The model of family monarchy is now in "free fall" thanks to Prince Harry, a royal historian has said.
Leaked extracts from his eagerly-awaited memoir Spare have emerged and it appears the Duke of Sussex makes a series of claims about his royal life.
Among them is that he had an altercation with brother Prince William, where he was knocked to the floor, breaking a dog's bowl.
Other leaks from the Sun, Mail and Guardian report that Harry admits to taking drugs, begged his father King Charles not to marry Queen Consort Camilla and that William and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a party.
It also comes amid a publicity blitz for the book, which will see several TV interviews given by Harry broadcast over the coming days.
And according to historian and author Tessa Dunlop, Harry's revelations beg the question if the institution of monarchy is "workable in the 21st century".
She explained to the Mirror: "So much for ‘Mexgit’, the unsavoury little phrase bandied about by a press-pack high on wishful thinking – if one thing is apparent from Harry’s pre-publication tit-bits and trailers, it was the Duke, not the Duchess who bore the real grievances against Britain’s most famous institution.
"American actress Meghan, with her connections and know-how, helped facilitate Harry's stupendous break with the royal family, but the decision was clearly his.
"In Britain, we’ve clung to a demeaning narrative that 'blamed' his wife, a beautiful, foreign, woman of colour when the evidence now suggests the very opposite.
"It is not a sun-drenched relaxed Duke who is being interviewed by ITV and CBS, but rather a pale, pinched individual who looks a shadow of his former self.
"Harry has been on a long, painful and deeply personal journey. The leaked extracts from his book suggest the problems started early, when Charles congratulated Diana on delivering a 'spare'.
"For too long, Harry was the fall guy, the number two, there to keep his brother’s image clean. Not anymore. 'So what?' you may say. 'It’s just a sibling spat'.
"But if you think, as the majority of Britain still does, that the royal family is worth preserving, Harry’s narrative begs the question as to whether the institution is workable in the 21st century.
"In one trailer he professes to still believe in monarchy but all the signs suggest the opposite. Can future generations of Windsors ever really relax with each other, knowing that their lower-ranking siblings may one day spill the beans in spectacular global style?
"For better or for worse, thanks to Harry, our famous model of family monarchy hasn’t just taken a tumble, it’s in free fall."
Harry's book, due out on January 10 and ghostwritten by JR Moehringer, comes just weeks after Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary.
The memoir is being published only four months after the death of Harry’s grandmother the late Queen and the start of his father Charles' reign as King, and follows years of turmoil for the royal family amid the Megxit crisis, Philip’s death, accusations of racism in the Sussexes’ Oprah interview and the brothers’ long-running feud.
Tessa Dunlop is the author of Elizabeth and Philip, the story of young love, marriage and monarchy.
