Prince Harry shows off his Sussex Syndrome in latest interviews

Prince Harry kicked off the promo tour for his memoir Spare in earnest on Sunday, with a pair of interviews either side of the Pond: with Vanderbilt scion Anderson Cooper on CBS’s 60 Minutes and his old chum Tom Bradby on ITV in Britain.

What did we learn from the Bradby chat? Well, we got a little more insight into Harry’s curious thinking when it comes to racism.

Harry defended, for instance, the recently disgraced Lady Susan Hussey as “not meaning harm” by asking where somebody was from. Yet an unknown family member wondering what skin tone Archie had revealed a troubling “unconscious bias.” Such inconsistency is now so present in the ramblings of Meghan and Harry that it deserves its own royal title: Sussex Syndrome.

The interview began with Harry recounting the tragic death of his mother. He recounted how in later years he returned to the scene of the car accident in Paris, and asked to be driven through it at the same speed as Diana was in 1997. “I’d always imagined the tunnel was some treacherous passageway, inherently dangerous but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel. No reason anyone should ever die inside it,” he said. He and his gentle interviewer didn’t exactly dwell on the fact that the driver of the car was absolutely blotto. Harry mentioned something about “a drink,” but that was it.

Bradby walked on eggshells throughout. Anytime he attempted to push back on the prince’s claims, Harry’s annoyance became painful and they breezed on. This is Harry’s truth and you will not question it.

In fairness to Bradby, he did try to drag Harry out of his therapy-induced trance. When questioned about his cocaine use, Tom dared to suggest there may be a public interest defense in the British tabloids reporting on the third-in-line sniffing cocaine in a country manor.

Harry didn’t answer, instead insisting that the public interest should be focused on the sinister relationship between palace and press. In other words, Harry doesn’t know or care what the public interest is if it isn’t in his interest.

William is, in Harry’s telling, presented as a loved but damaged sibling who needs as much therapy as Harry has clearly had but won’t take it. If only he knew…

Queen Camilla got the toughest treatment. Harry claimed that from the get-go, she played the long game. He has accused her of launching a “campaign aimed at marriage, and eventually the Crown, with Pa’s blessing we presumed.” Harry bristled at Bradby’s suggestion he was “scathing” about his mother-in-law. The Sussex Syndrome kicked in again and he insisted he just wanted what was best for everyone.

Still, throughout the interview Camilla was presented as a manipulative social climber with a penchant for leaking information, though of course Harry insisted he wants what’s best for her. That’s more Sussex Syndrome for you.

Things got weird, too. We found out more about broken dog bowls and that snapped necklace. There was also a battle of beards between brothers. Harry has philosophized about whether his beard was “Freudian — beard as security blanket” or “Jungian — beard as mask.”

In the interview, he recounted that he asked to keep his beard for his wedding and got granny’s permission to do so. The stubble made him feel “calmer.” The Queen apparently understood, but bitter William did not.

When the beard was mentioned, William “bristled,” according to Harry, saying, “‘Not the done thing” and “Military rules, so forth.”

Suddenly, it all made sense. The beard explains everything.

In his own words, Harry’s beard is a “shield to his anxiety,” and made him feel like a new person. Maybe all of this royal psychodrama is down to that orange growth on his face. Perhaps, in a kind of reverse Samson episode, as soon as he shaves it off he will realize that Meghan is ghastly, like the rest of us have. Until then, we’re all locked in his Sussex Syndrome and there’s no escape.

As for his CBS interview with Cooper, I think most Americans’ takeaway will be “is that it?” The interview lasted what felt like seconds, and wasn’t worth the gas in the car to get him there, seeing as there were little revelations.

Old Haz does like to humor us though. His reply to Cooper’s question about why they’re hanging on to their royal titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, rather than rescinding them so they can be normies like us, was “what difference would that make?”

Lastly, we learned that Harry was “not invited” on the family plane to Balmoral to get to his dying grandmother in time. Tragic if true, but as always, and in the Queen’s own words, with Harry, recollections may vary.

Harry is set to torment our airwaves further this week: he has another CBS interview in the works with Late Show host Stephen Colbert. Can’t wait to see how much more — or less — he reveals…