Prince Harry Denies 'Dangerous Lie' That He 'Boasted' About Killing 25 People

Prince Harry stopped by “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert this week, where the two spoke about the royal’s new memoir, “Spare,” which was released Tuesday.

During his appearance on Tuesday’s show, Harry slammed the “most dangerous lie” to come from copies of his book being leaked days ahead of its publication date.

The prince denied reports that he “somehow boasted about the number of people that I killed in Afghanistan” after some articles pulled quotes about the prince killing 25 people in combat.

The duke claimed the British “intentionally chose to strip away all the context” from accounts in his memoir and turn segments of translated text into “a salacious headline”.

“If I heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry. But it’s a lie,” the royal said. “And hopefully now that the book is out, people will be able to see the context. It’s really troubling and very disturbing that they can get away with it. They had the context. It wasn’t like, ‘Here’s just one line.’” 

“My words are not dangerous,” Prince Harry explained, “but the spin of my words are very dangerous.” 

When the late-night host asked if it was “dangerous” because Harry was now an “increased target,” the Duke of Sussex answered, “And that is a choice that they’ve made.” 

Harry explained to Colbert that “the reason why I decided to share this in my book” was to “reduce the number of suicides” in the soldier and veteran communities.

“I made a choice to share it because having spent nearly two decades working with veterans all around the world, I think the most important thing is to be honest and to be able to give space to others to be able to share their experiences without any shame.” 

In the book, Harry writes about the killings and says, “It wasn’t a number that gave me any satisfaction. But neither was it a number that made me feel ashamed.”

“Naturally, I’d have preferred not to have that number on my military CV, on my mind, but by the same token I’d have preferred to live in a world in which there was no Taliban, a world without war,” he explained. “Even for an occasional practitioner of magical thinking like me, however, some realities just can’t be changed.” 

During Monday’s episode of “The Late Show,” Colbert teased Prince Harry’s upcoming appearance.

The late-night host told audiences he’d read Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” which he joked was available on both “audiobook and a commemorative plate.” 

“It’s very enjoyable, quite emotional, quite revealing. I’m going to have so much to talk about with His Harryness,” Colbert quipped.

Colbert is the Duke of Sussex’s last scheduled media appearance at the moment. 

The royal also did interviews with Tom Bradby of ITV and CNN’s Anderson Cooper for “60 Minutes” on Sunday, followed by a sit-down with Michael Strahan on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday. 

More revelations from Prince Harry’s “Spare” memoir and media tour: 

• Prince Harry reveals where his relationship with Queen Camilla stands now. 
• The Duke of Sussex denies the royal family was racist for worrying about Archie’s skin color. 
• The Duke of Sussex claims that William and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a “Native and Colonial” party in 2005. 
• Prince Harry had one question for Anderson Cooper amid talk of renouncing royal titles.
• Prince Harry calls William his “beloved brother and archnemesis” in the book.