Prince Harry has written in his soon-to-be-published memoir, Spare, that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan during his military service, according to multiple media outlets.
The Duke of Sussex served in Afghanistan twice, first as a forward air controller in air raids from 2007-2008, and then flying an attack helicopter from 2012-2013.
In his memoir, reports The Telegraph, Harry says he flew on six missions during his second tour that resulted “in the taking of human lives.”
He says he thought of the 25 he killed as “chess pieces” rather than “people” and that he is neither proud nor ashamed of the deaths.
“So my number: 25. It was not something that filled me with satisfaction, but I was not ashamed either,” Sky News reported, quoting Harry’s writing.
He reportedly wrote, “I could always tell exactly how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed essential for me not to be afraid of that figure. Among the many things I learned in the Armed Forces, one of the most important was to be accountable for my own actions.”
He added that his goal was to “return to Great Britain with all my limbs, but more than that I wanted to get home with my conscience intact.”
According to The Telegraph, this is the first time the prince has discussed his kill count during military service, which “is likely to increase concern about his personal safety.”
Although the official publication date for Spare is Jan. 10, multiple media outlets have purchased the book in Spain, where bookstores have broken embargo agreements.
A spokesperson for the Spanish publisher, Barcelona-based Plaza y Janes Editores — which belongs to multinational conglomerate Penguin Random House — told Reuters: “A very clear launch protocol was established and communicated to all customers so that the book would not be marketed before that date.
“Everything points to the fact that some customers have breached their commitment to the publisher and have put the book on sale before the agreed date.”
The Guardian was the first to publish an excerpt from the memoir, detailing Prince Harry’s account of a 2019 physical altercation that took place between he and his older brother, Prince William.
Harry alleges that William knocked him to the floor in the kitchen of Nottingham Cottage after calling Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, “difficult,” “abrasive” and “rude.”
The confrontation escalated until William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor,” The Guardian quoted from the book.
“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” the book is quoted as saying. “I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”
Harry says he had “scrapes and bruises” as a result of the tussle. William, Harry states, tried to goad his younger brother into hitting him back but he refused to do so.
William left, but returned later “looking regretful” and apologized, The Guardian noted.
Spokespeople for King Charles and Prince William have, so far, declined to comment on the details coming out of Harry’s memoir.
Separately, celebrity website Page Six first reported that the book alleges William and his now-wife Kate Middleton encouraged Harry to wear a Nazi uniform to a costume party in 2005.
Harry writes about how his brother and Middleton “howled with laughter” when they saw him in the costume, which featured a red swastika armband.
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said,” Harry writes. “They both howled.”
Harry has repeatedly apologized for the costume and called the decision to wear it one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
There are sure to be plenty more explosive details to come out of Spare this week, and the world will tune in Sunday when interviews with the Duke air on both ITV in Britian and CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
In a preview clip for the ITV interview, shared earlier this week, Harry says he hopes he can one day repair his relationships with his brother and father, King Charles III.
“I would like to get my father back; I would like to have my brother back,” Harry tells new anchor and royal correspondent Tom Bradby, who he’s known for about 20 years.
He also tells Bradby that his troubled relationship with the Royal Family “never needed to be this way,” but that his family have “shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile.”
In a separate interview with 60 Minutes’ Anderson Cooper, also set to air Jan. 8, Harry says Buckingham Palace refused to protect and support him and Markle, while at the same time sharing information with the media that would undermine their image.
“When we’re being told for the last six years, ‘We can’t put a statement out to protect you,’ but you do it for other members of the family, there comes a point when silence is betrayal,” he told Cooper.
— with a file from Reuters
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