading paparazzi that her death became a reality, he said. “Spare” is the latest in a string of public pronouncements by Harry and Meghan since they quit royal life and moved to California in 2020, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan and a lack of support from the palace. It follows the Winfrey interview and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month. In the ghostwritten memoir, Harry, 38, describes the couple’s acrimonious split from the royal family in early 2020, after their request for a part-time royal role was rejected. Harry contrasts the withdrawal of the couple’s taxpayer-funded security with the case of his uncle, Prince Andrew, who was removed as a working royal over his friendship with the U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Last year, Andrew settled a lawsuit from a woman who accused him of sexually abusing her while she traveled with financier Epstein when she was 17. Andrew paid an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement, but didn’t admit wrongdoing. Harry alleges that no one considered removing Andrew’s security despite the “shameful scandal.” The TV interviews are just two of several given by Harry that are set to heap more pressure on the royal family. He is also appearing on “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Royal officials haven’t commented on any of the allegations, though allies have pushed back on the claims, largely anonymously. Veteran British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby, a biographer and friend of King Charles III, said Saturday that Harry’s revelations were the type “that you’d expect … from a sort of B-list celebrity,” and that the king would be pained and frustrated by them. In the “60 Minutes” interview, Harry denied that his description of his brother’s “alarming baldness” and fading resemblance to their mother as he aged was harsh and said his book was not intended to hurt his family. While he said that he hadn’t spoken with his father or brother in a while, he hopes to find peace with them. Harry told ITV that he wants reconciliation with the royal family, but “the ball is in their court.” “They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile,” he said.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, stick to a familiar script in a new Netflix series that chronicles the couple’s estrangement from the royal family, chastising Britain’s media and the societal racism they believe has fueled coverage of their relationship. The first three episodes of “Harry and Meghan,” released Thursday, dissect the symbiotic relationship between tabloid newspapers a nd the royal family and examine the history of racism across the British Empire, and how it persists. The storytelling relies on interviews with the couple, their friends, and experts on race and the media. The series does not include dissenting voices, and there is no response from any of the media organizations mentioned. “In this family sometimes, you know, you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution,’’ Harry says in one of the episodes. “There is a huge level of unconscious bias. The thing with unconscious bias is that it is actually no one’s fault. But once it has been pointed out, or identified within yourself, you then need to make it right.” The media’s treatment of Meghan — and what the couple felt was a lack of sympathy from royal institutions about the coverage — were at the heart of their complaints when they walked away from royal life almost three years ago and moved to Southern California. Lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify have helped bankroll their new life in the wealthy enclave of Montecito. Promoted with two dramatically edited trailers that hinted at a “war against Meghan,” the Netflix show is the couple’s lat est effort to tell their stor y after a series of interviews with U.S. media organizations, most notably a two-hour sit down in 2021 with Oprah Winfrey. Read more: Royals tour US green tech incubator, meet at-risk youth The first three episodes break little new ground on royal intrigue, leading one British-based analyst to conclude that the main audience Harry and Meghan are trying to reach is in the United States. The series is an effort by Harry and Meghan to cement their place in American society, where fame and riches await, says David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance, which has analyzed the monarchy’s value to the UK economy. “They are trying to become the next Kardashian family. And they are using the fame and notoriety of the monarchy as their stepping stone to get there,” he said. “No one would take the remotest bit of interest in either of them if they weren’t strongly associated with the UK monarchy.” The series comes at a crucial moment for the monarchy. King Charles III is trying to show that the institution still has a role to play after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign. Charles is making the case that the House of Windsor can help unite an increasingly diverse nation by using the early days of his reign to meet with many of the ethnic groups and faiths that make up modern Britain. Harry’s 2018 marriage to the former Meghan Markle, a biracial American actress, was once seen as a public relations coup for the royal family, boosting the monarchy’s effort to move into the 21st century by making it more representative of a multicultural nation. But the fairy tale, which began with a star-studded ceremony at Windsor Castle, soon soured amid British media reports that Meghan was self-centered and bullied her staff. The new series seeks to rebut that narrative in the three hour-long episodes released Thursday. Three more are due on Dec. 15. It opens with video diaries recorded by Meghan and Harry — apparently on their phones — in March 2020, amid the couple’s acrimonious split from the royal family. It’s “my duty to uncover the exploitation and bribery” that happens in British media, Harry says in one entry. “No one knows the full truth,” he adds. “We know the full truth.” The couple then tell the story of their courtship and the initial enthusiasm that greeted the relationship. But the tone shifts as Harry recounts the intense media scrutiny faced by Meghan, reminding him of the way his mother, Princess Diana, was treated before she died in a car crash while being trailed by photographers. “To see another woman in my life who I loved go through this feeding frenzy – that’s hard,” Harry says. Read more: Duchess of Sussex gets goofy on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show “It is basically the hunter versus the prey.” Harry and the series' other narrators say the palace is partly to blame for this treatment because it has granted privileged access to six newspapers that feel they are entitled to learn intimate details about members of the royal family since British taxpayers fund their lives. Harry and Meghan said they initially tried to follow palace advice to remain silent about the press coverage as other members of the royal family said it was a rite of passage. But the couple said they felt compelled to tell their story because there was something different about the way Meghan was treated. “The difference here is the race element,” Harry said. That bias has deep roots in the history of the British empire, which was enriched by the enslavement of Black people and the extraction of wealth from colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, said historian and author David Olusoga in the program. It is only since World War II that large numbers of Black and Asian people moved to Britain, changing the face of the nation. Those changes aren’t reflected in the British media. While Black people make up about 3.5% of Britain’s population, they account for just 0.2% of the journalists, Olusoga said. “We have to recognize that this is a white industry…,” he said. “So people who come up with these headlines, they are doing so in a newsroom that’s almost entirely white, and they get to decide whether something has crossed the line of being racist.” King Charles III was asked if he had watched the series as he carried out an engagement on Thursday in London. He did not reply. Race became a central issue for the monarchy following Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Meghan alleged that before their first child was born, a member of the royal family commented on how dark the baby’s skin might be. Prince William, the heir to the throne and Harry’s older brother, defended the royal family after the interview, telling reporters, “We’re very much not a racist family.” But Buckingham Palace faced renewed allegations of racism only last week when a Black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse said a senior member of the royal household interrogated her about her origins during a reception at the palace. Coverage of the issue filled British media, overshadowing William and his wife Kate’s much-anticipated visit to Boston, which the palace had hoped would highlight their environmental credentials.

