Prince Harry has been brutally mocked by US talkshow host Stephen Colbert ahead of the royal’s appearance on the comedian’s show to promote his new book Spare.
Colbert, who hosts The Late Show, used a trailer for Wednesday’s show to compare the Duke of Sussex to Harry Potter and joke that his memoir will be available as a commemorative plate.
Leaked pictures from the show Harry downing tequila shots as he fields questions from Colbert, after arriving at CBS’ studios flanked by armed guards.
Harry hopes to use his appearance on the show to promote his autobiography, which details his fractured relationship with his brother and father, sheds light on the infamous row between his wife and Kate Middleton, and speaks of his kill count while fighting in Afghanistan.
But Colbert looks set to use the interview to poke fun at the prince, if an ad for the show is anything to go by.
The advert shows Harry speaking of how his brother ignored him during their time together at prestigious British school Eton College.
“That’s heartbreaking,” Colbert then says. “To be rejected by his older brother at school even though that magic hat sorted them into the same house. What do you think? Hufflepuff? Gryffindor?”
Colbert later adds that Spare is available in hardback, audiobook and “commemorative plate” – a dig at the tacky crockery often released to mark important royal events, weddings and anniversaries.
The TV host later jokes: “Stock up on corgis and steal a priceless cultural treasure from one of your colonies because The Late Show is going imperial.”
Harry’s appearance on The Late Show is just the latest in a series of transatlantic TV interviews to promote Spare.
He has appeared on Good Morning America, America’s 60 Minutes programme and ITV in the UK.
Among the biggest revelations in Harry’s book is his claim William physically attacked him during a row about his marriage to Meghan.
The Duke of Sussex claims he was floored by his brother, who called Meghan “rude” and “abrasive” in a conversation thought to be about her alleged bullying of Kensington Palace staff.
Harry told ITV’s Tom Bradby: “What was different here was the level of frustration, and I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him.
“He wanted me to hit him back, but I chose not to.”
He also claimed during the ITV interview that William and Kate Middleton iced out Meghan from the very beginning due to “stereotyping”.
He said it was for “lots of different reasons”, later adding that her being “divorced and biracial” made her a victim of stereotyping.
“I don’t think they were ever expecting me to get into a relationship with someone like Meghan, who had a successful career.”
“American actress, divorced, biracial.. there’s lots of different parts to that.”
In another excerpt, he brands Queen Consort Camilla “dangerous”.
Explaining that description in an interview with US broadcaster Anderson Cooper, Harry said: “Because of the need for her to rehabilitate her image.”.
“On her way to being Queen Consort, there would be bodies left on the street because of that.”
In another passage from the book, he calls Camilla his “wicked stepmother” and claims he and Prince William tried to persuade King Charles not to marry her.