Prince Harry has revealed in a string of media appearances he wants tp reconcile with with his family. AP
Kiwi journalist Dan Wootton has branded Prince Harry’s claims in Spare as “emotional blackmail on a global scale”.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Wootton, 37, accused the Duke of Sussex of “threatening” the royal family, including his father King Charles and his brother Prince William.
“The Duke of Delusion warned sinisterly in yet another deranged interview that he has a further 400 pages of material ready to publish, including further toxic revelations about his father and brother,” Wootton wrote.
“I‘d laugh if this idiocy didn’t threaten the international reputation of the British royal family,” he wrote of Harry’s calls for accountability and an apology.
“Apologise for what, you fool? Charles funded your wife’s extravagant demands and then the Palace helped hide forever the findings of an independent investigation into her alleged bullying of multiple staff members.
“You should be buying your dad a pint of organic beer, not demanding the new monarch issue a grovelling apology to our second most unpopular royal.”
Wootton also took aim at Harry’s recent media interviews, saying: “Isn’t it telling that Harry has so many close friends working in senior roles in the media that he’s only ever interviewed by his BFFs?” referring to ITV’s Tom Bradby and CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
The journalist went on to note that Harry’s claims that the British press “cover up negative stories” about the royals are “laughable”, considering the extensive coverage of Prince Andrew’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent sexual harassment case.
Journalist Dan Wootton grew up in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
“The truth isn’t what this is about; Harry is doing everything possible to damage his family with the suggestion of dodgy revelations to come, without ANY actual evidence, something he would be furious about if the media were doing the same,” he continued.
In the column, Wootton dismissed the idea that reconciliation between Harry and his family is possible any time soon, considering his “unforgivable portrayal” of his brother William in Spare.
“The only solution is to get tough on the Sussexes and freeze them out until they apologise for their treacherous behaviour.”
It comes after Wootton responded to Harry labelling him a “sad little man” for beating him to announce Megxit in 2020.
In the book, Harry claims that Wootton, then working for The Sun, was “likely working in concert with the Palace, whose courtiers were determined to get ahead of us and spin the story”.
Prince Harry with host Stephen Colbert during a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on January 10. Photo / AP
He writes that he then went to the Queen to seek permission to release his own statement, to scoop Wootton.
“We soon realised it wasn’t possible; we didn’t have time to get our statement out there first. We opened a bottle of wine. Proceed, sad little man, proceed. He did.”
Wootton responded fiercely to the duke’s claims, writing for his new employer the Daily Mail: “It’s called journalism, mate, something you clearly don’t believe in, given the inaccuracies littered throughout your book.”
Wootton was born in Wellington in 1983 and attended Naenae College and Victoria University of Wellington.
His career in journalism began at the Dominion Post, and he was also a reporter on TVNZ’s Good Morning programme. He jetted off to the UK aged 21 to further pursue his broadcasting and journalism career.
He served as a TV editor, and later was the show business editor for the now-defunct News of the World, and also worked for the Daily Mail. The 37-year-old joined the Sun in 2013.
