Prince Harry condemns reporting about his Taliban comments
In an appearance on a US late-night show, Prince Harry has said reports he boasted in his book about killing 25 Taliban fighters while on duty in Afghanistan are a “dangerous lie.”
Harry had received criticism for discussing the killings in Spare – some military figures said it was wrong to refer to the dead as “chess pieces.”
But on the US show, Harry blamed the press for taking his words out of context and said the spin endangered his family.
He also defended his remarks saying he wanted to reduce veteran suicide.
Spare has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever in the UK.
Despite leaks in the days before Spare hit the shelves, it sold some 400,000 copies.
Harry on The Late Show
Harry’s interview with Stephen Colbert was wide-ranging – with the former royal saying there had been attempts to undermine his book, speaking on the relationship with his brother and attacking the British press.
Harry said writing the book had been a “cathartic” experience and the “most vulnerable I have ever been in my life”. He said it left him feeling stronger.
But he added: “The last few days have been hurtful and challenging, not being able to do anything about those leaks.”
In his condemnation of the media coverage, Harry claimed outlets had intentionally chosen to “strip away the context” of his account.
“Without a doubt, the most dangerous lie that they have told, is that I somehow boasted about the number of people I killed in Afghanistan,” he said.
“If I heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry. But it’s a lie.
“It’s really troubling and very disturbing that they can get away with it… My words are not dangerous – but the spin of my words are very dangerous to my family. That is a choice they’ve made.”
He said he had wanted to be honest about his experience in Afghanistan and to give veterans the space to share theirs “without any shame”.
“My whole goal and my attempt with sharing that detail is to reduce the number of [veteran] suicides,” he added.
Harry went on to claim Buckingham Palace along with the British Press attempted to undermine the stories told in his book.
No names were mentioned but host Colbert asked if there had been attempts by the palace to undermine the book.
“Of course, and mainly by the British press,” he replied, without going into more detail.
