Spare: ‘Odd’ detail in Prince Harry’s account of Charles marrying Camilla

A leading royal expert has questioned why Prince Harry was so opposed to his father King Charles’ marriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles.

Award-winning journalist and author Robert Jobson says the Duke of Sussex’s description of Camilla as a “wicked stepmother” seems “weird” considering he was a grown man and not a child at the time.

Jobson told Australian breakfast show Sunrise that Harry’s feelings leading up to the April 2005 ceremony were not appropriate for a man “almost 21”.

A leading royal expert has questioned why Prince Harry was so opposed to his father King Charles’ marriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles. (Charles, Camilla and Prince Harry are pictured in July 2005, three months after the current King and Queen’s wedding)

Harry was 20 when Charles married Camilla in a registry office at Windsor Guildhall in Berkshire, England. His first marriage to the late Princess Diana was in July 1981 and ended in divorce in 1996.

In his forthcoming memoir Spare, Harry says he and his brother William, Prince of Wales have both “begged” their father not to marry his longtime lover, fearing she would be their “wicked stepmother”.

Charles had tried to win his sons over before asking the public to accept Camilla, the book claims. Harry then amazingly says that meeting the future Queen Consort for the first time was like having an “injection”.

He later says that he and William Camilla ultimately agreed.

Award-winning journalist Robert Jobson says the Duke of Sussex’s description of Camilla as a “wicked stepmother” seems “weird” considering he was a grown man and not a child at the time. (Harry is pictured on holiday in Switzerland in April 2005, a week before Charles married Camilla)

In his memoir Spare, Harry says he and his brother William, Prince of Wales both “begged” their father not to marry his longtime lover for fear she would be their “wicked stepmother”. (The two princes are pictured at Charles and Camilla’s wedding on April 9, 2005.)

Speaking to host Monique Wright last week, Jobson said: “His attacks on Camilla, where he says he didn’t want a bad stepmother – he was almost 21 when they got married.

“So I think it’s all a bit weird, dealing with these things.”

Harry’s retelling of his feelings before Charles and Camilla’s wedding seems to conflict with quotes he gave to the press shortly after the wedding.

“She’s always been very close to me and William… She’s not the bad stepmother,” he said, according to People at the time.

“She is a wonderful woman and she has made our father very, very happy, which is the most important thing.”

Jobson (pictured) said: “His attacks on Camilla where he says he didn’t want a nasty stepmother – he was almost 21 when they got married so I find it all a bit weird.”

Prince Harry is set to discuss his memoir in television interviews on Sunday after the book’s explosive revelations about royal cracks, sex and drugs cast doubt on his future in the British royal family.

The 38-year-old prince’s ghost-written book Spare has been widely leaked after it mistakenly went on sale in Spain before its official release date on Tuesday.

The details include a claim that his brother Prince William, heir to the throne, attacked him during a dispute over his wife Meghan; an account of how he lost his virginity; an admission of drug use; and a claim that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.

According to various reports, the book deeply hurt William and the boys’ father, King Charles III, but the monarch wants to be reconciled with his son. The palace has not officially responded.

Harry’s retelling of his feelings before Charles and Camilla’s wedding (pictured) seems at odds with quotes he gave to the press after the wedding. “She’s always been very close to me and William… She’s not the bad stepmother,” he said, according to People at the time.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declined to comment on the scandal in a BBC interview but stressed his “tremendous regard for the royal family”.

TV stations have already released interview clips of Harry opening up about his fractious relationship with William and accusing his family of spreading negative stories about him and his wife Meghan Markle in the media.

Harry: The Interview airs first in the UK on Sunday at 9pm (GMT).

In the latest clip released by ITV, Harry revealed he “cried once” after his mother Diana was killed and said he felt guilty at not being able to express his grief as he greeted the crowd of mourners, whose hands were wet with tears.

In previous clips, he focused on his combative relationship with William, saying his older brother physically attacked him when they were arguing about Meghan and “I saw that red haze in him.”

“I want reconciliation, but there must be an accountability first,” said Harry.

Prince Harry is set to discuss his memoir in television interviews on Sunday after the book’s explosive revelations about royal cracks, sex and drugs cast doubt on his future in the British royal family

Sources close to William and Charles spoke to the British Broadsheets on Sunday.

The Sunday Times quoted an unnamed friend of the brothers as saying William “won’t retaliate, he never would” but “he’s worried and he’s sad”.

“He’s handling it so well on the outside — inside he’s on fire,” the source said.

Another unnamed friend told the newspaper that William “is fiercely protective of his own family and will not just faint.”

The Sunday Telegraph quoted sources close to Charles as saying the king saw a reconciliation with Harry as “the only way out of this mess”.

Charles biography author Catherine Mayer told The Guardian the royal dispute is not trivial and could undermine the institution.

Excerpts from Harry’s memoir Spare have been published after accidentally going on sale in Spain. A copy of the book can be seen here in a shop in Barcelona

“It’s possibly something that marks the beginning of the end of the monarchy,” Mayer said.

Harry told ITV he still believes in the monarchy, although he doesn’t know if he will play a role in its future.

He will reportedly not play a formal role at Charles’ coronation this year, which he is expected to attend.

In “a major break with tradition,” Charles has eliminated the act of royal dukes kneeling to “do homage,” and “William will be the only king to perform tradition.”

The US broadcaster CBS will broadcast his interview with Harry on Sunday on 60 Minutes. Another American network, ABC, is scheduled to air his interview on Monday.

The interviews were taped before Harry’s book was widely circulated on Thursday, prompting a backlash from the media, royal commentators, military veterans and even the Taliban.

British newspapers have criticized Harry’s claim that he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan, after veterans criticized such statements as risky and inappropriate.

A Taliban official condemned Harry because he said the killings felt like removing chess pieces from a board.