Susanna Reid appeared surprised when James Haskell said he had messaged Prince Harry to tell him he was 'selfish' following the release of his book. The Duke of Sussex, who stepped back as a senior working royal in 2020, has been hitting the headlines due to the release of his memoir, Spare.
The 38-year-old has also carried out a series of TV interviews - one in the UK and three in the US - where he has addressed the claims he's made in the book. On Tuesday, the first day of its official release, Prince Harry's autobiography was boosted into the record books with 400,000 hardback, e-book and audio format copies being snapped up, its publisher said.
The book includes claims that the Prince of Wales physically attacked him and teased him about his panic attacks, and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain with Susanna and her co-host Richard Madeley on Wednesday (January 11), former rugby star James claimed that he sent Prince Harry a text message calling him "selfish" for releasing his tell-all book at the same time as his own book comes out.
When asked by Susanna how he felt about his book being potentially overshadowed by Harry's headline-hitting release, James said: "I did message Harry and said, 'That's very selfish.'" A shocked Susanna wasn't sure whether to belive the show's guest as she asked if he really messaged the royal.
But James didn't confirm or deny whether he was telling the truth. "Maybe I did, that'll be in the next book!" he said. He then went on to show his support for Harry. "We would never get anywhere in life if we just keep laying down," he said after Susanna asked him whether Harry should keep talking and trying to change the publics opinion.
"Most people in his situation always leave things down to interpretation," James said before later adding: "It's important that he can put it out there and move on because it's undeniable." James' comments come as he is a close friend with fellow former rugby star Mike Tindall, the husband of Prince Harry's cousin, Zara, and the pair co-host the Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast together.
But James' appearance on the show didn't appear to go down well with viewers. This seems to be because the son-in-law of host Richard only appeared on the show towards the end of last year. The 37-year-old, who married the presenter's daughter Chloe Madeley, 35, in 2018, appeared on the show during Mike's stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle.
@AJ8malone tweeted: "James haskle is on AGAIN give it a rest ffs #GMB." @PetiteCee said: "James Haskell again?? Weren't he on the other day?? #GMB." Others were baffled as to why his interview became about Prince Harry's book instead of his own. @kezi2001 wrote: "So, was James Haskell Harry's ghostwriter? I thought he was on to promote his self help book? Not Harry's #GMB."
@RobHalfpenny said: "#GMB do my absolute t**s in this is James Heskell’s interview on his book why turn this into Prince Harry." @Fosslady85 asked: "Did James Haskell actually mention his book? #gmb." @TeeMcCarthy21 added: "So the interview is supposed to be about James and his book but somehow somehow, they're STILL talking about Harry? #GMB."
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