Sorry Harry, good soldiers don’t publicise their kill count
Spectator (UK)Jan 06, 2023
Prince Harry has come under criticism from senior UK military figures, and Taliban leaders, over claims that he killed 25 fighters during two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
The figure was included in his new autobiography "Spare," set to be released in the UK on Jan. 10. "My number is 25," the Duke of Sussex reportedly writes. "It's not a number that fills me with satisfaction," he said, continuing, "but neither does it embarrass me."
Good soldiers don't publicize how many people they've killed, primarily out of a sense of decency and respect for the lives they've taken. Many who fought in Afghanistan now acknowledge that, in Helmand Province where the Duke of Sussex served, most fighting British forces were local tribes people rather than members of al-Qaeda. This indiscretion, however, is one of many in Spare that exemplify Harry's failure to demonstrate the dignity and restraint that made his grandmother's reign successful.
If any conclusion can be drawn from the controversy surrounding this autobiography, it is that rivalry and resentment, victory and shame, occurring between siblings crosses all barriers of class. There is something deeply unhealthy about hereditary power and, despite the immense privilege the Duke of Sussex and Prince of Wales originate from, the publicly catastrophic unraveling of their relationship may be at least in part down to this undemocratic and draconian inheritance of power at the center of their family.
There is an 11% chance that King Charles II will abdicate the throne of the United Kingdom before Sept. 9, 2032, according to the Metaculus prediction community.