In an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, the Duke of Sussex expressed his indignation at the "dangerous spin" on the leaked excerpts from his memoirs, in particular his claims regarding killing 25 Taliban* fighters during his two stints in Afghanistan.
“Without a doubt, the most dangerous lie that they have told it that I somehow boasted about the number of people I killed in Afghanistan,” Prince Harry told Colbert. "I would say that if I heard anybody else, anyone, boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry. But it's a lie. My words are not dangerous, but the spin of my words are very dangerous to my family."
Harry himself attributed this part of his memoir to his desire to help veterans and try to reduce the number of suicides.
"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 give space to others to be able to share their experiences without any shame," the Duke of Sussex said. "And my whole goal, my attempt with sharing that detail, is to reduce the number of suicides."
In his book, Spare, the royal recalled his time in Afghanistan, where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot, and revealed that he had killed 25 Taliban fighters.
"So, my number is 25. It's not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me," he wrote, adding that he perceived those killed as "chess pieces" that had been taken off the board.
Many former officers of the British Army expressed their negative attitude to the revelations of the royal offspring:
Retired Royal Navy officer rear admiral Chris Parry told British media that in 35 years of service he had never heard a colleague "say what their score is," adding that it was "clumsy, tasteless and does not afford respect to the people who have been killed."
Colonel Kemp, who took command of British forces in Afghanistan in 2003 before his retirement, warned British media the comments could "incite some people to attempt an attack on British soldiers anywhere in the world" and may have motivated Taliban supporters to "kill Harry" because of memories that have been "resurrected" by his comments.
Experts on international relations also pointed out that the fact that Prince Harry comes from the royal family adds political and geopolitical weight to his words.
Taliban officials have already expressed outrage at Prince Harry's statements. Anas Haqqani, a senior aide to the interior minister, stated that those killed by the prince were people with families and that the atrocities committed by Prince Harry will not be forgotten.
Another Taliban official, Suhail Shaheen, head of the group's political office, told British media that Harry should be questioned by the "court for crimes against humanity" and said the people of his country "cursed" the royal, adding that Taliban fighters "were freedom fighters of their country, you were invaders."
*Taliban is under UN sanctions for terrorism.