Prince Harry grilled by longtime ally Tom Bradby

Prince Harry sat down with a rare friend in the media for 90 minutes – but it’s hard to imagine they were still pals bv the end.

Prince Harry and Tom Bradby.

Prince Harry’s dislike and distrust of the media is well-documented at this point – but it seemed he considered ITV journalist Tom Bradby one of the good guys.

One wonders if he still feels that way, after his increasingly spiky reactions to Bradby’s questions during the 90-minute sit-down interview that aired on UK television today.

Bradby, who attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding and presented the 2019 documentary Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, was the first person to publicly press the Prince on the sensational claims made in his new memoir, Spare.

And it seemed, as the 90 minutes wore on, that Harry wasn’t quite prepared for some of the tough questions he received.

Bradby started soft, rarely interjecting as Harry discussed his childhood and the tragic death of his mother.

Bradby attended Harry’s wedding. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty

But as the interview wore on, it was clear Bradby wanted his subject to examine what some see as his double standards: How could he demand privacy and slam press intrusion, while publicly airing so much of his family’s dirty laundry?

When Harry lamented the fact that the press wanted to expose his drug use in his younger years – including cocaine – Bradby asked: “Do you really think the third in line to the throne taking a class-A drug is not a matter of public interest? Do you accept that it is a matter of public interest?”

Harry sidestepped that question, but it appeared to set the tone for the rest of the interview.

Bradby then questioned Harry about his relationship with his stepmother Camilla, describing her treatment in the book as “scathing”.

“Scathing?” Harry shot back.

“There are no parts that are scathing toward any member of my family. Especially my stepmother,” he insisted.

Bradby with Harry and Meghan for their An African Journey special. Picture: ITV

Given just how many passages in Spare detail Harry’s fractious private dealings with his older brother William, Bradby asked what he would say to William if he was watching.

Harry scoffed at the question.

“What would I say to him if he’s watching this? I’m not going to share that. What I have to say to them will be in private, and I hope it can stay that way,” he insisted.

With that, Bradby said what many at home would’ve been thinking: how could Harry demand privacy of his family after putting them on blast across an Oprah interview, a Netflix series and now a memoir?

“In my mind, they’ve written countless books – certainly millions of words have been

written trying to trash me and my wife, to the point where we had to leave the country,” Harry argued. “None of this is intentionally to harm anyone in my family.”

Bradby didn’t let that point go unchallenged, telling him: “But the portrait of your brother in the book IS harmful to him.”

Harry seemed unprepared for the tough questions.

Bradby repeatedly took Harry to task.

From there, Harry appeared increasingly combative. As Bradby started a line of questioning about the press by “conceding” that the paparazzi and tabloid press had been horrible to him, Harry sarcastically interjected: “That’s good of you, to concede that.”

It was later in the interview – and still on the subject of the press – that Bradby appeared to be appealing to Harry as a friend, rather than his interviewer.

Bradby asked Harry if he wouldn’t be better off “letting go” of his issues about negative press coverage.

“Isn’t there a danger, given your background and trauma, that you’re not taking the most logical view of (the media)? That you’re permanently at war?” he asked.

Harry immediately denied the suggestion, insisting “the world is asking for accountability” from the media.

Bradby also asked Harry if he was “in danger” of viewing the media “in a very one-dimensional way,” through the lens of his own issues - again, Harry rejected the suggestion.

Bradby’s interview was the first of several to air of Harry’s publicity blitz to promote his new memoir. Next up: A 60 Minutes US sit-down with journalist Anderson Cooper, and an appearance on Good Morning America.

It’ll be interesting to see how those interviews go down, after this surprisingly combative display with an interviewer long regarded as one of Harry’s few friends in the media.

Originally published as Prince Harry grilled by longtime ally Tom Bradby