Steph Deschamps / January 10, 2023

The Substitute”. This is the title of the book of Prince Harry which comes out this Tuesday. A book preceded by a scathing interview on English television. Harry reveals himself as never before. Not sure that the Royal Palace is delighted. Shocking!

The book of Prince Harry is released this Tuesday. On Sunday night, he was interviewed on English television.

Harry took cocaine. An interview of the Prince was broadcasted on Sunday in England. During this interview, Harry made some surprising confidences. He revealed that he had touched drugs. Cocaine, marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms … There would have even been photos of him taking coke that a newspaper wanted to publish. The affair was more or less hushed up.

The Prince killed soldiers in Afghanistan. This is “the” revelation that does not pass. In his book, excerpts of which have already been widely leaked to the press, Harry confides that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his missions in Afghanistan, revelations that have caused a huge outcry. Some in the British army see this as a form of betrayal. Colonel Richard Kemp, a retired military officer, said the Prince’s comments “betrayed the comrades he fought alongside and put British troops at risk of retribution. “He has betrayed the trust of the army in the same way that he betrayed his family,” said Colonel Tim Collins, quoted by The Times. These revelations have caused a reaction even from the Taliban, with a senior official accusing him of “war crimes ».

He lost his virginity to an older woman. Does Harry have to tell everything? In his book, he goes so far as to recount his “first time” with a woman older than him. “She loved horses, very much so, and treated me like a young stallion. A quick ride, after which she gave me a slap on the rump. It happened in a field behind a busy pub. Harry has the delicacy not to reveal his name. But the English media have two names in mind: the actress Elizabeth Hurley or the ex-top model Suzanna Harvey, now CEO of an airport.

He is haunted by the death of his mother. In this interview that all of England watched on Sunday night, Harry tells how he learned about the death of his mother, Princess Diana. He is literally haunted by the death of his mother, he explains. He asked to see the secret file concerning the death but it was refused to him in particular because there were too hard photos in the file. He castigates the paparazzi who continued to photograph his mother dying in the car. “There are still things I didn’t understand about that night, things that weren’t explained to me. So I drove myself through the Alma bridge tunnel at the same speed, trying to understand,” he says. A poignant moment.

He hates the tabloids, who give it back to him. In this confessional interview, the English press, often formidable with the royal family and in particular with Harry and Meghan, takes it for its big. “The level of leaks organized by some members of the royal family for 10 years means that I allowed myself to reveal things in this book. My family has been ‘complicit’ in the pain my wife and I have felt. If people say bad things about me every day, that’s okay. But if it affects my wife or my kids, it’s not the same thing. It’s also one of the reasons we moved to California (…) The silence of the monarchy on some of the stories that have come out, pure lies, is hard to swallow. I would have hoped that they would have taken my defense. But they didn’t. And when I read ‘sources in the Royal Palace say this or that’, it’s hard to take.” And if the names are never given, Harry has his little idea …

Accusations of racism. “I’ve been called a racist”. Harry seems to have had a hard time swallowing this. But admits mistakes. We remember that famous costume party where he wore a Nazi armband. Harry and Meghan have in turn insinuated that members of the royal family are racist. He also accuses his brother and his wife Kate of having had “stereotypes” towards Meghan, an American actress of mixed race, which “created an obstacle” to fully welcome her into the family.

He’s striking gold with his revelations. Penguin Random House, which publishes “The Substitute,” has paid several million dollars to buy Prince Harry’s long-awaited memoir. Between 35 and 40 million, according to Entertainment Tonight. As well as Netflix, which has dropped several tens of millions (there is talk of 100 million dollars) for the series recently released on the platform, where Harry and his wife Meghan reveal some of their secrets. There should be other books after “The Substitute”. You can’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.