Prince Harry’s “accounts of private conversations” have at times been “wrong,” according to an adviser to the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex’s prospects of rebuilding bridges with his father have been damaged by the fear any conversation between them might be inaccurately retold at a later date, according to a re-released biography.
Robert Hardman’s book, The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, published by Pegasus, has new material in the paperback edition.
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And the author quotes a “senior constitutional expert and adviser to the family” describing some of the barriers to a royal rapprochement in passages serialized in the Daily Mail.
Among the problems was Harry suing the British government over the removal of his police protection while another was his past inaccurate public statements, including his account of how he learned the Queen Mother had died in 2002.
“Here you have the infelicitous situation where the King’s son is suing the King’s ministers in the King’s courts,” the adviser is quoted as saying. “That is pulling the King in three directions.
“You also have the situation where the King’s son publishes accounts of private conversations, some of which have been, shall we say, wrong.”
Hardman wrote: “The adviser points, by way of example, to the section of Spare in which his account of being told of the Queen Mother’s death was a fabrication.”
The prince wrote: “Days later, at Eton, while studying, I took the call. I wish I could remember whose voice was at the other end; a courtier, I believe.
“I recall that it was just before Easter, the weather bright and warm, light slanting through my window, filled with vivid colors. ‘Your Royal Highness, the Queen Mother has died.'”
Hardman noted: “Harry was actually in Switzerland, skiing with his father and brother, when all three received the news.”
This account appears to be correct as there are pictures of Harry, Charles and William posing for photographers at Klosters, in the Swiss Alps, the day before the Queen Mother’s death on March 30, 2002.
“So imagine the situation if the Prince were to talk to his father about his court case and then later to describe that conversation,” the adviser is quoted as saying. “Or, worse, a conversation which was not entirely accurate. There would be serious legal jeopardy.”
One possibility is that Harry may have in fact been recalling the moment he learned Princess Margaret had died a month earlier in February 2002, before his skiing holiday.
The book describes his reaction to her death immediately before the section on the Queen Mother.
Needless to say, another member of staff quoted in Hardman’s book suggests it has taken some will power on Charles’ part not to respond to the many criticisms of him in Harry’s book and other interviews.
“He always had an iron discipline about not stirring things up with the Sussexes,” a former staffer is quoted as saying. “It can take a huge effort to do nothing when you’re being criticized.”
Jack Royston is Newsweek‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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