Spare: Key quotes from Prince Harry’s ITV interview
Prince Harry sat down with ITV’s Tom Bradby for an exclusive UK interview to promote his upcoming memoir Spare. The book – out on Tuesday, details the prince’s story, in his words. From the death of his mother Princess Diana to his relationship with his brother Prince William and dad King Charles.
In a deeply moving interview, with excerpts of the book read by Harry himself, we look back on the best quotes from Harry’s 90-minute sitdown.
Why do the book?
“There was a motto, a family motto of ‘never complain, never explain’. And what people have realised now … is that was just a motto. There was a lot of complaining, and there was a lot of explaining, and it continues now.
“If it had stopped by the point that I fled my home country with my wife and my son, fearing for our lives, then maybe this would’ve turned out differently.”
On mum Princess Diana’s death
“There’s a lot of things that are unexplained. But I’ve been asked before whether I want to open up another inquiry. I don’t really see the point at this stage.
On his relationship with his family and the press:
“Certain members have decided to get in the bed with the devil (tabloid press) … to rehabilitate their image.
“But 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 Camilla Parker Bowles
“William and I wanted our father to be happy, and he seemed to be very, very happy with her. We asked him not to get married. He chose to. That’s his decision. But the two of them were and remain very happy together.”
On a reconciliation with the royal family
“Forgiveness is 100% a possibility because I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back. At the moment, I don’t recognise them, as much as they probably don’t recognise me.”
“It almost feels as though this status quo, internally, they feel as though it’s better to keep us somehow as the 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, whatever. But I genuinely feel that.
“You know, silence only allows the abuser to abuse. Right?”
On William and Kate meeting Meghan:
“There was a lot of stereotyping that was happening … American actress, right, and that was playing out in the British press. Some of the things that my brother and sister-in-law – some of the way that they were acting or behaving definitely felt to me as though unfortunately that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really … introducing or welcoming her in.”
On William pushing Harry over
“Me and William, like I guess a lot of siblings, or maybe not, William and I used to fight all the time.
“What was different here was this level of frustration and, you know, I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him.”
On events around the death of the Queen:
“In my mind – and I think globally, people felt the same, it was a really good opportunity to bring the family together.
“But the day that she died was just a really, really horrible reaction from my family members.”
How does he defend the level of disclosure
“The level of planting and leaking from other members of the family means that in my mind, they have written countless books, certainly millions of words have been dedicated to trying to trash my wife and myself to the point where I had to leave my country.”
On his legal action against certain newspapers:
“One might assume that a lot of this, from their perspective, is retaliation and trying to intimidate me into settling rather than take it to court and potentially may have to shut down.
“My father said to me that it was probably a suicide mission to try and change – to try and change the press.”
On Jeremy Clarkson’s horrific article in The Sun
“What he said was horrific and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife, but it also encourages other people around the UK and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way.”
On a recent race row involving William’s godmother
“Meghan and I love Susan Hussey. She (Meghan) thinks she’s great.”
Will he attend the coronation in May?
“There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. But, you know, the door is always open. The – the ball is in their court.”
Spare by Prince Harry is out on Tuesday. The book is the prince’s life story in his own words. You can also buy the book on audible – with Harry himself reading it to you.
