Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Harry and Meghan may retreat from spotlight for rest of year, says biographer

Author Omid Scobie said reconciliation with the other royals would be ‘very difficult’ after the amount Harry has revealed in his book.

Catherine Wylie
Monday 09 January 2023 06:15 EST
Harry and Meghan may retreat from the spotlight in the short term after recent revelations (Aaron Chown/PA)
Harry and Meghan may retreat from the spotlight in the short term after recent revelations (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may retreat for the rest of the year as they have both told their sides of the story, the author of a biography on the couple has said.

Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, said the frankness of Harry’s memoir Spare is the result of a man who for all of his life “hasn’t been able to share a word of it”.

But he added there is not really much else to say and so royal watchers can expect to see a shift in the months ahead.

Speaking about Harry, Mr Scobie told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He’s watched other people tell that story over and over again, including journalists such as myself.

“I think this is Harry finally wanting to put his voice on the historical royal record.

“Of course, that does come with some downsides for those who have been part of his journey. We heard some sort of really startling confessions and stories about members of the royal family, particularly when it comes to Camilla and her relationship with the press.

“This is really just Harry sort of pulling the curtain back on it all. We’re actually getting, I guess, the look behind palace walls that we’ve always wanted.”

Mr Scobie said Harry is clearly “very confident in the story that he’s telling” and that it has taken him a long time to get to this point.

Mr Scobie was asked if he gets the feeling from Harry and Meghan’s team that this is how they intend to continue, and he said he thinks the couple “have to be quite careful right now”, adding there has been a lot of focus on their private life recently and their brand has been “very much about drama” and a “soap opera” that has been played out publicly.

“I think we’re going to see, for the rest of this year, a couple sort of retreating from a lot of what we’ve seen over the last few months.

“They’ve both shared their sides of the story. Harry more in many, many ways, in more ways than we could have ever imagined.

“There isn’t really much else to say and so I think we will see a shift in the months ahead. That said, when it comes to talking about reconciliation, that is very difficult after the amount that he has shared in this book,” he said.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in