The BBC on Thursday apologized to the former nanny of Princes William and Harry over “false and malicious” claims made against her as part of a journalist’s attempt to obtain an exclusive television interview with Princess Diana. Alexandra Pettifer, formerly known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, appeared at London’s High Court Thursday for a public apology from the broadcaster over false claims that she had an affair with Prince Charles while working as his personal assistant in 1995. Her lawyer told the court the allegations caused “serious personal consequences for all concerned.” BBC director-general Tim Davie said the corporation has agreed to pay “substantial damages” to Pettifer. The broadcaster had “failed to ask the tough questions” about how the Diana interview was obtained, he added. “I would like to take this opportunity to apologize publicly to her, to The Prince of Wales, and to the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, for the way in which Princess Diana was deceived and the subsequent impact on all their lives,” Davie said in a statement. Read: BBC Media Action Job Circular: bbcmediaaction.org William and Harry have strongly criticized the BBC for its shortcomings after an investigation found that one of its journalists, Martin Bashir, used deceitful means to secure the explosive Diana interview in 1995. In the interview, a major scoop for Bashir, Diana famously said that “there were three of us in this marriage” — referring to Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Her candid account of her failing marriage with Charles was watched by millions of people and sent shockwaves through the monarchy. Pettifer’s lawyer, Louise Prince, said the former nanny hadn’t known the source of the allegations against her over the past 25 years. But it now appeared likely that the claims arose as part of the BBC’s efforts to procure the Diana interview, Prince said. The false claims — including an allegation that Pettifer became pregnant with Charles’ baby and had an abortion — appeared to exploit prior false media speculation, the lawyer said. She said Diana confronted Pettifer about the allegation in late 1995, and told a member of the royal household that she had a hospital letter proving the abortion happened. “As the allegation of an abortion was totally false, any such letter could only have been fabricated,” Prince said. Davie said the broadcaster would never show the Diana interview again or license it to other broadcasters. Pettifer said after the hearing that she was disappointed legal action was needed. The BBC has already paid damages to Diana’s former aide as well as a former BBC producer who was dismissed after he alerted editors to faked documents that Bashir used to gain access to Diana.

It was the Meghan hour Thursday on the talk show of her friend, Ellen DeGeneres, as the Duchess of Sussex helped welcome a special guest, hit the studio lot to prank vendors and said she'll be cooking Thanksgiving dinner herself. “I love to cook. We'll be home and just sort of relax and settle in,” Meghan said of her second Thanksgiving in California with Prince Harry and, now, their two kids. Meghan and DeGeneres, who met at a pet store more than a decade ago, chatted about Halloween (Archie was a dinosaur and baby Lili a skunk), and more serious issues like Meghan's work to push for federal paid family leave. And she said Harry has taken nicely to the California lifestyle in Montecito, where Ellen is one of their neighbors. Also read: William, Harry to unveil Diana statue as royal rift simmers “He loves it,” Meghan said. “We're just happy.” Meghan got Ellen-style goofy when she donned an earpiece so Ellen could tell her what to say and do as she perused the wares of three vendors on the studio lot. Meghan mewed in cat ears, devoured hot sauce on crackers like a chipmunk and held a huge crystal to her face — all after a pretend assistant told the trio of sellers to treat her just like everybody else. They could barely keep from laughing. “Let Mommy taste some. My boo loves hot sauce,” Meghan told one seller with a table full of hot sauces. “Mommy wants some heat.” Later on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Ellen and Meghan welcomed Brittany Starks, a Tennessee mother and hairdresser who gave back after being helped herself through hard times by braiding the hair of schoolchildren for free. Since, she has started a charity, A Twist of Greatness. Also read: Queen beams as she returns to Ascot after COVID-19 hiatus The show and philanthropy partner TisBest donated $20,000 to her cause. Meghan and Harry matched it with another $20,000. “We were so touched by your story,” Meghan told Starks, giving her hug.

