LONDON – British media commentators were quick to offer their take on Prince Harry’s Sunday night interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby, with The Guardian describing it as “terribly sad” and The Times of London wondering when “the whining will stop”.
The ITV session was one of a series of television interviews Prince Harry has given to promote his much-hyped memoir, Spare, which is due to be released on Tuesday. The Spanish-language version was accidentally released last week, giving critics an early glimpse of the royal family’s revelations.
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The Duke of Sussex made his television debut on Harry: The Interview. British television channel ITV broadcast the hour-long and 40-minute interview with journalist Tom Bradby. Shortly thereafter, CNN aired his taped interview between Anderson Cooper and the prince.
On Sunday night, The Telegraph dedicated its homepage to Prince Harry, with a live blog detailing his revelations in the ITV interview, followed by nine stories dissecting what the Prince told Bradby.
The stories explored Harry’s claims that the Prince and Princess of Wales “stereotyped” Meghan and his allegations that Queen Consort Camilla leaked stories to the press.
The newspaper also concluded that the Princess of Wales “will have better birthdays as Harry drags her back into the Meghan line”. Kate Middleton’s birthday is Monday.
The Duke of Sussex is interviewed by ITV’s Tom Bradby during Harry: The Interview, two days before his memoir ‘Spare’ is released.
The Guardian gave the interview a two-star rating, with the newspaper’s television critic Lucy Mangan writing that it was “so terribly sad it could have made the Queen go against the monarchy”.
Mangan goes on to describe the prince as “charming, articulate and – unless the Windsor clan has raised a world-class actor – who tells us the truth as he sees it.” In terms of PR, it will certainly serve its purpose. The book will sell millions of copies, his story will appeal to the younger demographic, boost his notoriety and perhaps give him a more manageable kind of fame than the one he was born into – which is probably his best hope at this point.”
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She added: “As a member of an older demographic, remembering the birth of Harry and William, Diana’s death, the funeral and all the rest, it left me with just one great sad weariness: for all that was done wrong, all that has been lost, and how sad and ordinary every little life, however gilded, can be at the end.”
Sky News, meanwhile, flagged comments like ‘Harry accuses royals of sleeping with the devil’ – and admits Meghan didn’t get along with William and Kate ‘from the start’.
In the interview, Harry accused Camilla of leaking negative stories about him to the British press in order to boost her own image. He also said that Kate and William didn’t get along with Meghan from the start.
Out of the nine major newspapers in Britain, Prince Harry’s name was mentioned on seven front pages on Monday.
In the Times of London, columnist Carol Midgley asked, “Will there ever be a point, Harry, when this whining stops?”
Nick Hilton, chief TV critic at The Independent, also gave the interview a two out of five star rating, calling the production “directed and unproblematic from start to finish.”
He said, “The rest is the kind of word salad I’m more likely to see on LinkedIn (maybe Harry can find a job with that after the book tour).”
At the same time, Hilton praised Harry for his “crusade.” He is, of course, the lesser of generations and generations of evil.”
The Irish Times called the prince “a lost man seeking meaning in a life of privilege” and asked: “Does anyone read more tabloids than Harry? Potentially not.”
Last week “Spare” was released ahead of the official release date in Spain. British media was quick to translate it and reported the details of Harry’s loss of his virginity; taking illegal substances; rivalry with his brother and – most controversially – revealing how many people he killed in Afghanistan while stationed there with the British Army.
The latter revelations not only harm the British forces, but potentially endanger his own safety and that of his comrades.
Additional television appearances with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes and interviews with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America, followed by an evening special on ABC News Live.
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