Prince Harry wants a ‘family, not an institution’ as he claims royals painted him and Meghan as ‘villains’

Prince Harry is speaking out on the Royal Family in a new teaser for an upcoming interview

Prince Harry has suggested he and Meghan were made to look like 'villains'
(Image credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Prince Harry is once again speaking out on the royals, implying that their infamous motto of “never complain, never explain” is not actually followed, with the Palace responsible for endless leaks and stories that painted he and Meghan Markle as “villains.” Still, despite the ongoing claims, Harry speaks about “wanting his father back.”


Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, is out next Tuesday (January 10) which means the press tour for the book is starting to amp up.

The Duke of Sussex, who has publicly hit out at the media repeatedly, including in his Netflix docuseries, will sit down for two high-profile interviews ahead of the book launch. In the UK, Harry will sit with news anchor and correspondent Tom Bradby.

Harry has known Tom Bradby for nearly two decades, with the news reporter involved in past stories such as Meghan suffering with her mental health and previously interviewing the couple for a documentary about their 2019 Africa tour months before they announced their decision to step down from life as working royals.

Harry’s interview with Tom Bradby was filmed at California, and the first teaser has been released today.

In it, Harry is insistent that “it never needed to be this way” – inferring to the bitter feud between him and his family.

He goes on to imply the root of the issue is “the leaking and the planting” of stories to the press, something he previously discussed in the Netflix series.

Harry adds that he “want[s] a family, not an institution.”

Prince Harry wants "family, not an institution"

(Image credit: Kirsty O'Connor - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Giving his analysis as to why he believes the family planted stories about Meghan and himself, Harry hypothesizes, “They feel as though it's better to keep us somehow as the villains. They've shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile. I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back."

In Harry’s second interview ahead of his book launch, he will sit down with Anderson Cooper for CBS’ Sixty Minutes.

In a trailer for that interview, he is shown dismissing the idea that the royals follow their well-known mantra of “never complain, never explain.”

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He is shown saying in the clip, "Every single time I've tried to do it privately, there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife. The family motto is 'never complain, never explain', but it's just a motto.”

"They will feed or have a conversation with a correspondent, and that correspondent will literally be spoon-fed information and write the story, and at the bottom of it, they will say they have reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. But the whole story is Buckingham Palace commenting.”

"So when we're being told for the last six years, 'we can't put a statement out to protect you', but you do it for other members of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal."

Fans in the US can watch Harry sit down with Anderson Cooper on Sunday, January 8. While not yet confirmed, it’s thought that his interview in the UK will also air that same evening.

Jack Slater
Freelance writer

Jack Slater is not the Last Action Hero, but that's what comes up first when you Google him. Preferring a much more sedentary life, Jack gets his thrills by covering news, entertainment, celebrity, film and culture for woman&home, and other digital publications.


Having written for various print and online publications—ranging from national syndicates to niche magazines—Jack has written about nearly everything there is to write about, covering LGBTQ+ news, celebrity features, TV and film scoops, reviewing the latest theatre shows lighting up London’s West End and the most pressing of SEO based stories.