Prince Harry: Explosive Spy Secrets From His Tell-All Royal Book

Prince Harry’s tell-all biography Spare has shaken the British establishment. The prince reveals intimate details about his life as a Royal, his marriage to American actress Meghan Markle (now Duchess of Sussex), and his experience as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.

While the Royal Family's strategy has always been “never complain, never explain”, Harry broke ranks and revealed long-buried family secrets including how the Royals and intelligence services work together behind the scenes.

We’ve combed books and stories about Prince Harry to put together our own intelligence briefing.

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1. Prince Harry is on first-name terms with Britain’s spies

It's not unusual for Royals and spies to rub shoulders. In 2013, for example, Prince Harry made a private visit to MI6 HQ (Military Intelligence, Section 6 is the equivalent of the CIA). Harry was briefed on jihadist threats after a fellow soldier was killed on a London street. Harry toured the spy HQ in Vauxhall, south London, but St. James’ Palace was tight-lipped about what was discussed, saying only: "Prince Harry paid a private visit to the secret intelligence service.” 

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2. Researchers for Harry’s book 'Spare' investigated Princess Diana’s crash

Researchers for Prince Harry’s Spare reportedly interviewed many connected to the death of Princess Diana in Paris’ Pont de l'Alma tunnel in August 1997. Harry writes that he visited it 20 years later, trying to understand what happened: “I'd thought driving the tunnel would bring an end, or brief cessation, to the pain, the decade of unrelenting pain. Instead, it brought on the start of Pain, Part Deux.” Spare is likely to revive many of the conspiracy theories involving the American, French, and British spy agencies suspected of covering up details of Diana's visit to Paris - including whether Diana’s phone was bugged and if driver Henri Paul was being paid by the French secret service. 
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3. Prince Harry’s Afghanistan revelations could undermine his security - and Britain’s‍

In Spare, the Duke of Sussex describes his responsibility for 25 “kills” during his two tours of Afghanistan as removing “chess pieces" from the board, a description retired British Colonel Richard Kemp considered 'ill-judged'. Furthermore, ex-Royal Marine Ben McBean, who flew with Harry, said the revelations may create a security risk for the prince and Britain: “If the Taliban can’t get access to Harry, they might think about who they can target in the UK. There’s no positive to it coming out.”
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4. British spies were consulted about Harry’s mental health‍

Harry ‘vented’ about Prince William and King Charles long before marrying US actress Meghan Markle. In fact, Harry complained so much that his ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, confided in Secret Intelligence Service MI6 to encourage Harry to see a therapist, Tina Brown writes in The Palace Papers. A source told Brown that the prince wanted to find a therapist who was discreet and understood what it was like to have a public persona that differed from his private life. Harry has spoken candidly about his mental health struggles and those of his wife over the years.

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5. The Queen almost certainly received intelligence reports about Harry & Meghan

The chiefs of 15 British Secrets Services reported to Queen Elizabeth II during her 70-year reign, covering issues including the murder of Lord Mountbatten and death of Princess Diana: ”The communications of Prince Harry and his American wife are surely being monitored by Britain’s vast espionage network, in particular, GCHQ (Britain’s signals intelligence agency),” writes The Village’s David Burke. “Meghan Markle has been the cause of considerable trouble for the Royals. It would be astonishing if they did not keep an eye on her as once they did when Lady Diana Spencer and Wallis Simpson were the cause of concern.”

In Spare, Harry reveals his final words to the Queen after she’d passed away: “I whispered that I hoped she was happy and that she was with Grandfather now. I said that I admired her for having carried out her duties until the end. The [Platinum] Jubilee, the welcoming of the new Prime Minister.”

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6. Harry fought Britain’s Home Office to get security protection

The Duke of Sussex brought Britain’s security services to court over his security arrangements. In 2022, he won permission to challenge Britain’s Home Office after Britain withdrew protective security officers and wouldn’t allow the Duke to pay for police protection in Britain after Prince Harry and Meghan moved to California to live as private citizens. Meghan wrote to the palace pleading: "Please keep my husband safe. I see the death threats. I see the racist propaganda. Please keep him safe," Rory Cormac writes in The Secret Royals: Spying and The Crown. The British courts agreed in 2022 that Harry had an “arguable” case to challenge the decision.

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7. Harry was introduced to Britain’s top cops and security officers as a boy

Princess Diana was a regular on the police gun range at Lippins Hill in Essex where British police conduct firearms training. On one occasion, she brought young William and Harry with her and both loved firing a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver under the close supervision of a police instructor, Ken Wharfe writes in Diana: Closely Guarded Secret.

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Five Secrets Revealed in Prince Harry’s Spare