Prince Harry lost his mother, Princess Diana, when he was 12. But he didn’t believe she was dead until he was 23.
That’s when he went to Paris to follow her fateful route through the tunnel, three years after viewing the crime scene photos of the devastating crash that claimed Diana’s life as she was pursued by paparazzi.
“The last thing Mummy saw on this Earth was a flash bulb,” Harry told Anderson Cooper in a “60 Minutes” interview.
These were among the newest bombshells revealed by Prince Harry about his experience as part of the royal family, detailed in his memoir “Spare,” which comes out on Tuesday.
On Sunday, three years to the day that Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, announced that they’d be stepping back from their official royal family duties, Harry spoke candidly to Cooper, fleshing out some details that have already been made public, in a tell-all interview about his telling-more book. Also on the same day, a 90-minute interview with British broadcaster ITV aired. Both are the first major TV appearances of the now-author.
Leaks of the memoir, which was prematurely released in Spain, brought out many salacious details. Perhaps the biggest revelation was that he and Prince William came to blows during an argument over Meghan that took place in 2019. Harry claims his brother grabbed him by the collar and shoved him backward into a dog bowl.
In November of that same year, Harry and Meghan announced they were taking a “respite” from their royal duties. On Jan. 8, 2020, they made the departure permanent, though their transition away from royal life was a year-long process.
With their “Sussexodus” now complete, the couple has been forthcoming about the royal family ins and outs that made them crave normalcy.
After an explosive Oprah Winfrey interview and their even more revealing six-part Netflix docuseries, “Harry & Meghan,” the upcoming memoir also focuses on Harry’s life before meeting his wife.
Not all of Harry’s revelations so far have been about the royal family. The book also tells how he lost his virginity behind a pub at age 17. The Duke also describes his days in the British Army and his Afghanistan service, during which he killed 25 people in the line of duty.
Of a notorious Nazi costume he wore to a 2005 party, Harry said he’d been goaded into it by William and his wife, Kate Middleton.
He has also been upfront about snapping at Meghan during a fight, and about his and William’s opposition to their father’s marriage to Camilla Parker Bowles.
The revelations continued on Sunday night.
He spoke of his past drug use, how it stemmed from grief and trauma, and noted that he has since re-explored that in a therapeutic setting, using psychedelic mushrooms to help him heal.
Harry was in London last September when his grandmother the Queen fell into ill health. He tried for a spot on the family plane, but “I was not invited,” he said. As a result, he missed being there for Queen Elizabeth II’s last moments.
Though he is not currently in communication with his father or his brother, Harry hopes they can one day have “a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private that doesn’t get leaked.”
And he hopes, after they are able to have that conversation, that their relationships can be repaired. “I really look forward to having that family element back. I look forward to having a relationship with my brother. I look forward to having a relationship with my father and other members of my family.”
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