 When Prince Philip’s funeral takes place on Saturday, it will be more than a focal point for national mourning. Many will also be watching for any signs of reconciliation between Prince Harry and the royal family, especially with his elder brother Prince William. It will be the first time that Harry comes face-to-face with the royal family since he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped away from royal duties last March and moved to California with their young son, Archie. While that departure caused a huge rift in the monarchy, family relations took a further dive last month when Harry and Meghan gave a candid interview with U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Among other revelations, Harry confirmed rumors that he and his brother had been growing apart, saying “the relationship is ‘space’ at the moment” — though he added that “time heals all things, hopefully.” Harry also told Winfrey that his father, heir to the throne Prince Charles, was not accepting his calls for a time. And the couple threw a bombshell by revealing that an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed concern about “how dark” their child’s skin color might be due to Meghan’s biracial heritage. Days after the explosive racism accusations were aired, William shot back, telling reporters that his was “very much not a racist family.” Also read: Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, dies aged 99 In spite of the tensions, Saturday’s funeral will almost certainly remind the brothers of their shared grief at another royal funeral more than two decades ago — when, as young boys, both walked behind their mother Princess Diana’s coffin in 1997. On Saturday, Harry, 36, and William, 38, are both expected to join other senior royals and walk behind their grandfather’s coffin, as the funeral procession makes its way through Windsor Castle. Many observers believe that Philip’s funeral will provide an ideal opportunity for “The Firm” to show a united front to the world and for the royal brothers to smooth over tensions. Philip, who had been married to Queen Elizabeth II for more than seven decades, died last week at 99. “They shared emotion. They share grief at the present time because of the death of their grandfather,” former Prime Minister John Major, who was appointed the princes’ guardian after Diana’s death, told the BBC this week. “I hope very much that it is possible to mend any rifts that may exist,” he added. Also read: Philip, in role with no job description, was queen’s bedrock But Angela Levin, Harry’s biographer, said it would be inappropriate for the royals to talk about their personal issues in the run-up to the funeral. It would take time to heal the hurt after the Winfrey interview — and that won’t happen if Harry rushes back to the U.S. afterward, she added.  “I absolutely think it would be wrong to be all about themselves before the funeral. And I think that it’s wrong to imagine that they’re going to pour out their hearts and give each other a hug, when so much has happened in the year and William has had to take on so much more responsibility,” she told the AP. Harry arrived in the U.K. on Monday and is in quarantine, but he can attend the funeral in line with government rules that make exceptions for such occasions. Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, was advised by her doctor not to make the long trip, officials said. The brothers have had contrasting roles and personalities from birth, though in recent years those differences have increasingly come to the fore. As the younger brother to a future king — the so-called “spare” to the heir — Harry had far fewer responsibilities and a reputation as the party prince before serving in the army and settling down in his 30s. He found success and enjoyed popularity in Britain with the Invictus Games, the sporting event he founded for disabled and wounded members of the military. Yet his place in the monarchy became further diminished with the birth of William’s three children, who bumped him down to sixth in line to the throne. It was clear from at least 2019 that Harry wanted a break from the constraints of the monarchy to craft his own narrative. That year Harry and Meghan separated from the Royal Foundation, originally set up as the brothers’ joint charitable venture, so they could have their own platform. The princes’ separate statements this week in tribute to Philip reflected their personalities and differing styles. While William’s stated that he and his wife Kate will “continue to do what (Philip) would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead,” Harry’s tone was much more informal and light-hearted. The younger brother praised Philip for being “authentically himself” and thanked him for his “dedication to Granny.” He also wrote: “While I could go on, I know that right now he would say to all of us, beer in hand, ‘Oh do get on with it’.” Still, Levin said the brothers had enjoyed an incredibly close bond from childhood and she hoped the time would come for them to reconcile their differences. “Harry said to me when I was interviewing him for my biography, he said that William is the only person he can really trust,” she said. “He felt if he went and met people, he didn’t know if they were liking him for what he was rather than who he was. But they could discuss anything, he and William.” Historian Ed Owens, who wrote “The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media and the British Public 1932-1953,” about the royal family’s public relations strategy in the last century, agreed that it was “still early days” for a royal reconciliation. “I don’t think there’s going to be any great sort of family get-together or a return to sort of normalcy, sort of pre-Megxit, anytime soon,” he said.

Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that allegations of racism made earlier this week by Prince Harry and Meghan were “concerning” and would be addressed privately by the royal family.

Prince Harry and Meghan’s explosive TV interview divided people around the world on Monday, rocking an institution that is struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, made their final appearance as senior royals at Westminster Abbey, joining Queen Elizabeth II and other members of Britain's royal family Monday for an annual Commonwealth Day service.

Queen Elizabeth II was all smiles as she made her way to church Sunday after a momentous announcement that Prince Harry and wife Meghan would cut almost all of their ties to the royal family in favor of a more private life.