I was Prince Harry’s Army instructor – his story about ‘suicide’ training was ‘dramatised’… here’s why
PRINCE Harry's former Army instructor claims a story in his memoir about a "suicide" training flight was "dramatised".
In Spare, the Duke of Sussex recalls how his Slingsby T67 Firefly propeller plane was stalled with "no warning", leaving him fearful it was an "aborted suicide attempt".
But ex-Sergeant Major Michael Booley, who was sitting alongside Harry at the time, insists every detail of the flight was discussed beforehand and all went to plan.
He told : "I am staggered by this. In shock even."
The prince, 38, wrote in his divisive bestseller that on one of their first fights together in 2009, Booley "threw the aircraft into stall".
He said: "I felt the left wing dip, a sickening feeling of disorder, of entropy, and then, after several seconds that felt like decades, he recovered the aircraft and levelled the wings.
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"I stared at him. 'What in the absolute—? Was this an aborted suicide attempt?'
"'No,' he said gently. This was the next stage in my training."
Booley - who served in the military for 33 years and ranks Harry as one of his top five students - dismisses this version of events.
He said: "Whilst the book compliments me, the recollection of the sorties and lessons is inaccurate, I’m afraid.
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"It’s important to highlight that nothing in the cockpit comes as a surprise.
"Every sortie is thoroughly briefed beforehand, every single aspect.
"The sortie is flown exactly as per that brief."
Booley, 57, said he blames ghostwriter JR Moehringer for "dramatising" the events and still considers Harry a "friend" and "a man I respect immensely".
The prince, whose military career lasted 10 years and included two deployments to Afghanistan which saw him allegedly kill 25 people, was presented with his wings later that same year.
Spare, published on January 10, sold a record-breaking 3.2 million copies worldwide in its first week and it's likely to become one of the bestselling biographies of all time.
But many have questioned the validity of some of the claims in the 416-page memoir.
As well as the allegedly misleading training flight story, readers noticed Harry's recollection of the death of the Queen Mother was potentially incorrect.
The duke says he received a phone call in March 2002 to say that his great-grandmother had passed away during a spell of "bright and warm" weather at Eton.
But reports from the time indicate the then-17-year-old was on a skiing holiday in Switzerland with his dad and brother.
Charles' office released a statement saying he would return from the Alps, and Harry was pictured re-entering the country a day later.
Another possible error is in Harry's account of his first date with Meghan Markle.
In the book, he writes that the former actress looked "chic" and "heart-attack beautiful" in a black sweatshirt, jeans and heels at Soho House.
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But Meghan previously said she wore a blue dress for the occasion, and even had a thread from it sewn into her wedding gown as her 'something blue'.
According to an earlier version of this article, now amended, Sergeant Major Michael Booley said the version of events published in Prince Harry's 'Spare' was a 'complete fantasy'. In fact, Booley has never made any reference to this as a 'fantasy', but believed the Prince's narrative of flying sorties was 'dramatised' and disputed the accuracy of some other accounts in the book. We are happy to clarify and we apologise for the error.
Five claims in Prince Harry book in doubt
Queen Camilla 'leaking stories'
In both his book and well-publicised interviews with ITV and CBS, Harry repeatedly accused his stepmother of leaking details of her first meeting with Prince William.
However, royal sources told The Telegraph that the situation was actually a lot more complicated.
Far from a direct and intentional leak, the information hit the front pages after an aide, who was told about the meeting in confidence by the Queen Consort, let details slip to her husband.
He then told a colleague, who in turn went to the papers.
The situation reportedly enraged Camilla, while the aide apologised publicly and resigned from her post.
She released a statement at the time, saying: "It is a matter of great regret to me that chance remarks of mine led to the disclosure in the press of the private meeting between Mrs Parker Bowles and Prince William.
"I am so very sorry for the distress this has caused. Above all, my shame is that I have failed those who demand loyalty and trust, particularly my remarkable employer Mrs Parker Bowles.
"I am very sorry to be leaving but as the person responsible for this unhappy chain of events, I cannot with honour remain in this position."
Death of the Queen Mother
The Duke of Sussex wrote about the day he received a phone call in March 2002, informing him that the Queen Mother had passed away.
The prince, 38, spoke at length about the "bright and warm" weather that day as he took the call at Eton.
The passage reads: "At Eton, while studying, I took a call. I wish I could remember whose voice was at the other end; a courtier's, I believe.
"I recall that it was just before Easter, the weather was bright and warm, light slanting through my window, filled with vivid colours. Your Royal Highness, the Queen Mother has died."
This, though, clashes with reports from the time, which indicated that the then-17-year-old Harry was on a skiing holiday in Switzerland with his father and brother when his great-grandma died.
The now-King Charles' office issued a statement saying he would return from the Swiss Alps later that day, while Harry was pictured re-entering the country a day later.
One royal commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams, told GB News that the error "leaves doubt as to how closely the book has been fact-checked".
He added: "One wonders how many other factual errors are to be found within its pages."
First date outfit
Royal fans were quick to pick up on inconsistencies in Harry's account of his first date with his now-wife Meghan Markle.
In the book, he wrote that Meghan looked "chic" and "heart-attack beautiful" in a black sweatshirt, jeans and heels during their first meeting at Soho House.
However, Meghan herself has previously said she wore a blue dress on the occasion.
She even said that a thread from the dress was sewn into her stunning Givenchy wedding gown as her 'something blue', throwing doubt on her husband's memory.
Xbox error
This is one of the more easily dismissed claims Harry made, as he recalled received an Xbox on his 13th birthday in September 1997.
He wrote that the console was a gift from his mother Princess Diana shortly before her tragic death in a Paris car crash.
The only slight problem with this is that the Xbox wasn't released until 2001, four years after he was supposedly given one.
However, Harry did admit that his recollection of the birthday was limited, writing: "That's the story, anyway. It's appeared in many accounts of my life, as gospel, and I have no idea if it's true. Pa said Mummy hurt her head, but perhaps I was the one with brain damage?
"As a defence mechanism, most likely, my memory was no longer recording things quite as it once did."
The death of the Queen
In the epilogue of the book, Harry discusses the tragic day in September 2022 when he learned that the Queen had died at Balmoral.
He claimed that learned of the terrible news from the BBC website rather than his own family.
However, royal sources strongly denied this and were adamant that Harry was told before an official statement was released to the press, saying the King insisted upon it.