Prince Harry has said claims he made in his new book about killing 25 Taliban fighters while on duty in Afghanistan are “dangerous lies”.
The prince has been criticized for discussing the casualties at Speer, with some military figures saying it was wrong to call the dead “chess pieces”.
But on US TV, Harry accused the press of taking his words out of context and said the spin had put his family at risk.
He also defended his remarks, saying that he wanted to reduce experienced suicides.
Spear, published on Tuesday, has become the UK’s fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time.
About 400,000 copies of the memoir have been purchased, despite many excerpts being leaked to the press prior to its official release.
In a wide-ranging interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show – the first since details of the book were published – Harry suggested that his book was an attempt to undermine his relationship with his brother. Relationships are discussed, and “bigots” are attacked.
Harry said writing the book was a “cathartic” experience and “the most vulnerable I’ve ever been in my life”, while also feeling stronger.
But he added: “The last few days have been painful and challenging, not being able to do anything about these leaks.”
In his condemnation of the media coverage, Harry claimed the outlets had deliberately chosen to “remove the context” of his account.
“Without a doubt, the most dangerous lie they’ve ever told is that I somehow bragged about the number of people killed in Afghanistan,” he said.
“If I heard someone bragging about something like that, I’d be angry. But it’s a lie.
“It’s really upsetting and very upsetting that they can get away with this… My words are not dangerous – but my twist of words is very dangerous to my family. That’s the choice they’ve made.”
He said he wanted to be honest about his experience in Afghanistan, and give veterans a space to share their experiences “without shame.”
“My whole goal and my effort to share this detail is to reduce the number of [veteran] suicides,” he added.
Harry also claimed that Buckingham Palace, with the help of the British press, tried to undermine the stories he told in his memoirs.
No names were mentioned, but host Colbert asked if there was an attempt by Mahal to undermine the book.
“Of course, and mainly by the British press,” he replied without elaborating.
In lighter moments during the interview, Harry drank tequila with Colbert, joked that it felt like “group therapy” and performed a skit introducing the show with Hollywood actor Tom Hanks.
