Prince Harry Interviews: Main Points

File Photo: Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (AP)
File Photo: Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (AP)
TT
20

Prince Harry Interviews: Main Points

File Photo: Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (AP)
File Photo: Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. (AP)

Here are the main points from Prince Harry's first two television interviews to publicize his new autobiography "Spare", aired on Sunday.

- On why he wrote the book -Harry told Britain's ITV channel he had endured "38 years... of intentional spin and distortion".

He said he had "no intention" of harming anyone in his family by releasing the book.

But he said he needed to speak out as "certain members have decided to get in bed with the devil to rehabilitate their image", at his and his family's expense.

- On his mother's funeral -Harry recalled walking behind Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral in 1997, when he was aged just 12.

"The bridles chinking, you know, going down The Mall, the hooves going down the concrete and the occasional... gravel underneath the foot and the wails from the crowd," he recalled.

"But otherwise complete silence is something that will stick with me forever."

- On Diana's death -Harry said he read the secret government file into Diana's death, redacted by his private secretary of the most graphic descriptions and photographs of the scene.

He said he had driven as an adult through the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, where she died in a car crash.

"There's a lot of things that are unexplained," he said.

"But I've been asked before whether I want to open up a, you know, another inquiry. I don't really see the point at this stage."

In an interview aired later on America's CBS, Harry said that for "many years" part of him believed his mother had just disappeared and that "she would call us and we would go and join her."

- On his relationship with William -Harry spoke of his long-standing sibling rivalry with Prince William, how they used to fight as boys, how William ignored him at school and even tried to get him to shave off his beard before his wedding to Meghan.

He accused William of later swallowing the British tabloid media portrayal of Meghan, leading on one occasion to William physically attacking him.

Harry said that, had he not been having therapy after the trauma of his childhood, he would have fought back.

Harry told CBS he and William were not currently in touch, nor had he spoken to his father "for quite a while."

- On William, Kate and Meghan -Harry said William and Kate were fans of the US legal drama "Suits" in which Meghan starred.

But he said he thought they were not expecting him to get involved with someone like Meghan and "there was a lot stereotyping" of her as a biracial, divorced American actress.

That caused "a bit of a barrier" to welcoming her to the family, he said.

Harry stressed though that William never tried to dissuade him from marrying Meghan.

- On claims of royal racism -Harry denied he or Meghan had accused the royal family of racism but said there was unconscious bias at the palace which still needed to be addressed.

A recent incident in which a senior courtier, Susan Hussey, repeatedly asked a black British charity worker, Ngozi Fulani, where she was "really from" was an example of that, he said.

Harry said in the CBS interview: "Hell, I was probably bigoted before the relationship with Meghan."

- On the media -Harry spoke at length about the British tabloid press, accusing it of complicity and collusion with the palace, as well as racism, cronyism and duplicity.

He suggested the negative coverage he and Meghan had suffered was a result of his legal claims for alleged phone hacking against three British newspapers.

The wider aim of the claims, he said, had been to rein in tabloid excesses.

- On what he wants to achieve -Harry said he believed "100 percent" he could reconcile with his family and that could have a "ripple effect across the world".

But he conceded that his father King Charles III and his brother were unlikely to read his book or watch the interview.

- On the future -Harry said he was now "in such a good headspace" to deal with any tricky conversations with his family.

"It's been hard, I'm not going to lie," he said of the last few years, but added: "The reality is I've never been happier."



Comic-Con 2025 Kicks off with New 'Freddy's,' 'Toxic Avenger' and Thousands of Costume-Clad Fans 

Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
TT
20

Comic-Con 2025 Kicks off with New 'Freddy's,' 'Toxic Avenger' and Thousands of Costume-Clad Fans 

Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Peter Dinklage, left, and Elijah Wood attend a panel for "The Toxic Avenger" during Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Tens of thousands of fans — many in costumes — descended Thursday on Comic-Con International, the four-day pop culture spectacle that will feature updates on the new “Predator” movie, “Alien” series and a special appearance by George Lucas.

Fans packed into the convention's famed Hall H for updates on the “Five Nights at Freddy's” sequel and the “Toxic Avenger” reboot, with a panel on “South Park” coming later in the day.

The convention won't have major news about any upcoming Marvel movies or what's next for the hit relaunch of DC's high-flying “Superman” franchise. Both studios are sitting out Comic-Con 2025, as far as their film slates go.

