Prince Harry's forthcoming memoir has the royal family "fearful" about what information it will contain and has left "very little trust" between the prince and his British relatives, according to a prominent royal commentator.
Jennie Bond, formerly a correspondent for the BBC from 1989 to 2003, spoke of her belief that the impending release of Harry's memoir is "poisoning the relationship" between Harry and brother Prince William, during an interview with British news station GB News.
Harry's planned literary release was announced last year by publisher Penguin Random House and was billed as an "intimate and heartfelt memoir from one of the most fascinating and influential global figures of our time."
Of the opportunity to write his own account of his life story, Harry said in the announcement:
"I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become...My hope is that in telling my story—the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned—I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think.
"I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I've learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that's accurate and wholly truthful."
Speaking to GB News about the release of the memoir which has not yet been given a final publication date, only a "late 2022" estimation, Bond commented on how the royals would react given their reportedly strained relationship with the Sussexes since the couple stepped down as working royals in 2020 and gave an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
"I think the problem with Harry writing his account of his life," she said, "is that it has eroded trust really. There is very little trust after the Oprah interview, particularly between William and Harry and other members of the royal family. They don't know what bombshell is going to come next."
"Trust is something that is very important in royal circles," she continued. "There aren't very many people they can trust. Discretion is everything and Meghan and Harry have demonstrated that they're no longer willing to be traditionally discreet about what goes on behind palace walls."
On whether the royal family is concerned over any new revelations and claims made by Harry in his memoir, Bond said that the answer was "yes."
"Yes, they are fearful of what is going to come out," she said, "and, yes, it is still I think poisoning the relationship between the two brothers who were so close."
This last comment referenced the relationship between Harry and brother William which has been reportedly distant since before Harry stepped down as a working royal in Britain and move to the United States with his wife Meghan and their son, Archie.
During his official tour of South Africa with Meghan and Archie in 2019, Harry told a documentary crew when asked about tensions with his brother that: "part of this role, and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it's under, inevitably stuff happens.
"But look, we're brothers, we'll always be brothers and we're certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me."
The prince reiterated this sentiment in his interview with Winfrey in 2021 during which the Sussexes listed grievances with members of the royal family and household during their time in the U.K.
"As I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother," he told Winfrey. "We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But...you know...we're on different paths."
The brothers have not been photographed together in public since July 2021 when they were reunited at the unveiling of a statue of their mother Princess Diana at her former home, Kensington Palace, on what would have been her 60th birthday.
Harry is due to visit the U.K. with Meghan in the first week of September to attend a number of charity events, however, royal commentators have called the likelihood of a reunion with the royal family "unlikely."
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death in a 1997 Paris car crash, which Harry is expected to discuss in his upcoming memoir.
On this, Bond told GB News: "It's so sad with the 25th anniversary of Diana's death coming up, to see her boys still at loggerheads with one another."
Newsweek reached out to Prince Harry's representatives and Penguin Random House for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
