Damage had already been done, Prince Harry’s racist olive branch dismissed

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Damage had already been done, Prince Harry’s racist olive branch dismissed

London: Prince Harry’s denial that he was accusing his family of racism was interpreted in the British press on Monday as a bizarre peace offer, but commentators argued the damage had already been done when his unshakeable memoir came out.

The midnight release of “Spare” is accompanied by four TV interviews, with two more airing in the United States after the pair premiered on Sunday.

In the first broadcast, with Britains ITV, the Duke of Sussex caused bewilderment by insisting he and his mixed-race wife Meghan never accused the Royal Family of racism over their unborn son’s complexion.

“No, I didn’t. The British press said that,” Harry said, adding that Meghan also didn’t call the royal family “racist.”

The allegation, made in an explosive interview given by Harry and Meghan in March 2021 to American host Oprah Winfrey, caused a transatlantic outcry.

Harry’s older brother and heir to the British throne, Prince William, told reporters at the time that “we really are not a racist family”, but Harry himself then remained silent.

The late Queen Elizabeth II, the man’s grandmother, then said ‘recollections may vary’ on what was said – a line that was ironically repeated by UK commentators in response to Harry’s interviews.

Several described her denial to ITV as an “olive branch”, but that was contradicted by the Oprah interview and too little, too late, given the inflammatory nature of her other allegations in the book.

The Sun newspaper said Harry had “stunned” viewers with his racist “turn” and described the 38-year-old prince as a “troubled and lonely man”.

“Nothing is Harry’s fault and almost everything can be blamed on the press,” wrote the Daily Telegraph.

“Some things didn’t make sense: Meghan and Harry are fans of Lady Hussey and think it was the press who accused her of being racist?

“The press made up the accusations that the Royal Family were racist, when the couple made a very different allegation about unconscious bias?”

The left-leaning Guardian wrote: “If she had lived to see this, it wouldn’t have killed the Queen. But it might have made her a Republican.”

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