Lawyers Suggest Prince Harry Could Have Exaggerated Drug Use Claims in Memoir ‘Spare’ To Boost Sales

Attorneys for the Biden administration contend that Prince Harry’s admissions in his best-selling 2023 memoir, Spare, of using cannabis, cocaine, and magic mushrooms don’t necessarily prove the royal’s drug use. The lawyers suggested that he might have exaggerated these claims to boost book sales, the Telegraph reports. Such arguments come after Prince Harry’s immigration status is being pulled into question. 

This assertion comes in light of a case that a D.C. court is currently reviewing, which revolves around whether the U.S. government should be ordered to disclose Prince Harry’s visa application due to his use of illegal substances. DHS lawyers insist that releasing such paperwork, which would have inquired the shunned royal about his history of drug use, would be “an unwarranted invasion of Prince Harry’s privacy.”

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has been pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for several months to release these documents, citing the admissions made in his widely read memoir, Spare, as the basis for their argument. As High Times reported, The Heritage Foundation wants Prince Harry to be deported because he wrote about using drugs.

Spare also contains revelations such that William and Kate encouraged him to wear his infamous Nazi costume to a Native and Colonial–themed costume party in 2005, his body count while serving in Afghanistan (25), physical fights with William, and that he worked with a medium to try to get in touch with the ghost of his late mother, Princess Diana. 

In an effort to protect his privacy and immigration status, as well as those who helped him obtain such protected status, DHS attorney John Bardo informed the court that “the book does not constitute sworn testimony or evidence” confirming the Duke of Sussex’s actual drug use. “Just because it’s written in a book doesn’t mean it’s factual.”

Nile Gardiner, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, dismissed the idea that the Duke had invented his drug use stories as a “preposterous argument.” “This is Prince Harry’s own book,” he remarked after the hearing. “He has never refuted any content in his book… that includes the detailed accounts of drug use.”

Perhaps the most “preposterous” takeaway is that one’s immigration status would come into question for indulging in recreational drugs. 

Per Newsweek, in Spare, Prince Harry wrote the following about enjoying cannabis: 

“I don’t remember how we got the stuff. One of my mates, I expect. Or maybe several. Whenever we found ourselves in possession, we’d commandeer a tiny upstairs bathroom, wherein we’d implement a surprisingly thoughtful, orderly assembly line. Smoker straddled the loo beside the window, second boy leaned against the basin, third and fourth boys sat in the empty bath, legs dangling over, waiting their turns. You’d take a hit or two, blow the smoke out of the window, then move on to the next station, in rotation, until the spliff was gone. Then we’d all head to one of our rooms and giggle ourselves sick over an episode or two of a new show. Family Guy. I felt an inexplicable bond with Stewie, prophet without honor.”

The court was informed that there are three potential methods by which the Duke could have entered the U.S.: either by falsifying his drug use on his immigration form, obtaining a waiver, or entering with a diplomatic visa.

At the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse hearing, Bardo said it was “entirely possible” that the Duke was granted entry into the U.S. on a “category A” visa, which is designated for diplomats and foreign officials visiting on official business. “He remains a part of the British Royal Family and retains the title of Duke,” Bardo noted.

Gardiner expressed skepticism about Prince Harry being deemed a diplomat, stating it was “highly unlikely” since “he had no official role on behalf of British people, his own relationship with the Royal family, that was at a low point as the judge himself actually referenced in his remarks.”

The Heritage Foundation previously contended that the ex-royal relinquished his privacy rights when he “sold every aspect of his private life for, in some estimates, over $135 million,” noting that his privacy claims have faced “widespread public ridicule.”

In Friday’s court hearing, Samuel Dewey, a lawyer for the Heritage Foundation, brought up the Duke’s recent appearance on Good Morning America earlier this month, where he mentioned he had thought about applying for U.S. citizenship. 

Back in October 2019, Prince Harry, along with his wife, Meghan Markle, who reportedly dealt with a ton of racism and hate while actively living in England as part of the royal family, moved to California, stating their intentions to step down within the royal family. While the Duchess, Megan, started applying for U.K. citizenship, she didn’t finish the process. Because she’s already a U.S. citizen, the couple’s kids have dual citizenship. Per U.S. immigration regulations, “any applicant who holds any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign country must renounce such title or position.”