Prince Harry suffering following exit, but private matters should stay private in families: Italian prince
Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy reflects on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step back as senior royals, as well as King Charles III becoming Britain's reigning monarch following Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Prince Harry has a "Spare" book in his hands – if he were ready to tell all again.
It has been nearly a year since the Duke of Sussex’s bombshell book was published – and royal experts have since wondered if King Charles III’s younger son would consider a sequel.
"There is plenty more for Harry to tell," Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," insisted to Fox News Digital.
Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" was published on Jan. 10, 2023. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket)
"For starters, I reported in my books ‘Brothers and Wives’ and ‘The King’ that it was Charles whose rather benign remarks about what a child of Harry's and [his wife] Meghan's might look like sparked charges of racism within the royal family," Andersen alleged. "But Harry has thus far refused to elaborate on this episode, which leads me to believe there may have been other examples of racism inside palace walls that he may not be willing to share."
"The tension between [Prince] William and Harry is palpable, and the resentment runs far deeper than anyone suspected," Andersen shared. "Yet it's not entirely clear why there is so much bad blood between the brothers. There must be far more to this aspect of the story as well."
The father of two’s story is dominated by his rivalry with his elder brother and the death of their mother, Princess Diana. Harry, who was 12 at the time, has never forgiven the media for Diana’s death in a car crash while being pursued by paparazzi.
The first page of the book "Spare" written by Prince Henry Charles Albert David, better known as Prince Harry, includes a photo of him with his mother, Princess Diana. (Vincenzo Izzo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The opening chapter recounts how the former Prince Charles broke the news of his mother’s accident but did not hug his son.
There were other revelations as well.
In the book, Harry, 39, described how he and William, 41, "begged" their father not to marry his former mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowles, worried she would become a "wicked stepmother." The couple married in 2005 and Camilla, 76, was crowned queen alongside her husband in May of this year.
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King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned on May 6, 2023, in London. (P van Katwijk/Getty Images)
Harry is also tormented by his status as the royal "spare" behind William, heir to the British throne. Harry recounts a longstanding sibling rivalry that worsened after Harry began a relationship with Meghan Markle, whom he married in 2018.
Harry claimed that during an argument in 2019, William called the former American actress "difficult" and "rude," then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl. Charles implored his sons to make up, saying after the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021, "Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery."
Additionally, when the young prince notoriously wore a Nazi uniform for a costume party in 2005, it was William and his now-wife, Kate Middleton, Harry alleged, who encouraged the getup and "howled" with laughter when they saw it. Harry also described how he lost his virginity at 17 and took cocaine several times in order "to feel. To be different." He acknowledged using cannabis and magic mushrooms — which made him hallucinate that a toilet was talking to him.
Prince Harry was 20 when he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party in 2005. He later called the decision "one of the biggest mistakes of my life." (Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)
Harry spent a decade in the British army, serving twice in Afghanistan. He wrote that on his second tour, as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner in 2012-2013, he killed 25 Taliban militants.
Neither Buckingham Palace, which represents the king, nor William’s Kensington Palace office commented on any of the allegations.
It seemed like there was not much else to tell, but in an interview with The Telegraph shortly after the book’s release, Harry said there was enough content for a two-parter.
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In January of this year, Prince Harry told The Telegraph he had enough material for two books. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023)
"It could have been two books, put it that way," Harry told the outlet at the time. "And the hard bit was taking things out. There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me."
Harry also told the outlet that he had 50 Zoom calls with his ghostwriter and often struggled with what to keep and what to leave out.
It has been reported that there are zero plans for a follow-up. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about any future plans.
U.K. outlets obtained leaked excerpts of "Spare" before it was published. Copies were also accidentally sold early in Spain. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Andersen noted that "Spare" does leave plenty of unanswered questions for curious readers.
"There is much for Harry to reveal about what has been going on behind the scenes since his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, died and his father became king," he explained. "And let's not forget that the Sussexes' adventures in the U.S. - their efforts at establishing their own global brand, coping with the pressures, having to deal with the opprobrium that has been heaped upon them - all of this is fairly rich material for any writer."
There are big bucks to be earned. "Spare" broke records as the fastest-selling nonfiction book in history. It sold 1.4 million copies on its release day alone, Forbes reported. It is rumored that the prince received a $20 million advance for the memoir.
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Members of the royal family, including, from left to right, Prince William, King Charles III and Kate Middleton did not publicly respond to Prince Harry's book. (Karwai Tang/WPA Pool/Samir Hussein)
Andersen pointed out that any publisher would eagerly pull out a checkbook for the next royal who has not written a memoir yet – the Duchess of Sussex.
"Her autobiography will almost certainly be up next, and we'll have to wait and see if she can be as candid as Harry was in ‘Spare,’" said Andersen. "I get the sense that there is some trepidation on the Sussexes' part because of the tremendous backlash triggered by the revelations in ‘Spare.’"
"Conversely, Meghan must be chomping at the bit to, as they say, ‘set the record straight,’" he shared. "There is also that insatiable desire on the part of the Sussexes to be in the spotlight and at the same time get paid handsomely for it."
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at the Invictus Games earlier this year. (Rolf Vennenbernd/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The former "Suits" star, 42, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married the prince in 2018. The couple stepped back as senior royals in 2020. At the time, they cited what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of the duchess and a lack of support from the palace.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that there is always the possibility Harry could release "bonus material" in an extended paperback version "after all the hardcover sales have ended."
"In ‘Spare,’ Harry described himself as a ‘glacial learner,’ while perhaps an apt description by [ghostwriter] J.R. Moehringer rather than a clever literary creation by the prince himself," said Fordwich. "It makes one wonder if he has learned anything at all from being ostracized by the royal family in the aftermath of both his Netflix docuseries [from 2022] and his book."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020. (Don Arnold/WireImage)
"As he said during his interview with The Telegraph, he would be deterred from publishing more ‘Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me,'" she said. "Well, let’s hope that wisdom prevails even though he’s a glacial learner."
Whether the Sussexes choose to pick up a pen once more or not, Andersen claimed the ongoing royal saga is far from over.
"As long as there is money to be made - and lots of it - Harry will be spilling the royal beans jot by jot, volume by volume," Andersen claimed. "I would be shocked to discover that Harry and Meghan have decided to live a quiet life in Montecito."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in California with their son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet. (Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
"In the new year, we can expect for them to come roaring out of the gate yet again, demanding our attention - and, for better or worse, getting it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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