“Without a doubt, the most dangerous lie that they have told, is that I somehow boasted about the number of people that I killed in Afghanistan,” he added.
In the pages of his memoir, Harry revealed he killed 25 insurgents while fighting in Afghanistan, describing that in battle, he thought of them as “chess pieces” rather than “people”.
“In the era of Apaches and laptops [he was able to say] with exactness how many enemy combatants I had killed. And it seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number,” Harry writes in Spare.
“So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me.”
The 38-year-old royal said he was neither proud nor ashamed of “taking human lives”, as it was simply his job as a soldier.
The excerpt prompted accusations of war crimes by a senior Taliban leader, while others expressed disbelief that he would share such information.
While interviewing Harry early today NZ time, Colbert said he had read the section of the book in question, and found it “a very thoughtful description,” adding that there’s “nothing boastful about it”.
Harry said many of the quotes from his recollection were simply “taken out of context”, in order to “place a target” on him and his family.
“If I heard anyone boasting about that kind of thing, I would be angry, too, but it’s a lie.
“Hopefully, now that the book is out, people will be able to see the context.
“It’s really troubling and very disturbing that [the media] can get away with it, because they had the context. It wasn’t like ‘here’s just one line’ they had the whole section, they ripped it away, just said ‘here it is. he’s boasting on this’.
“That’s dangerous, and my words are not dangerous, but the spin of my words is dangerous,” he said.
Shedding light on why he decided to share the details of his time in Afghanistan, he explained it was a show of solidarity for other veterans.
“To the vets here, and to the civilians here — who may feel that this is slightly a weird conversation to have, especially on this show of all shows — 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.
“Any my whole goal, my attempt with sharing that detail, is to reduce the number of suicides,” he added, to applause from the crowd.
Harry’s time in the military included two deployments to Afghanistan. During the second deployment from 2012-13, he flew on six missions that resulted in deaths for the Taliban.
Elsewhere in the Colbert interview, Harry revealed he originally joined the Army for three years, but ended up staying for 10 after he “found a refuge” in the military.
“I found my purpose. A purpose greater than myself. To be amongst comrades wearing the same uniform, no longer being treated differently for the first time in my life, and being able to hide away from the media focus, for me that was an amazing place to be and an amazing community, and I still am part of that community.”
The wide-ranging sit-down began with tequila, which a royal expert has described as an “odd choice” after Harry described how he drank heavily and used drugs to cope with the loss of his mother.
Royal author Christopher Andersen told Fox News: “Colbert is always playful with his guests and will undoubtedly wring plenty of laughs out of the segment.
“Colbert has a way of getting people to talk frankly without going for the jugular. He’ll coax some headline-making revelations out of the Duke of Sussex, without a doubt.”
Studio guests also told the UK’s Daily Mail that Harry participated in a quiz where he answered lighthearted questions, such as his favourite sandwich and phone app.
Harry clarifies ‘frostbitten penis’ story
Elsewhere, the Duke was asked about the viral “frostbitten penis” anecdote of the book, revealing how the ailment — which he carried during his brother’s wedding to Kate Middleton — came to be.
In Spare, he writes of the night before the nuptials: “I regaled the company with tales of the [North] Pole. Pa was very interested and sympathetic about the discomfort of my frostnipped ears and cheeks, and it was an effort not to overshare and tell him also about my equally tender penis.
“Upon arriving home I’d been horrified to discover that my nether regions were frostnipped as well, and while the ears and cheeks were already healing, the todger wasn’t.”
Discussing the revelation tonight, Harry joked, “We’ve taken quite a leap, from grief and trauma, to my todger,” as Colbert poured him another drink.
He explained: “It didn’t turn into an icicle, it wasn’t like that,” as he tapped on the wooden desk. Harry explained the reason he left with a frostbitten penis was because he didn’t have a “c*ck cushion” to protect him from the minus 35 degree climate.
In tears of laughter, Colbert replied: “No one in my life when I was a child could have ever explained to me that the Duke of Sussex was going to say the words ‘c*ck cushion’ to me, and it would all make sense!”
