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Prince Harry’s autobiography "Spare" due to be published on January 10 has somehow made it to the shelves of Spanish bookstores for several hours. The situation was promptly rectified, but several copies did fall into journalists’ hands after all. And the first impression has become appalling to the British society. The Duke of Sussex surpassed all imagination by sharing stories about his murders in Afghanistan, his mother Princess Diana, his abuse of banned substances, and even losing virginity.

Though still silent, the Buckingham Palace is clearly cherishing ill-will. Insiders claim a plan has even been drawn up to help cope with people’s reaction to both Harry's book and subsequent large-scale press tour. By the way, the Royals have spoken about the memoir’s possible appearance in negative terms only. The Sun writes that the king allegedly set a "red line" for Harry not to be crossed even if he wanted to. But, as we can see, he took no heed of his father's warning and rebelled against the family. The Buckingham Palace is believed to be closed for Prince Harry from now on.

Note that the book is on sale just four months before the coronation of King Charles III (May 6), thereby becoming a "time bomb" to undermine the British monarchy. Having dubbed the memoir "poisonous," the media are sure Harry has made up his mind to destroy the British royal family. With the Windsors having yet to provide some official comments on the memoir, the British media are actively harping on it.

Sky News cited the book to report on the prince’s confession about having killed several dozen Taliban militants (banned in Russia – ed. note) during his military service in Afghanistan. It was always possible to establish “with exactness how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number. So, my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me.” By the way, the Taliban have officially demanded that Prince Harry be held accountable for the statement.

Just a reminder: the heir to the British throne served two terms in Afghanistan: in 2007-2008 in Helmand province as aviation gunner, and in 2012-2013 at the southern Camp Bastion base. In June 2015, Princess Diana’s youngest son decided to leave the army ranks.

For many Britons, Prince Harry's statements are not quite clear, making them wonder: how can it be? He is a prince, a combat officer, a defender of his country and the monarchy. He has always been so proud of his service in the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and called the Afghan experience the most splendid years of his entire life. As Apache helicopter pilot he has always been praised by high-ranking British army officials and American combat training instructors at California’s El Centro Naval Aviation Complex.

Now the same brothers-in-arms lambast Harry for the memoir, accusing him of betraying the country and the monarchy. They are outraged and cannot apprehend things he is driveling about. How can he blame the monarchy he faithfully served for a decade? Indeed, during his years of service (2005-2015), Prince Harry rose to the rank of captain in the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment, and was proud to have arranged the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style sports event for wounded servicemen to inspire and support others.

His brothers-in-arms must be knowing better what kind of warrior this member of the British royal family appeared to be. Small wonder that one of them, an Afghan veteran, speaks of "brave soldier Harry" like this: "He never took part in battles throughout his service. He was a shooter, not a pilot. His colleagues called him ‘bunker Harry’ because the only battles he fought were X-BOX games in a shelter, where he spent most of his ‘frontline’ time, guarded by 12 Special Air Service personnel. The real battles engaged real soldiers alone, like St. Trevor Cole." At the same time, the veteran adds that Harry’s presence was hardly welcome at all, because it made the situation even more dangerous for others. "So don't believe all the nonsense that he is the biggest hero <...> He was in the army like a child on a field trip."

Let’s note that it was the British media who made Prince Harry an "Afghan war hero", especially the tabloids that praised the Duke of Sussex and his "successes" in every possible way. They have always been impressed by Harry the Wild Child, who has kept the press busy due to his behavior: he would put on Nazi symbols at a party, or play strip games with girls in Las Vegas, or give a scandalous interview to American TV host Oprah Winfrey along with his wife Megan Markle. British tabloids and sometimes even broadsheets have been "feeding" their country's public with Prince Harry's "social exploits" for a great many years. This is how they made an idol of him. So, revelations by the Duke of Sussex about the Royals and his "heroism" in Afghanistan are hardly surprising.

In conclusion, we note that having learned about Prince Harry’s viewpoint, many Afghan veterans must be asking themselves whether it was really worth it. Did the British troops really need to have fought in occupied Afghanistan thousands of miles away from home and later engaged in training activities before the West chaotically fled that country in the summer of 2021? The Taliban seized power in Kabul right away, even before the US and its allies withdrew their last troops. What the occupiers left behind was a destroyed economy and over a thousand civilian casualties. And Prince Harry, this "glorious" heir to the British throne, also had his finger in the pie...