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Prince Harry has broken his silence on the scandal surrounding sexual assault allegations involving his uncle Prince Andrew in his new tell-all memoir, Spare.
The reputation of beleaguered royal Andrew has been tarnished by his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A sexual assault lawsuit was filed against Andrew in 2021 by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
In 2019, Andrew gave what is largely considered to be a car crash interview with the BBC in which he failed to adequately justify his friendship with Epstein, while also attempting to discredit Giuffre and her allegations. He has consistently maintained his innocence.
Shortly after the fallout from this interview, Andrew announced that he would step down from his public roles to spare the royal family embarrassment. The roles were permanently removed with the consent of Queen Elizabeth II in January 2022, a month before the prince settled Giuffre's lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed sum.
In his highly anticipated memoir, Harry has reportedly revealed that he expected the royal establishment to continue to provide security for him after he stepped down as a senior royal, particularly in light of the continuing security support offered to his uncle.
"He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman and no one had so much suggested that he lose his security," writes Harry, as quoted by Us Weekly.
"Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren't on the list," added Harry, who now resides in his wife Meghan Markle's native California.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were stripped of their taxpayer-funded police bodyguards through a decision taken by the U.K. Home Office's Royal and VIP Executive Committee in February 2020, a month after they announced they would quit royal duties.
In January 2022, Harry issued a statement about his inability to personally cover the costs of security for himself, Meghan and their children while visiting the U.K.
"Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life," read the statement. "He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats. While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the U.K. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."
Security around the publication of Spare was reported to have been heightened to ensure no leaks would occur. However, copies were obtained by Page Six in the U.S. and The Guardian in the U.K. before media outlets were able to translate a small number of Spanish-language copies that were put on sale in Spain on Thursday ahead of the official January 10 release.
A number of bombshell revelations from the book have made the headlines, including Harry's account of drug taking during his teenage years, his plea to King Charles not to marry Camilla Parker Bowles and Meghan offending Kate Middleton by claiming the latter had "baby brain" after giving birth to Prince Louis.
Harry has also shared an account of a physical altercation with William over comments he allegedly made about Meghan.
Newsweek has reached out to Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and representatives of Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and Penguin Random House for comment.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more