LONDON — Prince Harry will deliver another highly publicized blow to Britain’s royal family Sunday, in a pair of TV interviews two days before the publication of his much-anticipated memoir.
In conversations with Tom Bradby, a news presenter at British broadcaster ITV, and with Anderson Cooper on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” Harry is expected to shed more light on the acrimonious royal split.
Timed to coincide with the release of his autobiography, “Spare,” trailers from both interviews show Harry accusing his family of fueling negative news coverage about him and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
In the interview with Cooper, which airs Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, Harry says he has spoken out publicly because “Every single time I’ve tried to do it privately, there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.”
He adds that statements were not put out to protect his family from some of the media coverage and “there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.”
Harry also says his family was “briefing the press,” in the interview with Bradby, which airs Sunday on Britain’s ITV1 channel and its streaming platform, ITVX, at 9 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET).
He also refuses to commit to attending the May coronation of his father, King Charles III.
“There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. But you know, the door is always open. The ball is in their court,” he says when asked whether he will attend. “I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it.”
He says that he still believes in the British monarchy, but that he doesn’t know what role he would play in its future.
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The interviews come after details of Harry’s highly anticipated memoir, “Spare,” emerged first in leaked advance copies and then after it mistakenly went on sale early in Spain, despite tight security around its publication. NBC News has seen and translated extracts of a Spanish-language version of the book.
In the memoir Harry accuses his brother of physically attacking him during an argument over his marriage to Meghan. He also describes his use of drugs and suggests that William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, encouraged him to dress as a Nazi at a 2005 costume party for which he was widely criticized.
He also faced criticism Friday for his claim in the book that he had killed 25 “enemy combatants” in Afghanistan when he served two tours with the British army.
Kensington Palace, which represents William, and Buckingham Palace, which represents Charles, declined to comment on the allegations made in the book or the trailers, which come at an awkward time for the monarchy, months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death and the ascension of the new king.
It follows the release of a six-part Netflix documentary series last month, which shows just how acrimonious the couple’s split from the family has been, focusing on Harry and Meghan’s 2020 announcement that they would step back from royal duties.
The two first outlined their side of the story in their bombshell interview with media mogul Oprah Winfrey, accusing members of the family of racism.
William denied that the family was racist in public comments at the time, and the palace said in a statement that the allegations were “concerning” and that “while some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
