Prince Harry is spilling the royal tea as he promotes his upcoming memoir, "Spare." Its title is a reference to being a backup to the throne. The book is set to be released Tuesday.
"Every single time I've tried to do it privately, there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife," Harry said.
On CBS' "60 minutes," the Duke of Sussex explains why he is publicly telling his story.
"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, it becomes — there becomes a point when silence is betrayal," he continued.
Harry says leaks have been coming from Buckingham Palace, including negative press about his wife, so he wanted to set the record straight, telling his story in a series on Netflix and in various interviews with the British and American press.
In the "60 Minutes" interview Sunday, Harry also revealed that he initially couldn't accept his mother's death. He eventually did 11 years later, at 23 years old, after he drove through the same tunnel where his mom passed to relive her final moments.
And when his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died, he says he was left out.
"All of the family members were jumping on the plane together ... No, I was not invited," Harry shared.
He says he can't see himself returning as a full-time member of the Royal Family and that he hasn't been in touch with his brother or father.
ANDERSON COOPER: Do you speak to William now? Do you text?
PRINCE HARRY: Currently, no. I look forward to us finding peace.
COOPER: How long has it been?
HARRY: A while.
COOPER: Do you speak to your dad?
HARRY: We haven't spoken in a while — not recently.
The Spanish version of the bombshell book was mistakenly sold earlier than intended. According to The Guardian, which acquired a copy, Harry says he killed 25 Taliban soldiers when he was on duty; that he and his brother, Prince William, urged their father, King Charles, not to marry Camilla Parker Bowles; and that Prince William physically knocked Harry to the ground in an argument over Harry's wife, Meghan.
Buckingham Palace hasn't officially commented on the book, but allies of Britain's royal family have pushed back against Harry's claims.
In an op-ed, Patti Davis, President Ronald Reagan's daughter who also wrote a tell-all book about her family, says she regrets it and cautions the young prince to value silence.
But people are paying for juicy details. In Montecito, California — where Harry lives — one book shop owner is stocking up.
"When I knew that it was coming out, I called my publishers up right away and said, 'Put me on the list,'" Tecolote Book Shop part-owner Mary Sheldon said.
"Spare" is already the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, thanks to presales.
It's reported that Prince Harry was paid $20 million for his memoir.
"Unfortunately, you know, there was no one to advise him — in my view — to say, 'Look, perhaps, is this a good idea? Is it a bad idea?'" said Ken Wharfe, who was the former royal protection officer to Princess Diana. "I think any chance of, you know, coming back to the U.K. as an operational member of the British royal family have long gone."
The book, and the various interviews, are driving a wedge between the royals just four months before King Charles' coronation.
Cat Sandoval
