Prince Harry’s denial that he accused his family of racism was interpreted in the UK press Monday as a bizarre peace offering, but commentators argued the damage had already been done as his unflinching memoir comes out.
The midnight release of “Spare” is being accompanied by four television interviews in Britain and the United States, where Harry now lives with wife Meghan.
In the first to air, with Britain’s ITV, the Duke of Sussex caused bafflement by insisting he and his mixed-race wife never accused the royal family of racism over comments made about the skin tone of their unborn son.
“No I didn’t. The British press said that,” Harry said, adding that Meghan had also not called the royals “racist”.
The initial allegation, made in a bombshell interview given by Harry and Meghan in March 2021 to US chat show host Oprah Winfrey, caused a transatlantic uproar.
Harry’s elder brother and the heir to King Charles III’s throne, Prince William, told reporters at the time that “we are very much not a racist family”, but Harry himself stayed silent then.
The late Queen Elizabeth II, the mens’ grandmother, said then that “recollections may vary” about what was said — a line that was repeated by some UK commentators in mocking response to Harry’s interviews.
Several described his denial to ITV as an “olive branch”, but one that was contradicted by the Oprah interview and coming too late, given the incendiary nature of his other allegations in the book.
The British public is not impressed, a YouGov poll indicated Monday, finding that 64 percent have a negative view of Harry and that Meghan also scores dismally.
