The Prince and Princess of Wales have stepped out together in public for the first time since the Duke of Sussex published his memoirs which laid bare his fraught relationship with the couple.
William and Kate looked relaxed as they arrived to officially open the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital in the home city of The Beatles.
Harry’s controversial autobiography, Spare, has become the fastest selling non-fiction book in history, according to publisher Penguin Random House, which reported more than 1.4 million copies were sold on Tuesday, the first day it went on sale.
The book includes claims the Prince of Wales physically attacked Harry and teased him about his panic attacks, and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.
Reports of a fractious friendship between Meghan and Kate were confirmed in Spare, with Harry recounting how the princess, pregnant at the time with Prince Louis, said she was owed an apology from his wife who had previously commented Kate was suffering from “baby brain” due to her “hormones”.
He shed further light on the row over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress claiming, contrary to reports at the time, Kate was not in tears but the incident had left Meghan “sobbing on the floor”.
During a series of interviews to promote Spare, Harry defended himself against strong criticism, following his revelation in the book he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war.
He denied boasting about the killings, when interviewed by Stephen Colbert on CBS’s The Late Show, and claimed members of his family are in an active campaign to “undermine” his autobiography.
The King also carried his first official engagement since the publication of his son’s book, visiting the community of Aboyne, close to the late Queen’s Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, to tour the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed and meet local hardship support groups.
A YouGov poll has found the popularity of Harry has fallen since his book was published with 68% of 1,691 adults, polled on Tuesday and Wednesday, having a negative opinion about him while 24% thought positively.
The online research data group said the figures meant the duke had his lowest ever net favourability rating of minus 44, down from minus 38 last week, which had been his previous record low.
