Prince Harry Won’t Criticize the Queen in Forthcoming Memoir, Expert Says

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 19 March 2022

In perhaps the most anticipated royal read of the year, later in 2022 Prince Harry will release a memoir that will “shake the monarchy to the core,” we’ve reported. But one thing the book won’t do? Criticize the Queen.

That’s according to royal expert Omid Scobie—himself an author of a must-read royal book, 2020’s Finding Freedom—while speaking on the “Royally Obsessed” podcast recently. In the memoir, Harry will not only not include any material that is negative towards her, but he will celebrate her, per the Mirror.

“Harry really is going out of his way to make sure that there isn’t material in there [the book] that can be seen as negative towards the Queen or her reign in any way whatsoever,” Scobie said. “He really wants to celebrate her life and his relationship with her in that book.”

Though obviously the Duke of Sussex’s memoir will shed light on the royal family—the royal family, after all, is a huge part of Harry’s life—this won’t be an attack on the institution, Scobie said.

“I think as much as the press want this to be a burn book and an attack on the institution, this is more just about his story, and, of course, his story is so much more than just the few years of his life as the Duke of Sussex,” he said. “I think for people expecting that warts and all moment, it’s not going to happen. That said, it’s still going to be fascinating.”

Though Her Majesty may not be criticized in the memoir, other royal experts say other members of the family might not fare so well. According to the Mirror, Harry’s friends say his stepmother Camilla will likely be called to the carpet in the book, and royal biographer Andrew Morton said recently on Us Weekly’s “Royally Us” podcast, per the Mirror, that Harry’s father Prince Charles might be the target of his son’s discontent.

“If I was Prince Charles, I’d be looking for a pile of coats to hide under,” Morton said on the podcast. “I think we’re going to see Charles once more in the firing line. So, if I was Prince Charles, I’d be looking for a hard hat and a flak jacket.”

Harry’s memoir is expected in late 2022.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.