An estimated 135,000 people will attend the convention, which will greet Lucas on Sunday for his first Comic-Con appearance. The “Star Wars” creator will discuss his new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art that will open next year in Los Angeles.

Fans of the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises will have plenty to cheer. Elle Fanning, star of “Predator: Badlands,” will discuss the film this week. FX will also bring the stars and creators of “Alien: Earth,” a series that will unleash the Xenomorph species on Earth next month.

“Alien: Earth” will be one of the projects that brings a massive interactive experience to San Diego, with a replica of spacecraft from the series. The attraction will feature what's described as a terrifying mission at night.

Marvel may not be presenting new movies, but it will have a “Fantastic Four: First Steps” attraction near the convention, a tie-in to Friday's release of the latest attempt to successfully launch its “first family” in theaters.

A main feature of the convention is its 460,000-square-foot (42,700-square-meter) exhibitor section, which features exclusive merchandise, comic book art and exhibits from brands like Star Wars, Lego, Nickelodeon, Paramount and more.

'Five Nights at Freddy's 2'

More pizzerias and murderous bots No animatronics — or humans — were harmed when “Five Nights at Freddy's 2” came to Comic-Con.

That wasn't necessarily the case on the movie set for the robots.

“They're there, you can actually hug them,” star Piper Rubio said. But she noted that the animatronics sometimes malfunctioned, whether it was odd facial expressions, “fingers falling off or the occasional foxes catching on fire.”

The movies are based on the popular Five Nights at Freddy's video game about a cursed pizza restaurant with possessed, murderous animatronic characters.

The first film was Blumhouse's biggest opening when it dual-launched in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service in 2023, earning $130.6 million globally in its first weekend.

Director Emma Tammi said the second movie has three times the number of animatronics as the first. Star Josh Hutcherson said the movie also features multiple Freddy Fazbear's Pizza franchises and new animatronic characters, like Mangle.

Teo Briones, who's starred in “Final Destination Bloodlines” and “Chucky,” is a newcomer to the series and said he was immediately excited to be part of a movie based on a game he played as a child.

“It's really special to be a part of something that has been such an important cultural thing for my generation,” he said.

“Five Nights at Freddy's 2” will be released Dec. 5.

From the wastes to Hall H for 'The Toxic Avenger”

A year ago, “Toxic Avenger” seemed lost in the waste. But on Thursday, the earnestly gory reboot of the classic 1984 B-movie from Troma Entertainment was in Comic-Con's vaunted Hall H like it was a regular blockbuster.

The movie was shot in 2021 and had a festival premiere in 2023, but struggled to find a distributor. It had been deemed unreleaseable by some with its ultra-graphic, though weirdly warm comic violence, most of it incurred by the tutu-wearing title character's toxic mop.

Cineverse is now giving it an unrated wide release on Aug. 29.

Blair said he had a few non-negotiables that were gladly granted when he agreed to make the film.

“He had to have a tutu. He had to have a mop,” the director said, and, he said. No CGI.

“I was pretty insistent that we had to have a performer in a suit,” Blair said.

Peter Dinklage plays the hero in his pre-toxic form and provides the voice throughout the film that also stars Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige and Jacob Tremblay. All but Bacon were on the stage.

“There's other people up here!” Dinklage said after the first bunch of questions during the Q&A were all for him. “Ever seen 'Lord of the Rings?!' I wasn't in that!”

Wood, the “LOTR” star sitting next to him, laughed as much as anyone in the room.

Comedy takes over Hall H

Comedians Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias and Jo Koy whipped Hall H into a frenzy during a mostly-packed session to promote their massive 2026 comedy show at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium.

The pair traded light — and mostly family-suitable — banter about their inspirations and heroes (Iglesias cited his mother, which led Koy to want to change his answer from Eddie Murphy) and their passionate fan bases.

They said their show would involve each doing at least 90-minute sets, special guests and befitting a show at a football stadium, probably some tailgating. They said fans should expect to be there all day.

Koy joked that it was “challenging to get back here" and that he was ignoring calls from family and friends to get them passes to the convention.

They ended the session handing out autographed Funko collective figures of their likenesses and a selfie with the crowd. They warned anyone who was there with someone they shouldn't be to take cover. “We're not Coldplay,” Iglesias joked, citing the viral kiss cam saga involving a tech company CEO captured embracing an employee at one of the band's concerts.