Prince Harry under fire over his 'Spur' memoir leaks
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Despite the backlash, Buckingham Palace maintains silence on the widely leaked contents.
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Prince Harry is pictured in 2012 while serving in Afghanistan. (Getty Images)
Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" drew condemnation from the media, commentators, army veterans, and even the Taliban on Friday, but Buckingham Palace remained silent on the widely leaked contents.
Days before the book's official release on Tuesday, revelations from the book dominated headlines and airwaves after a Spanish-language edition of the memoir was leaked and sold.
Revelations ranging from how the heir to the throne Prince William allegedly pushed Harry to the ground in a 2019 row to how he lost his virginity, did drugs, and murdered 25 people in Afghanistan sparked both criticism and mockery.
Simultaneously, the Spanish-language version of the book was immediately removed from shelves, but it was a little bit too late as it had been already purchased by media outlets, jeopardizing the publisher's rigorous international embargo.
The Guardian's Gaby Hinsliff said as quoted by AFP that the book had moved beyond issues of "awkward public interest" into the "washing of dirty linen" in public.
The US edition of the newspaper, which has questioned the monarchy's role in modern Britain, was the first to publish a leaked extract of the book this week, in which Harry recalled his physical altercation with William.
"The details of the brothers' alleged punch-up in a palace cottage are at once almost ridiculously trivial and heartbreakingly sad," she wrote.
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“Killed 25 people in Afghanistan”
Harry reportedly admitted in his book that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan. Rubbing salt into the wound, he likened his actions to removing "chess pieces" from a board.
Such acts, if proven, amount to “war crimes”. Harry's revelations were deemed boastful and inappropriate, causing a huge shock and a wave of indignation justified worldwide.
Read more: UK MoD opens inquiry into Afghan killings at the hands of its troops
Senior Taliban official Anas Haqqani bashed the Duke of Sussex over the remarks, saying those Harry killed were Afghans who had families.
"Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans," Haqqani tweeted, accusing the Prince of committing "war crimes".
1/3- Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return. Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war
— ریاض هلمندي (@Ryaz_Helmandy) January 6, 2023
crimes.#HarryWarCriminal pic.twitter.com/Gadjw3tFox
"The truth is what you've said; our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders."
"Still, you were defeated in that 'game'."
Afghan government spokesperson Bilal Karimi also criticized Harry for his remarks.
"Such crimes are not limited to Harry, but every occupying country has a history of such crimes in our country," he tweeted.
"Afghans will never forget the crimes of the occupiers and will always keep the spirit of protecting their religion and country alive."
The hashtag #ShutUpHarry went viral on social media platforms most notably Twitter.
Harry served in the British military for ten years, all the way up to the rank of captain.
Read more: Numbers of Afghan children killed by UK forces higher than disclosed
He served twice, first as a forward air controller ordering in airstrikes in 2007 and 2008, and then as an attack helicopter pilot in 2012 and 2013.
