Harry’s biography is out – London bookshops opened at midnight German police name 4 causes of New Year’s Eve riots

They’re finally out: Prince Harry’s memoirs.

In the run-up to the publication, it was widely reported that he snorted cocaine several times, experienced his first time with an older woman and clashed with brother William. “Reserve”, as the German title of the book reads, appeared on Tuesday evening. In London, bookshops opened for sale at midnight.

British media in particular have been quoting from ‘Reserve’ for days. The book is actually subject to a strict embargo period, but was accidentally on sale in Spain last Thursday.

Harry dedicated the book to more than 500 pages: “To Meg and Archie and Lili… and of course to my mother”. At the beginning, Harry describes a meeting with his father and brother William after Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021. He asked for this “secret meeting” at the time to find a way out of the serious family rift.

But the dispute during the joint walk had become “so heated” that King Charles III. – then heir to the throne – asked his sons: “Please, boys – don’t make my last years hell for me,” Harry writes in the book. And he wonders: “My beloved brother, my nemesis, how could this have happened?”

In several interviews with British and American TV channels, Harry has made serious accusations against his relatives and court staff. They are said to have stirred up the mood against him and his wife, Duchess Meghan, by leaking information against the couple to the British tabloid press. On the American broadcaster ABC, the 38-year-old demanded that the royal family take responsibility for a possible reconciliation. He fundamentally ruled out a return to the front row of the royal family. Such a step is “unsurvivable”, said Harry. “It’s really sad because it’s essentially destroying the relationship between us.”

Harry and his wife Duchess Meghan (41) gave up their royal duties a long time ago and live in California with their children Archie (3) and Lilibet (1).

In the book, Harry talks a lot about the difficult relationship with Prince William and the estrangement between him and the current heir to the throne. Her mother, Princess Diana, who died in an accident in 1997, would be saddened to witness the brothers’ argument, Harry told ABC.

In an interview with British broadcaster ITV, he had previously accused the royal family of not defending his wife Meghan against the British media. William and his wife Princess Kate would not have welcomed Meghan. The reason was partly racist prejudice of the British tabloids against the divorced ex-actress. The royal family has so far remained silent about the allegations. According to Harry, he currently has no contact with brother William or father King Charles III.

The Duke of Sussex also heavily criticized his stepmother, Queen Camilla. Camilla’s need to improve her image and her willingness to form relations with the British press made her dangerous, he claimed to have spoken to ABC. At the same time, he protected Camilla. She was “not a bad stepmother,” said Harry, emphasizing that he loved all members of the family very much. He said he was very close to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September. “She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was. She never told me she was angry. I think she was sad it came to this.”Harry said of his departure from the royal family.

In the English original, the book’s provocative title is “Spare”. The word refers to the phrase “the heir and the reserve”. Prince William (40) would be the heir to the throne in this case, his younger brother Harry would be the replacement, who could only come into play if the eldest died.

Harry would have received an upfront payment of the equivalent of 20 million euros for the biography, which he co-wrote with ghostwriter JR Moehringer. He has announced that he will donate part of the proceeds. According to the book, the Duke of Sussex has already donated $1.5 million (1.4 million euros) to the organization he co-founded, Sentebale, which supports children suffering from AIDS and AIDS orphans in southern Africa.

(yam/sda/dpa)